AS a club, we are so intrinsically linked with our country that we have become a major player in its footballing society. The historical aspects of our club generate comparisons to the long history of the country that we are based in.
Therefore, it is only right that a fraction of the squad is made up of Englishman. Granted, the make-up of the Premier League is more cosmopolitan nowadays and quite rightly but an important part of being a Premier League team is having an English core that you can build upon.
In Steven Gerrard, we have a leader who is not just English but a lifelong Liverpool fan. Having been born and raised on Merseyside, the 32-year old is the perfect example of a man playing at the club he was destined to captain. The other English players who are set to grace the pitch at Anfield come this seasons kick-off are Glen Johnson, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll. With all of the aforementioned players contributing in some part to Roy Hodgson’s gallant campaign at the European Championships, it is expected that they will all play some part in the future of the national team. What has to be priority for all 5 of them is to improve their form for Liverpool, especially Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing who have literally yet to prove their worth.
With the club now in a stage of minor transition, it would be easy to overlook the importance of the current squad, in the hope that Rodgers will bring in new faces suited for his style of play. However, although money has been promised and bids have been made, Sigurdsson turning down a move to Anfield in favour of a Spurs team in a similar transitional state, reinforces the fact that current squad members will have to adapt quickly. With a manager who relied heavily on domestic players in his last managerial role in Wales, a similar reliance and understandable expectation will be required from the English boys at Liverpool;
Glen Johnson was one of the better players in the England Squad this summer. Offensively very competent, whoever takes the right wing role in front of Johnson, will be craving his support from the back. His defensive capabilities have come into question and may need to be improved upon, especially as Rodgers’ tactics require defensive confidence as the ball is usually passed along the ground.
Jordan Henderson has been a supremely indifferent player since joining us last summer. Still only young, his inexperience shows at key moments, possibly through a lack of confidence. The 22-year old may be utilised more from the bench this season and will have to contribute more, especially going forward if he wants his flourishing career to continue.
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Stewart Downing showed small glimpses of genuine quality last season, especially in the Carling Cup final. However, his well publicised statistics are very disappointing for a man who cost so much. Some suggest he is not a good enough footballer to be a regular in a team fighting for a top four position but he will frequent the Anfield pitch on a regular basis next season given Rodgers’ tactics accommodate wide players.
Andy Carroll came into his own toward the climax of last season, looking to pay back some of the extraordinary amount of money we paid for him 18 months ago. However, his goal scoring tally will have to rise if he is to lead the line for a new look Liverpool team. With the perennial transfer rumours linking all varieties of striker with a move to Anfield, Carroll must prove that he can fly out of the blocks from game 1 and make his presence felt as he did for England in the Ukraine.
Not forgotten, is the return of Joe Cole, the breakthrough of Raheem Sterling and the experience of Jamie Carragher. Cole is somewhat of an unknown entity at Liverpool. Returning off the back of a relatively successful season in France, if the former England international displays the form that bought him to Anfield in the first place, he may get a decent amount of game time. Despite his inexperience, you can bet that Raheem Sterling will be hoping to make an impact on the first team this year. Rodgers will be the perfect manager to help develop the youngster’s game and could allow Sterling to flourish on the flanks. Carra is a great defender but his best years are way, way behind him. A bit part role is the expected climax to his career with the club but should we need someone to help solid a defence up in the last 5 minutes of a game, you wouldn’t look much further than the 34-year old.
If these players can produce the quality that they are so capable of displaying it could be a rather fruitful season for the club’s English contingent. However, if once again, some of the homegrown players fail to deliver as expected, the “flops” conjecture that seems to disparagingly walk hand in hand with our nations footballers could be directed toward the team.
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Hw can u force a landrover to speed up with a buggatti,meaning to say the english players we have are so limited to reach the level of todays football , they will change but not to the price tags we bought them for we need replacements and their is no hiding to this fact liverpool is a big team to be respected but dont espect our team will be respected with banch of average players in it we must forget history of buying english lets look forward to modern football ,the history is not something to rely on