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  • TLW

    Jürgen Klopp has expressed his delight with Curtis Jones committing to the club for the next five seasons.

    The home-grown talent has impressed when given opportunities in domestic cup competitions famously scoring the winner in the FA Cup against Everton earlier this season and also showing nerves of steel to score the winning penalty in the Carabao Cup thriller against Arsenal.

    The manager has signalled that the 19 year-old will play an increased role in the seasons ahead and expressed his delight about the signature.

    The Official site reported Klopp as saying:

    "Today’s news is more about reward. 

    "When Curtis signed we made promises to him that if he continued to improve and grow as a player that we would make sure we recognised that and that is what we have now done. 

    “That is our way here.

    “We want our young players to achieve their maximum and a big part of that is keeping the focus on their journey and not just a destination. You have to make sure their development is constant, otherwise you are failing them.

    “I could not be more pleased or proud to see how he has blossomed. Super attitude – brilliant application – and a really important member of this squad now.

    “His quality is not in doubt; technically and ability-wise at the highest level. But plenty of young players have the skills, it’s about more than that if you want to achieve potential and Curtis is showing it.

    “For Curtis now it’s about continuing his improvement. If he does that, he can achieve anything he wants in the game. I think we are the perfect environment for him, so it’s a very cool situation.

    “I love it that our supporters will be able to enjoy having more than one ‘Scouser in our team”

    The youngster was naturally thrilled to commit to his boyhood club and the faith that they have shown in him.
     


    “For me, as everyone knows, it's massive. 

    “It’s my boyhood club and it's the whole of my family's club as well. 

    “For me it's huge. I think the environment and stuff is all positive and keeps me as positive as I can. Of course we're working with a great manager and around the best team in the world, so for me it was easy and [I'm] extremely proud. 

    Jones said that he loves learning from the senior midfield unit and has placed high expectations in what he wants to achieve at the club.

    “Once I sign, I don't really think about that. 

    "I just want to go out on the pitch and be the best I can and show everybody the player that I'm going to be in the future. 

    "As soon as I signed now, I'm straight back out there, 100 per cent work again. 

    “As I said before, I'm looking forward to the opportunities that the manager and the rest of the staff will be giving. 

    “I'm here to make history at the club and try and be a legend at the club and want to be remembered by the whole of the fans throughout the whole time that LFC lasts.”

     
  • James Milner has revealed how he embraced the challenge of being Liverpool’s fill-in left-back during the 2016/7 season.

    Throughout his distinguished career, Milner has shown a great deal of versatility and professionalism.

    In the days of ‘stroppy antics’, Milner is of the old-guard in putting his head down and producing a real good shift for the team even if it meant playing out of his customary position.

    But even he admits to raising a eyebrow when Jürgen Klopp came to him in time of a positional crisis when the incumbent left-back Alberto Moreno had produced one poor performance too many even for the patient manager to tolerate.

    Milner recalled the story per The Mirror (via Sky Sports):

    “It was what the manager needed at the time.

    “There's always going to be positions you prefer but you do what's needed for the team.

    “I suppose at that point I could have turned around and said, 'No I don't want to do that, I want to leave.

    “A few of the boys were a bit surprised when we set up at pre-season training the next day and I was at left-back, but that was part of the fun.”

    Milner admitted that Klopp has a true level of persuasion about him and the way the German put the challenge to him made him more willing to embrace it.
     


    “Yeah I think so, you can see how he is around the team, but it's also wanting to be part of that.

    "Do you want to walk away from Liverpool and a manager of his calibre and not be part of something? I did the job as best I could and the year after that I don't know what was in his mind.

    "Maybe he thought, 'Left-back, that's him done,' so it was a challenge to force my way back into the reckoning in midfield and I managed to do that."

    Despite plenty of reports linking him back to his boyhood club Leeds last December, the veteran put pen to paper on a contract extension which sees him commit to the club until the end of the 2021/22 season.

    Milner has never hid his admiration for the Yorkshire club and you get the sense that he would love to make a fairytale return one day.

    “You never know in football, what's around the corner, but I just want to contribute and win as many trophies as I can for Liverpool and add to the great history here,

    “I'm biased, but I think the Premier League will be a better place for Leeds in it, and it will be weird to play against them next season.

    “It seems a long time ago since I pulled on that shirt, you look back at photos and see how big the shirts were back then.

    "Plenty has changed since then, unfortunately I was part of the team that got relegated and they haven't come back and recovered just yet.

    "It would be great to see them back next season and their fans are incredible as well."

     
  • Jürgen Klopp has reflected on his life in Football, what makes Liverpool such a good fit for himself and why he doesn’t see himself as special.

    The German entrenched himself further in Liverpool folklore last week when they were officially crowned as Premier League champions after a 30 year wait.

    It was the culmination of a stellar last 12 months which has also seen the club claim the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.

    In a wide ranging interview with the Mirror, Klopp discusses his love for the game and why being at Liverpool is such a good combination.

    “I love the game so much which is why I had this affection for Liverpool. And when it came up, it was an easy decision.

    "I was hoping the people would be really open for a new guy and I was really open for a new challenge and a new club.

    “And from day one, it clicked.

    “The passion the people have for this club is exceptional. 

    “The way they went through the darkest moments possible - how they deal with it but don’t forget it - is exceptional.

    “I am sure that is why the status of the manager at this club is different to other clubs.

    “I had no idea about that before I came here. People told me about it and I said … ‘yeah, we will see’.

    “And that’s the way it is.

    The downside to being the head figure at one of the iconic teams in world sport is the lack of privacy.

    It is an aspect that Klopp doesn’t particularly like, but has learnt to live with.

    “I am sure that is why the status of the manager at this club is different to other clubs.

    “I had no idea about that before I came here. People told me about it and I said … ‘yeah, we will see’.

    “And that’s the way it is.

    “Not being able to live a normal life is the shadow part.

    “I don’t like it but I have to accept it … (because) my life is too good.

    I am 53, I am healthy, I work for the best club in the world, I earn really a lot of money.

    “Life is not perfect but it’s not for anybody so why should it be for me?”
     


    The future status of Klopp has been a massive of great discussion even after he signed his contract extension last year.

    Klopp who undertook a university degree and worked in sports science before becoming a manager has not have a set date in mind but one thing is for sure, he won’t on the bench into his 70s.

    “I don’t see me doing that at that age.

    “When I became a manager [aged 33], I thought … ‘right, now 25 power years start.

    “I was seven and a half years at Mainz, seven at Dortmund and in 2024 (when his current contract at Liverpool ends) it will be 23 and half.

    “I have no plans beyond that.

    “When it is time, hopefully I am still healthy and I can say … ‘great, I loved it but now I would like to watch other people doing it’.

    “So, I hope I find this inner mood to say … ‘see you later, I wish you all the best, best of luck, love you all but don’t call because of any football matters.

    “That’s the plan.

    Despite all the achievements that Klopp has achieved in the game, his ego is well and truly in check and still views himself in a normal light.

    “I am still the normal one, “I. Am. Not. Special.

    “I have a few skills and, luckily, they are needed in football, which is something I really love.

    “But that’s all. I am not special. I am not fishing for compliments.

    “I think I am a good guy, I think I am a nice guy. That sounds boring but it is the truth.”

    Liverpool fans will have to agree to disagree with Jürgen on this matter, he is truly in the special category.


     
  • Three Watford players were filmed at a gathering of over 20 people last Friday, according to Match of the Day. I googled it and the ‘gathering’ was a birthday party for Andre Gray, organised by Gray himself. 
     
    All three players were left out of the squad for the Southampton game for ‘health and safety reasons’. 
     
    Translation: They were told to stay the fuck away because Nigel Pearson was going to kill them with his bare hands.
     
    Seriously, how fucking irresponsible is that? Watford aren’t mid-table with nothing to play for. They’re still in a relegation fight, but their players can’t social distance for the next few weeks? No shock that Andre Gray was involved. If I had to pick one Watford player who’d do something like this he’d have been top of my list.
     
    I daresay my boy Troy won’t be happy. He didn’t want to come back and play at all because his little lad is in an at risk group. Now three of his team-mates are putting him at risk by… well I’ll let Gray himself tell you what happened.
     
    "It was not a late-night party like what is being portrayed. It was only a gathering of friends which turned into a sort of football tournament on my birthday.”
    A ‘sort of football tournament’. In other words, a kick about with a load of his non-footy player mates, who unlike his actual team-mates are not being tested twice a week. If I was Deeney I’d want to smash their faces in. 
     
    They probably wouldn’t have made any difference to the result against Southampton as the Saints were just too good for them, but it’s not really the point is it?
     
    Ings fired Southampton ahead with a terrific goal and then doubled their lead with another sharp strike. 21 goals for the season, 18 of which have come in the league.
     
    I referred to Timo Werner recently as a “Harrods Danny Ings”. A massively more expensive but only slightly superior version of the actual Danny Ings who you can pick up at Asda. I’m quite pleased with that analogy but it might actually be flattering Werner.
     
    I was thinking about this the other day though. It would have been difficult for Klopp to justify (to himself as well as Michael Edwards) spending so much on Werner when he’d sold virtually the same player for less than half that price. How do you rationalise that?
     
    Ings is one goal shy of being the leading scorer in the league this season. If Werner matches that next year then he’s done well. If Mo can’t win the Golden Boot this year (and he still might, he’s only two back of Vardy) I’d love Ingsy to win it. 
     
    Anyway, Bednarek put through his own net to give Watford hope but a stunning free-kick from Ward-Prowse wrapped it up. Great technique that, as his entire body shape suggested the ball was going around the wall into the far corner but he whipped it right back across and over the wall into the opposite corner.
     
    Final note on this. Bednarek is a dead ringer for short haired Milan Baros.
     
    The other game at the weekend saw Wolves put another nail in Villa’s relegation coffin with a narrow 1-0 win at Villa Park.
     
    My boy Adama was back on the bench for Wolves as they took on Villa. Is there a fitness issue with him as he seems to be left out quite a bit doesn’t he? Maybe Nuno Holy Spirit likes the option of bringing him off the bench against tired legs. 
     
    To be fair it is a great weapon to have. Imagine being a little bit leggy and then having this cunt come on and just fly past like the Road Runner.
     
    Getting deja vu there as I’ve defo used that line before but can’t remember who I was referring to. No wait, it was Gabby Agbonlahor! Remember how fast that fucker was before he developed that little ale gut? Even then he was still like shit off a stick. He was always boss against us and he’d just fly past people. Meep Meep!
     
    Just had a little look to see where he is now, and he retired at 32 because he didn’t want to play for anyone other than Villa and couldn’t face the thought of playing against them. He said he planned to spend his retirement watching Villa. Fucking hell lad, get yourself a hobby or that shit will drive you to an early grave.
     
    Back to the game though. Villa did alright really and a sharp finish by Dendoncker from the edge of the box was the only difference between the two sides. Villa can’t score but they are defending well and not conceding many.
     
    Dean Smith had a bit of a moan afterwards but he had a point. Villa’s schedule has been hectic as fuck since the return, partly because they had a game in hand and he wondered why this game couldn’t have been played a day or two later. Fair point. There is no real reason it couldn’t have been played later and another game been arranged for the weekend to satisfy TV.
     
    Another thing he said was that these games are basically shit without fans anyway but they’re even worse when players are knackered. We might see that ourselves over the next couple of weeks when we’re playing every two or three days too.
     
    It’s a necessary evil because we missed three months so it needs to be condensed, but it does seem like Villa have been given the shitty end of the stick. Still, never mind, eh?
     
    Moving on, and Arsenal beat Norwich 4-0 so no doubt those players are now swaggering about, dicks swinging, feeling pretty good about themselves again. Beating up on a team that’s already down and has given up is pure Arsenal. Fair weather cunts.
     
    Tim Krul handed them the opener when he dwelled on the ball too long and was robbed by Aubamayeng who was left with a simple tap in. He’s a decent keeper him and he’s been great for Norwich, but if I was his manager he’d be watching the rest of the season from home after that. 
     
    You know how I feel about those kind of goals. They’re inexcusable as it shows a lack of homework. It’s not quite as bad as a keeper fannying about when Jamie Vardy is in the vicinity, but Aubamayeng is very similar. Quick as a hiccup and always looking to pick people’s pockets. You just don’t take chances around certain forwards, and he’s one of them. Krul needs his arse kicking for that.
     
    It didn’t get any better for him either. Arsenal’s second was a strike from Xhaka that went right through his legs. The third was a joke too, although Krul could do nothing about that one. A defender played the ball across his own box straight to Aubamayeng who gleefully accepted the gift.
     
    Goal number four was a long range shot by Cedric Soares that deflected into the bottom corner. The first I knew that Soares was even at Arsenal was last week when he was given a new contract. I didn’t know he even had an old contract! 
     
    It’s games like this that probably make it so difficult for some Arsenal fans to accept just how far away they are. Because when they’re on, they play some lovely stuff. They always have. They can’t do it against anyone decent though. 
     
    I reckon every Arsenal fan’s day begins with the radio switching on and Sonny and Cher singing “I got you babe”. Because it’s the same shit on a continuous loop. Terrible, spineless defeats that have the fans on the brink of despair, then a few spanking wins over shite that make them think things maybe aren’t so bad, before another spineless defeat sends them spiralling again.
     
    Saka signed a new deal though. It was always on the cards that even though us and United were supposedly trying to land him. An Academy kid who has just broken through into the first team at a ‘big six’ club is unlikely to want to move somewhere else where he probably won’t get the same playing time.
     
    If Saka develops as expected then he’ll move in two or three years when he gets fed up of the spineless mediocrity around him. Unless Arteta can completely purge the entire club of that Arsenal stink, and  seeing as how he handed Luiz a new contract I wouldn’t hold out too much hope of that happening.
     
    So I said last week that with the title now wrapped up the only thing I was rooting for now was for West Ham to get relegated. That’s not looking likely after the events of this week. Not only did they somehow beat Chelsea, but Bournemouth are just lurching from bad result to even worse result.
     
    They got smoked at home to Newcastle. Dwight Gayle got the opener, Sean Longstaff added a second after great play by the lively Saint-Maximin, Almiron added a brilliant third and Lazaro (who’s he?) lashed in a fourth. That Dan Gosling jabroni managed a consolation but this was a proper spanking.
     
    Nice Guy Eddie’s side don’t look like they are capable of winning another game. I don’t know what’s happened to them as the one thing they’ve always had is a goal threat, but right now they just look toothless.
     
    Mind you, they’re like Burnley in that they can be right streaky bastards. Every season they seem to lose ten on the bounce but then go ten unbeaten and finish somewhere between 11th and 15th. They’re leaving it a bit late this season though and West Ham are benefitting more than anyone.
     
    They recorded a surprise victory over Chelsea, the bastards. Willian scored from the spot after Pulisic had been fouled, but Soucek levelled with a header from a corner. Kevin Abraham was on the line and should have cleared it, but he seemed to misjudge the speed of the ball and whiffed at it.
     
    Antonio then fired West Ham into the lead but a brilliant free-kick from Willian made it 2-2 and that’s how it looked like finishing until Yarmolenko broke clear on the counter attack in stoppage time and won it for the Hammers. 
     
    You know what’s one of the worst images in football? Moyes being happy after a win. I’m so used to seeing him looking miserable as fuck that anything else is a real shock to the system and turns my stomach.
     
    Such is my desperation for him and the West Ham board to be relegated that I had to check myself from laying into Chelsea after this. They did, after all, beat City last week to clinch the title for us, so any criticism of this would seem a little bit churlish.
     
    Still, West Ham?? Really Chelsea? West fucking Ham? Take a long hard look at yourselves, knobheads.
     
    Klopp has been telling the press that we won’t be spending any money this summer because of the financial situation. Fair enough, if the club say that the money isn’t there then that’s just how it is. With that in mind though, surely Willian on a free is a no brainer, especially if we offload a few fringe players to cover his wages?
     
    United had a comfortable 3-0 win over Brighton to keep the hype train rolling. They’re not as shit as they were but they’re still a million miles away from where they think they are. Still, as long as they think they’re on the right track they’ll keep Solskjaer, which is good.
     
    I’m sick of all this fawning about that Fernandez fella though. Even loads of our fans have bought into the hype about him. I keep seeing people going on about how great he is but I’m not buying into it. Just because he’s better than their other midfielders doesn’t make him special. Being an upgrade on Jesse Lingard and Anreas Perreira isn’t difficult.
     
    Look, he’s good, I get it. I’m not going to say he’s shit when he clearly isn’t, but let’s not go overboard here. United’s fans will do enough of that themselves, the deluded fucks (the one player they are entitled to go overboard about is Mason Greenwood, who looks like he’s the player people thought Rashford was). 
     
    Here’s my scouting report on Bruno Fernandez: Shoot on sight merchant. He’s Gylfi Sigurdsson when he was at Swansea. Gets it, shoots. Rinse and repeat. Yeah he looks good now, but so did Sigurdsson for a while. Stop him shooting from outside the box and then let’s see what else “Portuguese Gylfi” has.
     
    Speaking of Gylfi, the “Icelandic Bruno Fernandez” scored from the spot as the Blues added to Leicester’s recent woes with a 2-1 win at Goodison.
     
    Richarlison *spits on floor* fired Everton ahead and then they were awarded a pen when Ndidi handled in the box. That Iheanacho fuck pulled one back and Leicester piled on the pressure, but despite the best efforts of the comical Pickford to gift them an equaliser the Foxes couldn’t manage it.
     
    Since the restart Leicester have been fucking abysmal and the top four spot that once looked nailed on is now under serious threat. That’s pissing me right off to be honest, because if they miss out then either United or Wolves will get in, and I’d much rather Leicester were in there as they’re the lesser of those three evils.
     
    In an ideal world they’d regroup and secure a Champions League place and then Wolves would pip Chelsea and United for the other spot, but that ain’t happening is it?
     
    Burnley won 1-0 at Palace thanks to a diving header from Ben Mee. Incredibly, they’re level with Spurs, one point behind Arsenal and only two points behind Sheffield United, who up until a week ago were in Champions League contention. This league is mad.
     
    I’d like Burnley to finish above Arsenal though. There’d be something quite fitting about that as they’re complete polar opposites. Burnley’s players have to fight and scrape for everything they get. They survive each year on hard work, honesty and effort. They’re the absolute antithesis of Arsenal. 
     
    Finally, Sheffield United produced arguably the biggest upset of the week by beating Spurs 3-0. They’ve looked terrible since the restart and have lost some key men through injury. Lockdown footy is mad though, results are just too unpredictable and you never know what’s going to happen.
     
    Of course it helps when Harry Kane has three goals disallowed! 
     
    That Sander Berge looked good. He opened the scoring with a nice little turn and finish. Then we had the absolute abortion of a decision to disallow Kane’s equaliser. I’ll expand on it in a sec though. 
     
    Mousset made it 2-0 from close range and McBurnie added a third following more good work by Berge. I’m not sure I can remember seeing anyone ever being happier about scoring a goal than McBurnie was, especially in an empty stadium. He was giving it fucking loads.
     
    Kane did grab a late consolation but Spurs were well beaten in the end. Mourinho didn’t use the disallowed goal as an excuse and said the team weren’t mentally strong enough to recover from it. That may or may not be the case but they shouldn’t have had to recover from it.  
     
    Look, I don’t give a fuck about Spurs and I’m glad they lost, but I’m genuinely angry about that decision because it just demonstrates that the game is run by complete morons.
     
    For anyone who hasn’t seen it, what happened was Moura was running with the ball and was fouled by two defenders. He fell to the ground next to the ball and another defender came in and booted the ball against his arm from about an inch away. The rebound fell to Kane who scored.
     
    Not only did they disallow the goal for ‘handball’ but they even forgot to give Spurs the free-kick. It’s not even funny, it’s just an absolute fucking disgrace as this shit could be happening to any of us. 
     
    The VAR ref was Michael Oliver and he had no choice but to disallow the goal. Common sense isn’t allowed and by the ‘letter of the law’ (hate that expression as it’s just licence for jobsworths to be jobsworths) the goal couldn’t stand. Not giving Spurs the free-kick was just rubbing salt in the open wound and either Oliver or Chris Kavanagh fucked up badly on that aspect of it.
     
    This genuinely might be the most ridiculous ‘correct’ decision I’ve ever seen though. The rule is so fucking stupid that technically it was the right call. This wasn’t a mistake. Imagine coming up with a rule that legitimately rules out a goal like that. 
     
    Whichever smug cunt in a suit came up with that needs to be fired out of a massive cannon and launched into orbit. Or better yet, stick him in a locked room with Moyes and force him to listen to Moyesy discuss all of his ‘achievements’ and why he’s such a winner. That’ll learn him. Twat.
     
    Other than Corona virus that attacking handball nonsense has been the worst thing about this season. Worse than VAR even. It’s so bad it actually had me siding with Mourinho and Kane. I wouldn’t have though there was anything on this planet that could do that, but there you go.
  • After the Lord Mayor’s Show as they say, and as far as results go this was a dung cart and a half. The performance didn’t really reflect the scoreline but against City you only have to be a little bit off and this is what can happen. 
     
    I’m just glad our Etihad nemesis Aguero was missing otherwise this could have been really embarrassing. 
     
    Ordinarily 4-0 would be embarrassing enough but with the title already won and this result cutting our lead to a mere 20 points, embarrassment isn’t really the right word. Neither is humbling, or chastening or whatever. 
     
    We’re the Champions and we’re 20 points ahead of City regardless of what happened in this game, so I don’t actually know how to best describe this loss. I know I hated it though. I had a proper cob on for the rest of the night and I’m still irked about it this morning. 
     
    Maybe that’s unreasonable and if you’re not arsed about what happened at the Etihad then more power to you. I just hated seeing us lose like THAT. And to lose like that to THEM.
     
    Judging by how tetchy Klopp was afterwards on Sky you could be forgiven for thinking he felt the same. It’s only when you watch the interview he did with LFCTV straight afterwards that you understand how he really felt about it. He was more philosophical than angry, but that’s almost certainly because of the line of questioning.
     
    When assessing Klopp’s post match mood you have to take into account just what a monumental dick bag Geoff Shreeves is. He’s probably the worst one out there as his questions are just fucking moronic half of the time. Lowest common denominator, basic, shitty redtop style questions. He’s the Jim White of TV.
     
    Usually Klopp shows more patience with him but I completely understood why he got so arsey this time. There’s a reason every top manager has had run ins with this tool. After a bad result the last thing you need is Shreeves pushing his own little narrative and trying to get you to take a stroll down “Whopper Avenue” with him.
     
    He asks a stupid question based on his own agenda and when he doesn’t get the answer he wants he asks the same stupid question in a slightly different way hoping he’ll get what he’s looking for. 
     
    Instead of asking Klopp “so, how did that happen?” and just letting him talk (Jurgen is great analysing how the game went) he wanted to peddle the story he’d tried to get going pre-match about our players not being prepared or focused because they’ve been celebrating all week.
     
    Like I say, it’s lowest common denominator, redtop shite and it clearly got Klopp's back up. The players had one night on the ale, a week ago, and have been training hard ever since. There was no lack of effort from them and they took the game seriously. 
     
    They didn’t lose because some of them got bevvied a week ago. They lost because they were wasteful with the countless opportunities they created and they made far too many stupid mistakes in defence. The effort was there in spades, it’s insulting to infer that it wasn’t.
     
    If you want to put the result down to partying or them not being arsed about the rest of the season then that just tells me that you haven’t been paying attention. It’s not who these players are and it’s definitely not who Klopp is. That was why he was pissed off in his Sky interview, not because we lost.
     
    The LFCTV interview was much more informative simply because Peter McDowall basically just says “disappointing result there, Jurgen. What went wrong?” Klopp then tells him what went wrong. 
     
    Not clinical enough, too many mistakes, can’t do that against such a strong opponent etc. 
     
    And that’s exactly what it was. The easiest and laziest thing in the world is to put this down to the players not being up for it, but it’s nonsense. They were still running and trying to score even in stoppage time at 4-0 down.
     
    Effort wasn’t the problem. Intensity wasn’t the problem. Sloppiness at both ends of the pitch was the problem and yes maybe that’s in some tiny part due to them not playing for the highest stakes possible, and therefore not quite being fully switched on mentally. 
     
    Rather than it being a lack of effort, I think it was more a lack of fear. By that I mean usually when we play City everyone has to be completely focused on not making any mistakes because the stakes are so high. You have to play almost the perfect game because if you don’t the consequences can be catastrophic.
     
    That wasn’t the case this time though as we already had the title sewn up. Maybe players were taking too many risks? Being a little too casual? Some of the decision making was terrible so I'm just saying, maybe the ‘nothing to lose’ thing comes into it, even at a subconscious level. 
     
    We might have gotten away with it against most opponents but Sterling and De Bruyne were bang up for this game and they made us pay.
     
    It hurts. I don’t like it. I’m still sore about it but it can happen. If anything, it highlights even more just how incredible it is that we’re 20 points ahead of these fuckers. 
     
    This game really came down to who scored first. We started the game well and I felt we were well on top for the most part until we gave away the penalty. That changed the momentum of the game but it was the second goal that really killed us I think.
     
    After that I thought we looked wide open and ripe for City’s counter attacks. We never really got close enough to De Bruyne (even though funnily enough I thought Fabinho actually had a good first half) and Trent and Joe had too many problems with Sterling. 
     
    I can sort of understand that. You come up against De Bruyne and Sterling when they’re at their best and it’s tough. The most disappointing thing for me was how Robbo made that little fucking manc ballbag Phil Foden look like Messi. 
     
    That was hard to take as I just hate Foden. I have no rational explanation for it other than it’s just his fucking face. He’s right up there with the most annoying faces out there. He’s my new Jon Dahl Tomasson I think. I see his face and just want to slap it.
     
    This was such a strange game. The score makes it look like we got battered, especially as City could easily have scored more, but it didn’t really feel like a battering and it definitely didn’t start out that way.
     
    We began the game really brightly. Mo should have done better when Van Dijk’s ball over the top sent him clear. He brought it down on his chest and then went for power with his shot, forcing Ederson into a decent save. 
     
    Thing is, Ederson was stood 14 yards out and the ball was bouncing so Mo should have lobbed him. It would have been more difficult to miss than score in that situation. All you have to do is get it over his head and you’ve got the whole goal to aim for. To make it even more frustrating, Bobby completely fluffed the rebound, which summed up his night really.
     
    Mo then went through again and struck the post with a well placed shot. That was just unlucky. To make it even more frustrating, Sadio completely fluffed the rebound, which summed up his night really.
     
    It felt like the goal was coming but then City went ahead completely against the run of play.
     
    I don’t have any complaints about the penalty. Yes, Sterling grabs Gomez first, but that’s just two players grappling and it’s fine. It’s also fine when Joe has a grab back at him too. The problem is he keeps hold of him and then has two bites at trying to tackle him while doing so. 
     
    Sterling went down easily in the end but when a defender has been pulling you for two or three seconds, preventing you from getting away, at that point you’re entitled to go down. Clear penalty for me.
     
    Not great from Gomez, but Henderson and Wijnaldum are both just stood there looking at him and neither moved to help him out. I do wonder if Joe defends that way against another City player though? Was he trying to outmuscle Sterling rather than just defend him properly, or am I overthinking that?
     
    Anyway, absolutely no complaints for me on that decision by Anthony Taylor other than why exactly was Gomez booked? If that’s outside the box there’s no way that’s given as a yellow card. A penalty is more than sufficient punishment and I thought Taylor was completely out of order putting Gomez into the book too. Maybe that’s the law now, it’s hard to keep track of the bullshit changes that they’re making every year.
     
    Joe was actually hooked at half time and the booking was probably a big factor in that. Fabinho moved to centre back for the second half and did ok. At this point it feels like it makes more sense using him if needed than bringing in Lovren, but we’ll see what happens whenever Gomez is rested. I feel like we haven’t seen the last of Big Dejan yet.
     
    I wasn’t overly concerned at going a goal down but the second one really was a killer. Suddenly it felt like we had a mountain to climb. Just a really shitty goal to give away too.
     
    When we’ve played City in recent years the thing we’ve done really well is not give the ball away cheaply. Because when you give it away cheaply and De Bruyne picks it up in space, you’re fucked really. They get runners going wide to spread you out and De Bruyne always picks the right ball.
     
    This time Gini gave it away needlessly and before you know it they’ve bypassed our midfield and are running at our back-pedalling defenders. It was happening all night.
     
    De Bruyne found Foden and he picked out Sterling. Gomez has no chance at this point as he’s caught on his heels when Sterling immediately cuts back inside with this first touch. 2-0 and it’s the player we’d least want to make an impact who’s done all the damage. 
     
    Turns out he can play well against us after all, but only when there’s no fans in the stadium.
     
    The third goal was probably the worst. Oh Robbo, just what the fuck was that? Actually I forgot to mention that on the second goal when Gini gave it away, Robbo inexplicably went chasing a ball he had no business going for and he ended up taking himself out of the play completely.
     
    Well he did it again on the third goal. It was embarrassing actually. So rash it was worthy of a Sunday League player. He just charged at Foden, completely out of control, and he made it easy for the City youngster to just pop the ball off and then spin off him into space.
     
    I don’t think Alisson covered himself in glory either as Foden was on his right foot and had Alisson dropped back and made him beat him with a well placed shot then you could accept that. Instead he just charged out and was beaten by a shot that ended up in the middle of the goal. Not good.
     
    Sterling almost bagged a second when he ran half the length of the field before his shot was deflected inches wide by Fabinho. Look at Robbo on that one again though. Chasing the ball like a dog in the park.
     
    The fourth goal was self inflicted too. Trent was just so fucking casual and weak there. He presented the ball to City and once again they had us turned around and De Bruyne was running at our retreating defence.
     
    Again, look at Robbo though. He’s with Sterling but leaves him to track another runner who is already being picked up by Ox. The ball goes to Sterling in space, he turns inside a desperately trying to recover Robbo, and although his shot was going wide Ox didn’t know that and put it in his own net as he tried to block it.
     
    It summed up the whole night. Just a comedy of errors. In between all those goals we had loads of opportunities but wasted them all. The high press worked well at times and we won the ball back frequently only to do nothing with it.
     
    If there was one moment that summed up the attacking performance it was when Sadio found himself in front of goal with only Ederson to beat and he literally did nothing. Didn’t even touch the ball. Just allowed it to roll past him.
     
    In the end City could have scored more than four. Actually they did but they had one laughably ruled out for ‘handball’ in stoppage time when Mahrez beat Alisson on his near post. 
     
    Alisson had also gotten away with murder earlier when he came out for a cross he had no chance of getting and had to watch gratefully as De Bruyne put his header wide of an open goal. I’m not actually sure this was Alisson you know. Are we sure it wasn’t Adrian in an Alisson mask?
     
    For all the calamities at the back though, on another day we’d have scored four or more too. You need to be clinical against City and we weren’t. It feels like this happens quite a lot in general and games are often a lot closer than they should be because of it.
     
    It’s funny really because De Bruyne said before the game that we played better last season when we finished second. In some respects I think he’s right but I’d go one step further and say that in attacking terms we played even better the year before.
     
    Of course we’re a vastly superior all around team now and we know how to get results in different ways, but as a unit I thought the front three dropped off a level last season from the year before, and I think they’ve dropped off even more this year.
     
    Not to the extent that it’s hurt us, obviously, but can you honestly tell me that Firmino or Salah are playing as well as they did two years ago? Mané has actually gotten progressively better every year, but the front three as a whole have dropped off this year in terms of their goal output.
     
    It seems daft pointing that out when we’re twenty points clear at the top and don’t get me wrong, I’m not making too big a thing of it. It’s just interesting I think.
     
    The amount of games they’ve played over three years might even be the explanation for it. Bobby in particular has looked goosed for much of this season and seems to get subbed a lot. 
     
    Could the lack of quality cover / competition for the front three be causing the drop off? Not only does it mean they don’t have to fight for their place but it also means they are hardly ever rested. Over the last three seasons they've gone from being unstoppable to brilliant to very good.
     
    Bobby was really poor against City and it was no surprise when he was replaced by Origi, who unfortunately was equally ineffective. He's not the answer, although in fairness it's really difficult for bit part players who hardly play to ever show their best level. Look at Danny Ings now, for example. He wouldn't be playing like that if he was getting 15 minutes from our bench every other week.
     
    You know what, I’m going to crunch some numbers here just to see how much of a drop off there has been. I’ll disregard the domestic cups and just go with Europe and the Premier League…. hold on.
     
    Ok, so two years ago, the season when we reached the CL final and finished fourth. We scored 131 goals. An incredible 89 came from the three main forwards (we also got 12 in half a season from Coutinho). 
     
    Last year when we won the CL and got 97 points, we scored 113 in total and got 69 from the front three, twenty less than the previous year.
     
    This year, we’ve romped away with the league and so far have 87 goals. The front three are on just 51 though (which includes the World Club Cup when Bobby scored a couple). At best it looks like they’ll finish on mid 60s, which continues the downward trend.
     
    My eyes tell me the same thing. When they’re on it the front lads are sensational (last week against Palace for example)  but whereas the team as a whole is much better now, the front line has dropped off two years in a row now.
     
    Maybe it’s nothing to worry about and next year they’ll bounce back and score shitloads. But maybe they won’t? And if they don’t, what viable alternatives do we have to mix it up? 
     
    The answer to that is none, unless you think Minamino is going to be able to provide the same kind of impact we’ve had from Mo, Sadio or Bobby over the last few years?.
     
    Don’t mistake this for moaning. I love all three of those lads and they’ll all be remembered as legends when they eventually move on. This is a great team that has achieved great things and hopefully this is just the start.
     
    I’m not actually even criticising them as individuals and I’m certainly not calling for any of them to be replaced. If anything I’d like us to get them some help as I fear we might be asking too much of them. A fourth player who can share the load and help to keep everyone fresh and fighting for their place would be just lovely, but I won't hold my breath. 
     
    I just think it has to be at least a little bit of a concern to Klopp that the goal output from the forwards is decreasing year on year. It’s not like they don’t get enough chances. It feels like we get loads of great situations in almost every game, yet so often we’ve been winning 1-0 or 2-1. It just makes life more difficult when you aren’t clinical.
     
    That’s what this came down to in the end. City were just much sharper in the final third and they were marginally less error prone at the back.
     
    I say marginally because they made shitloads of errors too. How many times did we catch them playing out from the back, nick the ball from them and then waste the opportunity? Half a dozen at least. 
     
    Do you remember who it was who gave the ball away though? I don’t but that’s only because we didn’t score from any of them. 
     
    If we had made them pay for those mistakes then I expect people’s view of the performances of Laporte, Garcia, Rodri, Ederson or whoever would be entirely different. City would be discussing them the way we’re talking about Trent and Robbo today.
     
    Games like this are often decided on little things. Yeah, in the end it got away from us and if you make the mistakes we did then you deserve whatever punishment you get. For a while though this game was in the balance.
     
    If Mo’s shot goes in instead of hitting the post then we’re talking about a different game. If Anthony Taylor and VAR did their job and gave handball against Ederson and sent the cunt off, then we’re talking about a different game.
     
    If the title had still been in the balance then I’d probably be talking about that decision forever, much like I still obsess about the same manc ref not sending off Kompany in this same fixture last season.
     
    This time VAR also comes into it, but it still falls on Taylor because if he’d given handball it wouldn’t have been overturned. And it was handball. And it prevented a certain goal.
     
    That reckless, ugly, neck tattooed cunt came flying out of his goal as he tends to do, and he completely fucked up his clearance. The ball hits his foot but then goes underneath him and if it doesn’t hit his elbow then Salah is clean through on goal.
     
    With the title already wrapped up it’s not a big deal and will soon be forgotten but decisions like that change games. I don’t want that twat anywhere near our games with the Manchester clubs in future, but then I said that last year and here we are talking about him again.
     
    I’m not blaming him for the result but equally there’s no denying that we’re talking about a completely different game if he sends Ederson off.
     
    He didn’t though and we lost 4-0. It’s not nice but it was self inflicted and it might be a lesson that the lads can learn from. The margin for error you have in most games is just hugely smaller when Kevin De Bruyne is on the pitch.
     
    What happens next is the most important thing. The points record is still on but we need to play much more like we did against Palace and a lot less like we did at Goodison and the Etihad.
     
    I expect to see some changes for the weekend. Trent needs a kick up the arse and Neco is pushing hard for a spot so let him play against Villa. You could also make a case for starting Minamino in Bobby’s spot to see if he’s a viable option there.
     
    Keita will probably come back too. I thought he was fairly lively when he came on in this game, whereas Ox didn’t really do anything to justify getting a start.
     
    I honestly have no idea what to expect over the next few weeks now because football without fans is fucking weird and we’re seeing all kinds of mad results. 
     
    With the title sewn up and so many games in a short space of time there’s naturally going to be a lot of rotation and we don’t know what that will mean for results.
     
    One thing I’m not expecting is for us to win all six games as that almost seems impossible now under the circumstances. 
     
    I know it doesn’t ultimately mean anything as winning the league was all that mattered, but I don’t want the season to fizzle out with a spattering of draws or even defeats. Let’s finish strong and lay down a marker for next season too, and yeah, that points record would be great while we're at it. Chances to make history don't come along that often so let's not waste it.
     
    Star man isn’t easy as hardly anyone played well. Fabinho was fine, Hendo did alright and Salah looked lively (especially in the first half). I’ll probably go with Van Dijk as he did his job well enough and couldn’t really be held responsible for the clown show going on around him.
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Van Dijk, Roberton; Fabinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum (Keita); Salah, Firmino (Origi), Mané (Minamino):
  • Mo Salah has emphatically put to bed any doubt that he is thinking of leaving the Reds anytime soon.

    In a wide ranging interview, the Egyptian superstar discusses his wish to win more honours with the Reds and not waste this remarkable era that the club is in.

    The Mirror (Via Bein Sports) reported Salah as saying:

    “We should make a great use of this generation, as we have good chemistry between us and you can find harmony and everyone knows what to do and where to find our team-mates.

    “Staying at our peak is not something easy but we’ll play hard to keep winning trophies. It’s impossible to me to say that I have enough trophies and I reached my maximum. I will continue to do my best to make next year better than the one before.

    As with any world class talent, Salah has attracted interest from rival clubs on the continent, but he has brushed away any such thoughts and revealed a long-held dream of playing for Liverpool.
     


    “I’m very happy. 

    “I can’t describe my feelings after we won the league after 30 years. I can see people’s joy and this is so important for all of us. I enjoy the atmosphere here. I love this place and I hope to stay for a long time

    “The atmosphere here is different to any other place. It’s really special. I remember I even felt that when I was playing with Chelsea, and that is what made me feel wanting to play here, and to come to play with Liverpool.

    “Everything is special about it, from the beginning, hearing You’ll Never Walk Alone boosts your enthusiasm and makes you feel you want to give more and more.

    Salah said leaving the West London club was the best thing to happen to his career.

    “After I left Chelsea, I was determined to go back and change everything.

    “I went back, won the UEFA Champions League, the league and was the top goal scorer for two seasons, I think I did well.

    Another perception about Salah is that there is a great deal of tension between he and Sadio Mane but he said it is nothing more than their competitive nature coming to the fore.

    "When I was about to sign for Liverpool, I was worried because he [Sadio Mane] was playing in my position and that made me worry about playing more often’

    “But Jurgen Klopp personally explained to me that Mane will play on the other side.

    “We have adapted well as a team and our understanding is perfect. If this continues, we can achieve more. It’s difficult to maintain our current level, but it’s not impossible.

    “With Mane it is isn’t a fight.
     
    "Everyone wants to help Liverpool to win and support other team mates.
     
    "Sometimes we get angry in the match but that finished immediately after we helped Liverpool with our goals and assists."
     
  • Jordan Henderson says that Winning the Premier League is the perfect tribute for one the clubs greatest players in Steven Gerrard.

    Henderson famously took over the captaincy mantle from Gerrard for the 2015/6 season and the pair have stayed close since.

    The 30 year-old knew all too well how much winning the League title meant to Gerrard, and felt it was in his personal duty to bring the trophy to Anfield.

    The Mirror reported the current leader as saying:

    “This one is quite personal for me and definitely to do it for Stevie is quite big – I know how much it would mean to him to win the Premier League title.

    “He is so happy for us to be able to do that. 

    “I have spoken to Stevie and I will speak to him over the next few days but of course everything that he has done for me and this football club (is so important).

    “I was devastated in 2014 that we couldn’t get over the line for him but I know that he will be so happy and so proud of this team to be able to bring the Premier League trophy to Liverpool and, yes, to do it for him is big.”
     


    Gerrard sent Henderson a personal message last week after the title was clinched saying saying:
     
    "Couldn’t have passed it to a better person...proud of you, mate.”

    Last year the Liverpool talisman spoke openly about his ‘open wound’ relating to the infamous end to the 2013/4 season.

    “This wound has been open since my experience.

    "I am not sure it will close because I can't change that experience and my experience.

    "It doesn't affect how I feel towards what I am looking in on now.”

    However Henderson hopes that is not the case and Gerrard can rejoice in the moment.

    "No one will ever replace him. It wasn’t even in my mind when I took over the captaincy to replace him, it was just to do the best I could the best for this football club and this team and that is all i ever try to do. 

    “In terms of Steven Gerrard, no one will ever replace him."

    “This is not only for us as players and the fans but it is also for players like Stevie, Kenny who mean so much to this football club.”

    Henderson is not one to dwell on personal accolades, despite being the first Englishman to captain his team to Champions League, European Super Cup, Club World Cup and Premier League glory.

    “I haven’t even thought about stuff like that.

    “I’m just honoured to give back the fans what they have wanted so badly.”

    And he is not finished there.

    “There’s a lot more to come because we can still do better and still be better."

     
  • Tuesday Jun 23:
     
    Uh-oh. Some girl drops a bombshell on twitter claiming she was touched up by Keita back in January but that the police wouldn’t take it further because it was her word against his. What followed was predictable tribal nonsense from some of our fans calling her a liar and then rival fans bringing up ‘yeah and you defended Suarez too, this is why everyone hates you”.
     
    None of us know what happened and we never will. It’s easy to pick holes in her story and plenty have, but some details not seeming to add up doesn’t automatically mean that she’s lying. Every word she said may be true, or none of it might be. We’ll never know and given the lack of evidence the police can’t really do anything. Just because it wasn’t prosecuted doesn’t mean she’s lying, but it was enough for some of the "LFC Family" to go right after her. Sickening really.
     
    It’s mad how some people wanted to immediately insist Keita couldn’t have done this and even madder that they chose to say that to the girl herself. They were the only two people there. Literally nobody else knows what happened, but I even saw one crank (there may have been others, I stopped reading as it was too infuriating) who insisted that Naby couldn’t do it because he’s muslim.
     
    I mean where to even fucking start with that? Are we seriously claiming that anyone who follows a religion is incapable of crime now? Incredible. 
     
    Just imagine going on Twitter and calling some girl a liar just because you want to defend a lad you’ve never met and who, let’s face it, we know absolutely nothing about. It’s mental. 
     
    To be fair we don’t actually know anything about any of the players and what they are or aren’t capable of, but at least with some of them you like to think you have a feel for their character and personality because we see and hear from them all the time.
     
    I feel like I know much more about what Henderson is like as a person than I do Fabinho for example. And I feel like I know what kind of character Mané is because we’ve seen him do loads of interviews, there’s been a documentary about him and generally you just feel like you ‘know him’. 
     
    I realise that’s daft really as we don’t actually ‘know’ any of these lads, but Keita is like a complete stranger. I know nothing about him, have no feel for what kind of lad he is at all. We never see or hear from him because he never bothered learning English. He might be the nicest lad in the world (I doubt it because I’m fairly sure Sadio has that honour) or he might be a twat. I have no idea, which is kind of the point here.
     
    I’m not saying he did it or he didn’t do it because what the fuck do I know? Other than the two people involved no-one else has a fucking clue. 
     
    It would be typical Naby though. Started full of promise, looked like he was making good progress and then all of a sudden he's stopped in his tracks by forces beyond his control and it all ends up with his fanboys defending him on the internet. 
    Sorry, I know, shouldn't make light of it but I couldn’t help myself.
     
    Right, so I just saw something on twitter from sky sports news who were quoting Jurgen over something he said about BLM and why those banging on about “White Lives Matter” are missing the point of it all. I looked at the replies, and here’s the first five that showed up…..
     

     
    I scrolled down, and here were the next five….
     


    After that it was a mixture of both sides of the argument. Here’s what I’m struggling with here though. Look at the time of the tweets. They aren’t listed in order of posting, they’re just pretty random. Yet the first TEN replies shown by Twitter were all basically anti BLM and ripping into Klopp. That can’t be a co-incidence, surely? Anyone know how that kind of thing works?

    Wednesday Jun 24:
     
    L 4 Palace 0 Well that was nice wasn’t it? Behind anything I could have hoped for actually. I’ve watched a few games since the restart and it’s just watered down shite, nothing like what we see when the stadium is full. I dunno though, maybe I’m being overly critical and I’m allowing my preconceived notions to influence my opinion, but I don’t think so.
     
    Even the ‘good’ games have been crap. Until this one. Yeah it’s going to seem better because we won and played so well, but it wasn’t really the goals or the good football that made this different. It was the intensity, the almost manic desire to win the ball back when we lost it.
     
    You don’t see that in empty stadiums because it’s the crowds that drive players on to that extra effort and provide them with the extra shot of adrenaline. Think about all the superhuman effort we’ve seen from the lads on European nights when they’ve defied the odds. 
     
    Well this was like that. It was unbelievable. I felt sorry for Palace because no team could have lived with this. They couldn’t get out of their own half. As soon as they got the ball they had three players on them before they could decide what to do with it. 
     
    Despite what he said publicly, I reckon Klopp was as disappointed as the rest of us with the derby performance. Players talking tonight about how they wanted to produce the best behind closed doors performance ever. That’s come from him. They’re just repeating what he’s drummed into them.
     
    Klopp himself said he doesn’t know if its the best, but it was definitely the best counter pressing performance behind closed doors. It’s probably as good a counter pressing performance as I’ve seen full stop. Can’t actually get over how good we were you know.
     
    I expect this in front of a full house. I wouldn’t have thought it possible in an empty stadium, but it just shows what these lads have within themselves. Every single one of them was right at it tonight. The goals were all different but all fantastic, and we could easily have scored more. We should have had two penalties for a start.
     
    It was just great and I’m buzzing now. Footy has been back a week or so but I’ve not been feeling it. NOW I feel like footy is back. We’re on the brink of the title now and if City falter tomorrow night it’s all ours. If that happens then we wouldn’t have the pleasure of winning it on the field, but it doesn’t matter. If this is the performance that seals it then it’s a fitting way to do it as it showcased everything that makes this team great.
     
    If you could write a perfect way to win the title then maybe beating City at the Etihad would be the way to go, and that might happen. Personally I like the idea of them fucking up tomorrow and then having to give us a guard of honour next week. I just want it won as quickly as possible now, so…. *spits on floor* come on Chelsea. *spits on floor again*.

    Thursday Jun 25:
     
    So there it is. The 30 year wait is over. I thought I’d be going mad when it finally happened, but I couldn’t have been calmer. Subdued even. The best way to describe how I felt when it was confirmed is I was a bit like Admiral Ackbar at the end of Return of the Jedi when the Death Star was destroyed. Everyone is going mental, dancing, singing, partying. And Ackbar just slumps back in his seat. Relieved. Satisfied. Happy for everyone else. That’s how I was tonight.
     
    I saw loads of mates bearing their souls in various group chats. For them the ale was flowing, and some tears too. Me? I just wasn’t feeling it. Of course I’m happy about it but I’ve known for months that we had this in the bag. There was no “Aguero moment” and that’s fine. I’d prefer it this way as it’s far less stressful. It does impact massively on the actual moment of triumph though.
     
    Is it less enjoyable? Not really, it’s just different. There’s no outpouring of emotion from me because it’s been such a slow procession. I can’t pinpoint the moment when I knew we’d won it but when the lead got to around 12-15 points I knew there was no way this team would blow it. So basically it was a long time ago, probably as far back as December.
     
    I’m also thinking that I’m so subdued because I was just sat here at home, knowing that there was not going to be any opportunity to celebrate this at the ground with my mates and with my Dad. No watching Hendo and the lads parade the trophy around a packed Anfield. 30 years we’ve dreamed of that moment and we’ve been robbed of it. It does make a difference. 
     
    We’ll all make the best of it and it’s still fucking boss, but we’ve been denied the biggest party of all time and it’s not fair. Thirty fucking years we’ve waited. THIRTY!!! And now when our skipper lifts the trophy it will be in an empty stadium. It’s not fair but it is what it is and we’ll all make the best of it.
     
    Better to be lifting the trophy in an empty stadium than watching some other cunts do it and then see them singing about us on the fucking plane back home. Some might say (nice little Oasis reference there, fuck you Liam and especially fuck you Noel) that winning it on the field would have been better than this. Some might even say winning it at their place next week would be the sweetest way to seal it.
     
    Not me. This is actually fucking perfect. Now they have to give us a guard of honour. A wonder wall if you like. No doubt none of our lads will mention this as it’s just not how they are, but a year ago City’s players were singing about Kompany injuring Salah and Sean Cox being assaulted by Roma fans. And now they’ve got to stand there and applaud our boys who’ve just taken the title off them. It’s fucking sweet. Life comes at you fast sometimes, eh City?
     
    One thing that I have found a bit baffling is the constant references to “Thirty years of hurt”. I get it, but it’s not really accurate is it? We haven’t had thirty years of hurt, we’ve had some amazing years in that time. We just haven’t won the title. Some of those years hurt like fuck but not all of them.
     
    In fact, in the last 20 years we have actually won every single club trophy out there. We’ve got the full set, some of them more than once. Think about it. Both domestic cups, the UEFA Cup, the European Cup, the League, the Charity Shield, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup. We’ve won ALL of them in a 20 year period.
     
    Friday Jun 26: 
     
    Bit of stick flying around for the fans who showed up at Anfield last night. I’m not condoning it and don’t think it should have happened, but the government have basically made it a free for all by reducing social distancing to one metre and telling everywhere that they can open up again next week. Half a million people crammed onto beaches in Bournemouth yesterday so get to fuck sitting in judgement of a thousand or so who wanted to celebrate ending a THIRTY YEAR WAIT for a title.
     
    The best thing about winning big games or trophies is the content we get. Usually I spend the next day or two just watching and reading everything. The stuff from last night was great, about from Kenny going full on ‘yer da’ and saying to Klopp “if your dad was in the war he must have fought on our side because you seem like a scouser to me”. Honestly, if anyone else had said that there’d be murder.
     
    Klopp breaking down when talking to sky was something I’ll never forget. It might be the most iconic moment of this triumph. It’s like the hug with Hendo last year in Madrid. I love all this, especially as there’ll be more and more stuff over the next few days. Players posting videos, fans doing compilations, it’s never ending and it’s fucking boss.
     
    We’ve got a season to finish first though and records to break. Watching Klopp’s press conference today and he started reeling off the games we have left. What struck me was I remembered at the start of the season when the fixtures came out, and we’re looking at this City game as potentially being pivotal. Then, further on, I remember looking at Chelsea and thinking ‘what if they fucked us up again?’. 
     
    It’s absolutely incredible that none of these games are even relevant now. Yeah we still want to win them, but the title doesn’t hinge on any of it because we won it with seven games to go. It’s unbelievable really when you stop and think about it. 
     
    Because we’ve lived through it and it’s a gradual thing, we’ve had so long to get used to it that sometimes it’s easy to forget just how unprecedented this is. There are still seven games left. SEVEN! Do you realise that we could forfeit those seven games and we’d still be Champs. The table would read “Played 31” and we’d still be top. It hasn’t happened before. Not just for us, but for anyone. No-one has ever done this.
     
    Now hopefully we can go on and shatter other records and just keep this going so we start next season flying.

    Saturday Jun 27:
     
    Ok, see what I said yesterday about the fans going to Anfield? I stand by that, but it’s a completely different story for those who went to the Pier Head last night. Selfish and stupid. I ripped Joe Anderson for saying he was worried how our fans would behave when we won it but he was proved right and those of us who took offence and stuck up for our fanbase have been made to look like the naive dickheads we are.
     
    I woke up this morning to see all hell had broken loose about it, and while most of the ‘outrage’ I saw from Blues and rival fans was just fucking hysterical nonsense (some tit claimed launching a firework at a building was an act of terrorism!), what actually happened is bad enough in itself and didn’t even need to be embellished.
     
    It just makes me depressed and angry. We’d all love to go and celebrate the title by having a massive piss up with thousands of fellow reds, but there’s a fucking reason the vast majority of us have not done it. There’s a pandemic and people are still dying every day. And if that isn’t enough of a reason to keep you in, then how about this one; Jurgen asked you to.
     
    Chances are none of the fuckers who were partying at the Pier Head will die of Covid, but how many people will they pass it on to? And how many will they pass it on to and so on. People will die because of this. People died because the Atletico Madrid game went ahead but at least we could claim ignorance on that. There’s no excuse this time.
     
    It would have been bad enough if it was just thousands gathering in town, but what made it ten times worse was how some of them behaved. Shooting fireworks at the Liver Building? Get to fuck, you soft cunts. Same goes for those cheering it.
    The place looked like a bomb site the next morning so thank fuck for all the volunteers who went down there to clean up. 
     
    It’s just so disappointing that we only had one day of enjoying the title win before the rest of the nation had the ammunition they wanted to throw at us. And the Blues have gone into fucking overdrive. Embarrassing pricks, they’re almost as bad as fuckers who have tarnished our reputation. 
     
    I just can’t get over the selfishness of it all. In the months and years to come when news reports show people irresponsibly ignoring social distancing, it won’t be the beachgoers who we see. It won’t be the BLM protests, or the whoppers applauding the NHS on London Bridge. It won’t be the VE Day celebrators or the far right statue shaggers. No, it’ll be us. This is the footage you’ll be seeing.
     
    And you know what’s even worse? The government will use shit like this to shift blame from themselves onto the public. So yeah, thanks for that. Hope your ‘party’ was worth it.

    Sunday Jun 28:
     
    Klopp says Jason Sancho would “look good in red” but don’t get too excited because he’s also saying we’re doing nothing in the transfer market this year. I’ve got mixed feelings about that. Some fans are just dickheads about this shit and I fully expect all kinds of bitching and moaning when we sign no-one, as that’s what we saw last year when we signed no-one then either.
     
    I actually feel the same way I did a year ago. We don’t need much but I’d be a lot more comfortable if we brought in another wide forward. So far we’ve been lucky in that the front three have stayed fit for the most part. Can we rely on that indefinitely though?
     
    Others will want another left back and a replacement for Lovren amongst other things. I’m not arsed about any of that as I’m all in on Klopp’s policy of promoting the kids. It’s only the drop off from Salah and Mané to whoever replaces them that concerns me but I trust that there’s a plan in place. Maybe that’s Sancho or Mbappe in 12 months time? It might not be, I may be kidding myself, but I’m not going to waste time stressing over a quiet transfer window when we’re the best team in the world already.
     
    Meanwhile, Luis Suarez: “I know some Liverpool supporters were angry with me because I celebrated a goal against Liverpool here in Camp Nou and for that I am so sad.”
     
    I wasn’t angry at him celebrating his goal. Were any of you angry at that? I didn’t enjoy seeing it but he was entitled to do it. What I was angry with was the constant shithousing and trying to get Virg and Robbo in trouble. 
     
    In fact, and I might be remembering this wrong, I wasn’t even angry with that. It just made me realise that all bets were off and if he was looking for any little edge to help his team win, then we could do the same and that booing the shit out of him at Anfield was fair game. His whole approach to that tie was “Nothing personal, just business” so the same applies from our point of view.
     
    I don’t have any beef with Suarez over what happened when we beat them, but those two games helped me get over him once and for all. I don’t hate Suarez but I don’t love him anymore either.
     
    He is the best player I’ve ever seen in the red shirt though. At least he was until Virgil showed up. Now it’s a more nuanced discussion. Difficult to say who was better because they play at opposite ends of the pitch. Maybe a better way of putting it is that Suarez is the most exciting player I’ve ever seen.

    Monday Jun 29:
     
    Jesus. Danny Murphy doesn’t half talk some fucking Zlatan at times.
     
    “I think it’s a load of nonsense! Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world and he’s clapping his hands and giving a guard of honour to players who can’t even lace his boots!”
     
    No Danny, he’s clapping his hands to players who are 23 points ahead of his team. He’s such a moron at times. It might actually be a valid conversation as to whether the guard of honour is an outdated concept, but how come it’s being discussed now just because City are having to applaud us? 
     
    If anything, it’s even more valid now than it ever was because it’s a passing the torch thing. The old champs paying respect to the new ones. It’s actually quite fitting when you think about it. It’s not like it’s Villa or Norwich having to do it.
     
    I don’t remember any of these conversations when we had to applaud Chelsea. Or when United had to applaud Chelsea. 
    Even disregarding all that though, Murphy is so far off base here it’s embarrassing. De Bruyne probably is the best midfielder in the world, but name me one player in our starting line up who is ‘not fit to lace his boots’. There isn’t one. It’s insulting.
     
    And you know what? I’d bet that De Bruyne himself feels the exact opposite. Aside from him being a boyhood Red, he always seems like a top fella. He won’t think he’s above applauding an adversary that got the better of him. It’s called sportsmanship, Danny.

    …..and that was the week that was
  • Jürgen Klopp has once again hosed down any expectations of Liverpool being big players in the transfer market this summer.

    The COVID-19 global pandemic has hit the finances of Football clubs all over the world, and in some extreme cases seen some fighting for their very existence.

    While the evolution of a team is a key ingredient to progress, Liverpool are in the inevitable position of having the majority of their key players either in, or approaching their prime years.

    It is a testament to how Klopp has steadily built this side and as he told the Echo, there is plenty of internal growth to come from the next generation, and anyone expecting a slew of new signings will end up disappointed. This isn't like fantasy sports when you can select whatever players you like, although if you are a fan of fantasy sports then this draftkings sportsbook promo code will be right up your street.

    “COVID has of course influenced both sides with ins and outs, that is completely normal.

    “It's just not likely that it will be the most busy summer in the world. But maybe at a later point in the year, if the transfer window is still open, we will know more. But this squad...look at it. 

    "It is not a squad you have to change now and say 'OK, we need this position and this position'. 

    "If you are a football supporter, you want a backup for him and him, even if you are completely happy with everyone, you want backups. 

    "We have a lot of...we don't have a first XI, I say we have a first 16 or 17, they can all play to the same level.

    "But we have to use this, 100 per cent.

    “And what we want to create are our transfers internally. 

    “So now, the first glimpses of Neco Williams, people may have seen him against Arsenal and said 'ah, yes, nice game, he fights a lot'. 

    "But if [elite development coach] Vitor Matos was not here, he would not be here because he has helped a lot. 

    "So bring the boys up. But from the other side, Curtis (Jones), Harvey (Elliott), Ki-Jana (Hoever), Sepp (van den Berg), Yasser (Larouci), Leighton (Clarkson), Jake (Cain), all these boys, they have done really well. And a few I don't know yet but I will know them."
     


    Klopp says splashing the cash is not the route to everlasting success that some may believe.

    “We cannot spend millions and millions and millions because we want to or we think it is nice to do. 

    "We never wanted that. We want to strengthen this squad and this squad is strong. 

    “The problem with a strong squad is how do you improve a strong squad on the transfer market?

    "It works with money, obviously, that is possible. But it never works only with money. You have to be creative and we try to be creative. 

    "We try to find solutions internally.
     
    "And there is still a lot to come. We have three or four players who can make big, big steps. 

    "All players can make steps and that is the pressure we make as well, internally. 

    So while the links to players such as Kylian Mbappe, Kalidou Koulibaly and Jadon Sancho still continue to fill column inches the man that knows best is pretty content with how things currently stand.

    And when you have led the team to Premier and Champions League glory in the last 12 months, life is pretty good.

     
  • Danny Murphy has ridiculed the idea of Liverpool getting a guard of honour by Manchester City ahead of their clash on Thursday night calling the whole tradition as a ‘load of nonsense.’

    City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that his side will honour that tradition in their first game since been crowned as Premier League Champions.

    But the former Liverpool midfielder says that he thinks it is a relic from the past and both supporters and players would.rather it not go ahead especially when it comes to paying tribute to major rival.

    The Echo (via Talksport) reported Murphy as saying:

    “It’s a perception of respect, ‘the right thing to do’, the message you’re trying to send to the football world that when somebody wins, that you show respect and grace.

    “The fact City will be doing it on Thursday will show humility, saying ‘well done’ to Liverpool and appreciation for their quality. I think it’s a load of nonsense!

    “I don’t know where it started and why it started, I would feel uncomfortable doing it. I’d do it because you have to do it, but I wouldn’t want to do it, because it’s not done with sincerity.

    Murphy said respect between the teams is natural but to have such a open display is not necessary.
     


    “If I was a Liverpool player and United won the league, you know they’re better than you, you respect that and you’re trying your best to be like them, so they know you respect them.

    “The fans don’t want you to do it, the players don’t really want to do it, it’s all for effect and it doesn’t mean anything.”

    “Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfielder, probably, in the world, and he’s clapping his hands and giving a guard of honour to players who can’t even lace his boots."

    Liverpool have had the shoe on the other foot in more recent times, giving Chelsea a guard of honour when they won the league in the 2014/5 season at Stamford Bridge.

    Back then there was a similar discussion, as it was a fierce rival.

    However through gritted teeth and a chorus of ridicule from the home stands, Steven Gerrard led his team in the tribute.

    Whether Murphy likes it or not, the guard of honour will go ahead at a empty Etihad stadium and will be further vindication of this team's fine achievement.

     
  • Luis Suarez has expressed his delight for his former team winning their long awaited league title.

    Suarez was an integral part of the 2013/4 squad which went agonisingly close under Brendan Rodgers.

    The Barcelona striker is particularly thrilled for Jordan Henderson as he knows first hand the turmoil he went through in his personal life, a difficult adaption to life at a big club and trying to learn from one of the best around in Steven Gerrard.

    The Official site reported the Uruguayan as saying:

    “I am so happy for him because when he arrived in Liverpool they had a not-really-good moment. 

    “As some people know he had some problems with his dad (throat cancer battle) and he had really good moments and some bad moments in Liverpool.

    “He came in from Sunderland and it’s difficult for an English player, when they come to a bigger club. I think when he had near him Steven Gerrard, he can see how Stevie is, how he is all of Liverpool. I think the best teacher he had is Stevie

    “I will be happy to see him lifting the [Premier League] trophy because he is a really good person. 

    “I speak sometimes with him and I said to him, ‘You have a really good chance this season’

    “We watch some [Liverpool] games when we can and we see that Jordan, he is the captain from the midfield. 

    "He speaks a lot and for his teammates this is so important, when they have confidence with the captain. 

    “For me, Jordan is one of the best captains in Liverpool’s history.

    Last season Suarez saw first hand the never-say-die spirit of Jürgen Klopp’s Reds and says they have all the key elements required to be an elite team.

    “I think the mentality of the players is so important on the pitch. 

    “We arrived in Liverpool 3-0 up, but when you play there they have the supporters and the manager [and] the players are so focused and concentrated on the pitch. It’s difficult. 

    “They scored in the first 10, 15 minutes and they got the confidence to continue their play and in the second half they played fantastic. 

    “We need to accept that and if we’d have scored one goal we would have had a really good chance to continue, but I think they are really good players.”

    Finally, Suarez had a word with the supporters who used to adore him but the love affair has diminished somewhat due to the way he left the club and the way he conducted himself throughout the semi-final tie last season.

    He used this opportunity to explain his antics and get back in the good books.
     


    “I know some Liverpool supporters were angry with me because I celebrated a goal against Liverpool here in Camp Nou [last season] and for that I am so sad. 

    "I accept that and I say that hopefully they understand my situation: we were playing at home and in the Champions League semi-final. I lived one of the best moments of my life there and I think the supporters didn’t forget how my attitude was in the Liverpool shirt.

    “But this title is amazing for the supporters, for the players and for the so many people working inside Liverpool. 

    “For the last 30 years they didn’t know how it felt for Liverpool to win the Premier League.

    “I think they needed this moment, for the Liverpool supporters, for the Liverpool club, for the people, for the Scouse people. I am so happy for them.”

     
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