Featured: That was the week that was (Feb 1-7 2020)

[tlw content]

 

Saturday Feb 1:

 

L 4 Southampton 0. Imagine being an opposition manager trying to prepare a team to face us right now, especially at Anfield. It’s virtually impossible. Usually, even with the really good sides, there’s a weakness you can identify and try to exploit. Maybe they aren’t good defending crosses, or they’re susceptible to pace. Or perhaps the left back isn’t the best or one of the centre backs gets dragged out of position too easily. 

 

These are always things the analysts would spot and you’d try to take advantage of, but so many knowledgeable people are saying this Liverpool side has no weaknesses and we’re seeing this on a weekly basis. How the fuck do you beat us?

 

The only way a team is going to beat us is if we have a huge off day (like at Old Trafford), and even then they’d have to produce their best game of the season to still win (unlucky, United!). Southampton were superb today. I couldn’t have been more impressed with them. They had a go, they played on the front foot and they were really well drilled in what the coach wanted them to do. 

 

For 45 minutes they gave us all we could handle. And then they lost 4-0 because that’s what we can do. At least they went in with the approach that they would stand or fall by doing what they do.

 

One of things that isn’t really talked about but for me is one of the key factors in why we’re able to do what we do, is the level of analysis we do on the opposition. The Southampton boss said we’re so great because we never underestimate anyone, and that’s true. It’s also true that we study the shit out of everyone we’re going to play. I guess those two things are linked together.

 

Look at today. Southampton caused us so many problems in the first half, but Klopp says that at half time his boy Pete picked out three examples of passages of play where we just needed to do something a bit different to open them up. 

 

This no doubt involved changing how we used Fabinho when playing through their press, and lo and behind in the second half we were just popping it around them and then finding space to run at them. This is what I mean. No stone is left unturned when it comes to preparation and as a result of that we can adjust to overcome any type of tactics or style.

 

Of course it helps when you’ve got world class players all over the park, but other teams have had that too. They’ve never been able to do what we’re doing right now though.

 

Meanwhile, the Hendo for POTY campaign is really rolling now. Shearer threw his weight behind it on MOTD tonight, Lineker agreed and Ian Wright offered up no argument against either. It might actually happen you know.

 

Sunday Feb 2:

 

What’s this bullshit? Juve ready to bid £150m for Virgil, apparently. Biggest load of clickbait shite since… since… well since that Richarlison story last week. Who in their right mind is swapping us for Juve, especially after seeing what happened to Big Sexy who is now at Dortmund. You don’t leave us and better yourself. Not any more.

 

Meanwhile, City lost again. I’ll be covering this in the Round Up so won’t dwell on it here. One thing I want to mention though is how fucking frazzled Guardiola is. His post match interview with Sky was really uncomfortable viewing as he had that weird kind of forced smile you see from movie bad guys before they slit someone’s throat.

 

He then went off on one about something Peter Scudamore said two years ago. Even leaving aside the way he’s twisted what Scudamore meant, this was fucking nuts. I’ve been telling you for ages how there are people behind the scenes at that club who are utterly obsessed with Liverpool and this is just the latest example of it.  There’s no way Guardiola thought of that by himself. 

 

He’s not someone who sits there reading all the papers to see what’s being said about his team and I doubt he even knew who Scudamore was before today. For him to have said what he did after the game just tells me he’s been fed that by someone else there. Probably in the press office, as if you talk to anyone who’s had dealings with them they’ll tell you that they’re batshit fucking mental over there.

 

So someone has told him he should bring that up and they’ve made him look like an absolute fucking tool. Not that he needs much help, but still. I reckon he’ll quit at the end of this season as he knows he’s beaten and unless he’s given another billion pound to spend (which he won’t be, as the FFP scrutiny on them is such that not even they would dare to be so brazen again) that City squad is not closing the gap on us any time soon.

 

We’ve broken him like we broke Barcelona. Maybe he’ll go back and they can try to fix each other while sharing their traumatic experienced at the hands of the Mighty Reds.

 

 

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[KMD7]

I'm with you on the Maradona/Messi argument. It'll always be Diego for me but I wouldn't argue with anyone that says Messi either, the bad helmets.

[Red_or_Dead]

Quote

The final podcast of Carra’s brilliant series dropped today, and it was the best of the lot. That’s saying something because some of them have been absolutely fantastic (the Bellamy one was probably my favourite until now, although Hendo, Stevie, Southall and Merson all ran it close) but this one was just compulsive listening. So much so that I’m going to listen to it again later in case there’s anything I didn’t fully catch the first time around.

Fucking hell Dave! 

[Erik T]

Messi to Liverpool? Robbo’s not having it. 

[Vincent Vega]

The Carragher podcast with Owen was indeed a good listen. The most shocking thing for me was Houllier forcing Owen to play in a pre-season game less than three months after he snapped his hamstring because Houllier was feeling the heat. No wonder Owen ended up fucked at such a young age. I thought Ferguson had been mischief making when he inferred that we had ruined Owen by overplaying him at a young age, but it seems he was right.

 

The thing with Owen that I can’t let go of isn’t him joining Newcastle or the Mancs (let’s face it he didn’t exactly do much for them), it was running down his contract so we got a fraction of what he was worth when he left. I’m the same with McManaman. That’s the one thing I’ll always hold against them. Not that I’d be arsed giving either of them shit.

[rb14]

10 hours ago, tlw content said:

...the traditionalists should kissing our hairy beanbags... 

 

Load of old bollocks. Some of us shave. 

[Josef Svejk]

That's Ashley Young, former Manchester United captain. Says a lot about them...

[dave u]

On 08/02/2020 at 20:02, Vincent Vega said:

The thing with Owen that I can’t let go of isn’t him joining Newcastle or the Mancs (let’s face it he didn’t exactly do much for them), it was running down his contract so we got a fraction of what he was worth when he left. I’m the same with McManaman. That’s the one thing I’ll always hold against them. Not that I’d be arsed giving either of them shit.

 

That doesn't bother me. It probably did at the time (can't remember) but not now. He was a youth team player who cost us nothing, he gave us incredible service and won trophies for us, and when he left we got £8m. I don't see a problem with it.

 

I feel similar about McManaman, who left for nothing. He cost us nothing, we had great years out of him and at one point we accepted a bid from Barcelona and he was made to look a twat because they were using him to get Deportivo to sell them Rivaldo, so he ended up back here with egg on his face. He was never signing a new contract after that.

 

If either of them had signed a new contract they'd have priced themselves out of the opportunity to play in Spain. Essentially they'd be in the position Zaha is in now at Palace. Better teams would have taken him for a reasonable fee, but as soon as he signed a deal he made himself a prisoner at Palace. A well paid prisoner, but a prisoner nonetheless.

[Arnaud]

I don’t mind Owen, but he’s good  at PR. I don’t buy him being so emotional so suddenly. And should he keep saying “we” for United, I mean that’s very offensive for every single Liverpool fan. 

[StevieMax]

Obviously there’s the Guardiola link too, but I’m not sure how much weight that carries as having worked with ‘Pep’ for several years Messi probably thinks he’s a bad weirdo.

 

You did mean bald weirdo, didn't you?

[StevieMax]

15 hours ago, dave u said:

and when he left we got £8m

 

And Nunez!

[dave u]

23 minutes ago, StevieMax said:

Obviously there’s the Guardiola link too, but I’m not sure how much weight that carries as having worked with ‘Pep’ for several years Messi probably thinks he’s a bad weirdo.

 

You did mean bald weirdo, didn't you?

For once I didn't, but like they say, if that cap fits.... wear it to stop that chrome dome getting burned by the sun.