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This week Tom catches up with a passionate red whos took his game to the next level and is currently undergoing a Sports Journalism degree at Sheffield University. Kristian speaks exclusively to TBT and shares with us his fondest memories as well as giving Brendan a few suggestions on improving the squad.
Name: Kristian Johnson
Age: 21
Twitter: @kristianj23
Past
Fondest moment as a LFC supporter?
It isn’t so much a moment, but more a period of time when it felt as though Liverpool were unbeatable. I’m harking back to the Rafael Benitez days – as I often do – and particularly at the back end of the 2008/09 season.
Despite our best efforts, a poor start to 2009 seemed to have extinguished any title hopes. But then we beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu. Two weeks later, we thrashed them 4-0 at Anfield.
The best was yet to come, though. Without arguably our best player that season, Xabi Alonso, we battered Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford. It was a complete and utter hiding. Fernando Torres was the best striker in the world at the time and he had a pretty decent support act in Steven Gerrard.
A week after the Old Trafford victory, Gerrard scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Aston Villa. For those few weeks, it seemed as though Liverpool could beat any team in world football.
Best LFC game you’ve seen?
Nothing will top Istanbul. Ever. I could support Liverpool for another 500 years and no game will come close to the drama of that night.
However, aside from May 25, 2005, the final Champions League Group game of the 2004/05 campaign against Olympiakos tops the bill.
I remember I’d been stuck at a school Christmas play on the evening of the game, but I got back home with 20 minutes remaining. My Dad grabbed me as I walked through the door and simply said: “Sit down. This is going to be special.”
How right he was.
I’ve lost dozens of footballs down my local park trying to recreate ‘that’ Gerrard goal. It converted me from fan to fanatic.
Best LFC game you’ve been to?
In terms of games that I’ve been to, last season’s 3-1 victory over Zenit St Petersburg stands out. I went with last week’s contributor, Phil Hammond, and it was the first time I had stood on The Kop.
When Suarez put us 3-1 ahead, I thought we were going to overturn what had seemed like an improbable deficit. Although it was ultimately in vain, I got a taste of what a European night on The Kop is like. And I want more!
Best past player and why?
I’m struggling to choose between two players for this accolade.
Xabi Alonso springs to mind immediately for the way he controlled games with his metronomic passing. What really strikes me about Alonso however, is his robustness. We’ve all seen a number of players arrive from the continent and struggle to adapt to the Premier League. Not Xabi. Some of his tackles were downright cynical, but crucial nonetheless. You only have to look at what’s happened since Alonso has left to realise how important he was to our team.
Fernando Torres just about edges Alonso is this vote, though. Aside from Steven Gerrard, I have never seen a Liverpool player have such an impact on every game he’s played in. Torres fitted the mould of an all-round centre forward perfectly. He was strong, quick, good in the air and had unbelievably good movement. Even though he is now at Chelsea, it pains me to see how his form has waned so rapidly and so markedly. On his day, he was unstoppable.
Current
What area of the squad needs improving?
Despite sitting pretty joint top of the Premier League, our squad is by no means the finished article.
Brendan Rodgers has added a lot of quality to the Liverpool ranks over the summer, but I still think the left-back position is a major problem. When Jose Enrique first arrived at the club, I was a massive fan. However, as time has passed, his weaknesses have come to the fore. For a team that prides itself of possession, the Spaniard aimlessly launches the ball forward on far too many occasions. Positionally, he is more than a little suspect, too.
The season before last, Lucas was arguably our best player. A series of injuries seems to have halted his progress, though, and we look short on numbers and quality in the defensive midfield department. Victor Wanyama was a superb summer signing for Southampton and is the sort of player that I believe would’ve added steel to our lightweight midfield.
Missing out on a stellar attacking midfielder or striker was the one disappointment in an otherwise successful summer transfer window. Two players who were heavily linked with us over the summer – Diego Costa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – have already proved this season how good they are. Either player would have made a massive difference this term.
Best purchase of the summer transfer window and why?
Despite costing a princely sum of £18m, the arrival of Mamadou Sakho is an incredible coup for a club outside the Champions League.
I will be the first to admit that his first few games in a Liverpool shirt have been far from convincing. In fact, his debut at Swansea was nothing short of woeful and he came within a whisker of scoring a calamitous own goal against Crystal Palace.
In spite of these errors, Sakho is a defender of proven quality. He has captained PSG at the age of 19 and has already made 14 international appearances for France. The raw attributes are already there, and if Rodgers can get him playing at his peak, we have signed one of the best young centre backs in European football.
Who will be our “little gem” of the season and why?
I have mentioned the disappointment at missing out on a world class attacking midfielder, but the loan signing of Victor Moses is intriguing.
Whether he plays as a winger in a 4-3-3 formation or as a floating attacking midfielder in a 3-4-1-2 formation, the Nigerian can wreak havoc.
The best thing about Moses is that he’s fearless. For years, Liverpool have been crying out for a direct winger who gets the ball down, runs at a defender and delivers a good cross.
With Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez attracting the attention of Premier League defences this season, I think that Moses will flourish with the space given to him. The only problem will be tying him down to a permanent deal at the end of the season.
General
All time worst LFC shirt?
Take your pick from any away shirt from 1990 onwards. There are some absolutely scandalous kits in the list! And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Warrior announced two more shockers as our away and third kits for this season.
Your all time favourite LFC chant/song?
Aside from ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Fields of Anfield Road’ – which both make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear them – I’m a big fan of the Fernando Torres ‘Number Nine’ chant. When The Kop started bouncing away whilst singing that, you couldn’t help but join in.
Another favourite is the Peter Crouch song; “He’s big, he’s red, his feet stick out the bed! Peter Crouch! Peter Crouch!”
£1m or score the winner for LFC at Anfield?
I’m a skint student who has beans on toast for dinner most evenings, but I’d eat it for the rest of my life if it meant I could score the winner at Anfield!
ULTIMATE TEAM OF YOUR LIFE
Your all time best Liverpool XI since you were born (1992):
Reina
Babbel Carragher Hyypia Riise
Hamann Alonso
Gerrard
Suarez Owen Torres
