The next day, when the entire Liverpool squad gathered to begin preparations for the League Cup fixture, Rodgers opened the session by welcoming back a crucial figure.
"Gentlemen, I've got good news today. Let's give a warm welcome back to Luis."
Applause erupted immediately across the training ground.
Luis Suárez stepped forward half a pace, his physique was noticeably more solid and defined than it had been at the end of last season.
That familiar smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he raised a hand toward his teammates. "Great to be back, lads. Watching you lot these past few weeks from the sidelines has been driving me absolutely mental."
Laughter resounded through the group.
Regardless of how loudly the transfer speculation had roared around Suárez all summer, the Barcelona links, the Arsenal bid, the public drama, from the players' perspective, none of those created problems.
As long as there was no friction with teammates, no poisoning of the dressing room atmosphere, everyone understood these situations as part of modern football's landscape.
Rodgers waited for the applause to fade before continuing. "Luis's return gives us far more options and flexibility up front. It makes our attack more multidimensional and unpredictable. In the upcoming League Cup match against Manchester United, we'll need exactly that kind of cutting edge and combination play in the final third."
He paused, letting the importance settle over the group. "We've discussed squad balance and rotation in previous meetings. Now we've got Luis, Daniel, Danny, and Raheem competing and complementing each other in attack. Steven provides the connection in midfield. What we need to do next is convert all these moving parts into actual efficiency on the pitch, make the quality translate into results."
The recent stretch had exposed Liverpool's attacking struggles. They'd been almost entirely dependent on Julien forcing moments of individual brilliance, battering down defensive walls through sheer will and skill.
Rodgers couldn't possibly be unaware of this reality, and thinking about it always brought a certain awkwardness.
The irony was almost cruel: the first time he'd met Julien, he'd bluntly informed him that he wasn't part of the tactical plans, that his role would be limited at best.
Now the team couldn't function without him.
Julien stood among his teammates, observing Suárez and Henderson dissecting details from previous matches with lively hand gestures. His mind drifted back to yesterday's conversation with David Dein about squad depth.
David had expressed concern about the forward line coping with fixture congestion. Suárez's return addressed part of that puzzle, adding a crucial piece to the attacking structure.
But it still wasn't enough. The depth remained thin; the margins were uncomfortably narrow.
Time moved forward.
In the media, the upcoming Liverpool versus Manchester United League Cup tie had been dressed up as nothing less than David Moyes's managerial survival battle—his Alamo, his last stand at the walls.
The narrative had some weight behind it. Every high-profile match Moyes had overseen since taking the United job had ended poorly.
Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, the three top encounters against fellow contenders.
There was not a single victory only one draw, and two defeats. The record was damning.
Through the Premier League's opening five rounds, United had collected just seven points, flagging in eighth place. The "Moyes Era" had begun with all the momentum of a car stuck in mud.
Facing criticism from all corners, Moyes had admitted that the team would inevitably face growing pains in the "Post-Ferguson Era." He'd appealed to fans for patience, asking for more time to implement his vision and allow the squad to adapt to new methods.
Which made this Liverpool fixture absolutely critical, it would be a potential turning point or the beginning of the end.
For Moyes, the silver lining was clear: his squad would be significantly stronger than the weakened lineup he'd fielded in the third round. New signing Marouane Fellaini had settled in and was available for selection. Wayne Rooney was in hot form, hitting peak confidence at exactly the right moment.
Similarly, for Liverpool, this kind of domestic cup competition also carried genuine importance and weight.
After all, this season's Liverpool campaign contained no European football at all, no midweek trips to exotic stadiums, no continental glory to chase. Their entire season consisted of the domestic league plus two cup competitions.
Therefore, Liverpool needed to approach every single match with full commitment and hunger. There was no room for complacency, and no matches to sacrifice for rotation's sake.
The third-round thrashing United had suffered at Anfield had already set the stage for this League Cup encounter, creating a tension that couldn't be ignored. Rooney's public comments about revenge had poured gasoline on smoldering embers.
The Times ran a headline that captured the stakes perfectly: "Moyes's Battle for Survival: A North West Derby He Cannot Afford to Lose."
Their opening paragraph set off with an ominous tone, "As the Old Trafford groundstaff completed their final pre-match mowing, trimming the grass to perfection, David Moyes's position as manager hung by threads finer than the grass clippings themselves."
The article continued brutally: "Moyes speaks of a necessary adjustment period, but what he's really describing is a countdown clock on fans' patience. According to polling data from Manchester United fan groups, nearly seventy-two percent of respondents believe that another defeat to Liverpool should trigger a formal reassessment of his position."
ESPN's coverage took a different angle, focusing on the richness of story embedded in the fixture.
"This League Cup tie has gathered nearly every compelling element that exists in football's universe. Moyes fighting for his managerial survival. Rooney seeking personal redemption after that humiliating six-nil defeat. Liverpool's obsession with reclaiming domestic silverware. And the broader collision between Post-Ferguson United and a Liverpool side directing their own reconstruction."
Their analysis concluded: "The time Moyes has pleaded for might not extend beyond these ninety minutes. Should United lose again, the media and fan backlash will reach critical mass, potentially terminal levels. But if Liverpool can secure victory, they'll not only extend their psychological dominance over their historic rivals, they'll also inject genuine title-challenging belief into a season without European distractions."
Between Liverpool and Manchester United fans online, the exchanges had long since fallen into exhausting, repetitive warfare. Both sets of fans had argued themselves to raw.
The day before the match, Rodgers faced the media in his pre-match press conference.
"For us, this season without European competition means our three domestic competitions represent three distinct pathways to silverware," He explained, leaning forward slightly for emphasis. "We cannot afford even the slightest complacency in any cup match, especially not in a fixture as historic and intense as the North West Derby. This match demands our absolute focus and maximum effort."
When asked about Suárez's return and its potential impact on the team, Rodgers gave a small smile.
"Luis's comeback makes our forward line significantly more dangerous and unpredictable. His understanding with Daniel, Danny, and the others has looked excellent in training. Obviously, we haven't tested those combinations in competitive matches yet, but the movement patterns, the passing sequences, the finishing efficiency in sessions have already expanded what we're capable of creating in attack."
He concluded with words clearly aimed at Liverpool's passionate fanbase: "The North West Derby means more than just three points or cup progression. It's about the club's dignity and meeting our fans' expectations. We'll give everything for victory, and we'll deliver a performance worthy of the Liverpool name. Our goal is to keep that League Cup progression ticket at Anfield, where it belongs."
As for Moyes, his press conference performance showed exactly why Manchester United fans had begun questioning whether he possessed the temperament for an elite club. The language, the body language, everything felt small-time, and defensive.
"I'm obviously aware of the external discussions and speculation," Moyes had said, his tone was weary and slightly defensive.
"But right now, myself and the squad are focused entirely on the ninety minutes against Liverpool. Discussing my position serves no purpose—what matters is what happens on the pitch.
The results in recent matches against top opposition haven't been good enough, I acknowledge that. But this won't break us. The players have prepared thoroughly, and the Old Trafford faithful will be behind us as they always are."
The contrast with Rodgers's bullish confidence couldn't have been blunter.
That evening, other League Cup fixtures kicked off ahead of schedule.
Julien selected Arsenal's match to watch, and seeing Arsène Wenger's furrowed, concerned expression brought a knowing sense of recognition.
After defeating Stoke City the previous weekend, Arsenal had surged to seven consecutive victories across all competitions with a run of form that had fans dreaming of sustained success.
However, the unavoidable reality lurking beneath those results was the treatment room. Arsenal's injury list had grown terribly long, leaving Wenger with barely enough fit players to field competitive lineups.
This brutal truth had forced Wenger into making nine changes for the League Cup despite drawing a Premier League-level opponent. The wholesale rotation wasn't tactical experimentation, it was sheer necessity driven by the medical department's grim daily reports.
Among the starting eleven, one name jumped out as both familiar and strange in its context.
Nicklas Bendtner.
The reason for that contradictory feeling was simple: since August 19, 2011, when Arsenal had lost 2-0 to Liverpool, Bendtner hadn't appeared in a single match for the Gunners. Not one. Over two years of complete absence from the first team picture.
Additionally, two other names in Arsenal's lineup caught Julien's attention, players he knew reasonably well from following the game's broader landscape.
Ryo Miyaichi, the Japanese winger whose career had been perpetually derailed by injuries but whose raw pace remained genuinely frightening when healthy.
And Serge Gnabry, the young German prospect whose potential had been quietly building in Arsenal's academy system, a talent whose future trajectory Julien understood would eventually lead far beyond north London.
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