Angus is an experienced football journalist at Football FanCast, specialising in Premier League reporting, opinion writing and in-depth football analysis. Since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2022, he has developed extensive experience covering the English game, producing thousands of articles across a wide range of clubs and competitions.  

Before joining Football FanCast, Angus led VAVEL's Brighton & Hove Albion department, gaining valuable experience in club-specific reporting and editorial leadership. He subsequently joined Football FanCast through Snack Media's academy, now part of Valnet, and has progressed into the publication's Opinions and Features team.
 

As one of Football FanCast's longest-serving writers, Angus has covered numerous major developments across the Premier League, combining breaking news experience with detailed features and considered opinions. His work draws on years of reporting to provide context behind performances, transfer activity and the wider issues shaping English football.

Liverpool are brittle at the back.

There's a familiar sentence for the Red persuasion. It's becoming frustrating how rare it is for Liverpool to establish themselves as a secure defensive unit. Defeated by Fenerbahce on Wednesday evening, that's the third straight game in the Champions League that saw Andoni Iraola's side ship three goals.

This was a rotated side, but still, every time he plays, Kostas Tsimikas appears to flatter to deceive for Liverpool. We're reaching the point where questions must be raised regarding the veteran full-back's suitability within Iraola's Anfield set-up.

Why Liverpool need to get rid of Kostas Tsimikas

"We didn’t play very good, and that’s why we lost," Tsimikas said after the defeat. At risk of pointing out the obvious, the Greek international did demonstrate an awareness of Liverpool's defensive shortcomings, inexplicably switching off when under pressure, failing to mark players tightly enough.

Tsimikas has now started three of Liverpool's four Champions League fixtures this season, and though his ball-playing and deliveries from set-pieces have been striking at times, he is abject when defending against pressure, and it's clear he needs to move on in 2027.

With 124 Liverpool appearances and 21 assists, Tsimikas is very much an experienced leader within the club. He is charismatic and a boost in the dressing room, but even so, Tsimikas is a liability on the field, and it's telling that he failed to establish himself out on loan with Roma last year, now leaving too much to be desired when recalled to one of England's biggest and most demanding outfits.

Fenerbahce's forwards enjoyed their battle against Greenwood, who did not provide a convincing showing, failing to even attempt a dribble or make a single defensive contribution. He spent the lion's share of the evening chasing the ball, fruitlessly.

He was also fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty for a shove on Mason Greenwood, and it's clear now that Liverpool have big problems at left-back. Perhaps Iraola can find the solution in one of the club's academy talents.

Liverpool must unleash their academy sensation

Liverpool need to tighten up at the back - and quickly - or they will suffer from repetitive lapses in concentration, returning to the kind of miserable struggle that characterised Arne Slot's second season.

Tsimikas is not the answer at left-back, and with Milos Kerkez leaving too much to be desired himself, perhaps it might be worth Liverpool giving Luke Chambers a run in the starting line-up.

The young defender played a big role under Iraola this summer, thriving throughout Liverpool's pre-season campaign in North America. He has since taken a backseat, though his regular presence around the senior squad suggests that minutes could be just around the corner for the former academy graduate.

Chambers hasn't even made his Premier League debut for Liverpool, but he was called up to the first team for their recent clash against Fenerbahce, unused on the bench, but previously having enjoyed a five-minute run-out in the win over LASK.

Naturally creative and solid when defending, the 22-year-old has matured from a physical standpoint, earning a regular starting role with Charlton Athletic in the Championship last term, playing from the campaign's midpoint.

Chambers has been with Liverpool for some time now. He is versatile enough that he has been deployed in a more offensive role on the left and even as a central defender too.

A diligent and intelligent reader of the game, Chambers has pace and is a potent creative threat. His youthful avidity could be exactly what Liverpool are lacking, a smoother variation of Kerkez and a big upgrade on this version of Tsimikas, who, aged 29, may have left his best Liverpool days behind him.

We need to hope that Kerkez will iron out the creases in his game and start playing like the superstar left-back who rose to prominence under Iraola's wing at Bournemouth.

But we also need to make contingency plans, and with Tsimikas so horribly out of sorts when on the field, Chambers could be the latest homegrown hero to raise the mood on Merseyside.