We’re four games into the English Premier League season, and even though it’s not an effective barometer for eventual league success, some clubs will be happier with their performance than others. While teams like Chelsea will be disappointed with their start in the context of the millions upon millions they spent this summer, clubs like Leicester City have exceeded expectations thus far. For Liverpool Football Club it’s been a fairly mixed bag, siding ever so slightly towards the positive. They dominated Stoke City in their opening day matchup, but their only real chance came from the match’s lone goal – a world-class strike by Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho. Against newly promoted side AFC Bournemouth, a sketchy offside non-call against the Brazilian resulted in new signing Christian Benteke’s first goal for the club and a second win for the Reds. It was a wee bit downhill from there: a world-class performance by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech produced a draw against the London club, and an absolute drubbing by West Ham at Anfield that handed the Reds their first loss of the season.

A few key points on the season so far:

Transfer activity 

IN: Christian Benteke (Aston Villa), Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Joe Gomez (Charlton), James Milner (Manchester City, free), Adam Bogdan (Bolton Wanderers, free), Danny Ings (Burnley, free)

OUT: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Sebastian Coates (Sunderland), Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Rickie Lambert (West Bromwich Albion), Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy, free), Glen Johnson (Released), Brad Jones (Released)

Loan activity 

IN: None

OUT: Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), Lazar Markovic (Fenerbahce), Tiago Illori (Aston Villa), Luis Alberto (Deportivo La Coruna), Andre Wisdom (Norwich), Samed Yesil (Luzern)

Injury news:

Christian Benteke (thigh, expected to return by next week)

Jordan Henderson (foot, expected to return mid-September)

Adam Lallana (hip, expected to return late September)

Joe Allen (hamstring, expected to return late September)

Daniel Sturridge (hip, expected to return late September)

Jon Flanagan (knee, return unknown)

Best Starting XI 

I think this is the best starting XI the team has at its disposal, if every single player is healthy. Of course, we can’t know if Daniel Sturridge is absolutely perfect for this setup as he hasn’t played with a number of the players, but when at 100%, I think most can agree that he is objectively better than Benteke. Rodgers has also refused, for whatever reason, to put Mamadou Sakho in the starting XI (and only on the bench recently) ahead of Dejan Lovren. The Croatian stated the season well, but was a huge reason for Liverpool’s nightmare against West Ham United.

Rating out of 5 stars: 3

It’s about the time of year where “experts” at every publication imaginable start to give their tips for fantasy soccer, be it Premier League, MLS, or any number of leagues possible. The trouble is, every site has different valuations for players as well as different systems and rules for their leagues. Instead of digging deep into the minutiae of a specific fantasy league system, I’m going to look at the closest thing to real world valuations for the English Premier League, and take a stab at what I think the best team that £100 million could buy. I was inspired by the Guardian’s recent piece on Arsene Wenger’s proposal to turn the actual Premier League into a fantasy league, “where every club gets £100m and then let’s see how good you [managers] are.” The Guardian then looked at various Premier League managers, and analyzed them to see which have a history of spending wisely and could thus succeed in a more socialist-like spending environment. Here’s what I think the best team one could realistically get for £100 million in the English Premier League, using market valuations from transfermarkt.co.uk, which the Guardian also used for their simulation. Let us know in the comments why I’m right or wrong and how you’d line up your £100 million XI. 

Formation: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Costel Pantilimon (Sunderland), 4.2 million

After struggling for time at Manchester City behind Joe Hart, the Romanian moved to Sunderland last summer on a free transfer. He managed 11 clean sheets – not bad for a team that barely survived relegation. 

Left-back: Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), 8.4 million

Potentially worth more than his market value, Monreal has quietly improved in the Premier League since moving from Malaga in 2013. 

Center-back: Chris Smalling (Manchester United), 9.8m

Has his ups and downs for his club, but one of the most talented young center backs in the league. 

Center-back: Federico Fazio (Tottenham), 5.6m

Not yet a household name, Fazio was one of the most in-form defenders in England last season. Expect to see his name a lot more in the near future. 

Right-back: Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), 7m

One of the most unexpected turns for a player in the past few years, Valencia moved backwards from his preferred spot on the forward wing to right-back under current manager van Gaal. 

Defensive midfield: Francis Coquelin (Arsenal), 4.9m

One of the players most likely to break out this season, Coquelin had a stellar latter half of last season after returning from loan to cover for injuries in midfield. The Guardian calls his role in the Arsenal midfield “vital” and he could be the key to any success the club has this season.

Central midfield: Fabian Delph (Manchester City), 7m

After his controversial exit from Aston Villa, Delph has a lot to prove at the cash-soaked club, least of which is the accusation from many that he was only signed to fill the English-born player quota. Is extremely talented and, had he not left, would have surely been Aston Villa’s best player. 

Central midfield: Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), 18.2m

One of the most creative players in England, Cazorla provides everything from a killer passing instinct to solid finishing skills. 

Left winger: Andre Ayew (Swansea), 9.1m

Sure, Swansea actually paid nothing for him, so while they DO have a bargain in the Ghanaian, he is probably worth more than his projected value. Had a stellar season at Marseille last year and should light it up in England. 

Center forward: Christian Benteke (Liverpool), 14m

Liverpool paid far more than Benteke’s market value this summer, but he and the club will be hoping he’s up for the challenge regardless. With 15 goals in all competitions in one of the least creative squads in the league last season, Benteke should have far more to offer with two creative wingers and a creative passer behind him, just like he will have at Liverpool. 

Right winger: Dusan Tadic (Southampton), 10.5m

Another rising star in England, the Serbian has a lot to prove, especially at a club that turns rising stars into superstars regularly. Expected to be one of the main creative sources at Southampton this season.  

Total price, based on transfermarkt.co.uk figures: £98.7 million. Close enough? Share your thoughts with us in the comments. 

As Liverpool have wrapped up the majority of their summer spending after the £32.5 million acquisition of Christian Benteke, it’s probably a good time to evaluate where the squad stands going into the new Premier League season. Since much of Liverpool’s success will rely on how the new signings fit in with the existing squad, as well as Brendan Rodgers’ ability to find the best formation and tactics to get the most out of players both new and old. So new signings will be judged on their form last season, and any squad cohesion will be speculation. Nate over at “oh you beauty” has a great piece on Christian Benteke’s stats and how Liverpool could line up this season. His depth chart was extremely helpful in compiling this piece. Feel free to jump in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Goalkeeper

Simon Mignolet

Adam Bogdan

After the mid-season shakeup in goal last year, Simon Mignolet had a very solid second half of 2014-2015 and barely missed out on the Golden Glove Award, tying for second place with 13 clean sheets. Many still don’t have confidence in Mignolet, but he’s improved quite a bit in the last year on some of his weakest skills, like commanding the box and controlling crosses. His shot-stopping is still some of the best in the league, and there’s no reason to think that Liverpool need to buy a new keeper. Adam Bogdan was a solid pickup on a free after he was released from Bolton, and should prove to be good competition for Mignolet and more than adequate backup. 

Grade: B

Central Defense

Martin Skrtel

Mamadou Sakho

Dejan Lovren

Kolo Toure

Joe Gomez

Tiago Illori

Ah, yes. One of the most controversial areas of Liverpool’s squad, as Rodgers failed to really go after any adequate replacements or cover in this transfer window. Liverpool’s goal differential last season was a measly positive four (allowed 48, scored 52), a number dwarfed by the teams above them in the table (bar Tottenham). But is this really the fault of the defense? Yes, lots of mistakes were made and goals conceded, but compare that number to the previous season’s. In 2013-2014, Liverpool actually let in more goals than they did last season. But even though they allowed 50 goals that year, they scored 101—compared to 2014-2015 when they scored only 52. All this to say, yes the defense was poor at times last season, and the acquisition of Dejan Lovren looked more and more foolish as the season went on, but overall that side of the squad isn’t as poor as some think. If Mamadou Sakho is able to play nearly the entire season, there’s no reason to think that he and Martin Skrtel can’t be one of the best CB pairings in the league. Where Liverpool could have improved is in the backups – Lovren and Toure were absolutely shambolic at times last season, and the jury’s still out on the two young guys, including new signing Joe Gomez. So even though most fans are still foaming at the mouth at Rodgers for not signing new defenders, but Liverpool fans should have faith in the first choice center-back pairing. 

Grade: B-

Fullbacks

Nathaniel Clyne

Alberto Moreno

Jose Enrique

Jon Flanagan

Joe Gomez

Andre Wisdom

In yet another Southampton swoop, Liverpool picked up right-back Nathaniel Clyne from the south-coast club for around 12 million pounds this summer – having been linked with the club on and off for over a year. This is undoubtedly an upgrade over last season’s right-back duo of Glen Johnson and former loanee Javier Manquillo. Johnson is past his prime, even though he had been one of Liverpool’s more consistent players in the past few seasons, and Manquillo suffered from Rodgers’ tinkering and use of wing-backs more than traditional right-backs last season. Clyne was one of the best full backs in the Premier League last season, and should provide a solid defensive presence as well as an attacking option. Alberto Moreno is likely to be first choice at left-back, with perennially injured Jose Enrique likely to be on his way out of the club. Moreno had his moments last season, including a spectacular run and goal against Tottenham, but was fairly inconsistent, partially due to Rodgers’ tactical tinkering in mid-season. A consistent place in the team as a traditional left-back should suit Moreno, and he will likely benefit from highly creative players in front of him as well as targets like Benteke and Divock Origi. As with central defense, Liverpool suffers from a lack of adequate depth. at the position. While new signing Joe Gomez and Jon Flanagan provide potentially solid backup at right-back, left-back will be totally void of true depth – Flanagan and Wisdom have played the position but aren’t necessarily proficient there. 

Grade: C+

Central Midfield (primarily)

Lucas Leiva

Joe Allen

Emre Can

Jordan Henderson

James Milner

For the first time in nearly two decades, Liverpool are without their talisman Steven Gerrard in midfield. Even though many fans declined to admit it, Liverpool are probably better off without the baggage of shoehorning a player past his prime into a midfield that needed much more. Don’t get me wrong, Gerrard had a few good games last season and ended up being top scorer, but his presence often did more harm than good. This season we can expect new captain Jordan Henderson to be a static member of the midfield, as well as new signing James Milner, who brings a ton of experience and skill to a team needing just that. Emre Can is another player who was constantly shoehorned into the wrong position last season, and will need to be consistently picked in his preferred spot in midfield in order to get the best from him. Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen both bring something different to the table, but both are replaceable and likely to play squad roles. 

Grade: B+

Attacking Midfield/Wingers

Philippe Coutinho

Roberto Firmino

Adam Lallana

João Carlos Teixeira

Jordon Ibe

Lazar Markovic

Here’s where things get interesting. Liverpool splashed nearly 30 million pounds on Roberto Firmino, a player that most fans had to Google when the rumors started gaining traction. Firmino had a spectacular season last year at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga where his creativity and passing ability were universally praised by his colleagues. Like his compatriot Coutinho, who likely convinced him to join the club, Firmino can play all over midfield and even up top as a winger or striker when necessary. When the formation and tactics allow, having the two Brazilian playmakers on the pitch at once is a delightful prospect. What’s even better is that Liverpool’s backup in this area of the pitch is nearly as good. Adam Lallana showed sparks of brilliance last season, and promising youths Joao Teixeira, Jordon Ibe and Lazar Markovic are all very good prospects. Far and away the best part of Liverpool’s squad.

Grade: A

Forwards

Daniel Sturridge

Christian Benteke

Mario Balotelli

Danny Ings

Divock Origi

Rickie Lambert

Fabio Borini

Oh boy. This part of the team is a bit crowded right now, and that’s not really a good thing. After losing Luis Suarez before last season, Liverpool snatched up Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert (and technically Origi, who was loaned back to his former club) to replace the prolific Uruguayan’s staggering goal tally. What the club got was seven goals between the two of them in all competitions. It’s likely that Balotelli, Lambert and Borini won’t be sticking around once the season starts, but for now they’re still Liverpool players. What Liverpool do have are Daniel Sturridge and new signing Christian Benteke, two forwards with a ton of ability and solid goalscoring records. In theory, this would put fans at ease—at their best, both of these players are good for 15-20 goals per season. But with Sturridge’s injury record as of late and Benteke’s need to settle in, neither are a guarantee this season. In terms of backup (bar the likely departures), we have Danny Ings and Origi, young players with a lot of promise and proven ability. Ings scored 11 goals for relegated Burnley last season and Origi scored nine for Lille, both solid numbers for young strikers at low-level clubs. But again, both are new to the squad (and new to the league, for Origi) and will need time to settle in. Liverpool’s striker corps are truly a toss-up, and like last season will be what makes or breaks the club’s Champions League hopes. 

Grade: B

At this point in the transfer window, nothing is certain and every rumor and “insider” tidbit should be taken with quite a few grains of salt. But if there’s anything I’ve learned through eight years of following Liverpool, it’s that some rumors have an inevitable air to them. With every big transfer to (and from) the club, the rumors start small and take time. Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez, two of the club’s biggest signings of the past decade, were always destined to leave. When Torres was rumored to leave, I was in denial until the last possible second. During the summer of 2013, it felt certain that we’d be losing Luis Suarez to one of the Spanish giants. Brendan Rodgers convinced him to stay, but that only allowed the din of the rumor mill to get even louder over the course of the following season, Suarez’s best at Liverpool. So when the toothy Uruguayan bit Giorgio Chiellini during that fateful World Cup match, I knew it was over. Whether or not this was an intentional move to get transferred or not, the writing was on the wall.

So what about Raheem Sterling? He didn’t arrive with the fanfare of Torres or Suarez when Liverpool signed him at the age of 16 from Queens Park Rangers in 2010. Sterling was far from a superstar, though he did catch the eye of many a scout. He made mild headlines when he made his debut for the Liverpool first team in 2012, but there wasn’t much to say about his debut or any of his subsequent appearances that season. The hype around Sterling was a slow build, as he flourished during the 2013-14 season when he was surrounded by the most in-form attack in the English Premier League, comprised of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. He scored 10 goals that season, a healthy return for a player of his age, and was rewarded with a place on the PFA Young Player of the Year shortlist and Europe’s prized Golden Boy award.

The furor surrounding the Suarez transfer drowned out any noise about Sterling during the following summer, but even as the 2014-15 season began, the inevitable rumor popped up here and there. Having been one of England’s best players at the 2014 World Cup and a solid member of Liverpool’s “almost” season previous to that, Sterling’s stock was flying high. Liverpool struggled without Suarez and Sturridge was constantly plagued with injury for much of the season. Sterling showed flashes of class, but a constantly toothless Liverpool attack relied on him to lead the line – something that he wasn’t exactly prepared to do. The player scored only three goals in that position, with a further eight across all competitions in a different position that season.

The stats for Sterling at this point are a mixed bag. His goals and assist numbers aren’t exactly top of any tables, but he shines in other areas like chances created. Liverpool has already been buying like crazy this summer, bringing in players like Roberto Firmino to create chances and score goals next season. But Sterling is still a Liverpool player. Where he will be next season is anyone’s guess. If he does leave Liverpool, will he be missed? That’s a tough question. As a fan, I was utterly devastated when the club sold Fernando and Suarez. It’s been almost a year since Suarez left for Barcelona, and that one still stings a bit. Suarez had been absolutely phenomenal prior to that, almost singlehandedly bringing a Premier League trophy to a club so desperate for one. Liverpool went from world-class to second class due to one departing player. Sterling isn’t even close to the talisman Suarez was. Sterling is still a relatively raw talent that, while important to the squad, is far from key to Liverpool’s potential success. What would hurt, though, is if he was sold to a rival like Manchester City that was able to foster his talent into a truly world-class player.

But as they say, no player is bigger than the club, and in this case Liverpool won’t suffer greatly with a decent spread of attacking midfield options and another big cash injection from a prospective Sterling sale.

After a number of relatively unconvincing performances in the group stage and round of 16, the United States pushed their way to Vancouver with a valiant statement of a performance against number one-ranked Germany. Goals from Carli Lloyd and Kelley O’Hara and a missed penalty from Germany’s Celia Sasic highlighted this action-packed match from Montreal.

USA

Hope Solo (GK) — 8/10

Reliable as ever, Solo had little to truly deal with in this match (Germany recorded 0 shots on goal), but rose to the occasion when trouble came her way. Her vast experience showed during Sasic’s missed penalty—Solo’s mind games may have contributed to the German forward’s wide shot.

Ali Krieger (RB) — 7/10

The right-back’s performance was solid as expected, and though she managed a few good crosses, none came of much. Krieger held back her German counterpart and overlapped well with Heath further up the pitch.

Julie Johnston (CB) — 7/10

One of the USA’s strongest players in the first half, Johnston not only provided stalwart defense in the back, she also showed her impressive technique on the ball during a handful of forays into Germany’s box. Despite Johnston’s confident and assertive first half display, the final 45 minutes were nearly the opposite. Rattled early by the Germans’ pressing into the USA half, Johnston was responsible for Sasic’s ultimately missed penalty and was generally less imposing than she had been in the first half.

Becky Sauerbrunn (CB) — 6/10

Sauerbrunn was solid in central defense, if rather unremarkable. A silly foul and subsequent foul early in the match kept the defender from getting stuck in as the game wore on. Sauerbrunn’s experience and focus allowed Johnston to roam further forward on occasion, helping the USA push up the pitch.

Meghan Klingenberg (LB) — 8/10

As lively as ever at left-back, Klingenberg’s speed and control allowed her to overlap the USA midfielders on more than one occasion and put in some dangerous crosses. Definitely the most aggressive of the USA defense, Klingenberg was also able to keep Germany from exploiting the wings for nearly the entire match.

Morgan Brian (CM) — 7/10

Despite suffering a particularly painful-looking head injury in a clash with Germany’s Alexandra Popp, Brian played the full 90 as the USA’s deepest midfielder. Despite her youth and relative inexperience, Brian was lively and gritty, covering the defense well and initiating attacks through the rest of the midfield.

Lauren Holiday (CM) — 7/10

Like Brian, Holiday was solid if unexceptional in her central midfield role. While she seemed to be positioned to be more defensive, her team’s domination in the opposing half allowed her a bit of leeway to push higher when the team had possession. A handful of neat passes from Holiday near the opposition box opened up some chances for the USA, though none directly resulted in goals.

Megan Rapinoe (LM) — 9/10

Showing just how much her team missed her against China, Rapinoe once again looked world-class in this match. She created many chances for the USA, some directly from her play as well as a few from the free kicks she earned. Her corners were solid if unspectacular, her passing was crisp and inventive, and her only errors were a handful of missed chances at goal.

Tobin Heath (RM) — 8/10

Using her speed and trickery to make the USA’s right flank nearly as dangerous as the left, Heath had a solid game highlighted by some excellent passing—including a world-class through ball to Alex Morgan that the striker should have taken better.

Carli Lloyd (CAM) — 10/10

Lloyd showed once again against Germany that she is one of the tournament’s best players, as her creativity and attacking fervor rewarded her with both a goal and an assist. Her position between the midfield and lone striker was a genius tactical decision by coach Ellis. Lloyd’s penalty was nearly perfect, and her technique in creating O’Hara’s goal was nothing short of exquisite.

Alex Morgan (F) — 7/10

Morgan played well in her role as a lone striker, but her inability to finish well kept her from getting on the scoresheet. Many of Morgan’s shots were agonizingly close, and she should have done better with a number of them. What saved her performance, though, was her persistence and aggression towards goal, as she earned the penalty (even if the call was questionable) that put the USA on the board.

Kelley O’Hara (F sub. for Heath) — 8/10

Normally O’Hara’s time on the pitch (Around 8 or 9 minutes) wouldn’t be enough to provide a realistic rating, but her well-taken goal showed her ability to do serious damage in the final third. After some excellent technique and cross by Carli Lloyd, O’Hara flew into six-yard box with a vengeance and acrobatically kicked the ball straight into the net.

Abby Wambach (F sub. for Rapinoe) — n/a

A somewhat mystifying substitution, Wambach played the final ten minutes after replacing Megan Rapinoe. She only had a handful of touches, most of them close to the halfway line or to hold the ball up, clarifying her coach’s reasoning.

Sydney Leroux (F sub. for Morgan) — n/a

Leroux barely entered the pitch before the whistle was blown for full-time.

GERMANY

Nadine Angerer (GK) — 6/10

Made three solid saves against the USA, but was unable to do too much about the two goals she conceded.

Leonie Maier (RB) — 5/10

Maier was under constant barrage by Rapinoe, Klingenberg, and the rest of the USA attack, and was forced to concede a number of fouls and earn a yellow card. Didn’t do enough and was caught out of position a few times. Lost Carli Lloyd for the USA’s second goal.

Saskia Bartusiak (CB) — 8/10

Solid in defense, but could have done better to pressure the USA’s attackers and clear some of the corners and crosses that came in.

Annike Krahn (CB) — 7/10

Krahn will feel rightly aggrieved by the penalty decision, but it was her error nonetheless that helped put the USA on the board via Carli Lloyd’s penalty.

Tabea Kemme (LB) — 5/10

Kemme lost Kelley O’Hara for the USA’s second goal, as she should have been in front of the player to clear Lloyd’s cross. She was tormented a bit by Tobin Heath and provided little going forward.

Simone Laudehr (M) — 6/10

One of the furthest forward players for Germany, Laudehr attempted to exploit the gaps between the USA’s central defenders and its marauding fullbacks, but was unable to make anything out of her opportunities. Put in a couple crosses and one wayward shot.

Anja Mittag (M) — 6/10

Mittag was unable to create much for her forward, and was too often dragged backward to help regain possession of the ball.

Melanie Leupolz (M) — 6/10

Leupolz managed a handful of shots, but none really troubled the USA goal. Handled midfield with Goessling, but found herself overrun too many times.

Alexandra Popp (M) — 7/10

Earned both her team’s penalty and a bloody head with a clash against the USA’s Brian, Popp had possibly the best performance on her team. Should have done more with the chances she had, but the USA’s defense made it nearly impossible.

Lena Goessling (M) — 7/10

One of Germany’s best players due to her excellent delivery of crosses and set pieces, Goessling created a number of chances for her teammates but none of them were able to capitalize. Had a shot hoofed over the top of the goal and put in the most dangerous set piece of the match—the result of which was the clash of heads between Morgan Brian and Alexandra Popp.

Célia Šašić (F) 5/10

Feeling confident in her abilities after the shootout win against France, Šašić’s average performance was underlined by her missed penalty. Šašić was persistent in her attacking, but couldn’t make anything happen. Even a rare gift from a Johnston mistake didn’t come of much as Šašić lost possession immediately afterwards. Attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick late on but failed to do anything with it.

Dzsenifer Marozsán (M sub. for Mittag) — 6/10

Barely played long enough to register a rating, but it was clear that this was a substitution that wasn’t helping Germany’s chances. Marozsan carried a knock into this game, though it’s unclear if that affected her performance in this match.

With soccer, as with any sport, the memories of the highs often supersede those of the lows. Liverpool supporters remember the miracle of Istanbul vividly, but they block out the memory of the Roy Hodgson era with nearly as much energy. Liverpool’s 2014-15 season has been exactly that, a story filled with great highs and devastating lows.

It’s no secret that the loss of Luis Suarez hit the club hard, and the players brought in by Brendan Rodgers to replace the prolific Uruguayan have been nothing short of disastrous. Fans were assured by Rodgers that the money from Suarez’s sale would be used to build the whole squad, as well as the forward position. Notably, the manager also specifically guaranteed fans that his spending spree was meticulously planned, and would be much better than Tottenham Hotspur’s famous spending splurge of Gareth Bale’s transfer fee. Rodgers was clearly wrong, as nearly every player brought in this season has been underwhelming and mediocre at best.

The season started off with a bang, as Liverpool narrowly defeated a Southampton side desperate to make a statement against the club that poached three of their best players from the previous season. The jubilation didn’t last long, as the club’s league form moved up and down over the first four months of the season. Liverpool fared well in the domestic cups during this time, though the Reds’ narrow wins against League Two Wimbledon and Championship club Middlesborough (a match that went to 14 rounds of a penalty shootout) showed that the squad was truly hanging by a string. Worst of all, Liverpool’s triumphant return to the UEFA Champions League was truly disastrous as Rodgers’ men were dumped out in November with only a single win in the group stage – a last-gasp home win against Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets.

Those first four months were some of the lows that Liverpool supporters will want to forget. Luckily for them, the club followed those dismal four months with a remarkable unbeaten streak that went for 13 Premier League matches. Rodgers was hailed as a tactical genius during this stretch, as his switch from the common 4-2-3-1 to the more radical and experimental 3-4-2-1 held the key to the Reds’ success. The new tactics filled a number of holes in the squad, from the lack of goals scored to the wealth of goals conceded. New signings like Alberto Moreno, Lazar Markovic, and Adam Lallana were beginning to slot into the squad, and goals were starting to come from all over the squad. The club was flying high and while a league title was never truly in their grasp, a return to the Champions League the following season was looking more and more possible.

Rodgers’ tactical switch bamboozled opposing managers for weeks, and as Liverpool’s players grew even more used to it, the team grew more dangerous every match. The three center-back system worked well for Liverpool’s occasionally dodgy defense, as it allowed for the occasional misstep by players like Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure. At its best, the heart of Liverpool’s defense consisted of Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, and Emre Can, but injuries and suspensions kept this unit from playing together as often as it should have. Can, a talented midfielder who had played center-back for the German youth national teams, was able to play the ball out of defense and go on charging runs up the pitch to create imbalances in midfield and attack. Moreno, Markovic, and Jordon Ibe (recalled from his Derby County loan in early 2015) would all put in solid shifts at wingback, using their speed to pin back opposing wingbacks and fullbacks alike. A packed midfield also gave talented players like Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson the freedom and space to score some spectacular goals, making up for the lack of them from the club’s strikers. Daniel Sturridge returned to the side after having been injured only a few games into the season, and helped ease the load a little bit. Raheem Sterling led the line often in this formation, scoring a handful of goals during this period as well.

But roller-coasters have to come to an end at some point, and Liverpool’s wild ride crashed back to earth in the worst possible way. The club had also crashed out of both domestic cups in that timespan, but their league form had given fans and players alike the hope that the season could be salvaged. A defeat to the club’s fiercest rivals Manchester United that included a 30-second red card for departing captain Steven Gerrard ended the club’s unbeaten run, and showed that Rodgers’ genius plan might actually have some flaws.

Managers started to see the cracks in Rodgers’ system after seeing so many teams try and fail to defeat the Reds, and Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United were the first to actually take advantage. Liverpool were decidedly outplayed in the late March match at Anfield, as United turned the tables on Liverpool by matching their width and tempo, pressing in midfield and allowing players like Coutinho no space to work their magic. Sturridge managed to score late on for the Reds, but the tactical mismatch combined with Gerrard’s lightning-quick dismissal hurt the team dearly.

Liverpool’s momentum was thrown off by the defeat, and followed it up by another humiliating defeat to a rival as they were picked apart by Arsenal at the Emirates the following week. Arsene Wenger adopted similar tactics to van Gaal, and Liverpool simply looked dazed, confused, and utterly lost. Rodgers foolishly stuck to his guns, not learning from the previous week’s mistakes; even the half-time introduction of Sturridge couldn’t save the squad that had just gone 3-0 down before the break. Since that two-game disaster, wins against relegation candidates Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers have helped boost the Reds’ chances at breaking back into the top four, but a dour draw to mid-table West Bromwich Albion and an embarrassing loss to lowly Hull City have made it seem less and less likely.

But the season isn’t over. Just as Liverpool started low, went high, and dropped back again, Manchester United have been in a crisis since their big win against the Reds. Both clubs have been on similar roller-coasters this season, and Liverpool fans will hope that they can hit one more peak over the last three matches of the season – and that Manchester United do the exact opposite.

A mild traumatic brain injury, commonly referred to as a concussion, is most commonly defined as a head injury that results in temporary loss of brain function. Concussions have been quite visible in the press over the last decade, after a number of former American football players have come forward to reveal that they had sustained extensive brain damage after suffering numerous undiagnosed concussions. But soccer has a big concussion problem too, especially for youth players whose brains haven’t fully developed.

The current way to deal with concussions is often simple and succinct rather than a full examination, and players are often sent right back on the pitch without being adequately checked. FIFA has tried to come up with a plan to force all head injuries to be thoroughly checked by an independent medical professional before allowing the player back on, but many believe that it’s not enough.

Taylor Twellman, former USA international and current ESPN commentator, ended his career earlier than he had hoped after suffering a sixth concussion while playing for the New England Revolution. After he was punched in the head during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Twellman says, “the trainer instead asked him his name, the score of the game and to count backward from 100 before telling him he doesn’t have a concussion and sending him back into the game.” Twellman is now an advocate for concussion prevention and treatment in sports, having started his own foundation, Think Taylor, to raise awareness. It still has a long way to go, but voices like Twellman have managed to get the ball rolling in a few major ways.

A Seattle company called X2 Biosystems recently released something called the xPatch, part of a larger system called X2 Solutions used to monitor head injuries in athletes. The system is already in place in the NFL and NHL in the United States, and Major League Soccer plans to use it in the upcoming season. The xPatch recently gained publicity in the UK after London-based rugby union team Saracens was noted using them in a recent match. Saracens chief executive responded to accusations that x2 was just another gimmick, saying “I don’t want to be visiting these players in 20 or 25 years time in a hospital where they are suffering from dementia or some other neurological condition.”

The X2 system is quite remarkable: the xPatch records and processes all impacts on an athlete’s body and delivers the information directly to coaches and trainers via their app. A large amount of complex and important information is delivered in real-time, so that medical staff can accurately decide if an athlete should continue playing. A cloud database is also part of the X2 system, so that an athlete’s information can be tracked over time in order to prevent long-term brain damage.

For years, the dirty little secret of brain damage in sports was swept under the rug. A combination of ignorance and apathy kept the higher-ups from doing anything about what is essentially an epidemic among current and former athletes. But pressure from all corners has finally led to some changes in how professional sports organizations approach head injuries, which has luckily trickled down into college and high school athletics. Prevention and treatment has become easier and cheaper than ever, so excuses are running out and high-profile deals are being made. Ideally, companies like X2 will lead the charge into a future in which athletes are protected from and monitored for traumatic brain injuries from day one to the end of their career, and we can put an end to the sports concussion epidemic for good.

It finally happened. DeAndre Yedlin, star right-back for his hometown Seattle Sounders, has finally made his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur permanent. The deal was sealed much earlier in the season, after the soccer world was abuzz with his USMNT World Cup performance and standout appearances for the Sounders. For a number of reasons, his development being one of them, Tottenham allowed Yedlin to stay with the Sounders until the end of the MLS season. The 21-year-old was instrumental in leading the Sounders to two trophies this past season, the Lamar Hunt Open Cup and the MLS Supporters’ Shield, as well as a solid playoff run that ended on away goals against the Los Angeles Galaxy. But now that Yedlin has finally made it to London, what can fans expect from the young American? How will he fit into a struggling, tepid Spurs side?

Back when Yedlin’s work permit was finally approved, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino made it clear that he wanted the right-back in his squad as soon as possible: “It is important for his development that he is given the time to adapt to his new surroundings both on and off the pitch and we believe that by coming to us in            January it will give him the best opportunity to do so.” Many UK news outlets are reporting that out-of-favor right-back Kyle Naughton will be sold by the end of January, leaving Yedlin, Kyle Walker, and Eric Dier as the club’s three natural right-backs. Dier, on the other hand, prefers to play center back – Pochettino may be clearing the way for him to do just that, possibly through a loan spell for the rest of the season. Either way, Yedlin’s main competition for the right-back position is England international Kyle Walker.

Walker, who was a much-hyped player a few years ago, suffered through a number of injuries in 2014. He made his return to the team in December and has played 90 minutes in every Premier League match since then. Yedlin and Walker are very similar players of the “marauding”full-back model: both are speedy and agile, great dribblers of the ball, and can pick out both passes and crosses with exceptional accuracy. Walker is the more physical of the two, and Yedlin is more technically proficient – in the end, the two players are ridiculously similar.

So who’s going to start? I’d imagine that Yedlin will get his first start in the FA Cup or Europa League, as early as this week’s FA cup tie against Burnley. Walker will continue to get the nod in the Premier League, but if Yedlin impresses in the other competitions and in substitute appearances, I could see the American unseating Walker with relative ease. Pochettino likes his full-backs to full of energy and stamina, in order to press high up the flanks before quickly passing or crossing to a forward or attacking midfielder. Again, the similarities between the two players are the qualities Pochettino looks for, but Yedlin’s youth and continued development likely notches him above Walker in the long run. The Englishman’s injuries have caused him to lose some pace, leaving him vulnerable to being unseated by Yedlin and his famous speed.

But if Yedlin isn’t able to oust Walker at right-back in the near future, what’s in store for the youngster for the rest of the Premier League season? A few guesses:

1. A loan move elsewhere. While far from ideal, Yedlin could be slipped out before the end of the January transfer window to another club in the Premier League or the Football League that is in immediate need of the right-back. To succeed in the Premier League, Yedlin needs to have first-team experience as quickly as possible. If he doesn’t impress Pochettino enough now, he should be sent somewhere where he can develop and get another shot at proving himself by next August.
2. Left-back. Yedlin is decidedly a right-footed player, and to my knowledge has never played on the left side in his professional career. But oftentimes full-backs are asked to switch sides for one reason or another, and Yedlin’s speed is good enough to use on either flank to pin back opposing wingers and full-backs. He’ll need to work on crossing and passing with his left foot in order to make this truly work, but it’s worth noting that he’s probably not too shabby when cutting inside and using his right foot to shoot or pass to an overlapping player. Danny Rose seems to have the position locked down for Spurs, but Pochettino could take a chance and see how Yedlin does from that position.
3. Winger/Wide midfielder. Jurgen Klinsmann is a highly respected coach, and when he included DeAndre Yedlin in his final World Cup roster, many were left scratching their heads. When Yedlin came on against Portugal, playing as a right winger instead of full-back, people scratched their heads even more. But there was no scratching of heads once the youngster started charging down the flank, dispatching Portuguese defenders with jaw-dropping ease. One such attack led to a USA goal, and Yedlin’s inclusion was questioned no more. Spurs have a history of taking a fast, marauding full-back and turning him into the most expensive player in the world. Young DeAndre certainly has a ways to go, but it’s not the craziest thing in the world to imagine him being pushed further up the pitch in the next couple years. He would certainly impress in such positions, and with the right conditions he could become the next Gareth Bale.

As we get closer to the season’s halfway point, analyzing Liverpool’s progress has become less of an observe-and-report job and more of a dazed-and-confused stumble in the dark. The club currently sits in 11th place, which seems rather dire, but luckily 11th place on the current Premier League table means only four points from 4th place. This is a testament to how crazy the season has been, and how poor most of the league has been up to this point. But Liverpool have been extremely poor this season, best exemplified by the comparison to this point last season, when the club were flying high in second place. There’s no need to bang the Luis Suarez drum too much, though at this point last season, he had only played six matches in the Premier League. Of the five matches without Suarez, the club won three and drew one. So what’s the deal with Liverpool? They certainly punched above their weight last season, but surely with the number of signings and existing stars the club should, at the minimum, be knocking on the top four door.

Team Strengths

I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m having a hard time coming up with any true strengths that Liverpool have shown in the season thus far. With the number of signings the club made, I think most fans thought the club would have the squad depth to handle the loss of an important player like Daniel Sturridge. The club’s lack of incisiveness in attack surely comes down to the loss of Sturridge, who I think is probably the team’s biggest strength this season. This isn’t necessarily fair, but the team simply look toothless without him.

Creativity is another strength that has been buried by the lack of players to take advantage of it. Liverpool are 6th in the league in chances created, but 17th in number of assists that result from those chances. The club are also 10th in total goals scored at 14, compared to 21 at this time last season. The chances are coming, but the utterly abysmal strikers at the club have failed to convert in the wake of Sturridge’s absence.

Team Weaknesses

Where to begin? The defense is inconsistent, uncoordinated, and have conceded 15 goals so far this season. Defensive midfield is a wasteland that Brendan Rodgers changes up more than he changes his center-back pairing. Attacking midfield creates chances, but rarely helps get the ball back after losing possession. Almost every new signing has failed to gel with the team, and Mario Balotelli can’t score in the Premier League to save his life. Rodgers refuses to change his formation and tactics when they clearly aren’t working, and almost never rewards good form with further starts. Steven Gerrard is stubbornly clinging on to the fragments of his career, and Rodgers has only been courageous enough to drop him once. Raheem Sterling, who started the season as the club’s best player, has been anonymous in recent matches and seems to be played out of position quite often. I could go on, but the club’s form and standing on the table explains the team’s weaknesses more than I could.

Best Player 

In terms of the season so far, the club’s top goalscorer would be Raheem Sterling with three goals. As stated above, Sterling has been solid but his form definitely dropped off after the first few games. As absurd as it is, the top goalscorer in October-November so far is, own goals. I think this is a direct result of what I mentioned above about chances created versus actual scoring, and the club’s performance against Queens Park Rangers was not perfect but it at least created the chances for which QPR players put the ball in their own net.

But if we move past actual goalscoring, which obviously doesn’t really even give us much optimism, it’s still hard to pick a best player amidst the horrible form the club has been in since the beginning of October. Emre Can has looked excellent in his matches since returning from injury, nicking himself a delightful goal against Chelsea. Fabio Borini’s few appearances have been solid, and his assist for Balotelli in the League Cup was a result of his hard work. Thus, no real player has done enough in the past two months to deserve any serious accolade, and my choice would be: N/A.

Most Improved Player

Again, this is a really hard question to answer, but I’ll try. Some of the new signings have finally started to mesh with the squad and find where they fit best. Adam Lallana has improved a lot, but is still not worth the price paid. Lazar Markovic has flashes of brilliance but still looks too much like the last Serbian to play for Liverpool – Milan Jovanovic (that’s not a good thing). Dejan Lovren hasn’t looked anything close to his last season form for Southampton, but he has showed glimpses of improvement as of late. The only player to really look better in recent weeks is Emre Can, who had excellent games against Real Madrid and Chelsea. At only 20 years old, Can’s form is a sign of optimism for Liverpool fans. In my opinion, Can could and should start over Steven Gerrard when possible. Can is quick and good with the ball, and can transition from defense to offense instantly. Gerrard can barely turn without losing the ball lately, and the team needs a true box-to-box midfielder.

Injury News

Sturridge is finally back in training, which is excellent news. He’ll be expected to hit the ground running to kickstart the team’s attack, but it’s likely that even he will need some time to get back to match fitness. Mamadou Sakho should also be back in contention for the match against Crystal Palace, but who knows if Brendan Rodgers will even put him in the squad. Jose Enrique announced on Twitter that his knee was healing up and that he could be back sooner rather than later. These are all good to know and it’s nice to have the players back, but the only one that truly matters right now is Sturridge.

Transfer Window Needs

Everywhere? Just kidding. It’s hard to really pinpoint where Liverpool need help the most, as every part of the team has been shockingly bad in the last two months. With Sturridge back, it’s hard to suggest that the club spend money on a 5th first-team striker, unless the club managed to offload Balotelli and Borini to recoup the cost. I’m not necessarily suggesting that, but saying it would be the most likely scenario if a striker were to be purchased. The club are flush with attacking midfielders and defenders, even though both have not been up to par lately. Even goalkeeper is a position that’s hard to argue too much for a replacement, as Simon Mignolet’s form has actually improved as of late. Rather than a replacement, the club could pick up another goalkeeper that could challenge the Belgian and take his spot if he doesn’t perform.

Manager Grade 

C-. Before any pitchforks come out, know that I’m 100% for the club keeping Rodgers. I believe that last season’s sensational run wasn’t just down to Suarez, but to Rodgers putting the best team together as often as possible. But this season, he has failed to do that. Just as he did with players like Nuri Sahin, Rodgers has been playing many of his new recruits (and existing players) in the wrong positions and in the wrong formations all season. So often he has stubbornly stuck with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Balotelli up top and a two-man midfield of Gerrard and Jordan Henderson. There are many problems with the team in that formation, but those two are the absolute worst. Gerrard-Henderson do not make an effective midfield duo, as neither is particularly suited to the defensive midfield role. If one goes forward, the other is likely to lose the ball or attempt to go forward as well, leaving more holes in front of defense. Balotelli is an ineffective lone striker, mostly because hiw workrate is so low that he needs another striker to do all the work. This is why he plays so well with fellow Italian Fabio Borini. That combo worked against Swansea, but Rodgers has been hesitant to go with it again in the absence of Sturridge. Rodgers also seems to have no faith in some of his defenders while putting misplaced faith in others. Freezing out Sakho could cost him a potentially world-class center-back, all in the name of stubbornly sticking with the error prone Lovren. Kolo Toure had a sensational match against Real Madrid, but for some reason we didn’t see his experience and strength against Chelsea. Rodgers needs to reward good form with starts, and alter his blueprint that clearly isn’t working.

Biggest Worry About the Rest of the Season 

Everything. If the team doesn’t improve its form and find a way to play together effectively, I firmly believe it will be consigned to mid-table mediocrity.

Best XI 

Balotelli—–Sturridge

—————Sterling————–

Lallana———————Henderson

—————–Can——————

Moreno—Toure—Skrtel—Manquillo

4-4-2 Diamond

Rating (out of 5 stars)

1. This team is toothless and full of holes, and has absolutely no chance of coming close to the top four unless it improves immediately after the international break.

Rio Ferdinand. The name conjures up a myriad of emotions and thoughts for soccer fans, both positive and negative. A flamboyant and contentious personality like Ferdinand is bound to be divisive, and it often seems that the majority of fans (not just fans of rival teams) dislike Ferdinand. What is it about Ferdinand that is so easy to hate? Let’s look at some of the evidence.

1. He’s Loud – Ferdinand, as a center-back, has always had a reputation for leading from the back and shouting instructions to his team. This has always been one of his best skills, and all the trophies he won at Manchester United backs that up. But that loud, brash, outspoken manner has gotten him into trouble on a few occasions, and his lack of hesitation in squaring up to an opponent has put Ferdinand into the bad books of fans of nearly every club in England. Ferdinand’s passion often boils into angry outbursts, such as the time he kicked a female steward on accident whilst throwing a tantrum after a match at Stamford Bridge. Ferdinand also occasionally allows his temper to get the best of him during matches, having once been charged with violent conduct for elbowing Hull City’s Craig Fagan.

2. He’s an Obnoxious Tweeter – Having spent much of the last few seasons on the bench or the injury table, Ferdinand has really started gearing up for retirement by building up his social media presence. By that I mean, he tweets a lot. Much of it is barely readable and inane, and he really enjoys getting into Twitter rows with people, like recently fired CNN host Piers Morgan. The soccer world rolls its collective eyes at Ferdinand and his constant blathering and hocking of his “products,” but we all follow him so that we are sure not to miss gems like this. Oh, he also got dead last in an ESPNFC study of footballers’ vocabulary on Twitter.

3. He Constantly Dregs Up Old Controversies – The John Terry-Anton Ferdinand and Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra racism incidents were unfortunate, complex, and most importantly, over. Rio understandably holds stock in the former incident as it concerns his brother, but both incidents should be done and dusted by now. With the release of Ferdinand’s book, he’s taken the opportunity to bring all of it back into the spotlight with him. Since that’s all he’s talked about, I’m guessing it’s the most interesting part of his book? Regardless, his sniping at John Terry is at this point rather contrived and selfish. In Ferdinand’s mind, it’s impossible that maybe his England career ended because he wasn’t good enough, rather than because Roy Hodgson thought he couldn’t work with Terry.

4. He’s a Hypocrite – Ferdinand has been involved in a number of controversial incidents off the pitch, some of which paint him in a rather hypocritical light. Ferdinand called a DJ a “faggot” once, but quickly apologized after realizing he was live on the radio. In what could be deemed the ultimate Rio Ferdinand incident, the player tweeted about former England teammate Ashley Cole and his involvement in the John Terry case, using the racist slang term “choc ice.” Ferdinand was later charged and fined for the offensive tweet.

5. The List Goes On – Many of these cases are likely the cause for Ferdinand’s rather low standing in the eyes of most soccer fans. The most high profile of them, the John Terry case, surely sealed the deal for most. But Ferdinand’s transgressions don’t stop there. He’s been involved in a number of illegal situations, from the football-related (missed a doping test, saying he “forgot”), to the stupid (more driving bans than can be counted), to potentially serious criminal allegations (drunkenly fighting and destruction of property, improper behavior towards women in a nightclub).

Rio Ferdinand was a great servant to Manchester United and England, but his personality and antics over the years have limited most fans’ respect of him. He’ll have to settle for United fans; that is, unless he runs out of topics and decides to go after them next.

With the news that MLS is basically imploding, the mess that is Chivas USA, in order to sell a new MLS team in Los Angeles, it’s worth looking at what that team could and should do in order to be successful. It’s not as if the team itself has been a complete failure since its inaugural season in 2005. In 2007, Chivas USA won the MLS Western Conference. The club developed some of US Soccer’s best players of the past decade: Sacha Kljestan and Brad Guzan both spent several years at Chivas. But the club hasn’t made the playoffs since 2009, and the average attendance in 2013 was 8,366–a measly number even by MLS standards. Many things went wrong with Chivas USA, from its choice of home stadium to its awful ownership, and the few in LA who were aware the brand existed are unlikely to miss it.

So what can this new club do to find success in Los Angeles? How can it learn from Chivas’ mistakes, as well as other successes and failures in Major League Soccer? I have a few suggestions that might help the club, henceforth known in this article as LA2, hit the ground running in 2017.

Location, Location, Location. The decision for Chivas USA to play in the same stadium as the LA Galaxy, with its Beckhams and its Donovans, seems at the very least to be misguided. The StubHub center, located on the campus of Cal State-Dominguez Hills in Carson, is hard enough to get to for most Angelenos, many of whom make the trip for the Galaxy because of its big names and fairly consistent success. There’s a reason that there is a solid distance between Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium–each is accessible to different parts of Southern California, and both teams flaunt “LA” in their name to squeeze as much as they can from one of the largest TV markets in the United States.

LA2 needs to set up shop in an area that is central to Los Angeles and the surrounding area, preferably close to young and up-and-coming neighborhoods to take advantage of LA’s growing hipster population. Dodger Stadium led the MLB average attendance numbers in 2013, in part because of its prime location near Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Downtown LA. Suggestions for LA2’s stadium location: Santa Monica (extremely popular beach town that attracts lots of tourists), Hollywood Heights (already popular for the Hollywood Bowl, but construction would be very pricey), Montecito Heights (could build into Debs Park, but unlikely for city to accept), Hacienda Heights/Whittier (more central for Inland Empire/Orange County, would likely get most of the fans east of LA proper).

Proper Ownership: Chivas USA founder and (former) owner Jorge Vergara is everything a team and fanbase never wants from an owner. Vergara alienated everyone from the business side to the many managers he hired and fired over the course of his reign. Vergara’s plan to recreate his Mexican club in MLS was misguided to say the least, the most egregious action being the (alleged) firing of staff who did not speak Spanish.

The ownership group expected to take over LA2 consists of the following, as reported by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl: Henry Nguyen, Peter Guber, Vincent Tan and Tom Penn. Most of these names seem reasonable, if unremarkable, except for one: Vincent Tan. Currently the major shareholder of English Championship club Cardiff City, Tan has a reputation for being the worst kind of club owner. At Cardiff, Tan and his ownership group have already managed to enrage much of the fanbase in his short tenure by attempting to rebrand a club with such a rich history. Cardiff City’s home shirts were changed from blue, which they had been for nearly a century, to all-red to back Tan’s crest redesign, which prominently features a dragon that overshadows the club’s historic symbol, the bluebird. Tan also meddles in transfer and squad dealings, having fired popular club manager Malky Mackay halfway through the club’s inaugural Premier League season in 2014. Cardiff were later relegated back to the Championship

If Tan does indeed join the ownership group for LA2, he should not be made major stakeholder in any case, and his influence on club dealings should be kept in check by the other owners.

Choose DPs Wisely: MLS’ controversial salary cap and designated player rules are often debated by the leagues fans and detractors alike, but the fact is that the ability to pay the big bucks for those precious three roster slots can make or break an MLS club. LA Galaxy’s Beckham signing, while an obvious PR move, revolutionized an already successful brand. Beckham’s jersey sales were gargantuan, and the midfielder brought both fans and trophies to the Galaxy. LA2 must find the perfect players for these slots, without jumping the gun or picking them all solely on their ability to sell shirts. The MLS has become infamous as a “retirement league” for aging superstars, and the early (very early) signings of Kaka for Orlando City and David Villa/Frank Lampard for New York City have proven how true it actually is. LA2 shouldn’t give more than two DP slots to such players, utilizing the last to entice an American playing abroad to return to MLS and help build a new dynasty. Suggestions for feasible targets, based on age and probable club situation in 2017: Hulk (proven goalscorer, big personality, and will sell lots and lots of shirts), Javier Mascherano (versatile, can play defensive midfield or center back, excellent leader), Alejandro Bedoya (experienced in Europe, popular USMNT player, but as of now has not played in a top league, would likely be happy to take the money and finish his career in the US).

Careful Brand Management: Chivas USA was meant to be a “little brother” to the original Chivas, C.D. Guadalajara of Mexico. It’s understandable that MLS thought it would appeal to the large Hispanic contingent in Los Angeles, but it was obviously not sustainable in that it doesn’t appeal to anyone else. You can’t build a global brand by appealing to a single demographic. By starting with big names, an ideal LA location, and a strong but supportive ownership, LA2 could become the next hipster MLS club. A simple name that doesn’t seem too “American” is a good start, as it’s popular as of late to go the Euro route in club naming: see New York City FC, Orlando City FC, and the rebranding of Kansas City from the Wizards to Sporting KC. Build the brand to appeal to all demographics, not just one or two: families and twenty-somethings make up a huge part of the Seattle Sounders fanbase, and they blow all other MLS club attendance numbers out of the water. Support and foster supporters groups early, so that traditions are started quickly–soccer is unique with its flags and songs and tifos, all of which make for an unforgettable and infectious matchday experience. Develop a rivalry with the LA Galaxy that LA2 fans care about. Form a march to the match, Seattle-style, that has the police block off Santa Monica Blvd for an hour as the fans march through the smoke. Take advantage of LA’s lack of an NFL team by building a large stadium and filling it up.

In short, be independent and experimental but follow the trends that matter, and pick players and a manager that are both entertaining and effective. Have a flashy, unique brand that draws fans from all over Southern California. Bust out in 2017 with a killer squad that plays attractive soccer, and focus on trophies from day one. Show the world that the MLS is growing, and that American fans can truly care about soccer.

It takes a lot of balls to reject a club outright to stay at a club where you’re clearly not wanted. But in a football economy as tight as the Premier League’s both players and clubs will often do whatever it takes to get what they want. Fabio Borini, a player whose short career has bounced him around Europe, took a hard stance when Liverpool tried to sell him this past summer. The Merseyside club was set to make a killing on Borini, with a rumored price of around 14 million pounds that would see the club make around 4 million pounds profit on a player who has yet to prove himself. Most Liverpool fans (including yours truly) bemoaned Borini’s move, as they hoped the money would bring in another striker to replace the Italian. A striker was indeed bought, and it’s unlikely that the sale of Borini would have changed the situation as Mario Balotelli was one of the few willing to move to Liverpool anyways.

Liverpool fans are stuck with Borini for the time being, but I want to make the case for the Italian and suggest that it might actually be the best case scenario for the Reds this season.

Depth is more important than ever – More than anything, Liverpool must be able to handle the demands of what could be runs in four competitions this season. Everyone thought that having Rickie Lambert and Balotelli would be enough cover for Daniel Sturridge after the loss of Luis Suarez, but as the last three matches have shown, that’s not really the case. This squad thrives in a 4-4-2 diamond formation that requires two forwards, so having two strikers – and at least one on the bench – is vital for the club’s success. Even if he’s not yet reached the heights of Sturridge or Balotelli, the young Italian provides valuable cover for the lesser competitions.

Borini is a true team player – Obviously the primary requirement of strikers is to score goals, and Borini does score goals, but it’s the other aspects of his game that make him an asset. He’ll never be a high-scoring forward, he’s not a particularly spectacular passer of the ball, and he doesn’t really even make the assist charts. But compared to Liverpool’s other three forwards during last season, Borini is right up there in terms of Key Passes, Aerial Duels Won, and Pass Completion Percentage. Playing alongside Sturridge or Balotelli especially, Borini contributes on both sides of the ball and does the dirty work so that the finishers can do their job. It’s also worth noting that Borini’s defensive contribution blows the other three out of the water from last season – a major factor why Sunderland escaped from relegation.

Borini has room to develop – Being part of a scrappy underdog team that barely escaped relegation was good for the Italian’s development. He even ended the season as the club’s Young Player of the Year after scoring seven goals in 32 appearances for the Black Cats. Fans of his former clubs, especially those that he spent time on loan at -Swansea City and Roma – saw lots of potential in him and hoped to sign him permanently just as Sunderland did. He has benefited from all of these experiences, and even the little we’ve seen of him this season shows that he’s improved vastly since his first season at Liverpool. Hopefully the bits we’ve seen are the tip of the iceberg, and the true hope is that he has an explosive season after his controversial transfer refusal. Most fans know he has the potential, but has yet to show that it can be unlocked.

He’s full of surprises – No doubt much of the love that Sunderland fans felt towards Borini came from this goal against rival club Newcastle. Borini also scored vital penalties in matches against Chelsea and Newcastle; both of those matches were wins and key moments of Sunderland’s season. Borini did not score in any of the matches in which he came on after starting on the bench, but to be fair he started a huge chunk of Sunderland’s matches last year and was rarely subbed off. His goals often come early in matches that he starts in, and his energetic appearance against Ludogorets shows that he could be an important supersub for Liverpool.

His “movement”– It was a bit of joke among Liverpool fans during the 2012-2013 season that Fabio Borini had great off-the-ball movement and was often in the right place at the right time…but he rarely converted the chances that came his way. This is a radically different Liverpool team than the one from that season, and Borini’s qualities could shine alongside Sturridge or Balotelli if the chemistry is there.

Leadership qualities – Even at such a young age, Borini has had tons of experience internationally, having captained Italy U-19 and U-21 teams at various times. He even captained the U-21 side that made it to the 2013 UEFA final, where he scored once in an ultimate 4-2 loss for the Italians. Borini is a quiet leader, who works hard and tries to be an example for teammates both old and young, and will never be accused of not putting in enough effort.

Established rapport – Borini was originally brought to Liverpool because of his experience playing and training under Brendan Rodgers at Chelsea and Swansea. That first season wasn’t exactly the best for Borini or the club, but it did give the player more experience under Rodgers and established relationships with some of the players. Many of those are now gone, but Rodgers’ philosophy has stayed the same and his connection to players like Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson could be valuable to team chemistry. And while they haven’t played together extensively, Borini and Balotelli have played in various youth international squads for Italy. They seem to already be good friends as well, and Borini’s calming influence could help keep Balotelli in check on and off the pitch.

He has a badass celebration – You gotta admit, the whole knife-hand-in-mouth celebration is awesome. Liverpool fans definitely hope to see it more often, mainly because it means he’ll be putting the ball in the back of the net.

Mario Balotelli’s name precedes him, just as it was with the man he’ll be replacing with his imminent arrival at Liverpool. When Premier League fans think of Balotelli, they think of “Why Always Me”, bathroom fireworks, and his slew of training ground bust-ups with teammates and coaches alike. But just as it’s unfair to refer to Suarez for his lapses in judgment so to speak, without mentioning that he was, indeed, the greatest player in the world during the 2013-14 season, it’s unfair to mention Balotelli without mentioning his talent. Voted by FIFA as the 2010 Young Player of the Year while at Manchester City, Balotelli has a keen eye for goal and his powerful frame and mobility ranks him in the upper echelons of world soccer.

Interesting from the beginning: Having failed a medical at Barcelona, Balotelli was bought by Inter Milan after a year-long loan from his youth club, Lumezzane. Despite becoming the youngest player ever to score a Champions League goal for the club in 2008, Balotelli was first confronted with a problem that still plagues him in his home country – racism. Juventus fans in particular targeted the youngster, even when the two clubs weren’t playing each other! Balotelli also clashed with then-manager Jose Mourinho, causing the Portuguese to repeatedly launch misguided attacks on the player in the media. It was the beginning of the end for Balotelli, and in 2010 he was sold to rising English superpower, Manchester City.

The best of times, the worst of times: A few firsts for Balotelli in a 2010 Premier League match as the Italian scores his first two goals for Manchester City against West Brom, but is later sent off for a reckless challenge on Youssouf Mulumbu.

Why Always Me: A day after emergency services were called to his home after a firework ignited in a bathroom set the house on fire, Balotelli introduced one of his most famous celebrations. After scoring a goal in the Manchester Derby he pulled up his jersey to reveal a matching sky blue t-shirt with the words “Why Always Me” on it. As a result of the firework antics, Balotelli was later announced to be Manchester’s ambassador for firework safety.

Antics, both real and not: Balotelli’s reputation is such that when he’s reported as doing something particularly crazy, you can’t immediately write it off as wacky journalism. Incidents confirmed to be real include: crashing his car days after his City debut (with £5,000 in his pocket), visiting a women’s prison on a whim, and throwing darts at City youth players at the training ground. A few stories were paraded as truth at first, but later revealed as just rumors, such as Balotelli going to a Manchester school and confronting a bully and giving over £1,000 to a homeless man.

This is SERIOUS: During a friendly between LA Galaxy and Manchester City, Balotelli squandered a chance while through on goal by attempting a spinning back-heel that flew wide. He didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, as it was a friendly and he was trying to put on a good show, but City coach Mancini flew into a rage and substituted him immediately.

There’s no place like home: After a series of training ground bust-ups, first with teammate Micah Richards then with Mancini, Balotelli was ushered back to Italy and sold to AC Milan in 2013. Since his move to Milan, his goalscoring rate has improved and he rarely makes the headlines.

Italian hero & family man: Balotelli’s biological parents immigrated to Italy from Ghana before he was born, but at the of age three he was sent to the Balotelli’s, who became his foster parents. After scoring against Germany at the 2012 European Championships to put Italy through to the final, the striker found his foster mother Silvia in the crowd and embraced her. He has become a regular in the Italian national side, scoring the winning goal in Italy’s group stage win over England during the 2014 World Cup.

Some of Balotelli’s best goals:

Italy vs. Brazil friendly, 2013

Milan vs. Bologna, Serie A, 2014

Italy vs. England, 2014 World Cup

Milan vs. Napoli, Serie A, 2013

Manchester City vs. Norwich, English Premier League, 2011 (cheeky!)

Penalty, Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund, UEFA Champions League

The 24-year-old’s antics can be rather entertaining, but it’s his prodigious talent and ability that Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to see on a regular basis for the Merseyside outfit. Liverpool managed to keep Luis Suarez under control during the 2013-14 season, largely in part due to Rodgers’ man-management and the brilliant work of club psychologist Dr. Steve Peters. Suarez kept a cool head and only courted controversy after joining up with Uruguay at the World Cup. Balotelli has already improved his off-field behavior and his exploits on the pitch, and if all goes to plan he’ll continue his growth at Liverpool this season.

US soccer players such as Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore, Brad Guzan, Geoff Cameron and Stuart Holden often monopolize most of the headlines when it comes to discussing American stars playing in Europe. But there are many other footballers who are overlooked that are plying their trade overseas.

Here are 5 young Americans to watch out for that are playing in Europe in the 2014/15 season:

1. Emerson Hyndman (18, Fulham): Having recently made his first first-team debut at London-based Fulham, Hyndman is already turning heads in England and back in the States. Continuing the tradition of American players at Fulham, Hyndman could be the next Eddie Lewis or Clint Dempsey. The youngster might not be a flashy forward or attacking midfielder, but he already commands his role in central midfield with class and precision. His pass completion rate in recent matches for the club is drawing attention from all the right places, and should play a key role in Fulham’s push for a Premier League return.

2. Cody Cropper (21, Southampton): Minnesota-born goalkeeper Cropper recently inked a new one-year deal with the Premier League club, after England goalkeeping coach Dave Watson joined Southampton and immediately sought to tie down the young American. Cropper was called up a couple times by Jurgen Klinsmann for friendlies last year, but he has yet to earn his first full international cap for the USMNT. While he likely won’t be new Southampton manager Ronald Koeman’s choice to start in goal, Cropper has likely locked a place down on the bench this season. The management at Southampton obviously know of the American’s talent, and Cropper will be breathing down the neck of main ‘keeper Artur Boruc all season, hoping to leapfrog him into the starting XI.

3. Julian Green (19, Bayern Munich): Green isn’t much of a hidden talent anymore, after making headlines with his inclusion in Jurgen Klinsmann’s Brazil 2014 squad, but Green still has a ways to go to become a USMNT regular. It’s not easy breaking into a senior squad at a club like Bayern Munich, competing with players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, and World Cup Final-winning goalscorer Mario Gotze. Green’s few minutes in Brazil for the US showed his brilliant talent, culminating in his scoring of the team’s only goal (a sensational volley) in the Round of 16 match against Belgium. Pep Guardiola hasn’t ruled out a loan move for the midfielder for the 2014-15 season; first-team action elsewhere would surely benefit Green in the right situation, but the hope for USA fans is that it won’t be long before he’s deemed good enough to start for one of the world’s biggest, most storied clubs.

4. Will Packwood (21, Birmingham City): A commanding but quick player, Packwood has experience in central midfield and both sides at fullback, but is at his best (thanks to his 6’ 2” frame) at the heart of defense. Ever since making his debut as a teenager for the Midlands club, there have been rumblings of an imminent call-up to the US national team, but injury has kept him from showing his best form in the last year. Birmingham City is a club that has yo-yo’d between the Championship and Premier League for years, and Packwood could play a key role in central defense for this year’s promotion battle. If the club does return to the Premier League next season and Packwood retains his starting role, he could play his way into Jurgen Klinsmann’s 2018 World Cup qualifying squad.

5. Rubio Rubin (18, FC Utrecht): Considered the best American teenage prospect right now by American Soccer Now’s Brian Sciaretta, the Oregon native and former Timbers academy player could make a huge splash in the Eredivisie this season. Rubin will be hoping to be the next American goalscoring sensation in the Netherlands, a role played by Jozy Altidore and Aron Johannsson at AZ Alkmaar in recent seasons. Rated highly by his coaches at Utrecht and at US youth international levels, Rubin is in the right place at the right time for his development, now all he has to do is score goals.

Liverpool’s preseason coverage has been overshadowed by a single event — the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona for £75million in July. Most Liverpool fans will admit that the sale was of no surprise, and opinion has been pretty divided on the issue. He tied the all-time Premier League goalscoring record with 31 goals in that time, but also missed seven matches at the beginning of last season and would have missed many more this time around had he stayed.  But Liverpool’s preparations have rightly been due to the loss of Suarez, both because of the money he brought in and the goals that he provided. The club’s triumphant return to the Champions League has become a key factor in the club’s transfer strategy as well, as the club will need strong squad players for those early season matches in Europe and the domestic cups to keep the starters healthy.

With that out of the way, where does Liverpool stand before the Premier League kicks off? A marquee attacking player has yet to be signed, but Rodgers and Liverpool have made a few solid signings in attack and midfield that should help reinforce an already excellent squad. Rickie Lambert, while at an advanced age, brings a wealth of experience and goals to act as a backup to Daniel Sturridge. The club still, however, need to sign a big-name striker to either partner or compete with Sturridge on the front lines. Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, and the hard-working Jordan Henderson all return on the back of a great season for each, and will be the key to Liverpool’s success this time around. New signings Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic should provide competition for those players and give Brendan Rodgers options off the bench. Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen had relatively good seasons last year, despite the former’s ill-timed mishap that all but sealed the title for Manchester City. Lucas Leiva’s injuries have made it hard for him to cement a place in the starting XI as of late, and the arrival of a young Emre Can won’t do the Brazilian any favors either. I expect to see Emre Can get some early chances to prove himself, and show why the club is obviously grooming him to take over for Gerrard in the coming years.

While it was Liverpool’s breathtaking attack that brought them to the threshold of the Premier League title, it was the club’s defense that bolted the door shut. A plethora of injuries kept Brendan Rodgers from having a consistent center back pairing, thus the back four never had the chance to achieve the chemistry needed for a successful defense. Ironically, Liverpool’s transfer business last summer consisted almost completely of defenders meant to solve this very problem. Mamadou Sakho was the only player to come out of that crop with any dignity left, and may indeed be a starter for the Reds alongside the excellent signing of former Southampton defender Dejan Lovren. The Croatian was phenomenal against Borussia Dortmund in the club’s final friendly, and could be the vocal, commanding leader that the back line hasn’t had since Jamie Carragher retired. The club’s senior fullbacks, Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique, have never been world-class, but they’ve basically “done the job” over the past couple seasons. Enrique is still coming off an injury that kept him out of the team most of last season, but academy product Jon Flanagan proved a more-than-adequate replacement. The signing of promising young left-back Alberto Moreno surely spells the end for Enrique, and should prod Flanagan to work even harder to replace the Spaniard. The club’s second fullback loan in as many seasons, Javier Manquillo looks to replace Glen Johnson, whose performances have failed to impress as of late.

Pepe Reina, a club favorite whose destiny was sealed last summer before his loan to Napoli, finally made a permanent move to Bayern Munich. It’s rumored that another goalkeeper will be brought in to challenge Simon Mignolet, who Brendan Rodgers considers a long-term project. Mignolet has slowly adapted to Brendan Rodgers’ style, and will hope to win over skeptics this season.

Many pundits have already predicted that Liverpool will fall back instead of building on last season’s success. But the club is used to being seen as the underdog; nobody expected them to go from seventh to competing for the title last year. Whether or not the club does what everyone thinks they should–pick up a marquee signing like Falcao, Reus, or Shaqiri–the players the club already has have the talent to go just as far, if not further, than the team did last year. The key to Liverpool’s season will be creating chemistry from front to back, hopefully forming a structured and disciplined back line and a potent, lethal attack.

IN: Emre Can (Bayer Leverkusen), Alberto Moreno (Sevilla), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Lazar Markovic (Benfica), Javier Manquillo (loan, Atletico Madrid), Divock Origi (Lille)

OUT: Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace), Pepe Reina (Bayern Munich), Luis Alberto (loan, Malaga), Divock Origi (loan, Lille), Iago Aspas (loan, Sevilla), Andre Wisdom (loan, West Bromwich Albion), Brad Smith (loan, Swindon Town), Conor Coady (Huddlesfield Town)

Strengths: Creative attackers, quality defenders brought in, chemistry among attack and midfield, in-form striker in Daniel Sturridge, competition for midfield places

Weaknesses: Fresh defenders could need time to gel together, lack of sufficient backup or partners for Sturridge in attack, lack of clear-cut starter in defensive midfield

Final Position Prediction: 3rd

For more Reds coverage, visit the Liverpool team page.

It’s that time of the year when loan deals are fashionable in the Premier League, particularly after the way that Everton exploited the market last summer and turned it into a successful strategy.

While the transfer window isn’t over yet for a few more weeks, here’s the top 5 Premier League loan signings of 2014-15, so far:

1. Mauricio Isla – Juventus to Queens Park Rangers.

Isla, having failed to impress at Juventus since his move from Udinese, will be hopeful in reviving his career at recently promoted QPR. The club suffered an exodus of players after being relegated in 2013, but they’re back with a few of the players from their big spending summer in 2012 with the hope of doing much better this time around. Isla should slot in well at QPR, if for his versatility more than anything else. His preferred position is as a wing-back, but he seamlessly slots in nearly anywhere on the right flank. His experience with Juventus and at the World Cup with Chile should help stabilize QPR’s defensive qualities, along with veteran defender Rio Ferdinand and new arrival Steven Caulker.

2. Ryan Bertrand – Chelsea to Southampton.

Bertrand has had a tough go at his Chelsea career, having failed to impress Chelsea’s revolving door of managers. At 25 and fresh off his sixth loan deal, he was surely ready to move on this summer. Liverpool were linked to a permanent deal with Bertrand, but once that collapsed, he was sent on loan to the clearinghouse of Southampton. The Saints sold two of their best defenders this transfer window, and since that money has apparently not been used for much, their fans will hope that Bertrand is one of the saviors that they deserve.

3. Carl Jenkinson – Arsenal to West Ham United.

Jenkinson is another formerly promising defensive prospect that has not been able to make it into his first team. The 22-year-old has had his moments for Arsenal, but with the arrivals of Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers at the Emirates, the writing was on the wall for Jenkinson.

West Ham are a club that, as of late, always seems close to relegation. The Hammers will be hoping to build on last season’s 13th place finish and avoid even the possibility of relegation. Jenkinson might not be good enough for Arsenal’s first team right now, but he’ll be hoping that he gets a chance to prove himself at Upton Park this season.

4. Javier Manquillo – Atletico Madrid to Liverpool.

Signed on a rare two-year loan, Manquillo is one of possibly two fullback acquisitions for Liverpool this window. The youngster has yet to truly prove himself at the top level, which explains Brendan Rodgers’ preference of a loan move over a permanent deal. Rodgers and Liverpool will also hope that this loanee provides more than the last fullback brought in to Anfield–Aly Cissokho, who failed to impress last season. So while Manquillo is a relative unknown, he comes highly regarded by Spanish experts and obviously rated well by Rodgers.

Fullback has been a problem position at Anfield for longer than most can remember, and Manquillo’s preference for playing on the right surely means that either Glen Johnson or Martin Kelly are on their way out. Johnson’s form has declined in recent seasons, though he wasn’t exactly a world-beater at his best. Manquillo’s ability on the ball will suit Brendan Rodgers’ Spanish-infused brand of football, but the young fullback will need to improve on his passing if he is to secure a permanent deal at the Merseyside club.

5. Frank Lampard – New York City FC to Manchester City.

Not exactly a glamorous signing for a club with the spending habits of Manchester City, Lampard’s controversial six-month deal at the Etihad seems a bit peculiar at first glance. Chelsea fans are understandably unhappy, as they assumed Lampard’s move to MLS meant he was retiring from the Premier League as a Chelsea legend. But since his new club doesn’t actually start playing until the 2015 MLS season, Lampard needed a way to stay match fit.

But even though Lampard is in the twilight of his career, he has a few things to offer a club like Manchester City. The reigning Premier League champions wore a bit thin at times last season, and are a prime example of how the sheer number of matches a club plays can wear away at the roster. Lampard, while likely 3rd or 4th choice in central or defensive midfield, will surely see plenty of action in the domestic cups and early rounds of the Champions League. His experience and broken records for Chelsea and the Premier League will also grant him a number of substitute appearances in the League. Lampard’s presence will help keep City’s superstars healthy and able to mount a second consecutive title challenge.

Frank Lampard, the highly decorated and lauded former Chelsea and England midfielder, was recently announced as the second major signing for forthcoming MLS expansion club, New York City FC. The money was obviously an attractive offer, just as it was with NYCFC’s first signing, Spanish striker David Villa, but the trouble is that the club won’t officially be part of Major League Soccer until next season. But the owners of NYCFC also happen to conveniently own Manchester City–so naturally they’ve decided to loan him to the Premier League club until January 2015. While it’s difficult to speculate if this was City football group’s intention all along, it has raised suspicions from fans, pundits, and even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Wenger’s initial comments about Lampard’s loan move come on the tails of City’s UEFA-imposed sanctions over a breach of Financial Fair Play rules. The Frenchman appeared to only be speculating, but his comments (as usual) are much more calculated than he would have them appear. “They will register for the clubs where they will put them and they can go out on loan. Is it a way to get around the fair play? I don’t know.” In a possible attempt at unsettling Manchester City before the upcoming Community Shield match between the clubs, Wenger again took a calculated swipe at Lampard and City, suggesting that the distance between Chelsea and City was much shorter if you didn’t go to New York first. Again, it’s hard to speculate on City’s intentions in signing Lampard, and NYCFC officials have vehemently opposed the notion that they are simply a feeder club for Manchester City. It should also be noted that City’s FFP sanction includes a requirement of five homegrown players in its Champions League squad.

But does the Lampard situation actually violate the rules imposed by UEFA or the English FA? Manchester City and its parent group do not believe so. Wenger’s issue seems to be with the relatively new Financial Fair Play rule regarding a club’s wage increase per year. As of the upcoming season, Premier League clubs with wage budgets exceeding £56m for the season are only allowed to increase their wage budget by £8m. Wenger’s speculation seems to center on an assumption that Manchester City is allowing NYCFC to pay Lampard’s wages during his loan spell. Manchester City officials insist that the club is paying the player’s salary, and staying well within their allotted wage limit.

What this means is that Wenger’s suspicion is warranted, but ultimately false. Even though Manchester City and New York City FC are technically run independent of each other, the river of cash flowing into each has the same source. So yes, even if Manchester City does pay Lampard’s wages during his six-month loan, there are a number of loopholes that can be exploited without ever actually breaking any rules. So while Wenger is ultimately wrong in his accusations towards Manchester City, his comments succeeded in shifting attention away from the upcoming Community Shield match and provide a potential scapegoat should his side lose.

An attendance of 64,207. That’s the number of fans that attended a recent rivalry match between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers at Seattle’s behemoth CenturyLink Field, which it shares with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The Sounders have only been an official member of MLS since their inaugural season in 2009, but its soccer and the Sounders’ deep roots in Seattle fill the so-called “Clink” all season long.

If you were to present the facts as merely numbers and aphorisms, the stats and hype surrounding Seattle Sounders FC could easily be mistaken for an NFL team. Attendance is just a small part of what makes the Sounders matchday experience so unique and infectious. Fans appear in downtown Seattle hours before kickoff, and the March to the Match brings hundreds of fans bearing banners, noisemakers, and flares down the streets from Pioneer Square. The famous marching band, Sound Wave, leads the supporters in before performing on the steps to the stadium to get fans excited as they enter.

The Sounders, celebrating the club’s 40th Anniversary, pulled out all the stops for such an important match; USA World Cup stars Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin were set to make their first starts since returning from Brazil, and the Sounders had just wrapped up a tight win against the Timbers in the US Open Cup earlier in the week. The loud, bellicose Timbers Army were out for blood as much as their team — both groups were unafraid to show it. From the moment the Sounders’ celebrity co-owner Drew Carey read off the teamsheet to the packed stadium, the Timbers Army strained to try and overpower the noise of the home supporters. It must be said that this usually works —Timbers Army members travel all over the country for their team’s away matches, where they usually out-sing the typical MLS crowd. But not in Seattle. The little sliver of dark green and red had no chance at overpowering the sea of rave green that never stops singing.

When I looked around at the crowd in the CenturyLink during the match, I was struck with the diversity of the stadium. But this isn’t just the beauty of Sounders fans — it’s the beauty of Seattle itself. CenturyLink’s central location in the city and the relative affordability of tickets mean that the Sounders are open to almost anyone. The biggest boost comes from young people, especially those from the Northwest who have likely played recreational soccer their entire lives. This demographic has the most spending power, and many live close enough that they can get to the stadium without much trouble. But families are just as likely to come to games, especially those with kids playing in one of the hundreds of youth leagues in the area.

Soccer in Seattle has become what baseball used to be, and what football has always attempted to be — a melting pot. But it’s easy to see why so many people, often people who would never agree on anything or cooperate with each other in real life, get swept up in the moment of a Seattle Sounders match. The noise is absolutely incredible, from the national anthem led by the excellent Dr. Stephen Michael Newby, to the traditional slow-building clap preceding kickoff. The noise holds for the full 90 minutes, too. The fans were especially raucous as the opposing team was their biggest rival, but every match I’ve been to has stayed at a sustained fever pitch. When Clint Dempsey, star signing and American World Cup hero, scored upon his return, the noise exploded and poured out over the rim of CenturyLink stadium.

Dempsey, a player that many consider to be one of America’s best ever, cited the crowd and atmosphere as big factors in his decision to come to Seattle over other MLS teams when the league was working on his purchase. The team’s owners made very intentional decisions when bringing the Sounders back to the top of American soccer; things like playing in CenturyLink Field, which is right on the edge of downtown Seattle, are very important to setting the right atmosphere from the get-go. Immediately providing incentives to players is so crucial, and the quality of incoming players like Dempsey to Seattle in recent years shows how much those things mean to professional athletes.

So it’s a cycle, only sometimes vicious, that having the best fans and atmosphere brings in the best players, and having the best players and team bring in even more fans. This season especially, which sees Seattle at a runaway pace for the MLS Supporters’ Shield, has been five years in the making. The healthy rivalry with Portland has roots that run deep, and having both teams at the top makes matches like this that much more entertaining. You can see the passion on supporters all over the stadium — from the club’s most vociferous supporters’ groups, to the grade school kids waving mini-scarves over their heads and singing Clint Dempsey’s name as a ritualistic chant, contributing to the waves of sound that pulse through the monstrous stadium.

The crowd ebbed and flowed with the team, producing sighs like an expelled air balloon when Marco Pappa shot over the bar, and boos as fervid as if they were condemning gladiators to death in the arena when yet another Timbers player fouled one of their beloved Sounders.

To those that say people in America don’t care about soccer, that we should stop supporting our teams in the European manner, I say come to Seattle. Step into the stadium just before kickoff and let the noise wash over you. Let the chants and songs rattle your skull, and fall in love when that ball hits the back of the net and you join in the Emerald City soccer bacchanalia.

US striker Aron Johannsson may play a part in USA’s game against Belgium on Tuesday afternoon, whether it’s from the bench or as a surprise starter. But how did the blonde-hair Icelandic striker find his way into this US World Cup side? Let’s review.

At the exact minute that Jozy Altidore pulled his hamstring against Ghana, the ever-growing support of the United States Men’s National Team held its collective breath. When it was clear that the 24-year-old striker, who has carried the hopes of a nation since his 2007 debut, was unable to continue, fans and pundits alike looked to the available replacements. Landon Donovan’s controversial exclusion mean there was no natural substitute for a player of Altidore’s experience and talent, so the gaze was immediately set on the only two natural forwards left on the roster — San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski, an MLS veteran at 31 with little international experience, and AZ Alkmaar’s Aron Johannsson.

Johannsson’s name has been a part of the USMNT conversation ever since it was clear that he might choose the United States, the nation of his birth, over his home since age three, Iceland. But even now, as many are wondering whether Altidore will get playing time against Belgium, USMNT fans don’t truly appreciate the talent that they have with Johannsson. But Iceland and its fans surely realize it, and abhor him for his decision. At just 22 years old, Aron Johannsson was treated as a traitor to the country of his upbringing when he decided to ply his trade for the country of his birth, the country most likely to bring him the glory he so passionately wants. But many on both sides don’t truly know Aron Johannsson’s story.

Aron Johannsson was born in what seems the most unlikely of places for a future European soccer star — Mobile, Alabama. His parents were attending graduate school there until Aron was three, when they moved the family back to their home of Iceland. Aron’s life was pretty normal from that point on, until a trip back to the USA to visit an aunt in Atlanta led to a visit with an elite sports academy in Florida called IMG. He immediately stood out to the soccer coaches at IMG, and even though he enjoyed his time there, he chose to return to Iceland to finish grade school. Crucial to Aron’s American experience, though, was his return to IMG a couple years later. Since he was high school age at the time, Aron attended an American high school and went through the typical track of a college-bound student athlete. IMG helped develop him as a player, and he prepared to enter the American college system (he was recruited by a number of top Division I soccer schools) after some time at IMG. But various factors in Iceland led to Aron’s return to the country he considered his home, and he continued his development at the semi-professional Reykjavik club Fjolnir.

After a couple years at Fjolnir, Aron followed his father and half-sister to Denmark, where he tried out for and subsequently joined AGF Aarhus. His time in Denmark didn’t get off to a flying start, but by the time his tenure there was finished, he had scored 23 goals in 65 appearances for the club. He even broke the record for fastest hat trick in the Danish Superliga’s history: three minutes and fifty seconds. But it was his next, and current, club that Aron Johannsson’s name truly started to be uttered in the same sentences as the US national team and the 2014 World Cup. He joined AZ Alkmaar in 2013, incidentally the same club that Jozy Altidore ran riot for in the Eredevisie from 2011-2013.

Johannsson scored 20 goals in 39 appearances for the Dutch club, a scoring rate that isn’t to be sniffed at, even in the Eredivisie. It’s no coincidence that Johannsson announced his decision to play for the USMNT in July 2013, as his few months at AZ had already been wildly successful. It’s easy to compare Johannsson with Altidore, and it may even ease some fans’ minds to consider that the two strikers were successful with the same club. But the players’ styles couldn’t be more different; while Altidore has always been known for his physical and traditional no. 9 way of playing, Johannsson has a much more European edge to his game that focuses on technique, control, and finesse.

Fans of the United States national team love their heroes, and Jozy Altidore has popped up in so many crucial moments that it’s hard to remember that he is still quite young. But there’s no reason to be bummed about the inevitable inclusion of Aron Johannsson into Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad. He might not have the international experience or brute strength of a player like Altidore, but Klinsmann’s no fool. He picked Johannsson for a reason. We have a real European-bred talent on our hands, and at some point, that talent is going to come good in a big way.

There will be a time when, at the exact same time, we will be thanking the same soccer gods that Icelanders have been cursing since 2013.

It’s pretty much become a cultural joke that soccer is the unofficial sport for American hipsters. The New York Times ran a semi-snarky piece on the sport’s popularity in Brooklyn, America’s hipster headquarters, attributing soccer’s success amongst the “creative class” to “the game’s aesthetics, Europhilic allure and fashionable otherness.” There’s a sense that the author of this piece suspects what I do: many people fake their way into the conversation about soccer without truly being a fan. But there are plenty of genuine soccer fans here in America, and yes, often in the young and creative set. This surge has led to an increased output of highbrow soccer works, from film to fiction to magazines. Howler, edited and founded by George Quraishi and Mark Kirby, is one such magazine that shows just what a force soccer fans in American can be.

It’s always nice to hear about success stories in independent publishing. With so many publications going online-only or shutting down altogether, it’s a tough time to be a print lover in an increasingly digital world. But those with command of a niche that has passion and purchasing power can manage victory if the seas are navigated properly. Howler Magazine is one such success story: in June 2012, George Quraishi and Mark Kirby finished the Howler Kickstarter campaign with $69,000–almost $20,000 over their goal. Two years later, they’ve just released their 2014 World Cup issue, which can be bought online or in stores all over the world.

So what makes Howler such a success story? From the beginning, the editors had high hopes for the quality of their product, from the writing to the design of the magazine itself. They wanted it to be an oversized, glossy periodical that is more symbolic of European fashion magazines than anything sports-related. They also wanted established, high-quality authors that shared their passion for the game and would transmit that through their writing. Contributors have included: Franklin Foer (writer and editor of The New Republic), novelist Aleksandar Hemon, ESPN writer David Hirshey, and Jonathan Wilson (writer of many football books, including “Inverting the Pyramid.”). The magazine also has some astounding artwork and design, from the extremely unique and hilariously grotesque cover of Issue 1 to the brilliant “San Zusi” illustration from Issue 4.

Pointing out all of the brilliant pieces from the magazine so far would take up way too much time, so let’s just look at the consistent structure of the magazine and the great writing that’s come out of that, as well as some other standouts. Every issue has a big “timeline feature,” beginning with Manchester United in Issue 1. These pieces are a great introduction to the club (or event, as with the World Cup in Issue 5) featured, providing historical highlights and anecdotes. Big, in-depth profiles are another highlight found in every issue, from Michael Bradley (“Il Giacatore,” issue 3, also featured at Deadspin) to Ray Hudson (“The Romantic,” issue 4). These profiles are phenomenally researched and written, and are often one of the highlights of each issue. As is the trend lately, infographics and illustrated charts are littered throughout each issue of the magazine, often accompanied by photos or relevant text. These are usually good, but occasionally they get too convoluted and hard to decipher. Issue 4’s “Qualified Success” piece is one such infographic that was a little confusing and frankly, a bit pointless. The second half of the two-page spread was better than the first, which attempted to use the famous Soccernomics formula (which posits that population, wealth, and international soccer experience can predict the future powerhouses of the sport) to rank the 2014 World Cup contenders. This, however, was just a little blip in between hordes of amazing articles and illustrations. The “Gramophone” piece in that same issue was nearly as useless but much, much funnier–it attempted to rank various footballers’ interests based on the content of their Instagram photos. For me, it’s this mix of serious journalism and funny, tongue-in-cheek pieces that make Howler such a great magazine.

Howler has managed to do quite a bit in the two years since their inception, and their active web presence has been a big part of that as well. From participating in various soccer-related memes (Full Kit Wanker, a perennial classic) to soliciting photos and feedback from readers and fans all over the world, Howler’s team has done a killer job at building their brand on a limited budget. I do wish that they had a digital option, or at least a mini-version of each issue for tablets, but I appreciate their dedication to print and will happily continue to purchase every issue.

From the Letter to the Editors in issue 1: “We’re big believers that following both the strongest teams in the world as well as your local club is the richest way to experience the sport, so we’ll be covering a lot of global soccer as well. Basically, if there’s a good story in world soccer, we’ll want it in our pages.” I couldn’t ask for anything more from a soccer magazine, really. As an American who loves the sport and loves good writing, Howler is the perfect blend of the two, and it gives a great boost to the image of the sport in America both inside and out. Americans are producing and providing some of the best soccer journalism in the world, surely that’s a good sign about things to come.

More information about Howler Magazine can be found online via its website.

There’s no question that emotion can play a big part in being a sports fan–it’s why we support teams through thick and thin. Some fans happily support teams their entire lives without ever seeing an ounce of success, while others angrily curse their team for not repeating their glory days.

The hero aspect of sports can play on a fans’ emotions very strongly–from superstars to cult icons. At Liverpool we love Steven Gerrard as much as we love Jamie Carragher, as they have both served the club well for their entire careers. And more than likely, we will love them for the rest of our lives because of said loyalty. It’s what can take a player into a club’s pantheon, while just as easily condemning him into the tar pits reserved for the El Hadji Dioufs of the world.

Liverpool fans will likely bring up other names immediately–Michael Owen, for instance. The Boy Wonder’s descent wasn’t exactly rapid– I think many Liverpool fans can understand the allure of Real Madrid, the club that Michael Owen immediately departed to. So Owen went to a sort of purgatory of former players, not hated but merely forgotten. But due to his failure to shine in La Liga, Owen was forced back into the Premier League, where he would have been welcomed back to Liverpool with open arms. But Owen instead chose money and glory at Newcastle (don’t believe the story that Liverpool wouldn’t pony up the money) further dropping Owen in the eyes of Liverpool fans. He had moderate success with  the club, but when they were eventually relegated to the Championship, Owen had yet another choice to make. He joined Manchester United, the club that all Liverpool fan’s unequivocally despise. It was a pay-to-play deal, understandable due to Owen’s injury record, and most of the football world just laughed at Alex Ferguson’s choice. But what truly blackened Owen’s record in the minds of Liverpool fans was his attitude towards Liverpool and its fans. Never will Liverpool fans stand up and defend Owen, never will they include him in the lists of favorite players, never will they buy a new jersey with his name on it.

Enter Fernando Torres, star striker with the pedigree to show for it, from Atletico Madrid in 2007. Torres got off the mark quickly, and won the hearts of the Kop instantly; his first goal came in his Anfield debut against recent rivals Chelsea. Torres continued to break Liverpool records and form a fantastic partnership with captain Steven Gerrard. He was constantly raving about the city of Liverpool, brilliantly exemplified in Adidas’ commercial showing the “Spainification” of the city. But in 2010, big changes were happening at Liverpool; the manager that had brought Torres to Liverpool and aided in his development, Rafa Benitez, was sent packing by the highly destructive owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette. Roy Hodgson was brought in to manage the club, and Torres was in a bit of a slump; everything from the tactics to the mentality at Liverpool seemed to go against everything Torres was used to at the club. Rumors had often surfaced about Torres leaving the club, but in early 2011 right at the end of the transfer window, Chelsea put in an astonishingly high bid for the Spaniard. The club promptly rejected the bid, causing Torres to hand in a transfer request. It was right at this moment that the lines were drawn–Torres wanted to leave, there was no doubting the facts. And for one of Liverpool’s biggest and most powerful rivals? Heresy of the highest order.

And so despite Torres’ torrid scoring record at Chelsea (two goals in 19 appearances so far) and the immediate hero status of new Liverpool boy Luis Suarez, many fans are asking themselves and each other whether or not they would like to have Torres back in the January transfer window, as his lack of scoring is likely to put him on the margins at Chelsea.

Cue the emotional ties for me personally. I have only been a big footy (and LFC) fan since around 2008. I had started looking at clubs around the time of the European Championships that summer, and because of my love for the Beatles, I was immediately drawn to Liverpool. And so on a parallel road with Spain’s glorious Euro run, I was falling in love with Liverpool Football Club. When the final of the tournament came around, I was cheering for Germany because all of my friends were and I was still a neophyte in my football opinions. But during that final I was astonished at Torres, a player I had only recently been introduced to. He seemed to glide along the pitch, wreaking havoc on the German defenders with ease. And when he scored the lone goal of the final and all of those around me had their head in their hands, I secretly cheered for my first football hero.

From there my love for the club, and of Torres, increased exponentially: the dedication to watching matches early in the morning on the weekends after about 3 hours of sleep, the purchasing of jerseys from thousands of miles away, the arguments with the few other fans I knew, the deep happiness I felt when Torres put the ball in the back of the net for the Reds. What will make him unforgettable to me is what happened when I spent a month abroad in Greece in the summer of 2010. I had been adamant to get a layover in London on my way to Athens so that I could at least taste English air for a short time, and while loafing about Heathrow, I picked up “Torres: My Story” at one of the airport bookshops. It’s not the best football autobiography, a little amateur based on Torres’ intermediate English-speaking level. But for the five days I spent in a hotel in the worst neighborhood of Athens, and the three weeks I spent on Anaphe (one of the most remote islands in the Aegean), the book became everything to me. I must have read the book four or five times during that month. Every night I would read a few pages, the words pillowing me in a comfort that I was starving for. I could tell you Torres’ entire life story after that month, his god-like status permanently etched into my mind. My naive mind would have never conceived that Torres would leave Liverpool; it just wasn’t possible. I was Liverpool-until-I-die and I just assumed that my hero was too.

Then it all changed. As childish, amateur, and (quite frankly) strange as it sounds, Fernando Torres broke my heart. As soon as I was back into my college apartment, I took a permanent marker to the Torres poster hanging on my wall and funneled my rage into inflicting as much damage as possible onto the poster. One might assume that this would change once the great Kenny Dalglish took the money from Torres’ sale and bought two world-class strikers, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. This helped, of course, but it wasn’t about the football anymore for me, it was about the intangible status that I had given Fernando Torres while at Liverpool. I am a huge fan of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, two players that may well help bring glory back to Liverpool, but they will never be held in as high of a regard as Torres was.

So all things considered, do I want Fernando Torres back at Liverpool? The rational side of me says absolutely not–his disloyalty can never be forgiven, and his lack of form in over half of a season shows no signs of letting up. Even at a reduced price, his attitude toward his transfer will never be forgotten by those of us that experienced it firsthand. But my emotional side will never see things in a logical manner. I’ll admit that the first time I saw a rumor about Torres coming back, my heart leapt a little from the place it is every time I see him wearing Chelsea blue. So despite the terrible business involved and the lack of necessity of another (out of form) striker, I would welcome Fernando Torres back to Liverpool with open arms and tears in my eyes.

Photo by marc.bogman

It’s the start of a new season, and for a soccer fan in America, it means setting the alarm extra early (or waking up on your own two hours early, shaking with excitement), putting on a pot of coffee, playing the appropriate tunes, and participating in rabid Twitter discussions on the coming match. The first one of the season is always special, as it seems to se the tone for at least the first half of the season.

And as a Liverpool supporter, that’s how my morning went. Shaking with excitement (and caffeine), playing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and arguing about Kenny’s team selection. I had high expectations for this match, especially since Luis Suarez and most of our new boys were not only in the squad but on the pitch.

The first half started magnificently, the squad showing that pass-and-move is still the Liverpool Way. Fluid, attacking movement throughout the pitch ended up with a penalty (and nearly red card) when Luis Suarez was brought down in the box. Despite my yelling and whooping in the darkness of my living room, Luis ballooned his penalty over the bar. He did, however, make up for it by putting the most subtle of touches on a wonderful Charlie Adam free kick a few minutes later. Attack after attack was then quenched by Sunderland, giving Liverpool a slim 1-0 lead at half-time.

No changes were made into the second half, where Liverpool looked decidedly impotent as an unmarked Sebastian Larsson hooked in a wonderful side volley into the net. Young John Flanagan was yards away from his marker, which showed the lad’s inexperience. On that note, Flanno did look wonderful attacking down the right, but his defending overshadowed all of the good he did. For example, losing the ball on a couple of occasions and caught ball watching for Larsson’s goal.

The rest of the second half went pretty similarly—fouls galore by both sides (Phil Dowd enjoying the sound of his whistle, it seemed) and the Liverpool third getting attacked over and over. Liverpool had a few strong attacks but they were either quenched early or sent over the bar by Carroll’s head. A very disjointed and lazy second half by Liverpool especially, and fans have plenty to complain about from Kenny Dalglish’s squad.

Player Ratings: Liverpool

• Pepe Reina: 9 – Looked good overall, couldn’t do much for Larsson’s goal. Too many punts to Carroll near the end, as he was desperate to get goals.
• John Flanagan: 6 – Good on the attack, contributed well to pass and move, but was taken too easily on the defense.
• Jose Enrique: 7 – A very bright start both defending and attacking, well worth the money. Still needs time to gel with the rest of the squad.
• Jamie Carragher: 8 – Still without a bit of pace, but did very well to lead his troops.
• Daniel Agger: 9 – Will likely be Liverpool’s best defender this season, his pace and ball playing helps start attacks constantly rather than punt it forward.
• Lucas Leiva: 8 – Liverpool’s player of the season last year wasn’t entirely visible all game, but that’s how he plays. Did well to break up attacks down the middle without resorting to throwaway tackles.
• Charlie Adam: 9 – Lived up to his hype of passing well and being brilliant on the free kick. Should have taken the penalty but nobody predicted that Luis would miss. Really needs to stop putting his entire body into a tackle, predict he’ll be sent off at least once this season.
• Stewart Downing: 9 – Worth every penny: Creativity, skill, excellent crossing. Definitely the best player on the pitch for both sides.
• Jordan Henderson: 7 – Showed flashes of his potential brilliance, but seemed a little too nervous in such a big game against his hometown team. Will develop into a proper player by the end of the season, just watch.
• Luis Suarez: 8 – Was quite brilliant, but his nerves and lack of full fitness showed when he missed the penalty and was taken off early. Could have made the difference near the end but he couldn’t help that he was so tired.
• Andy Carroll: 7 – Connected to many headers, but most were right at the goalkeeper or over the bar. Needs to develop much, much more.
• Dirk Kuyt (sub): 8 – Always hungry, always tireless, but lacks the overall skill to make a difference off the bench.
• Raul Meireles (sub): 6 – Made me sad that his impact had no teeth whatsoever, was really hoping to see him back into last season’s form. Maxi Rodriguez might have been a better   selection.

I’m not going to comment much on Sunderland’s players, but Seb Larsson and Sessegnon looked good on the attack and their defense showed solid resolve to keep Liverpool out of it late on. Cattermole and Bardsley will need to calm down if they want to stay on the pitch in the coming matches.

Overall thoughts: If Liverpool play all season like they did the first half, a top 4 if not 2 or 3 position is not out of the question. The squad will need to gel and learn each other’s strength, especially Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique, who will provide the lion’s share of assists this season. If Sunderland keep it up and keep their best players fit, they could challenge for Europa places, not kidding. Steve Bruce (despite my feelings toward him) is a bit of a wheeler dealer and has picked up some shrewd signings in the offseason. Discipline and shape are heavily needed, as many of their players fit a specific role and will need to stick to that.

What are your thoughts? Give me your Sunderland ratings as well.

Editor’s note: EPL Talk does its best not to print spoilers of games for fans who watch matches on delay. We have a special Twitter account set up at @No_EPL_Spoilers so you can still get all of our news throughout the day — except for spoiler alerts.

In part one of this series, we saw an overview of Bob Bradley’s career, focusing on his time as the United States national team manager. Bob saw some pretty amazing heights, from the ethereal Gold Cup 2007 campaign to the extraordinary Confederations Cup in 2009 that saw his USA squad beating European and soon-to-be world champions Spain. But not all of Bob’s time with US Soccer was pleasant, and by the time he was deposed, most people could only talk about what he did wrong. So first, let’s look at a few highs from Bob’s time at the helm of the US Men’s National Team.

Gold Cup 2007: Running Riot in His First Major Tournament

It’s not easy to jump right into a new position and be successful, but against all odds, Bob Bradley took his new USA squad straight through to the final of the 2007 Gold Cup—and won it. Bob was quite known for his trial-and-error method of team selection, and in this tournament it worked wonders for him. He discovered multiple effective partnerships and tactics, but he was able to identify just the right players for each match—something he did not always manage with his USA squad.

The group stages saw the USA cruise through without a scratch—3 wins out of 3 matches. The first match against Guatemala saw Clint Dempsey pick up his 3rd career Gold Cup goal. The defense was resilient and Bob’s substitutions were very tactically intelligent: bringing Jay Demerit on after Onyewu’s ejection was a defense-minded move that proved effective in keeping the clean sheet and securing the win. Bradley changed the players for game two but kept a similar tactic, playing Jay Demerit and Michael Parkhurst (in his first competitive match for the USA) in a fledgling (yet effective) central defensive partnership. The striking partnership of Eddie Johnson and Brian Ching proved equally effective, with both players getting on the scoresheet in the 2-0 win. Ching’s goal, assisted by Mapp, proved very similar to Clint Dempsey and Taylor Twellman’s combination from the first game—showing Bradley’s competence in combining the right players for the job. Bradley later took the calculated risk of an early substitute, bringing Landon Donovan on for the ineffective Benny Feilhaber. Donovan immediately had an impact, claiming the assist on Brian Ching’s goal barely 10 minutes into his time on the field. Again in the 3rd group match against El Salvador, the most effective attacking came from Landon Donovan down the flank and Clint Dempsey and Brian Ching’s strike partnership (once Ching had been substituted in) up front.

The quarterfinals saw Bradley bring back one of his tried-and-true partnerships of Taylor Twellman and Clint Dempsey, the latter providing the pass that led to Landon Donovan being fouled in the box and scoring the subsequent penalty. One interesting part about this Gold Cup campaign is how many minutes Michael Bradley—he often played only a half to two-thirds of a game, either being substituted in or out sometime during the second half. What Bob was hoping to do with this was up for debate: was it nepotism? Or did he see Michael’s potential and attempt to give him valuable match experience alongside veterans like Pablo Mastroeni?

The semifinal match brought out what was probably THE most effective squad Bradley could put on the pitch, even though most of what he tried out in the group stages worked delightfully. The central defensive partnership of Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra was resilient; both players had the experience and skill to hold off an unexpectedly powerful Canada team. One of the unsung heroes of this tournament for the USA was without a doubt DaMarcus Beasley—he held his place throughout the tournament and worked very well with strikers and midfielders alike. He earned the penalty that won the match after having his legs clipped by a Canadian defender after an excellent ball in by Clint Dempsey. Picking the right players for the right position was one of Bradley’s greatest skills, even if things like Michael Bradley’s ejection clouded the public’s view of his team selection.

That said, Michael Bradley’s red card meant he would miss the dramatic final against the old enemy Mexico—replaced in the starting lineup by the (usual) supersub Benny Feilhaber. It was Feilhaber’s stunning volley that won the match and broke Mexico’s heart to clinch a perfect run through the 2007 Gold Cup. Besides Feilhaber’s inclusion, Bradley replaced Eddie Johnson in the starting lineup with Brian Ching, who earned the penalty that Landon Donovan scored in the second half. Much of the team stayed the same, especially defensively, which proved that Bob Bradley did have tactical nous—even more so considering that he had only been on the job for a few months. A few minor hiccups aside, Bob proved brilliant in his first major international tournament, and more than a few heads turned when the US stormed onto the stage with such a dramatic win.

The Confederations Cup: What Dreams Are Made Of

Being a Liverpool fan, the feelings I associate with this tournament are akin to those I feel when I see the famous Liverpool banner from the 2005 Champions League campaign that read: “Make Us Dream.” That’s what all USA fans (and for a brief moment, the entire country) were feeling when, despite two destructive losses in the first two matches, the United States managed to progress all the way to the final.

In the very first match, a 3-1 loss to Italy, Bob played with one striker, Jozy Altidore, and two defensive midfielders–Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark. This was about the time when fans and pundits really supported Michael as a player, instead of attributing his inclusion to nepotism. His shaky performances were never really forgiven until he proved himself to be a world class midfielder in this tournament. Ricardo Clark, on the other hand, showed his true colors in this match by getting himself sent off early in the match. One of Bob Bradley’s underlying weaknesses has always been his lack of opponent awareness—he occasionally completely misjudged the tactics and mindset of the other teams, and the defense-heavy way he set his team up against Italy, practically the inventors of defensive football tactics, showed his lack of preparation that caused his downfall.

The game against Brazil seemed to go quite similarly–a single striker formation that culminated in Jozy Altidore being substituted early in the second half. It was unwise to put such pressure on an inexperienced young man, and Jozy’s early substitution was more of a mistake on Bradley’s part than the young striker’s. Bob was also so attached to using two defensive midfielders that he replaced the suspended Ricardo Clark with DaMarcus Beasely, a player more suited to the wing. The central midfielder role went from Feilhaber to Sacha Kljestan, who got himself sent off in the second half. Once again, the team was in disarray and Bob’s meager substitutions were no match for a clinical Brazil squad that put up three on the Americans. So what did Bob learn from his first match? Seems to be nothing: the same tactics were ineffective and the team was once again left on the back foot against a very skillful, quick team.

So, strike one and strike two. The Egypt match rolls around, and Bob knows the stakes–they must win by at least three goals. For once, Bob analyzed his opponents properly—Egypt were no Italy or Brazil, and he finally put out an attacking team to exploit Egypt’s weaknesses. He played something much closer to a 4-4-2 formation, though Bradley Jr. and Clark were played a bit deeper. Clark, for some reason, was decided to be worthy of this match despite the red card in his previous outing. This selection proved to be one of Bob’s biggest negatives during his time with the USA. But the biggest difference with this formation was the use of two strikers, Charlie Davies in addition to Jozy Altidore. This proved to make a huge difference, with Davies scoring within the first 21 minutes. Having a more technically gifted player like Charlie Davies to play off of Altidore, the more traditional number 9, proved to link the play brilliantly and build a more fluid, attacking team.

So the USA makes it to the semi-finals of a fairly big international tournament—some may refer to it as meaningless, but as stated before, the big teams brought all of their major players to compete. In this semi-final match, the Spain squad that played against the US was the same as the one that beat Holland in the 2010 World Cup final, bar two changes of players of similar skill (likely due to current form), Albert Riera and Cesc Fabregas in 2009 for Sergio Busquets and Pedro. But what is especially interesting about this semi-final, concerning the United States, is that Bob Bradley based his tactics and selection off of the win that preceded this match. After playing extremely defensively against two top teams, he realized that his team played best while in an attacking mindset—even against the best team in the world. He brought back the Jozy-Charlie strike partnership and went with the same central midfielders—Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark. The silliness of his obstinate need to play Ricardo Clark aside, this formation provided a similar fluid, attacking play that Spain never saw coming.  Spain had some of the greatest midfielders in the world playing through the middle—but miraculously, Clark and Bradley were able to neutralize them. And the two superstars of the US squad, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, were able to do what they do best and attack the flanks where Spain had only the fullbacks to counter. This attacking instinct by Dempsey and Donovan was able to neutralize the attacking tendencies of Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila, seriously hindering Spain’s ability to cross in from the flanks. This also meant that the fullbacks were easily pinned down by the US’ width, and the first goal came from excellent play between Clint Dempsey and Charlie Davies on the left side, where Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso were drawn towards Dempsey and Carles Puyol moved outside to cover Charlie Davies. This freed Jozy Altidore down the middle to shield the ball from Capdevila, turn and shoot. The ultimate team goal, as Charlie Davies played an important part in drawing a center back out of position after one of the fullbacks had let himself be caught too far forward as well. The second goal demonstrated this principle again: after a tackle in the middle of the pitch, Benny Feilhaber demonstrated his tremendous potential by dribbling towards the penalty spot and then shifting sideways, drawing Capdevila and Puyol towards the center, allowing Donovan to move outside and collect the pass that he crossed towards Clint Dempsey, who also found space as a result of Feilhaber’s trickery. Dempsey, just as with Altidore, found a bit of luck to beat Sergio Ramos, but nevertheless was able to score USA’s second historic goal that day. The momentum was with the USA squad because Bob Bradley learned from his previous games and set up the team in such a way that gave them the tools to defeat Spain.

The final in this tournament, however, went less than spectacularly despite a brilliant start. Goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan proved that the US’ win over Spain was no fluke, that they were the real deal. Sadly, the United States’ most glaring weakness—defense—proved to be the team’s real downfall. Michael Bradley, who as mentioned above blossomed into a true defensive midfielder, was suspended and replaced by Benny Feilhaber. So when the US came out with guns firing to score two first half goals, it was obvious that when they were in free-flowing attack mode, it was hard to stop them. But as the game progressed and Brazil clawed their way back in the second half, Bradley put his team on the back foot, where Brazil were allowed to run amok with barely any defensive trouble. Were it not for Tim Howard, the score would have been much higher. Defensive substitutions after Brazil’s second goal only proved Bradley’s narrow-mindedness; had he tried to gain the momentum back instead of trying to entrench, the US might have scored the winner, or at least held off Brazil to get to extra time. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. On their coach’s orders, the US kept backing up and backing up until eventually they fell flat on their backs and let Brazil dance around them.

World Cup 2010 Qualifying Campaign

The United States men’s national team does not have the best reputation, even within CONCACAF; qualification and subsequent success in international tournaments is never guaranteed. So even when Bob Bradley started the USA’s campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, expectations weren’t particularly high. But Bradley knew that if he wanted to keep his job, he would have to qualify without any major hiccups.

The second round of qualifying, where the United States entered the competition, started off with a bang—a first leg 8-0 win over Barbados followed by a 1-0 win on the return leg (albeit with a weakened team) kept American spirits high. Considering the opponent, the US was expected to win comfortably—though probably not this comfortably! Bob fielded an attacking squad in the first leg that saw braces by Clint Dempsey and Brian Ching with three other players getting on the scoresheet.

The group stage started off very well, with 1-0 wins over Guatemala and Cuba, followed by a 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago. A 6-1 win over Cuba came next, though it unfortunately preceded an unexpected 2-1 loss to Trinidad & Tobago. A simple 2-0 win with a squad of reserves over Guatemala finished off the third round.  It was around then that Bob Bradley started to look at new players, players that he would need for the future; even though it was serious competition during World Cup qualifying, teams like Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago offered chances for up-and-coming players like Maurice Edu, Charlie Davies, and Jozy Altidore to prove why they deserve a chance. This helped shape the future of US Soccer, and is likely to be one of Bradley’s greatest achievements as US manager.

The fourth and final round of qualifying that resulted in who made it to the World Cup and where each country was seeded turned out quite well for the United States—definitely one of the peaks of Bradley’s tenure. The youth players that Bob had invested in during the previous rounds began to reward him for giving them a chance: his own son Michael scored a brace in the very first match, proving all the doubters wrong and making Michael a national soccer hero. Of course it didn’t hurt that the opponent was the old enemy Mexico. A 2-2 draw against El Salvador came next, but what followed this has gone down in United States soccer history—Jozy Altidore scored a sensational hat trick against Trinidad & Tobago, again proving that Bob Bradley had invested wisely in the young striker. The rest of the campaign was far from easy; losses to Costa Rica and Mexico threatened the United States’ position in the standings, but slim 2-1 wins against El Salvador and Honduras eased the pressure on Bradley’s men. More young prospects were given a chance during the early and middle stages of this round, but at such a crucial stage in the qualifying, Bradley was forced to stick with players he knew he could count on to do the job. Even older players like Conor Casey were called upon, and it was his brace in a 3-2 win over Honduras that secured the US a place in the 2010 World Cup. The qualifying was capped by a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica that gave the USA the top spot, barely edging out Mexico, much to the fans’ elation.

Bob Bradley might not have always made the best decisions, but in the course of these three events he showed that he was more than a competent coach, and if it weren’t for his stubbornness, he might still be in the job. Many of the players that he offered a chance to early in their careers turned out to be excellent choices, and often he found just the right player to put in a certain position. Luckily for Bob, he will definitely be remembered for many of these moments, where he assisted in building the foundations to put US Soccer back on the international map. All US fans are indebted to his service to the sport in America, even if his many weaknesses stood out enough to lose him the job permanently.

Five years is a pretty long time for a manager these days. In 2010-2011 the English Premier League saw 50% of its teams fire a manager before, during, or after the regular season. Talk about job security. International football is nearly as bad –14 of the 32 managers in the 2010 World Cup were either fired or resigned immediately after their team was eliminated from the tournament. Seems a little ridiculous, seeing as there can only be one winner. But nevertheless, for a manager like Bob Bradley, five years is nearly an eternity.

So what is it that kept him in the job for so long? And what was the final straw for the manager of a national team that nobody expected to get as far as they did under his guidance? Is a 43-25-12 record really that bad for a United States manager?

Something of a management ‘prodigy’, Bob Bradley began managing at the college level in the USA at age 22. While working towards a degree in sports management at Ohio University, he was hired to manage the university’s Division 1 NCAA team. Not long after he got the job, Bradley was hired by the University of Virginia where he had his first experience working under Bruce Arena. After only a year at this position, Bradley was lured back to his alma mater, Princeton University, as head coach of the men’s team. Bradley had a long tenure at this position, the highlights being two Ivy League titles and one NCAA Final Four showing in 1993. With the advent of Major League Soccer following the 1994 World Cup, Bradley reunited with Bruce Arena at DC United as his assistant for two years until 1998, when he became the manager of newly formed MLS team, Chicago Fire. It is here where Bob Bradley first started to turn heads.

As manager of a brand new MLS team, Bradley won the MLS Cup and US Open Cup “double”, making the Chicago Fire the first team to break DC United’s (and Bruce Arena’s) stranglehold on the league since its inception. He stayed there until 2003, where he joined the club of his home state, the MetroStars. Under Bradley’s guidance, the team made it to its first US Open Cup final in the club’s history, though they were defeated by none other than the Chicago Fire. But Bradley’s tenure at MetroStars was largely unsuccessful, and he was fired near the end of the 2005 season after the team had suffered a series of consecutive losses in the league.

After being let go by the MetroStars, Bradley was hired for the 2006 season by Chivas USA, where he led the underachieving team to a third place finish in the Western Conference, followed by a playoff defeat to Houston Dynamo. But 2006 would become a key year in Bradley’s life for another reason–he was hired as interim manager of the United States national team after a poor showing by Bruce Arena’s team in the 2006 World Cup.

Some saw Jurgen Klinsmann as the obvious candidate for the vacant manager’s role, especially because Bradley had been working as Arena’s assistant, but for various reasons a contract was never negotiated between the German and the US Soccer Federation. As interim manager, Bradley understand that his job was anything but permanent, and diligently set out to build a strong foundation for his US squad.

A string of solid friendly results put Bradley in the spotlight, especially a memorable 2-0 win over Mexico. Further endearing himself to the fans and players, Bradley’s USA cruised through the 2007 Gold Cup, once again beating Mexico, this time 2-1 in the Final. In the same year (not long after the Gold Cup), CONMEBOL invited the USA (and Mexico) to participate in the Copa America. Due to the proximity of the two tournaments, Bradley fielded a second-string squad and subsequently lost all three group matches–including a 4-1 demolition by Argentina. Despite the circumstances, fans and pundits criticized Bradley for putting out a team that had no chance of winning–especially because the USA were under no real obligation to compete in the tournament.

2008 started fairly quietly; Bradley’s US team went 2-2-2 in international friendlies, including a 2-2 draw with Mexico. Luckily for Bradley, the second round of World Cup qualifying served as an intense morale booster; his team won 8-0 in the first leg against Barbados, and 1-0 in the return leg. The group stages of World Cup qualifying turned out quite well for the USA: five wins and one loss helped them to win the group by four points.

It could legitimately be said that 2008-2009 was when Bob Bradley’s tenure at the helm of the USA peaked, where a few surprising upsets gave US fans reason to believe in their national team. The fourth round of World Cup qualifying went quite well, with the USA leading the CONCACAF group by only a point, cementing their place the following year in South Africa. What happened in the summer of 2009 was what will forever confirm Bob Bradley’s position in US Soccer lore.

Due to the 2007 Gold Cup win, the US was invited to play in the Confederations Cup in South Africa–a meaningless tournament to some, usually those that have never made it there. After a very poor start that included a 3-1 loss to Italy and 3-0 loss to Brazil, the US managed to slip into the semifinals on one of the lesser known rules in international tournaments. After a 3-0 win over Egypt in the final group stage match, the US tied Italy on points (6) and on goal difference (-2), but managed to edge out the Italians in the ‘goals for’ category–by a single goal. This took the USA to a semifinal meeting with Spain, the reigning European champions; needless to say, everyone (literally, everyone) was sure that there was no way the US could win. Therefore nobody predicted the astonishing result: 2-0 to the US, with goals from Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore. This was no second-string squad from Spain either–the lineup that was defeated in June 2009 was nearly identical to those in both the Euro 2008 final and the 2010 World Cup final. The US felt nearly unstoppable. The semifinal win took the team to another meeting with Brazil, who had brutally defeated them 3-0 in the group stages of the tournament. The first 45 minutes of the match were breathtaking for US Soccer fans–goals from Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey put the United States 2-0 up at halftime. Another upset had been unthinkable, but the momentum that the Americans were carrying from the semifinal held strong in those first 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the US defense crumbled in the face of a vastly superior Brazil team. Luis Fabiano tied it up with his quintessential finesse, followed by a late Lucio header that helped reveal some of the many weaknesses in Bob Bradley’s squad.

Not long after that, Bob Bradley fielded a weakened team for the 2009 Gold Cup; the team squeaked through to the final, but were rightly defeated 5-0 by the old enemy, Mexico. Not a single player from the Confederations Cup final lineup was called into the squad, again calling into question Bradley’s ambition for the team; what many pundits pointed out, however, is that this Gold Cup had just as much bearing on the future as the 2007 Copa America did. The previous squad had been exhausted and deserved a break before their respective clubs started preseason training.

The first part of 2010 was spent preparing for the 2010 World Cup. The US had finished at the top of the CONCACAF group, and their Confederations Cup run allowed them to experience South Africa’s training facilities, stadiums, and climate. Bradley spent much of this time tweaking his team selection, having a look at new players, and helping the team gel together before boarding the plane to South Africa.

The hype surrounding the US national team blew up in the months leading up to South Africa; ESPN and other major media outlets were devoting millions in ads and specials about the players and the sport itself, hoping to profit from the momentum that US Soccer had been gaining in recent years. When the draw was made, the US found out that its first match would be against England; pundits all over the world wrote the match off, with one English newspaper even headlining with an acronym: England Algeria Slovenia Yanks (spelled out EASY) to exhibit their confidence in their national team. But once that match rolled around in June, England had all but an easy time–an early Steven Gerrard goal put the Three Lions up, but a horror mishap by England goalkeeper Robert Green allowed Clint Dempsey’s weak effort to dribble into the goal. The game finished 1-1, a result that nobody saw coming. A draw with Slovenia that included a very controversial offside call against Maurice Edu meant that the US had to win the next match against Algeria in order to progress–no exceptions. A late, extra time goal by Landon Donovan meant that the Americans were through to the Round of 16–a result that set American soccer on fire, for once making it the most talked about sport in the country. The rush of glory would not last long, unfortunately, as Bradley’s squad lost to Ghana during extra time in the Round of 16.

Bob Bradley entered 2011 hoping to reinvigorate his jaded squad–out of four friendlies during the first half of the year, the US drew two and lost two, the worst being a 4-0 loss to Spain. Peculiar team selection and tactics were cited by pundits and fans, and the country was less than optimistic about the team’s chances in the summer’s Gold Cup. After a strong start of two wins and one loss in the group stages, the USA breezed past Jamaica 2-0 in the quarterfinals and earned a place in the final by beating Panama 1-0.   Fans would be forgiven for having a sense of deja vu during the final: the US surrendered an early 2-0 lead to eventually lose 4-2 to who else–Mexico.

And with the end of the Gold Cup came the end to Bob Bradley’s reign as manager of the United States national team. So what went wrong? After so many moments of jubilee, what could Bob Bradley have done better? He put US Soccer on the map for the first time in years, proving that they could run with the big dogs internationally. Unfortunately for him, Bob Bradley’s overall tactics, team selection, and man management contributed to his downfall. In part 2 of this series, we will look at some of Bradley’s best and worst choices, analyze key parts of his term, and illustrate the sequence of events mentioned here that led to his demise.

What has finally distinguished me from this teeming multitude that wear jerseys and get up at ungodly hours to watch the English Premier League on weekends, is that I’ve made the trip to my football holy land–Anfield.

Having recently graduated from college here in Texas, I managed to squeeze out enough from my meager savings in order to meet up with friends and take a 10-day backpacking trip around the United Kingdom. Sure, we visited London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, but one of the main reasons I worked so hard to take this trip–was to visit Liverpool. I’ve been a Beatles fan for as long as I can remember, and have developed my love for the city and its people as I became more and more passionate about LFC.

After seeing my friends off at the Glasgow Airport, I made my way to the bus station to begin the five-hour night bus to Manchester, where I then slept on a bench in the cold, empty bus station while waiting for my next bus. And finally at 6:00 in the morning, hopped on a coach to Liverpool.

It was a bright, sunny day as I made my way around the city, trying to orient myself with all of the buildings and streets among the hustle and bustle. I sat down at a coffee shop to read a book for a bit, before checking into my hotel in the Mount Pleasant area near Liverpool City Centre.

With all my logistics nailed down, I set out into the city: everything they say is true, Liverpool is a very eclectic and interesting place to visit, and once I got my bearings, I really enjoyed many aspects of the place. Exploring the main shopping area (Liverpool ONE), I stumbled on the first part of my pilgrimage–the Liverpool Megastore. I stared agape at the walls and walls of jerseys, happily noticing that jerseys were already printed and hung up with Charlie Adam’s name and number on them–he had only signed a mere two days before. I dug through the racks and shelves of Liverpool official gear, from King Kenny mousepads to a T-shirt collection that chronicled each of the club’s five European Cup victories. For someone that has always had to pay an exorbitant amount to ship Liverpool gear via international mail, this place was a sheer delight. After picking out a few choice items for myself and a few lucky friends, I made my way up the winding streets to drop it all of at the hotel, because I was getting close to an appointment I had made weeks before–a visit to the L4 district.

Finally, a train full of chatty schoolchildren and elderly shoppers making their way to their suburban homes, I stepped off the bus to look directly up at the famous Paisley Gates.

As I stood in a group with other pilgrims and realizing my misfortune at taking the trip alone, I asked (for what would be the first of many times) the fellow next to me to snap a couple photos of me in front of the metal statue of Liverpool’s greatest manager–Bill Shankly. For the uninitiated, the statue just seems like a cliche victory pose–not unlike the famous shot from the movie “Rocky.” But for those of us forever indebted to Shankly and what he did for the club, standing in front of him is like being transported to an earlier time, when he stepped in front of the entire city to proclaim the club’s victory.

I walked around the outside of the great stadium in a bit of a haze, snapped back into reality by the tour guide’s call to join her back at the Shanks statue. From there, we embarked on a journey through the bowels of Anfield. First, the room of Legends glorified the many giants in the club’s history, pictures surrounded the small party room, from early heroes like Albert Stubbins to the god himself, Robbie Fowler. Then it was to the press room, which, before the Premier League era, was the famous (and to some, infamous) Boot Room where the manager and his assistants plotted thousands of victories, from Bill Shankly himself to Kenny Dalglish in his first turn as manager. Almost ironically, this is where King Kenny demands as much respect as he did in the 1980s; journalists pack into the tiny room before and after every match to pepper him and one of the players with countless questions. Hands shaking and heart speeding around in my chest, I slowly sat in the chair with my hands folded and looked up from the exact spot that the King does every week. I imagined being in here as Kenny jokes with journalists as he does, having brought the fun back to Liverpool Football Club in the past few months.

A tour of Anfield, for a rabid fan such as myself, leaves no brick unholy and no wall without some aspect of footballing beauty. As we made our way into the Home Dressing Room, the same one that has been immortalized in photographs of Bill Shankly instructing his team, I was humbled by the simple, spartan qualities of the little white room. The players’ jerseys line the walls, with a treatment table in the middle and a television set high up in a corner. No extravagances here, no room for prima donnas or wannabe rockstars; in this room there is football and only football. After posing in the seats of my favorite players (Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, for the record), I stepped out of the room directly in front of the tunnel that leads to the pitch. I placed my fingers on the famous “THIS IS ANFIELD” sign, feeling the energy and emotion that comes with the touching of that sign by the team before every match. Players from Ian Rush to Fernando Torres to Alan Hansen have touched this sign, and after (of course) posing for a photo, I walked the rest of the tunnel feeling invigorated, ready to take on the world. I’d say that’s about what Shankly wanted when he nailed the sign up there for the very first time.

The final leg of this epic journey of mine could only take place on that hallowed ground, in the middle of one of the most famous pitches in the world. Sitting where managers have sat for years as they bark orders to players, walking along the grass that is home to some of the most exciting matches in history, all hit me like a punch to the chest. The sound around me fell silent, the cloudy sun somehow brightened as I spun in place, taking in each and every angle of Anfield. My eyes finally landed on the Kop, the Spion Kop, probably the most famous set of seats in the world. As we walked towards the Kop, our tour guide reached back into a small electrical box to flip a switch. Suddenly, as I crossed the cement threshold into Kop territory, music burst from the speakers, and it could only be one song: “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” At this point, you probably know what’s coming. A single tear rolled out as I stood in the full glory of Liverpool Football Club. The feeling is still with me, and has surely cemented my place as a Liverpool fan for life.

I may live in America, and that won’t change soon. But part of my heart was left there, in that hallowed ground, beating to the rhythm of only one song, basking in the glory of Liverpool Football Club.