All Change At The Back?
With Anfield legend Jamie Carragher retiring and the rumoured departure of Pepe Reina gathering impetus, what next for the Liverpool back-line and will one-time stalwart, Martin Skrtel, form part of it?
With Anfield legend Jamie Carragher retiring and the rumoured departure of Pepe Reina gathering impetus, what next for the Liverpool back-line and will one-time stalwart, Martin Skrtel, form part of it?
After a season of consistently breathtaking form and outrageous goal-scoring, Luis Suarez's bizarre and impulsive behaviour has robbed him of at least one award and reignited the permanent controversy that surrounds him.
With a supremely uncertain future ahead, the only option Liverpool Football Club cannot take is to remain immotile and fail to learn from a series of on and off-field errors. If handled correctly, the Suarez ban can be a catalyst for progress.
With Anfield legend Jamie Carragher retiring and the rumoured departure of Pepe Reina gathering impetus, what next for the Liverpool back-line and will one-time stalwart, Martin Skrtel, form part of it?
After a season of consistently breathtaking form and outrageous goal-scoring, Luis Suarez's bizarre and impulsive behaviour has robbed him of at least one award and reignited the permanent controversy that surrounds him.
With a supremely uncertain future ahead, the only option Liverpool Football Club cannot take is to remain immotile and fail to learn from a series of on and off-field errors. If handled correctly, the Suarez ban can be a catalyst for progress.
In retrospect, Luis Suarez biting Branislav Ivanovic is something fans should have expected to see sooner or later. And if Suarez' act was predictable, the reactions to it are both equally unfortunate and inevitable.
On a day when two of the more persistent rumours about potential defensive reinforcements seemed to all but disappear and with several high-profile departures from the squad likely, just how is Liverpool Football Club set for the season to come?
Liverpool lie in seventh place, with only six games remaining of the current league campaign. As we half-heartedly ponder where the club will finish the season, broader questions of progress and development prod us unrelentingly.
For much of the season, Brendan Rodgers talked about Liverpool's top four aspirations. Then the goal became the top five. Now, with both out of reach, the manager believes missing out on Europe entirely might be for the best.
While a run at the top four has been beyond Liverpool for some time now, there had been hope at least for a fifth place finish that would allow a return to the Europa League. Such a finish is now all but impossible.
After yet another underwhelming and anti-climactic performance from Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, while trying to focus on the positive, could not disguise that he too feels the same frustration as the fans.
After playing a huge role in British cycling's impressive Olympic success, eminent psychiatrist, Dr. Steve Peters, has discussed publicly, for the first time, the work he has been doing at Anfield since September 2012.
After a season in which he confounded the odds by winning the fans over, despite his limited time on the pitch, Jordan Henderson continues to maintain a professional focus on the next game.
Daniel Sturridge developed an instant onfield rapport with Luis Suarez, a fact which has contributed to his immediate impact at Liverpool Football Club. The England striker has been giving his views on the understanding between the two men.
In a wonderfully candid 'chat' with Jan Molby, Lucas Leiva has been comparing notes on difficult starts, career-threatening injuries and winning over The Kop.
They're an implausible partnership, but Luis Suarez and Jose Enrique have discovered a unique chemistry at Liverpool Football Club.
Brendan Rodgers has adjusted his goal from finishing fourth to fifth, but sixth is almost certainly the highest Liverpool can go. With a little help, though, that may be enough for the season to end on a hopeful note.
With the influx of youth making headway into the first team this season, maturity is a big contributing factor to success and Raheem Sterling is setting a new tone for how maturity might be defined.
In recent seasons there has been a noticeable decline in the atmosphere inside Anfield. Many reasons have been put forward to explain this, from expensive ticket-prices to the presence of too many day-trippers. The truth may be far more simple.