Blood Red: The Liverpool FC Podcast

Few would have predicted a 0-0 beforehand. But that's exactly what was served up on Tuesday night as Liverpool and Bayern Munich cancelled each other out in their Champions League last-16 first-leg showdown. So was it a good result for the injury and suspension-hit Reds? Or was it an opportunity missed to take an advantage back to the Allianz Arena in three weeks' time? To discuss those questions, and many more besides, we get the verdict of our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce and hear Jurgen Klopp's post-match press conference in full, before we hand the podcast over to the supporters. Comments left on our Blood Red Facebook page are read out while five Koppites who attended the match have their say by phoning into the show. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

There’s been a lot of talk about how tonight's visitors to Anfield are on the wane. But one look at Bayern Munich's form since the turn of November suggests otherwise. Munich have won 11 of their last 13 games in all competitions to keep their fight for glory alive on three fronts. But as the main guest of this preview podcast explains, they are certainly not without their frailties. Steve Dawson is a Liverpool-fan based in Singapore, where he works as a presenter for Fox Sports Asia. One of his main roles is anchoring the station’s coverage of the Bundesliga, and we caught up with him last month to talk Naby Keita’s form, Jurgen Klopp’s evolution and Timo Werner’s chances of arriving at Anfield in the summer. But this podcast is all about tonight's huge Champions League clash, Bayern's strengths and weaknesses, their injury problems, and their under-pressure new manager. And after we speak to Steve, you'll hear from Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara to get the thoughts from Niko Kovac's camp before what truly is a meeting of two European heavyweights. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Weeks don't come much bigger, but Liverpool's has started with one piece of team news that was expected, and another which was most definitely not. Recorded just after the open training session ahead of the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, the Blood Red panel of James Pearce, Paul Gorst and host Ian Doyle react to the fact that Dejan Lovren has been ruled out and Roberto Firmino is a doubt. But who will Liverpool miss more? You would think Lovren, given it leaves the Reds with just one fit and available centre-back in Joel Matip, with Virgil van Dijk suspended. But does Jurgen Klopp have a like-for-like replacement for Firmino? Our trio discuss that before they talk just what this match means for the Liverpool manager given his heritage and given his past battles with Munich. James was in Germany on Friday to watch Bayern and his scouting report will do little to alter the belief that the Reds will be favourites in front of their own fans. And, while Klopp may suggest otherwise publicly, why shouldn't they? Liverpool's run to last season's Champions League final means they are no longer considered a surprise package but should this season's European campaign be considered just as carefree? James, Paul and Ian answer that before giving their predictions for Klopp's starting line-up and the score on the night. Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and captain Jordan Henderson have just sat down in front of the world's media to preview Tuesday night's massive Champions League last-16 first-leg showdown at home to Bayern Munich. Klopp was first in front of the press pack and he gave an update on the fitness of Dejan Lovren and Xherdan Shaqiri and how Fabinho will cope if the midfielder is forced to play as an emergency centre-back. The Reds boss also explained why he believes Bayern are more dangerous than ever despite seeing their vice-like grip on the Bundesliga begin to lessen. Klopp also addressed the notion that his side have a double advantage over Munich, his reunion with Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels, and, like Henderson, gave his opinion on what matters more - winning the Premier League or the Champions League. The Liverpool skipper went on to talk his own fitness, the form of his midfield partner Naby Keita, the trip to Marbella, the absence of Virgil van Dijk, and how he would feel if he, instead of Fabinho, was called on to fill the boots of the Dutchman. Enjoy - and we'll be back later with the Blood Red podcast. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

It's hard to imagine a Liverpool side without Andrew Robertson in it. Harder still to imagine the brilliant left-back ever lining up for Everton. But that could well have been the case had then Blues boss Roberto Martinez followed up his serious interest when Robertson was playing for his first professional club Dundee United. Jackie McNamara, the Celtic legend, tells that story and much more in our latest Blood Red spin-off podcast. McNamara signed Robertson for just £5,000 as part of a double deal from Queen's Park in the summer of 2013. Fast-forward 12 months and the new Scotland captain was making a £2.85m move to the Premier League and Hull City, where he would stay for three seasons before signing for Liverpool, where in the last year, he has developed into the best left-back in England and one of the best in Europe. And, ahead of a huge week for the Reds, Paul Wheelock speaks to McNamara to get the inside track on a player who will have big roles to play in the matches with Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Who better to speak about the huge Champions League tie between Liverpool and Bayern Munich than Dietmar Hamann? The former Germany midfielder came through the ranks at Bayern, and enjoying much success, before moving to England where he eventually joined Liverpool, for whom he won nine major honours, most famously the 2005 Champions League. Hamann is now based back in Germany, and on Saturday afternoon, our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce picked up the phone to a player who will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Koppites. It's a brilliant chat, focusing on the two matches with Bayern, where they could be won and lost, and what Didi believes will be the key battle at Anfield and at the Allianz Arena. But it also touches on the prize Liverpool fans could well want even more than a sixth Champions League - the Premier League title. Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

With Joe Rimmer on a day off and our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce on a scouting mission in Germany, the pack has been reshuffled for the latest Blood Red podcast with Connor Dunn and Theo Squires joining host Ian Doyle and Paul Gorst. The Reds are without a match this weekend, so the focus is firmly on Tuesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp is set to be down to one fit and available centre-back for the last-16 first-leg showdown and Gorsty wonders whether the Liverpool manager was wrong to let a certain defender - who's not Nathaniel Clyne - leave. The panel are fairly sure who will start in the middle of the backline versus Munich but are split over the ability of one of the players in question. Taking that into account, then, which of Klopp's squad has to step up the most? Talk then turns to the Reds' Marbella training camp, the return of two attackers from long-term injury, and why the time in Spain could be crucial in getting a good result on Tuesday. The massive Premier League trip to Old Trafford follows the Bayern encounter. On paper, it looks one of Liverpool's toughest assignments left. But has Manchester United's chastening Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain altered perceptions? And while United used to be the club that most rival fans did not want to see win the league, has that changed to Liverpool? And if so, why? Our second Blood Red Live event and two red-hot young strikers are then debated before the podcast finishes with the panel failing to hide their disinterest in the FA Cup. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

A very warm welcome to a special recording of our second Blood Red Live event that took place at the Baltic Market in Liverpool on Wednesday. Hosted by Neil Fitzmaurice, the sold-out show featured our own Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, Paul Machin of The Redmen TV, and singer-songwriter Jamie Webster. The first half of the recording sees Fitzy in conversation with James, Paul and Jamie. You’ll then hear highlights from the first of two sets that Jamie played. Before the panel take questions submitted online and from the 150 Reds fans who were there on the night.  Note this podcast does contain some explicit language For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

With Jurgen Klopp’s boys away in Spain, and no game for another five days, this is very much the calm before the storm. But the visit of Bayern Munich kicks start a run in both the Premier League and the Champions League that could go a long way to deciding Liverpool’s destiny. And it’s against that backdrop that the latest Allez Les Rouges podcast is recorded. Host Peter Hooton is joined by regular guests Ste Monaghan and John Nicolson as well as the ECHO’s Dan Kay, and they start by discussing the passing of two Bill Shankly favourites, Ian Ross and Gordon Banks. Talk then turns to the present day and what were the most impressive aspects of last weekend’s win over Bournemouth and why it was so different, both on and off the pitch, to the previous home fixture with Leicester. Sadio Mane scored his fourth goal in as many matches on Saturday to underline his status as the Reds’ main man at the moment. But has the Senegalese been that for some time now? What is without question is the improvement shown by Naby Keita in recent weeks and the panel discuss what the midfielder needs to do next to go to the next level. The debate then switches to the games coming up fast on the horizon, starting with Bayern and followed by the trip to Manchester United, whose fans could well be in the two minds over the outcome of the massive Old Trafford match. The midfield line-up for those clashes, and then the ones with Watford and Everton, are discussed, as is the impending return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, before another must-listen podcast ends on a suitably upbeat note with news of Jamie Carragher’s brilliant act of generosity.  For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Now we know Liverpool are in a very good place on the pitch. One look at the Premier League table will tell you that. But the recent release of the club’s latest accounts show the Reds are also in a very good place away from the pitch as well. For the 2017-18 season, Liverpool posted a record-breaking pre-tax profit of £125million. And while that figure owed much to the proceeds of Philippe Coutinho’s sale to Barcelona, the special guest of this podcast explains why that figure underlines the huge strides Liverpool continue to make off the field. Kieran Maguire is a leading football finance expert and a lecturer in the subject at the University of Liverpool. And as well as the impressive annual accounts, he talks to Paul Wheelock about the FSG policies that are really beginning to reap dividends, why Liverpool have now surpassed two of their top-six rivals, why it was a quiet transfer window, and what the Reds can expect as they get set to negotiate a new money-spinning kit deal. Enjoy – and we’ll be back on Wednesday with Peter Hooton’s Allez Les Rouges podcast.  For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Spirits are high in the ECHO studio for the latest Blood Red podcast, hosted by Joe Rimmer and featuring our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, Paul Gorst and Connor Dunn. That's down to the Reds' dazzling display in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth that, temporarily at least, took them back to the top of the Premier League table. Just like in the previous home game against Leicester City, Liverpool scored early, but James explains what and why it was different after that. Did the crowd, and two significant calls to arms, play a part? The panel certainly think so - and so do the players as James interestingly reveals. There is a lot of love for the superb Gini Wijnaldum and the question is asked whether his showing on Saturday proves there is a lot more to come from the Dutch midfielder. On any other day Naby Keita may have been named man of the match and the key factor in the big summer signing's resurgence is discussed. Joe also pays tribute to Fabinho, which leads to a debate over just what constitutes Jurgen Klopp's best midfield. There is no doubting Klopp's first-choice frontline, but does Sadio Mane get the credit he deserves on the world stage? Mohamed Salah certainly has that recognition, and after praise for the Egyptian's goalscoring exploits - and his choice of backpacks - talk then turns to the Reds' warm-weather training camp in Spain and whether the break has come at a good time. Manchester City moved back above Liverpool at the summit on Sunday with a six-goal demolition of a sorry Chelsea side. But, while there's plenty of admiration for Pep Guardiola's team, there is also a timely reminder. Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Now that was more like it. After a couple of below-par performances that ridiculously led to talk of crisis, Liverpool were back to their best on Saturday as they swept aside Bournemouth at a bouncing Anfield to go back to the top of the Premier League for around 24 hours at least. Sadio Mane and the superb Gini Wijnaldum put the Reds firmly in control before top-scorer Mohamed Salah put the finishing touches to a magnificent team move to take his tally for the term up to 20. That meant Salah became the first Reds player to reach that figure in back-to-back campaigns since Luis Suarez in 2013-14. But whereas the incredible Suarez was unable to inspire Liverpool to the title in that season, the win over Bournemouth has done much to restore the belief that Jurgen Klopp's current crop can go one better this time around. Little wonder, then, we have a very happy Post-Game podcast on our hands. It's a podcast that kicks off with the definitive word on the action from our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce before we hear every single thing Reds boss Klopp had to say in his after-match press conference. Then we hand the show over to the supporters with Post-Game regulars Sam Planche, Ross Strachan, Simon Donnelly, Alex Watt, Matt Addison, Owen Thomas, Matt Whitty, Peter Lally and Nathan Davidson all phoning in to give their views. Like the lads on the pitch, they are in top form. Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Here's the good news. Bournemouth have never won at Anfield and they will arrive on Merseyside on the back of eight straight away defeats.. But they do have current and former Liverpool players in their squad, who will no doubt be fired up, and like West Ham and Leicester before them, they do have a track record of shocking top-six sides. The Cherries proved that again recently when they beat Chelsea 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium. But it’s another thing altogether coming and getting the better of a Liverpool side, who let’s remember, will go back to the top of the with victory this afternoon, and who have not lost at home in the Premier League since April 2017. So to get the lowdown on Bournemouth, how Dominic Solanke and Nathaniel Clyne are getting on, just how good David Brooks is, and the job Eddie Howe is doing, Paul Wheelock speaks to Jason Lewis of the Bournemouth Echo. And you will then get the latest from our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce following Jurgen Klopp’s press conference. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

The Blood Red podcast is back and James Pearce, Joe Rimmer and Connor Dunn have some myths to bust. After James gives host Ian Doyle the lowdown on the team news from inside the Liverpool camp, the panel get cracking on the importance of Nathaniel Clyne, warm weather training camps and not being in the domestic cups. And at a time when Manchester City fans would have you believe that Jurgen Klopp and the Reds are cracking under the pressure, a bit of reality does not go amiss. Not when you remember that Klopp's side will go three points clear at the top of the table with victory over Bournemouth on Saturday. The panel, however, cannot help but look to the matches that follow the visit of the Cherries to Anfield, which leads James to make a huge claim that his fellow guests agree with, but the host does not. The difference in atmosphere at the ground for Premier League and Champions League games is explained before the club's astounding annual accounts are discussed. And it would not be the Blood Red podcast without the usual team and score predictions. Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has just sat down in front of the media for a press conference to preview the visit of Bournemouth to Anfield. The Reds will go back to the top of the table with a draw or a win over the Cherries and you can listen to every word Klopp had to say about the match - and much else besides - right here. Injury news, including the latest on Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the importance of the supporters in the title race, where the team will go after the Cherries clash, the return of Dominic Solanke, and the club's impressive financial figures are all discussed. Enjoy - and we'll be back later on Friday with the Blood Red podcast. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy