The arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Anfield will excite many Liverpool fans after seeing his Swansea team play a certain type of football which resembles the very successful Barcelona team of today. He led his side to their highest league finish in the clubs history, as they ended up in 11th place, beating Liverpool 1-0 at home on the last game of the season. However this appointment may reignite memories of Roy Hodgsons time in charge of the Reds. He was successful at Fulham, and Liverpool believed his great experience would be enough to create a new era at Anfield. Sadly, Hodgson was sacked after just six months in charge. Liverpool fans will be hoping for the complete opposite from their new man. It will be up to Rodgers to try to get the best out of Kenny Dalglish's signings, who have come under a vast amount of criticism for their lack of contribution considering the high fees paid. Stewart Downing has not performed anywhere near the level he can achieve this season, and his stats are ones that any winger would be embarrassed about. He made 28 appearances in the Premeir League, scoring zero goals, and creating zero assists. Quite some distance from the 15 assists his father had predicted him to get for Andy Carroll alone before the campaign started. Andy Carroll has also come under fire from critics after his massive 35 million pound switch from Newcastle. In 26 league appearances, he scored 6 goals, and only grabbed 11 goals overall in the season. He has showed signs of improvement during the later stages of the campaign, especially in cup competitions and for England at the Euros, but he needs to be hitting 20 goals a season at least to repay his price tag. However Kenny did get it right with the signing of Luis Suarez in football terms. Since his arrival in January, he has scored 21 goals, including a vital equaliser in the win against Everton in the FA Cup semi final. There have been very noticable issues though. Luis was banned for 12 games after allegedly racially abusing Patrice Evra, an offence which he still denies today.

With a new manager comes a new philosophy and new signings. Brendan's first target was to raid his old club and snatch Gylfi Sigurdsson before he could sign a permanent deal with Swansea. An 8 million pound offer was accepted by parent club Hoffenhiem, only for Tottenham to swoop in offering higher wages, causing the Icelandic international to sway towards a move to Spurs. This deal is still in the balance, and it is believed he will make his mind up today (1.7.2012). Another player who it seems the Reds have missed out on is Kuban Krasnodar striker Lacina Traore. the 6 ft 8 inch Ivorain forward, dubbed 'the new Adebayor' has moved to big spending Russian side Anzhi. Traore would have fitted in well at Liverpool, but there would have been doubts if he had the ability to hack it in the English game. As it seems Liverpool will miss out of Sigurdsson, there are reports they are in the market for Bolton midfielder Mark Davies. As a Liverpool fan myself, i find it laughable that a club with such great history and credentials would consider a payer who hasnt even broken into Bolton permanently, especially after they have just been relagated. I would have hoped that Brendan would attempt to sign bigger players, so that the club could once again challenge for the title, but buying players like this would only hinder our credentials. Adding Davies to the squad would only develop the idea that Liverpool have gone from having one of the best midfields in the world (Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso) to have one struggling to stay in the top haf of the table (Spearing, Shelvey and of course, Davies).


However, there have been some names involved in speculation who could get the fans excited. Firstly is the rumour that 21 year old Uruguayan midfielder Gaston Ramirez could be swapping Bologne for Liverpool in a 20 million pound switch. The midfielder, who signed a proffesional contract with the Italian team in 2010, has made 44 appearances for his team this season, scored 8 goals and created 4 assists in a fairly mediocre side. At 21 years of age he has the potential to be one of the best, and joining fellow Uruguayans Suarez and Coates will do wonders for him settling in the English game. Another player who i personally would welcome to Anfield is Juan Vargas. The Peruvian winger is very impressive at creating assists and would add some experience to a fairly young side. Lst season he gained 7 assists after only starting 18 games, and would provide competition for wingers Stewart Downing, Craig Bellamy and Jordan Henderson.



As well as bringing in new players, Liverpool can welcome back Joe Cole from his impressive loan spell at Lille. He helped the French side finish third and left a lasting impression on the fans and the manager, who said "we will remember him very fondly as a player but also as a man". Cole's arrival will add competition to the midfield and it also may be a deciding factor on whether Alberto Aquilani will stay at Anfield next season. The Italian has been out on loan for the past two seasons to Fiorentina and AC Milan, but it seems Milan don't want to make his move permanent and it may leave him with no option but to play his football in England. The former Roma playmaker may recieve a frosty reception should he decide to stay, but if he contributes with performances we know he is capable of, then the fans should be won over sonner rather than later. Liverpool's player of the season, who has been linked with Manchester City, has played down talk of a move to the champions. The Slovenia international who endured his best season in a Liverpool shirt, cooled talk of a 22 million pound switch to the Etihad, saying that he is "very excited about the new season". Liverpool will be hoping from more of the same from Pepe Reina, who this week has come under speculation linking him with a move to AC Milan. The fee believed to be offered by AC is in the region of 22 million pounds and may see the Spanish number two opt for a new challenge as he gets older. The Reds have already lined up a replacement in Hugo Lloris, which makes this rumour seem more believable. But fans would be devastated to see their number 25 leave the Kop.


Fans will be hoping for a better season than last, and a good start to the project that John W Henry has entrusted to be led by Brendan Rodgers.



Dan.