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Since promoting and stabling the ship of the side that currently sits atop the Premier League – Swansea – Brendan Rodgers has proven himself to be an elite manager.

How long ago it seems that Liverpool were launching long balls up to Andy Carroll. These days they are the epitome of football. Great tactics, fluid movement, blistering pace, deadly finishing… What more could you want?

Brendan Rodgers is the man behind this transformation. He has adopted Arsene Wenger’s philosophy of fast-paced flowing football whilst developing a youthful squad capable of plundering goals from any scenario.

Last season Liverpool went from finishing seventh to challenging for the title until the very death. It took courage from the manager but sometimes it takes risks to reap rewards. He has taken Liverpool to that ‘next’ level witch many thought was beyond them.

Rodgers has finally restored the fear factor that has been non-existent since the departure of Rafa Benitez. Following his departure, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish did the club no justice at all.

But under Rodgers this Liverpool unit has gelled perfectly. Versatile formations such as the attacking 4-3-3, the new 3-4-1-2 or his 4-4-2 diamond has benefitted England more than anyone else.

His tactical genius has helped England star’s Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge develop in to top class players. It has also allowed for an experienced Steven Gerrard to remain just as effective from a deeper role slotting balls through to the younger attackers. Within his system England’s stars have flourished.

A reformed Henderson saw me bite my tongue on my previous opinion. He never stops working and of recent has been threading through some audacious passes. And Sterling is arguably the best teenager on the planet right now.

Even Sturridge has reformed, it’s not that I ever doubted his talent but I never would have called him world class. Now he is currently one of the best finishers in the game. Playing a wide role at Chelsea held him back but, under the tutelage of Rodgers, he has blossomed.

Changing formation and line up from game to game. Often switching formations within the game. The versatility of the Northern Irishman’s system allows for a healthy midfield rotation that includes the likes of Lucas and Joe Allen.

It has also helped Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho reach his full potential. Coutinho currently operates as their chief craftsman to carve out attacking opportunities. It’s no wonder fans call Jon Flanagan “the red Cafu.” They are the Premier League’s Brazil, their game plan is to simply score more than you. It made for some spectacles last season.

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Eleven 4+ goal wins and eleven consecutive wins last season earned the LMA Manager of The Year Award becoming the first Liverpool manager to win the prestigious accolade in its 20-year history.

Losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona seemed like it would be a huge blow to the Reds but so far you wouldn’t have noticed. With the addition of Mario Balotelli the team could be back on course to a first ever Premier League title.

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As Rodger’s seems overly keen to stress his need for strikers in this coming window, so I will carrying on from a previous article, by offering a set of alternative targets  that Liverpool are more Likely to  achieve.

Suarez has stormed the Premier League this term by scoring 10 goals so far, to put him at the top of the scoring charts. However this only papers up the cracks for Liverpool, as they have been sorely missing the striker they needed to sign in the summer. This time round Rodgers is rumoured to have been given 10 million to spend, which is still not a lot of money, especially for the amount of players he wants. So I think you can expect a lot of wheeling and dealing happening in January  as the manager looks to recycle some dead wood to fund his transfer activities.

Still I think the calibre of player that Liverpool can expect to get in this window, is probably future squad player material. He stated very early on that he was not one for snobbery and given the constraints at the moment, I could see Liverpool going in for a few surprise names. One of which i think will be reminiscent for the Anfield faithful.

At the moment Tom Ince represents the one that got away for Liverpool fans. Having scored 24 goals so far this season, Ince has made a fantastic impact at Bloomfield Road, earning him many plaudits. Which springs to mind the question, why did Liverpool let him go in the first place. Having left before Rodgers took in charge , Tom Ince’s departure in no part has any connection to Rodgers at all, which is why I think this deal will fly at all. Having already given such stars as Suso and Sterling a run in the team, Rodgers has opened the door to other talented young players by issuing the message “If your good enough, your old enough”. This coupled with the fact we command part of the fee already, hints that he may get his man. A much cheaper alternative to Walcott, especially in the wage department.

Now the next target would depend on many things. Apparently Giuseppi Rossi has been lined with a cut-price move to anfield,  as Villarreal look to ease financial worries. As no price is mentioned I can only assume it is a reasonable price, as the statement “cut-price” is only relative to the writer. However I believe if they were to sell it would in the region of 10 million pound. Obviously this would depend on sales, but for the player it would be a very good deal. The only problem is his injury, having purchased player before with injuries Liverpool may be wary of this deal. However it is a very temping one indeed…

The final player that I expect Liverpool to get is Jeffren. Having been linked with this player before, Liverpool will know all about him. Having had a very lackluster start to his Sport Lisbon career, Jeffren has been looking for an escape-route and he may find it on loan to Liverpool. Although he wouldn’t be the ideal choice for Liverpool fans, the possess skill and quality and would provide a cheap solution for the time being, as Liverpool look to ship out the Money grubbers Joe Cole and Stuart Downing.

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However Liverpool get, it will be interesting to see who Rodgers gets for his money.

Newcastle fans have been discussing a move for Swansea’s Roque Mesa, but fans would much prefer to stick with what they have.

Various reports have linked Newcastle’s Mikel Merino with a move back to Spain, and last week the Magpies were linked with a move for Swansea’s Mesa as a replacement.

Rafael Benitez is obviously fond of the idea of having a gifted Spanish technician in his midfield, but Merino’s first season on Tyneside did not go to plan.

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The former Borussia Dortmund youngster struggled with a back injury for most of the season, and has been linked with moves to Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.

The 21 year-old is very talented though, and it seems a shame to give up on him after just one season in the Premier League.

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The youngster is bigger and more powerful than the more experienced Mesa, and the overwhelming majority of fans think it would be a big mistake to dump Merino for the relegated Swansea man.

You can find the full poll results down below…

Celtic put to bed any question a title race will develop in the Scottish Premiership any time soon after a convincing 2-0 win away to Aberdeen on Sunday.Although the Dons battled hard to compete, Celtic’s class shone through across the 90 minutes, opening the scoring in the first half through a Moussa Dembele header before Kieran Tierney secured the three points with a classy finish towards the end of the match.The win means the Hoops remain 9 points ahead of second-placed Rangers, with Aberdeen now 12 points adrift of the reigning champions.[ad_pod ]After a poor performance on Thursday, fans were delighted to see certain players get stuck into the physical encounter with the likes of Kristoffer Ajer receiving much of the praise.The 19-year-old Norwegian was commanding at the back for the Hoops, even playing through a significant head knock after colliding with teammate Jozo Simunovic.Fans believe he has a massive future ahead and took to Twitter to pay tribute to his Sunday performance…

Liverpool have wasted no time following the curtain drop of last season. Where PSG have taken an almighty swing at the transfer window with the signing of David Luiz, the rest of this summer’s transfer activity from Europe’s elite is simmering, waiting, more than likely, for the end of the World Cup before the scramble begins and the football world is sent into an off-season frenzy once again.

Liverpool, however, have gotten in early because the club can’t afford not to. While most were enthralled by the swashbuckling displays from Brendan Rodgers’ team last term, it wasn’t hard to identify the weaknesses, both in terms of quality and quantity.

The signing of Rickie Lambert was a surprise move by Liverpool, but one that made plenty of sense. The 32-year-old, who will take part in Brazil, isn’t arriving at Anfield to displace Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. Liverpool don’t need that. As the best one-two punch in the Premier League last season, there is no need to permanently disrupt that chemistry and winning formula.

But like Roy Hodgson’s selecting of the former Southampton forward for his England squad, Rodgers isn’t oblivious to the qualities Lambert can provide. As he’ll do for Liverpool next season, England’s answer to a direct option will back up Sturridge and Wayne Rooney, both comfortably better but without question in need of someone like Lambert to get into the mix when Plan A isn’t running smoothly. Age aside, £4 million is a snip for an international forward who knows the Premier League.

And Liverpool and Rodgers haven’t stopped there. They’ve recently tied up a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Emre Can. The 20-year-old former Bayern Munich player is known for his versatility. Last season he performed regularly at left-back, despite arriving from Bavaria as a midfielder. The number 10 on the back of his shirt isn’t exactly fitting of a full-back.

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But that’s what Rodgers likes and wants. Can isn’t arriving off the back of a stellar season. He’s a good prospect with a high ceiling, but there are things in his game that need to be ironed out. But then again we could have said the same about both Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.

For around the £15 million mark, Liverpool have added to their squad in areas requiring address. As mentioned, the best attack in the league didn’t need much work, rather sufficient depth to successfully handle the addition of Champions League football to the calendar. Emre Can, however, will help out at left-back, where Jon Flanagan is also able and looking promising, and in the midfield. Liverpool’s best midfield partnership of Steven Gerrard and Jordan can’t play every game of the upcoming season.

Liverpool’s work in the market looks to be building to a crescendo. Neither Lambert nor Can are stars of the game, they’re not household names and they won’t singlehandedly transform this team. But they’re not being asked to do that. The team do, however, need something major, a blockbuster signing, something that befits a club who are clearly on the up and in need of making an announcement as such.

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Luis Suarez’s future is hazy at this time, but even if the Uruguayan stays on for one more season, the club will need to spend big in order to take that step forward and remain there. This is a club who are after Champions League football on a year-on-year basis. It’s no secret to say they need that added revenue in order to consistently compete. But there are no guarantees for next season, where each of the other four major Premier League clubs will have improved and will be as ravenous for a place in the top four.

Liverpool’s no-nonsense policy in the market is pleasing to see and it will certainly appease supporters. The club look to have a taste for adventure now under Rodgers, and there can be little doubt that these shrewd buys in the market are the prelude to a much-needed hammer fall this summer.

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Yohan Cabaye feels that Newcastle did well to secure a draw at Anfield this Sunday.

Cabaye struck the Magpies’ one goal of the match before half-time, his second so far this season, which made him Newcastle’s first goal scorer at Anfield in almost eight years.

However, Luis Suarez’s impressive goal gave Liverpool a draw, and Newcastle were not helped by the dismissal of captain Fabricio Coloccini following a lunge on Suarez.

Nevertheless, Cabaye feels that it was good the Magpies at least got a point from the game.

He said to Newcastle’s official website: “It was a good point from a very hard and difficult away game. In the first ten minutes they put us under a lot of pressure but we stayed solid and they didn’t have a really good chance to score. It was really important that we didn’t concede early on because it meant we stayed in the game. After 20-25 minutes we kept the ball better, played in their half and had a few chances before my goal. Going in 1-0 at half-time but the goal we conceded in the second half we could have done much better with. However, a point here is a good point.”

Cabaye also talked of how he felt happy at scoring, but would have felt happier if he had won the game for the Magpies.

He said: “Last season I touched the ball and Agger scored an own goal, so maybe I like this stadium. But I am always happy when we score, wherever we play, and I want to keep scoring to help the team get better and keep winning. I have scored away at Sunderland and Liverpool away this season, and now I want to score at St James’ Park. I saw the ball go in and was happy but I would have been more happy if the goal gave us three points.”

Newcastle are now in tenth position in the Premier League table with 14 points.

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It seemed like it was only a matter of time before Liverpool were going to announce the arrival of new signing Nabil Fekir from Lyon.

However, the transfer collapsed, causing the Ligue 1 outfit to release a statement confirming that their midfielder will be staying put.

It is fair to say that Liverpool fans were devastated by the turn of events, and now attention has turned to who could be the plan B option.

There are plenty of decent attacking midfielders across Europe, but there is one man who plenty of Liverpool fans would rather the club did not target.

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Julian Draxler, who is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, has often been linked to the Premier League, but at the moment, he plies his trade at Paris Saint-Germain.

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Last season, the 24-year-old made 47 appearances in all competitions for the French outfit, scoring four goals and creating 10 assists.

It is unclear whether the midfielder will move on this summer, but one thing is for sure, most Liverpool fans would prefer not to see him at Anfield.

Tottenham Hotspur will look to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League at Wembley to 13 matches when they host Arsenal in the latest version of the North London derby on Saturday.

Spurs were beaten by Chelsea in their first home league game in their new home back in August, but they have since won eight and drawn four at England’s national stadium, scoring 27 goals and conceding on just seven occasions in 12 fixtures since then.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men followed up an impressive 2-0 win against Manchester United at Wembley last week with a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with Harry Kane’s last-gasp penalty rescuing a point for his side when it looked as though Mo Salah’s injury-time goal looked to have won it for the hosts.

Pochettino will be well aware of the importance of the encounter against the Gunners on Saturday both in terms of the bragging rights and positions in the table, with Spurs currently one point adrift of the top four and four points above their arch-rivals.

The Argentine saw a couple of his players struggle on Merseyside last time out, and he is asking for trouble if he fails to make a couple of alterations to his XI.

Here are two changes Pochettino must make to his Tottenham team when they host Arsenal…

Toby Alderweireld for Davinson Sanchez

Sanchez has generally been an impressive performer at the back for Tottenham since joining the club from Ajax during the summer, but he really struggled in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday.

The Colombia international failed to cope with the intensity and speed provided by the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane for the Reds, while he was poor in possession and made general errors on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Alderweireld returned to action against Newport County on Wednesday night having been on the sidelines with a hamstring injury since the end of October, and he looks to be closing in on a Premier League return.

The Belgium international has the quality and experience to play a key role against Arsenal on Saturday, especially with the Gunners now boasting the dangerous Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack, and Pochettino should select the 28-year-old ahead of Sanchez at Wembley.

Victor Wanyama for Eric Dier

Like Sanchez, Dier endured a bit of a nightmare against Liverpool – especially in the first-half – and it was his under-hit back-pass in the third minute that saw Mo Salah give the hosts an early lead.

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The England international was poor on the ball and struggled to deal with the Reds’ attacking players throughout, and with Victor Wanyama now approaching full fitness his place in the team could be under threat for the latest episode of the North London derby on Saturday.

The Kenya international made an instant impact from the substitutes’ bench with a stunning goal, while he reignited the impressive partnership he had with Mousa Dembele previously.

With Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil both likely to be key players for Arsenal at Wembley, Pochettino should bring in Wanyama for Dier to boost his side’s chances of picking up what could prove to be a crucial three points in the long run.

Do you agree, Spurs fans? Let us know below.

It’s often a mystery as to what goes on in the minds of many football managers.

The words that cascade from their lips during interviews and press conferences at times don’t necessarily reflect their mood or their true feelings. So here’s an idiot’s guide to translating football talk.

1. “This club has a great tradition” – We don’t want to separate the past from present because we’re rubbish nowadays

2. “I have a philosophy and I won’t change it” – Philosophy. Hmm, I sound clever. I also have no ‘Plan B’

3. “The atmosphere was incredible” – I’ve never heard so many people swear so many times in such a short space of time

4. “Every game is a cup final from here” – Do I get a trophy if I win?

5. “He was absolutely unplayable” – My name is Paul Lambert and Christian Benteke scored today

6. “The ref has had an absolute shocker” – We lost

7. “The ref has had a good game” – We won

8. “I retain the board’s full support” – Maybe this will divert their attention while I sneak out the backdoor

9. “It’s a must-win game” – As opposed to last week’s must-draw game

10.“I don’t want to comment” – I’m happy with my bank account as it is thank you

11. “It was a game of two halves” – According to my observations

12. “It’s a transitional period. It will take time” – I’ve inherited a bunch of losers

13. “We’re just taking it one game at a time” – Last season we took it two games at a time and it didn’t work

14. “I don’t know what we’ve got to do to win.” – No seriously, I don’t know what we’ve got to do to win

15. “I didn’t see it” – I saw it

16. “It was a game full of passion” – It was one of the most violent games I’ve witnessed

17. “We’re now just focusing on the next game” – We want to forget about this one

18. “In football you never know” – I would like to announce my departure from (insert club here)

19. “There’s never an easy game in this league” – Forgive me if we lose

20. “There’s never an easy game at this level” – We’re really looking forward to this week’s home game against Hyde FC

21. “It wasn’t as easy as it looked” – I could have played my Nan in goal

22. “The scoreline flatters them” – The scoreline flattered us

23. “We could have had double figures” – We could have had triple figures

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24. “He worked his socks off tonight” – He was terrible

25. “He’s a passionate lad” – He’s a bit of a thug

26. “He’s experienced” – He hacked their striker down deliberately, good decision

27. “He’s inexperienced” – He hacked their striker down deliberately, bad decision

28. “The lads are really fired up for this one” – They’re ready to go out there and smash it

29. “He’s a real character” – He’s an idiot

30. “We’ll just keep on fighting” – All hope is lost

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Republic of Ireland put their recent drubbing by Germany behind them by beating Faroe Islands 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Marc Wilson, Jonathan Walters, a Pol Justinussen own goal and Darren O’Dea were all on target in the convincing win for the Emerald Isle.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s future as head coach has been under question, but the Italian has stated that he is confident that his job is safe.

“We have in November another game. I expect. We started three games ago – we have won two games, we have lost one against the best team [in Group C]. It’s not my decision,” he told Sky Sports.

“I know what I can do, but it’s not my decision. I don’t have a problem. For me, it’s my job. I say always I am proud to be the manager of this team with these players.

“We have discovered many, many young players in the last three years and sometimes we can lose. Football is like this.

“In other countries, people know Trapattoni is a professional man, and that is a great honour.

“There is a very simple sentence in my history: the winners has 100 fathers, the losers are orphans.

“Football associations change like the wind, they can change in a second,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Germany and Sweden met in Group C also, with a dramatic 4-4 draw in Berlin.

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The hosts went 4-0 up through goals from Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and a Miroslav Klose brace, but spectacularly the Swedes scored four times in the last 31 minutes to grab a point.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mikael Lustig, Johan Elmander and Rasmus Elm were all on target in the miraculous comeback.

By Gareth McKnight