Three If By Air?

So the Reds have landed in Boston, but this time it won't result in some nutjob running through the streets alerting the residents and causing a trail that every fucking tourist in the world has to follow and get in your way when all you're doing is trying to get to the bar or class (sorry, still very bitter about my three years spent in Boston). Liverpool's North American tour is truly under way, as Brendan Rodgers met with the press as soon as they landed and they began training today at Harvard, which I'm sure in no way drew guffaws from the playings staff (Hey Jonjo, didn't you get in here?)

But other than that, the news cycle is pretty slow. There's the Andy Carroll speculation of course, and that'll get real interesting when he and the other England players join the squad next week. So will Fabio Borini, who cut short his summer holiday to do so. Obviously, Coates, Suarez, and Bellamy will miss out due to the Olympics. Hopefully, after some training sessions or a face to face meeting, this Carroll stuff will die down. But Rodgers seems pretty keen on announcing his presence with authority, rightly or wrongly, and there's no better way to do that than flogging the club's record buy at the very first exit.

-Liverpool are being linked with Swansea's Joe Allen. There was an apparent handshake agreement that Rodgers wouldn't raid his old club until next summer, but Allen has reportedly pushed to join him on Merseyside, and handshakes are made to be broken. But again, all conjecture.

-With the first game coming up on Saturday in Toronto, where strangely Liverpool have played before, and the England players not part of the reckoning, there are a couple kids who could get a look and that's really the only promise of preseason. Well, that and Aquilani looking like the best player on the pitch and getting all our hopes up before he's shipped off to Fiorentina or something. Suso just helped the Spanish U-19's win their championship, putting the world on notice that Spain will be good forever, so Saturday's game may come a bit quick for him. But hopefully not. Nathan Eccleston could get a look after disappearing after Rafa Benitez gave him a couple run-outs. And obviously all eyes will be on Raheem Sterling, who seems born to play in a 4-3-3 and everywhere across it. Liverpool fans have been jonesing for a player to come through the academy and make a splash with the first team for a while now, and he seems the most likely. Hopefully he can open some eyes on this tour, because with a limited transfer budget (reportedly) and targets opting for other clubs, some of Liverpool's answers might just have to come from within.