Blood Red: The Liverpool Fc Podcast

Not only did the Reds get back to winning ways in European competition after a disappointing defeat to Napoli last time out, but Jurgen Klopp's men seemingly rediscovered their attacking verve as they scored four goals and put Red Star to the sword.James Pearce, Paul Gorst and Joe Rimmer sat down to discuss the finer points of the game, including individual performances from Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and more.The lads agree that Fabinho should now get a run in the side after such an impressive display, and James talks about Shaqiri's happiness at Anfield after a season of struggle with Stoke City.Paul picks out Joe Gomez after another commanding turn at centre-back, and then we discuss what's next for Liverpool in the Champions League. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Champions League football is back at Anfield on Wednesday night - and the clash with Red Star Belgrade will be special for one Liverpool player in particular.Marko Grujic is a Red Star fan who grew up in Belgrade and rose through the ranks of his hometown club before Jurgen Klopp made the midfielder his first signing as Liverpool manager in January 2016.Grujic is currently on loan with Bundesliga high flyers Hertha Berlin, but as he tells our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce in an exclusive interview, he is hoping to be back at Anfield for the match.The 22-year-old speaks about how the loan is going and the latest on his fitness after his impressive start to life in Germany was halted by an ankle injury.Grujic also shares his memories of growing up, and then playing for Red Star, and what it means to the 1991 European Cup winners to be competing in the Champions League proper for the first time.He also tells us what Liverpool can expect on Wednesday night - and in the return encounter between the teams

In the latest Blood Red podcast, Liverpool reporter and regular host Ian Doyle is joined by ECHO triumvirate Joe Rimmer, Paul Gorst and Connor Dunn to look back at the dreary win over Huddersfield Town, consider Joe Gomez's form and Xherdan Shaqiri's impact, assess the issues in midfield and ponder what to expect against Red Star Belgrade.Also includes a little chat about Jose Mourinho because you didn't think we'd let that incident pass without comment, did you? For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was far from pretty but Liverpool's hard-fought victory at Huddersfield Town this evening means they have moved level on points at the top of the Premier League table with current leaders and defending champions Manchester City.But bar from Mohamed Salah's expertly taken 24th-minute strike, which ultimately proved the difference between the sides, the Reds failed to impress at the John Smith's Stadium.But, especially with Chelsea drawing at home to Manchester United, does that matter one bit given it stretched their unbeaten start to the season to nine games?It is a question that is addressed in our latest Post-Game podcast.Like those before it, it kicks off with the verdict of the Liverpool ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce.You will then hear from Reds fans Sam Planche, Alex Watt, Matt Whitty, Nathan Davidson, Ross Strachan and Peter Lally, who have phoned into the show.And the podcast rounds off with audio from Jurgen Klopp's press conference. For information regarding your data privacy, vi

With Liverpool flying high in third, with six wins and two draws from their unbeaten opening eight games to the Premier League campaign, surely the trip to Huddersfield Town is an away banker?Huddersfield, after all, are winless, sit third from bottom and have not scored at home since April 14 when former Reds youngster Tom Ince secured a priceless victory over Watford.But Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been at pains this week to warn that the team managed by his big mate David Wagner are playing better than their position suggests.So to find out just how true that is, Paul Wheelock picks up the phone to Rory Benson, who covers the Terriers for the Huddersfield Examiner newspaperPaul then speaks to our own Kristian Walsh, who believes this is the start of a must-win run for the Redman.And the podcast rounds off with audio highlights from Klopp's press conference on Friday afternoon. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real football is back this weekend... and in your and second and final Blood Red podcast of the week, host Joe Rimmer is joined by James Pearce and Paul Gorst to look ahead to Liverpool’s Premier League return at Huddersfield Town on Saturday, and much more else besides.But before that – and after a shout out to Gorsty’s mum – the trio discuss the UEFA Nations League, which may have caught the imagination of the England national team supporting public, but which has not gone down well with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.The injuries piled up for Klopp over the international break, which could well lead to a return for Adam Lallana at the John Smith’s Stadium. James finds it bizarre that the midfielder has been written off in some quarters. He also finds it hard to justify throwing Fabinho into the starting line-up on Saturday. Gorsty, however, disagrees.The in-form Gini Wijnaldum seems certain to start against Huddersfield but, following his stunning solo effort for Holland, should we be expecting even more from one

Cast your mind back to this stage of the season one year ago and Mohamed Salah sat on four goals from his first eight Premier League games of the campaign.Fast-forward 12 months and Liverpool’s superstar striker has netted just one goal fewer despite having to overcome the physical and emotional effects of what happened in Kiev and before, during and after the World Cup.But given the incredible feats he achieved in his debut season at Anfield, the spotlight is now very much on Salah, and has been since the first ball was kicked versus West Ham United just over two months ago.And, while it is undeniable that we have yet to see the very best of a player who broke record after record in 2017-18, he produced a positive performance against Manchester City before the international break and then scored a stunning goal direct from a corner while away with Egypt.But he picked up an injury later in the same match which makes him a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Huddersfield Town and which sums up his luck since being ta

Neil Fitzmaurice is back with his Poetry in Motion podcast and for the latest episode he is reunited with Joe Rimmer and joined by Kristian Walsh, who keeps his place after an impressive showing last time out.In contrast, Jurgen Klopp may have to ring the changes for Saturday’s trip to Huddersfield after a number of his players picked up injuries while playing for their countries.But the lads are confident Klopp now has the squad to cope and they ask, if he doesn’t, what does that say about his side’s title chances, particularly given the run of games they have coming up?A lot was made of Liverpool’s schedule before the international break but Fitzy and Co argue that, in many ways, this next set of fixtures could be the real litmus test.Ronald Koeman’s interesting comments about Virgil van Dijk are discussed before talk turns to another player who got injured during the international break, Naby Keita, and the reasons why the summer signing has so far been unable to live up to expectations.Gini Wijnaldum, how

Harry Wilson and Ben Woodburn are currently on international duty, team-mates with Wales, but on Saturday the highly rated Liverpool youngsters will be on opposite sides with their respective on-loan Championship clubs.However, whereas Wilson is seemingly making a big impression at Frank Lampard's Derby County, with his stunning goal and 'five times' celebration in their Carabao Cup win at Manchester United the highlight, the same seemingly cannot be said of Woodburn at table-toppers Sheffield United.But, as you will discover in this podcast, the tough spell Liverpool's youngest ever goalscorer is currently going through at Bramall Lane could yet be the making of him.To find out why it's not quite happening for Woodburn, Paul Wheelock speaks to James Shield, who is the Sheffield United correspondent for The Star newspaper in Sheffield.But only after Paul catches up with Steve Nicholson, who is the chief football writer for the Derby Telegraph, and who watches Wilson every week. It's an insightful listen about

In a special Blood Red podcast, Liverpool reporter and regular host Ian Doyle is joined by ECHO triumvirate Kristian Walsh, Joe Rimmer and Connor Dunn to discuss the FSG reign. What have they done right? What have they done wrong? What about transfers? What has been their greatest achievement? What has been their biggest failure? And what are they going to have to do next?All this, and plenty more, is discussed during a special hour-long episode. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jurgen Klopp may have so far this season resisted the temptation to rotate the impressive squad he has put together in his three years as Liverpool boss, but that’s exactly what we have done for our latest View from the Kop podcast.Caoimhe O’Neill makes her debut on the show, and along with regulars, and fellow Reds fans, Paul Philbin and Neil Macdonald, and host Paul Wheelock, they kick-off by reflecting on the start to the campaign.The trio wonder whether the change in Klopp’s style this season is by design or a consequence of the testing run of matches his side played going into the international break. But they are all in agreement that we are now witnessing a different, more rounded and mature Liverpool, and explain why that is the case.The ‘No 10’ role then comes up for debate and how much Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain is being missed. Can Adam Lallana fill his boots? Can Klopp trust Xherdan Shaqiri to play there? And will it ever be Naby Keita’s position?The panel try to answer those questions, give their mi

In the latest Blood Red podcast, Liverpool reporter and regular host Ian Doyle is joined by ECHO triumvirate Kristian Walsh, Joe Rimmer and Paul Gorst to discuss the last few days of all things Anfield. Amid the stupor of the international break, discussion turns to the travails of Naby Keita, the best way of sorting the creativity issue, how the summer signings have fared, the biggest disappointment and just what to make of the Nations League.Also includes Kristian revealing something about his pencil case and Joe having a partial potty mouth again. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Liverpool without a game this weekend due to the international break, we thought we would focus attention on football that is far removed from the Premier League for our latest podcast.It’s Non-League Day in England, which means football fans, not just of top-flight and Championship clubs, are encouraged to get down and support their local team, and discover just what a brilliant job they do.So to mark that, we spoke to three people who play, manage and are heavily involved in non-league football in this area.Our first guest is Craig Lindfield, the former Liverpool striker who fired the club to its last FA Youth Cup wins, in 2006 and 2007, and who has spent the past five years in non-league football, currently with Nantwich Town and also recently with Runcorn Town.Our second guest is one of the most successful non-league managers of recent times, Neil Young, a big Liverpool fan who last month took charge of Marine.And our third and final guest is Paul Manning, who is the chairman of the thriving City of

Peter Hooton returns with the Allez Les Rouges podcast and so do three of his regular guests, Ste Monaghan, Kieth Culvin and John Nicolson, to look back on the final two matches of a testing and stamina-sapping run of seven games in 23 days for LiverpoolThe quartet start by examining the Champions League encounter with Napoli, and explain why there were elements of the trip, like the match itself, that were a disappointment, before talk turns to Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premier League stalemate with Manchester CityThe game has been described as an ‘anti-climax’ in some quarters but the lads disagree and Peter reasons why it showed just how far the Reds have come in the last year.Jurgen Klopp’s decision to bench Trent-Alexander Arnold is debated, and while there is an acceptance that the right-back dipped below his high standards four nights earlier in Naples, the panel wonder whether it was the wrong match for him to be rested.Rest is what James Milner is going to get after coming off injured against City an

A true Liverpool FC legend is the special guest of our latest Blood Red spin-off podcast.Kevin Keegan was back in the city last week to promote his new autobiography, My Life in Football, and Paul Wheelock caught up him with him after a signing session.They talked Keegan’s six-year Liverpool career, which saw him win three First Division titles, two UEFA Cups, one FA Cup, and in his final game in a Red shirt, the European Cup, which was to prove to be the first of five for the club.Keegan gives an insight into the motivational magnificence of the manager who signed him at Anfield, the great Bill Shankly, and how the power of the Liverpool shirt inspired him to become a better player than he, and anyone else, had expected.Paul also asks the former England manager what Shankly would have made of current Reds boss Klopp – and the answer is worth listening to the podcast alone.Keegan also discusses the similarities between Klopp’s team and his own Newcastle United sides of the 90s and why lifting the first trophy

In our latest Verdict podcast, Paul Wheelock speaks to the Sunday Times football correspondent, Jonathan Northcroft, on what could not be the more timely of days.The pair met at the oh-so-glamorous location of Uttoxeter Services on the same day that Jurgen Klopp celebrated his three-year anniversary as manager of Liverpool and Jonathan launched his new book.Jonathan went behind the scenes at Melwood last week for a brilliant one-to-one interview with Klopp and to cast light on the revolution the Reds boss has oversaw in 36 rollercoaster months.Jonathan expands upon the article in this podcast, and also offers an insight into Michael Edwards - who he has met - and the Reds sporting director’s relationship with Klopp and FSG president Mike Gordon; Liverpool’s ‘real fab three’.The other ‘fab three’ are also discussed and Jonathan shares a fascinating story about the club’s recruitment of Mohamed Salah.Naby Keita, Fabinho and the ‘underestimated’ Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are debated before talk turns to Jonathan’s

Host Joe Rimmer is joined by our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, Theo Squires and Dan Kay for our first Blood Red podcast of the week.The quartet pick the bones out of the top-of-the-table 0-0 draw with Manchester City at Anfield and try to explain why it failed to provide the spark and edge we were expecting it to.James’ decision to pick Jordan Henderson as his man-of-the-match generated plenty of ‘debate’ online and led to a potential square-off with former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy. We'd back James.Ian Doyle - our usual host, who is on a day off - was on player-rating duty as ever on Sunday and his mark out of 10 for Joe Gomez causes just as much debate in the studio as it did on Twitter.Jurgen Klopp's decision to move Gomez to right-back and bring in Dejan Lovren is mulled over but overall all present delighted with the form of the defence.That is not quite the case with the frontline and, while James provides some statistics that underline their current struggle, the spotlight is also focu

Let's face it, that didn't live up to the hype, did it?But this afternoon’s 0-0 draw with Manchester City at Anfield does mean that Liverpool remain unbeaten after the first eight games of the season - and does mean they will go into yet another international break level on points at the top with the defending champions and an increasingly impressive Chelsea side.That would not have been the case had Riyad Mahrez not skied over a terrible late penalty for City.So, given that, was it a good point for the Reds?Or was it opportunity to inflict a first league defeat of the season on a City team that certainly paid Jurgen Klopp’s men a great deal of respect with the way they set-up?The Post-Game podcast, as always, starts with the thoughts of the Liverpool Echo’s Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce and ends with audio from Reds boss Klopp’s press conference.In between you will hear from Liverpool fans Matt Whitty, Alex Watt, Ross Strachan and Mark Baker, an academy coach at a Championship football club who off

A massive game at Anfield awaits and we have the very latest chat ahead of the crucial clash. Host Kristian Walsh sits down with Paul Gorst and Paul Philbin to discuss the impending visit of Man City and just what is needed to put down a marker in the Premier League title race. The team discuss whether victory is possible without the front three returning back to their best, while there is also real debate over what the midfield can offer - with agreement over what it is missing.There is also chat over what City will turn up and whether Raheem Sterling will be the one Anfield has come to love. A must-listen edition of Blood Red ahead of a huge weekend. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a special Blood Red spin-off podcast for you to head into the weekend.Stuart Brennan is the long-term chief Manchester City writer for the Manchester Evening News.And host Paul Wheelock picked up the phone to Stuart to get the inside track on the visitors to Anfield on Sunday.City are the defending Premier League champions and currently top the table on goal difference from Liverpool.But they have failed to win any of their last 17 trips to the home of the Reds, a run which includes the memorable Premier League and Champions League matches between the modern-day rivals at Anfield last season.Those incredible 4-3 and 3-0 wins improved Jurgen Klopp’s record against Pep Guardiola’s teams even further.So why does the Klopp and Liverpool seem to have a hoodoo over Guardiola and City?Stuart tries to answer those questions, and also talks the player who is filling the void left by the injured Kevin De Bruyne, the return of Raheem Sterling, and the major selection headache facing Guardiola.You will then hear