MANCHESTER CITY V LIVERPOOL: A SECOND LOOK
by Gareth Roberts // 26 August 2014 // 2 Comments
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Football - FA Premier League - Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC
AFTER last season’s jump from so far to so near, Liverpool are desperate to make a statement. The club wants to tell the football world that last season was no fluke; that the club is here to stay – feasting at the top table, back in the Champions League, challenging for trophies and competing for the signatures of the world’s best players.
The work off the pitch this summer has made a statement, not least the £16million signing of Mario Balotelli. Bolt on the Italian striker’s move to that of eight others at a total cost of £116m and it shouts of a club meaning business. We needed numbers and we’ve got them. We needed a striker and we’ve got him. The new number 45’s switch from AC Milan has brought box office and X-factor before he’s kicked a ball in anger wearing the red. But while the new pantomime villain prepares to take stage, the supporting cast is still at rehearsals. If off the pitch shouts ambition, on it whispers problems. Liverpool are struggling to find their voice.
In the two matches so far, the Liverpool that ran the best-paid sports team in the world so close for the title last season is yet to beat its chest. The new Liverpool is still finding its way. Players predicted to fill the void created by the departure of Luis Suarez are yet to truly step up to the plate. Of Phillippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, only the 19-year-old has truly picked up where he left off, and even then much less frequently than hoped for or expected.
http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2014/0...l-second-look/
by Gareth Roberts // 26 August 2014 // 2 Comments
Download the latest TAW digital magazine FREE iOS app for iPad, iPhone, iPod TouchDownload the latest TAW digital magazine FREE web app for PC, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile
Football - FA Premier League - Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC
AFTER last season’s jump from so far to so near, Liverpool are desperate to make a statement. The club wants to tell the football world that last season was no fluke; that the club is here to stay – feasting at the top table, back in the Champions League, challenging for trophies and competing for the signatures of the world’s best players.
The work off the pitch this summer has made a statement, not least the £16million signing of Mario Balotelli. Bolt on the Italian striker’s move to that of eight others at a total cost of £116m and it shouts of a club meaning business. We needed numbers and we’ve got them. We needed a striker and we’ve got him. The new number 45’s switch from AC Milan has brought box office and X-factor before he’s kicked a ball in anger wearing the red. But while the new pantomime villain prepares to take stage, the supporting cast is still at rehearsals. If off the pitch shouts ambition, on it whispers problems. Liverpool are struggling to find their voice.
In the two matches so far, the Liverpool that ran the best-paid sports team in the world so close for the title last season is yet to beat its chest. The new Liverpool is still finding its way. Players predicted to fill the void created by the departure of Luis Suarez are yet to truly step up to the plate. Of Phillippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, only the 19-year-old has truly picked up where he left off, and even then much less frequently than hoped for or expected.
http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2014/0...l-second-look/
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