Brendan Rodgers: Friend or Foe?

With the Premier league season coming to a close, and with Liverpool fighting for the trophy, some of Rodgers tactics start to seem questionable. 

The fact that Rodgers did not trust any of his youth until the final third of the season is, quite honestly, pretty frightening. What would Liverpool's season have looked like if Gerrard, Suarez, Agger and Mignolet had not have had a completely healthy season? There would be mass panic for all of us Liverpool fans. Who would take their place. Well, we do have the former Barcelona man Luis Alberto who is a quality striker, but hasn't seemed to earn his spot onto the team sheet. Why that is, none of us know. But I, for one, am very upset about that. Youth is power and not using that power is a complete waste. Another talented youth player that hasn't played as much as he deserves to, is Jordan Ibe. A quick, technical attacking player that could bring loads of creativity to the Liverpool attack, but he hasn't seen the pitch at all this year. The even more frightening part is that Ibe was picked up this past summer. And for what? Did Rodgers spend that money with no intent to play Ibe? That's what it looks like to me. Rodgers did not want to be criticised like Wenger for not buying anyone so he spent money on players he had no intent on using. The one that infuriates me the most is Iago Aspas. Aspas is one of the most creative players on the Liverpool roster right now. And he has only seen the pitch a few times this year and for a very short amount of time. His creativity could've been used when Chelsea parked the bus, but Rodgers did not trust him. His lack of trust could be from the lack of playing time Aspas had gotten though. And whose fault would that be? 

Don't get me wrong, Rodgers is a great manager and I love what he has done with this Liverpool squad. However, some changes do need to be made in order for Liverpool to remain dominant in seasons to come and not have to rely on the goal scoring capabilities of Luis Suarez. 

Summer Transfers: My Top Transfers of the Summer Window

This transfer window has seen its fair share of drama and endless speculation about who is going where and for how much. I am going to share my limited knowledge on some of the big transfers and their effect on each team and the league.

First off, I want to say that Rooney to Chelsea is absolute rubbish. Moyes is not going to let Wayne Rooney go and make Chelsea even stronger.

By far the most talked about transfer is the new Blaugrana man, Neymar. The Brazilian wonder kid will take loads of pressure off of Lionel Messi and provide more speed and quickness to the already potent Barcelona attack. There is big talk about whether Neymar and Messi will get along, which is not even a real question given the humility of Messi. Messi and Neymar will be the better version of the Keane and Donovan relationship in LA. Pass and move, goal. Expect Barcelona to make a serious Champions League run after the disappointing 7-0 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in last year's campaign.


My next big move is Aspas to Liverpool. With all the Suarez drama it is not hard to see how important of a buy this was for the Reds. Aspas is a replacement for the want-away striker and a good one at that. Iago always seems to show up in the right spots to lay off a pass or dribble and shoot. Vision is great also. The lad has a great future at Liverpool with Liverpool playing good football right now.

My last big transfer is Mario Gomez to Fiorentina. Gomez is a clinical finisher and with Fiorentina losing Stevan Jovetic to Manchester City; Gomez is the perfect replacement. Gomez is another striker who always seems to be in the right place at the right time which is a huge attribute for any team to have with a striker.

Although there have been many more big transfers, these are by far the most important (in my opinion) and with more big transfers waiting to happen in the dying embers of the window, my list could change. The big transfers I am talking about are David Luiz and Gareth Bale. Only time will tell where those two superstars end up and each will have huge effects on the teams they are leaving and especially the ones they are moving to.

Back to School Woes

Just a little bit of a heads up. I am starting back to school today. So I won't be able to write quite as often. But I will try to write as much as possible. Please keep checking in and I'll keep writing. :) 

Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers: The Most Euroesque Teams In The MLS

Last night, a man by the name of Matt B. (@BasinSportsGuy) sparked an interesting conversation. Who are the teams that will represent the tactical norm in the MLS? I thought RSL, PTFC and SKC. But a die hard RSL fan , Derek, said that SKC plays a "bullish direct route style." which he is right about, but on a good night SKC can be a sight to behold.

Now, many of you might remember that some said the same things about the Seattle Sounders last season, but not so much this year. Now that Klinsman is in charge of the USMNT, and the Sounders signed Dempsey, could that change in this last half of the season? I think, yes. Klinsman has the Americans playing a very Euro style of football, and now that Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey are teamed up in Seattle, that could change the whole way that the Sounders play football.

As many of you saw, the night Dempsey was unveiled, Johnson did his half of he and Dempsey's celebration. The start of the Johnson-Dempsey era. Exciting for Seattle, scary for opponents. Dempsey has everything the Sounders need, and at the perfect time too. As, Seattle are 2 points out of the playoffs. Can Dempsey and Johnson bring Seattle back to the Seattle of old? Can they bring silverware to CenturyLink Field? Only time can tell, and Seattle will have everyone watching and waiting.

Has Loyalty Disappeared From The Beautiful Game?

With the Luis Suarez fiasco comes this very big question, is there loyalty in the beautiful game anymore? Yes, but it is going quickly. While there still are many loyal players, money is changing that quicker than we might think.

Luis Suarez wants to leave the Anfield club because of the lack of premier league play, which is understandable, but with the young talent in Jordan Ibe and others, it might be worth sticking around. Suarez has done this to another club. A club called Groningen in Holland. Ajax sent a 3.5 million Euro offer for the striker and when Groningen rejected the offer, Suarez took them to court. Ridiculous, right? Suarez lost in court but Ajax then upped their offer to 7.5 million Euros which Groningen accepted.

Rodgers has a very opposite view then Suarez stating, "The Liverpool Way is all about a club with ambition, a club that strives to be the very best, a club that is about commitment. That means that everyone is committed to the cause of fighting for the shirt." That bold word is one that Suarez struggles with. Suarez, along with many others only want what is best for them at that moment.

One of the other people that comes to mind when I think about club jumping is Mario Balotelli. Mario has never been on my good side. My first experience with Balotelli was in the 2012 season. Mario was having a bad game and late in that game, Manchester City won a free-kick in a good area. City's manager told Mario to let someone else take the kick, and he did not take that well. He threw, for lack of a better explanation, a temper tantrum.

Balotelli has not only off the field problems but on field problems as well. His move to Milan was, in my opinion, a bad one for Milan. He cannot hold his temper in tense games which often sees him getting sent off for unnecessary reasons. His career was marred with drinking and a love for late nights, when that is the last thing you want from an athlete.

With all that being said, money definitely has changed the game we all know and love. The most important thing for clubs now is finding a loyal player with his priorities in tact. Which in this era, will be very difficult, be we do see it. Players like Messi, Gerrard, Terry and many more are still here and can be a good influence for the future generation of players.

Will Neymar And Messi Play Beaitiful Music?

With the huge signing of the Brazilian Wonderkid, Neymar, Barcelona look to make a huge push for the Champions League title. If Neymar and Messi get along that is. Neymar always likes to steal the show, but that won't work for him at FC Barcelona.

Just a few days ago, Barcelona destroyed a Brazilian team 8x0. That game showed the promising future of Alexis Sanchez, and was the debut of Neymar. Messi had one goal, Neymar had none. Now, Barca fans shouldn't be worried about Neymar not scoring in a goal fest like that game was. His thirst for goals is stronger than ever now that he's in Europe and we will surely see plenty of goals from him.

Messi had an amazing year last year scoring 91 goals. And my biggest fear is that bringing Neymar in will take away from Messi's scoring. But, as I really thought more about it, I realized how silly I was being. Neymar and Messi will both score a great amount of goals putting Barcelona in a great position next year.

Also, Neymar has amazing speed, vision, and can shoot and pass from anywhere on the field. We saw his full potential in the Confederations Cup where he not only scored but assisted also. So, he already has the skill set to play in Spain, but the biggest thing for him in these next couple of weeks is to adjust to Barcelona's style of play that is vastly different from the Brazilian style he's used to.

If he can nail that down, he'll be just fine for his first season in Europe. Neymar brings a lot of excitement to Barcelona and gives great hope for the future of this football club.

The video shows Neymar's top ten goals. He looks a lot like Messi in some of them!

Clint Dempsey: His Effect On The MLS

There has been much speculation on Twitter that Clint "Deuce" Dempsey is making a move to the Seattle Sounders. Now, an elite player like him moving to the MLS could only be positive for the future of the league. He would not only be playing with another US Men's Team starter, Eddie Johnson, but would be playing for a very solid MLS team.

Dempsey lived in the shadow of Gareth Bale last season while at Tottenham. With only 7 goals and 4 assists, I would say it wasn't the best season of his career. A quick winger with good vision, passing, crossing, and finishing could not only help the sounders make a push for a playoff berth, as they are not far off, but show that a player can succeed on the national and club level in the US.

In my first article, I touched on Real Salt Lake and their style of play and their men on the national team. Clint would be another superstar to play in the MLS and the national team if he made this move. The MLS is more and more becoming a breeding ground for national performers with the likes of Chris Wondolowski and Eddie Johnson becoming essential pieces to the puzzle in this last Gold Cup.

IF Clint does make this move, it could only be positive for the youngsters looking to play football in the MLS, because it shows that great players can be bred in the USA. If you ask me, that gives USA football a very bright future.