3 games in.. A bit shit so far.

Following the defeat against Arsenal, the familiar feeling of early season optimism being swiftly swept away is here again..

No matter how you dress it up, 1 point from 3 games is pretty shocking. Admittedly 2 of the games were against stronger teams in the league, but they were both at home - although even that doesn't seem to be the advantage it once was these days.

When the best performance is a home point against Man City which should have been three, but for Martin Skrtel's abberation it would have been, then you have problems.

I'm not even sure that the results are what's contributing to the generally shitty mood surrounding the club and it's supporters at the moment. Granted they've not helped, but the lack of a clear transfer strategy it seems is becoming quite alarming.

Letting Andy Carroll leave on loan to West Ham made more sense if he was surplus to requirements as seemed to be the case, only last Thursday when that deal was struck. And it does make sense to get rid of one player, before you get the next one in if you are trying to balance the books.

Bad idea.

But to let Carroll go and then fail to replace him smacks of incompetence. FSG seem to have gone from one extreme to the other and have somehow fucked up two transfer windows with the same player. Bearing in mind Carroll is still on our books, it seems pretty feasible that further transfer windows are going to be similarly shafted.

I don't want to go over the Carroll nonsense too much, but once we agreed to give away all the Torres money to Newcastle in a blind panic we were always going to cause ourselves problems if we tried to get rid of him and face the impossible task of recouping anything like the truly idiotic fee we paid for him.

We have now lurched in the other direction, partly due to FSG getting their fingers burnt last time and they didn't - or couldn't - go throwing the cash around this time round.

The mess surrounding the potential Clint Dempsey deal didn't make an awful lot of sense. The money Fulham were after seemed pretty reasonable although they wanted more of us than they did anyone else which you can imagine annoying a few round the table. But either way.. sign him, (£7m was cheap considering his recent record). Plus he's only 29 I suspect we would have got our money's worth over a few seasons.. although he is American.

Shit.

It would have actually made sense to offer the £4m if there wasn't anyone else in for him.. if he'd been stuck at Fulham until January then we would have got him for that if he was set on joining Liverpool which he seemed pretty keen on. For Spurs to come in at the last minute just takes the piss a bit.

So where does this leave us. Being linked to every free agent going between now and January presumably. Owen, Del Piero.. fucking Drogba. All pretty weird, especially Drogba. He'd probably want what Fulham wanted for Demspey in wages just till the end of the season.

It doesn't help that we've not exactly been eased into the season fixture list wise.. City, Arsenal and Man United for the first 3 home games is a bit taxing considering we've a new manager in charge. Sunderland away next as well isn't going to be easy either.

On the plus side, the teams were hopefully going to be fighting with are struggling a bit too.. Spurs especially. 2 points only when they would have been expecting more from their home games especially.

I suspect we're going to see a few more youngsters thrown in.. Adam Morgan got a start in the Hearts game which was good to see. He would have scored too, although unfortunately the linesman managed to notice the ball going a yard over the line in the build up.Maybe.. can't exactly see him starting at Old Trafford, although the squads looking a bit thin at that end of the pitch so you never know.

A win or two under our belts and hopefully we'll kick on.. confidence is everything in football. 6 (unlikely) points from our next two games and well be flying. I hope so, because the alternative (kicking round the relegation zone for a bit) would be a little bit hideous. It's just unfortunate that we've got the England nonsense first which just leaves more time to get annoyed by the situation, although reading this probably didn't help.

Liverpool v Hearts... time to experiment?

Liverpool face the return leg of the UEFA Cup (Europa League - what the hell kind of name is that?) qualifier against Hearts in a reasonable position. Whilst eh performance in Scotland wasn't especially inspiring a 1-0 away win in Europe is not bad for starters. Especially when you consider the games that Brendan Rodgers also has to deal with.

With the Hearts games being immediately followed by two of the biggest games of the season, he has had things to chew over in his new job. To be fair it could have been trickier. If Rodgers had been sorting through the balls himself when they were doing the draw you suspect that Hearts would have been one of the preferred choices. When you consider some of the other teams in the draw, it looks as though you would need a wardrobe to travel to the away leg. It also helped that the City and Arsenal games were both at home. A trip to City, followed by a mission to Azerbaijan (I'm pretty sure that's where Baku is), followed by another trip to the Emirates and things would be a little less straight-forward.

In the early stages as well it gives Rodgers a chance to experiment a little. I think it's a fair bet that we wouldn't have seen Raheem Sterling get a full game against City if Rodgers hadn't had the chance to see him properly against Hearts in the first leg when he impressed.

He also got the chance to try Downing at left back in that game which apparently is something Rodgers is considering as an option. Not sure of the wisdom in that one myself, but we shall see.

I suppose I'm glad that tie is still alive tomorrow.. if we'd just crushed Hearts in the first leg, it would have made the second game a little bit dull. It keeps us honest. Especially as it's going to be the first European game I've been to for a little while.. and in my current circumstances I don't think it's going to be that regular Thursday night trip.

The UEFA Cup does provide the opportunity for squad rotation and it will be interesting to see who gets a run out tomorrow. Presumably Agger will play to keep him up to speed following his suspension, I suspect Downing will get the nod tomorrow as well. I can't see Sterling starting his 3rd game in a week, although he will most likely be on the bench.

The main problem as I see it will be the shape of the midfield, more with Sunday's game against Arsenal in mind. With Lucas out for another couple of months, it will be interesting to see how Rodgers brings it together. With the 4-3-3 system, you would have thought he was looking at Gerrard, Allen and Lucas. With that option now removed for the time being, presumably Sahin will given more of a role than he might have expected.

With the likes of Spearing and Adam, players who filled in the holding roll last season, looking like they are on the way out then we will see how Rodgers  intends to bring it together, and which players will be surplus to requirements.

Raheem Sterling with one of the bigger boys.

The UEFA Cup does give him the opportunity to look at players in proper games and shape the squad as he wants.. and it will accelerate the process given the amount of games you have to play in it. It will also accelerate the progress of the kids he seems keen to bring through, again with Sterling being the prime example.

It is a decent tournament, and given Liverpool's history in Europe one we should be looking at seriously. It does make me sick that the likes of Villa and Spurs in recent seasons have not given it the respect it deserves. If for example Barcelona dropped into the competition (quite how this would happen is not clear) but they could be forgiven for not being fully committed - although they would probably win it anyway. Spurs on the other hand  haven't won a European trophy since the UEFA Cup in 1984 and only two League Cups in the past 20 years.

Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I consider winning big shiny trophies the point of football. Finishing fourth, is handy financially and all of that. But ask yourself this.. In 2001 Liverpool qualified for the Champions League.. was that the best bit of that season?

City at home.. nice easy one to start with.

The opener against West Brom didn't go entirely to plan. As first days go that was about horrendous as gets.. well hopefully anyway.

A tanking off a side who we used to routinely squish wasn't too great. I'm not going to go into the West Brom game much because a) I was getting drunk in a field at the time, and b) it's too depressing frankly.

We lost, but never mind, win against City on Sunday and suddenly we'll think we can win the league. This is the way of things, where every result gets analysed in minute detail by God knows who. Talksport, Sky Sports News .. in infinite and mostly fictious depth on Twitter.

An OK result against Hearts in the week was a step in the right direction, although how many of that side will be lining up against City is unclear.Possibly only  Borini and Carra of the outfield players, maybe Kelly depending on Enrique's fitness.

Whilst the performance wasn't particularly spectacular against Hearts, it was 1-0 away in Europe with a second string side effectively. This competition could prove really effective in blooding some of the players coming through. You only have to look at Sterling's performance. It also gives players on the fringes game time, which also helps with the mood in the squad.

And it's European football again, which whilst it's not the big fancy one, the UEFA cup has always been one worth winning. I know they changed the name, but I haven't.

Moving onto City on Sunday. Now, for too long now Liverpool fans have been celebrating other teams winning the league so long as they weren't Man Utd once our own title challenge has evaporated, usually depressingly early. Particular highlights include beating champions Blackburn in 1995 < yes, younger viewers "Champions Blackburn Rovers".

The actual one.

Now it is a distant consolation for it to be "Anyone But United" but it must be said, the events of last May and City snatching the title with effectively the last kick of the season, was - well I thought it was all rather fun, and it just goes to show what having more money than God can do for you. The imaginary God, not the actual one.

I think it will be the case for a little while yet that were going to have to make do with being happy when one of the irrelevant teams (still in single figures for title wins) winning the league. Whether Brendan Rodgers will be given the time, and indeed the money required given the competition now remains to be seen.

Sunday is going to be tricky, although City haven't exactly been throwing their weight around yet transfer wise, they didn't have too bad of a starting point. Our record against them last season wasn't too shabby. Bit of a kicking at their gaff in the league, but we won there in the League Cup (see UEFA Cup comments) semi. 1-1 last season at Anfield in the league, which was eventful enough. Balotelli going off on one for a change I seem to remember.

After a disappointing result on Saturday it's important that we get on the board tomorrow.. to be honest a point would be acceptable. The minimum acceptable but it wouldn't be a disaster. A win would be the shot in the arm we need at the moment, especially when you consider the next two home games. It will obviously be difficult. City are pretty well drilled and as I mentioned haven't had the influx of players to get used to eash other.

Nigel de Jong - Bit of a twat

You would suspect Borini and Allen would be starting, and whilst that's only 2 players they are in pretty crucial positions, especially Allen. That's the major battle as I see it. How Gerrard, Lucas and Allen fair in the middle against Yaya Toure and De Jong or Rodwell.

If we can win that battle and keep enough pressure on so the likes on Suarez and Borini can pose a threat than we have every chance.. Whether we can keep them quiet at the other end is another story.

Tevez is back playing, and although Aguero will be missing they have plenty of offensive options with the likes of Tevez, Balotelli and Nasri offence is usually not too far away.

With Agger suspended then it's going to be a tricky day for whoever partners him. You would have thought Carragher but these days it's not a shoe-in. Against City's attack that could be an accident waiting to happen, especially as he played 90 minutes on Thursday. But you suspect he has more going for him when you consider the option is Coates who hasn't really been thrown in to any big games as yet. City would be a big one to start with. Probably too big, and therefore unlikely.

Since that 1-1 draw in the league though it's worth considering City's away record (although not our home record as that hurts my argument quite a bit). City's league form away is less than spectacular. 13 away games including that 1-1. 5 defeats - including losing at Sunderland, Swansea and Everton and wining 5 but really only winning at Newcastle stands out as being particularly impressive. Even we battered Wolves and Norwich away last season and that was our worst season ever if you believe the press and ignore getting to two Cup Finals.

Sunday will be tricky, but doable. if we can get on the board first and get everyone pumped up then who knows what can happen. It might even be one for Andy Carroll to have a pop in. His stand out game in a red shirt was arguably when we tanked them 3-0 the season before last. It's worth a shot..actually quite a hard shot from about 25 yards. Be nice to see one of those from him again tomorrow..

What is success this season?

It took a little while but I managed to stop convincing myself every year (around this time usually) that this year will be the year we finally crack it and win the league again.

It's been a while since this has been even vaguely realistic.. certainly not since Benitez left, and we only really came close the one season under him.

Our own financial car crash situation and ownership implosion did not help matters, but the boat may have stopped rocking so much - it's stopped sinking would be more accurate - and we might actually gain a bit more control this season.

Brendan Rodgers seems to be a man with a plan, and with a bit of luck it won't cost the earth to see it through. We certainly can't afford to throw around the money we have been doing for the past couple of seasons.

A lot has been made of his 'new philosophy' which some people seem to have interpreted as we will start playing like Barcelona overnight. This clearly will not happen. Things like that take years to drum into players. But he talks well and I think we will start to move in that direction.

One of the things he said that struck me after the win against Gomel on Thursday was that he liked how we had regained possession quickly. Now this is obviously easier against the likes of Gomel, but if we can start to get that mentally then that will be a massive step.

The Scouse Iniesta

That is the main reason that Barca have been so good over the past few seasons.. (obviously having most of the best players in the world on the same side helps) but one of the main pillars that supports this is their refusal to let the other side have the ball.

If you can win the ball back quickly, preferably when the other side is not in your half yet, then it's game on. And following on from this there are 2 main points as I see it.

1 - It's way easier to defend if you've got the ball.

2 - If you've got the ball, the opposition tires doing the chasing.

Football is a painfully simply game really.

So where does this leave us this season. We have a manager who is familiar with managing in the Premier League and also seems to prefer possession football. He shouldn't need too much time to find his feet and it didn't take him too long with Swansea to figure out the league.

A couple of new players in. Borini got off to a good start. Frankly if he just stands where he did for his goal on Thursday, tidying up any Suarez by-line chaos he'll get at least a dozen goals this season. Probably more if he runs about a bit. You can seen them linking up well.

Also Joe Allen from Swansea - another player Rodgers obviously knows well, so this again should help.

A top 4 finish is possible.. not easy, but doable. I think that on it's own seems to be success these days. It did make me sick when we got to 2 cup finals, winning 1, and all the press could say was, well they're not in the top 4 though.

I remember when football used to be about winning shiny trophies.. not who had the biggest bank balance. That just means whose managed to squeeze their fans out of the most money.

Frankly I'd take that again this season. A Cup.. well The Cup and 5th place, the League Cup is OK but it's not the proper one is it.

The Champions League would be a bonus, it's been a while. But look at Man City and United last season. All the Champions League got them last season (apart from a few quid) was humiliation.

Top 4. yes, but not the be all and end all. Top 5 and a trophy (FA Cup) - also OK. UEFA Cup - I'd take that as well. I know they changed it, but change is bad (see League Cup). If we did progress in that competition, I can see our league form suffering - based on the current squad anyway.

One thing to bear in mind Mr Rodgers. Kenny Dalglish took us to 2 cup finals and that wasn't enough to save his job. You've got a bit of time, but success is expected sooner or later.

Team GB.. Well it's a bit different.

Great Britain progressed through to the knockout stages of the Olympics with relative ease and it's looking promising, well until they have to play Brazil again which probably won't go fantastically well.

I quite like the idea the idea of a British Olympic side.. it would have been a little odd if they had got the Olympics and not put forward a side for our national game. They've even got a side together for Handball as well which I've never been quite able to follow, or rather never actually tried to more accurately.

They've had four games playing together now, a couple of wins, most notably against Uruguay who frankly didn't really get out of the starting blocks, especially when you consider the talent they had at their disposal. Suarez and Cavani are among the top strikers playing in Europe, but Cavani particularly looked like a man in pre-season training.

But never mind about that, Suarez and Coates have had a bit of a run round and seem unscathed so we can get them back for more pressing matters. Whether Coates will get that much game time this season I suspect has more to do with how far Liverpool progress in the UEFA Cup. (I know they changed the name, but I haven't.)

I'm getting a little off topic, I tend to do that especially when I'm not on about Liverpool for some reason.

The Olympics has given the likes of Bellamy and Giggs a chance to play in and admittedly watered down international football tournament, which they were leaving a bit late in the day. Especially since Giggs hasn't played for Wales for years. But you can hardly blame him.. was never likely to lead to anything and he had that hectic social situation to keep on top of.

That is also the reason that I found it suprising that Gareth Bale dipped out to go and play for Spurs. I know he was supposed to be injured and well in a certain irony, he now is thanks to Mr Adam (again). I'm getting back on Liverpool, bear with me. I did hear Adam's agent defending him saying he's "not that kind of player", which taken as he meant it meaning a dirty player then he is correct, but Adam is bordering on "Paul Scholes" clumsy when it comes to tackling.

I hope that they continue with the British Oluympic side.. I suppose with the next one being in Brazil it is somwething of a bigger ask for sides to lend out their players for a tournament right at the start of the season, half way round the world. And the idea of qualification wouldn't sit well with those managers, but on the flip side of that if they do have to qualify they would become a more cohesive side as obviously the more a side plays together and understands each other the more effective it will be. It's a nice idea but I can't see it happening. Maybe if GB win a medal here, a bronze seems reasonably likely at least, then views on this may change.

I think one of the main disappointments with the Olympics is that the BBC didn't get Andy Gray and Richard Keys to present to Womens football.. they would most likely sat there in silence I suppose and if that's not a result then I don't know what is.

Andy Carroll... well that was a cracking idea wasn't it.

It may seem a little premature to be writing the obituary for this young man's Liverpool career just yet (although maybe not as it looks like he might be out of the door already), but it looks on the cards. He seems to morphing into the proverbial square peg in a round hole for the Liverpool first team with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

Emile Ivanhoe Heskey

Personally if it gets us playing football where the grass is, then I am in favour of this development. It turns into an easy of an option to try and pick out Carroll, or prior to him Crouch or Heskey and watch balls skim off the top of his head (Heskey) for a goal kick. Easy option, but also one that didn't work.But Heskey did have the greatest middle name in history and he did have his (occasional) moments.

Much better to keep the ball and progress up the field that way. If you're passing to feet it's easier than pinging the ball up the pitch to let someone fight for it. Don't give the opposition the chance, pass it quick on the floor and you will get results - if you get good at it.The odd long ball can be deadly at the feet of the right person.. If your name starts with an 'X' and you are spanish then this is usually a good sign.

This is part of the reason that I am not keen on the whole Andy Carroll situation. While he is at Liverpool I don't think we will get the best out of him. I do not think Carroll will slot in too easily to Rodgers plans.. and whilst he is a decent plan B if it starts to get desperate, that is a very expensive plan B. Best to cash in £20m-ish and get a couple of players in to decrease the need for a plan B as Plan A is nailing it thank you.(doesn't look like this is happening either).

I was never happy with the original transfer... it was the ultimate panic buy. One of the most ridiculous transfer deals in Liverpool history. Liverpool have historically done things on the cheap.Certainly in terms of goalscorers, we usually end up making a profit on them. Ian Rush bought for £300,000 from Chester, sold for £3.2m and bought back the season after for £2.8m. £100k profit and 346 goals into the deal - that is how you do business. More recently we had God (183 goals) and Michael Owen (158 goals) who we made profits on their transfers by not actually buying them in the first place. Even Torres who we made £30m on still got us 65 goals in 105 games. By my reckoning that's 752 goals with a profit (in transfers) of just under £40m.That's not including Steven Gerrard, but we haven't sold him yet (?) so that doesn't count.

Now this is obviously cherry picking on a grand scale, but I think the point stands. When you consider what we have got out of Carroll for £35m (6 goals) and some decent performances when he tried a bit harder.

Now it seems he's off to West Ham, for £2m with a view to signing him next season for £17m if he keeps them up. A good deal for them if you consider what 2 seasons in the Premier League is worth, considerably more than £17m.

When you look at this deal at the present time.. Liverpool will be £33m down (or £5.5m a goal). If you thought the original deal was crackers, well this one is turning into some kind of farce. And let's not forget the Aquilani saga is rumbling on. Although to be fair it is quite easy to forget as it has been going on for some time now. Not far wrong in saying that's the fat end of £60m wasted, probably more when you consider wages, but if I do that I will probably start crying.

I do hope we get a grip with this squad sooner rather than later. We cannot compete financially with the likes of City, but we certainly won't if we keep giving money away at the rate we have been. And let's not forget, the reason that this upsets me is that this is our money. Edging towards £50 (FIFTY POUNDS) a ticket, which you have to buy all in one go, well two goes.. but it's getting a bit steep.

If we carry on like we have been it will only get steeper.

Brendan Rodgers - A New Dawn at Anfield.. yes another one.

Things have been changing rapidly at Anfield over the past few years.. the turn over of managers is approaching chaotic Chelsea levels of incompetence.

Rodgers is the 4th manager at Anfield in the 2 years since Benitez left in 2010. Obviously the turmoil relating to the owners that's meant Liverpool have been on the front pages of the papers rather than the back during this time hasn't helped.

But hopefully, we can now put that behind us and get a bit of stability. It's worth noting that it took Liverpool 32 years to go through 4 managers between 1959 and 1991. A period that it's fair to say had it's moments of success. You only have to look at Man Utd (as much as it pains me to say) that show that constantly changing your manager, is not the way forward if you want to be successful. In today's demand  for instant success would have meant that Ferguson would have probably been sacked long before they started winning things - so I suppose in that instance, a trigger happy owner would have been more beneficial to Liverpool, but I'm getting off the point slightly.

Rodgers has come in and as always with a new manager (except with Hodgson) there is a new sense of optimism. Swansea were impressive last season. Especially in their performance at Anfield. During the various draws at Anfield last season - it could be argued that that was a point won for Liverpool than 2 lost. They kept the ball well and had the chances to win the game, which they were possibly unlucky not to in the end.

A lot has been made of the new system that Rodgers will bring in. His Spanish connections have made it sound as though he will install a brand of tiki-taka football and we'll suddenly start playing like Barcelona. it's a nice idea, but I wonder how feasible it is.

Player from North-East of England

The reason that Barcelona (and Spain) can play that way is because they have been playing that way since the age of 10. They get taught to play the ball around properly which is why they are so obscenely good at it. Suddenly saying that were now going to play like that when your side is made up of players from all over the place that haven't been brought up like that (especially in the North-East of England).

Hopefully Rodgers can change things round. If we can get playing properly and more importantly - Effectively, then we have a real chance of getting towards the pointy end of the table when April and May come along.

Transfers will obviously play a big part in this and if we learn to negotiate a bit more then we won't have to spend quite the eye-watering sums of money that we have been doing over the past few years.

Hopefully some of the players we signed last year can step up a level. Once they actually get used to the idea of wearing a Liverpool shirt then it is feasible that the likes of Henderson, Downing and especially Carroll can start to deliver. That is of course if Carroll hasn't been sold, because of the face of it he doesn't look like a Brendan Rodgers type of player. Although he could turn out to be a rather expensive plan B on the bench.

We signed Fabio Borini on Friday the 13th, which I understand is also when we signed Ian Rush. If you attach significance to such nonsense this is probably a good thing, so I think we will. To be honest I don't know that much about him but I suppose Rodgers does so we'll have to see how that pans out. we will have to hope that he is a little more successful than our other Italian signings, none of which have covered themselves in glory - apart from the 4th goal at Old Trafford from Dossena which was fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skoafqqLlJk&feature=related < always good to watch this again.

There was also the interesting rumour in the week of Fulham offering us Clint Dempsey and £9m for Andy Carroll which seems like a pretty good deal, even considering Dempsey's age.

To be honest I get a bit tired of all the rumours flying around - we'll see who we've got at the start of the season and with a bit of luck we'll get somewhere near fourth spot, which if Van Persie and Modric both leave their respective clubs will suddenly become a slightly easier prospect, but only slightly.