The formal name of the club is Liverpool Football Club, or Liverpool FC.
Known popularly by their nickname of the Reds, Liverpool's home venue is Anfield, with a capacity of just over 45,000. Founded in 1892, Liverpool have won the most league titles, 18 in all, a record that's jointly held with Manchester United, although none of those titles have come in the Premier League.
Liverpool have American owners in George Gilett and Tom Hicks; their chairman is Martin Broughton, and the manager, Roy Hodgson. Last season, the Reds finished at 7th place in the Premier League rankings.
In three matches played this year, the Anfield outfit have a win and a draw, apart from a 3-0 loss to Manchester City, one of Liverpool's rivals for a top four spot.
Pre-season Review:
The pre-season began for Liverpool in an atmosphere of intrigue. It all started with the departure of manager Rafa Benitez, from the squad. Thereafter, several stories played out as the headlines and rumours were kept alive.
Roy Hodgson took over as the Merseysider's new manager. One of Hodgson's early signings was Joe Cole on a free transfer. Steven Gerrard chose to stick on with the club. Fernando Torres belied rumours of his imminent departure. And the American owners put up the club for sale.
The Merseysiders comprise the following players: Reina, G Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Lucas, C Poulsen, Torres, Jovanovic, Kuyt, Jones, Kyrgiakos, Kelly, Maxi, Spearing, Pacheco, and Babel.
Rafa Benitez did not favour wingers. But having arrived from Chelsea, Joe Cole can give the Merseysiders the additional zing of flank attacks. Liverpool's atatcks have recently been uni-dimensional, in that they have through the middle of the park.
In an early summer signing, Charlton Athletic's Jojo Shelvey was welcomed to the squad. If he could make it to the starting eleven, 18 year old Shelvey would want to emulate his form in League One.
Standard Liege's Milan Jovanovic, an early signing who was spotted by Benitez, has arrived, and his inclusion in the Anfield squad means additional attack options. Glasgow Rangers' Danny Wilson is another promising sign up. Among departures, Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun are most significant.
There is no pressure of expectation on Roy Hodgson, after the poor showing by the Reds in the 2009-10 season, and the change at the helm can only do good for the team. And if Hodgson has been lucky in retaining Torres and Gerrard, he cannot hope to hang on to Javier Mascherano, and must work on getting a replacement, ASAP.
If they play to potential, Liverpool are capable of doing better than they did last season, but I cannot envisage the Merseysiders finishing any better than 5th.
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