terry symes

At half time they show a different angle and you could tell he was, so I don’t know why they didn’t just give us that one at the time. Glad you referenced this. Why at a cup final can they not have showed the correct camera angle in the first instance? Instead we had to listen to how tight it was and Liverpool potentially getting away with one. Then they showed the actual image, in line with the play, and he was well off.. as the lino called! Fucking does my head in. Also agree with you re the Endo offside. It's traffic warden shit, and if VAR wasn't around then no one would bat an eyelid. But the fact is he was offside when the free kick was taken. So you can make a point he interfered with the play, by then blocking Colwill. If it's implemented all the time then fine - Arsenal won't score another set piece all season.. but the problem is we all know it won't.

And i totally agree re Harvey. I love him. His work rate, desire and he's got loads of talent. But i always have this nagging thought at the back of my mind that he's just not dynamic to be a midfielder for Liverpool. It's so disheartening seeing him scamper around while the opposition just pass it round him, totally bypassing the press.

Arsenal’s spirit was broken by it and the place went completely flat. They must have been thinking ‘here we go again’ and the way the second half started I felt confident that we’d go on and win. This is the thing.. I know we were bad, but if that mistake between Virg and Ali doesn't happen i genuinely think we either nick it or the game peters out to a 1-1. The goal before half time had completely killed them and they were no threat at all that second half before they were gifted the goal.

why would Philip Billing have 'Peter' written on the back of his shirt?!? Haha

Will Darwin ever fix it or is this who he is? Obviously he has age on his side, but is he the archetypal 'scorer of great goals' rather than 'great goal scorer'?

One thing that still hasn't been mentioned was the volley of abuse Young gave to the 4th official as he was walking down the tunnel. Will he get an additional one match ban, or has that been forgotten about now Virg was made an example of? Or maybe the abuse wasn't as heinous as his "fucking joke" comment.

We’ve done alright of course and hopefully the three lads we brought in for those multi purpose midfield roles will do well enough that we aren’t always looking at Bellingham with regrets about not going all out for him. There’ll probably always be a piece of me that resents how we went about all that, but I’m hoping Szoboslai can make me forget about it. I asked a question about this on your pod - would you still rather have got Bellingham plus one other cheaper midfielder (say Macallister or Gravenberch) or have the players we did bring in?

I don’t think there’s any conspiracy as to why we always get lumbered with these games, I just think it’s because BT love showing us because the ratings are great. I agree, but i also reckon they love getting under our skin and that there'll always be a big chance of an upset. So much is always made of it so they'll love the publicity. I'm just glad we won it and got the monkey off our back. Hopefully we do the same in the derby next month and they can fuck off picking us for that slot.

some big beanpole called Kalajdzic. Never seen him before but apparently he’s been there over a year. Must be shite if he’s a striker in a team that can’t score but he never gets picked. poor sod did his cruciate first game of last season i think, so missed the entire season

Yep, spot on. I'm worried about this season got to be honest. Pre season in terms of recruitment, planning and application has been a shambles. On the pitch hasn't been much better either. A system that's still in its infancy and looks like it's gonna leave us even more exposed, players that don't necessarily suit it, no number 6 (until a 19 year who can't be first choice anyway come in) and no real natural leaders.

Love him to bits but you can't go into a season relying on Thiago. Plus he's not an out and out dog of war destroyer.

I find it interesting you mock the midfield of Rice, Havertz and Odegaard for being lightweight but then be excited about Thiago partnering Trent at the base of our midfield. Likewise talking up the virtues of Jones playing in the 6. At least Rice is an actual holding midfielder. That starting lineup you predict for Chelsea looks great technically, but to me that is absolutely weak as piss. I really don't want us to turn into Arsenal of the last 10 years and be bullied, but i can honestly see it happening. I'm not particularly arsed about losing Fabinho (as i think his legs might be gone), but in my opinion we still need a like for like replacement. Let's be honest, every top team still needs a destroyer. Someone who breaks up play, makes a lot of tactical fouls and is happy to take a yellow card if need be. Someone who actually loves the defensive side, wins the ball and passes it 5 yards to someone else to create something. We don't have one single midfielder of that ilk, one that can properly smell danger and provide a safety net like Fab did. Maybe Lavia ticks the boxes. I've not seen enough of him to have an opinion. But, my concern is that it was clearly the plan for Fabinho to still be our first choice '6' this season. And i reckon if he wasn't available, or rested, then Henderson would have played that role. Now neither of them are here and our main target is a 19 year old from relegated Southampton - and he's not even here a week before the start of the season. Whatever happens, we definitely need some bite and protection in that midfield.

Thinking about the current candidates to take the armband has me worried, not gonna lie. Agreed, don't want Virg - who often needs to be on the end of a rocket rather than delivering one. Mo and Alisson are just too nice, simple as that. Trent probably gets my vote but I wouldn't be overly enamoured. There is not one stand out. I'm absolutely gutted we've lost our 2 standard setters to be honest (reasons aside). Wouldn't have achieved what we have without them 2 running the dressing room. The squad now reminds of old Arsenal ones. Loads of talent, but no balls, no leaders. I guess we'll see. Here's hoping some step up.

Couple of things from the game.. I didn't watch it live, but going off the highlights I thought it was strange Gomez playes as the left sided CB. I'd have thought he would have been better equipped to play the Konate role, and cover Trent when's out of position. Considering he's played at Right back himself, and has decent pace, it seemed a weird one to play Matip there. Also, on Trent himself, he looked poor for 2 of the goals. First one where he's massively behind the offside line playing Ward Prowse on and then making a half hearted effort to stop the shot. Then also on the 3rd, where he bottled the tackle on the edge of their box. Granted, there was still the entire fucking length of the pitch left to stop the goal but still, it was weak as piss. I'm actually now in the camp of buying a quality right back and playing Trent right of the 3 midfielders. The dual role is a lot to ask of him and literally none of the midfielders we're being linked with are doing it for me (maybe Mcallister, but not for the price) so i'd rather see Trent in there. Just massively underwhelmed and i've got no faith in the recruitment this summer. We'll end up spending decent money on 3 or 4 average players. The numbers being touted for Macallister and Mount seem insane to me. Don't want to keep harping on about Bellingham, but he and another cheaper one (i'd even prefer Ward Prowse over Mount) makes so much more sense. Guess we'll never know what went on but it's infuriating.

Yeah 100% agree. Rotating the 3 starters out of Bellingham, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Batjetic, Elliott and Jones would be sound in my book. Especially without any European football. Only problem would be the fitness of Thiago and Jones i suppose, so if you could do Bellingham, plus another cheaper option like a Gravenberch, that would be the ideal scenario. I just can't see how that can be out of our reach but there we go. Can't understand the Gallagher link at all personally. I like him as a player and he'd have the energy required for a Klopp team. But what would you have to pay?? And would he be enough of an upgrade on an Elliott or Jones? Not for me.