The Liver Bird  

Yes, it was the magic of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez (and a bit of an arm) that safely saw Liverpool collect all three points on Sunday as managerless Sunderland could only create one goal via Italian Giaccherini.

Temporary boss Kevin Ball had made no changes to the Sunderland side from their league cup outing and it was the black cats that had the more positive start initially. As often happens when a team are looking to shake off their old manager and prove themselves to any new contenders, Sunderland were very confident to begin with and maintained a lot of possession.

Giaccherini as always was causing the defence some problems and without Steven Fletcher, Sunderland were perhaps missing that final product however, they did sustain pressure for a good 15 minutes or so. After failing to find the back of the net though Sunderland slowly allowed Liverpool back into the game.

Rodgers had gone for a similar set up in comparison to the Manchester United game. We had three at the ba…

Liverpool travel to Sunderland on Sunday with their tails slightly between their legs. An undeserved loss against United in the league cup has knocked their confidence but the poor performance against Southampton is what has most fans worrying. Luckily for the Reds Suarez is well and truly back and he will no doubt boost the side's overall display.

There are no new injury worries for Liverpool and Daniel Agger looks as though he may be able to start if Rodgers decides to field him. For Sunderland I have conflicting information, some websites are saying Fletcher is their only player out whereas physio room says also out are ex red man Dossena, Bardsley and Brown. It also says they have doubts hanging over the fitness of Celustka and John O'Shea. Make of that what you will but Steven Fletcher is probably the biggest loss there anyway.

Along with their injury woes, Sunderland also find themselves stone dead last in the Premier League table with just one point collected under man…

For once, I'm not being bias here and I think neutrals and even United fans will agree that David Moyes' side did not deserve to win that game last night. Liverpool after the first ten minutes of the game had complete control, pressure was constant and by half time they looked most likely to walk away with the win. Some poor defending immediately in the second half though allowed Hernandez to score for the home side. Liverpool continued to show promise and applied pressure throughout the second half but that final pass or final ball was still missing and Liverpool were knocked out of the league cup.

Brendan Rodgers had set up his Liverpool side in a 3-5-2 formation, a commendable move I feel as it's not often you see that formation for an away side at Old Trafford. Of course his hand was forced slightly by injuries but I feel it worked well. Moyes on the other hand had made eight changes from the side that fell to a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City.

For the first ten mi…

The Reds make the short trip to Manchester on Wednesday evening to face David Moyes' side in the third round of the league cup. Liverpool may have received a knock in the league after losing to Southampton at the weekend but Brendan Rodgers doesn't need to remind his side of their performance and win against United earlier in the month at Anfield.


Long term injuries for Liverpool mean once again they are without Glen Johnson, Sebastian Coates, Aly Cissokho and Philippe Coutinho. Daniel Agger also has a doubt hanging over him after a rib cage injury. The real positive news for Liverpool though is the return of Luis Suarez. Rodgers has been quoted this week on Suarez, saying "He'll travel and we'll reflect over the next 24 hours whether he starts". To be honest I think you'd have to be mental not to start him, I understand that the boss doesn't want to make it seem like Suarez can just walk back in whenever he likes but let's face it, with or withou…

It was a match Liverpool fans will want to forget on Saturday afternoon as the Reds fell to a Southampton side that very much deserved their 1-0 win. Brendan Rodgers bizarrely made the decision to start four centre backs but despite this Liverpool still managed to concede from a set piece. It was a poor performance all round from Liverpool and many disagreed with the starting line up.

Interestingly the last team to beat Liverpool before they went on their run was the Saints and Pochettino certainly set his side up to apply real pressure on the Reds. Southampton worked very well as a unit and on too many occasions were allowed through in to dangerous positions by Liverpool.

Liverpool looked very uninspired from the off and had a very disappointing first half performance. Without the likes of Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique it was clear the Reds had drastically decreased their supply line. There's often many a fan on line who will criticise the likes of Johnson and Enrique to the hilt…

So, it's that time of year again; The Football Blogging Awards!
Most of you will know that last year through your immense support The Liver Bird won best #Female blog at the inagural event, you can read the story of that night here.

This year the awards are bigger and better and there are some cracking blogs in the #Female category entering the race! Please take a look at the Football Blogging Awards website to read some guest posts from all the blogs in each category.
As you can probably tell, The Liver Bird needs all the help it can get and I would really appreciate your votes, shares, retweets whatever, it all helps and I sincerly appreciate it!
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Liverpool welcome Southampton to Anfield on Saturday as the Reds look to continue their almost perfect start to the Premier League season. The 2-2 draw with Swansea on Monday night has been judged as a failure by some Liverpool fans but with Brendan's side still perched nicely at the top of the league, Liverpool still have destiny in their own hands at this early stage of the season.
Injuries for Liverpool have been troublesome this week after Philippe Coutinho had to undergo shoulder surgery, he won't be back in the squad until late October. Also still out long term are Glen Johnson, Sebastian Coates and Aly Cissokho. Daniel Agger on the other hand is expected to be available after that "freak gym accident" and of course Luis Suarez is anxiously awaiting his return which will come against Manchester United in the League Cup midweek.

Southampton on the other hand are in relatively good shape with just two players having doubts hanging over them; Luke Shaw and Danny F…

It was a game ex Liverpool man Jonjo Shelvey would probably rather forget and during his post match interview it did look like he was trying his best to block out the previous 90 minutes because after a dream start for the midfielder, things quickly took a turn for the worse. Jonjo opened the scoring for Swansea after a miss kick eventually led him to an opportunity to find the back of the net. Shortly after though he gifted Daniel Sturridge an equaliser and that wasn't even the end of the story.

Liverpool had made some changes to their starting line up, namely the addition of new signing Sakho who replaced Daniel Agger. Agger apparently was injured in a "freak gym accident"... that's a new one.  Victor Moses also made his debut for the Reds.

Anyone who looked at this match thinking it was going to be easy was mistaken from the onset in my opinion but I don't think anybody could have predicted the way the game opened.

In the second minute of the game Jonjo Shelve…

Hooray! I hear you all cry, the international break has finally ended, I don't know about you but I bloody hate international breaks! Anyway, we're here and we're back, ready to face Swansea with the incentive of putting ourselves back at the top of the table. If the Reds win they will be 3 points clear of the chasing pack.

Injuries for Liverpool mean there are a few doubts hanging over key players. Daniel Sturridge for example is presumed to be ok for tomorrow night's game but it would still be a quick return for the in form forward. Kolo Toure is also apparently available to start. Joe Allen is also a doubt whilst Glen Johnson, Aly Cissokho and Sebastian Coates are all out long term. Luis Suarez is also still serving his ban.

For Swansea they are without Taylor who isn't expected back until early October and they also have doubts hanging over Dyer and Tate. Jonjo Shelvey who of course is an ex Liverpool man also had to quickly regain fitness but it is widely agre…

Steve McManaman is one of the Liverpool players that were around in the era that I began learning everything about Liverpool Football Club. Most people will know now that the reason I ended up supporting Liverpool was down to a brother who was obsessed with them at the time. Despite being only 10 when McManaman left I remember watching several games with my brother praising his every move but it appears that many younger fans these days and neutrals alike have no idea how good McManaman actually was, he separates opinion when it comes to his personality but he truly had a gift on the field.

The Basics

Full Name: Steven McManaman
Date Of Birth: 11th February 1972
Born in: Kirkdale, Liverpool
Height: 6ft
Position: Attacking Midfielder

Personal Life

Before signing his first contract with Liverpool McManaman was a much praised cross country runner, he even beat a former Olympian at one stage on the circuit. 

Many people often forget that Steve lost his mother during his last season at Liverpool, s…

Shankly made the people happy and I'm sure he would have been immensely proud of Daniel Sturridge on Sunday as the number 15 found the back of the net for Liverpool after flicking on a Daniel Agger header. Shankly would have been 100 years old today and whilst Sturridge remains a year behind a quarter of that tally, the forward continued to make the people happy at Anfield yesterday as his goal secured a win over David Moyes' Manchester United.
Liverpool were the more dominant side in the first half as Manchester United struggled to deal with the pressure applied from the Reds. An early goal also aided Liverpool's progress and United at times seemed flustered messing up a lot of crosses and passes. The second half though saw United gain some control and the match ended with the devils having the majority of possession (57%). Liverpool fought hard though to ensure United could not break through with Martin Skrtel putting in a fantastic performance proving he hasn't lost…