Max: First question I want to ask you, how well do you think Liverpool played against Chelsea?
James: “I was really impressed. Brendan Rodgers spoke in the build up to the game how Chelsea would feel this was a completely different Liverpool compared to the one they played earlier in the season. Liverpool were excellent, Chelsea set their team out to frustrate Liverpool. Mourinho showed some respect to Liverpool, with the team picked and the fact that he brought in Mikel ahead of Oscar. Second half it was like the Liverpool of last season, the way they took the game to Chelsea – absolutely dominated. The only frustration was we only had Raheem Sterling’s goal to show for their efforts. I thought on the night, Liverpool were superior in all departments. I think a 1 or 2 goal lead to take to Stamford Bridge wouldn’t have flattered them.”
Max: Liverpool have been unbeaten in the last nine games with three clean sheets. Do you think there’s a clear change in Liverpool?
James: “Yeah I think there is. You gotta give Rodgers credit, a big part of it has been the change of formation. We saw the potential against Manchester United, unfortunately Liverpool wasted great chances on that day and shot themselves defensively in the foot. Credit to Brendan Rodgers for putting faith in that formation, it certainly suits the resources he has got. I think the Chelsea game was a big statement. Eight games unbeaten is a great run, but you look at some of the opposition in that period and there have been a fair few modest teams – the likes of Bournemouth, AFC Wimbledon, Burnley and Villa. So for Liverpool to produce a performance against a side known as ‘the best in the country’ at the moment, I thought was a huge step forward.”
Max: Do you think this could be a big morale boost?
James: “I think so. The big positive is when you look at the players who are going to come back. You go back to November time when Sturridge was on a brink of a come back last time, and there was massive pressure on Daniel then. Everyone was saying he was going to be the man to save Liverpool’s season, and if he’d come back then there would have been immense pressure on his shoulders. The great thing is now, he’s coming back to a team full of confidence and I think that belief which has come back to the side is a real positive. Hopefully Sturridge’s return will also trigger an improvement in Balotelli’s fortunes. At the moment, Liverpool have been playing without Lovren, Sterling has showeda the benefit of having a two week winter break, Lallana back earlier than anticipated, so it’s still so much to play for – three Cup Competitions and the top four. After such a torrid first half of to the season, Liverpool now look a lot brighter.”
Max: Speaking of Sturridge, do you have any idea when he could be back?
James: “It’s a possibility that Sturridge will be back for the Chelsea game. Rodgers has been very careful to put any exact date on it, mainly because Liverpool have been stunned previously this season, where they’ve talked about him being on the brink of return and then he breaks down. They’ve been very, very careful, making sure they got the world specialists on muscle injuries to assess him and make sure this time around they don’t just patch him up and send him back out, they’re hopeful now they’ve got to the root of the problem. He’s had nine of the same type of injuries, which shows he does have some issues there. I would think Sturridge would be on the bench, as long as he doesn’t have any set-backs between now and then. Having someone of his calibre to come on and to try and change things would be a great weapon. If he doesn’t make the Chelsea game, then it’ll be very soon after that – possibly against West Ham.”
Max: You talked about Mario Balotelli, do you see him pairing up with Daniel Sturridge?
James: “It’s an interesting one. The one thing which has been in Balotelli’s favour during his Liverpool spell is that his best performance was on his debut at White Hart Lane, which was the only time he lined up with Sturridge. I think it is something Rodgers would consider when Sturridge if fully fit and ready to start. The big thing with Rodgers, he’s always shown he is flexible. He will pick a system which suits players at his disposal. The 3-4-2-1 has really got Liverpool playing again, you just wonder whether he might tweak things again. I think the great thing is, he does have options now. We’ve seen the way Sterling has shown great versatility to adapt, when Sturridge returns he can drop a little deeper. I think Rodgers will be aware of that, he made it clear last week that Balotelli will be staying.”
Max: Lovren wasn’t even on the bench last night, was that an injury problem?
James: “I’m not sure what exactly was ruling him out of the Chelsea game but I know he had a knock in the build up to Villa, so I imagine that is the case. Liverpool isn’t exactly blessed with defensive players, with Liverpool’s desire to play three centre-backs and Kolo being in the African Cup of Nations. So I would be surprised if he would be dropped completely.”
“Lovren has had a tough time at Liverpool. Back in the Summer I thought he was a great bit of business! I thought he was one the few signings Liverpool made who was already proven at Premier League level, he wasn’t a young player having to adapt to a new country, I thought he was someone who would slot straight in and make a big difference. But it just hasn’t happened. I think a big part of it is the added pressure and expectation. He seems to have struggled under the scrutiny that comes with being a Liverpool player because I remember last summer when Rodgers spoke glowingly about how he was going to be this leader and he was going to be the organiser and sort the defence out. In actual fact, when he’s played in the first half of the season, all he’s done really is spread uncertainty and panic at times because he’s rash and has made so many errors. You don’t become a bad player overnight, I think he showed last season what a great centre-back he is and hopefully he’ll come good. He’s certainly got a fight on his hands.”
Max: How highly do you rate Sakho? Do you think he’s our best centre-back?
James: “Yeah, he’s certainly the most in form centre-back at the moment. I got a fair bit of stick on twitter, when we played Burnley in the opening twenty minutes where he dived into challenges about two or three times, and I put a tweet out saying ‘he was an accident waiting to happen’. He didn’t put a foot wrong for the rest of the afternoon, in fact he’s hardly put a foot wrong since that game. Now frequently I get bombarded with that tweet, but I have been impressed with Sakho. He’s had a real tough start to his Liverpool career. Again, a young player new to English football who’s taken time to adjust to his surroundings. You think back to earlier on this season, where he had injury problems, stormed out before the Merseyside Derby when he found out he wasn’t even on the bench. But you gotta give him a lot of credit because he has knuckled down. That’s the big thing under Rodgers, if they get their heads down and impress on the training field they will get a route back into the side. I think Sakho’s been a massive part of why Liverpool have gone on this unbeaten run. You saw him against Chelsea last night, he organises the team well. Sometimes he can look a bit ‘dodgy’ with his distribution but in actual fact, if you look at his passing completion rates, they’re very very good. Aerially he’s dominant. He’s put Liverpool on the front foot time and time again with his passing range. The hope is, Sakho will build on this because there’s no doubt he’s got all the tools to be a top centre-half.”
Max: He plays it awkwardly… but it works.
James: “Yeah, that’s probably a good way of summing it up. He does look awkward at times. There’s no doubt he’s been vital to tighten things up defensively.”
Max: Speaking of centre-backs, Emre Can. He’s a very versatile player, do you see his main role as a centre-midfielder?
James: “Yes I think so. I remember doing an interview with Can around three months ago. I knew he played centre-half. I asked where he was most comfortable, where do you see your future and he replied ‘definitely as a centre midfielder, but when managers have asked me to help out I’m happy to play centre-half if needs be’. I believe in the long term future he will be in the centre of midfield. He’s certainly done a great job for Liverpool. Against Burnley in the second half when he came on, we wondered how that would turn out. He’s done really well, he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s not blessed with great pace but he does read the game well. We saw against Chelsea, his range of passing. Another big thing what’s impressed me, for a young player, to make a mistake against Chelsea (the challenge which led to the penalty), it would have been easy for him to lose his head after that but he showed great maturity and character. I thought he was one of Liverpool’s better players on the night. When you think how much Liverpool paid for him, from what we’ve seen, it’s looking like some excellent business.”
Max: I spoke to Liverpool’s Tiago Ilori recently, he said he intends to stay at Liverpool for a long time. How do you rate him as a centre-back?
James: “It’s a difficult one. He’s played so little football since he’s been at the club, it’s difficult to draw any great verdict on his ability. When I spoke to Rodgers about him he said, ‘this is not one for now, this is one for a few years down the line’. I hope he will come back in the summer and get the opportunity to show what he can do, he certainly arrived with a decent reputation as a young talent. Centre-backs mature later than others, the hope is he’ll benefit during his time at France and come back and force himself in. It’s going to be tricky with him with Sakho coming into form, Skrtel signing extending his contract and Lovren with the big investment made in him – he’s not going anywhere. The hope is that Tiago will come back in and start to show why Liverpool splashed out £8m for him.”
Max: Some transfer stuff! There were many reports claiming Liverpool will move for Shaqiri. Was there anything in that, from what you’ve heard.
James: “No. It was a bizarre one, there was certainly interest in Shaqiri last summer. People I spoke to the club at the time said he was viewed to the alternative to the Lallana deal. As far as I’m aware, from when Liverpool completed the Lallana deal in the summer, Shaqiri was no longer a target. The problem is, agents regularly use Liverpool to try and get their clients a better deal for clubs. It was always going to be a quiet transfer window for Liverpool.”
Max: Numerous keepers have been linked with Liverpool recently, can you see Liverpool signing a keeper in the summer?
James: “There’s still a chance Liverpool may sign a keeper this month from what I was told recently. In terms of bringing a long term keeper, the decision was made that Liverpool would wait till the summer due to availability issues. I was also told there could be a short term option brought in, bearing in mind nearly a month on Brad Jones is still hampered by a thigh injury. If something happened to Mignolet, Danny Ward will be starting matches. It is a possibility that Liverpool may bring in an experienced keeper as a short term measure. Certainly in terms of spending a decent amount of money on a keeper, that will wait till the summer. Whatever happens too Simon Mignolet, Brad Jones is out of contract in the summer and there’s no suggestion that there is any desire from Liverpool to offer him a new deal.”
Max: So you don’t think Jones will sign a new deal?
James: “Well, there’s a lot of contract issues at the club at the moment. I think Brad Jones knows himself that the likelihood is that he’ll be moving on in the summer. Then the question is what do Liverpool do with Mignolet. You look a month ago, it looked like his Liverpool career was almost doomed. But in recent weeks he has set about to turn it around, with Jones’ injury has seen him go back to the side. There’s been signs of him getting back to the form we saw in his first season at the club. Certainly Liverpool will desperately need an expierenced goalie but that will be one for the summer.”
Max: So can you see Mignolet staying? Or could he be offloaded?
James: “It’s too early to say. He’s got from now to the end of May to prove he is what Liverpool need going forward. It’s been painful to watch at times this season, one thing about Simon, he’s such a grounded, hardworking professional. I’d love to see Mignolet turn it around and prove his critics wrong. Part of the issue is that he doesn’t have sufficient competition for his place, and that will be addressed in the summer.”
Max: Who do you think is most likely to get the vice-captaincy once Gerrard departs?
James: “At this stage, I would say Martin Skrtel. It looks like Rodgers has effectively confirmed that Henderson will takeover as captain. You look around, and one thing you would say about this squad is that it’s very young. Beyond this summer, there will be very few players left in the club who will be 27 or over – Gerrard off, Kolo out of contract, Brad Jones, Glen Johnson as well. You look around, in terms of players who have experience in those big games who can help younger players, Skrtel’s probably the obvious one who stands out.”
Max: What do you think of the Liverpool team being leaked? Do you think it’s ‘acceptable’?
James: “It’s a strange one. It’s certainly not helpful. I have various people who send me the team, sometimes it’s two days before the game, sometimes one. You’d like to think ‘that’s wrong’, or ‘that’s just a guess’ but I must admit, the past six/seven weeks it’s been spot on every time. It has to be a concern. I’m not aware of other top clubs having the same problem. It might only be a small thing, but to be honest, whether rival clubs are even aware of the teams being leaked I’m not sure. Plus, they probably have ways of finding out if they really wanted to anyway. It’s certainly not helpful. I’d be happy if the team I got texted on a Thursday or a Friday started to be wrong, because it is a concern that it’s getting out there.”
Max: What would your advice be to someone who wants to get into Journalism?
James: “I think the big thing is to get as much experience as possible. Obviously it’s very competitive. The opportunities to write have never been greater, all the fantastic fan sites out there as well as the mainstream media jobs. That’s the big thing, you need to get your name out there and show people what you can do. There’s no shortcut in achieving that. It is difficult to break into but it’s certainly not impossible. I got into it 15 years ago now by doing work experience and offering, what seemed to be minor tasks at the time, like covering grassroots matches and different sports just to get your foot in the door. Then you work your way up the ladder.”
Thank you so much James Pearce from the Liverpool Echo for the interview.
Max
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