Blood Red: The Liverpool FC Podcast

Jurgen Klopp was back in front of the media on Tuesday afternoon to preview his table-topping side's return to action at home to Leicester City.
As always, the Liverpool manager had interesting things to say, starting with the fitness of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Dejan Lovren, Gini Wijnaldum and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and potential a novel solution to his right-back problem.
Klopp also addressed the 'advantage' Manchester City have been handed in the title race by the TV schedulers and Mauricio Pochettino's comments about the importance of finishing in the top four.
He also talked the 'massive threat' posed by Leicester City, and in particular Jamie Vardy, who has an incredible scoring record against the Reds.
You can listen to Klopp's press conference in full here.
Enjoy - and we'll be back on Wednesday with our Preview and Post-Game shows. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Unlike this time last year, when Philippe Coutinho upped sticks to join Barcelona, there was never any danger of Liverpool losing one of their big guns in the current transfer window.
But questions remained over when Sadio Mane would join Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in signing a new contract until the Senegalese put pen to paper on a long-term deal at the back end of 2018.
Mane has opened up about the subject in a new interview - the details of which kick off the latest Blood Red podcast, hosted by Ian Doyle and featuring James Pearce, Paul Gorst and the ECHO sportsdesk's second January transfer window signing, Caoimhe O'Neill.
But while we've been busy, Liverpool have been very quiet in the market, much like a lot of their Premier League rivals, and James is on hand to play down one rumour.
Ian asks whether Jurgen Klopp is missing a trick by not adding to his squad this month - especially when it appears the TV schedulers are doing their best to hand Manchester City an advantage in the title race.
It now appears a two-horse race, with Tottenham's lack of squad depth coming back to haunt them, and the panel wonder whether Mauricio Pochettino regrets what he said about the Reds.
James also talks about his exclusive interview with Simon Mignolet before the focus shifts to Leicester's visit to Anfield on Wednesday, Jamie Vardy's remarkable record against Liverpool, and some interesting team selections. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Unlike this time last year, when Philippe Coutinho upped sticks to join Barcelona, there was never any danger of Liverpool losing one of their big guns in the current transfer window.
But questions remained over when Sadio Mane would join Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in signing a new contract until the Senegalese put pen to paper on a long-term deal at the back end of 2018.
Mane has opened up about the subject in a new interview - the details of which kick off the latest Blood Red podcast, hosted by Ian Doyle and featuring James Pearce, Paul Gorst and the ECHO sportsdesk's second January transfer window signing, Caoimhe O'Neill.
But while we've been busy, Liverpool have been very quiet in the market, much like a lot of their Premier League rivals, and James is on hand to play down one rumour.
Ian asks whether Jurgen Klopp is missing a trick by not adding to his squad this month - especially when it appears the TV schedulers are doing their best to hand Manchester City an advantage in the title race.
It now appears a two-horse race, with Tottenham's lack of squad depth coming back to haunt them, and the panel wonder whether Mauricio Pochettino regrets what he said about the Reds.
James also talks about his exclusive interview with Simon Mignolet before the focus shifts to Leicester's visit to Anfield on Wednesday, Jamie Vardy's remarkable record against Liverpool, and some interesting team selections. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

We picked up the phone to Steve Dawson, a Liverpool fan based in Singapore, and presenter for Fox Sports Asia, for our latest podcast.
As well as being a big Red, he is also a Bundesliga expert, as one of his main roles at the station is to anchor their coverage of the German top flight.
That leads him perfectly placed to give his take on issues that will be of huge interest to his fellow Liverpool supporters - starting with Naby Keita.
It's not quite happened for the midfielder since his big money move from RB Leipzig, and while Steve offers an insight into why that might be the case, he also explains why there is every reason to believe that Keita will come good.
Jurgen Klopp has certainly done that as Reds boss and, with host Paul Wheelock, the duo talk his impact at Anfield, how it's viewed in his native Germany, and how he has evolved from his highly successful stint managing Borussia Dortmund, who themselves are now moving on from their talismanic former manager.
So much so that Klopp admitted Dortmund were the team he wanted to avoid in the last-16 of the Champions League.
Instead, Liverpool got Bayern Munich, and Steve touches on that tie, before talk turns to Timo Werner, the exceptional young Leipzig striker who has long been tipped to follow Keita to the Reds.
And the podcast rounds off with a little bit about Steve himself and just how big Liverpool are in the part of the world he now calls home.
Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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We picked up the phone to Steve Dawson, a Liverpool fan based in Singapore, and presenter for Fox Sports Asia, for our latest podcast.
As well as being a big Red, he is also a Bundesliga expert, as one of his main roles at the station is to anchor their coverage of the German top flight.
That leads him perfectly placed to give his take on issues that will be of huge interest to his fellow Liverpool supporters - starting with Naby Keita.
It's not quite happened for the midfielder since his big money move from RB Leipzig, and while Steve offers an insight into why that might be the case, he also explains why there is every reason to believe that Keita will come good.
Jurgen Klopp has certainly done that as Reds boss and, with host Paul Wheelock, the duo talk his impact at Anfield, how it's viewed in his native Germany, and how he has evolved from his highly successful stint managing Borussia Dortmund, who themselves are now moving on from their talismanic former manager.
So much so that Klopp admitted Dortmund were the team he wanted to avoid in the last-16 of the Champions League.
Instead, Liverpool got Bayern Munich, and Steve touches on that tie, before talk turns to Timo Werner, the exceptional young Leipzig striker who has long been tipped to follow Keita to the Reds.
And the podcast rounds off with a little bit about Steve himself and just how big Liverpool are in the part of the world he now calls home.
Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Jurgen Klopp’s side may have the weekend off, but there’s no rest for the Blood Red panel as they return with the latest must-listen Liverpool FC podcast.
With Joe Gomez having suffered a setback, and the injuries and suspensions beginning to pile up for the Reds, Klopp may well be counting his blessings that there's no game till next Wednesday.
But unless he risks Trent Alexander-Arnold for the visit of Leicester to Anfield, the Liverpool manager still faces a selection headache at right-back.
Host Ian Doyle, Joe Rimmer and Blood Red debutant – and the newest member of the ECHO sportsdesk – Sean Bradbury discuss how Klopp could solve it and why there is already a precedent.
Joe then lets rip about his dislike – and that’s putting it mildly – for the FA Cup and the ‘romance’ that is attached to the competition.
The reason why the Reds can put their feet up this weekend is down, of course, to the fact they have been knocked out of the cup.
But they will return to action against Leicester buoyed by back-to-back Premier League wins over Brighton and Crystal Palace.
However, did the latter victory prove just how important one player, who does not get the appreciation he deserves outside of Anfield, has become to Klopp?
There’s also talk of the two teenage strikers ripping it up at academy level, the training ground plans that demonstrate the commitment of FSG to Klopp and the club, before the pod rounds off on Luis Suarez and the club’s best ever January transfer window signings.
Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Jurgen Klopp’s side may have the weekend off, but there’s no rest for the Blood Red panel as they return with the latest must-listen Liverpool FC podcast.
With Joe Gomez having suffered a setback, and the injuries and suspensions beginning to pile up for the Reds, Klopp may well be counting his blessings that there's no game till next Wednesday.
But unless he risks Trent Alexander-Arnold for the visit of Leicester to Anfield, the Liverpool manager still faces a selection headache at right-back.
Host Ian Doyle, Joe Rimmer and Blood Red debutant – and the newest member of the ECHO sportsdesk – Sean Bradbury discuss how Klopp could solve it and why there is already a precedent.
Joe then lets rip about his dislike – and that’s putting it mildly – for the FA Cup and the ‘romance’ that is attached to the competition.
The reason why the Reds can put their feet up this weekend is down, of course, to the fact they have been knocked out of the cup.
But they will return to action against Leicester buoyed by back-to-back Premier League wins over Brighton and Crystal Palace.
However, did the latter victory prove just how important one player, who does not get the appreciation he deserves outside of Anfield, has become to Klopp?
There’s also talk of the two teenage strikers ripping it up at academy level, the training ground plans that demonstrate the commitment of FSG to Klopp and the club, before the pod rounds off on Luis Suarez and the club’s best ever January transfer window signings.
Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Liverpool may have been sunning themselves in Dubai – and no doubt doing a bit of work, too – but Neil Fitzmaurice braved the cold to make his way to the ECHO studio to record the latest Poetry in Motion podcast, ably assisted by his regular side-kick Joe Rimmer, and by Paul Gorst, who returns after an impressive debut before Christmas.
Another brilliant show kicks off with a look back on last weekend’s thrilling 4-3 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield. Not for the first time, the Reds were accused of being lucky. But Joe is not having any of it, and even if fortune has smiled on Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, he explains why.
The lads then wonder what magic Liverpool manager Klopp works at half-time as well as having a laugh at Roy Hodgson before discussing the break the squad are just back from in the Middle East. Could it lead to history repeating itself?
Fitzy then reopens a can of worms when he asks whether Harry Wilson will ever be good enough for the Reds' first team before Gorsty makes an interesting and very good point about Naby Keita.
Talk then turns to Philippe Coutinho, those Manchester United links and whether Liverpool are now better off without him. But can the same be said of Luis Suarez, who this week has made some interesting comments about his former club.
The return of Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain (don’t call him ‘The Ox’ in Joe’s company) and the talents of James Milner's worst nightmare are also discussed before the panel look ahead to what’s up next for the Premier League leaders.  For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Liverpool may have been sunning themselves in Dubai – and no doubt doing a bit of work, too – but Neil Fitzmaurice braved the cold to make his way to the ECHO studio to record the latest Poetry in Motion podcast, ably assisted by his regular side-kick Joe Rimmer, and by Paul Gorst, who returns after an impressive debut before Christmas.
Another brilliant show kicks off with a look back on last weekend’s thrilling 4-3 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield. Not for the first time, the Reds were accused of being lucky. But Joe is not having any of it, and even if fortune has smiled on Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, he explains why.
The lads then wonder what magic Liverpool manager Klopp works at half-time as well as having a laugh at Roy Hodgson before discussing the break the squad are just back from in the Middle East. Could it lead to history repeating itself?
Fitzy then reopens a can of worms when he asks whether Harry Wilson will ever be good enough for the Reds' first team before Gorsty makes an interesting and very good point about Naby Keita.
Talk then turns to Philippe Coutinho, those Manchester United links and whether Liverpool are now better off without him. But can the same be said of Luis Suarez, who this week has made some interesting comments about his former club.
The return of Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain (don’t call him ‘The Ox’ in Joe’s company) and the talents of James Milner's worst nightmare are also discussed before the panel look ahead to what’s up next for the Premier League leaders.  For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

With Liverpool away in Dubai, and without a game to preview until the visit of Leicester City to Anfield a week on Wednesday, we picked the phone back up to Ahmad Yousef, an Egyptian football expert and editor of the King Fut.com website, who is close to the Mohamed Salah camp.
When we last had Ahmad on, in October, there were plenty of people outside of the red half of Merseyside questioning Salah, after he had, by his incredibly high standards, a slow start to the season.
But he has certainly answered his critics since, and his two goals against Crystal Palace on Saturday made him the outright top scorer in the Premier League, and also meant he has reached 50 Premier League goals faster than any other player.
But after the match a lot of the focus was on his alleged ‘diving’ - and he’s also had fans talking tonight with a rather cryptic post on Twitter.
Some say it’s to do with his rocky relationship with the Egyptian FA, which will come into question again later this year after Egypt won the right to host the Africa Cup of Nations.
Luckily for Liverpool, for the first time the tournament takes place in the summer, and not January, but that will mean Mo playing a full year of football for the second year running, which could well have an impact on Jurgen Klopp's summer transfer plans.But can you even buy a back-up?
Host Paul Wheelock speaks to Ahmad about all that, the title race, Salah's future ambitions, plus much more. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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