It was only a friendly!

The boy done good!

Now the dust has settled my inflated optimism at Liverpool's 0-4 drubbing of Preston North End has

turned more to caution. A feet on the ground approach to what was undoubtedly a very positive performance. No disrespect to Preston's players, but there wasn't much to establish the improvement, if any, that Brendan Rodger's summer signings have made to the squad.

That said, I was pleased with a number of the performances. Clearly most of the plaudits will go to Iago Aspas with his clever assist for Raheem Sterling to slot home Liverpool's third and his own top drawer finish to put the Reds clean out of sight with the fourth. Philippe Coutinho for some great individual moments and putting the visitors ahead from the penalty spot. And of course Sterling himself  who worked tirelessly and thoroughly deserved his goal. Also worth a mention is young Jordon Ibe. 

For the last couple of seasons now Ibe has been improving and improving since the sauff London lad joined Liverpool from Wycombe Wanderers and his outstanding promise is beginning to deliver. He took his goal extremely well. The other plus is that the performances of Coutinho, Aspas and Sterling actually took the limelight away from Ibe which can only be a good thing for him. I can't see him being a regular fixture for next season but he will get some chances to show what he can do. This is for sure. 

Equally impressive was Andre Wisdom and he showed that he can cope well in his preferred position at Centre Back. What I found most pleasing is that he can bring the ball forward from defence and distribute it intelligently, whilst also showing that he can provide some bite in the tackle. Martin Kelly didn't really have much game time, but I think he still showed he's on the way back to what we expect of him. Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson both had good games and another newbie Luis Alberto also put in a good performance and came close also with a couple of chances. He reminds me quite a bit of Xabi Alonso. He seems to have a good eye for a pass and I think he can be pleased with his debut.  

The only disappointment was Fabio Borini. He has yet to justify his inclusion in the side in my opinion. All industry and no end product. The one-on-one he had towards the end of the first half that he blazed wide was simply typical of his clear lack of composure and ability in front of goal. I hope he was watching when Sterling had an almost identical opportunity, rounded the keeper and slotted home. That's the way to do it!

Overall, as warm-ups go it was pleasing to watch. I didn't see Preston scoring and said so in my preview. All of the players that took part looked as if they enjoyed themselves and the team is developing a good understanding with the newcomers and this can only bode well for the coming season. I guess the fact that Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure had very little to do, kind of sums up the level of threat from Preston. I therefore have to remind myself and all Liverpool fans, in case we forgot... It was only a friendly. 

Follow me on Twitter @Mrbengreen

In Brendan I trust!

"I haven't done that badly, guys!"

It's been over a year since I last "blogged" about Liverpool . I recall the last piece was "Liverpool forward Suarez must leave following handshake fiasco". Nothing new there then! I still believe this to be the case. Maybe replace "handshake" with "bite"... Same old. Anyway I stop here where that particular liability is concerned, and focus on another. The average LFC fan. You know the one, crowing on about the "old days", and how Liverpool "should be challenging..." etc. The most bizarre one being that Brendan Rodgers "must go", whilst implying that he's out of his depth blah blah blah... Closet Newcastle supporters maybe?

Now I don't claim to be able to read the future or be a slave to the past, but one cannot deny that the two are directly correlated if applied correctly. Events from the past can and generally do indicate what the future holds. In the same way that a weather forecast is (for the most part) reasonably correct by looking at past data. Don't forget Bill Shankly didn't win anything at Liverpool, other than promotion for, what four or five seasons? I'm not sure what happened after that. It's all in the past now anyway!

If we apply that logic to Liverpool, I think Mr. L.F.C. Averagefan,  as we'll call him, may be pleasantly surprised. If you look back over the years, most successful teams have achieved that through two factors. Continuity and stability. It's not simply down to having the most money to buy the best players. Those things are important but they don't appear overnight. They come through giving everybody involved time to develop. Not just players, but perhaps more importantly, the manager and his staff. Take the Liverpool managers since Joe Fagan, those that done best were at the club for at least five years and had over 300 games in charge. The closest exception was Roy Evans but he had 226 or 244 if you include the 18 in his "partnership" with Gérard Houllier. Between Kenny Dalglish, Evans, Houllier and Rafa Benitez, the win ratio was around 55%. The other incumbents of the hot seat managed 43% from the same amount of managers. I haven't included "Caretakers". I know statistics can be bent in all manner of ways, but even Stevie Wonder (no disrespect to the musical legend) would see there is a clear pattern here.

In times of transition, which Liverpool obviously are, we all have to be grateful for small mercies. In this sense, Mr. L. F. C. Averagefan has to ask himself: Where did Liverpool finish in the 2011/12 season? And where did they finish in the 2012/13 season? Rodgers has most definitely improved the side. They're one position higher - as I said "...small mercies..." - they've scored almost twice as many goals whilst conceding only three more, and again our friend Mr. Wonder can observe that Rodgers' Liverpool side have played some of the most entertaining and attacking football we've seen since the Roy Evans' days. To confirm what I said about stats, Benitez may have been more successful but his brand of footie wasn't exactly the most enthralling you'll ever see.

Rodgers has managed to get remarkable improvements from at least a couple of players who many Liverpool fans, myself included and I won't deny it,  would have sold for two bob at the beginning of last season, namely Jordan Henderson who finished the term as arguably one of the most effective midfielders in the Premiership, let alone Liverpool and Stewart Downing who would himself admit, has played his best football since joining the club. Transfers in have been massively encouraging especially Daniel Sturridge and Phillippe Coutinho. The introduction and progress of the youngsters Andre Wisdom and Raheem Sterling among others - worthy of nothing less than praise and credit where it is definitely due.

As we embark on another close-season of transfer speculation, pre-season friendlies, (traditionally) over-inflated expectations of the season ahead, my words of advice to Mr. L.F.C. Averagefan is to get behind the team. Support the manager, the players and look at the wider picture. I'm not convinced Liverpool will qualify for the Champion's League next season either, but to be honest, another couple of places up the league, European qualification and some good entertaining football in doing so will be enough for me.

Follow me on Twitter @Mrbengreen