Match Preview: Stoke City vs. Liverpool

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A lot can change in the space of a year, as anyone connected to Liverpool Football Club will know all too well. With new owners, changes in management, signings and departures, there has been dramatic and much needed change at the club.

Going into their fourth Premier League fixture this time last season, Liverpool had started bleakly, managing a point in their opening fixture at home to Arsenal, letting the three points slip from their grasps when Pepe Reina fumbled the ball into his own net on the 90 minute mark, a sign of things to come.

The Reds then found themselves on the receiving end of a 3-0 battering from a Manchester City team with a new lease of life and expensive flare, something Roy Hodgson’s men were evidently lacking. A goal from a certain Fernando Torres helped Liverpool to squeeze past West Brom in an unconvincing win, before a bore draw in their fourth game with Birmingham City marked the beginning of a frustrating era for the club. Liverpool went on to be without a win until the end of October, when they rediscovered a glimpse of form against Blackburn.

It was a turbulent time for the club with backroom issues perhaps causing unrest amongst the camp. However, there was to be a saving grace when Fenway Sports Group (FSG) finally came in as new owners, looking to move the club in the right direction and willing to back the Reds in the transfer market, implementing change. Hodgson’s unsuccessful and short reign was to end in January 2011 and the one man the fans were calling for, Kenny Dalglish, replaced him. True to their word, FSG were quick to show dominance in the January transfer window by signing Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez with the £50million raised from the sale of a sulky Fernando Torres.

The appointment of Dalglish has proven to be successful on the pitch, in the dressing room and with the fans, as King Kenny took a struggling Liverpool from the bottom half of the Premier League to a 6th place finish last season. The summer transfer market saw Dalglish clear his team of the dead wood accumulated over the years, with the likes of Paul Konchesky, David N’gog, Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulsen and an unimpressive Joe Cole, all leaving the club. Perhaps a shock departure was Raul Meireles’s last minute transfer to Chelsea. The seasoned Portugese midfielder has joined up with his former boss at Porto, Andre Villas-Boas and his transfer along with Cole’s loan move to French champions Lille, frees up room in what was getting to be a crowded midfield.

Along with the departures, Dalglish strengthened his squad with no less than seven summer signings. Big money was spent on quality Premier League players, with the likes of Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson making up a British trio of signings, with Craig Bellamy re-joining as a last minute deadline day transfer. Jose Enrique was brought in from Newcastle to permanently fill the left back position, experienced goalkeeper Doni will provide excellent back up for Reina and a bright young defensive talent in Uruguayan Sebastian Coates, completed the haul.

The Reds have accumulated seven points from their first three games, with a draw against Sunderland and two convincing wins against Arsenal and Bolton and have shown they will once again be a force this season. The club’s main aim will be to finish in the top four and qualify for Champions League football and with only domestic football to concentrate on, it would be hard to bet against them achieving their goal.

Dalglish has added real depth to his squad and has evidently put his own stamp on the side, with Liverpool once again playing attractive, attacking football. Their next opponents, Stoke City, will not be a pushover, as they too have been busy in the transfer market, revamping their side and continuing to live up to their established Premier League status. Tony Pulis has brought in five strong players in Cameron Jerome, Matthew Upson, Jonathon Woodgate and Tottenham duo, Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios. The pedigree of these signings show real intent from Stoke’s perspective, as they look to bolster their squad for their season in the Europa League.

The Potters will have the home advantage on Saturday and the electric atmosphere of the Britannia Stadium will as always provide the 12th man for Pulis’s men. The 6ft 7” tall Crouch will be relishing the opportunity to score against his former employers on his first game for his new club and Palacios will also be keen to impress on his debut.

Both sides have started their campaigns unbeaten, with Stoke drawing against Chelsea and Norwich, and picking up their first win of the season against West Brom away from home. It would be hard to predict the line-up Pulis has in mind with his new acquisitions, with Jonathon Walters proving a key player for the Potters, perhaps he’ll move back to sit behind Crouch and Kenwyne Jones with Whitehead moving to the bench. Palacios may well come in for Marc Wilson to provide extra steel to the midfield. Mamady Sidibe, Ricardo Fuller and Rory Delap will all miss out due to injuries.

The visitors are still without their captain, Steven Gerrard, who is close to a full return after being out since March with a groin injury. Charlie Adam picked up a hip injury whilst on international duty for Scotland but should be fit to start, however Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly remain doubtful. Craig Bellamy will surely be amongst the substitutes and in line for a second Liverpool debut, whilst youngster Sebastian Coates could also make the bench. Striker Andy Carroll came under some criticism from England boss Fabio Capello about his lifestyle and fitness, although supported by Kenny Dalglish on Thursday, the powerful forward will be looking to prove his club boss right and silence his critics.

Stoke came out 2-0 victors in this tie at the Britannia last season, however Liverpool won 2-0 in their home game at Anfield. With both clubs looking to maintain their unbeaten run and fresh with new talent, Saturday’s 3 O’clock fixture will be certain to entertain.

Predicted line-ups:

Stoke City: 1 Begovic, 4 Huth, 17 Shawcross, 39 Woodgate, 6 Whelan, 40 Palacios, 16 Pennant, 26 Etherington, 19 Walters, 9 Jones, 25 Crouch

Subs: 29 Sorensen, 5 Collins, 20 Upson, 28 Wilkinson, 18 Whitehead, 12 Wilson, 33 Jerome

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 3 Enrique, 5 Agger, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 21 Lucas, 26 Adam, 14 Henderson, 19 Downing,18 Kuyt, 7 Suarez,

Subs: 32 Doni, 16 Coates, 49 Robinson, 11 Maxi, 20 Spearing, 9 Carroll, 39 Bellamy

Stoke City vs. Liverpool, Saturday 10th September 2011, 3pm Kick Off @ The Britannia Stadium.

www.whatculture.com

Top 5: Gap year destinations in a downturn

Whilst working for Columbus Media on the World Travel Guide website, I assisted the editorial department by writing articles and features, amongst other things.


Here is my latest article to be published on the site. Please click the title below to be redirected to the World Travel Guide:


Top 5: Gap year destinations in a downturn

Top 5: Ski resorts for beginners

Whilst working for Columbus Media on the World Travel Guide website, I assisted the editorial department by writing articles and features, amongst other things.


Here is my latest article to be published on the site. Please click the title below to be redirected to the World Travel Guide:


Top 5: Ski resorts for beginners

Liverpool's Bustling Midfield

Forget 4-4-2, this is the all new '10' formation.

Liverpool have splashed the cash on three midfielders already and speculation is rife that Kenny Dalglish will add yet another to the ranks. James McCarthy is the latest midfielder on the radar and it is reported that the Anfield outfit will move for the young Brit depending on the outcome of his contract talks with Wigan. 

With another midfielder possibly on the way in, Milan Jovanovic is looking likely to move out to Belgian club Anderlecht. Two more midfielders that don't feature on the image above are Christian Poulsen and Alberto Aquilani. Poulsen has failed to impress in a red shirt and will surely be fazed out of the squad, facing younger and stronger competition. Aquilani on the other hand, has impressed during the pre-season, but despite his useful creative flair, might be on his way back to Italy to join Fiorentina. La Viola's are said to be extremely close to sealing a permanent deal for the player who spent all of last season on loan at Juventus. Should Aquilani leave Liverpool, it would be a great shame that he wasn't given more of a chance in the first team. Dalglish has plenty of talented options in midfield, critiques will suggest too many.

With a month left until the transfer window closes, Liverpool could ideally do with recruiting a couple of new defenders to bolster their back line. It is no surprise that the Reds need an out and out left back and one man that they have been chasing for some time now is Newcastle United's Jose Enrique. The speedy Spaniard fits the bill and is just the sort of player Liverpool need to permanently fill a position that saw a number of different players cover last season. 

With a somewhat suspect looking defence in pre-season, the life long Liverpool supporter Scott Dann has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield. Having been relegated with Birmingham last season, the steely centre back is thought to be in favour of a move back into the Premier League and play under his boyhood idol, Kenny Dalglish. With Jamie Carragher not getting any younger, Liverpudlian Dann could eventually provide a solid replacement for the aging Kop favourite.

Another position in need of cover is in attack. Dalglish is said to be searching for a back-up forward for strike duo Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Frenchman David N'gog is now surplus to requirements and has been linked with a move away from Anfield. A host of names have been thrown into the rumour mill for the possible opening, including South Korean Park Chu-Young, who has reportedly set his heart on a move to Liverpool over Shalke in the Bundesliga. There are, however, other options available and should Dalglish want to keep to his buy British policy, then Adam Johnson is being pushed out of the Manchester City team by their new acquisitions and could be available. Irish striker Shane Long, Spanish whizz-kid Iker Munian and Turkish sensation Arda Turan, have also been linked. One thing is for certain, Dalglish has renovated his squad and is beginning to put his own stamp on it. Brace yourself for an exciting new season, starting on August 13th against Sunderland.

Texting whilst walking banned

Have you ever tried texting whilst walking along in the street? It's a perilous task, one that often leads to injuries or embarrassment. All it takes is a stray lamppost and for you to be in the middle of an SMS conversation and suddenly you're looking around, checking to see if anyone has seen your clumsy incident.


The likelihood is that they did, just as they did when this girl fell into a shopping mall fountain when she was too involved in her mobile phone. Unfortunately for this girl, her incident was not only seen by onlookers at the time, it was captured on the mall's CCTV and then went viral on YouTube!

In the American state of Pennsylvania, a fine of $120 will now be issued to people who text whilst they walk. The crack down is part of a 'Give Respect - Get Respect' campaign and texting whilst walking along, has been highlighted as a cause for concern. Can you imagine being fined for walking into a lamppost now? The cheek of it!

Chipmunk seen with cigarette

No, not the North London Mobo award winning rapper. Instead, a four legged, bushy tailed, fury critter was spotted on a beach in the Canary Islands enjoying  a cheeky ciggy. 


The small striped squirrel was snapped by an onlooking tourist and appears to have got bored of its usual omnivorous diet of fruit, nuts and insects and instead, turned to tobacco. 


Come winter, if there are buried packs of ten scattered around in random places, you'll know why!


On seeing this bizarre news story, I searched out a couple more animals that have a craving for cancer sticks.

With eco-systems being damaged due to climate change and habitat loss, it seems to have got all too much for this snake who can only just fit the cigarette in its mouth. 


The owner of the snake claimed that the scaly reptile picked up the habit on its own and was not forced into it. Perhaps it was weak and gave into peer pressure, or thought it would look 'cool'. All it needs now is a hoody and a baseball cap!


This chimpanzee was rescued from a Lebanese zoo by animal rights workers. The unfortunate chimp has never climbed a tree or even met another one of its kind. It has however been suckered into smoking cigarettes by zoo keepers who threw it spares every now and again.


Chimps are the closest living relatives to humans and are extremely clever, so are able to pick up a human habit such as smoking. Maybe the animal rights workers can sort it out some nicorette patches.

King Kenny’s British Regime

Kenny Dalglish has been spending big bucks in the 2011 summer transfer market and has so far spent over £50 million on bringing in British players.

It’s about time Liverpool started splashing the cash and renovating a squad full of dead wood accumulated from previous management. Having previously been frustrating watching Liverpool settle for mediocre European players to pad out the squad, frightened to make big investments, it seems the new owners Fenway Sports Group have kept their promise and are pumping money into the transfer fund.

Liverpool’s new management, a combined trio of Kop legend Dalglish at the helm, with the experience of first team coaches Steve Clarke and the newest addition Kevin Keen, have opted to revitalise their squad with the signings of no less than three British players.

It may be a case of out with the old and in with the new as Dalglish has signed three midfielders, in youngster Jordan Henderson, Scotsman Charlie Adam and creative winger Stuart Downing, who were all key players for their clubs last season. With Andy Carroll having joined in January, Liverpool can now field a strong starting eleven with ten good Brits and a Spaniard, in goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

To see more than four British players starting for a Premier League team is somewhat of a rarity these days and Dalglish is certainly putting his stamp on the Liverpool team. Not that Liverpool would start with this team in an important fixture; the option is always there, which is good to see in a big team. What's more is Manchester United striker, Wayne Rooney, has conceded that Liverpool's 'buy British' policy and new management has made them a real threat once again and believes Dalglish's men will be a major contender for the title.

My British Liverpool team (and Reina, in goal) would look something like this:

Johnson, Wilson, Carragher, Kelly

Downing, Henderson, Adam, Cole

         Gerrard

         Carroll

With British subs: Shelvey, Robinson, Flanagan, Spearing, Coady, Wisdom

My Liverpool team with all the current players available would be:

Reina,

Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua (New left back coming)

            Gerrard Lucas, Adam,

                                             Downing, Carroll, Suarez

Subs: Doni, Skrtel, Kelly, Meireles, Henderson, Maxi, Kuyt, (Another striker needed)