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  • TLW
    Jürgen Klopp has ruled out signing another central defender in the January transfer window.

    The Reds are blessed to have remarkably good depth in the key defensive post and despite some injuries of late, the manager is sure he can offset their loss.

    Joel Matip who had been the incumbent alongside Virgil Van Dijk has missed the last six weeks with a knee injury.

    Such is the depth in that position, that current English international Joe Gomez has struggled for game-time in his natural position due to the consistent form of Matip and more recently Dejan Lovren.

    The Croatian came off in the first half against Bournemouth but travelled with the squad for the all-important final Champions League group clash against Red Bull Salzburg this evening.

    The Echo reported Klopp speaking on the matter:

    “How can you be short of centre halves when you have four centre halves plus Fabinho? 

    “Only Fabinho is injured, Matip is injured and Dejan Lovren had a problem, yes.

    “ We will not sign a centre half because of injuries - that is the world outside who thinks we are short and we have to do it - but afterwards we would have six centre halves and that wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

    “And you need quality.
     
    "You can’t have just somebody [for the sake of it] - I am somebody, I am tall, not quick, but I look like a centre half at least.
     
    The manager dispelled any doubts on the fitness of Lovren.

    “Yes I am absolutely concerned [about injuries], but Lovren is not injured. It was a little bit of cramp, and the right moment to take him off, but it is cool, everybody is fine.

    We spoke about squad depth, but we had 16 adult players against Everton, 14 adult players against Bournemouth - it’s not that we think we have no clue how to make a squad at the moment.

    “How can I tell the boys they are not involved in the squad?
     
    "We have no problem, there is nobody there I have to explain it to. But yes it is all good, but not perfect."

    Klopp also touched on the current status of Adam Lallana, Fabinho and Matip.
     


    “ Adam is not coming (to Salzburg) but will be back in training on Thursday. 

    “Under pressure we probably could have used him, but we didn’t want to make pressure.
     
    "How I said, it’s a small thing.

    But the news seems more uncertain in regards to the Brazilian midfielder and Cameroon international defender.
     
    “The only thing that is clear at this stage is that neither will play a part over the hectic festive period.

     “There is no pressure from my side. 

    “It’s clear they will not be in before Christmas - not this year, actually. 

    “So why should we ask every five seconds if there’s some improvement or not?

    “I know everybody involved is doing whatever they can. 

    “There will be a moment when somebody comes to me and tells me, ‘One week for him, two weeks for him’ and I’ll start telling you."
  • Now isn’t that much better? No dramas, no late heroics needed, just a routine, run of the mill, easy away win. It’s been a while. 
     
    Bournemouth are great aren’t they? You break into their house wanting to steal some shit, and not only to they offer no resistance, they make you a cup of tea and show you to the hidden safe you didn’t even know about. 
     
    Eddie Howe’s team knew they were beaten from the start and decided the best course of action was to just make sure they endured the least amount of embarrassment possible.
     
    This was the Bournemouth I was cursing last year when they went through 90 minutes against Man City without so much as leaving their own half, let alone managing a shot on goal. Eddie Howe has done a great job with them, but his approach against the top sides is so meek that he really should be Arsenal’s next manager. His managerial approach would fit that spineless group of wastrels like an arse in a bucket.
     
    Klopp made a load of changes from the team that beat the Blues in midweek, and once again they paid off. Shaq and Div came in to destroy Everton and Ox and Naby did it against Bournemouth. Having the ability to make changes and keep winning is huge, especially as it was one of the concerns people had until this week. The squad depth has been questioned but the fringe lads have stepped up big this week. 
     
    We started brightly but the goal didn’t come immediately. We had chances and Mo was looking especially dangerous. We had to make a change midway through the half when Lovren felt something in his hamstring and was replaced by Trent, and that only made Bournemouth’s job harder as Gomez moved into the middle and Trent was raiding down the right.  
     
    Bournemouth’s cause wasn’t helped by losing Nathan Ake early on, and from the moment we went ahead the game just became really easy and it was always going to be a case of how many we would score. 
     
    The opening goal looked simple enough but it was superbly executed. We’ve seen that goal before but it’s usually Sadio running onto a pass from Virgil. This was Ox making the run and Hendo picking him out. It’s a great goal and a vital weapon in our armoury these days.
     
    Hendo’s ball hit him perfectly in stride and Ox produced a controlled volley past the keeper. We score all sorts of goals and that makes us very difficult to defend. Ox seems to score almost every time he plays too. I don’t like him in the front three and he didn’t have a particularly great game, but he made the vital breakthrough and it’s just great to see the contributions we get from the lads who are brought in when Klopp needs to rest the big hitters.
     
    Naby bagged the second and it was a cracker. He made a positive run forward and rolled the ball into Mo. He held off two defenders and then back heeled it back into the path of Keita. His took it beautifully in his stride and finished nonchalantly.
     
    The only surprising thing was that we didn’t score any more before half time. It was just too easy and we were having it completely our own way but a two goal lead can give you a false sense of security. The third goal would kill it, and we got it via Salah. 
     
    As soon as Naby picked the ball up I said “this is a goal”. That’s the kind of situation where he’s at his best. He’s flattered to deceive since he’s been here but that’s definitely what he’s good at; getting it and driving at the defence. In all those youtube videos I watched before he arrived, that was probably the situation he was in most.
     
    He carried the ball forward and then slipped it through for Mo who rolled it past the keeper. The goal was a lot like Shaq’s in midweek. Similar run, pass and finish. Game over.
     
    With a little more urgency we could have scored five or six, but there was no need for urgency when the opportunity was there to just win the game in second gear and conserve energy for the weeks ahead.
     
    It was little more than a training session after that. We kept the ball and Bournemouth let us. They were probably happy to just let us have it as long as we didn’t try and score, and for the most part we didn’t.
     
    They were glad to not get thumped and we were more than happy to just conserve energy. It must have been nice for the lads to not have to play the last 10 minutes of an away game either chasing a goal or trying to defend a lead. More of this in the coming weeks would be nice.
     
    Klopp even took the opportunity to hand Curtis Jones a debut. He looked right at home and was heavily involved throughout. Made up for him, he’s been in blistering form all season and this was well deserved. He had a chance to score too but couldn’t keep his volley down.
     
    Shaq got a run out in the closing stages too. Personally I’d have put Harvey Elliott on as those five minutes would have meant more to him than Shaq.
     
    I’m running out of things to say about this team and their achievements. From the last 75 points available, we’ve taken 73. It’s hard to actually fathom that. Has it ever been done before? Not by us, but has anyone ever done that? It’s just astonishing.
     
    With everyone else other than Leicester dropping points all over the gaff it’s hard not to get carried away but for now the league needs to take a back seat because the game in Salzburg is massive. Losing that is inconceivable because not only would it be a hugely deflating way to surrender our crown, it would also put us in the fucking Europa, and no-one wants that.
     
    Given the big lead we have, the trip to Austria is undoubtedly the most important game we’ll play this month. No doubt we’ll see a full strength side (minus Fabinho, obviously) and hopefully a performance. We’re not good in the group stages because we’re a high stakes team and in the group games there’s usually a second or even third chance. That’s no longer the case as it’s now essentially just a knock out game. I’m actually nervous.
     
    Star man was probably Henderson or Salah, but I’m giving it to Keita because we needed a performance from him and we got it. We’re not relying on him to come good because we’ve been doing just fine without him, but if he can hit form then that can only help us, especially with all these games coming up. This was a big step in the right direction for him.
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Gomez, Lovren (Alexander-Arnold), Van Dijk, Robertson (Jones); Henderson, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Shaqiri):
  • Jürgen Klopp says that he always believed that the qualities of Naby Keita would come to the fore after the midfielder scored in his first league start of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday.

    Just like in his first season for the club, it has been a frustrating time for the Guinea international who has battled injury along with trying to find a spot in the very competitive Liverpool midfield.

    December was always going to be a challenging month for the European champions with a jam packed fixture list and therefore plenty of opportunities for fringe players to show their worth.

    For the 24 year-old, that time came on the weekend where he was at his confident best, combining with Mo Salah on two occasions which sealed a very comfortable win.

    Klopp is well known as a manager who not only has confidence in his players, but a great deal of patience too.

    Basically if you are willing to put in the hard work, your time will come.

    The Echo reported the thought process of Klopp.

    He’s just been unlucky and in life you need luck always.

    “He started really well Everyone forgot that and then he got injured and we’ve had two really good seasons.

    “When you see a player like this, you ask why is he not playing week in, week out. Naby had injuries and then the team was in a really good shape so do you change?

    “It’s not like when something’s working, you squeeze five more percent of the performance with another player."
     


    Klopp also confirmed that there had been discussions between the pair.

    “ Naby’s not been playing, I get that.

    “So we stayed in contact and spoke a lot about it and in the end a player needs to have this evidence that his manager still believes in him.

    “I was never in doubt about him and today has helped a lot, it’s really nice. Sometimes you have to talk to players.

    “The boys got more and more used to each other, but then another injury came and he started again.

    “This year, he wasn’t 100 percent when he started pre-season, but I was never in doubt about quality.”

     
     
  • Saturday Nov 30:
     
    L 2 Brighton 1 Three points, a huge sigh of relief but bloody hell, that wasn’t much fun. It was fucking freezing and the performance matched it. Ok, that’s not entirely fair as the opening half an hour was good and we should have been out of sight. Matt Ryan pulled off some good saves though and although we did go two up through Big Virg, the handsome towering bastard, we ran out of steam and it looked like the Napoli game had taken a heavy toll.
     
    Still, we weren’t in any trouble until Alisson’s moment of madness, and even then we’d have been fine but for the incompetence / bias (delete as appropriate) of Martin Atkinson. I absolutely can’t get my head around why he isn’t being hammered for what he did. I don’t know if what he did was within the rules, but morally it was dodgy as fuck which is why you almost never see it.
    When do you ever see a ref blow his whistle when the keeper is on the post lining up his wall? Virtually never.
     
    So call me paranoid but when I see a ref who has screwed us frequently of late make a call like that, I’m going to think something is up. This twat needs keeping away from our games, but he’s on the VAR for the derby. As I said last week though, it will take a brave man to over-rule any Mike Dean decision, so if we get hosed on Wednesday it will be by the beady eyed Birkenhead official, not Atkinson.
     
    Tell you one thing I noticed today though. Lewis Dunk is a much better player than I thought. I had him down as a Burnley type, sit deep with lots of protection and head everything away type of centre half, but he's not. He's really good. He's the player that people wrongly believe Harry Maguire to be. No wonder Leicester wanted him to replace Maguire, and no wonder Brighton were demanding a similar fee.

    Sunday Dec 1:
     
    Started watching that Barca documentary yesterday and finished it today. I was shocked. They're absolute dickheads. It’s no wonder they bottled it at Anfield. Prior to kick off they're all sat there, nobody is talking to eachother, half of them are looking terrified and Coutinho is actually praying. There's complete silence in the dressing room and they can all hear YNWA being played and the crowd singing.
    

    If I'd been in there I'd have banged Livin on a Prayer or 500 Miles on the sound system so fucking loud they couldn't hear the crowd singing and they’d have been so fired up they’d be ready to eat raw steak. As it was, they looked like they were gladiators about to go into the arena to be fed to lions. Which they were, as it turned out. How can a club that big, and so successful, act so amateurishly?
     
    Meanwhile, Paul Scholes says Freddie Ljungberg isn’t the man for Arsenal because… wait for it…. he wasn’t wearing a suit today. I don’t even know where to start, so I won’t.

    Monday Dec 2:
     
    Another tweet by LFC about the rainbow laces is accompanied by loads more replies by homophobes. I had a look through and a lot of it is based on religion and loads of the fuckers were tagging Mo in and asking “are you ok with this?”. Have a day off, you fucking weirdos. Fair play to the lad who went through the thread replying to all the bigots with a gif of two fellas necking though. That’s next level trolling. Great work.
     
    As expected, Messi won the Balon d’Or. You know why he won it? Because he plays in a one man team, whereas Virg lost votes to SIX of his other team mates. We had four of the top seven, and the African votes went mainly to Sadio and Mo so that screwed Virg over. Fair play to the Sri Lankan fella who named Trent as his winner. Not a single fuck was given from that guy.
     
    Virg made a joke about how Ronaldo wasn’t really a rival for the award (somehow he finished third though) and ended up in a twitter spat with Piers fucking Morgan, who stuck his oar in and had a go at the big fella. Ronaldo’s sister chimed in too. Jesus. He was joking, but you know what, if he’d just come out said “what the fuck is he doing in the top three?” he’d have been spot on.
     
    “Oh you can’t say that, Ronaldo has done more than you ever will” blah blah blah. That’s true, but what the fuck relevance does his glittering career have on an award based on performances in 2019? None, that’s what, so pipe down, cunts.
     
    You know what we do need to talk about? Mahrez making the top ten. He’s not even in the top ten at City for 2019, let alone the world. You know what else we need to talk about? Trent not making the top ten for u21 players yet he was 19th in the main award. Explain that?

    The FA Cup draw sees us playing the Blues at Anfield. Terrible for both teams that. Normally we’d play the kids, but I’m not in favour of that this time. If it was at Goodison then I wouldn’t be too arsed, but we can’t let them win at Anfield so playing our usual cup line up shouldn’t be an option this time. It’s an added complication we didn’t need.

    Meanwhile, having won the youth cup last year tonight we fell at the first hurdle, losing away at Spurs. The line up was a bit weird. There were some lads who hardly play, while Hoever was included even though the 23s played tonight as well. There was no Jones, Van Den Berg or Elliott in either game and Brewster didn’t feature for the 23s. No idea what’s going on here really.
     
    Tuesday Dec 3:
     
    Tom Hicks comes out of whatever hole he’s been hiding in and does an in depth interview about his time owning the Reds. I didn’t read it and have intention of ever doing so. There’s nothing he can say that’s of any interest to me now. The only time I want to hear about him is when he dies, which I briefly thought was today when I saw his name trending. Disappointing, but won’t be long, hopefully. His son is part of the Trump administration team, which should come as a surprise to no-one. Family of cunts, associating with cunts.

    On the field tonight, City won at Burnley and Trevor Sinclair took to twitter to take a shot at us, even using the term ‘dippers’. To be fair to him, he was almost certainly pissed. There’s also a reasonable chance he was behind the wheel given his track record. He’s a twat and I didn’t need this tonight to know that. I’ve heard him on the radio enough to know he’s thick as fuck and fairly unpleasant. 
     
    In fact, he’s the most unlikeable man on Talksport, which is quite the achievement when you take into account Jason Cundy is there too. Fuck Sinclair and fuck his ‘I’m sorry if you were offended’ apology. As for his “City are coming for you” bravado? Yeah, I’m terrified.

    Wednesday Dec 4:
     
    L 5 Everton 2 Great that. The quality of the goals was off the charts. Every one seemed better than the last and even the fifth one (which wasn’t as spectacular as the previous four) had something to savour about it as Bobby completely ruined that Holgate tit before teeing up Gini.
     
    The first four goals though. Jesus. I know Everton were suspect defensively, but it’s not like they gave us four presents. Every one of those goals needed a moment of world class play or it wouldn’t have happened. The first is an unreal pass by Sadio. The second was an unreal pass by Trent. The third was an incredible touch and finish by Divock and the fourth is a wonderfully placed first time shot on the run that went right in the corner.
     
    On another day, none of those end up in a goal because you just don’t see things like that every week. It was incredible stuff. Poor Marco Silva must have been wondering what the fuck he did to deserve that, as they just walked into a buzz saw. I actually thought Everton’s performance was better than usual. They looked quite dangerous themselves at times but no-one was going to be able to live with us in this mood.
     
    It’s funny that the two big games we’ve played with this front three has seen us score nine goals. Origi is much better through the middle than he is out wide, and tonight Big Shaq was sensational. An absolute joy to watch, made up to see him back.
     
    How depressing must it be to be a blue right now though? Some of them left at 2-0 while those that stayed had to listen to the Kop taking the piss out of them all night. I love the “Merry Christmas Everton” song, always have. The “he’s only got little arms” is funny, but the highlight of the night (goals apart) was throwing that “we’re gonna have a party when Tottenham win the cup” chant right back in their faces.
     
    That was just brutal. It was embarrassing when they did it and I’m sure there will have been some blues who didn’t like it for this very reason. Things like that can blow up in your faces, and boy did this blow up on them. That was the most savage burn I’ve seen delivered to away fans since we were all taunting the Mancs with “always look on the bright side of life” when we stopped them winning the league. There’s nothing finer than hoisting some cunt with their own petard.

    Thursday Dec 5:
     
    Goodnight sweet prince. Silva is gone and in his place will be the dream team of Big Dunk and Franny Jeffers. John Ebbrell is one of the assistants too. May as well go and bust Richard Gough and Davie Weir out of the old folk’s home and get the entire band back together.
     
    See, this is why I had to stop writing piss take articles about them. When their reality became funnier than any gag I could come up with, then what’s the point? Every day it just gets worse for them. I was in the car today and Adrian Durham’s show was dedicated to the mess at Everton and how they fix it. Then this nugget called up and I nearly crashed the car….
     
     
     
    It was funny enough on the radio but actually seeing the stunned reactions of Durham and Bent when he dropped the Fat Sam Bomb makes it all the more hilarious.

    So I heard something else funny today. You know last week when Klopp and Guardiola were at that football writers awards thing? Well City’s press officer asked what the running order for the awards and speeches was. He was told that the league winner goes first then it goes to whoever won any cups. 
     
    So in other words, Pep first and Klopp to finish things off. He (the press guy, not Pep) wasn’t having it and insisted that the order was flipped so Pep went last. Jurgen wasn’t arsed either way, so it was switched and Klopp knocked everyone’s socks off. 
     
    Guardiola then got up and joked “how do I follow that?” or words to that effect. He actually gave a good speech to be fair to him. Anyway, there was another awards soon after and once again the City press officer wanted to know the running order. “Klopp first, then Pep” he was told. You know what he did? He insisted that Pep went first this time!
    I keep telling you, that club (especially the press office) is utterly fucking obsessed with Klopp and the Reds. It’s hilarious, the smalltime bastards.

    Friday Dec 6:
     
    Ok, so in the match report yesterday I wrote this, explaining why I feel as though Everton have gone way beyond the threshold where it’s acceptable to mock them. 
    


    Today I saw this, which rams home the point….
     
     
     
    Ok, that banshee deserves whatever shit is thrown her way, but ignore the voice for a second and zoom out a bit. This is a bunch of Evertonians singing “going down, are we fuck, we’re gonna win the cup”. There’s another video of a different group of Blues singing “going down, are we fuck, stay up and win the cup”.
     
    I only wish they’d sang it at Anfield the other night, as it would have been an all timer. I don’t even think the Kop would have been able to respond to it, as what do you even say to that? As a reminder, they play Leicester in the league cup and then have to go to Anfield in the FA Cup. They won’t go down, but there’s more chance of that than there is them winning anything.

    Meanwhile, Anfield was set to play host to an England game but the FA have pulled the plug because S*n journalists are banned. Good for LFC that they aren’t willing to back down on this. It doesn’t matter that I’d rather England were nowhere near Anfield, as my feelings on that are irrelevant. There will have been good money to made from this so it’s refreshing to see the club put principle first. Fuck the S*n and fuck the FA.

    ….and that was the week that was
  • Liverpool veteran James Milner is keeping all options on the table as he moves into the final phase of what has been a illustrious career.

    The versatile 33 year-old is out of contract in the summer and able to sign a pre-contract deal with foreign clubs from next month.

    There has been a great deal of discussions between the club and the player himself and both parties have illustrated a desire to get a deal done.

    But to this point, there is no good news on that front.

    It has led to speculation that Milner could well end his career where it all began for him 17 years ago at his boyhood club Leeds United.

    Leeds who fell heartbreaking close to a Premier League return last season are currently having a strong campaign, currently sitting second, two points off West Brom and five points clear of Fulham in third..

    The Echo (via The Sportsman) reported that Milner still follows them with a deal of interest.

    “ I’m a fan. I always follow the team and the results. 

    “So you can never say no or even yes because just so much changes in football, you never know what happens.

    “At the moment I’m a Champions League winner with Liverpool and this year we’re really going for the Premier League, but I don’t know what the future will hold.

    “It would be amazing to play for Leeds again but no one from the club has ever contacted me about that.
     
    "People talk about my age and that I’m getting on, and could I continue after Liverpool, but I don’t think I’m typical physically for my age"
     


    The fitness fanatic who has made 19 appearances for the Reds this season and 196 in all for the club says he is also happy to head abroad for a new footballing adventure.

    “ I’m open to anything, I’d be interested in going abroad and experiencing a new league, a new style of football, new lifestyle too, but that all just depends on where it is and also on my family too.

    But while football punditry is the pretty stock-standard gig for former players and sacked managers, don’t expect the universally admired midfielder to follow suite saying he has got plenty to pass on to the next generation.

    “I think I’d be more interested in coaching than the media side. 

    “ I see people going into punditry all the time but I think, in terms of who I’ve played for and with and what I’ve learnt as a player, it would be a shame not to pass that on within football to young players.

    “Then again you see coaches and managers that are doing well for a time and then it doesn’t go so well and the amount of stick they then get week-in, week-out."


     
  • Jurgen Klopp says that Liverpool could buy a player in the January transfer market if they release Rhian Brewster on loan.

    While the club is keen to release the 19-year old for the second half of the season, they are adamant that it must be to a club who are willing to give him the type of minutes that can benefit his game.

    Brewster became part of the senior squad in the summer after fully recovering from a long term ankle injury, but so far he has been consigned to Carabao Cup duty.

    While Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Championship side Swansea have been linked, there has been no firm decision as yet.

    But speaking in his Bournemouth pre-match press conference, The Reds manager alluded to the fact that he wouldn’t want to leave his squad short in the striking department.
     
    The Echo reported Klopp as saying:

    Yes, we have to see. We can't just give the boys [away] on loan because we have built this squad.

    “ We have three long-term injuries and four with Paul Glatzel, two of them were pre-season. Two came later with Joel (Matip) and Fabinho.

    “That gives us a 16-player squad and I count the kids, but we cannot only give players on loan and think it is good for him, we always have to consider both situations.

    “The boys and ours, and in the end, we try to make the perfect solution. Sometimes it works out, others it does not."

    Klopp believes that the long term injury suffered by Brewster could have put back his development.
     

     
    "Maybe Rhian is the one, age-wise, experience-wise, if he had not been injured, he would already have been on a different level, but that is the situation and we constantly think of the situation for the boys.

    “ He is very young, but still a bit advanced, but I don't know, we don't make decisions right now.
     
    "If we do [loan him] then it 100 per cent needs to be the right club.

    “They have all made steps here without playing Championship football week in and week out.
     
    "They have all made massive steps here and Rhian's was delayed because of that big injury he had.

    “Neco (Williams), Curtis (Jones) and Harvey (Elliott) have made massive steps here without playing week in and week out. No decision has been made yet [on the loan]."

    One young Reds star who has thrived on loan over the past few years is Harry Wilson.

    Currently at Bournemouth, the Welsh international is ineligible for the clash with his parent club today.

    But Klopp has seen enough to say that he can make the grade if he continues to progress at the rate he has.
     
    " Can he succeed? Of course, that's why we loaned him so he can make the steps.

    “It would have been difficult for Harry and I would have loved to have had him here if we had another choice, especially when Shaq (Xherdan Shaqiri) was injured, you want to have these kinds of players, but that is not the moment to decide.

    “All the players we sent on loan have the chance to make it in the first team otherwise we would have sold them. His shooting is world class, that is how it is.

    “Find me five players who shoot better than him, that is obvious, but the game is more and that is what he has to improve and that is clear. 

    “ But to be involved as an offensive player you have to connect with other players.

    “He has that, it is not like he doesn't, but to get to the next level, he needs game-time at the highest level and that is why we loaned him to Bournemouth."


     
  • Steve Bruce, he’s got a beautiful head, he’s got a beautiful head, he’s got a beautiful head. What a guy. What a result. Good old Newcastle eh?
     
    I’d been following the game on the way to Anfield and when news came through of De Bruyne’s late screamer, it was a case of ‘ah well, never mind, still eight points clear if we beat Brighton’. I was stood outside the Kop when I heard a cheer coming from the Albert that could mean only one thing; Newcastle had equalised. 
     
    I would quite happily have hugged Steve Bruce at that moment and I won’t even say what I’d have been prepared to do to our old mate Jonjo.
     
    Leicester may be our nearest challengers but every point dropped by City is huge. Eleven points is a big gap and will take a lot of closing, but anyone dismissing them needs their head testing. If the gap gets to 14 or 15 then maybe I’ll relax, but last season cut deep and I’ll be the last one to arrive at Man City’s funeral.
     
    Fair play to Newcastle though, they aren’t scared of City are they? They were one of the few sides to beat them last season and now they’ve come from behind twice to snatch a draw. It’s funny really, because all I do is rip Newcastle and Wolves fans, but along with us, those two teams have done more to slow City down than virtually anyone else over the last couple of seasons.
     
    What makes Newcastle’s record against City more impressive is they always seem to concede first and then come back. Last year they came from behind to win, this time they twice came back to grab a draw.
     
    Sterling put City in front as the ball ricocheted off four players before landing perfectly for him to find the bottom corner. Newcastle hit back immediately though as Almiron found Willens and he lashed one in the bottom corner. Almiron looked all emotional as it was his first assist apparently. I knew he hadn’t scored yet but to not have had an assist either is just shit, as he’s played 25 games or something. I don’t know how that’s even possible.
     
    As you’d expect, City had chances but they weren’t exactly peppering the Newcastle goal. Dubravka made a couple of decent saves but was eventually beaten by that De Bruyne thunderbolt. Shades of Tony Yeboah about that. They always look better when they go in off the bar.
     
    Then up stepped the Redmen to save the day. Javi Manquillo won a free-kick and when the ball was rolled back across the edge of the box, good arl Jonjo lashed one into the corner. The only way that could have been better is if Big Andy had come off the bench to score the winner, but that didn’t happen because he’s fucking injured. Again.
     
    While City were dropping two points and falling further behind, another of the chasing pack were faring even worse. A little over a week ago Chelsea were within eight points of us. Two successive defeats later and they’re just a spot in our wing mirror now. 
     
    Losing at home to West Ham was a real shocker, as they haven’t been beating anybody for months. Mind you, I have been saying that their biggest problem is that wiseguy keeper who keeps throwing them in. 
     
    Pellegrini finally dropped him and went with former Red David Martin instead. He’s 33 and this was his Premier League debut having spent his entire career either on our bench or in the lower leagues. He kept a clean sheet, broke down in tears at full time and then climbed up into the stands to celebrate with his Dad, Hammers legend Alvin. 
     
    Lovely scene that, nice moment for them both. Admittedly, if he wasn’t a former Red I might have been less moved by it and might even have called him a bit of a fanny, but he’s a good lad so I’m genuinely happy for him.
     
    Cresswell got the only goal of the game but it wasn’t exactly smash and grab as they had some other great chances too. Remarkably, Chelsea didn’t commit a single foul in the entire game. Ron Chopper Harris will be turning in his grave. How is that even possible?
     
    Moving on, and Mourinho’s start at Spurs had been uncharacteristically entertaining, with them win their first two games 3-2. It looked like they were going to have a much easier time of it when they raced into a 3-0 lead over Bournemouth on Saturday, but Harry Wilson came off the bench to score twice and put the shits up the Londoners.
     
    Alli had opened the scoring and Spurs then had one ruled out by VAR after the ball inadvertently struck the hand of Sanchez just before he scored. Under the new rule it was the correct decision, but it’s harsh as fuck really.
     
    Alli’s brilliant finish extended their lead and Sissoko made it three with an acrobatic volley. The overnight transformation of Alli really is something to behold. He went from shite to class in the time it took Poch to collect his p45 and Jose to walk through the door. 
     
    A trademark Wilson free-kick followed by a close range effort made it interesting at the end, and Spurs needed a last ditch challenge from Vertonghen to deny Callum Wilson a dramatic equaliser.
     
    Southampton are showing signs of life now. They hit rock bottom when they lost at home to Everton but they’ve been better since. They beat bottom club Watford at St Mary’s and then followed it up by beating second bottom Norwich. That took the third from bottom Saints above Everton, which was nice.
     
    Sarr had given Watford the lead with a powerful finish after a mistake by Stephens had sent him clear. He hasn’t played much yet but I liked him at the last World Cup and am interested to see how he does. He almost made it 2-0 with a brilliant volley that was saved by McCarthy.
     
    Ings then thought he should have had a penalty when he closed down Foster and was hauled down. Michael Oliver gave the foul against him though. He took the easy option there, as Foster ran into Ings and he just couldn’t get out of the way.
     
    Ingsy stuck at it though and bagged his seventh goal of the season to draw Southampton level. I wonder if he’s had his annual bet with Mo this year as to who will score the most? He might actually win this one the way things are going. It shouldn’t have stood though as Djnepro handled in the build up. Unintentional, but under the new rule that shouldn’t have stood.
     
    Ward-Prowse won it with a brilliant free-kick late on. It’s between him and Wilson as to who is the best free-kick taker in the league I reckon. Give Trent another year to perfect his craft and he’ll be number one though. On that note, is it just me or do we hardly ever get free-kicks on the edge of the box?
     
    Watford reacted to that loss by sacking Quique Flores after about a month. Weird club them, but there is method in their madness I think. By that I mean they don’t fuck about when they think a manager isn’t going to get it done. I sort of understand their logic, but eventually they’re going to have to get one right, surely?
     
    Chris Hughton was the early favourite for the job and he would have been a sensible choice I reckon. Really though, they should go for Allardyce. Seriously. He’d keep them up and my boy Troy would have the time of his life as the focal point of a Fat Sam team.
     
    You know what’s fucking mental? Palace continuing to make my assessment of them look foolish. I stand by every word though, I’m right. They’re fucking shite and look like a bottom six side to me. Yet they’re fifth. FIFTH!! They won at Burnley and then beat Bournemouth at home despite going to ten men early when Big Mama recklessly got himself sent off. 
     
    I don’t know how they’re doing it. It defies all known logic. Zaha and Schlupp got the goals at Burnley and Schlupp came up trumps for them again in midweek, which I’ll get to later.
     
    Onto Sunday now, and… fucking hell, Everton. That was cruelI wanted them to win because I’d like Leicester to be a long way off when we have to go to their place over Christmas. An eight point lead could become five if they beat us, which they could because we’ll be running on fumes at that point.
     
    So yeah, an Everton win would have been sound and for a while it looked like they might pull it off. They led through a bullet Richarlison header but ended up going home with nothing after Vardy equalised and then that Iheanacho cunt won it in time added on at the end of time added on.
     
    Fuck that shithouse. The last time we saw him he was deliberately missing a sitter against City to help his old mates win the title. No exaggeration, I hate him more than I hate any other player in the league, because as I wrote at the time I’m 100% sure he did that deliberately. 
     
    Just to add to Everton’s woe this one was initially ruled out for offside but overturned by VAR. If you slow the video down you can see the exact moment that Marco Silva’s heart is torn in two.
     
    I don’t know how they work those things out because for the life of me I don’t see how that is onside when Bobby was ruled off for one that looked far less dubious. They make it up as they go along it seems.
     
    Even though this was Everton losing in the most heartbreaking way possible, I took zero pleasure out of it. Unlike a lot of Blues, who got the double bonus of Silva moving another step closer to the exit door and Leicester staying within touching distance of us. 
     
    I wonder if they were planning any parties for “when Leicester win the league” or if they’re still living vicariously through Man City’s success?
     
    Silva has gone now and that will be covered in depth in the diary this week, so I’ll not dwell on it here other than to say I felt for him at the end of this game and I bear him no ill will. He didn’t deserve that even if their fans did. He seemed like a decent fella and never resorted to the standard Blueshite manager behaviour of taking shots at us to curry favour with the mob. 
     
    Mind you, neither did Koeman and from what I recall Martinez wasn’t really a dick either. Most of the fans don’t want Moyes back apparently, but the fact is they’re made for each other as he’s the very definition of small time bitter bastard. He’s one of them, they belong together.
     
    Also on Sunday, Arsenal and United were both held to draws by newly promoted sides, which was nice. 
     
    I read this week about how Arsenal’s players had been mocking Emery behind his back and it genuinely infuriated me. Just who the fuck do they think they are? Seriously, I’m genuinely riled by the fucking gall of these cunts and their complete lack of self awareness.
     
    Arsenal players, you don’t get to laugh at anyone because YOU are the fucking joke here. Everyone is laughing at YOU, because you’ve got no balls and are the softest team in the entire league. Bunch of fair weather, fancy Dan, gutless, overpaid cowards. 
     
    They were lucky to even get a point as Norwich outplayed them. They led through Pukki’s deflected effort but Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Zimmerman handled. Tim Krul was acting the twat, as he likes to do in these situations, and he was given a yellow card. He then saved Aubamayeng’s pen (after pointing to show he knew where it was going) but it had to be retaken due to encroachment by the player who cleared the rebound. 
     
    It’s never nice when VAR sticks it’s oar in and kills the moment but this rule actually makes sense. If he hadn’t cleared the ball then the encroachment wouldn’t have been called, which is fair enough I think. The problem is I don’t think he encroached. Looked to me (and Daniel Farke) like his foot was still on the line when the kick was taken.
     
    Anyway, Aubamayeng retook it and scored, before gesturing at Krul to shut his mouth. Don’t blame him for doing that to be fair. The reaction to it online was revealing though. Arsenal fans were absolutely buzzing off that on Twitter and it just highlighted to me how little they’ve got going for them these days. 
     
    It’s like United fans getting their kicks out of Rashford knocking Virgil off balance. We’re jetting off to European Cup finals, tonking Messi & co and going 11 months unbeaten in the league, while Arsenal fans are swinging their dicks because “Auba” shushed Tim Krul. Fucking losers.
     
    Cantwell restored Norwich’s lead with a well taken goal but Aubamayeng smashed in an equaliser when Norwich didn’t deal with a corner. It tells you everything you need to know about Arsenal that it was Norwich who finished the game more strongly and had four great chances to win it. Leno made three good saves and another effort went inches wide.
     
    Arsenal are a massive gang of shitbags and there is not one player in that squad who would get anywhere near Liverpool or City’s bench, let alone team. Any manager who takes that job needs his fucking head testing, as the entire thing needs ripping up and building again from the ground up. Maybe Ljungberg will end up keeping it. I doubt it, but who else can they get?
     
    The links with Brendan were laughable though. Of course he’ll flutter his eyelashes at them and lead them on a bit (even telling people he had a release clause!) as he loves the attention, but he’s not an idiot. He knows he’s onto a good thing at Leicester and he knows Arsenal are a hot mess. He was never going there. Still, using their interest in him got him a five year deal and a pay rise, so job done.
     
    United are shite too but I now believe they’re nowhere near as fucked as Arsenal. They’ve at least got a handful of decent players they could try and rebuild around, and they’ll never be short of cash. They could attract another manager, Arsenal are going to be scraping the barrel.
     
    United were held at home by Villa, who led early through an absolutely stunning goal by Grealish. I’ve got to be honest here, I’m softening my stance to him. I’ve ripped him for years and always thought he was just a preening twat, but he can fucking play and he works hard too. He’s the most fouled player in the league by a mile, which surprised me.
     
    He also said this week that “everyone can lose a game. Except Liverpool”. We’re probably about a month away from “my boy Jack Grealish”. I’m kidding, that’s not gonna happen. At least I hope not. I’m making no promises.
     
    Rashford headed United level but Villa continued to look dangerous and hit the post through Trezeguet. Lindelof nodded United in front but Mings volleyed Villa back on terms again. Martial should have won it for United but somehow dinked it over the bar from two yards. Impressively shit that.
     
    Finally on Sunday, Wolves were held at home by Sheffield United, who are still unbeaten away this season. Mousset gave them a perfect start with brilliantly taken goal after two minutes and they created some great chances that they just couldn’t take.
     
    Doherty stole in at the back post to head Wolves level but the Blades kept pushing and could easily have won it. All things considered, I think pound for pound I’m more impressed with them than anyone else this season. They’re fucking miles better than I thought they’d be and miles better than they probably should be.
     
    The midweek games got under way on Tuesday night. On paper a trip to Burnley looked like a potentially tricky one for City, which is why I decided I’ll give it a little watch to see what’s what. I almost didn’t bother when I saw my boy Ashley Barnes wasn’t starting, and I did sack it off at half time because it couldn’t have been more obvious that Burnley had no chance.
     
    City’s goals were top drawer and the game was easy for them. I draw no conclusions from that though. It doesn’t mean they’re back in form or we should be worried. It doesn’t mean they aren’t or we shouldn’t either. I’m just saying, this game was more about how shit Burnley were for me.
     
    In this fixture last year they were exactly the same, only they managed to hold out for much longer before losing to a scabby goal that was about 3mm over the line. What I remember about that day though was how Burnley caused City no problems whatsoever and it was the same this time.
     
    There’s a reason for that. “Because Burnley are shit?” I hear you cry. No, it’s not that. Well, it kind of is, but it’s a little more complex. City’s defence is weak as fuck and you can get at them. Loads of teams have done already this season, including Newcastle at the weekend. Burnley are better than Newcastle, so why can’t they trouble City?
     
    I’ll tell you why. Because the way you hurt City is with speed and skill on the break. They leave gaps and if you have the players that can run into those gaps then that’s half the battle. What did Burnley do? They played a big fucking statue up front on his own, with Jeff fucking Hendrick supporting him.
     
    City can deal with that all day, and they did. Chris Wood is a fucking yard dog and his decision making was dreadful all night. He even managed to get in the way of a goal bound volley from McNeil, the big fucking dope. A half fit Barnes would have offered more than that big static cunt.
     
    If we didn’t have an eleven point lead over City I’d be a lot angrier about this than I am. I’m not actually angry at all. I was at the time, which is why I switched it off, but this isn’t like last season when the situation was a lot more desperate. The sky is blue, water is wet, Burnley are a glorified pub team. *shrugs*
     
    City are probably one more defeat away from being out of it. If it goes to 14 points I don’t think they’re pulling that back, so let’s hope Ole and the boys can pull it off this weekend. I’m calling it now, United won’t lose that game because Rashford and James could run all over that City defence. 3-2 to United, you heard it here first.
     
    The other game on Tuesday was at Selhurst, where Sakho was sent off early doors for a reckless challenge on Adam Smith. It’s one of those where it feels like a harsh decision because he got the ball and caught the man with his follow through. In general I’m not in favour of that, but Sakho ought to know better than to fly in like that when there was no danger.
     
    He’s carrying some timber these days isn’t he? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s fat, but he does look ‘heavy’. He just kind of stomps around the field and it’s surprising he doesn’t leave big fucking sasquatch footprints on the turf. If you’re an opposing striker you’d defo hear him coming. In fact, anyone in the immediate vicinity would. 
     
    I bet when he walks into the canteen at the training ground everyone knows in advance he’s on his way because of the Jurassic Park style shaking glass of water. Maybe get back on those diet pills, Big Mama.
     
    That moment of rashness put Palace up against it, but they dug in and were probably still the better side. Schlupp won it for them with a late solo effort that should have been saved by the keeper. It was well hit but it went in the middle of the goal and seemed to go straight through him. 
     
    Just an unacceptable display all round from Bournemouth really. Against ten men for so long you can’t be losing a game late on like that, it’s inexcusable. 
     
    They’re weird though. They’ll win five on the bounce and find themselves in the top half, and then lose seven and be just above the drop zone. Streaky bastards. Hopefully they don’t start one of their winning runs this weekend.
     
    Onto Wednesday now, and Mourinho’s revenge didn’t go according to plan. I thought he’d go there and turn United over but Rashford had other ideas. He’ll have been bang up for that game given how little trust Mourinho had in him. United deserved the win and Spurs were disappointing.
     
    I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how shit United’s starting eleven always is you know. It’s the same with Arsenal too I suppose. You see the line up and assume they must have loads of injuries. Deadbeats like Lingard and Perreira and kids like Greenwood and the random cunt who scored at Sheffield United last week.
     
    Rashford opened the scoring with a powerful near post shot that the keeper should have saved. He almost added a worldy shortly after but was denied by the crossbar. Then the keeper clawed one out of the top corner to deny him again. It was all United and Spurs had done fuck all.
     
    Then Deli Alli produced a stunning goal out of nothing. That was so, so good. If he keeps this up I might have to go back to moaning on a weekly basis again about how Ian Ayre fucked that deal up.
     
    Rashford then won and converted a pen. There was minimal contact and if that was Salah or Mané there’s have been a week long inquisition about it. England centre forwards have licence to do whatever they like though, hence Jonathon Pearce proclaiming “there’s no doubt for me”. I’ll remember that next time it’s one of our lads.
     
    Solskjaer will have been pretty smug having gotten one over on Mourinho, and he was still smelling himself on Friday in his pre-City press conference. “At least we play every year now. Took many years before I played a Manchester derby”. Oh damn! That’s good to be fair, I’m all in favour of that, but he’s going to have that thrown back in his face if they lose at the weekend. 
     
    Meanwhile, Leicester kept rolling with a routine win over Watford, who are strongly rumoured to be on the verge of appointing former Foxes boss Nigel Pearson. Strange one that. What’s he going to do, scare them out of the relegation zone? 
     
    Leicester should have had a pen when Vardy was clipped in the box, but not only was he denied the spot kick he was also given a yellow card for his troubles. VAR really should have overturned that one.
     
    Maybe the ref was told that he’d got that wrong though as he made it up to Leicester with a dubious pen after the break. Messina’s hand was in the face of Johnny Evans but it was more a case of them jostling than anything else. You can’t give pens for that. Evans made a meal of it, as he tends to do. That’s right, I’m not letting the Shelvey incident go. I’ll never let that go. Fuck Johnny Evans.
     
    Vardy converted the pen and Maddison wrapped up the win in stoppage time to give Leicester seven on the spin and keep them within eight points of us at the top. They’ve got Villa and Norwich next, so I’m not expecting that gap to increase any time soon.
     
    Mind you, Villa are no pushovers and that’s a Midlands derby game, so you never know. Villa gave Chelsea a good game but came up just short.
     
    Kevin Abraham scored against the club where he did so well on loan last year. Predictably he didn’t celebrate, which was fair enough. Villa equalised with a scruffy goal from Trezeguet. Does he score anything other than scruffy? He’s like a less prolific Darren Bent. You know he’s shit, and even when he’s scoring he still manages to prove you right.
     
    Mount got the winner with a sweetly struck volley. Chelsea had chances to put the game out of sight but Villa hung around and had some late pressure that almost saw them get an equaliser. Hopefully they can do something against Leicester. Maybe my boy Jac… relax I’m kidding.
     
    Norwich went to St Mary’s in good spirits after taking four points from their last two games, but Southampton have had a resurgence of their own and just had too much for them. Actually that’s not really accurate. They were undone by two set-pieces.
     
    Ings - who else - headed the first from a free-kick and Bertrand bundled in the second from a corner. Pukki pulled one back with 25 minutes to go but Norwich couldn’t find an equaliser and the Saints leapfrogged Everton and pulled out of the bottom three.
     
    Wolves beat West Ham 2-0. Jiminez stabbed in the first and then Cutrone made it safe late on when he rounded off a nice move. West Ham should have been level before that but my boy Snodgrass fluffed his lines. Wolves are absolutely flying now though and are up to 5th. They might stay in the top six because they’re more trustworthy than the likes of Arsenal, United and maybe even Spurs, but time will tell on that.
     
    Thursday now. Newcastle followed up their point against City by winning at Bramall Lane. Saint-Maxin finally got a goal and Jonjo bagged another. They’re six points better off than they were this time last year, but don’t expect anyone to point that out as it goes against the whole “Rafa the magician working miracles” narrative. 
     
    Don’t get me wrong, a lot of managers would have been relegated with that squad and Rafa did a sterling job there, but Steve Bruce is doing even better at the moment.
     
    Finally, Brighton’s win at the Emirates was probably seen as a shock, but it shouldn’t be. Having watched them at Anfield I fully expected them to give Arsenal all they could handle, because as I’ve said, Arsenal are massive fucking fannies and Brighton looked like a tight knit unit against us. 
     
    I’ll say it again, where do those Arsenal players get the balls to act the way they do when they’re such a fucking embarrassment? I bet they lose at Goodison in a few weeks too, the fucking cowards.
  • A bullish Xherdan Shaqiri has said that he is ready for more game time after his star showing against Everton in the Reds 5-2 victory on Wednesday evening.

    The Swiss star was a surprise selection in the starting lineup especially when you take into account that he had not started a league game since the end of January and his last start in all competitions came on that memorable night on the 7th of May against Barcelona.

    Before Wednesday night, Shaqiri played a grand total of 25 minutes in all competitions with his longest run-out coming in the Community Shield against Man City.

    A long running battle with a calf injury has been the main reason for his lack of regular first-team action during this campaign, but after scoring his first goal in nearly a year and displaying his sublime skill, Shaq has made it known to all concerned including his manager that he is well and truly back.

    The Echo reported the popular utility player as saying:

    “ I’m ready, I think the coach saw that too in training,"

    "I trained very well and today he gave me the chance and I think I played very well.

    “ At the end of the day it’s important to win games with my team, we won it as a team, and obviously when I can contribute it’s always good. 

    “Let’s hope for more games!"
     
    Shaqiri said despite the lack of minutes, rust was never a issue and he felt at home on the pitch.
     


    “ You know me and how I play, so it’s nothing new!

    “I’m an instinctive footballer, so I like to play good football if I feel good. I felt good so I tried some things and it went well.

    “ I was very happy to score after a long time. It was a good feeling."

    While the injury was undoubtedly a frustrating time for the 28 year-old, he counted his blessings that it was not something more serious like a ligament injury.

    “ I’ve been injured [but] thank God I don’t have knee problems or something. I had some muscle problems so I just needed a few weeks to recover well.

    “The calf is very dangerous to get another injury and I had this so obviously it was not nice but I stayed positive and tried to come back. 

    “I worked very hard in the gym and with the fitness coaches to come back and be ready when the coach needs me. I’m feeling good."

    Shaqiri was a player that Jürgen Klopp turned to around this time last season and he certainly did not let his manager down turning in some special performances against Man United and Arsenal in particular.

    He is well aware of the jam packed fixture list during this month and says it is great to be option for his manager again.

    "Everybody knows that it’s a busy period now with a lot of games coming up, [so] I’m very happy to be back. I’m feeling fresh, feeling good, and I think you saw that.

    “We know each other very well, we train every day together, the team stays like last season even when the coach makes some changes - five changes, I think.

    “He changed the formation a little bit so it was not simple but we managed that very well today against a good side.

    " [It’s] a derby obviously so we wanted to keep the city red, so it was a very important win."
     
  • And to think I was actually worried about this one! In my defence, I think there were some good reasons to have some trepidation about the game, but the team selection wasn’t one of them. Not for me anyway. Far from it.
     
    It’s easy to say now with the benefit of hindsight, but I didn’t have any issue with the five changes made by Klopp. In fact, when I saw the team I felt more relaxed about our chances than I had before. Tiredness was one of the main reasons I wasn’t feeling overly confident, but those changes alleviated those fears.
     
    I know a lot of Reds will have been concerned about Salah and Firmino being left out, but it genuinely didn’t bother me one bit. In the Brighton report on Monday I called for Divock to be given a start, and although we haven’t seen Shaq in months he must have been looking sharp in training or Klopp wouldn’t have picked him. This was the front three that smashed Barcelona, so there was no reason to think they wouldn’t be up to the task of beating Everton.
     
    Origi has history against the Blues at Anfield. He’s like a modern day Rushy in this fixture. Evertonians no doubt see him in their nightmares. He’s the bogeyman to them, and I’m sure he knows it too. Not playing him would have been daft really. Lallana was a surprise inclusion, but again, that didn’t bother me.
     
    So why was I going all Han Solo and telling everyone “I have a bad feeling about this”? A few reasons really. History being one of them. We went into the game having equalled our longest ever unbeaten league run. The last time, that run was ended by Everton. Now we’re playing them again, on the exact same number of unbeaten games as last time? What are the odds on that? That type of thing always unnerves me.
     
    Of course, Everton were actually good back then and that game was at Goodison. This was at Anfield, where Everton haven’t won for 20 years. That unnerved me too though. Eventually they will win at Anfield, and with everyone talking about how the gap between the clubs is as big as it’s been in decades, it felt like we were ripe for an upset.
     
    The main thing that had me sweating though was how we’ve been playing, and specifically how tired I thought we looked against Brighton. That’s why I felt more confident when I saw the team.
     
    It was a really weird game though. The way we played in that first half was strange, and nothing like what we’ve seen all season. It was like we’d turned the clock back two years. This was the return of “the Red Arrows”. 
     
    It’s funny really because I had been talking about exactly this with the lads as we walked through Stanley Park beforehand. We’ve gone from a team that would be thrilling to watch and win 4-0, 5-2, 4-1, 6-0 before then losing 1-0 to some deadbeat relegation fodder, to one that isn’t as exciting but grinds out win after win and doesn’t drop ANY points.
     
    Obviously I prefer what we are now, but I can’t deny that I miss that swashbuckling side that would go the length of the field in six seconds and completely rip the opponents’ heart out. This is what we were discussing beforehand. One of the things I said was how not so long ago we were more dangerous from opponents’ corners than they were. Remember that Arsenal game when we kept running the length of the field on them and scoring? 
     
    Those type of goals had become less frequent, perhaps due to opponents becoming gun shy and taking more precautions, or perhaps because of us becoming a little more pragmatic. I don’t know the reason, I just know that we haven’t seen as much of those devastatingly fast, length of the field attacks over the last year or so and I was saying how I miss them.
     
    They were back with a vengeance in this game though. Fucking hell. It was exhilarating stuff. Unfortunately, the defensive fragility that often proved to be our undoing was also in evidence. There are some mitigating circumstances for that though I suppose.
     
    It might just have been a result of how the flow of the game went (and quite possibly because of the number of changes we made) or it may have been a deliberate tactical ploy, but it just seemed like every time we got the ball we were on a crusade to score within ten seconds. There was none of the controlled possession and patient build up that has become a staple of how we play. 
     
    It was just, get the ball, ping a 40 yard diagonal over their defence and everyone charge towards their box. I’m not complaining, as there’s nothing more thrilling than watching the Reds do that and it paid off four times in the first half. It did come at something of a cost though, because I felt as though Everton could score any time they got near our box. We were too open and there was space everywhere for them.
     
    The change in system and personnel to a 4-2-3-1 is probably the main reason, but I also think it was a result of the lads getting a little bit swept away by the ease with which they were slicing Everton open and maybe forgetting about being compact and restricting the space in front of the defence. Not having Fabinho or Henderson in there was clearly a contributing factor to that as well. It’s not a knock on Gini or Milner (who were both class), but they bring different qualities to Fabinho (and indeed Hendo).
     
    The second half was much better in terms of control and solidity and the only minor complaint I had was it took so long to get the final, killer goal. While it was 4-2 the Blues still had hope and were only one flukey goal or bad decision away from being right back in the game. A fifth goal would have killed them and probably led to more. 
     
    In truth, the damage was done in the first half and Everton were never coming back from that. It must have been soul destroying for them to see the manner that we put them to the sword. They didn’t defend well and were wide open to balls in behind, but they can consider themselves unlucky to concede four goals that were close to footballing perfection. On another day, none of those go in, because every one of those goals had a piece of individual brilliance in them that you don’t often see.
     
    Let’s go through them one by one. The first goal starts in our own box. Robbo heads the ball out, Lallana collects it and feeds Sadio who has room to run down the left. He carries it forward and sees the run made by Origi, but the Blues defence are all in a good position and Pickford is out of his goal ready to deal with any overhit pass. 
     
    It’s an almost impossible ball to play as it needs to be perfectly weighted and perfectly placed. Anything less than that and we can’t score. The pass is incredible and Divock was able to run onto it without breaking stride, and because of how far out Pickford is that touch kills him and leaves Origi with an empty net. I don’t actually think there’s anything Everton could have done to prevent that, it’s just world class forward play.
     
    The second goal was even better. Again it started on the edge of our box when Lovren made an interception and cleverly used his left foot to nudge the ball round the corner to Trent. Then we saw one of the passes of the season. Most footballers can produce a switch of play, but there are only a handful who can do it like that. The trajectory and pace on the ball is the thing that made the goal really. 
     
    If it had been a lofted ball out to Mané, that extra second or two allows defenders to get back and get themselves set. The ball took about a millisecond to get from Trent’s boot to Sadio’s though. It was an incredible pass. Sadio then drove at the defence and waited for the runners before rolling it into space for Shaq to run onto and divert past Pickford. Again, Everton’s defending wasn’t exactly bad, they were just undone by world class play.
     
    There were Evertonians in the away end who left as soon as that went in. I watched them heading for the exits and thought “what the fuck did you even come here for?”. 
     
    There was a blue sat next to me. He was nervously fidgeting all the time he was there, constantly looking at the away end and checking his phone to see what his mates were saying. I’m sure he was on the verge of walking out just before they scored. He had enough respect for where he was that he didn’t jump up and instead he just sat there quietly clenching his fists, but when it went to 3-1 it was all too much for him and he left. 
     
    That just shows how broken they are and how 20 years of Anfield misery has left them completely scarred. I actually thought they gave it a good go in the first half and were just undone by our brilliance. They got men forward and looked threatening, but the problem was the more they attacked the more exposed they became.
     
    The third goal was one where they could look at themselves and say they should do better. Basically they got done by a ball over the top. Even so, they can still feel a little bit hard done to because it still took a stunning piece of skill for Divock to convert the long ball into a goal. Lovren’s pass was right on the money but that first touch from Origi was ridiculous, bettered only by the finish that immediately followed.
     
    The technique to do something like that never fails to amaze me. The balance, agility and touch some of these footballers have is incredible, but it’s not something that would usually be associated with Divock. That was a Sturridge type goal. Or a Bergkamp even. Just so graceful. 
     
    Origi’s touch and technique is vastly under-rated but that’s because we don’t see it on a consistent enough basis. He’s got all the tools to be a top player, he just needs to put it together on a more regular basis. Maybe we can hypnotise him into thinking he’s facing Everton every week? Or play him through the middle and not out wide.
     
    The goals just kept on getting better and better, and the fourth one in first half stoppage time might be the pick of the bunch just because of how thrilling it was. That’s probably my own personal bias though, as nothing gets my juices flowing quite like a counter attack goal from an opposition corner. It was glorious.
     
    Virgil headed it out (as Richarlison took his customary dive looking for a pen) to Sadio, while Trent raced past him on the overlap. I thought Mané should have just knocked it around the corner for him first time, and when he turned inside I thought he’d lose the ball. He didn’t, he just completely skinned Iwobi and then released Trent who had acres of open space in front of him.
     
    Shaqiri was all alone in the centre and there was only one defender back trying to cover the two v one counter. I expected the ball to go to Shaq but Trent must have decided the ball was too difficult so he just kept hold of it until Sadio caught up with him, and just rolls it into his path. Still, that finish was really difficult. It’s on his left side, he’s running full tilt and he needed to adjust his feet to get himself set. He still found the bottom corner with a first time side foot shot. Again, Evertonians would be entitled to think he had no right to score from that position, but he did.
     
    Four truly world class goals and the Blues were reeling. That’s why it’s so irritating that we gave up that soft goal with the final kick of the half. It was a proper scabby little goal too, as Richarlison attempted a diving header and the ball hit his shoulder and flew past Adrian. Their first had been scrappy as fuck too, as three or four times the ball bounced in their favour before Michael Keane pounced on a loose ball to beat Adrian.
     
    Their goals weren’t pretty but they weren’t entirely undeserved either. Well, two goals was probably more than their play warranted, but they did cause us problems and we didn’t deserve to keep a clean sheet. We never keep clean sheets these days anyway, but we don’t usually let two in so that’s annoying.
     
    At half time I didn’t really know how to feel. I was buzzing about the goals we’d scored, but the lack of control and failure to just keep the ball and take the sting out of the game was pissing me off. It just shows the standards we’ve set that being 4-2 up in a derby game didn’t have me cock a hoop. 
     
    There was a bit of needle in the game too and predictably the Blues felt hard done by when it came to decisions. They wanted a red card fro Trent for a stamp on Richardson. Nonsense. The Brazilian went flying into Trent who had to jump to avoid being clattered. He didn’t deliberately stamp on him, but he didn’t try to avoid landing on him either, which is fine because why should he have? Richarlison was reckless and got what he deserved.
     
    They wanted Robbo sent off for roughing up Davies too. Again, not a chance. Robbo is falling on top of Davies and allows his arm to land on the back of his head. He could have avoided it and he knew what he was doing, but you can’t send someone off for that as he didn’t move his elbow towards the head of Davies, it was the natural position for his arm as he fell. Davies jumped up and shoved him, and Robbo just laughed right in his face.
     
    He’s a little bastard isn’t he? He did the same to Kyle Walker the other week when he gave him a little shove and then wound him up just by laughing right in his face. He’s my hero, I love everything about him.
     
    They also wanted a penalty and red card for Virgil. The penalty shout I get, but it’s complete madness to be talking about a red card. Calvert-Lewin is in the act of shooting when he’s challenged by Virgil. If you want to argue that it’s a penalty, that’s a discussion worth having. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a defender given a red card for something like that though, yet Jermaine Jeans and Danny Murphy both reckon it should have been a sending off. Fucking loons.
     
    I do think it was a pen though. At the time I didn’t because it just looked like Virgil leaned into him with his shoulder as he tried to shoot. The replay showed he tripped him as well though. Mike Dean said no penalty and then our mate Martin Atkinson on the VAR agreed. Top ref him, always rated him highly.
     
    Seriously, had the roles been reversed then Everton would have had a penalty as Atkinson wouldn’t have been able to blow that whistle quick enough. He was powerless though because as I mentioned in the diary last week, it would take a brave man to over-rule Mike Dean.
     
    Overall Dean had a good game. He probably should have given them a pen for that, but it’s the boy who cried wolf isn’t it? Calvert-Lewin just dives constantly, it’s his main attribute as a footballer. He’s a one trick pony, and that one trick is jumping into the nearest defender and then hitting the deck. He did it to Robbo in this game, and both Dean and the linesman fell for it and gave the free-kick. 
     
    Robbo was seething and even went to explain to the linesman at half time exactly what had happened. It couldn’t have been more obvious. it’s the same shit he pulled to get a penalty against Lovren a couple of years back. Maybe that was in Dean’s head when he went down under the challenge from Virgil?
     
    The second half was more low key. Less confrontations and less goalmouth incidents. Sadio missed two great chances after twice being picked out by substitute Hendo (who was brilliant after replacing Lallana). The first one he shot wide, and the second one he twice stayed on his feet after being impeded as he went around Pickford. By rights he should have had a penalty for that, but it’s hard for the ref to give a foul when the player doesn’t go down. 
     
    The Blues had a glorious chance to score immediately after Sadio’s miss, when Iwobi sent Moises Khan clean through. Thankfully he shot just wide, because if that had gone in then the last ten minutes would have been hairy as fuck.
     
    In the end we eventually put the icing on the cake when Bobby made a fool of Holgate and picked out Gini, who found the bottom corner with an accurate low drive. Nice for Bobby to get his revenge on Holgate after that appalling incident in the cup game a couple of years ago. Bobby probably didn’t even give it a second thought, but the rest of us did. Very sweet moment that. 
     
    So alls well that ends well. A new club record, another three points, another year without an Everton win at Anfield. Things are pretty fucking sweet for us right now, which is in stark contrast to what’s happening with the Blues.
     
    Marco Silva will be gone by the time you read this. He can have no real complaints, but one thing I would say is that those players were trying. They haven’t quit on him so he hasn’t “lost the dressing room”. They gave it a go against us but the fact of the matter is they just aren’t very good. 
     
    There are some players in that side who are genuinely terrible. Championship standard players at best. Holgate, Davies, Sidibi and Calvert-Lewin do not belong on a Premier League pitch. Digne and Richarlison are the only two good players they have (Coleman too, when he’s fit) and they’re nothing special either.
     
    They’re in the bottom three now (with four tough games to come) and depending on who they bring in, they might actually go down. I’d say it’s unlikely but it’s not impossible. Moyes would probably keep them up but it would be such a depressing, backwards move for them to bring him back. Imagine being a Blue, it’s just such a fucking utterly abject, miserable existence. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, just darkness, rats and the smell of piss.
     
    I’ve reached a point where I don’t even want to gloat anymore. It’s not so much that I feel bad for them (I don’t, not at all), it’s more that they have reached such a low ebb now that I’d feel bad about myself if I mocked them, as it almost feels like bullying. 
     
    It’s ok to take the piss out someone for having jug ears or a big chin, but you don’t mock someone in a wheelchair, or with special needs, because it makes you a cunt. This isn’t quite the same thing, I know that, but in terms of the principle of it, it’s similar. To me, Everton have gone beyond the point where I can justify ripping the piss out of them. Now I just feel like it’s piling on them unnecessarily.
     
    Of course that doesn’t mean I didn’t laugh at (or join in with) the repeated airings of the “Merry Christmas Everton” song and I fucking loved the “We’re gonna have a party when Tottenham win the cup” chant too. They had that coming and it’s one of the most stinging burns I can remember. Probably up there with “Always look on the bright side of life” when we stopped United winning the league at Anfield.
     
    Taunting a team with their own song is always savage, but this was particularly brutal as it was a reminder of just how sad their behaviour at the end of last season was. Wanting Spurs to win was perfectly natural. Nothing wrong with that. Taking Man City flags to games and singing for Spurs though just makes you a sad cunt, and the chant from the Kop will have been close to the bone. There’s no comeback to that, you just have to sit there and listen to it, while wallowing in your own misery.
     
    So the piss taking during the game I’m more than happy to partake in. Inside the stadium, during a game, alls fair in love and war and that. Afterwards though, day to day, I just can’t bring myself to taunt any of the Blues I know as it just feels arlarse. They’ve got enough on their plate with the Reds being great again and them being in a relegation battle.
     
    That being said, we play them again in a few weeks and I reserve the right to take all of the above back should the need arise. For now though, I’m leaving them be as it wouldn’t be a case of kicking a man when he’s down, it would be more like lifting up the coffin lid and repeatedly punching the corpse in the face.
     
    Star man is Sadio, despite those two second half misses that denied us a scoreline for the ages. He was just unplayable in the first half and if the season ended now he’d be my choice for Player of the Year. He’s fucking relentless and never gets tired. He had two weeks off in the summer but look at him, going out there three times a week and running teams ragged. He’s incredible. If Mané hadn’t been so spectacular then I’d have gone for Origi.
     
    Special mention to Shaq as well though. I think this was his best game for us even though he hadn’t featured in months. He was confident, strong, made good decisions and covered more ground than anyone other than Gini and Milner. Made up to see him back as I love the little guy. Not as much as my Dad does though. When the players were getting ready to restart the game after Shaq’s goal, he turned to me with a big grin and says “made up my little man got a goal”.
     
    We all have our favourites, the underdog who we root for. For my Dad it’s Shaq (and Adrian, who he’d have as first choice if it were up to him. I’m not joking!) and I guess for me it’s probably Lovren. He isn’t my favourite player but I do have a huge soft spot for him as I think he gets a raw deal. He was superb again, even if it understandably won’t really be mentioned because of all the other storylines to come out of the game.
     
    Similarly, I root for Lallana too as I’ve always been a fan of his even before we signed him. I was happy for him to get a run out and one or two careless moments aside he did a good job. The strength of the squad is often called into question and I get that, as the drop off between first choice and back up sometimes looks greater than it probably is. 
     
    All things considered though, we’ve got as strong a squad as anyone other than perhaps City, but they have the luxury of breaking every financial rule in the book to pack their bench with £50m signings. It’s always nice when the squad players get a chance to shine and they take it. This is one of the most satisfying results of the season for me, and it’s got nothing to do with WHO we played, it’s entirely about HOW we played.
     
    Well in lads, now let’s go to Bournemouth and pick up another three points.
     
     
    Team: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner; Shaqiri, Lallana (Henderson), Mané; Origi (Firmino).
  • Divock Origi proved once again that he is a Derby specialist after grabbing a double against Everton in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over Everton at Anfield on Wednesday evening.

    Jürgen Klopp juggled his pack to great effect giving rare starts to the Belgian, Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana as Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah watched on from the subs bench

    Origi looked sharp from kickoff and was the beneficiary of some wonderful play further up the pitch from Sadio Mane and Dejan Lovren to tuck his chances away with aplomb, while Mane and Shaqiri also piled on the misery for the beleaguered Blues in the first 45 minutes.

    The four goals were the most scored by a Liverpool team in the first half of a Derby since 1935, and the emphatic victory saw a club record broken for most games unbeaten in the top-flight (32).

    With his two goals on Wednesday, Origi has now scored five times in just six appearances against this particular opponent for the Reds.
     
    The Official site ( via Amazon Prime) reported Origi as saying:

    “ It's a special atmosphere, a special game. I think as a team we just enjoy it.

    “There were a lot of goals today and we showed that we really enjoyed to play for Liverpool."
     


    Origi was delighted that he was given the opportunity by his manager.

    “The manager showed us trust and we just tried to repay it as much as possible and get the three points.

    “We know it's important for our season. It's an important game, it's special, you can hear it. I'm so happy.
     
    "The chief nemesis of Everton gave a description of both goals, paying full tribute to his teammates.

    "I think the first was important just to break the game open.

    "I think second one, I enjoyed that.

    "It was a great pass from Sadio for the first and [then] a wonderful ball from Dejan.

    “We used the spacing well, that's one of our weapons in going in behind and then we just tried to do it. 

    “It was wonderful service and that was good today."



     
  • 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."



     
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