Liverpool FC Player Profile - Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard is probably one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, after signing his professional contract with the club in 1997 and making his first team debut a year later he has never looked back. Viewed by many as the most complete footballer of the modern game, his speed, skill, goal scoring attributes and his commitment to the cause have been rewarded with nearly every football medal available, apart from an elusive Premier league winners medal.

By the beginning of the 1999-00 season Gerrard has established himself in Liverpool's first team and his form was so impressive he won his first full England cap in May 2000. Gerrard played an instrumental part in the Reds treble winning success of 2001, wining the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup and he was also voted as the Young Player of the Year, a prestigious award.

During the 2003-04 season Steve Gerrard had become the Liverpool captain when he took over the role from Sami Hyypia, a role which he still assumes today. The pinnacle of Gerrard's career would have to be lifting the European Cup in May, 2005 which was the club's fifth European Cup success, the captain inspiring his team to the greatest of all comebacks, trailing 3-0 to Milan at half time to draw the match 3-3 and win the trophy on a penalty shoot out.

Following the epic final, speculation of a move to rivals Chelsea was rife, but Gerrard finally ended the speculation by signing a new four year contract with the Reds. The following season Gerrard went onto score 23 goals from 53 appearances, the season ended with a dramatic FA Cup final victory against West Ham, with the Reds captain scoring two of the goals in a 3-3 draw, the final goal with literally the last kick of the game to send the match into extra time and then a penalty shoot out which Liverpool won, the goal was voted as the best of the season and Steve Gerrard was also awarded the prestigious professional footballers player of the year award for his outstanding performances during the season. In 2006 Gerrard was awarded the MBE for his services to sport, which was presented by the Queen at Buckingham Palace in December of that year.

The beautiful game hasn't always been glorious for the Reds captain, Liverpool reached the Champions League Final again in 2007 only to be defeated 2-1 by AC Milan and later that year Gerrard captained his country as they lost 3-2 against Croatia and failed to qualify for the European Championships and despite scoring 21 goals during the season the Reds finished without a trophy.

The 2008-09 saw Gerrard score 24 goals during the season and pass his 100 goal mark for the club, but the elusive Premier League title was a step too far as Manchester United piped them to the title. Captain marvel made his 500th appearance during 2009 but the team finished a disappointing 7th place in the league.

Injuries have beset the Reds captain during the last twelve months which have limited his appearances but he is now well on his way to recovery and is back to inspire his team once more as they search for more silverware and the success to which the club have become accustomed.

Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of Liverpool merchandise available from the Liverpool Shop all products from the Liverpool Store are available to ship worldwide.

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Liverpool FC Player Profile - Glen Johnson

Glen Johnson began his football career with the West Ham United youth academy before signing a professional contract in 2001 before he joined Chelsea in 2003 for a fee of £6 million, when he became the first signing of the Chelsea revolution under the new owner Roman Abramovich.

Johnson actually made his Chelsea debut at Anfield and went on to enjoy a Premier League title and collect a League Cup winners medal during his time with the Blues. As his first team opportunities became more limited he was loaned to Portsmouth in 2006 before making his transfer complete the following season.

A regular player at Portsmouth, Glen was part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2008 and he also has the accolade for scoring the goal of the season during 2008-2009 for his goal against Hull.

An already established member of Fabio Capello's England squad, Johnson signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2009 for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £17.5 million. The defender quickly established himself in the Liverpool first team, making his debut against Tottenham Hotspur in August of 2009 and scoring his first goal for the club a few days later against Stoke City, and he scored a further two goals for the Reds during the 2009-2010 season, which culminated with Johnson representing England at the World Cup Finals in South Africa, where England were eliminated in their final 16 match against Germany. Glen Johnson has now made 34 appearances for England.

During the 2010-11 season the defender suffered several injuries which limited his playing opportunities, but he has established himself in the resurgent Liverpool side under returning manager and Reds legend Kenny Dalglish. A willingness to play at left back as well as his favoured right side has demonstrated a versatility that has proved many sceptics wrong. Johnson signed a contract extension at Liverpool during the summer of 2011.

While showing versatility in defence, Johnson is also a threat going forward, showing great speed, skill and determination, he demonstrated his attacking prowess when he scored a brilliant solo goal in the closing minutes against his former club Chelsea during the 2011 season in the game at Stamford Bridge, the goal secured a 2-1 victory for the Reds in the closing minutes.

Johnson established The Glen Johnson Soccer School in 2007 along with former West Ham player Sam Taylor, the aim of the school is to develop football skills for children aged 4-16 and this is based in Dartford, Kent, England.

Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of Liverpool merchandise available from the Liverpool Shop all products from the Liverpool Store are available to ship worldwide.

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The Most Popular Liverpool FC Merchandise

There is no doubt that Liverpool FC is one of the truly great soccer clubs of the world. Admittedly in recent years they may not have dominated the game in the way they did in the 1970s but the truth is that they have always made their impact felt at the highest level of European soccer.

And so it is hardly surprising that Liverpool has thousands of ardent fans scattered all over the world. Many of these fans never lose a single opportunity to feel closer to their club. One way of doing this is by getting hold player's shirts and other playing kits and memorabilia that can easily be found in stores selling Liverpool merchandise.

Actually there is a very wide range of different stuff that you can buy. Even with the team shirts you will have to choose between the shirts the boys usually wear for their home games and what they would ordinary don for away matches. Or if you are a really serious fan you can make sure that you get both the strips.

As is the case with other soccer clubs, Liverpool FC player's shirts are amongst the most popular merchandise that fans look to own so as to identify themselves with this great soccer club. There are even fans who purchase the complete team set right up to the goalkeeper.

Liverpool merchandise can also be a great idea if you need to get a gift for somebody whom you already know is a fan of the club. However it may be a good idea to start by finding out what memorabilia they already have so that you do not end up getting them something that they got a long time ago.

Another Liverpool item that is wildly popular are the hats if you have watched Liverpool games on TV you may have noticed what most fans like wearing. The most popular hats are called the beanies and will usually be decorated with the Liverpool colours and may sometimes even have the names of players and shirt numbers they usually wear.

Fans usually prefer to have the names of Liverpool legends on these hats. One such Liverpool soccer player who is a true legend is Steve Gerard. Although at a tender age he even had a trial with Manchester United, Gerard ended up signing his first professional soccer contract with Liverpool. The amazing thing is that in his first season he always looked pretty nervous and not the kind of player who would make any impact at Anfield. But in the 2000-2001 season Gerard exploded. Not only did he score 10 goals but he was clearly a very key member of the team that ended up winning both the FA cup and were also UEFA champions.

Who can forget Gerard's enormous contribution to that sensational Champions league victory where Liverpool came from behind having conceded 3 goals by half time and ended up winning. This determined player won man of the match then.

And so you will understand when Liverpool fans seem to be crazy about Gerard wearing all kinds of team memorabilia and Liverpool merchandise that has his name or shirt number on it.

Eddie Stone owns and runs 4FootyFans a PREMIER UK online, Officially Licensed, Football/Soccer Gifts, Memorabilia and Merchandise Store.

It has around 2500 items in stock at any time, including a full range of top Liverpool and other Top Clubs products

The store ships worldwide.

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FA Cup Preview - Liverpool Play Oldham Athletic

Liverpool will face Oldham Athletic at their Anfield Stadium on Friday in the FA Cup 3rd Round. The Reds who have previously won the Cup on seven previous occasions will be firm favourites to beat Oldham, who are currently playing in League One, the Latics have never reached the Cup Final, although they have reached the semi-finals three times, their last semi final appearance was in 1994.

Having not beaten Liverpool at Anfield since 1914, the odds will certainly be stacked against the visitors, who have only beaten the Reds in six of their last twenty nine meetings and this will be the first match between the two teams since 1994, when Liverpool emerged as 3-0 winners.

Oldham are currently in 14th place in League One, two leagues below and in total they stand 51 league places behind the Reds, who are comfortably positioned 6th in the Premier League, but the Latics who are currently managed by former Manchester City player Paul Dickov, will be boosted by the Reds 3-0 defeat at Manchester City earlier in the week and also the prospect that Reds manager Kenny Dalglish may be tempted to rest some of his regular first team players for the game.

Liverpool may be tempted to give first team opportunities to some of their younger players such as England youth international Jonjo Shelvey and Uruguayan Sebastian Coates, more well known players such as Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez have had limited first team opportunities this season, but they may be given the chance to start the game. The Reds captain Steven Gerrard may start the game as he continues to build his fitness following an ankle injury, having made several substitute appearances in recent weeks. Brazilian goalkeeper Doni, who signed from Roma last summer, could replace Pepe Reina to make his first Liverpool appearance, while Martin Kelly and veteran Jamie Carragher may also feature.

Oldham are likely to field their strongest possible tam as they look to stage a major upset with striker Shefki Kuqi, who is Oldham's top scorer this season and Dean Furman will probably captain the side for the Anfield fixture. The Oldham team includes several Liverpool fans including defender Zander Diamond who has visited Anfield once before, having paid for a tour of the famous Stadium.

Having previously won the FA Cup on seven occasions, Liverpool appeared in the first Cup Final in 1914, but lost to Burnley 1-0. The Reds didn't win their first FA Cup final until 1965 and the guidance of manager Bill Shankly. Current manager Kenny Dalglish won the Cup with the Reds in 1986 and 1989, although it is now six years since the Reds have secured any silverware so they will be hoping to win a trophy this season.

Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of Liverpool merchandise available from the Liverpool Shop all products from the Liverpool Store are available to ship worldwide.

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FA Cup Review - Liverpool Score Five To Beat Oldham

League one side Oldham threatened to cause a major upset when they played Liverpool at their famous Anfield Stadium in the FA Cup third round tie. Robbie Simpson scored with a long range shot to give the Latic's a shock 1-0 lead after 28 minutes. The goal shocked the home team and gave them a wake up call which spurned them into action. The Reds were level within two minutes when a deflection off Craig Bellamy levelled the score. Captain Steven Gerrard scored a penalty on the stroke of half time to give the home side a 2-1 lead which settled any nerves.

Second half goals from Jonjo Shelvey, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing gave Liverpool a comfortable victory, although the final 5-1 score somewhat flattered the home side as the visitors from League One had ensured this was an entertaining and absorbing contest. Liverpool Manager Kenny Dalglish had made eight changes to the side who lost 3-0 at Manchester City earlier this week, but his team still contained eight full international players.

Oldham have beaten Manchester City and Everton in the FA Cup in recent years and if they had shown a better finishing touch in front of goal and were a little more fortunate, they could have condemned Liverpool to an early exit from this seasons Cup competition. The visitors were quick out of the blocks and could have easily scored three goals within the first twenty minutes. Oldham's top scorer Shefki Kuqi was unlucky when his shot went into the side netting, while Luca Scapuzzi was well placed but fired wide of the goal and Tom Adeyemi was unmarked but headed the ball over the crossbar. Simpson finally broke the stalemate with his spectacular long range effort giving the visitors a well deserved lead.

Oldham's joy was short lived as Craig Bellamy deflected Jonjo Shelvey's shot into the goal and then Gerrard scored a penalty after Maxi Rodriguez was fouled. The visitors started the second half with the same enthusiasm as they had started the first, and they threatened to equalise on more than one occasion. Liverpool finally took control of the game when Shelvey scored in the 69th minute and late goals from £35 million Andy Carroll scored his first goal at Anfield this season and Stuart Downing's late injury time goal was the first he has scored for the club, which gave a deceptive appearance to the result which shouldn't undermine Oldham's performance on the night, which was a credit to lower league football.

Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of Liverpool merchandise available from the Liverpool Shop all products from the Liverpool Store are available to ship worldwide.

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Liverpool FC Player Profile - Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher has been a Liverpool player for fifteen years and has made nearly 700 appearances for the club. After joining the club as an apprentice he signed professionally in 1996 and has only ever played for the one club, a rarity in the modern game. Carragher has been a fundamental part of the club's success during his time as a player, his enthusiasm and commitment to the team has earned him the nick name Mr Liverpool.
Carragher had already won the FA Youth Cup 1996 before progressing to the senior team and he made his debut as a substitute in 1997 against Middlesbrough but it wasn't until 1998 that he made his first start in the Premier League when he played against Aston Villa and he marked the occasion by scoring a goal. Soon established in the first team it wasn't uncommon to see the versatile defender playing on the right, left or his preferred central defensive role.