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    Sports betting can be a good way of earning extra income, but winning is not always an easy task. Many individuals who bet in sports often experience losses. However, it is also possible to win.
     
    To achieve this, there are certain things you should consider to improve the chances of success. Read on to learn how to become better and start winning money from sports betting.
     
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    Specialize in One Game
     
    The truth about sports betting is that it is impossible to become an expert in every field. This simply means that you should focus on at least one game or two. You will also get enough time to research as much as possible in your area of interest. Betting is not only about luck, but analysis of data as well that can help you make accurate predictions. You must know your game if you are interested in winning. When you do something that you enjoy, you are likely to succeed.
     
    Create a Proper Betting Strategy
     
    Betting is not a get-rich-quick scheme where you can randomly enter and exit whenever you feel like doing so. To achieve your goals, you need a strategy and a good plan, which should guide you in everything you do. More importantly, you should understand the value of betting so that you can make informed decisions.
     
    Do Extensive Research
     
    You must conduct extensive pre-match research if you want to become a successful bettor. Additionally, you must stay up to date with the latest news regarding different teams, upcoming games, and the players. Never fool yourself and conduct half-baked research, since this can lead to your demise. It is a good idea to equip yourself with the knowledge that can help you win. However, it’s unnecessary to stress yourself about knowing everything. The other important thing is to avoid betting with emotions since this can negatively impact your performance.
     

     
    Sports betting is a beautiful way of earning extra income. However, this is not always the case since there are certain things you should do to increase your chances of winning. You should choose an area that you are familiar with and ensure you do some research before you part with your money.
  • We needed that. I needed that. After two poor results this was a big game for us. I don’t want to over-state it by saying it was going to be pivotal to our season, as there’s an awful lot of footy still to be played, but it was probably bigger than most people realised. It’s rare that we have two bad results in a row, but three would definitely suggest a chink in the armour.
     
    More than that though, for me personally anyway, this is Arsenal. You have to beat Arsenal. You can’t not beat them as it’s just completely unacceptable. It’s the cardinal sin in my eyes. If you say “Hey Siri, show me a team that looks like it’s been created just so Liverpool can batter them” you’ll get Arteta’s Arsenal. I still haven’t got over us losing to them in our title winning season. I was so offended by that it took some of the shine off number 19. Ok, not really. Well, yeah a little bit. That was the night when we blew the chance to reach one hundred point mark. 
     
    If we’d taken care of business that night we’d have ended the season on 101 points. I know most people don’t care about that, and in the grand scheme of things neither do I, but it did really fucking irk me that Arsenal beat us and were then smelling themselves like they’d done something special when really we handed them the points by being wasteful at one end and sloppy as fuck at the other. They didn’t even play well. They were fucking shite.
     
    So yeah, I didn’t take that one well at all. Losing to a Watford or West Ham I can handle. In fact, losing to most teams I can handle as it can happen. Losing to Arsenal though should never happen. I’m not saying Arsenal are as bad as Norwich as clearly they aren’t. They’re probably a top seven or eight team, maybe even a little higher than that. But the way they play means they should never even get within two or three goals of us, let alone take any points. So I loved this simply because it went EXACTLY the way it’s supposed to.
     
    When we play this incarnation of Arsenal, this is what should happen. Every time. Why? Just fucking look at how they play. The sheer arrogance, stubbornness and delusion of that tit manager of theirs is mind boggling. We’ve seen this movie before. He does this shit every time they come to Anfield and each time I’m sat there wondering just what he’s playing at.
     
    It takes a planet sized ego to go up against a team as great as ours and insist on playing like that even when it’s continually getting punished. I remember being completely staggered by it the last time it happened but the arrogance to come here again and do the exact same thing, and then blame the players afterwards for it not working… just what a fucking knobhead.
     
    Don’t get me wrong, we were really good in the second half and it was great to see. What I’m saying is that this is what should happen when a team comes to Anfield and does this. I used the analogy on the podcast that Arsenal were basically throwing chum over the side of the boat, waiting for the sharks to work themselves into a frenzy and then just throwing themselves in the water. Thats what the second half felt like. It was football suicide from them but unlike Arteta I don’t blame their players. They’re just playing to his orders.
     
    It’s actually annoying it took us as long as it did to make them pay. In fact, for half an hour we made them look relatively competent because we just didn’t have any intensity in our play. I don’t know if it was the international break or if it was tactical, but we just seemed lethargic and slow in possession. We weren’t moving the ball quickly enough and there was too much passing around at the back. 
     
    We were pressing them quite well and won it back in the final third a few times, and I thought we looked like we might do something from a set-piece, but in possession it wasn’t sharp enough. Arsenal were comfortable even if they offered virtually no threat of their own. The only moments of relative danger came whenever we gave it away cheaply and they were able to have a bit of a run at us. It only happened a couple of times and they didn’t really go close to scoring. I can recall one dangerous ball in that Ox got back and dealt with well, and very little else.
     
    But we weren’t creating much either. They insisted on trying to play out from the back every single time they had a goal kick and that looked like our most likely source of a goal. In fact, I’d have been tempted to instruct our lads to stop passing it around on halfway and just twat it out for goal kicks all the time and try to catch them out that way, because the stubborn fucks insisted on doing the same thing every time. They didn’t mix it up at all, it was just passing it around in their box, they’d work it to one of their midfielders and we’d either win the ball back there, or they’d knock it forward under pressure and it would be picked up by our lads.
     
    Have Arsenal ever scored a goal by playing it out from the keeper like that? It isn’t a successful tactic and I don’t know why Arteta persists with it other than to satisfy his own vanity. 
     
    But for half an hour we weren’t making them pay. And then came the game changing moment. Sadio made an innocuous aerial challenge on their right back and he may or may not have made incidental contact. There was fuck all in it though. The kind of challenge you see a dozen times every game. But Arteta went ballistic, yelling at the ref and waving his arms about. A few of his players did too, and it’s just blatantly obvious this was a ploy they came up with before kick off. They’d tried it earlier on too, but when this one happened right in front of the bench they took the opportunity to go nuts.
     
    And so did Klopp. When he saw what was happening he went charging at Arteta yelling “What do you want?? What do you want for that??” The surprising thing was that Arteta then lost it even more and went for Klopp. He had to be dragged away for his own safety. Klopp would have knocked that spray painted wig right off his stupid little Thunderbirds looking face.
     
    What it did though was wake the crowd up. The atmosphere had fizzled out after a lively start and both crowd and players were a bit flat. Until that happened and everyone was suddenly riled up. Within seconds of the restart we’d put together our best move of the game. It was everything we hadn’t been doing previously. We moved the ball quickly and purposefully up the field, Kostas reached the byline and cut it back to Salah who’s shot was blocked by Ramsdale. He’d earlier made a close range stop to deny Mané and also turned over a shot by Trent after a good run.
     
    He was Arsenal’s best player but he should have done much better with at least two of the goals, including the opener which arrived not long after the spat between the managers. Matip strode forward on a trademark mazy one but was tripped by Aubamayeng. That might be the only time I even saw the Arsenal skipper all game actually. What a fucking waste of space that cunt it. He’s the living embodiment of modern day Arsenal him. Utterly pointless cunt who will score a bagful in the Europa League and against some of the dregs of the league, but never do anything in any game of any importance. And he’s the captain too. Never change Arsenal.
     
    Anyway, from the free-kick Trent whipped the ball in and Sadio powered a good header across goal. Ramsdale should have saved it but didn’t, and the deadlock was broken. I know you can’t ever be sure, but as soon as we got the first I never had any doubt we wouldn’t go on and smack them about after that. It’s Arsenal, it’s what they do.
     
    The second half was just complete domination. They couldn’t get out of their own half because they insisted on trying to make 15 passes before even thinking about playing it forward, and very few teams are capable of doing that. In fact, the only teams I can remember who had any joy playing out from the back are City and Brighton, and City don’t really try to do it much anymore because they’ve been caught out too many times.
     
    It’s like if you’re playing tennis against someone with an amazing backhand, you don’t hit it on that side unless you have to. We’re fucking incredible at the high press but Arteta just kept playing into the trap and then pinned the blame on his players for handing us goals. I mean, it’s partly true but he’s the one telling them to play like that, the bad snide twat. I’d be proper pissed off if I was one of his players hearing that.
     
    The second goal was a gift to be fair. But then Arteta is the one who picked that lad who I’d never even heard of until this week. He had Tierney available but instead chose to put some inexperienced nobody up against the best player in the world. Then that inexperienced nobody pass the ball straight to Jota and it’s 2-0.
     
    How boss was that though? So calm, so composed. What was also good about it is that he seemed to anticipate what was going to happen and he positioned himself where the ball went. He wasn’t just stood there and got lucky. He moved into that area before the lad passed it there. And then he threw two dummies to beat White and Ramsdale and tapped into the empty net. Brilliant.
     
    In that spell we looked like scoring every time Arsenal had the ball. Because you knew we were going to rob it from them in their half and create something. Ox was within a whisker of a morale boosting goal but he shot just wide having done everything right. I’d have loved that one to go in for him. Jota looked like he was going to add a second but a heavy touch allowed Ramsdale to come out and smother. They collided and it looked pretty bad for both of them.
     
    Ramsdale continued, Jota did too briefly but was taken off not long after. I saw a video on youtube earlier in the week of Ramsdale playing golf with that Tubes fella from Soccer AM. I only watched a bit of it before I got bored, but I thought Ramsdale came across well and seemed like a decent lad. Then I watched him come out for the second half and run towards the Kop, who at that point were still booing Arsenal onto the field. They weren’t booing him and he was always going to get a good ovation. But he started applauding while many were still booing, and he continued applauding all the way to his goal. Not gonna lie, I loved that. Made me think “yeah, he’s a good lad him”.
     
    While I don’t think he covered himself in glory on the first two goals, he did make a lot of saves and he’s the reason it wasn’t six or seven, because it quite easily could have been. Jota was denied by a terrific Ramsdale save before Mo made it 3-0. That third goal was Sadio in microcosm really. Great run in behind to get on the end of Jota’s clever header, a heavy touch that looked like it had ruined the chance, and then a brilliant cross to give Mo a tap in.
     
    It’s actually quite brilliant when you watch the replay from the angle behind the goal as Sadio immediately knows he has over ran the ball and the chance of a shot had gone but straight away he’s looking across to see where Mo is. He has another look as he gets near the ball and then puts it on a plate for him. Class.
     
    Ox was replaced by Hendo and Taki replaced Jota. Within seconds the skipper was playing a perfect ball over the top for Sadio to run onto again. This time he waited, played it to Mo who in turn rolled it into the path of the overlapping Trent. His cross was perfectly weighted for Taki to arrive at the back post for an easy finish. Everyone was clearly made up for him to score and it was a nice moment for him. 
     
    He arrived just before Covid hit, ended up stranded here in lockdown when he didn’t even speak the language. Then he’s playing in empty stadiums, trying to find his feet in a new league and trying to break into the best starting eleven in world football. He ends up on loan at Southampton, still playing in empty stadiums, then he comes back here and is hardly playing again. It must be really tough, but he always seems to have a smile on his face and he’s a boss little footballer. I like him a lot and hopefully we can get him a bit more playing time over the coming weeks to see if he can build on what has been an encouraging season so far in limited opportunities.
     
    Klopp was able to give Tyler Morton a Premier League debut late on and he slotted in seamlessly in place of Thiago. I think this lad is probably much better than any of us realise you know. He’s definitely got something about him and Klopp seems to have a lot of belief in him. It’s a shame the five subs rule wasn’t voted in or we may have seen Bradley and Beck get a chance too.
     
    All in all this was a perfect day assuming Jota’s injury is just a knock and nothing more serious. I’m happy with four goals even if it could have been more. 4-0 is about standard really when we place these fannies. It’s level par, so I’m pleased, especially as all four forwards got a goal. The clean sheet is good too, but it wasn’t a particularly taxing day for the defence.
     
    Alisson had little to do. There was a decent save to keep out a drive by Partey. It was one of those saves that most keepers love because they can arch their back, throw their legs up in the air, tip the ball over the bar and smile for the cameras as they fall back down to earth. Alisson just shuffled across, tipped it over the bar and didn’t even leave his feet. Imagine Pickford there, or that Darlow knob at Newcastle.
     
    He also made another good stop later on but I can’t remember if that was offside or not. I don’t think the flag went up but maybe it would have if they’d scored. We were at least 2-0 up at that point anyway but the clean sheet is important after some recent wobbles and besides, I didn’t want Arsenal getting anything at all from this. The pricks.
     
    To think I was actually apprehensive about this before kick off. Not because I bought into any of the shite we’ve been hearing about ‘new look Arsenal’ and how their new young team are suddenly not pushovers any more and they have more steel about them. I’ll concede they aren’t the utter clowns how they were when they had Mustafi and David Luiz back there, but they’re still Arsenal.
     
    I wasn’t worried about them. I was worried about us. We hadn’t played well in the last couple of league games so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My head was telling me it would be normal service resumed and we’d swat them aside because… well, they’re Arsenal, but I did have this nagging worry that we might completely shit down our own leg and then I’d have to call for everybody’s head because losing to this Arsenal side is just not something I’d be able to process rationally. 
     
    It wasn’t that I didn’t think we’d win, it was that I kept thinking “imagine if we don’t. Imagine if we somehow let these fucking bums get something”. Thankfully that didn’t happen and I’m a happy camper today. Obviously this doesn’t compare to winning 5-0 at Old Trafford but there’s a different kind of enjoyment about it. I was buzzing after spanking United. This isn’t that. It’s just a sense of satisfaction at a job well done. As I keep saying, this is what is supposed to happen when we play them so it feels good that the lads did the job they should be doing.
     
    It was important to get back to winning ways and we’ve done that. The squad is stretched at the moment and we had nine players missing for this one. The bench was seriously inexperienced but we’ve still got enough players to put out a really strong eleven, with two or three good options on the bench too. 
     
    Ox is now making the kind of contribution we expect from a starting player. I’m not saying he’s been brilliant or anything, but the performances he’s been putting in of late are definitely ones you can live with. I actually thought he was really good in this one despite three or four slack moments when his passing went astray. His pressing was outstanding and he brought great energy, especially in the second half when we just robbed Arsenal’s lunch money. Ox was the one picking them up and hanging them upside down by their ankles to see what fell out of their pockets.
     
    Kostas was really good again, as was Thiago. He had one sloppy moment when he was dispossessed in the first half and Arsenal countered on us, but other than that I don’t think he lost possession once. The front three were all dangerous. Jota was the quietest but he scored again. Like I say, it feels as though he scores every time he plays. Sadio was wildly erratic but caused absolute fucking mayhem and ran Arsenal ragged. Mo just looked like the most skilful man on the pitch, which he usually is these days regardless of who we’re playing. Some of his touches and control when running at full speed just defy belief. 
     
    Star man is Fabinho though. When he plays like that nobody can beat us. I just wish we could play Arsenal every week, because the only way we would ever drop points is if we were complete dogshit. I still can’t believe Arteta thinks he can play like that against us and not get absolutely twatted. Guardiola learned that lesson very quickly and he’s got vastly superior players in his side. Hopefully Arteta never learns because I quite enjoy putting four or five past them every time they come to Anfield.
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Henderson), Thiago (Morton); Salah, Jota (Minamino), Mané:
     
     
     
  • After a couple of disappointing results the Reds got right back on track with a spanking of Arsenal at Anfield, as the front lads all helped themselves to a goal and Alisson bounced back with a clean sheet.
     
    TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by Julian Richards and Paul Natton to reflect on a hugely gratifying win in which there were many stand out performers. Tsimikas caught the eye again, Thiago enjoyed himself on his return to the starting line up, Sadio, Mo and Diogo ran riot, but special credit is reserved the man who did more than anyone to turn the game in Liverpool's favour - Gunners boss Mikel Arteta. Cheers lad!
     
     
  • Monday Nov 15:
     
    So just Robbo, Hendo and Sadio injured on international duty then. Sound. Harvey is back in light training though, which is great news. Not especially surprising as when that Gomes tit had a similar injury he was only out for around three months or so from what I remember. It’s one of those injuries that looks far worse than it is. I mean, it looks fucking horrendous, like you’ll never even walk again, but it’s nowhere near as serious as when a ligament in your knee goes ‘ping’. 
     
    Virgil walked off when he did his ACL, and last week Ogbonna played on for 10 minutes when he did his. That’s a nine month layoff, yet Harvey’s foot was pointing the wrong way and he’s back on the training field a couple of months later. Can’t wait until he’s back on the field again as the way he started the season was frightening really. 
     
    England won 10-0 tonight against San Marino. Firstly, these qualifiers are a waste of time for the ‘seeded’ nations. There’s no way England are ever not going to qualify for one of these tournaments now based on the groups they always get. It’s the same fucking teams all the time. Poland, San Marino, Andorra, Estonia… just a waste of time. 
     
    I’m just looking at all of the groups now and the whole thing is an exercise in futility. The only ‘big’ teams who haven’t basically had a bye all the way to the World Cup are Italy and Portugal, who have both been forced into the playoffs after finishing below Switzerland and Serbia. England have played ten qualifying games, and for what? Everyone knew they were going through at a canter. It feels like the sole purpose of these games is for Sir Harold of Hotspur to pad his fucking stats and become England’s all time leading goalscorer.
     
    Tuesday Nov 16:
     
    At least Neco has been enjoying himself for Wales though. They’ve made the playoffs after finishing second to Belgium. He’s been playing left wing back of late and has done really well. He scored last week and played really well again tonight. Depending on how long Robbo is out, he might see a bit of time playing on the left as Kostas probably isn’t going to play every game.
     
    He was trending on twitter so I’ve just been having a look through and it’s mostly Welsh fans talking about a) how great he is, and b) how he needs to leave Liverpool. I understand why people think that, but it’s an outdated way of thinking and doesn’t really stack up anymore. Why should he leave if he’s that great? By that I mean if he continues to play at the level he has this week then he’ll get games here as a squad player. 
     
    And you know what, I reckon he’d prefer 15/20 games a season with us than playing every week for some lower half of the table bums, especially as his international place won’t be at risk whether he plays for us or not. Neco is better off staying here until it is no longer in his hands, because leaving Klopp doesn’t usually go well for anyone.
     
    The caretaker Wales boss got involved too, saying “we’ve got to get him playing”. Why, because it seems to me like he’s doing pretty damn fucking well for you already. He trains every day against Salah and Mané, but apparently his game will only improve if he goes to play for fucking Norwich or Newcastle, training against dog shite and only playing against the top players maybe a dozen times a season. The game has changed and “playing more games” is actually a bit over-rated now when you factor everything in. If he gets to 23 or 24 and he’s hardly playing then sure, he need to rethink it. But for now he’s doing just fine.
     
    There was also a lot of shite being spouted by our fans too. I particularly liked the one saying Neco is better than Reece James in every department, even though James has been fucking phenomenal for the past year or so at Chelsea and played a big part in them becoming European Champions. And fair play to the LFC fan site who penned an article comparing Neco with Gareth Bale and suggesting he might be able to replace Mo when he goes to AFCON in January. That’s some Echo worthy clickbaiting right there.
     
    Better that than the fucking virgins slagging him off though I guess.
     
    Meanwhile, Curtis isn’t going to be back for a few more weeks. This is horrible as I keep thinking how painful that must have been. I’m so fucking squeamish about anything eye related and that must have been a bad one if it’s keeping him out for, what, six weeks? The good news is the doctor says there’s no permanent damage and when it heals he’ll be fine. But why is it taking so long to heal though? What exactly did he do to it? Actually I don’t want to know. *shudders* 
     
    Wednesday Nov 17:
     
    Robbo won’t play this weekend but that’s ok because I read on twitter that he’s been shit this season and Kostas is better than him now. So this is actually a good thing as we don’t have to worry about him bringing our level down with his shitness and terrible crossing. Same with Hendo and his sideways passing, killing all our attacks. Mad the way some people (like that fool Klopp) think Robbo and Hendo being out is some kind of blow and weakens us.
     
    Jonathon Woodgate says Sancho doesn't fit United's style and would have been great for us. Isn't he some kind of scout for us or something? I'm sure I read that somewhere.
     
    “Jadon Sancho is an extraordinary talent; if you play to his strengths, then he’ll come good. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll come good again. Put him in the Liverpool team, and he’d be a completely different player, I’m sure.”
     
    All this is true, but it highlights the difference in finances between the two clubs. They spent all that money on a lad they didn't need and who doesn't fit how they play. We spent fuck all. And when the next window comes around, they'd have the money to go and buy another Sancho if they wanted.
     
    The disadvantage we're at really should make it almost impossible for us to compete, but we've got Klopp and he's incredible. He might actually be the best we've ever had but he'll never have the medal collection to prove it because of the teams he's having to compete against.
     
    I'd argue with anyone that this is the best team we've ever had, the title win a couple of years ago was the best we've had, and yeah, that probably makes Klopp the best we've had. He isn't the greatest, but he' the best.
     
    Thursday Nov 18:
     
    Bernard Mendy is charged with two more counts of rape (that’s six for anyone keeping count) but some news reports have used photos of the Chelsea keeper Edouard or the Real Madrid full back Ferlan. I just don’t know how this can possibly happen. It’s inexcusable and people should be sacked over it. 
     
    I don’t there’s any race element to this at all, but it’s just gross incompetence. If it was a white lad named, say, Thomas or Saunders, I think the same thing would have happened as its just fucking lazy. If you type in Bernard Mendy Manchester City you’ll get a picture of Bernard Mendy from Manchester City. The only way you’re getting another Mendy is if you just type in Mendy footballer or something stupid like that.
     
    There just isn’t any excuse for it, especially when it’s a story as serious as this. I’d be fucking suing if I’m the Chelsea keeper. Having your photo used in connection to multiple rape accusations? Fuck that, it’s outrageous. 
     
    Meanwhile, City have signed a sponsorship deal with a cryptocurrency company that seems to have a fictional group of directors. No-one can find any info on them online because it looks like it’s a load of jarg names. Nothing to see here though, move along. Move along.
     
    Saw this today from some Arsenal player called Tavares. “Salah will play against me. I don’t have problems with anyone. We have a good team. Liverpool have a good team as well. We need to fight on the pitch. Salah doesn’t know who I am. I’m young, maybe he doesn’t know (me).” If Mo doesn’t know him, that makes two of us. 
     
    There was more. “I don’t know why some people are so shocked about Arsenal. We are a big club and have good players! For us, it’s normal and simple to win games. We are in the top five. For us, we want to achieve top one so I don’t know why people are surprised. We go to Anfield trying to win the game. That’s it.” 
     
    Won a few games and started smelling themselves. Modern Arsenal to a tee. We better fucking put them back in their box this weekend or I’m not going to know how to deal with that indignation. This team of ours failing to beat Arsenal is probably the biggest crime I can think of.
     
    Friday Nov 19:
     
    Barca are linked with Mo and Thiago. I don’t think they can afford either, but I could see FSG being tempted at the prospect of getting Thiago’s wages off the books. So far it hasn’t worked out anything like anyone hoped but there’s still time for him to turn that around as he’s obviously a class player. He just needs an injury free run, but I defo reckon the club would listen if Barca came in. There’s no way in hell they can afford Mo though. Then again, if they wait 13 months they can get him on a pre-contract for nothing.
     
    We’re being linked with Adams again. He is stalling on a new deal with Wolves and Barca are reportedly sniffing around along with us. His price tag is £30m now, which is a drop of around £40m on a year or so ago. The rate his value is plummeting if we wait until the summer Wolves will be paying us to take him.
     
    Klopp’s press conference was interesting. He was asked about Neco’s performances and made some cryptic comment about how right back might not be his best position. Has he been reading those Gareth Bale comparison blogs?
     
    He was in a good mood but was definitely irritated by a couple of things. The international break for one, which he admitted he “hates”. I’m sure he hates it even more when it’s as pointless as this one. England playing Andorra and San Marino. I mean fucking hell.
     
    The other thing that irked him was being asked about Stevie being his successor and does him being in the Premier League make that more likely.
     
    "You'll never hear me say it's a stepping stone. I'm really honoured and proud," said Gerrard. "I'll give this job everything it needs to be a success, I don't think there's anything wrong with having dreams and aspirations. Liverpool have a world class coach and if he was to sign a lifetime deal I would be very happy for them and him."
     
    So we won’t hear him say it’s a stepping stone, but he didn’t say it wasn’t did he? The line about dreams and aspirations makes it clear really. If it goes well at Villa he’s going to get asked about this all the time and so will Klopp, and it’s going to piss them both off.
     
    Klopp bristled today when the idea of him extending his contract was brought up. "Wow! I thought Stevie said a lot of nice things, and really smart things, but you make that into this”. This is a topic that needs taking out back, shooting, and burying at the bottom of the garden. He’s never going to answer that question and if he does stay beyond that contract we won’t find out until they announce he’s signed an extension.
     
    “I don’t have to think about these kinds of things at the moment, thank God, because we are in the middle of this season and that’s all that we are focused on. No other manager gets asked that often about things that are happening in two-and-a-half years, three years or four years… I didn’t think about it until you asked me now, and I don’t want to think about it. It’s all fine how it is. It’s over when it’s over, but it’s far away from being over, so let’s focus on that."
     
    No-one else gets asked about it because most managers don’t have job security. They’re happy to still be there at the end of the season without getting sacked, but Klopp is untouchable and fans would gladly give him a 10 year contract here and now if there was any chance of him signing it.
     
    Mind you, Jack Wilshere wouldn’t take him at Arsenal. He was asked if he’d swap Arteta for Klopp and said “No”. Then said the same thing about Guardiola. Gotta ex love players being made to look like wankers because they have to defend their mates. Not even Gary Neville would say no to Klopp though.
     
     
    ….and that was the week that was.
  • Monday Nov 8:
     
    Villa sacked Dean Smith and Stevie is their number one target to replace him apparently. This was mentioned in the group chat and John G immediately sneered “He should tell them to fuck off and then sing Happy Birthday”. I don’t have anything to add to that, he’s fucking nailed it. Birthday party on trains having fucking losers. They don't deserve Steven Gerrard, the unfunny banter merchant wankers.
     

     
    Meanwhile, Adrianna told me today that a lad in her school has just started supporting Wigan. She asked him why, and he said (no word of a lie) “supporting Everton is too depressing so I’m going to support Wigan”. I mean, Wigan have almost gone out of business more than once, they’re in League One with very little prospect of ever scaling the ‘heights’ they did not so long ago but they’re still less depressing to follow than Everton. They've also won a trophy more recently too.
     
    This kid was a proper blue as well. He went to games, had an Everton pencil case for school, wore the kit on own clothes days, the works. And now he fucking hates them because they made him miserable. He was  even arguing with one of his mates at the weekend because he said he wanted them to lose to Spurs. As Elton once famously sang, I guess that’s why they call them the Blues.
     
    Kevin Phillips reckons Fulham’s teenage star Fabio Carvalho could end up following Harvey Elliott to Anfield. He’s not signed a new deal with Fulham and loads of top clubs are sniffing around. I’ve never seen him play but I’m all in on signing wonderkids so get it done. It makes sense to do this kind of deal now because it helps solve the problem of the front three getting old together.
     
    In theory, if Kaide Gordon and Carvalho panned out and become top players, it wouldn’t matter if we kept Sadio, Bobby and Mo until they were older because we’d have the ready made replacements and wouldn’t need to spend a fortune. I’d probably sign one of these potential stars every season, because even if only one in five pans out that’s going to be great value. 
     
    Tuesday Nov 9:
     
    So Ogbonna is out for the season with a torn ACL after that fall he took against us. You know who else should be out for the season and longer? The West Ham medical people who sent him back out there on a fucked knee. The only reason he came off was because Jota split his head open with an elbow, and that was a good few minutes after he’d blown out his knee. Compare that with what happened to Virgil. Basically the same thing. Virg walked off the field and it didn’t look that bad, but our medical staff knew he was fucked and they got him out of there. I can’t believe Ogbonna played on as long as he did with a torn ACL. It’s mad. He’s as brave as their medical staff are stupid.
     
    Also today, Calvert-Lewin is on the front page of some magazine dressed as a schoolgirl. I mean, fair play to him for not giving a fuck what anyone says or thinks, but this is still weird, right? It’s not just me that thinks “what the fuck is that about???” when they see it? It’s not the cross dressing aspect of it, I genuinely could not give a fuck about that at all. Each to their own. But he’s dressed as a schoolgirl, which on the weirdness scale is right there next to dressing up as a giant baby complete with nappy. 
     
    Am I missing something? What point he is trying to make here? Maybe there is a good point and I’m just not getting it, so if anyone can explain it then I’m all ears. It just seems weird, especially considering the situation one of his team-mates is in currently.
     
    It’s certainly caused a bit of a dilemma for the Blues who enjoy singing “Ladyboy” at Bobby though (they sang it to Torres as well remember). Calvert-Lewin has basically cut their balls off by doing this, which is pretty funny I guess.
     
    You know what I just remembered after mentioning Bobby and Everton fans? Remember when we beat them in the derby and he posted that super close up video of him and his misses necking and touching tongues? It was so fucking funny and they went batshit over it.
     
    Meanwhile, I saw this from Evra today…. "One day I was walking in Manchester in Deansgate and my brother said: 'oh it's Luis Suarez over there'. I was with two of my brothers. I looked at him and I was like 'that's it, this is the moment. And he walked, and behind him I saw his kids and his wife. And I turned my back. I was like 'if you do something to him you can't do this in front of his family. So I don't regret it because I think it would have ended up bad. I did nothing that day."
     
    Yeah that defo didn’t happen. Especially when he also said this about when the incident occurred… “"I was proud of myself because I was talking to myself - 'should I punch him? But Patrice, this is Liverpool vs Manchester, all the kids are watching this game, people won't understand’” 
     
    So he wouldn’t punch him in the moment he believed he’d been racially abused because he didn’t think people would understand, but doing it on the street, god knows how long after it happened, would have been ok and more understandable? Ok mate, sure.
     
    Wednesday Nov 10:
     
    BREAKING NEWS!! Michael Edwards is leaving at the end of the season. Didn’t we already know this? I’m sure this story was broken a while back, in the Athletic I think. It came out a couple of days after Hendo got his contract, which was definitely no co-incidence. There were loads of rumours around that time that it was Klopp insisted that deal get done and that Edwards was reluctant to sanction it. 
     
    I’m not surprised he wants out though. His reputation is never going to be higher than it is now (he can thank Klopp for that) but all of a sudden the job has become way harder than it was before. The budget isn’t there to sign players he’s identifying and his job now is little more than renegotiating contracts for players who want more money. It’s actually quite a shit job now and he’s on a hiding to nothing. 
     
    Think about it. He’s got FSG setting him a wage budget that he has to work within. He’s got agents wanting a big slice of that budget for clients with contracts due for renewal, and he’s got Klopp occasionally intervening and telling him that he needs to get deals done even when he doesn’t want to. Edwards didn’t want to pay Gini but because of that he had to pay Hendo or risk the ire of Klopp. 
     
    The longer he stays, the harder his job will get and the more his reputation will start to diminish. Don’t forget, he’s also going to have to deal with the issue of replacing Klopp fairly soon. And before that it’s the Salah contract. If Mo ends up leaving it will be Edwards and FSG who get the blame, no Mo or Klopp. 
     
    So I’d leave too if I were him. He can write his own cheque if he wants to go and work for Newcastle, especially as his mate Eddie Howe is manager there now. Not sure he will though as I hear that he quite fancies the idea of becoming another Jorge Mendes. That open letter he put on the club website today though. Fucking hell. Boring, self indulgent bastard. After reading that I’m glad he’s leaving. Nerd.
     
    Thursday Nov 11:
     
    Stevie takes the Villa job. Rangers fans aren’t taking it well. After giving them a title and stopping Celtic getting ten in a row, you’d think they’d be grateful and just wish him well, but apparently he initially said that he was staying so they see it is a bit of a betrayal. Which it kind of is in a way. Thing is though, no manager who goes to the Scottish league sees it as his final destination. They all want bigger things and when the opportunity comes they’ll take it. Doing it mid-season is a bit of a shitty thing to do, but if he turned Villa down now he might not ever get a better offer than this.
     
    So he has left Ibrox and taken the coaching staff with him, which has left Rangers in the lurch. He does leave them top of the table with a four point cushion, but chances are they’ll lose that in a hurry while they try to find and then bed in a new manager. So I get why their fans wouldn’t be taking it too well, but this is just how it is. They might appoint someone from a club lower down the food chain than them, but I bet they won’t think any less of whatever manager they persuade to leave his club mid-season.
     
    I don’t like the idea of Gerrard managing Villa purely because I don’t like Villa fans. From his point of view it’s a great move as it’s a much better club than he has earned the right to manage. He’s got this job because he’s Steven Gerrard, not because he managed Rangers for a few years and won one trophy there. He did a good job at Rangers but he’s got a whole lot still to prove and his managerial CV isn’t anywhere near impressive enough to have landed that job. 
     
    We did a podcast on this tonight though so I’m not going to say too much more here, but the short version is I don’t think he’ll ever be at the level that we need a manager to be, because for that to happen he’d need to be as great a manager as he was a player. And even if he does a great job at Villa I wouldn’t want him managing us because I don’t want a situation where fans are either slagging him off and calling for his head, or doing the opposite even when they know he isn’t up to the job. Look at United now, I don’t want that for us (even though Stevie has already shown he’s a better manager than Solskjaer). The minute it starts to not go well it would be civil war in the fanbase. 
     
    Friday Nov 12:
     
    Lot of publicity today about the 7 year old kid in our Academy labelled the next Messi. He’s got over 5 million followers on Instagram and Sky Sports have been bigging him up this week. 
     
    It’s easy to say that he’s got no chance of making it now because when kids get this kind of hype they usually don’t live up to it, but Tiger Woods did it so it does occasionally happen. Tiger was a TV star when he was two! Then his development was well publicised all the way through as his dad was running around telling everyone his boy would be the greatest golfer who ever lived. And turns out he was right. Tiger was even better than anyone expected him to be. He was also a complete fucking sociopath with all sorts of emotional baggage and weird behaviour that comes with being a child star.
     
    This kid looks brilliant but he should be allowed to just develop naturally and out of the spotlight. Shut the fucking instagram account down for fucks sake, and tell Sky to do one until he’s at least 15. It doesn’t matter how much skill a young kid has got because it isn’t enough. There’s the mental side of it and the physical side. What if he doesn’t have any pace? I don’t mean what if he isn’t Mo Salah quick, I mean what if he just doesn’t have any speed and is slow as fuck? You can have all the skill in the world but if you can’t run you’ve got no chance.
     
    It just seems wrong putting this kind of spotlight and pressure on a kid of that age and while his dad might think it’s cool to have all this exposure on social media now, it’s hard to envisage how this can possibly help the boy in the long run. Just let him be a normal kid for fuck’s sake. 
     
    On the field tonight England hammered Albania. Not sure what the score was, I only know they were even playing because I saw some clips on twitter of an incredulous Roy Keane slating Harry Maguire. He’s 100% right too. It’s not often I have any empathy with United fans but I tell you what, they’ve got every justification in feeling pissed off about this. I’m pissed off, and I can’t stand United. Maguire is one cheeky, deluded dope. Cupping his ears as if to say “how do you like me now?” because he scored a header against Albania. Fucking hell, where to even start with that.
     
    There’s so many levels to why this is wrong. Firstly, the world’s most expensive defender thinking that anything he does at the OTHER END is any kind of justification of anything is mental. Secondly, it was Albania anyway. Thirdly, Maguire himself has been talking about how his form hasn’t been good enough, so unless he doesn’t believe that then why is he getting all uppity about criticism? Fourthly, the absolute fucking balls on this prick. As Keane said, he’s been a disgrace all season but he thinks scoring in a rout of Albania gives him the right to “send a message” to his critics. If I was a United fan I’d want him lynched.
     
    Meanwhile, Alisson says we’re going for the quadruple. He’s jinxed it now, the soft get. He played for Brazil last night and every time he took a goal kick their fans chanted “oooooooooooo lingo!”. You know, like that old “you’re shit ahhhhhhh” thing. Except what they were chanting actually translates to “ooooooooooo handsome!”. This needs to happen on the Kop as it's too funny.
     
     
    ….and that was the week that was.
  • Steven Gerrard is back in the Premier League as the new manager of Aston Villa, but is this the next step on the ladder to eventually landing his dream job back at Anfield?
     
    Chris Smith is joined by Ian Brown, Julian Richards and TLW Editor Dave Usher for a lively discussion as to whether this helps or hinders Gerrard in his quest to one day return to Liverpool, and the lads also go back and forth on if this is something we'd even want.
     
     
     
  • A pretty mad weekend this one. Chelsea held at home, we lost, Norwich won and then sacked their manager, Villa sacked a manager too but Manchester United didn’t. Funny old game.
     
    The Manc derby was a huge damp squib. It ended 2-0 but City played the entire second half in first gear. They did the same thing we did after Pogba was sent off, the only difference being we were 5-0 at the time and they would have been but for De Gea.
     
    United have been killed in both of these games. They absolutely had their pants pulled down and their arses smacked. They aren’t competitive, these two matches were so lopsided it’s incredible that Solskjaer is still in a job. At least when they played us their players showed a bit of anger and frustration. Against City they didn’t even look like it upset them.
     
    One yellow card, for Ronaldo. The rest of them never even laid a glove on City, much to the disgust of an incredulous Roy Keane who said “When I wasn’t having a good game I’d smash into somebody just to make myself feel better”. At least against us they got ratty and tried to kick us. This was meek as fuck.
     
    I just think their players know they have no chance because of the way they are being coached. Players know when they’re being well coached or when the manager doesn’t have a fucking clue. They all know that when they come up against us or City they’re taking a water pistol to a gun fight. They have to try and compete against world class players who have been drilled in a certain way of playing by the best coaches in the world, while they’re just basically going out and winging it.
     
    Because they definitely aren’t being competently coached, that much is clear. They’re the only team in the league that hasn’t scored from a set-piece this season even though they have two of the most aerially dominant players around in Maguire and Ronaldo. Set-pieces are all about coaching and practice and for United to be so inept at them is yet another indictment of how utterly useless Solskjaer is. 
     
    It’s virtually impossible for those players to compete when the extent of their manager’s tactical knowledge appears to be “we need to be tighter at the back today lads, so I’ll bring in an extra centre back”. Then when they’re 2-0 down its “we’re losing here lads so we need to be more attacking. I’m taking off the extra centre back”. Because honestly, that’s what happened here. It really is that simple. That’s what he did. 
     
    He wanted to be tighter at the back and thought the only way to do that was to add another defender. Never mind the fact that the opposition play with no striker and pack the midfield. No, good ol’ OGS left “McFred” in there in on their own, while Maguire, Bailly and Lindelof stood around scratching their balls with nobody to mark. 
     
    Where has that whole “McFred” thing come from by the way. I assume it’s like a Jedward reference because they come as a pair and you never see one without the other. United may as well have picked Jedward in midfield for this as they couldn’t have been any more ineffective. I don’t blame Fred or McTominay for that as they had no fucking chance. They were on a hiding to nothing because their manager is a complete pudding.
     
    Bailly put through his own net after just six minutes. He later posted a picture of it on social media, which was an interesting move. De Gea was the only thing standing between United and another mullering. City were just as dominant as we were but they weren’t as clinical. 
     
    Bernardo Silva made it 2-0 on the stroke of half time when he caught Luke Shaw daydreaming about his half time Big Mac and stole in at the back post. De Gea should have done better too but it’s hard to be too critical of him considering how many saves he made.
     
    Shaw was knocked out in the second half after a bang to the head. The medical staff came out and were trying to bring him back around but didn’t have any smelling salts. Should have just asked one of the venders to bring a hot dog to wave under his nose. He came back on and played for a few minutes before having to go off, clearly concussed. Footy needs to get its shit together on concussions because this happens too often. 
     
    You know what doesn’t happen too often? Norwich winning. But if they were going to win it was almost certainly going to be against Brentford or Watford, teams they finished above last season. Brentford started the season brilliantly but they’ve fizzled out a bit in recent weeks and this result will be a bit alarming for them I’d imagine.
     
    Normann put them ahead early with a nicely taken individual goal. Farke didn’t celebrate. He didn’t even smile. He knew what was coming didn’t he? Maybe not though, as he was talking afterwards about “don’t write us off. We have a lot of fight in us”. 
     
    Pukki was brought down and converted the pen to make it 2-0. Again, Farke didn’t react. Pukki should have made it 3-0 but shot wide. After that Brentford dominated and had the chances to get back into it. They only converted on of them though, when Henry volleyed in at the back post. 
     
    They sacked Farke a few hours after the game. Their record is terrible so he can’t complain too much, but when their entire business model is about being a yo-yo club is it really fair to fire a fella who has got them promoted twice? I don’t know, and I don’t particularly care really.
     
    Chelsea were held at home by Burnley and it's fair to say I was a lot more excited about that result at the time than I am now. We could have taken advantage of that but we lost to West Ham the day after. Now I’m just relieved that Burnley were able to hold them to a draw or we’d be even further behind the we are.
     
    In form Reece James created the opening goal with a lovely cross that was headed home by Havertz. It was all Chelsea in the first half and for most of the second too. They didn’t add to that Havertz goal though and paid the price late on when Vydra equalised. That’s what Burnley do if you don’t put them away. They’ll just hang around, defending for their lives, and if you get to 80 minutes and there’s only one goal in it then they’ll throw the kitchen sink at you when you get edgy.
     
    Chelsea’s squad is fucking massive. They’re starting the likes of Barkley, Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi at the moment but when they have everyone available some of them won’t even make the bench. 
     
    Wolves had won four out of five and have been in good form, but they met their match in another in form side, Palace.
     
    Zaha’s well worked opener was initially ruled out by the linesman but VAR overturned it. Wolves were then awarded a penalty but VAR came to Palace’s rescue again and (correctly) awarded a free-kick just outside. 
     
    Gallagher’s fourth of the season made it 2-0. He just seems to be involved in everything, he stands out a mile when you watch him as he’s such a busy bastard popping up all over the place. I don’t know if he’ll ever make it at Chelsea as they have so many players he could get lost in the shuffle, but he looks really good.
     
    Vieira said afterwards “we knew that it would be a really difficult game and we had a very good performan….” zzzzzzzz. Sorry, nodded off there.
     
    Brighton were held at home by Newcastle but all things considered they’ll probably be happy with that point as they could have lost it right at the end and actually finished the game with Lewis Dunk in goal.
     
    Baby Farage opened the scoring from the spot after he himself had been fouled. Brighton were in total control and playing some lovely football. You know who’s playing great? Lallana. Made up for him. Good to see my boy Lamptey fit again too.
     
    Hayden equalised totally against the run of play when Brighton didn’t deal with a set-piece, and it looked like Wilson was going to win with a breakaway in stoppage time when he ran clear and went past the keeper. 
     
    What happened next was laughable. The keeper knew he was beaten and flicked out a boot to trip Wilson. He just about caught him and knocked Wilson’s heel against his other leg, sending him sprawling. It’s a blatant foul and there was no hint of a dive as Wilson is clean through with an empty net. 
     
    David Coote waved play on though, which is utterly fucking mental. Worst decision that cunt has made since he was VAR at the Goodison derby last season. He was told to go and look at the screen and he reversed the decision and sent the keeper off.
     
    How is he not getting that right first time though? I get that it didn’t look like there was any contact, but you have to know the game. Wilson isn’t going to go sprawling like that in stoppage time when the goal is gaping. Maybe early in the game you’d try to get the keeper sent off, but in stoppage time when you can win the game? Come on.
     
    Coote is a clown. The balls on that keeper though, acting all pissed off and cursing all the way off the field. I’d suspend him for an extra game just for that. He knew what he did, and he was right to do it too. I have no idea what he feels upset about. Maybe I've misjudged the situation though. Could it be he was just worried about being chopped up and thrown in a suitcase?
     
    Newcastle have appointed Eddie Howe, who dodged the Saudi question by saying “I’m only interested in football”. Gonna have to refer to him as No So Nice Guy Eddie from now on then. Morally bankrupt twat.
     
    An Adam Armstrong screamer set Southampton on their way to a win at home to Villa. What a fucking strike that one. Sweet as you like. He’s a good little player him, he’s just been a bit wasteful so far this season but he’s always lively.
     
    El Ghazi was booked for a deliberate trip on Livramento and a few minutes later he did the exact same thing and did not get a second yellow. The second one might have been worse as he also poked him in the eye while tripping him up. He should have been subbed there and then and Dean Smith probably deserved the sack for that alone. 
     
    He left him on and he should have been sent off for a blatant dive when he thought contact was coming and went down. The contact didn’t come though and he knew what he’d done so immediately bounced back up. He should have been booked for it regardless though.
     
    Adams thought he’d made it 2-0 but Martinez made a brilliant save to tip it over. That was five defeats in a row for Villa so they took action and sacked Smith, and now Stevie has gone there. I won’t say much about that as it will be covered in the diary. I hope he fails spectacularly though as he might have forgotten about this but I haven’t…..
     

     
    Onto Sunday now and there was a cracking game at Elland Road between Leeds and Leicester.
     
    Raphinha was impressive again. He put Leeds in front with a free-kick although it was actually just a cross that eluded everyone. The lead didn’t last long (10 seconds to be exact) as Leicester went right up the other end and Barnes curled in a fucking belter. What a fucking goal that was. 
     
    Harrison missed from a yard out. Not having the same kind of impact he had last year. Maybe it’s the Samson effect. He’s chopped off the man bun and the goals have dried up. Mind you, other than Raphinha nobody is scoring for them. 
     
    My boy Bamford is being missed terribly. This must be hard for him having to watch his team unable to score. Right now he’s feeling like a Monday, but keep your chin up lad as someday you’ll be Saturday night again. Keep the Faith.
     
    VAR came to Leeds’ rescue in the second half when Lookman tapped in at the far post after Vardy had flicked on a corner. In real time that didn’t look anywhere close to offside as the Leeds defenders were coming out and Lookman was arriving from deeper. VAR got the lines out though and he was a fraction off. It was the right decision but for some reason it still somehow kind of felt wrong.
     
    Everton drew 0-0 at home to Spurs and Holgate was sent off for being a horrible dirty cunt. The biggest talking point was a pen being awarded to Everton and then overturned. It wasn’t a pen so VAR got it right, but it’s funny because when the ref stopped the game to blow for a pen, Richarlison had the ball with the net empty. When the game restarted Spurs were given the ball. You can imagine the boos!
     
    I have nothing to add to this one other than Everton are proper shit and Richarlison is the biggest cunt in football.
     
    Finally, a contentious win for Arsenal. The Gunners were awarded an early penalty when the hapless Danny Rose just ran over Lacazette in the box. It was proper funny that. Lacazette is standing still under a high ball, waiting for it to drop so he can control it, and Rose just runs into him full speed and delivers a clothesline. Must be the Tottenham in him, he just saw that shirt and couldn’t restrain himself. Sensational stuff.
     
    Even more sensational was Foster’s save from Aubamayeng’s spot kick. Brilliant that, it was between his hand and his leg but he adjusted both to make sure he kept it out. 
     
    There wasn’t really much in the game and neither side did enough to win. Arsenal got the points but frankly it was a fucking disgrace how they did it. There’s a foul in midfield on a Watford player. The ref doesn’t give it but the player stays down hurt. Arsenal play on. Watford win the ball back, Rose could have cleared upfield as he had time and space, but he rolled it out for a throw so his team-mate could get treatment. 
     
    The Watford player got up and didn’t need treatment, but nevertheless Rose had only put the ball out of play because he thought there was an injury. Arsenal took the throw in, deep in Watford territory, and didn’t give them the ball back. Absolute fucking shitbag move.
     
    Their attack breaks down and then Sarr gets fucking flattened as he tries to play a one two. The ref doesn’t give it and seconds later Smith Rowe is firing in a loose ball from 18 yards. VAR should disallow it for the foul on Sarr, and here’s the thing here: even if you aren’t completely sure it’s a foul, it’s close enough that you could give it just on the basis that Arsenal deserved fuck all because of their horrific lack of sportsmanship.
     
    I don’t give a shit about Watford one way or the other but that really wound me up as I don’t like to see injustice and that was definitely an injustice. Ranieri was rightly furious and Arteta’s wishy washy explanation of it just made me hate him even more. “We’re honest, too naive even because we are a young team. So this wasn’t pre-planned”
     
    It wasn’t pre-planned and I don’t think Arteta is to blame for it. It’s whoever took the throw in (Lacazette I think) that is to blame here. They knew what they were doing when they played on, and it pissed me off hearing Micah Richards saying this shows Arsenal aren’t soft or mentally weak anymore. That isn’t mental strength, that’s just being snide cunts. Fuck Arsenal.
     
    Odegaard thought he’d made it 2-0 but it was ruled out because a clearly offside Aubamayeng lunged in at full stretch to try and vulture it and got the slightest touch as it crossed the line. What a selfish cunt. He’s everything that’s wrong with Arsenal that prick. Having someone like that as their captain is fitting really as he’s a perfect representation of modern Arsenal.
     
    Arsenal are fucking bang average and they’re cowards. If we don’t beat them next week I want everyone fired. EVERYONE.
  • Steven Gerrard is putting at risk any hopes of becoming Liverpool manager if he leaves Rangers and joins Aston Villa according to Ally McCoist.
     
    Dean Smith was sacked on Sunday after three years at Villa where he returned the Midlands club to the Premier League and had a win percentage just over 39% during his tenure.
     
    Gerrard went into Rangers folklore last season by breaking the stranglehold that bitter rivals Celtic had on the Scottish Premiership guiding them to a unbeaten season and winning many managerial awards along the way.
     
    That led to Gerrard being linked to some Premier League jobs, firstly Newcastle and in recent days the Villa post.
     
    The momentum of Gerrard getting the job at Villa Park seems to gathering pace by the hour, however McCoist feels that he will be much better served by staying at Ibrox for the time being.
     
    Metro (via Talksport) reported the Rangers legend as saying:
     
    “Are you trying to tell me Aston Villa are a bigger club than Glasgow Rangers? Of course he should (stay at Rangers).
     
    “He wants the Liverpool job, what if he goes to Aston Villa if it doesn’t work out. He’s got a better chance of success at Rangers than he does at Aston Villa if he wants the Liverpool job.
     
    ‘So he goes to Aston Villa and it doesn’t work out he’s not going to get the Liverpool job. He could stay at Rangers, retain the league, straight into the Champions League, that’s great success and a better chance of the Liverpool job.”
     

     
    Gerrard has regularly said that managing Liverpool is his dream job however he has an awful lot to prove to even be considered for the job once Jurgen Klopp departs.
     
    He is even comfortable in the knowledge that it may never come his way.
     
    “Liverpool is my club. I had a great journey. Is it a dream for me to one day be the Liverpool manager? Yes, it is, but not yet and who's to say I'll ever be good enough. There's a lot of managers on this planet, we need to respect Jurgen first and foremost."
     
    Gerrard will be looking to follow the footsteps of his former manager in Brendan Rodgers who after coming down from a very successful reign at Celtic, has turned Leicester into a consistent top six club while also challenging for domestic trophies.
     
    Villa have often been referred to as the ‘sleeping giant’ of the Premier League, a club who have looked really promising at certain periods of a season, only to fail when the pressure is at its highest.
     
    So could the man who haunted the Claret and Blue so many times in his playing days (13 goals in 27 games across all competitions) be their ultimate saviour?
     
    Time will tell.
  • There are literally thousands of online casinos to choose from, and if it's your first time looking for one, it can be hard to tell which ones you can trust with your money.  The vast majority of online casinos are legitimate, but some are either unsafe, fraudulent or a waste of time. Thankfully, there are signs that will tell you whether a casino is worth your time or not pretty fast. Let's take a look at some of the red flags to watch out for when looking at online casinos.
     
    Unprofessional Looking Website
     
    One of the clearest signs of an untrustworthy casino is if you notice issues with their website or glitches with their app. If you see any typos or unstable design elements, then it's a clear red flag. Online casinos make enough money to have top-of-the-line websites and have their copy proofread, so this isn't something you should see.
     
    If you do, give any website you were thinking of playing a test drive, but only if you can avoid giving your payment information. This will allow you to see how smooth their software is. If you see choppy animations or bugs, then this is another bad sign. Unless the hardware you’re using is severely outdated, their app should run normally without major issues. If you see any, consider looking elsewhere.
     
    Suspicious Licence
     
    You should only play at licenced online casinos, and their licence has to come from a respected regulatory body. If you can’t find the licence, you should leave immediately as this is the clearest sign of a fraudulent site.
     
    If the casino is not licenced by the UKGC, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, or the Malta Gaming Authority, then it should be cause for concern. Other respected regulatory bodies include the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and Curaçao Gaming Control Board. If their licence was not issued by one of these bodies, then you might have to think twice about playing there. 
     
    If you don't want to go through the trouble of searching for a site’s licence or researching licencing bodies, then you should check out a review site like OnlineCasinos. All the casinos OnlineCasinos reviews are licenced, and they only showcase casinos that are up to a certain standard of quality. You’ll also get a quick snapshot of what it’s like to play at each casino, along with some of the special offers they have for new players.
     
    Poor Customer Service
     
    If you notice that the site has poor or non-existent customer service, then you shouldn’t play there, plain and simple. Plenty of things can go wrong at an online casino. You could have issues with payments or withdrawals, or don’t receive a payout after winning. You should be able to speak with a customer service rep at any time of the day and through multiple methods.
     
    A good online casino will allow you to contact their reps through phone, email, and live chat. So, when first playing at a casino, try their live chat function and see if it’s working and how long it takes for a human to answer you.
     
    We also suggest that you give the casino a call so you can gauge the quality of their customer service better. Try to ask them very precise questions, such as the RTP ratios on games, how long it takes for withdrawals to be cleared, or questions about their bonus structure. The person on the other side should be able to answer these questions with no problem and in clear English. If for some reason you can't reach a human or they seem confused, play elsewhere.
     
    Outlandish Bonuses
     
    Most online casinos will offer bonuses to new players. These will usually be in the form of a deposit match bonus. You might see casinos offer anywhere from 100% to 300% of your initial deposit as a bonus. But, if you see a casino offer anything much higher than that, then you should be careful.
     
    It doesn’t necessarily mean that the site is fraudulent, but there might be some things hidden in the fine print. One of the ways these casinos get you is by putting insanely high wagering requirements for you to redeem your bonus. Some will require that you spend 80 times the amount of your bonus before you can withdraw your winnings. So, make sure that you read the details and see if the bonus is actually worth it.
     
    Vague History
     
    If you can’t find actual players with anything good to say about an online casino, this is not a good sign. Even if a casino is relatively new, you should be able to get some accounts of people that have played there. You should also check the casino’s “about us” page and see what you find.
     
    If the content is vague and generic, then it’s a clear red flag. You should at least get some information about when the casino was established, some information about their licencing, and the technology they’re using. You should get an idea of which software providers they use to power their games. If you can't see any of that, we would advise that you spend your money elsewhere.
     
    Limited Payment Options
     
    Great online casinos will offer a wide variety of payment options. A casino that only allows you to make payments through major credit cards and bank transfers is very likely a front for fraudulent activities. If a casino offers PayPal and other options like Neteller, Skrill, and Paysafecard, on the other hand, then it’s usually a sign of a website that you can trust, as long as it meets all other requirements. 
     
    When it comes to withdrawals, you should check what the delays are. Any casino that takes more than four days to deposit money in your account should be avoided.
     
    These are all things that you should look at whenever you’re searching for online casinos. This will give you an instant idea of whether a site might be dangerous or not worth playing at.
  • Mohamed Salah’s performances for Liverpool this year have cemented him as truly one of the best players on the planet, and there’s certainly more than enough of an argument to say that he’s the world’s best player at the current moment in time. The ‘Egyptian King’ has scored 15 times in 12 appearances this season, including 10 in nine Premier League games giving defenders fits in the reds’ undefeated start to the season.
     
    Considering his form throughout 2021, it’s hard not to put him among the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. Betting sites currently have his odds at 25/1 behind PSG’s Lionel Messi (1/3) and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (9/4), but recent performances may well make the Egyptian King the king of all world football, and put it beyond reasonable doubt that he truly is the best player in world football.
     
    The best in the world?
     
    Star Scottish left back Andy Robertson recently called Salah the “world’s best” footballer in an interview with Sky Sports. He said: “I think the way he's playing at the start of this season - he's been incredible. You can just see him walking on the pitch and he feels as though any chance he gets he's going to score.
     
    “The thing that goes under-rated with Mo is his work-rate - the way he helps out Trent (Alexander-Arnold), the way he helps out his defence behind him and everything like that. That's when he's at his best, that's when he creates the chances and gets the goals, when he's mentally so strong.
     
    “He's an incredible player and I think at this moment he's the world's best and he'll want to continue that. He won't want it for nine or 10 games, which he's done so far, he'll want to do it for a whole season like he's done previously and hopefully he can do it, because it gives us the best chance of scoring goals and winning trophies."
     
    Salah ranks first in the Premier League in goals, shots, shots on target and expected goals, and his five assists rank second behind Paul Pogba. His hat-trick against Manchester United was his most remarkable performance of the season with doubt, proving himself to be unplayable against Liverpool’s bitter rivals in their 5-0 demolition job at Old Trafford.
     
    Klopp’s high praise
     
    Salah’s performances this season have not just Robertson saying Salah is the best around, but his manager Jurgen Klopp too. After Salah’s mesmerizing show against Watford on October 16, Klopp told BT Sport: “"His performance was massive today. The pass for the first goal was great and the second goal was special. He is top. We all see it. Who is better than him? We don't have to talk about what Messi and Ronaldo have done for world football and their dominance. But right now, he is the best."
     
    Klopp gave Liverpool fans something to be particularly excited about, saying that he thought there was even more to come from his star forward. He said: “He is at his age where you can still improve, and he's doing that constantly. You saw the first goal that he set up for Sadio today, that is an outstanding pass. He brought that, I don't know, from the summer break. After that, he started doing these kinds of things.
     
    “He's in the top, top five since he is at Liverpool pretty much. And now he is the best in that moment. The big thing between Cristiano and Messi was that nobody had a doubt about it for years, but Mo is already on the top level for years as well and there's still a lot to come from him because of his desire. He just wants to perform on a top-class level."
     
    What are people in the media saying?
     
    It’s not just people within Liverpool Football Club that share this belief too, as pundits have been saying the same thing. After Salah’s performance against Sky Sports pundit and Manchester United legend Gary Neville said: I feel he could be [the best in the world] at this moment in time because when I look at Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, they're players who have been the best for the past five to 10 years, but they're just not quite at the level right now that they'd ordinarily be at.
     
    "Salah right now is at a level that's really high and has been for the past three or four seasons. He's a special player. He's ruthless, clinical and so single-minded in terms of scoring goals. At this moment in time, he could be."
     
    Former England defender Martin Keown and BBC pundit was also full of praise for the Egyptian after the Watford game, saying: "The pass from Mo Salah to Sadio Mane was out of this world. We are seeing Salah at Lionel Messi's level."
     
    Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards, who works for both BBC and Sky as a pundit, agreed with Keown, saying: “At this moment in time Liverpool look like the team to beat. When I watched Salah against Manchester City a couple of weeks ago he was in the form of his life and he can't be stopped at the moment.
     
    "As a team everything looks like it's coming together and they really do look strong. Salah is the best forward in European football at the moment in my opinion."
     
    As Salah continues to put in other-wordly performances in a Liverpool shirt, his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or improve. Messi has not been performing at his usual elite status this season, and has failed to find his feet a bit for PSG so far, and while Lewandowski has been in fine goalscoring form, no one is in better form than the Egyptian at the moment. While the bookmakers have Salah as an outside bet to win the title of best player in the world, he may have hit form at the perfect time, with his brilliant performances fresh in the mind of voters.
  • The early days of the season have seen numerous Mohamed Salah masterclasses for Liverpool. The Egyptian superstar is scarcely stopped, as Manchester United found out to their cost on a humbling afternoon in late October for the Red Devils at what is supposed to be their Theatre of Dreams.
     
    Salah added another match ball to his collection: the Reds talisman is into double figures for the season and has become the highest-scoring African in Premier League history, the first opposition player in the same competition to record a treble at Old Trafford, while also forcing his way further into Ballon d’Or contention.
     
    No one-man band
     
    Liverpool are far from being a one-man band. Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are much more than extras in a thrilling Merseyside blockbuster, while the extended supporting cast continues to show that they are more than capable of being leading men.
     
     
     
    After the first 10 games of the season, Salah had scored an impressive 10 goals from 42 shots, while Sadio Mane has hit the back of the net on six occasions out of 33 shots and Roberto Firmino four with 12 attempts at goal. This type of data is important as it can be used in a range of areas including informing betting, which bookmakers have acknowledged as they use services such as Pronet, which is online sportsbook software that utilises local-data journalists and umpires/referees to provide fast and accurate data. Naturally, having data readily available on their sites as part of their service provides a more convenient experience for the consumer and this area is only likely to continue growing.
     
    With Liverpool's forward line firing on all cylinders it's no wonder that bookmakers are predicting that another title challenge could very well be on the cards for the club. After all, they're currently poised as third-favourites in the race for the Premier League title. Having ended 30 years of hurt in 2020, the wait for another crown should be considerably shorter.
     
    Helping to lead that charge to victory will be Jordan Henderson. The man that got his hands on long-awaited silverware will likely be aspiring to repeat those celebrations in front of a full house. He may not dominate headlines in that quest, but his value to the collective cause remains without question.
     
    England international Henderson can sail under the radar at times, for club and country, but his biggest supporters remain his most important – namely Klopp and a legion of Reds fans around the world. Henderson’s showing against United in late October summed him up perfectly. Others did the damage, but without him, a well-oiled machine would not have ticked over as smoothly as it did.
     
    We also need to talk about that assist. A week earlier, Salah nonchalantly curled a pass with the outside of his left boot into the path of the partner in crime Mane to open the scoring at Watford. Plaudits rained down on Liverpool’s No.11 as comparisons were drawn with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
     
     
     
    In Manchester, Henderson produced similar magic with his right foot. A perfectly weighted pass early in the second half against United allowed Salah to complete his hat trick without breaking stride. Social media went into meltdown again, with Salah still the star attraction.
     
    No complaints
     
    Henderson could be forgiven for wanting a larger slice of the adoration pie. He will not ask for it, though. As long as everybody else eats well, the Reds skipper will settle for leftovers.
     
    The humble, unsung hero is the role he has been given, and he continues to play it at an Oscar-esque level. The big awards will not come his way – no PFA prizes or Golden Balls – but plenty of superheroes operate in the shadows, and not all of them wear capes.
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