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My Dad, a massive red would have been 85 today. Three points. Happy Birthday Dad x.

This is probably the wrong thread, but I'm posting it for the Catholics amongst you. If you're not a religious type you probably won't want to read this sentimentalist clap-trap. My mum died last night. It was a shock. She was a proper strong intelligent woman. If your mum is still around, giver her a hug tonight. When I was a kid, I went to a C of E school. I would come home and say the C of E version of the Lord's Prayer at night, when we said our prayers with my mum. Mum decided that I needed educating in Catholicism, so she and some other mums in a similar situation decided they would form a night school for us. The place that took-us-in and allowed us to use their facilities was a Catholic Friary not far from home. It was great fun. There were places to run around. The lessons weren't too boring and the Friars were great. [insert Catholic priest joke here]. One was a great artist and drew biblical pictures with us. Another - Father Francis was a favourite of mum's. He was a great musician, singer and teller-of-jokes. We still have Father Francis' vinyl record in mum and dad's house. Signed of course. Eventually mum took me out of the school and sent me to a Catholic one. I still knock about with my best friend from the old C of E school - but Corty says he doesn't trust Catholics anymore because they took Jennings away from school - out of the blue. Anyway - back to last night. My wife and our three grown-up kids were visiting her last night - well all-day actually - at the hospital. She was clearly deteriorating fast. I was reproaching myself for not knowing how to organise a Catholic Priest to give her the last rites. It was a really emotionally draining day. The lady opposite had a priest visiting her. I told my sister that I wanted to go speak to him and ask him to pray for mum. But in the end, I didn't have the courage - or the will to interrupt them, as he looked busy and it would have looked intrusive of me. My sister got up at 8:00pm to go home. We said we'd stay another 15 minutes. I got up to take her chair back to the nurse's station. On my way back, I bumped into the priest, who was leaving. I said hello, and he greeted me with a gentle warmth. I asked him whether he was a Franciscan. He said he was. I told him I didn't want to be a nuisance but would he mind saying a prayer for my mum when he got home, and I explained she was in bed 15 and on Palliative care. He said "of course" and that "it was no trouble. In fact do you think she would like a blessing now?". "That would be amazing Father", I replied. He then went over to her and said a really beautiful prayer and blessing. My whole family were moved. I thought it best to establish our Catholic credentials, and re-assure him that mum was a good church-going practicing Catholic - and we weren't just taking advantage of his good nature. He smiled, "Which church did she go to?". I told him. He told us he had lived near that church, many years ago. He said that he lived in the Friary nearby and remembered it fondly. I told him about my mum setting up our religious classes at that Friary. I told him about the Priest who used to draw with us and the singing and laughing with Father Francis - who told great jokes. I asked him "Do you remember Father Francis?" He beamed a great smile and his eyes shone brightly. He tapped his chest and said "He's me. I'm Father Francis." "Would you like me to administer the last Sacrament to your mum?." It was amazing. Unbelievable luck! I told my brother what happened. And with Father Francis wearing his brown Franciscan robe, he looked like Obiwan Kenobi when he said "Of course I know him. He's me". My bro said "Well no matter how many times you tell this story, it doesn't make you Luke fucking Skywalker." Heathen!

Liverpool. AC Milan. Istanbul. Steven Gerrard geeing up the crowd. Penalties. Wobbly legs. Athens. Inzhagi. Not starting Crouch. Clive Tyldesley. Nat Phillips taking 6 players back to Argos in the San Siro. These all go hand in hand in hand when you think about Liverpool and AC Milan. Or at least, they do to me. It’s a real game of football. No oil cheats, just two legitimate European heavyweights slugging it out in one of the world’s most recognisable stadiums. Well, this wasn’t so much of a slugfest as a routine second-round knockout. To stick with the boxing (which I hate) analogy, Milan landed the first punch as well. Last night was a very good European away performance – apart from the first ten minutes when we were groggy from the punch we got on Saturday. I have no idea what we were playing at against Forest but we continued that dreadful lethargy into this game. The Chaaaaaaaaaaaaampions League anthem had barely stopped echoing around the San Siro when we had our warning – a break down the left halted by van Dijk being in the right place at the right time as well as the offside flag. But did we heed it? Did we balls – we were behind inside of 4 minutes as the entirety of the defence went walkies and Pulisic had the freedom of the city to shoot across Alisson into the bottom corner. Great finish, but could we have given him any more space? It’s difficult to compute exactly what was going on because we were totally exposed. Pulisic is one of these players who has a habit of always scoring against us. A Sean Bartlett. An O’Neil Donaldson. At least there is a crumb of comfort in the fact he is a pretty good player, indeed if his body wasn’t made of water biscuits, he could be more than that. A lot of ex-Chelsea lads have rocked up on the red and black side of Milan actually, haven’t they? After the goal went in there was a long delay as Milan’s keeper Maignon received what felt like his first of 18 stints of injury treatment. This allowed us to have a reset and regain focus. It was still all a bit ragged for about ten minutes and then once we settled down, we took an iron grip and turned in a very good European away performance. Slot obviously likes this midfield three as they started together yet again and it was they who turned the tide, winning the ball back quickly and efficiently and keeping it well. Gravenberch is a player reborn. He was everywhere again but more on him later. Mo Salah is obviously European (and elsewhere) goalscoring royalty and he was unlucky to not add to his tally, having a personal dual with the crossbar in that first half. We took an absolutely crushing hold on the game. There was no way out for Milan, they were unable to get any kind of foothold in the game whatsoever. It’s only when you look back at the chances we had that you realise how dominant that first half was. Mo hit the bar twice, we scored two goals and Jota had that great chance that he inexplicably poked wide. It goes to show that we are a very good team and the gulf between Serie A and the Premier League is huge - as it should be with the money swilling around in our league. Milan are simply not used to Hurricane Liverpool rocking up in town, pressing them to death and forcing them to kick the ball long or into touch and we overwhelmed them with wave after wave of attack. For all our possession and good play, the equaliser was from a free kick. I have visions of Calabria still arguing to his wife today that he didn’t foul Gakpo. He did – he wiped him out in fact. Regulation free kick, regulation yellow card. Great ball whipped in by Trent, Konate rising highest for an easy header and his first goal in 2 and a half years. It always feels like he should score more goals than he does because he is a presence in the box. He couldn’t miss this one though – huge questions of Milan’s defending and more on that to come. Speaking of Gakpo, he had his best game for the club so far here I thought. He looks like he has had Slot in his ear over the summer and it has given him a huge boost. He is more direct, he is more confident and above all, more aggressive. You always get the feeling from Gakpo like when you order from this new Chinese people have been banging on about. What you ordered was alright but you just were left wanting a bit more and can’t really see what the hype is about. Not at the moment – Gakpo is in great form and long may it continue. We should have quickly gone in front but Jota contrived to poke it wide. A real head scratcher from someone who is usually so clinical. However, as we often joke about, he had one of those days where he didn’t resemble a footballer. He was simply not very good on this occasion. With Milan now scrambling to contain us, we really went after them. Mo hit the bar again and it felt like us going in front was inevitable. When it happened, it was another set piece. You usually associate Italian teams with being solid defensively but the marking for van Dijk’s goal was terrible. Virgil escaping their attentions was so easy, he literally walked free to nod home Tsimikas’ corner. To go in front at half time was no more than we deserved. The second half would go on to be a quieter affair – we were much the better team but asserted this much vaunted “control” that we have read that Slot likes so much. The reality is we were very comfortable. I was worried the game was going to last until the early hours after Maignon eventually decided to come off after he was caught by Jota’s follow through when the striker had a good chance to score but hit it straight at the keeper. It was a good save don’t get me wrong. After he stopped doing his Fabrizio Ravanelli impression, Milan brought on an actual child in his place. The goalkeeper was a young nipper, make no mistake. With that being said, we barely tested him. The third and decisive goal came after 67 minutes as Gakpo was played in by Szoboslai, who continued his run to shin in from the Dutchman’s left wing cross. It was a perfect time to score as it killed the game off as a contest. I don’t think Szoboslai is playing particularly well and tonight was no different, but he did well for the goal as he found room in the middle to play Gakpo in and got forward in support. I still want more from him personally as he has not hit the high standards he hit in the first 3 months last season but this was more like it. The game petered out at that moment. Off came Jota (who had a stinker, let’s be honest) and Gakpo, who was great and on came Nunez and Diaz respectively. We took our foot off the gas considerably and I am ok with that. Milan threatened very little though they did make a break down the left and looked like they would get a shot away only for Gravenberch to get back in and nick the ball behind for a corner. There have been a lot of questions about Gravenberch in light of the pursuit for Zubamendi et al, but for me he has that “6” shirt now. He has played very well this season and his game has clearly developed over the summer. He is nicking the ball back, using it well and going past people. We might have botched the Zubamendi deal but maybe it can SAVE FSG MILLIONS ™ and we actually have the 6 that we needed all along. There was no doubt at all that Gravenberch was very talented, we just needed to find what fits him. Klopp couldn’t do it consistently – maybe Slot has? The last ten minutes fizzled out and the referee only added 6 minutes despite Maignon’s best attempts. Milan took their supposed main man off. I know his record is good, but has any one actually seen Alvaro Morata have a good game? It feels to me like it’s something I am yet to see. He was anonymous tonight. We even got Chiesa on for all of three minutes which was a shame as I’d liked him to have had 10-15 minutes but at least he’s got that first appearance out of the way. Endo also came on and - protecting his gimmick - gave the ball away and fouled someone in quick succession despite having just three minutes in which to do so. There was still time for Alisson to push a Rafa Leao shot onto the post in the 96th minute. A really sharp save given he had nothing to do more or less since the tenth minute. And with that, the end and a very comprehensive win on the road for the Reds. If Slot failed his first big test on Saturday, he passed another in the San Siro on a pretty big stage. Falling behind in the midst of a terrible start to the game would have set nerves jangling, I know it did mine. But we recovered expertly to dispatch Milan with relative ease. No comebacks, dramas or Cruyff turns here. Just an easy win. Difficult to choose between Gravenberch and Gakpo for the star man but I think Gravenberch shades it – he is doing really well at the moment and long may it continue. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch (Endo), Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah (Chiesa), Jota (Nunez), Gakpo (Diaz): View full article

Today i get the news that my niece has passed away after a 3 year battle with bone cancer at the age of 21. This one reduced me to tears, sent home from work and hitting the beer.

Warrior performance Yes we didn't play well for the whole 2nd half but 3 games in 7 days, that will happen. Away game, 12.30 kick off, rotated players in, it happens sometimes. They put us under pressure, Jones and Sobolzlai went missing a little and it's a tight pitch. I know everyone will say that was shit 2nd half but we fucking dug deep, weathered the storm and really defended well. Sometimes you don't get time on the ball, sometimes you cant play pretty football. On those days just be fucking rock solid, and we were. We missed too many chances, and when it's 1-0 the other team & fans will always have belief. Especially at that ground. I fucking loved that we won 1-0. Be hard to beat and defend properly. We are really doing that this season. Massive 3 points. I also loved to see Slot going mental at refereeing decisions. He's a winner, he's showing that and the players will feed off that. I don't buy this "easy start" bullshit either. No games are easy in the premier league especially when you're a new manager, new country, new style of play. I had my doubts about him but he's done a fantastic job and he's a really good manager. Absolutely buzzing off that win.

Yes, it is I, Le Clerc, or at least Dan Thomas, with your match report of the 5-1 swatting of West Ham. That ended up being a load of fun, didn’t it? After 20 minutes and being 1-0 down to a Keystone Kops own goal, it didn’t look like it would be a lot of fun at all. The much changed Reds however roared back in style to complete a 5-1 rout of West Ham, the same result as last season when we went on the lift the Coca Cola/Carling/Capital One/Carabao Cup. A good omen? How is the Pope feeling these days…? We made a lot of changes for this game as we all expected. Arne Slot has been quite rigid with his team selection so far but this was always going to be a game for the Konates of the world to sit out as we balance a pretty heavy calendar over the next three weeks before another accursed jabroni international break. The good thing about making changes for us, is that our squad is so good that we can immediately put out a team that can and will beat most teams even when we make significant changes. It comes to something when the likes of Conor Bradley, Jarrel Quansah, Endo and Curtis Jones have barely featured this season. There was a bit of rust from some which is totally understandable given the lack of football. In years gone by I have viewed the Coca Cola/Carling/Capital One/Carabao Cup as a massive inconvenience, extra games where we don’t need them. It would be easy to have that outlook this season in particular, given the absolute over-saturation of the Champions League and the extra games that brings. However, this competition is a great chance to get the kids their game time and make sure our squad players or players who aren’t currently in the first team get their football. Jurgen took this competition very seriously in his last three or four years and it looks like Slot is going to look to maintain that momentum. The first twenty minutes was a nothing event, we started off reasonably well and controlled the ball but created nothing of note bar a few set pieces. Kostas does throw a lovely ball in but West Ham stood firm. The direction of the game then actually changed, with West Ham really on the front foot without creating much. Danny Ings did have the ball in the net but it failed the eye test immediately and as it turns out he had just gone too soon. I like Danny Ings. It’s so easy to forget he played for us sometimes. He would have been a good signing had he not got injured the way he did I reckon. We still made a tidy profit from him as well. We didn’t heed this warning however, as we were behind not long after. And it was about as scruffy as it gets. We failed to clear a corner either first or second phase, the ball pinged around and Endo was frankly unlucky as his attempt to clear the ball out wide hit Quansah on the shin and dribbled into the net in front of the Kop. It looked comical and inept and that would be fair – but it was unlucky. Endo did well to get in there and I think he's trying to put it out for a throw in near the corner flag. But ho hum. The annoying habit of falling behind that is endemic in the last two years continues then. It was all a bit disjointed but that goal actually sparked us into life. We were level inside of five minutes. Some lovely tight passing down the left saw Jota thread the ball through to free up Gakpo. He drove into the box and lofted it back post to Chiesa, who hit his shot into the floor. However, as Jota does, he got on his bike and was on the right end of the bobble, showing good awareness and movement to get on the end of Chiesa’s effort and nod it past Fabianski. 1-1 and game on, Jota signalling the intent by going to get the ball from the net. Let’s skip to the second half – ultimately it was quite eventful, which the rest of the first half was not. Apparently Lopetegui hurt his calf in one of his several hissy fits with the referee in the second half. West Ham’s string of penalty appeals in the second half verged from ridiculous to Evertonian. We can cite the absence of VAR all we want (very enjoyable by the way) but none of these decisions wouldn’t have been overturned anyway, because they weren’t penalties! At best the appeals were vexatious – at worse they would have made Goodison’s finest blush with…. In fact no, that’s a bit far. The first appeal was for handball against Gomez who had his hands by his side. Never a penalty ever, get in the sea for even appealing. Immediately, we break with good work from Jones who received the ball back and put it on a plate for Jota to sidefoot into the corner. Fabianski will probably be disappointed with himself having got his hand to it but he didn’t get enough on it to keep it out. Squawking from West Ham about the fictional handball but it was a lovely finish and I hope it will gives Jones some confidence as he hasn’t played a lot this season. When he moves the ball quickly, he is potentially a very big asset. We did look like we might be in the mood to go on and score again but come the hour, come the changes. On came Mo and Mac Allister, off came the Slotter and Chiesa. Chiesa didn’t do anything right or wrong, it all feels a bit like building up his fitness at the moment. Also, Paqueta and Antonio emerged from the bench for the visitors. Antonio is past his peak but he is a nuisance and West Ham actually made their way back into the game. There was a string of ridiculous penalty appeals as already mentioned, the referee was rightly having none of it. Kelleher made a couple of sharp saves at 2-1, two crucial interventions within a few seconds of each other. Kilman, somehow, missed from six yards and that was your lot. There was another crazy penalty “injustice” that saw that Lopetegui loser get a booking and that was as good as it got for West Ham. Fabianski beat away a piledriver from Gakpo too, making a save he should. Salah was johnny on the spot with a smart, crisp finish from a Bradley cutback that saw a Mac Allister shot blocked. You can’t keep Mo out of the action can you? Even in a routine League Cup home win he is after goals, after records, after accolades. A goalscoring machine. West Ham’s sense of injustice was only added to when Edson Alvarez was sent off for a second yellow for a frankly ridiculous challenge considering he was on a booking. Absolutely bonkers tackle and off he went. What I liked after this was our pursuit for more goals. I am all for more control in games but this was an opportunity to fill our boots and we did. We got Morton on the field (and he has filled out since his last Anfield appearance) and Robertson came on for Tsimikas. It would have been easy for us to just knock the ball around given the situation but no, we wanted more and we got more. Gakpo was rewarded for his excellent recent form with a late double, firstly firing home from outside the box with a low shot to Fabianski’s right. Even after that, we pushed forward and I fancied we might score another. Gakpo duly obliged with a deflected drive, spinning the ball away from Fabianski to his left. This more aggressive, more direct, more assertive Cody Gakpo is proving to be a massive asset. More of the same, please. So, a comprehensive and comfortable win. Our grip on the Rumbelows Cup is safe for now but away to Brighton is a massive task for us given our recent record there. However, if we turn up in the kind of mood we were for big chunks of that second half then Brighton will struggle to contain us. I usually resent all Premier League ties, especially when Man City usually draw the ghost of Rushton and Diamonds in the knockout competitions. But a trip to the AMEX will actually be a good test for us, the squad and help us to continue to assess where we are at in this transformative season. Great stuff all round, and I am sure Lopetegui will be along in a minute to remonstrate with my Star Man award. The bell. Who is that Star Man? You might know already if you read the top banner, but if not then I'll reveal it here. It could easily have been Jota for his two goals, I thought Endo played well, Jones was classy and skilful. But my shout here is Gakpo. He was lively throughout and looks a million percent more of a player than he did last season. Team: Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Gomez, Tsimikas (Robertson); Endo (Morton), Jones; Chiesa (Salah), Jota (Mac Allister), Nunez, Gakpo: View full article

We have conceded two goal in the league. Let me repeat that, we have conceded just two goals in the league after seven games. Yet people find reasons to complain, live in the moment, learn to love it.

Everton out of a competition we’ve not started in yet

Brentford and Thomas Frank, take a bow.

Part of the reason teams are 10th, 11th 12th and 13th is because they have lost to us.

A moment in history tonight and something that will be brought up in pub quiz nights in the future Who was the last Everton player to kick a ball in the league cup at Goodison, and why is it significant? Ashley Young, missing a penalty to ensure Everton will never have won the league cup whilst playing at Goodison despite having 64 attempts

I'm in Birmingham this morning, sadly. Chris' Cafe in Digbeth provided me with this, £9.50. Not much to complain about here other than going a bit overboard on the beans.

Neg away fuckers, I ain’t cropping shit.

Only six years later for another bash, being a parent really fucks with your spare time

What a fucking boss kid Harry is. Saying "don't make it easy" to the keeper was great. They picked the right player for that too, Curtis is brilliant at this stuff and just seems like a lovely lad.

We’re just north of Brighton in the South Downs

Saturday lunchtime kick-off after a midweek European game is par for the course with us. Selhurst Park is one of those grounds that makes for difficult television viewing when there's an early kick-off or when the sun's out, because the relatively low camera angle in a stand that is positioned north east puts the afternoon sun directly into the camera. This fixture was an early kick-off last year too, and that one was settled by Harvey deep into stoppage time. The game represents a chance for us to cement top spot in the table going into the international break, and up to now we've been getting results even though we have had spells where things are not quite clicking. Palace got a new manager bounce last season whe Oliver Glassner came in, and were one of the league's in-form sides in the run-in. The very first game of that run-in was the one at Anfield. Eze, Wharton and Mateta in particular have thrived under the new manager even though Palace currently find themselves in the bottom 3. They lost key players Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen to Bayern and Fulham respectively in the summer, and even Jordan Ayew finally left, moving to Leicester. It seemed as though he'd been playing every game for them for the last decade, regardless of form. Marseille winger Ismaila Sarr has joined them (he'd been linked with us in the past but has always been inconsistent), as has defender Maxence Lacroix from Wolfsburg, another player previously linked with us. Eddie Nketiah was signed off Arsenal's bench for big money, and Trevoh (I always wonder if that was a typo on his birth certificate) Chalobah has arrived on loan from Chelsea. I mentioned Ayew before, but Palace's squad in general seemed to give off an air of staleness as it barely seemed to change for years under Hodgson. Maybe the air of staleness was coming off the old boss himself. Anyway, they've freshened up the squad and maybe Glassner is yet to find cohesion as a result. He can wait even longer to find it. For us, we need to continue being a tough nut to crack and coming away with wins. We've been very consistent with results but performances have occasionally wavered, so I guess Slot's process is still one not yet fully established. Harvey is definitely still out, and Fede missed the Bologna game so is maybe another doubt. Other than that, I've not heard of any other potential absentees for this game. Slot hasn't really wavered in his team selections to date so you would think it would be more of the same, even though a couple of players look like they need a breather. Sharpening up in all facets is most welcome. How have our previous managers got on in their first away fixture against Palace? Souness...23/03/1993...Palace 1-1 Liverpool (Rush) Evans...20/08/1994...Palace 1-6 Liverpool (Molby pen, McManaman 2, Fowler, Rush 2) Houllier...N/A Benitez...23/04/2005...Palace 1-0 Liverpool Hodgson...N/A Dalglish...N/A Rodgers...05/05/2014...Palace 3-3 Liverpool (Allen, Delaney og, Suarez) Klopp...06/03/2016...Palace 1-2 Liverpool (Firmino, Benteke pen) I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. 3 points please. Get it done!

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I have lots of opinions on Mo Salah, but sometimes, I just let the data do the talking. For example: I think this speaks for itself. But how does he maintain such fitness? Well: And I hear people saying he's not as strong on his right side. I'm not sure that's true: There's also the question of his pace slowing with age. I think this is marginal at best, and is up for debate: So, we need to look at his partnerships through the seasons, and who he connected with best: And as for the influence of a new manager: I even hear people question his speed over short, median and equalescent standardised quartiles: See for yourself. It's clear he has a few good years left in him:

Our first home match of the revamped Champions League see us take on a side we know very little about. Bologna were once one of the leading lights in Serie A, and last won the championship in 1964. Since then, they've flitted between mid-table in the top flight and several spells outside. Last season was their finest season in years as they finished 5th, ahead of the two Rome clubs no less. They are looking to renovate their picturesque Stadio Renato Dall'Ara so the income boost provided by a minimum of 8 Champions League games is a real bonus. As is generally the case with Italian clubs, such developments will heavily involve the local municipality having to foot (most of) the bill, which leads to endless talks and red tape. Juventus built a new stadium, and both Atalanta and Udinese have significantly redeveloped their stadiums, but Serie A stadiums are otherwise extremely dated. Even the big cathedrals like the San Siro, the Olimpico and the San Paolo (now named Diego Armando Maradona) are very much lipstick on a pig. They've had a very patchy season so far. Having lost highly-rated coach Thiago Motta to Juventus, and having sold key players Calafiori and Zirkzee to Arsenal and United respectively, they've had to do a rebuild. They've also been without captain Lewis Ferguson, whose knee injury back in April kept him out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad. They've signed Swiss midfielder Freuler permanently from Forest (who knows Serie A well from his time at Atalanta), and brought in Dutch striker Dallinga from Toulouse. We know all about him as he proved to be a real pest for us in last season's Europa League group stage. Bologna started their Champions League adventure with a goalless draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk. For us, we have 3 points on the board after the opening win in Milan, so this is a chance to give ourselves a real footing in the table prior to our next four games against Bundesliga and La Liga sides. Harvey will still be unavailable, and Robbo will be assessed having come off with a knock late on in the win at Wolves. I would expect that Slot will go with a similar line-up to the one that faced West Ham in the League Cup. Whatever the side that is put out, it badly needs to ditch the inkling of complacency and poor concentration that characterised the performance at Wolves. We also mustn't take Bologna for granted, as even though new coach Vincenzo Italiano doesn't have the settled system and experience of Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, he has shown that he can get results in Europe with a mid-table outfit. Italiano was Fiorentina coach for the previous 3 seasons and they were Conference League runners-up twice. How have our previous managers got on in their first game against Bologna? Well, for both Slot and the club this will be a first as we've never played against Bologna before, not even in a friendly. I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. 3 points please. Get it done!

My wife an I have been through the adoption process twice and we adopted a little girl who was 3 and a boy who was 18 months old. They are both 20 and 15 years old now and we have been through a lot of ups and downs with them but not really any more so than you would with a biological child. It is the most rewarding thing we have ever done and hopefully we have made a positive difference to their lives and given them a stable and happy childhood. Once our two children leave home we are looking to foster as there are so many children out there who need help so if anyone is thinking about adoption I would advise you to do it. If anyone wants to know more about adoption then send me a PM and I will be happy to have a chat about it.

This is the United I remember as a kid. A cup team in Adidas kits spending big on new signings every year yet generally abject in the league. Ten Hag does not have a plan for how to coach them to dominate the ball and break teams down. It's all counter-attack at pace, a great deal of spawn and a helping hand from Howard Webb's minions. Do not change a thing Jim Brexit.

One of the games that's stuck with me from a long time ago was the last home game of the promotion season. There was nothing on the game, we were already promoted as champions but the presentation of the trophy and the medals was to take place and we wanted to preserve our unbeaten at home record for the season. With 2 minutes to go we were losing 1-0 to Charlton when Alan A'Court shot and the keeper pushed it out to Sir Roger who netted the equaliser. A minute later the Saint found A'Court who found the net and the day had been memorably saved. I can still remember looking from the Boy's Pen into the Kop and the unbridled scenes of joy. The first of many late shows I was to witness over the years.

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Dave dont care about diaries, Dave dont care about fans, the Liverpool Way, its in the wrong hands!

I just want everyone who isn't us to be unhappy.

My Grandson is 1 on Sunday and on Saturday we are going up with his presents and he will be getting his first LFC kit from us. Make it a doubly happy occasion please Reds.

The club and Nivea really handle these things brilliantly - fair play to Curtis.

The start of a pretty hectic schedule as the league calendar resumes and both the League Cup and Champions League get under way for us. This one is in that rare Saturday 3:00pm slot. I know little about how Forest are getting on this season. They have Nuno Holy Spirit in the dugout and have again been busy in the transfer market. Not sure who they've signed other than Ward-Prowse on loan from West Ham, and Elliot Anderson in one of those PSR-scamming deals for a ridiculous fee that is amortised over the player's contract while the selling club (Newcastle) books the full fee as profit. Chelsea, Villa, Newcastle, Leicester and Forest were all at it this summer. It's ridiculous how early in the season the international schedule starts up again, because all it does it halt momentum and bring the possibility of players picking up a knock. Harvey fractured a foot while away with the U21s, and Macca was apparently nursing an issue while away with Argentina. Curtis resumed training over the international break so he could be available again for the weekend. Fede might be available for his debut. Whatever the personnel available, we need to continue to build on Slot's promising stat at the helm, as the games will be coming thick and fast up to the next international break. How have our previous managers got on in their first home game in this fixture? It's not a long list mainly due to Forest being out of the top flight for over 2 decades, plus a couple of spells away in the Premier League's first decade. Souness...06/02/1993...Liverpool 0-0 Forest Evans...01/11/1994...Liverpool 0-0 Forest (Fowler) Houllier...N/A Benitez...N/A Hodgson...N/A Dalglish...N/A Rodgers...N/A Klopp...03/04/2023...Liverpool 3-2 Forest (Jota 2, Salah) I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. 3 points please. Get it done!

Its in the DNA

An exciting Sat afternoon and early evening as both Merseyside teams aim to maintain their respective 100% starts.