PODCAST: DISTRACTION

NEIL ATKINSON was joined by Ben Johnson, Gareth Roberts and Adam Smith after Liverpool’s first away defeat of the calender year. Download Issue 11 of #TAW Monthly via iTunes or at app.theanfieldwrap.com for other devices. Like what we do? Buy us a pint!...
MANCHESTER CITY v LIVERPOOL: A SECOND LOOK

MANCHESTER CITY v LIVERPOOL: A SECOND LOOK

AFTER last season’s jump from so far to so near, Liverpool are desperate to make a statement. The club wants to tell the football world that last season was no fluke; that the club is here to stay – feasting at the top table, back in the Champions League, challenging...
MARIO BALOTELLI: RISKY BUSINESS?

MARIO BALOTELLI: RISKY BUSINESS?

YOU should know that what you’re about to read isn’t going to unbiased. I love Mario Balotelli. Have done for years. He was born in Palermo where a large chunk of my family still reside. He played for Internazionale and A.C. Milan, the two teams that most of my...
MARIO BALOTELLI: HOW WILL HE FIT IN AT LIVERPOOL?

MARIO BALOTELLI: HOW WILL HE FIT IN AT LIVERPOOL?

THE flawed genius, the scorer of great goals, the personality, the pyromaniac, the impulse shopper, the petulance, the ill-discipline, the untameable beast. Yes, the Mario Balotelli roadshow has rolled into Liverpool, fireworks and all, writes CRAIG RIMMER. If there...
LIVERPOOL: GOING FORWARD

LIVERPOOL: GOING FORWARD

WHAT an annoying buzz phrase it is. Having been a civil servant for a large part of my recent history, it has been haunting me, following me everywhere. Constantly being told what we are doing ‘going forward’. In the last year or so, I have noticed it...
LIVERPOOL: WHAT’S THE SCRIPT, BRENDAN?

LIVERPOOL: WHAT’S THE SCRIPT, BRENDAN?

LIVERPOOL would bust lungs, strain muscles and push for victory like a sprinter at the Olympic Games with the finish line in sight and a record time on the clock. They would relentlessly square up to opponents in their own half – get in their faces, force them on to...
LIVERPOOL: NOW IT GETS INTERESTING

LIVERPOOL: NOW IT GETS INTERESTING

SO now for the interesting bit. The last pre-season ball to be kicked in mild irritation has mercifully been and gone. The next one Liverpool Football Club kick will have points riding on it. The next line-up that Brendan Rodgers names will be one designed to...
LIVERPOOL: PROCEED WITH TOTAL ABANDON

LIVERPOOL: PROCEED WITH TOTAL ABANDON

NEIL Scott wrote a piece for The Anfield Wrap called “Proceed with Caution”.  I refuse to read it, writes MARTIN FITZGERALD. This is a point-blank refusal. Unequivocal. Nothing he could ever do would ever make me read it. It was received really well by those more...
LIVERPOOL: I NEVER MAKE PREDICTIONS AND I NEVER WILL

LIVERPOOL: I NEVER MAKE PREDICTIONS AND I NEVER WILL

By Phil Blundell THE PREMIER LEAGUE starts in two days – so you’ve got every Tom, Dick and Harry having their say about what will happen, what might happen, and what could happen. Ultimately, you’ll read most of them back and think, ‘That’s absolutely ridiculous’....