@WHATAHITSONLFC

The international break may be upon us, but things are happening at Melwood. Here’s my slant on Liverpool Football Club’s week.

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The international break. It’s here again. Like an unwanted recluse at a party, it’s here again. Here again, driven by Roy Hodgson, with his withered face and weary football philosophy. Who invited you, mate?

Roy needs something to do, to be fair. He’s doing a sterling job of sapping the soul from the English National Team, so why should he stop now? Brazil was only the beginning.

Wayne’s also bored. He’s banned from playing Premier League football for a few weeks after kicking an opponent (not for the first time in his career) so let him run around and shout like a captain. He’ll enjoy it.

The break isn’t all bad though. While a chunk of the Liverpool squad did jet off to meet up with their international colleagues earlier this week, a few key players didn’t.

Steven Gerrard gets another chance to put his feet up, having of course retired from England duty. Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen, Glen Johnson, Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can will remain at Melwood to continue their rehabilitation from injury. The former trio are expected to be pushing for a place in the squad for our next match, Queens Park Rangers, on 19 October. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a significant boost.

Then there’s Mario Balotelli, who for some reason hasn’t been included in the Italian squad. Why? I have no idea. And I couldn’t really care less. What matters is, he’s staying at home. If I was Brendan, I’d have him playing FIFA, going shopping, doing all sorts with Danny Sturridge. He could even play table tennis with Jose Enrique, who is either not talented enough or not sane enough to play for his country. Probably both.

In fact, talking of Jose’s country, Spain, I must say that they in some way make international football a worthwhile thing for me. They do football right, even when things go wrong for them, like in the summer. Chile are another beacon of positivity. The way Jorge Sampaoli set his team up in the World Cup (and last November against England) was a perfect demonstration of what a group of players can achieve when they are tactically cohesive. Take note Roy.

So I suppose my antipathy for international football isn’t all-encompassing. I’ll put up with it this time.

Well that was my idea anyway. Until, on Thursday morning (before an international fixture had even taken place), news emanated from the Croatian camp that Dejan Lovren had picked up a groin injury.

He was immediately sent back to Melwood for an assessment.

Lovren hasn’t got off to the most serene of starts for us, with a series of erratic performances. But whether you see his potential absence as a blow or not, I think it’s clear having just two fit centre-backs in your squad isn’t ideal. A consistent defensive duo (or trio) has historically proven to be the fulcrum of most successful sides through the years. As far as I can remember, we’ve never had that throughout Brendan Rodgers’ reign, for one reason or another.

This could cause more rotation in that area, which is never healthy in my opinion.

Conversely though, he could just miss Croatia’s two European Championship qualifiers and recover in time for our game next Sunday. In effect, just getting a fortnight’s rest.

Let’s wait and see.

Thursday night saw a few Reds in action for their countries. Martin Skrtel captained Slovakia to a historic 2-1 win against Spain. Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana all came through England’s routine mauling of football minnows San Marino. Rickie Lambert was an unused substitute. They’re all fine. One down, one to go.

While a lot of the lads are away, Brendan seems keen to get some admin work done. Important admin work. Well I say important, but are contracts really as significant in football as they are in other professions? Probably not.

They seem little more than a piece of paper now, with no real meaning. Okay, a player who has just signed a new deal will see his market value rise, but that’s about the only benefit for his club.

Nevertheless, the penning of Daniel Sturridge’s new deal last Friday will no doubt have appeased fellow Reds and I (for a few hours at least).

This week there has been more talk of new contracts with deals for Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling apparently nearing completion. Sturridge, Sterling and Henderson. Three huge talents. Three huge English talents. Get them signed up. They’re key to our future, as well as our present.

Incidentally, one of those players, Jordan Henderson, beat Joe Hart with a ludicrous, left-footed long-strike in England training on Tuesday. If you haven’t seen it, firstly ask yourself why. Then read the rest of this and go and watch it. Preferably on Vine so it plays on a continuous loop, as a strike like that deserves to. It’s loop-worthy. I love Jordan Henderson. You should too.

Contract negotiations haven’t been quite as smooth, or indeed just not as active, with Glen Johnson and his representatives. Johnson’s current Liverpool deals comes to an end next summer and the player himself has admitted even he is unsure what the future holds.

I’m sure I’m not alone in being fairly unconcerned by his possible departure. At 30 years old his best days as a marauding full-back are probably behind him. There’s no doubt that on his day he’s an exceptional asset to a football team, but too often in the last 18 months his phlegmatic performances haven’t merited the lucrative contract he sits on.

Last but certainly not least is some Luis Suarez news. Nice Luis Suarez news, I promise. You can deal with that can’t you?

The Uruguayan is set to be recognised for how outrageously well he played football for Liverpool Football Club last season, by being awarded the European Golden Shoe in Barcelona. He’ll share the award with Cristiano Ronaldo. And in case you’re wondering, I too have no idea why it’s not called the Golden Boot anymore. Or is that just for international football?

Quite frankly, who cares? That’s all minutiae.

What’s important is: Luis, being half scouse and all that, has invited Kenny Dalglish to fly over to Spain and present him with the award. Heart-melting stuff.

So that concludes a fairly quiet week for us. No Premier League at the weekend.

Nine more days though. Nine more days until Queens Park Rangers. Nine more days for Danny and Mario to pal up. Nine more long days with Roy Hodgson’s face everywhere.

Don’t worry, it’ll pass.