VIDEO : Philippe Coutinho – The Keymaster (by @NewEraComps)

Liverpool vs QPR (Sunday)

Kick off 16:00

- Daniel Sturridge scored his first ever professional hat trick in Liverpool’s last league outing to see off Fulham 3-1.

- That took Sturridge’s goal tally for the season to 11. He’s one of 25 players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index to have scored ten of more Premier League goals this season, and he’s done it in the least amount of minutes on pitch (1248 minutes, averaging a goal every 113 minutes 27 seconds).

- Sturridge converted his hat trick from 7 shots at goal with 5 on target – more than any other Liverpool player has in either category this season. Sturridge plagued the Fulham defence, exploiting space by taking 15 touches in the opposition box. He also completed 8 dribbles, more than any other player in the last round of games. Sturridge is 4/6 with 888sport.com to get himself on the scoresheet again this weekend.

- Sturridge’s attacking play was complimented by a tough midfield performance from Lucas and Jordan Henderson. Lucas attempted ten tackles in the game, winning six, the most of any player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, while Henderson was the only player in the Premier League to commit four fouls in the last round of games.

- Lucas is now ranked 5^th in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for tackles attempted with 121, an incredible feat given he has played just 1957 minutes this season. To put it in context, 4^th ranked Robert Snodgrass has taken 3126 minutes to attempt 127 tackles.

- Jamie Carragher will wave farewell to his beloved Anfield on Sunday before retiring. He showed what his team mates will be missing in the game against Fulham, completing 64 of 67 passes in the game.

- QPR went 1-0 up in their last game against Newcastle before falling to a 2-1 defeat.

- QPR did well to disrupt Newcastle’s passing game though, limiting them to a 66% success rate, their lowest of the season. Jermaine Jenas, meanwhile, completed 64 passes in the game, more than any other player on the pitch.

- QPR defender Clint Hill has been one of their most impressive performers this season. He has been the fifth busiest defender in the league this season, contributing defensively 342 times across tackles, clearances, blocks and interceptions.

- Christopher Samba joined in January and has the best minutes per defensive contribution rating in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, averaging one every 7 minutes 12 seconds. 

Jamie Carragher, more than a legend

When Jamie Carragher hangs up his boots on Sunday he would have played his 737th game for Liverpool F.C., only one player in club’s history has played more and that was Ian Callaghan with 857 games.

The number of appearances doesn’t tell the whole story of one of the greatest players to ever play for Liverpool. Jamie is one of a kind, he came up through the Liverpool academy and now will retire having only played for one club. This is something you don’t see often in football, even past Liverpool legends like Ian Callaghan, Kenny Dalglish, Phil Neal, Ian Rush, John Barnes and Robbie Fowler had played for other clubs.

Ironically Jamie (as described in his excellent autobiography) grew up as a Blue, he even showed up wearing his Everton shirt at his earlier training sessions however he turned out to be a true Red, bleeding Redder and anyone of us. We of course remember his heroics at Istanbul and the treble winning season of 2001 however there was more to Jamie than that. He is a proven leader and I would love to see him coaching back at Liverpool sometime soon, he would eventually make a great manager.

On a personal note, I met Jamie last Summer in Boston (Yes, I am gutted that my only photo with him is blurred) and what I had heard was true. The guy is the most down-to-earth person you will ever meet. For those wondering, he does speak slower when he is not being shoved with a microphone in his face :-) Jamie was happy to hear that I was Maltese, his maternal grandparents came from my home country so I can’t be prouder of our Number 23.

My favourite Carra moment was in Istanbul, he convinced Dudek to do Grobbelaar’s spaghetti feet dance before the penalties to distract the AC Milan penalty takers. And yes it worked, proving that knowing your rich history can also win you trophies.

Thank you Jamie,

YNWA

Antoine

VIDEO : Jamie Carragher’s first interview (via @LiverpoolPlus)

Redmen TV : Liverpool vs QPR 2012/13: The Uncensored Match Build Up Show

Sunday’s visit of QPR to Anfield will be Jamie Carragher’s last game for Liverpool before his retirement. Ahead of kickoff The Redmen TV bring you all the Uncensored Match Build Up…
- Farewell Jamie Carragher…
- TRIVIA QUESTION
- Nothing to play for but pride, for both sides.
- Dangerman Focus: Loic Remy
- If he was cheap, would you take Remy?
- One last chance to experiment?
- Lineup Thoughts?
- Score Predictions
- TRIVIA ANSWER

The Redmen TV is Uncensored LFC Television…

Win a 1984 European Cup Final replica shirt with your own name and number on!

With the new Liverpool home shirt being announced a few weeks back, the classy red shirt looks set to soar in sales, especially amongst the younger fans, with many running around with ‘Gerrard 8’, ‘Suarez 7’ and even possibly ‘Coutinho 10’ on their back, wanting to be like their heroes.

This means last season’s kit may be unused and unwanted, and you may decide to sell your old shirt, to help fund your new shirt, especially when the away and third shirts are announced too.

However, no matter what new kit comes out, some kits just can’t be beaten, and one of these are the classic 1984 European Cup Final shirt, in which we beat Roma 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, thanks to Phil Neal, Graeme Souness, Ian Rush and Alan Kennedy all stepping up to the mark at Roma’s home ground in Stadio Olimpico.

Well how would you like to win not only your very own 1984 European Cup Final replica shirt, but also with your own name and number on the back, something that every Liverpool fan would love to own.

With thanks to musicMagpie, one lucky fan can win their very own replica shirt with their own name and number on the back, a classic kit that not only holds so many memories, but one that will remain a classic with Liverpool FC forever.

To enter is easy, you just have to retweet the tweet on @EmpireOfTheKop’s Twitter page, and follow musicMagpie, and the winner will be chosen at random on Thursday 23rd of May.

Good luck and get retweeting!