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  • TLW
    Jürgen Klopp says that the depth of Liverpool’s squad was clearly illustrated after their emphatic 5-2 victory over Everton on Wednesday evening.

    The manager made five changes from the team that beat Brighton on the weekend with the likes of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and captain Jordan Henderson all rested while Alisson was suspended.

    Players like Divock Origi, Adam Lallana and Xherdan Shaqiri were given the opportunity to shine in one of the standout fixtures on the Premier League calendar.

    And it is fair to say that the fringe players did not let him down with Origi grabbing a double and Shaqiri scoring his first goal for the club in nearly a year.

    Sky Sports reported a delighted Klopp as saying:

    “ There were a lot of great football moments in that game.

    “ We made five changes. I speak a lot about the quality in the squad, so I have to show it from time to time.

    “It’s really important and gives us the feeling that we can do it more often – and we will do it more often.

    “ You give the responsibility to the boys and they have to show that they can perform and what they're made of, which is incredible.

    “ Divock's goal, Sadio's passes, Shaq's everything, Adam Lallana everywhere and he had so many really really good moments. 

    "They are fantastic footballers.
     
    "I said before the season that there is no one in the squad who is not an outstanding footballer."
     

     
    Klopp said he was thrilled with the first half performance in particular, but wasn’t happy when his players switched off allowing Richarlison to score on the stroke of half time.

    “From time to time it was a bit rusty in defending because they were really direct.

    "It was all good until 4-1, but the 4-2 I didn't like so much.
     
    "But we have to learn and have to improve and that's what we will do."



     
  • With December finally begun, it’s time for all things festive. From Christmas markets to seasonal shopping, it’s one of the best times of year to get together with friends and family and celebrate one of the best times of year.
     
    Of course, December is also a great time to watch football. Liverpool FC are set to play 9 games throughout the month, as part of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the Carabao Cup. Their fixture against West Ham on December 21st was postponed, due to the club’s invitation to participate in the FIFA World Cup. 
     
    Here are the top 5 matches that are not to be missed throughout December.
     
    Wednesday 4th: Everton
     
    Kicking off with one of the most exciting games at the start of the December month is a match against Liverpool’s city rivals, Everton. The Merseyside Derby continues to be some of the most anticipated games of the season and for good reason; there’s nothing like a good old fashioned rivalry to really up the thrill of a football match. It’s one that almost every member of the team are absolutely looking to take part in. Liverpool star and Spaniard Adrian San Miguel, for example, says he’s ‘already focused’ on the game ahead. 
     

     
    There’s some big claims already being made, with Liverpool being expected to play the game. In play betting with 888 will enable fans to see the line-up and the intensity of the game before they stake any money. Liverpool have had a fantastic season, having only dropped two points and are still sitting comfortably at the top of the league, but the number of games could cause them to slow the pace.
     
    The game begins at 20:15 on Wednesday at Anfield. 

    Saturday 7th: Bournemouth
     
    While A.F.C. Bournemouth are currently sitting 12th in the Premier League, the game against Liverpool on Saturday the 7th is definitely one to follow. Bournemouth haven’t had a particularly fantastic season; Liverpool have had 6 total wins against them in the past, with Bournemouth securing just 1. 
     
    But things can always change. And while Liverpool have the homefield advantage, it’s still a game worth tuning into. Play starts from 15:00. 
     
    Saturday 14th: Watford
     
    What makes this game so exciting? Watford have something to prove. In February 2019, Liverpool had one of their best games against Watford. They had previously dropped six points in their top flight games. A goal from Divock Origi and two goals each from Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk saw them defeat Watford at a massive 5-0. 
     
    “Our target was to win but when you find an opponent like Liverpool then it’s very hard to get the points,” former manager Javi Garcia said at the time.
     
    “It’s important to be calm and keep confidence in ourselves now because our levels have been good.”
     
    With so much to prove, Watford will be looking to make their comeback and show just what they can achieve. At 20th in the league, they’re the bottom team now facing the top team; maybe this is their chance to make a statement or face another devastating loss. And potentially face relegation for next season. 
     
    Thursday 26th: Leicester City
     
    Set to be one of the most exhilarating games of the season is Liverpool vs Leicester City on Thursday the 26th of December. It was not long ago that Leicester City fans warned Liverpool that the Premier League title race is far from over. A game against Everton at the King Power Stadium saw The Foxes clinch a record-setting sixth straight Premier League win, reducing their gap on Liverpool to a mere eight points at the top of the table. 
     

     
    With Leicester City sitting second on the table, this is definitely a match for the books. Kick off is at 20:00 and you can be sure fans on both sides will be watching in anticipation for what’s to come. 

    Sunday 29th: Wolverhampton Wanderers
     
    With the Wolves sitting at 6th in the Premier League table, this post-Christmas match makes the list of one of the top to watch this December. The Wolves have yet to lose a game this season across all leagues, winning three and drawing another three. Can they beat the hard-hitting top table Liverpool? That’s yet to be decided. But there’s certainly going to be some excitement around this game, which kicks off at 16:30.
  • Liverpool FC has a long history, stretching back to the Victorian era. During that lengthy time it’s had its fair share of ups and downs, with some difficult nadirs and some stunning zeniths.
     
    Here’s a summary of some of the best times or, to be more exact, the best managers the club’s ever had. During these times those who love a good punt have had a good run for their money with some amazing bets that have come home. We’ll also provide a thought for the future. Steven Gerrard was a legend as a player for Liverpool, and now some, including Jürgen Klopp, are tipping him as the next manager when Klopp calls it a day.
    Bill Shankly
    Manager for a decade and a half, when Shankly started his tenure Liverpool weren’t even in the First Division. By the time he’d left, they’d won the First Division three times. Perhaps even more importantly, the foundations had been laid for even greater success under his assistant, Bob Paisley.
     

     
    Anfield itself was in disrepair when he started in the late 1950s, but Shankly did have one big asset: a cadre of capable assistants in Paisley, Joe Fagan, and Reuben Bennett. Transfers were needed as were improvements to the training facilities, but perhaps the biggest hurdle was wrestling with the board. But tenacity paid off and Liverpool got promoted.
     
    A few years later Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Shankly was also the man who, experimenting with colour schemes, adopted the all red kit that has become firmly rooted in the team’s DNA. Shankly was the Moses who led Liverpool from the doldrums to success, and those who followed him continued that upward trend.
     
    In the latter years of Shankly’s tenure and those of his successors, money on Liverpool for titles was a pretty good bet. Right now at the time of writing they’re favourites for the title, shorter than evens, but closely followed by Manchester City. Betting can add to the thrill of watching football, but if you prefer casino to sports betting then there are some great UK online casinos to visit in 2019. Here you can learn about which sites have the best bonuses and other exciting incentives for you to enjoy.
    Bob Paisley
    No discussion of great managers would be complete without Bob Paisley, who was assistant and then full manager at the club from 1959 to 1983. Manager during a heyday for the team, Paisley is one of only three managers to have won the European Cup three times (Zidane and Ancelotti being the other two).
     
    Whilst assistant to Bill Shankly the team returned to the First Division, and he eventually succeeded Shankly in 1974. Although manager for just under a decade, during that time Liverpool were dominant both at home and abroad. Half a dozen League Championships were won, and three European Cups, with a plethora of other trophies filling the cabinet. When he retired, he’d been named Manager of the Year six times, (coincidentally, the same as the number of league titles he won).
    Kenny Dalglish
    As a player Kenny Dalglish (aka King Kenny) won the Ballon d’Or during his hundreds of appearances and more than a decade at the team. He won League Championships, FA Cups, and more besides. But it was in 1985 that he became manager, when Joe Fagan resigned.
     
    Dalglish was manager for two periods, from 1985 to 1991 and 2011 to 2012 (when he replaced Roy Hodgson). In between these periods he focused on charitable causes, working with his wife to help fund cancer care.
     
    It was during his first stint that Dalglish achieved glory for the club, topping the First Division on three occasions and claiming the FA Cup into the bargain. It was 1986 when the double was won, Dalglish being player-manager (a dual role he retained until 1990).
     

     
    Dalglish was manager during one of the darkest days in English football: the Hillsborough disaster. Although never in a position to prevent the tragedy unfolding, it’s right to acknowledge the example he provided in being dignified in the face of adversity, attending numerous funerals of those who died. Some things are bigger than football, and Dalglish showed that, more than just being a good manager, he’s a great man.
    Rafael Benítez
    Benítez was manager for several years at Liverpool, but for many people the single memory they have of his time there is the sensational 2005 Champions League final. Picture the scene. It’s half-time. Liverpool are 3-0 down to Milan in Istanbul’s Atatürk Stadium. Some fans have already left the stadium to get an early start on the long, weary journey home. And boy, did they live to regret that decision.
     
    There was a goal for Liverpool. And within a few minutes there was another, and then Liverpool scored again to level at 3-3. Extra time beckoned, and then penalties. Jerzy Dudek imitated Bruce Grobbelaar’s wobbly legs to try and distract Milan’s players and saved two penalties to win the Champions League for Liverpool. It was their fifth success, and they got to keep the trophy permanently.
     
    Besides that epic victory, Benítez also led Liverpool to win the FA Cup, although the Premier League title eluded him. This season might be another story, as Liverpool have a clear lead and have enjoyed an unbroken string of wins.
    Jürgen Klopp
    Some might argue it’s wrong to include a still serving manager on the all-time greats list, but Jürgen Klopp has already earned the affection of the fans (and whoever said Germans don’t have a sense of humour evidently forgot to tell him). In his few years to date at the club he’s led Liverpool to successive Champions League finals, winning the 2019 final against Spurs.
     
    On the domestic front he came close to leading Liverpool to the Premier League title, and so far, touch wood, he’s had a perfect start to the current season with eight matches played and eight matches won. Likeable and successful, he brought Mo Salah to the squad and the Champions League trophy to the cabinet. Many fans will be hoping he’s there for the long haul, although there have been recent suggestions he might stay for just a few more years.
  • It is the fixture that divides the city but it is fair to say the gap between Liverpool and Everton has not been this large for many a year. The Toffees come to Anfield in 17th place with a manager in crisis and a fanbase fearing relegation if things do not improve quickly.

    For this Opposition View, TLW tried something a little unique. Instead of an individual answering the questions, we thought it would be worthwhile to gauge the opinion of a range of Blues supporters from the Everton FC fan forum. What you see is brutal honesty and quite a fascinating insight into what has gone wrong for our neighbours this season.


    In your opinion, what are the main reasons behind Everton’s inconsistent form over the past 18 months?

    Rob Preece: Poor signings and management. An over reliance to stick with a system that doesn’t work. Zonal marking. No striker of any great note and a lack of creativity from midfield.

    David Holroyd: Look at the money Liverpool spent on Salah and Mane. We got Gylfi for almost same price. We should be looking for a better manager than Silva. Benitez would be a better choice, don't be afraid because of what he said in the past let him see for himself.  

    Andy Kay: 30 years of mismanagement from the start of the Premier League era. Wasted money, the stadium, merchandise, kits, players and directors who don't care for the club.... We've become a laughing stock while Liverpool have embarrassed us in every way possible. We are Espanyol, Torino and 1860 Munich rolled into one. Once the pride of Merseyside is now a shambles.

    Elaine Dutton: A pick and mix squad of players brought in by Koeman, Allardyce and Silva to play specific roles and as each new manager comes in with his own style we have players who don't fit in to that way of playing. There is no heart to the team with Jags, Baines, Coleman, Gueye and Lukaku no longer at the club or past their prime
     


    Why do you think Marco Silva has struggled so much to get the best of his squad?

    Matthew Thompson: Not replacing Zouma and Gueye and also having injured midfielder (Jean Philippe) Gbamin out for 2/3 months, Gomes for likely the rest of season and not once being able to play his strongest 11. He also wanted a left footed right-winger. We all knew before the season started that we were short at the back and that has started to become too much of a gamble. We have a good crop of players but we lack that finishing touch.

    Dan Lawrence: Square pegs and round holes. He's stubborn the way he wants to play and wedges players into formation when main players are unavailable. Also I don’t think he knows his best 11 and the zonal marking doesn’t work but he still insists on using it. He’s a nice guy but as a result we are too nice on the pitch.
     
     
    Everton have looked to be big players in the transfer market of late bringing in skilled players like Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson. But do you believe you have lost some of that grit and graft that was part of your DNA under David Moyes?

    Mark Hayes: The initial downfall was appointing Martinez. I know there will be a lot that disagree because they have fell for the Spanish stains’ bullshit and seem to forget the state the team were in when he left, but here's a reminder... a team that were so unfit because of his training ideas, that they struggled to even see out a game. A team that couldn't defend because Brown shoes didn't think defence was that important and training to defend set-pieces wasn't even a consideration. Finishing 5th with what was Moyes' team (apart from a young hungry Lukaku) was a one off and we all saw the real Martinez team the following two seasons. Unfortunately the club did not learn by their mistake and carried on making them with Koeman and now Silva.

    Mark Mellor: Unfortunately yes, for me passion is as important as talent? Look at Norwich and Sheffield U, on paper we should be better because we have a more expensive team but they both play as a team and are really up for it? We need more of what they have? Commitment!!
     
    Which player(s) have impressed you this season and who needs to raise their performance?

    Jon McCarthy: (Djibril) Sidibe has been a decent signing, Bernard has done well when fit, but as for the rest of the team.... shambles. Gylfi hasn't shown even a glimpse of the 'talent' he has.
     
    Anthony Gray: Mina has surprised me as i didn't think he was any good but he's actually not that bad... Bernard, Gomes, Sidibe all done ok.... Completely in shock over Digne, where’s he gone??  Siggi has always been defended by me, but now there's no argument for me to defend him. He's too slow and does not look interested. Pickford is just a little fat prick who thinks he's class when he is far from it.

    Mark Killey: Not one of our players would get into a normal top 6 team and that just shows who has impressed. We have a squad who play average to poor football week in week out. Silva was never the man for the job, but with that team off mercenaries I can't see anyone getting us out off this shite where in now.
     
    What would be your ultimate Footballing nightmare. Relegation or Liverpool winning the Premier League title?

    Mark Quinn: Not being bottom 3 is the priority of course. It's sad when the obsession with the other lot blurs our own priorities.

    Kenny Almond : Bottom 3 100%! Don't get all these fans who want us to lose games so it helps others who are challenging. I want us to win every game we play! As much as I hate the red shite we seem to be more bothered about them. At the end of the day whatever team manages ends on top after 38 games wins the league and probably deserve it. We need Silva out and kick on up the table at this point. I would take a mid table finish and only Everton matter to me.

    Alan James Martyn: Let's be positive; it's not over until the final whistle. The Reds haven't won yet and we ain't down. We are true blues and have more home grown fans then them.
     
    Who is someone that you believe can take the game to Liverpool and conversely who do you need to contain?

    Kyle Marsh: Our wingers against their fullbacks. They're both good going forward but not great defensively.

    Dan Malone: Five at the back. Start Kean.
     
    Robert Cruikshank: Everything comes from Trent and Robertson. Nullify them, that gives us a chance.
     
    Do you have a score prediction for this fixture?

    Mike Warren: We either going to get battered or lose by 1 absolute stinker of a decision. Hope they surprise me with a win though.

    Wes Hershberger: 2-2 draw, Moise Kean equalizer on 92’

    Graham Weedall: My heart is saying 1-2. But my head is saying 3-0.
  • We all know that Virgil Van Dijk is as graceful as they come on the pitch, but he has produced similar etiquette when it comes to social media.

    As widely predicted, Lionel Messi won his sixth Ballon d’or award in Paris on Monday night with Van Dijk coming in as runner up ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

    It is only the third time in the last twelve years that Messi and Ronaldo have not finished 1/2 in the award.

    Before the event, a reporter said to Virgil, “Cristiano wont be here tonight so that is one less rival to worry about.”

    In a off-the cuff response, Van Dijk then said “Was Cristiano Ronaldo really a rival.”

    Ever the provocateur, the morning show host Piers Morgan piped up to say on Twitter,

    “No., Cristiano is a far greater player, you’re not in his league."

    While many would have bitten back in savage fashion, Van Dijk to his great credit did not feed the troll and responded:

    “ Hi Piers, If you don’t jump on the social media bandwagon and would listen to the whole interview then you would know I made a joke, and only got respect for those 2."
     


    The talismanic Dutchman was just as gracious after the event as the Official site reported:

    "You need to respect greatness. I was close, but there was just someone a little bit better.
     
    “I’m very proud of what I achieved last year, with Liverpool and Holland. Hopefully we can do it again this year.

    “I never thought I would be up for a Ballon d’Or until I was actually nominated.
     
    "It says a lot about how my career has been, it has never been easy. I came late but I never gave up on my dreams. I had to work very hard every step of the way.

    “Where I am right now is something I’m very proud of. To be here makes me very proud and makes me want to work even harder and hopefully be here next year again.”

    Van Dijk becomes only the third Liverpool player to finish in the top two of the award along with Kenny Dalglish (second in 1983) and Michael Owen who claimed the top gong in 2001.

    Liverpool were deservedly well represented in the top 10 with Sadio Mane (4th), Mo Salah(5th) and Alisson (7th).

    Roberto Firmino finished 17th, Trent Alexander-Arnold was just behind him in 19th while Gini Wijnaldum came in at 26th.

    The Brazilian gloveman was also awarded the Yachine Trophy for the best goalkeeper award in World Football voted by France Football magazine.

    It adds to his bulging haul of honours which includes the Champions League Goalkeeper of the season and Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award.
     


    Allison was humbled by the honour as reported by the Official site.

    “It’s a great honour to be here with those great players, men and women.

    “I just want to thank my family, my wife, who support me everywhere I go. To my parents, they are in Brazil – I think watching me! And to God. 

    “ It is a great honour he is giving me in 2019, winning the Champions League and winning some individual awards.

    “I don’t feel lucky, I feel blessed and grateful. I also want to say thank you to my teammates, to all the Liverpool staff. Thank you very much.”

     
  • Last week I wrote about how stressful these 2-1 wins have been and that it would be nice to finally have a routine 4-0 for a change. I had hoped this might be it, but no, it was another 2-1 in which we had to watch the closing stages with clenched arse cheeks.
     
    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. What’s to complain about? I read that we’ve taken 67 points from the last 69 available, which is an astonishing achievement. So yeah, this is great. I’d just like to have a relatively stress free game once in a while. For a team this good it really shouldn’t be too much to ask.
     
    In theory we should be thumping Brighton at Anfield. Over recent seasons we’ve generally spanked the ‘lesser’ sides and haven’t had much trouble with any of them. For a while this looked to be going the same way as we raced into a two goal lead, but it ended up being a real slog even before the late drama with the sending off and the scandalous situation around the free-kick.
     
    So what went wrong? A combination of things I’d say. Brighton are better than I realised. They lack quality but you can see they are extremely well coached. With better players they’d be quite dangerous. They reminded me of Swansea under Brendan.
     
    Everyone knew where he should be when they had the ball, and the way they played out from the back through our press time and again was very impressive. That coach knows what he’s doing, but theres only so much you can do to bridge a massive gap in quality and we could easily have scored more than the two we did.
     
    We didn’t get the third goal which would have made it comfortable and from about half an hour onwards I thought we looked leggy. Maybe the midweek game against Napoli caught up with us. Still, up until Alisson’s moment of madness we didn’t look in any danger.
     
    That, combined with them scoring from the free-kick, was the turning point and after that it was all hands to the pump. We were hanging on a bit, but the defence held out without any real drama.
     
    It all started so well as we peppered Matt Ryan’s goal. He denied Bobby twice and Ox once, but was powerless to stop Big Virg twice heading in pinpoint deliveries from Trent. There’s virtually nothing you can do to stop those goals. Maybe on the first they could have held a high line and played offside, but the second goal is impossible to prevent. Perfect ball in that is met by the tallest man on the field. Whaddayannado?
     
    The longer the game went on though the more laboured we began to look. Brighton had loads of the ball and looked impressive without really being dangerous.
     
    We had a couple of clear chances in the second half but Lewis Dunk was on hand to make terrific blocks. I watched him closely in the second half because I was sat in the Kop for this one and had a good view of his performance. He was outstanding. He’s the player that people think Harry Maguire is.
     
    He even got himself on the scoresheet, although he could - maybe should - have matched Virgil and bagged a couple. The one he got was well taken but from our point of view was a complete shambles.
     
    Leaving aside the disgraceful intervention of Martin Atkinson for a second, the incident that led to the free-kick was amateur hour stuff. I don’t know how that happened. Virgil was miles out of position and Lovren somehow had two runners to deal with. He may have got back to cover the danger but we’ll never know.
     
    I don’t know what Alisson was thinking. It wasn’t that he came charging out needlessly, it was that he was already out there. His starting position was so high that he was caught in no mans land. If he came out he wasn’t going to get it, but if he ran back it would be easy for the striker to lob him.
     
    So in the end he did neither. He half came out and ended up blocking the shot with his hand. Clear red card and there can be no argument about that. What happened after that though, fucking hell. Honestly, it was an absolute disgrace and for the life of me I don’t know why more hasn’t been made of it.
     
    Apparently that goal shouldn’t have stood because Brighton had players in / around the wall and the law has changed now so that isn’t allowed. I didn’t even know that until I saw Keith Hackett tweeting about it so that’s not why I was spitting feathers about it. 
     
    Even now I’m not really too arsed about that oversight because I’m fucking steaming about Atkinson basically conspiring with Dunk to screw us over. Yes, that’s right, I said it, he conspired with Dunk. 
     
    The Brighton defender saw Adrian on the post lining up the wall and he asked Atkinson if he could take the free-kick. Not only did he give him permission, he then blew the whistle unexpectedly to let him go.
     
    We had no wall and Adrian was stood on the post trying to line them up. Dunk didn’t even hit the free-kick with any power, he just cleverly passed it into the far corner. Heads up play by him but it’s a fucking disgrace that was allowed to happen. It’s either incompetence or cheating, take your pick.
     
    When do you ever see a referee allow something like that to happen? Virtually never. They either allow a quick one or they wait until everyone is ready. There is no in-between. As I said, I can’t believe more hasn’t been made of it because this is a fucking scandal, especially given the recent history with us and this referee.
     
    It genuinely blows my mind that this was allowed to happen and that no-one other than Hendo (and Adrian) really seemed as outraged by it as I am. It was sinister as fuck. I’ll say again, that shit just doesn’t ever happen, so why now? Because Martin Atkinson is continually trying to shaft us for some reason, that’s why.
     
    I was pissed off at the time but having since watched the replay of the game again and saw how the whole thing unfolded, I’m way beyond that now. Pissed off doesn’t even come close. This shit needs investigating. 
     
    I’ve watched it again in full a few times to get the full picture of how it unfolded, and it gets worse every time. 
     
    Adrian had to come on to the field unexpectedly, so he isn’t warmed up and he’s been thrown into a difficult situation. He should be given a bit of leeway for that, but it’s not like he’s taking the piss with how long he took. 
     
    He runs onto the field and as he reaches the box he tells Hendo that he wants five in the wall. Then he goes to the goal to put his towel in the net and then immediately prepares to line up the wall. 
     
    At this point Atkinson though is still getting them back ten yards so Adrian can’t really do anything until that’s done. Atkinson then walks back towards the ball, so Adrian is then lining up the wall and telling players to move across to cover the side of the goal he’s on. The opposite side is his responsibility so it’s completely unguarded.
     
    Then while this is happening - and we’re talking a matter of seconds here - Dunk asks if he can take it. What the fuck is Atkinson thinking by telling him “yeah go on then”. Not just that, but look at Atkinson’s position. He’s right next tot he ball when he’s supposed to be away from it so he can see everything happening in the box. Like I say, it’s fucking scandalous and the club should be reporting him. 
     
    In the last few weeks we’ve had him not giving the foul on Origi that cost us a goal at United, we’ve had him in the VAR booth disallowing a perfectly valid goal by Firmino and now this. He’s also the same twat who last season didn’t send off Maguire (who later scored) and who failed to give a penalty for the most blatant of fouls on Keita, both decisions that contributed hugely to costing us two points.
     
    He’s a cunt. He’s screwed us out of the title last season and he’s trying to screw us over again this time at every opportunity. It couldn’t be clearer as far as I’m concerned and I just wish the club would call him out on it and demand he’s kept away from our games.
     
    That goal changed everything. We had tired legs, we were a man down and Brighton had their tails up. It was a proper grind after that. We couldn’t get out of our own half and the ball kept coming back at us, not least because of Origi’s inability to even compete for aerial challenges let alone win any.
     
    The lads defended stoutly though and did a great job shuttling across and filling gaps. Lallana played a key role in that I thought, even though the fella behind me was repeatedly calling him “a fucking shithouse” and complaining that “he hasn’t made a tackle since he came on”. 
     
    He wasn’t there to try and make tackles you soft cunt. His job wasn’t to over commit himself and let Brighton play around him. It was to fill space, close down angles and protect his full back. He did that, and he was sprinting from the second he came on until the second it was over. The midfielders did a great job in that last ten, as did the back four.
     
    Adrian was there when he was needed too and barring one fumble that for a heart stopping moment looked like it would squirm into the net, he was great. That was such a difficult situation he was thrown into but he did what we needed him to.
     
    It’s a huge three points but then they all are. I seem to be saying this every week, but it’s more due to how we are winning than anything. If we’d won 5-0 would we be saying what a huge three points it was? Probably not, but because so many of these games have been in the balance until the final whistle, the wins feel so much more important.
     
    I love the fight and character this team show in all manner of different situations though. They’re going to need it in spades over the coming weeks because legs look a little heavy already and the fixture list hasn’t even really kicked in yet.
     
    Maybe we need to rotate a little as most of these lads have played every game. Mo hasn’t been at his best for a while. Maybe the injury is bothering him or maybe he’s just not in the best of form. Bobby is hot and cold as well. Gino and Hendo seem to play every single game and get very little rest.
     
    Leaving any of them out is a big risk but we can’t just keep sending out the same group of players every three or four days. Something has to give, but when we made changes against Napoli (even though it was only two of them) the team didn’t play well and for some people (not me) it was the changes that were responsible for that.
     
    It’s a difficult needle to thread and it will be interesting to see what Klopp does for the derby. Origi has tormented Everton at Anfield and he’d be full of confidence if he started. I’d be tempted to roll him out there as he’s like the fucking bogeyman as far as Everton are concerned.
     
    I don’t know what to expect on Wednesday. My gut instinct is it’s going to be another tense, tight, stressful one but maybe they’ll surprise us and deliver the kind of beating we haven’t seen since… I dunno, Norwich on opening night was probably the last one.
     
    We really could do with a couple of those performances where we have an early blitz and the game is over by half time, as it must be mentally (as well as physically) exhausting having to be at maximum concentration right down to the last second every week.
     
    So can we just spank Everton this week please lads? Pretty please?
     
    Star man is Virgil, obviously.
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Adrian), Wijnaldum; Salah (Lallana), Firmino (Origi), Mané:
  • Virgil Van Dijk says there is areas for Liverpool to work on despite comfortably sitting atop the Premier League table.

    The Reds made it 13 wins from 14 games after their 2-1 win over a gallant Brighton outfit.

    But with any team looking to go to the next level, you don’t always look at what you have accomplished, it is focusing on the things that you can improve on.
     
    The two-goal hero from Saturday’s clash identified one area in particular The Mirror  reported:

    “The (lack of clean sheets) annoys me. 

    “We want to improve but if you are going to look at negatives…it is a negative to be fair. 

    “We are winning games, so we shouldn’t look too much at it, but as a defence we know we can do a lot better, especially with the clean sheets.”

    “We know we can do maybe that extra 10 per cent.

    “But we win games and that at the end of the day is what it is all about. 
     


    The talismanic Dutchman was also unequivocal when asked about the eight point lead that Liverpool hold over Leicester.

    “The gap doesn’t mean anything, you see with Brighton, they were very brave and played very well, and that is what we will face.

    “We are in a good situation points wise but we know we can do maybe that extra 10 per cent.

    “We have to try and do it every week, but it is not easy. 

    “That’s all we can do - try it and hopefully it will work out. 

    “The most important thing is to win the games.”
  • Saturday Nov 23:
     
    Palace 1 L 2 Another week another arse twitching win. Feels like almost all of our games this season have finished 2-1 and loads of them have seen us win it late. We can’t do that indefinitely but it won’t matter if we’ve built up a big enough lead. We’ve already won loads of games that we could easily not have and it feels like we haven’t really played well for a lot of the season. That's probably not true but it feels like that because so many of our games have ended up on  knife edge.
     
    Our record is incredible but the performances have not always been. There are two ways to look at that. Maybe we’re pacing ourselves and will come on stronger in the second half of the season (we usually do) or maybe this is who we are now. Maybe we aren’t that wildly exciting crazy team that would win 4-0 or 5-1 virtually every week but then lose a stupid one completely out of the blue to undermine it all.
     
    Maybe now we’re just a winning machine, grinding out three points week after week without ever really crushing anybody like we used to but also never dropping stupid points. The front three are definitely not the unstoppable force they were two years ago and that’s the main difference I think. Sadio is better than he was two years ago but Bobby and Mo aren’t producing the same numbers and that’s the main reason we’re winning 2-1 every week instead of hitting four or five.
     
    Recently I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit. Are they not playing as well or have teams just figured out ways to restrict us? I wouldn’t say we’ve been 'found out', because we’re European Champions and have only lost one league game in 18 months!! Something has changed though. Those devastating length of the field counter attacks we were seeing all the time have all but disappeared. I can only assume it’s because teams are much more careful against us now because the fear factor is there.
     
    We’ve had to adapt because we get less space and as a result of that we’re less of a counter attacking side and more of a patient build up one. It’s working for us and the points speak for themselves, it’s just not as thrilling to watch and it's a lot more stressful when games are in the balance right up until the final whistle. Still, if it brings us the title though then I’ll take a 2-1 win every week thanks. 

    Sunday Nov 24:
     
    Eden Hazard says a Liverpool player should win the Balon d’Or and his choice would be Sadio. He’s defo getting more and more traction now and it wouldn’t be undeserved if he won, but the problem is that he’s taking votes of Virg and that will no doubt open the door for Messi. Let’s not kid ourselves, he’ll win it again because he’s "the world’s best player".
     
    By that rationale though, he should have won it pretty much every year that he’s played. The reason he hasn’t is because it has often been determined that someone else (usually Ronaldo) - while being an inferior talent - has had a better year than him. Just like Virgil in 2019. Messi will win it though. I doubt Virg gives much of a fuck about it anyway. The fans will be more upset about it than him.
     
    Meanwhile, Naby Keita is one of the nominees for African Player of the Year. Who the fuck is voting for this? If it’s the public then that can be explained away by the lack of TVs in many African households, but if it’s the players and / or coaches then what the fuck?? He’s barely played for club or country and when he did he usually got injured. 

    Monday Nov 25:
     
    Jadon Sancho has reportedly decided he wants out of Dortmund at the end of the season and we’re one of four clubs linked to him. I’ll be honest, I’ve seen virtually nothing of him because I don’t watch the Bundesliga and I sure as hell don’t watch England games. He’s meant to be class, but to me he’s very much the consolation prize if we don’t get Mbappe. Kind of like failing to pull Kylie but ending up with Danni.
     
    Neil Critchley is going to take charge of the League Cup semi. Makes sense, as it’s going to be his team taking the field. I’d guess the line up will be something like Kelleher, Williams, Hoever, Van Den Berg, Larouci, Chirivella, Lewis, Kane, Elliott, Brewster, Jones. I can’t wait actually. They’ll probably lose and might even lose heavily. But imagine they won? How exciting would that be?
     
    Villa have said they “fully respect” our decision to field the kids. Of course they do, it’s virtually given them a bye to the semis, but even if they did have a problem with it so what? There’s literally nothing else we can do here, unless people actually think we should send the kids to the World Club Cup instead? FIFA would love that! 
     
    Even if you take the prestige out of it, take a look at the prize money for both competitions and that tells you all you need to know. I actually think Klopp would privately admit he doesn’t want to reach the league cup semis anyway as that’s two games he could do without. Personally I’d love us to get there just so the kids could have another run out, but the downside to that is we could end up getting City. It wouldn’t be fair to play the kids then, which would mean extra games for senior players. So yeah, I reckon Klopp is hoping we give a good account of ourselves at Villa but lose.
     
    Speaking of Klopp, he and Guardiola both gave speeches at the Footy Writers Awards do and they were both really good. You expect that from Jurgen, he’s a funny guy, but I’ll give some grudging praise to Guardiola too as he was good. I may have said this before, but there is one thing I have to give him credit for, and that is that he never tries to hide his fear / admiration of Klopp and the Reds. A lot of managers would downplay it but he’s the opposite. 
     
    He’s secure enough in his own skin that he’ll admit the effect we have on his psyche. In this speech he joked about how much our late goals are doing his head in and it was funny. He even managed to joke that “Man City will pay for all this (the cost of the bar etc) because we are rich” and somehow it didn’t make him sound like a twat. I still can’t stand him, but if he wasn’t at City I probably wouldn’t mind him.
     
    Tuesday Nov 26:
     
    He’s at it again. ”Liverpool have six (European trophies) and this club have one semi-final. We are far away from the 'You'll Never Walk Alone' team and that is the reality. But I like the Premier League because when you win a lot in the league you live eleven months of the year happy.”
     
    See, this is what I mean. If that was me, I’d be saying fuck all to acknowledge that the Reds have more pedigree and prestige than City, but Guardiola doesn’t have any problem being complimentary. I bet City’s press office are having fucking kittens over it though, the sad, obsessed losers.

    Meanwhile, Brewster will reportedly be allowed to go on loan in January. It’s a no brainer really, the lad was supposed to be going to play a significant role this year but he can’t even make the bench most weeks. Keeping him around in case of emergency might be prudent, but it’s not really fair. Let him go and play and let’s see what he’s made of.
     
    We’ve got four others who can play centre forward and we’ll have Shaqiri and Elliott to come in if either Sadio or Mo has to move central. I want to see Brewster playing every week, ideally in the Prem but more likely in the Championship.

    Wednesday Nov 27:
     
    L 1 Napoli 1 Shite that. Didn’t deserve to win and it’s really annoying how Napoli continue to make us look bang average. They aren’t even that good, but put them up against us and they raise their game about 200%. They know how to stifle us so let’s hope Ancelotti stays put and doesn’t end up back in this country, where he can do this shit to us twice a year. 
     
    I'm sick to death of Napoli, their shithouse fans, shithouse players (I'd never tire of punching that Allan in his stupid face), shitty kit and their kryptonite like effect on us. Thankfully they're doing shite in Serie A so with any luck they won't qualify next year and we won't have to play them again for a while. Mind you, we could get them in the knock outs this year. If we make it that is.
     
    It’s annoying as fuck that we can never make things easy for ourselves. Winning tonight would have allowed us a night off in Salzburg, but now we need to go there and get something against a side who are dangerous because they’re so free-scoring and fearless in how they play. They won’t give a fuck about our reputation, they have nothing to lose and they’ll just fly at us over there. We should still have enough to go through, but we’ve made it needlessly difficult by not winning tonight.
     
    The kids fared better though, slaughtering Napoli 7-0 at the Academy. It was 5-0 inside half an hour. Curtis Jones bagged a hat-trick and frankly it wasn’t really fair letting him play in this game, because he was so far ahead of everyone else on the pitch it was frightening. You know when you watch Messi just take the piss and people can’t get near him? Jones was like that in this game. He was just far too good for Napoli and completely ran the show.
     
    Neco Williams was brilliant at right back too. He’s had a spectacular couple of months and might just be one good game against Villa away from becoming Trent’s understudy, especially based on Joe’s struggles tonight. Villa should be shitting themselves if they watched this, as our kids looked like superstars.
     
    The best bit was defo Jones and Elliott having a disagreement over who was taking a penalty. Jones pulled rank as captain (and scored) but Elliott had the hump. As Jones made his way back to halfway he put his finger to his lips and shouted across the pitch “Harvey, shut your mouth or I’ll take the next one as well. Shut your mouth”. 
     
    He later posted a photo of them hugging and said “thanks to my little brother for the pass for my second”. He never mentioned the penalty incident. I find this hilarious though, as it’s the kind of thing a big brother would do to his younger brother. “Shut your mouth or I’ll take the next one as well”. Tremendous.
     
    Thursday Nov 28:

    What an utterly heartbreaking day for the Hillsborough families. I can’t say I’m shocked by the verdict because it’s exactly what I expected. When people allowed themselves to believe that justice was finally going to be done, my view was that I’ll believe it when it happens. The establishment in this country doesn’t answer to anyone. They do what they like, to whom they like, without any comeback. They did it back in ’89, and they’re still doing it now.
     
    At the inquest Duckenfield admitted his actions caused the disaster and he admitted he then lied about it. The verdict was that the fans were completely blameless and that the 96 were unlawfully killed. For some stupid legal reason, none of that was deemed relevant to this case, so Duckenfield and his fucking scumbag cunt lawyer took advantage and did a complete about face, taking no responsibility for it and went back to blaming the fans again. 
     
    Imagine being one of the family members, sat in court listening to that? I hope Duckenfield dies a slow, painful death and fucking rots in hell, along with all the other cunts responsible for the deaths and subsequent cover up.
     
    I just don’t really know what else to say about it. The burning anger and feeling of helplessness I feel is nothing to what the families must be feeling. I wish there was something we could do to ease their suffering, but there isn’t. We’re powerless. I hate this country and the cunts who run it. 
     
    In fact, people in general these days just suck. So many of the world’s population are just horrible, uncaring, vile bastards. For example, the PL put out a tweet today in support of the rainbow laces campaign and the replies to it were just thoroughly disgusting. Just what the fuck is wrong with people? Why would you be arsed about other people’s sexual preferences? 
     
    The objection to the laces seems to be that this “gay thing” is being forced upon them. Footballers are wearing rainbow laces, they’re not sucking each other off on the field in front of you. Get a grip you fucking bellends. Even if you think that way, why would you be that arsed that you feel the need to share that view with the world? Fucking weirdos. The reason the rainbow laces campaign is necessary is because of the exact same cunts who are objecting to it. If they weren’t so intolerant, this wouldn’t even be a thing.
     
    It’s symptomatic of everything that is wrong with the world that something like this can illicit that kind of a response from people. Imagine being upset because of a rainbow laces campaign. Fucking hell.

    Friday Nov 29:
     
    Fabinho is out for up to eight weeks. Not great news like. We’ve never lost a game that he’s played and he’s probably second only to Van Dijk in his importance. Most of the games we’ve got shouldn’t be too challenging but Leicester away is going to be extra tough and Salzburg is going to be even more tricky and those pesky little bastards will be running at us from all angles.

    I expect Gini will be the main one to fill in more often than not, but Hendo and even Lallana (but only in the easiest of games) will see some time there too. What it does mean is that one of the box to box spots will be available more often now, so either Ox or (don’t laugh) Keita are going to have to step up.

    Meanwhile, I watched a youtube interview with Klopp today where he was talking about his time at Mainz. I’m not sure if I knew this or not, but if I did I’d forgotten it (happens a lot since I turned 40). Mainz missed out on promotion by one point and the next year they missed out by one goal. That would have killed a lot of teams but the next year they did it. Klopp described it as his greatest achievement, as he said doing that with Mainz was more difficult than winning the Champions League with Liverpool. 
     
    Which was the more difficult task isn’t really important. What I took from it was that this goes a long way to showing how we won the European Cup a year after losing the final in heartbreaking circumstances, and why we’re now top of the league after missing out last year despite finishing with 97 points. Setbacks that would destroy a lot of people just make Klopp even more determined. He calls his team “mentality monsters” but really it all stems from him. They’re just following his lead. What a guy.
     
    Finally, that advert with the CGI Bob Paisley? No. Just no. Pure cringe.

    ….and that was the week that was
  • Naby Keita has declared he is fully fit and would love to be able to fill the void left by Fabinho in the Liverpool starting lineup.

    The Guinea international who came to the Premier League with big wraps from his time at RB Leipzig, has had a frustrating time of things in his Reds career to date.

    It seems for every couple of encouraging performances the 24 year old has produced, he then has spent the next month on the sidelines with a injury.

    And then when he returns to the park, it takes him a good while to get his game up to speed meaning all positive momentum has been lost.

    Keita who was a unused substitute in Liverpool's 2-1 victory against Brighton on Saturday is well aware of those inconsistencies and after playing a grand total of 14 minutes in the Premier League this season, is very keen to make up for lost time.

    The Echo reported Keita as saying:

    “ I would love to be involved.

    “My injury put me back a bit but now I feel as though I am back. 

    “I've been quite pleased with my form but I'd like to do better.

    “I feel that, if I get to play in a lot of matches, I can really try to help the team. 

    “I try to play every training sessions as if it were a match and I always try to raise my game.

    Keita also spoke about the heartbreak he felt when he missed the Champions League triumph against Tottenham after suffering a hip injury in the semi final first leg against Barcelona.

    "It was quite hard for me. 

    “All players dream of playing in a big final like that and it would have been great for me.

    Despite missing a fair bit of football over the past season and a bit, Keita is something of a lucky charm for Liverpool.

    In the 27 Premier League appearances he has made for the club, he is yet to be on the losing side.
     


    “ Well, a record like that can only serve to motivate me more.

    “We're all here to work for exactly those sort of records and then to surpass them. Hopefully by winning every match those records will come naturally.

    But the main focus on Keita’s mind is helping the club go one step further to claim the league title.

    “We don't want to repeat the error - if you can call it an error after getting 97 points of falling into second place at the last hurdle at the end of the season.

    “We want to push for new records right until the end of the season. 

    "We want to beat our record and It's in the club's thinking to do so."


     
  • Liverpool legend John Barnes says that the mindset and togetherness is the key reason behind the Reds current success.

    The European Champions are on a mission to go one step further this season in their quest to win the Premier League title.

    While the quality of players that  Jurgen Klopp has in his squad is indisputable, Barnes says you need more than that if you are to be successful in this game.

    The Mirror (via The Offside Rules Exclusives podcast) reported Barnes as saying:
     
    “Liverpool haven’t got better players than Manchester United or Arsenal or Tottenham.

    “What they have is more harmony, more belief, togetherness, and belief in the manager.

    Barnes also said it is a great time to be a supporter of the club and that every person associated with the club have played a part in the current feel good environment.
     


    “It's an exciting time because we have now given Jurgen support. We trust him and we always have.

    “When you have that harmony and togetherness, the fans, the Liverpool family or football family, generally speaking, you can succeed.

    "Of course, I'll be happy to win the league on 90 points this year, but I won't say that this is a better season than last season, if we lose three games and win the league on 90 points."

     
  • So Mourinho is back then, which is a shame as I’ve warmed to him quite a bit since he left United and became a pundit. Now he’s back in the rat race I expect he’ll go back to being a rat and I’ll go back to hating him. Pity.
     
    He’s slowly working his way down the pecking order of English clubs, so maybe those Everton fans who thought they had a chance of landing him will be proved right. In ten years or so.
     
    I’m not happy to see him back, more so because of the way the media react to him than anything else. There’s an obsession towards him and frankly it bores me. It’s not 2005 anymore lads, he’s no longer “box office”, he’s just a guy.
     
    Thankfully he’s unlikely to be posing much of a threat to us this time around given how far we’ve pulled ahead of Spurs over the last 12 months. Honestly, it’s mad if you go back a year and see how close they were to us. So much has happened since then though and now they’re somehow below Arsenal in the table. Only by a point mind, and probably only for another week.
     
    I think Mourinho will get Spurs into a comfortable 5th place position within a few weeks as they’ve got a lot of good players there. He’s not going to get them performing better than they did under Pochettino before it started to go wrong, but he’ll get them back on track.
     
    He started with a win, but they were only playing West Ham and everyone is beating them at the moment so it doesn’t really mean much. They looked quite good for 80 minutes though. 
     
    West Ham’s witness protection programme keeper was exposed again for the opening goal as Son’s shot just went right through him. Moura made it 2-0 when he converted a cross from Son, but it was Deli Alli pulling all the strings. 
     
    This was his best game in two years, which I’m sure won’t have gone unnoticed by Pochettino. Alli spoke afterwards about how tough it was seeing Poch leave and how much he appreciated everything he did for him.
     
    He’s got a funny way of showing it. I mean, if it was a gradual improvement that got him back to top form under a new boss then fair enough, but one game under Mourinho and suddenly he looked like the old Deli Alli again? I smell a rat.
     
    Kane headed in an Aurier cross to make it 3-0 but then West Ham came back at them and could have completed an unlikely comeback as Antonio came off the bench and turned the game for them. 
     
    I’d completely forgotten he existed. He must have been out injured but now he’s back he needs to start every week as he’s the only West Ham player I’d worry about as an opposition manager. Other Hammers players are more talented (Felipe Anderson, Yarmolenko, Haller) but Antonio is a handful and puts himself about far more than any of those other flakey bastards.
     
    It’s not fashionable to say it, but he’s a pretty good player. He’s in that bracket with Ashley Barnes and my boy Troy Deeney. Much better than people think.
     
    He fired in from 18 yards to give them hope and Declan Rice then thought he’d made it 2-3 with a minute left. VAR had other ideas though. He was clearly offside and it was rightly disallowed. Ogbonna did pull another one back in stoppage time and if there’d been a few more minutes left they might have snatched a point, but they’re in a terrible rut right now. They’re basically the Everton of the South.
     
    Speaking of Everton, a week or two back I was looking at their upcoming fixtures and thinking that by Christmas they might be hovering just above the bottom three, because after a gimme three points at home to Norwich they had it really tough. Then they actually went and lost at home to Norwich, so now I’m thinking they might actually be IN that bottom three at Christmas. 
     
    Look at their next five games. It’s brutal. Us, Chelsea, Leicester, United and Arsenal. The only one I think they’ll get anything from is Arsenal and even that is by no means certain now that the Gunners have canned Emery.
     
    You can’t lose at home to Norwich. You just can’t. They’ve done nothing on their travels all season and can’t usually even score, let alone win. Yet they went to Goodison and came away with a 2-0 win that didn’t flatter them. 
     
    How bad must Everton be? Fucking hell. They’ve lost to all three newly promoted teams now, which really takes some doing. What do they get for that unique hat-trick? A place in the Championship, hopefully.
     
    Silva has to be on borrowed time now and all the talk is of a return for the Moyesiah. It actually makes sense on a lot of levels, but how depressing would that be if you were a blue? Remember how smug they were when he left and was replaced by Bobby Brown Shoes? 
     
    All that sneering about his ugly brand of football and how they were now back to being the School of Science. They gave him dog’s abuse when he came back with United and Moyes actually branded them “a disgrace”.
     
    Since then they’ve sacked Martinez, hired and fired Koeman, hired and are about to fire Silva. Shit, I almost forgot about Allardyce!! They hired and fired him too. What a mess.
     
    Still, all is not lost for Silva, as if recent history is anything to go by then he’ll probably be managing Spain or Portugal within weeks of getting his p45. The knock out stages of the Euros this summer will be a who’s who of former Everton coaches.
     
    I’ll shit a lung if they bring Moyes back though you know. We’re top of the league and have a European Cup in the bag, and they’re looking at bringing back Davey Moyes. What a fucking miserable existence.
     
    The boos at full time were predictable but still hilarious. It’ll never not be. Just listen to this….
     
     
     
    I might make that my ring tone you know. My text alert would have to be “Geroff the pitch yer shower of knob heads” hahahaha. The Norwich fans were singing “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and the Blues joined in.
     
    Even funnier was Moise Keane liking a video of it on Instagram. What a mess.
     
    Then there’s this….
     
     
    “HE’S GOTTA GO BILL!!!” Might make that my whatsapp alert. 
     
    The glamour fixture of the weekend was the Saturday evening game at the Etihad. With us having secured three points at Palace to go 12 clear of City I was actually looking forward to watching this one for once. There was no pressure from our point of view. 
     
    If City won, we were still nine clear of them but we’d have gone 11 clear of Chelsea. A draw would have seen us extend our lead over both, but if Chelsea won then fucking hell, that might just have killed off City for good. There were positives in it for us regardless of the outcome, but a Chelsea win was obviously preferable.
     
    For a while it looked like it might happen too. Chelsea started the game brilliantly and were just slicing through City. It reminded me of what we did to them the other week. I felt like Chelsea might score any time they crossed halfway as City were just wide open.
     
    Chelsea were dominant early on. It wasn’t just counter-attacking, they were enjoying more possession than City which is almost unheard of. I might be wrong, but I think we’re the only team to do that since Guardiola went there.
     
    Chelsea looked great and deservedly led through Ngolo Kante’s strike. What a player he is, I love him. He’d get in any team in the world, even ours. Chelsea’s midfield were sensational in the opening half hour or so. Kovacic was running the show and Jorginho was showing why City wanted to sign him.
     
    For all their lovely approach play though, Chelsea were wasteful in front of goal and it would cost them. City equalised with a flukey deflected strike by De Bruyne and then immediately scored again through a Mahrez solo effort.
     
    This is the problem with Chelsea at the moment. For all their nice football and the promising young players at the top end of the park, their defence is extremely suspect. There’s a reason Kurt Zouma was at Everton last season. Kevin Abraham looked out of his depth too.
     
    Chelsea still had a fair bit of the ball and tried to rally after going behind, but the gaps they were finding early on just weren’t there any more as City tightened things up. The longer it went, the less Chelsea looked like scoring.
     
    City wasted chances to make the game safe but thought they’d made it 3-1 in stoppage when Sterling went through to score. VAR had other ideas. As funny as it is any time City get a VAR decision go against them, that just shouldn’t be offside. I hate this shit. Why have they made it so unnecessarily complicated? I keep saying it, but draw the fucking line based on where the standing foot of each player is.
     
    Forget this bollocks about the attacker’s armpit is a millimetre ahead of the defender’s arse. It’s stupid and it’s causing perfectly good goals to be chalked off. I’m glad Sterling didn’t get a goal, but that decision was ridiculous. Still, never mind, eh?
     
    Leicester are now clear in second spot after another win, this time 2-0 at Brighton. Vardy put the first one on a plate for that Ayoze Perez loser, and he bagged the second himself from the penalty spot after his initial kick had been saved. Maddison scored the rebound but there were about six players in the box.
     
    In between those two goals Brighton were denied what looked like a clear pen when Ricardo brought down Maupay. Mike Dean wasn’t interested and you could read his lips saying “he got the ball”. The replay showed he didn’t, so surely that’s a pen?
     
    Mind you, it’d take a brave VAR ref to over-rule Mike Dean. Imagine the scenes? He’d probably refuse to acknowledge it and just stick with his own decision.
     
    They have to be taken seriously as challengers because they’ve got the best defensive record in the league as well as having the top scorer. They aren’t hampered by European football either and will only be playing once a week. That said, the only way they would be able to get near us is if we had a seriously unexpected downturn in results.
     
    I’m still laughing about Vardy’s celebration at Palace the other week you know, especially as we played them last weekend and I saw the Eagle flying across the pitch prior to kick off and it reminded me of what he did. It’s just funny as fuck thinking about him running in front of their fans flapping his arms up and down. It’s gloriously childish, I love it.
     
    Bit disappointed he didn’t continue with his ‘taunt the opposition by mimicking their nickname’ celebrations, especially as this one could have involved him climbing onto the roof and taking a shit on a random fan down below. 
     
    Tell you what else I was disappointed with. A realisation came to me out of the blue and it’s depressed the fuck out of me to be honest. Remember that episode of Friends when Joey discovered his “identical hand twin”? That happened to me.
     
    I saw Brendan on the touchline, writing in his stupid little notepad with his stumpy little fingers, and just as I was sneering at his tiny hands and little chipolata sausage fingers when BAM!!! It hit me like a fucking sledgehammer. “Ah shit, those are just like my hands”.
     
    The maddest part is I’ve actually shaken hands with Brendan and I didn’t even notice. Probably for the best really as it might have gone down something like this…. 
     
     
    Off to the Emirates now, where Arsenal’s shambles of a season continues to plumb new depths by the week. Drawing at home with Southampton? Fuck me, even Everton beat them. Arsenal are just a disaster zone at the moment, which probably explains why so many fans stayed away in midweek for the Europa game (which they lost).
     
    I’m not criticising, as I’d stay away too in their shoes. The highest ticket prices around and the only thing going to watch Arsenal brings you is misery. DT on Arsenal Fan TV said after the Southampton game that it was his son’s birthday, and as one of his presents he went to the game without him.
     
    That sounds arlarse but when you think about it that’s actually a great present, as how upset would the kid have been having to sit through that shite? Defo did him a favour.
     
    Danny Ings gave the Saints the lead but Lacazette equalised. Ings then won a penalty that was converted by Ward-Prowse at the second attempt. The Saints then wasted two glorious chances to seal the win and they paid the price when Lacazette scores six minutes into stoppage time.
     
    In fairness to Arsenal’s players they didn’t even celebrate that goal because they knew they’d been fucking awful and were fortunate that Southampton’s finishing was pub team standard.
     
    Watford’s woes continued as they lost 3-0 at home to Burnley. Serves them right really, as they clearly haven’t done their homework. I mean, how many times do you need to see that corner routine where Tarkowski arrives at the back post and heads it back for Wood to score? They do it every week, yet Watford fell for it. Soft cunts
     
    Barnes made it 2-0 from the penalty spot and Tarkowski got one himself when he arrived at - yep, you guessed it - the back post to convert a free-kick.
     
    Bournemouth v Wolves now. My first observation on this is that my boy Adama Traore has grown a set of long dreadlocks almost overnight. He showed up at Bournemouth looking like Taribo West. Where the fuck did that come from? I need to know. It must be extensions or something, surely? He had short hair two weeks ago. I'm spending far more time pondering this than I really should, to be perfectly honest.

    Moutinho’s brilliant free-kick set Wolves on the way to victory and Jimenez added a second after being picked out by Traore. Bournemouth’s task was made all the more difficult when Simon Francis was sent off for two silly yellow cards.
     
    Wolves had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside and VAR couldn’t do anything about it because the flag had gone up. This is why lino’s aren’t supposed to flag unless it’s blatant. It could have proved costly that, as Cook’s header gave Bournemouth hope and Ake could have equalised late on.
     
    Wolves held on though and are now in 5th spot despite that terrible start. I don’t like them, but I do like the manager who seems like a top fella.

    Onto Sunday now and the hilarious events at Bramall Lane. The Mancs have fallen and they can’t get up. Any time there’s a little glimmer of hope and they think they’re climbing out of the hole, someone appears with a shovel and smacks them over the head to send them tumbling back in.
     
    They went 2-0 down and the Blades were running all over them. It was embarrassing and people were speculating whether Solksjaer would even make it to full time without getting sacked.
     
    Then they came roaring back with three goals in seven minutes and United twitter was cock a hoop with excitement about their “wonder kids”. Then they let that Ollie McBurnie jabroni equalise right at the end. So funny. Massively disappointing to discover he doesn’t have a Scottish accent though. A name like that, and he’s got a Yorkshire accent. Just doesn’t seem right.
     
    Goldbridge’s meltdown when that goal went in and then with the subsequent VAR review of it was an all timer. If you haven’t already seen this, you’re welcome.
     
     
    They’ve fallen so far that they were playing a Europa League game on Thursday before the kids had even finished school. It’s less humiliating to miss out on the Europa entirely than to have to play on a Thursday afternoon. What makes it even worse is they were playing a team I’d never even heard of. What makes it worse still is they lost! I fucking love how irrelevant they’ve become now.
     
    Finally, Villa beat Newcastle on Monday night. Didn’t see any of it, don’t really care who won. It’s a shame they both couldn’t lose but whatever.
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