Liverpool Sign Henderson from Sunderland

22 year old Jordan Henderson has completed a summer transfer from Sunderland to Liverpool. Henderson enjoyed a good run of form during the season, but the transfer of Sunderland's number one striker, Darren Bent, saw the team struggle to gain results. His transfer fee may reportedly rise to £15 million depending on the clauses included in the transfer contract.

I think that Henderson is a great transfer. When he was playing with a great striker, he excelled. Luckily, Liverpool have Suarez and (hopefully) Carrol will hit form, which will give Henderson some attacking outlets to play the ball to. Henderson is a young midfielder with a lot of upside and I expect him to grow a lot under Kenny Dalglish.

Here are some videos of Henderson in action, via youtube.com, that highlight his touch, finishing, and passing abilities.

 

Liverpool See Fulham Off 1-0 at Anfield

Liverpool continued their pervious game's form in the first two-thirds of the field with strong possession and sharp passes, but they lacked the final element in their offensive third. Despite the lack of finishing, they left the game winners courtesy of an own goal by Fulham's defender, John Pantsil.

Six minutes into the game, Raul Meireles made a fine pass to Fernando Torres who put the ball in the back of the net. The goal was then called off by an offsides call made by the line-referee, but replays suggest that the wrong call had been made.

The team carried on undiscouraged by the call and had a fair number of chances on goal. Fulham rarely had a chance to put together an attack because of a fine display of defensive by the Liverpool squad. Glen Johnson had a superb game at left back and got in a few well placed crosses.

Torres got another chance at goal at the 51st minute mark. His shot was defelcted into the post, but created havoc on the bounce-back. Pantsil had two chances to clear the ball, but his clearance was mistimed and instead he sliced the ball into his own net.

Fulham's came back strong after that, but their best offensive threat culminated in Meireles clearing the ball off the Liverpool goal line.

This win moves Liverpool up to seventh in the Premier League standings, while Fulham are now in fifteenth. The own goal was a lucky break for the Reds, but it is a good sign that they can find a way to win, even when they are not clicking at all cylinders.

The Reds currently lie nine points away from a Champions League qualification spot.

premierleague.com

Here is a video of the game's highlights:

[video credit to Free Football Highlights Online]

Liverpool FC's On-Field Revival Begins With a 3-0 Victory at Wolves

Was this really the same team that lost 1-0 to Wolves at home under Hodgson? All hail King Kenny!

Return of the King:
In stark contrast to Hodgson's approach to the beautiful game, Daglish has encouraged the players to play a pass-and-move style of play reminiscent of his Liverpool teams of 1985 to 1991.

 [(Not-so-) Fun fact: Liverpool won the league championship three times over that time span and have failed to win it since)].

You could see hints of the style of play in his first few games in charge. Thankfully, as the players have had time to adjust, it seems that they are beginning to thrive under Daglish's managerial approach. One can only wonder what words King Kenny has said to bring the morale of this team up, getting even the recently deadpan Torres looking like the passionate player he had been when he first arrived at Anfield. It looks like a 4-3-3 (sometimes 4-1-4-1 when Gerrard is healthy) is Daglish's current formation of choice.

This is a clip of Fernando Torres's goal at the 91st minute. It summarizes the beauty of the pass and move approach; 31 passes were made and nine players had a touch on the ball before it found its way to Torres and was subsequently buried into the top of the net.

I must admit that I giggled out of delight while watching this clip; pass and move has that effect on me.

Final Take:
I am usually wary of being overly-excited for the teams that I support, but if this game is any indication of the future, we have some great football to look forward to from Liverpool FC under Kenny Daglish.