Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team as a striker.

Carroll started his professional career with Newcastle United in 2006, before spending a brief period on loan with Preston North End, during which time he scored his first league goal. He established himself as a regular in the Newcastle first team by 2008, and following Newcastle's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in 2009, scored 17 goals in 39 appearances to help Newcastle finish first in the league, earning immediate promotion back to the Premier League in the process. He continued to play for Newcastle in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances.

Carroll signed for Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window on 31 January 2011 for a fee of £35 million, which to date represents both Liverpool's most expensive ever signing, and the highest amount ever paid by one club to another for a British footballer. Carroll was bought to replace Fernando Torres, who moved from Liverpool to Chelsea on the same day for a fee of £50 million, making Carroll the second-most expensive player currently playing for a British club, behind Torres. An injury sustained in December delayed his Liverpool debut until March 2011, and he scored his first two goals for his new club in April 2011 in a 3–0 victory over Manchester City.

Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays for and is the current club captain of West Ham United F.C. in the English Premier League. An attacking midfielder, he has represented England at under-21 level.

After growing up in Toxteth, Liverpool, Nolan signed for Bolton Wanderers at the age of 16. Part of the team that beat Preston North End in the 2001 Football League Championship play-offs to gain promotion to the Premier League, he soon became a regular first-team player for the club. He scored as Bolton beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in both of his first two seasons in the top tier of English football, as well as important goals that helped Bolton regularly finish in the top half of the Premier League table. Nolan was also a first team regular as Bolton qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in the club's history—where they reached the knockout stages. Following the departure of Jay-Jay Okocha in 2006, Nolan was appointed as the team captain, and he led the team once again to UEFA Cup qualification and, once again, eventual progression to the knockout round of the competition.

Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team, primarily as a winger. Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, and has won the Football League Cup twice in his career.

Downing was born in Middlesbrough. He was considered one of the most promising graduates of the Middlesbrough Academy.

His debut came on 24 April 2002 in a FA Premier League game away at Ipswich Town. He was limited to just three appearances during that season, plus a further three the following season despite scoring his first senior goal in a 4–1 League Cup victory over Brentford. He was sent out on loan to Sunderland in 2003 in order to gain experience. His first-team chances at Middlesbrough were limited due to the form of Bolo Zenden in the left-midfield slot. Downing's career began to take-off when he was recalled from his loan during an injury crisis and was pushed into the first-team.

The 2004–05 season saw Downing make forty-nine appearances, scoring six goals, as well as providing numerous assists. In a UEFA Cup match against Lazio in November 2004, both Downing and Zenden were in the starting line-up. Though Zenden scored both goals in the 2–0 victory, Downing drew praise for his performance down the left. Such performances that season saw him called up to Sven Göran Eriksson's England squad in February 2005 for a friendly against the Netherlands.

Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish former footballer who is the current manager of Liverpool.

Rodgers began his career as a footballer at Ballymena United before moving to Reading, where an injury forced him to retire at the age of 20. He stayed at Reading as a youth team coach before being invited to join Chelsea as the manager of their youth team in 2004. He was promoted to reserve team manager in 2006.

In November 2008, he was appointed manager of Watford, before moving back to Reading as manager following the resignation of Steve Coppell in June 2009. He left the club by mutual consent in December 2009, and returned to management with Swansea City in July 2010. The following year, he led Swansea City to become the first Welsh team to win promotion to the Premier League, and guided them to 11th in their debut season. In June 2012, Rodgers was announced as the new Liverpool manager.

Rodgers was born in Carnlough to parents Malachy and Christina, the eldest of five brothers. He was educated at St. Patrick's College in Ballymena. He played Gaelic football and hurling in Carnlough before taking up football when he was 13. He grew up as a supporter of Celtic.