Tag Archives: brendan rodgers

The Battle for Fourth: North London and Merseyside

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Halfway though the  Premier League season, Simon Smith surveys the chances of Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in finishing Fourth…

At the start of the season nearly everyone predicted a Manchester top two by this point, and Chelsea looked a good bet for third after a busy summer in the transfer market to improve on a dire league campaign last season.  Fourth place, just as in 09/10, 10/11 and 11/12, looked to be the position most hotly contested for a lucrative Champions League spot.  At the halfway point, with so many more questions than answers, it seems a good time to review the four contenders vying for fourth place.

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Too Much, Too Soon – Can Liverpool learn from Arsenal?

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False Nine editors James Dutton and Hugo Greenhalgh investigate the dangers of promoting youth too soon…

You could be forgiven for thinking that Michael Owen’s personal blog is nothing more than a sanctuary for the unremarkable.

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Being Brendan

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False Nine editor James Dutton assesses Brendan Rodgers’ start to life at Anfield…

“You train dogs, i like to educate players.”

Brendan Rodgers will likely look back at 2012 as the year that changed his life. Having built on the phenomenal success of his project at Swansea, he has become a household name across the country upon taking the reins of the hottest job on Merseyside. He also became the unwitting star attraction of a US television programme.

Described as a ‘fly-on-the-wall documentary/ reality show’, Being Liverpool came across as more of a shamelessly dreary and crass US sports promotional video for the increasingly Americanized brand of Liverpool FC. Aside from the franchise, the show provided the platform for new manager Brendan Rodgers to espouse both footballing and life virtues.

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Learning Zaha-rd Way

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False Nine editor, Andrew Belt assesses the excitement building over Crystal Palace star, Wilfried Zaha, and looks at a few recent examples of hyped English players to wonder where the future lays for the Ivory Coast-born winger and others likely to attract the attention of youth-hungry Premier League clubs…

£27 million. The cost of two of the players in the England Under-21 team that beat Northern Ireland U-21s on Tuesday night. Continue reading →

Steven Gerrard – 100 Not Out

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Steven Gerrard through the ages

With Steven Gerrard in-line to earn his 100th England cap in Sweden this week, The False Nine’s James Dutton looks back at his career and the perpetuation of certain media perceptions…

It has been a ceremonial few weeks for Steven Gerrard. He netted his 150th goal in professional football during Liverpool’s clash with Manchester United in September, a poignant strike in the wake of the revelations about the Hillsborough disaster, of which the youngest victim, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was his cousin. At the beginning of this month the Liverpool captain made his 600th appearance for his club; this week he will earn his 100th cap for his country. Continue reading →

FSG: A Two-Year Appraisal

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John Henry celebrates his successful takeover of Liverpool FC in 2010, after a dramatic week in the High Court

False Nine editor James Dutton offers a candid assessment of Liverpool owners’ Fenway Sports Group on their two year anniversary…

Two years ago this week Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton negotiated the protracted sale of Liverpool Football Club to the owners of Boston Red Sox; New England Sports Ventures, led by John W. Henry and Tom Werner. The new American owners won instant approval across the city for simply not being their predecessors – their national counterparts Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the most despised parasites on Merseyside since Kelvin MacKenzie. Continue reading →

Liverpool Already Answering Uefa’s Call

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False Nine editor Andrew Belt reflects on European nights returning to Anfield and queries Uefa’s bid to increase the profile of the Europa League…

All Uefa had to do to stop themselves preaching to the converted was visit Anfield on August 9th. Not unusually, a near-capacity crowd of 43, 256 packed the old stadium to cheer on Liverpool after hordes of fans had queued for last-minute tickets, enticed by the prospect of seeing the Merseyside club flaunt their skills in European competition again. Continue reading →