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Three more points towards the record. That’s what we’re playing for now and we’re almost there. Three wins from four will do it, four wins from four might set a record that will never be beaten. I didn’t really know what to expect from this game as a lot depended on how Brighton approached it. They were terrific at Anfield earlier in the season and we needed two set-pieces headers from Virg to beat them. Recently though they’ve not been great and they’ve been a bit more defensive. I suspected they’d sit back and defend in numbers, which would make it a tough game for us if we didn’t score early. They didn’t do that though, they picked an attacking line up and tried to play through us. It backfired spectacularly early on but overall they actually played very well I thought. Brighton have been given stick for their ‘naive’ approach but I think that’s a bit unfair because this is how they want to play. They stayed true to their principles and were probably more adventurous than I expected. They’re virtually safe now though so the pressure was off them. I get the argument that they should have adapted their game and not played out from the back because it plays to our strengths, and based on the result that’s an easy thing to say. I understand why Graham Potter did it though, because he did exactly the same at Anfield and I can remember writing after that game how impressed I was at the way they played through our press. We couldn’t actually get near them that day, they just went bump bump bump and they’d bypassed our forwards and were in our half every single time. Unfortunately for them the lack of quality in attack meant they didn’t pose much threat, but I can remember saying how well coached a team they were back then. So Potter knew his team could play through our press and he encouraged them to do so again. This time it didn’t work and they conceded two goals in the opening seven or eight minutes. It could be that they just made mistakes or it might have been that we pressed differently than the last game which forced those mistakes. There’s usually a player who we target because he’s seen as the least comfortable on the ball. Presumably it will have been Adam Webster or Dale Stephens (who’s a dead ringer for Ricky Gervais by the way) because they never looked comfortable at all. Souness was especially annoyed at Brighton’s approach. I can understand why they played like that but I do agree with Souness that Brighton should have eased their way into the game before trying to play so progressively. Knock it long early on or play it out wide early doors. That would have served them much better, but thankfully that’s not what they did. The first goal is especially bad from their point of view as they lost the ball so close to their own box. It was brilliant from Naby who was on to Propper in a flash. Having picked his pocket he then played it square, presumably to Firmino, but Bobby let it run for Mo who had a simple finish. I didn’t really get onto it straight away as initially I just thought it was a bit too far in front of Bobby and he didn’t want to stretch, but with each replay I watched it became more obvious he could have taken that himself. It was extremely unselfish of him to leave that for Salah, but it might also suggest that he’s suffering from a lack of confidence himself. I don’t know, only he does. He’s done stuff like that before and he’s one of the most unselfish forwards you’ll ever see, so it might just be that. It could also be that he’s not feeling great about his game right now and the lack of goals might be bothering him. He had a decent first half I thought but then after the break he wasn’t good. He desperately needs a goal to get him going again. Brighton didn’t learn their lesson and kept trying to play through the middle of midfield. The second goal wasn’t as bad as the first as they lost the ball on halfway, not on the edge of their own box, but it was largely self inflicted. Again Keita was the springboard for it, as he nipped in front of Stephens to not only win the ball but to get it to Firmino. Brighton were in trouble but there was still a fair bit to do and they did have the back four still in place. Initially Salah looked like he’d ran into trouble but Henderson arrived on the scene and whipped a first time shot across the keeper from 20 yards. I couldn’t help but think when that went in that this was what we didn’t do at the Etihad. If you were to watch the City game back (not that any of us ever would!) I’m sure you’d see at least half a dozen situations similar to that second goal. Winning the ball off them in their own half wasn’t a problem. The problem was wasting the opportunity that arose from it. Against Brighton it was different because we made them pay. Fine margins sometimes. Brighton had given themselves a mountain to climb but to be fair they almost did it. When they pulled a goal back late in the half it wasn’t a shock as it had been coming for a while. They were really dangerous and caused us a lot of problems. Their main threat was from Lamptey down the right hand side. If you’ve been paying attention then you’ll know about him because I was talking him up even when he was a kid in Chelsea’s youth team. He absolutely destroyed our u18s and u23s at the Academy and I was surprised when Chelsea sold him. Then again, they’ve got Reece James in the same position and he’s quality as well. Lamptey won’t be at Brighton for long. Arsenal or City will probably be bidding for him in the next year or two if keeps playing like this. It was tough for Neco making his first start in an unfamiliar position but overall he did pretty well. He made one fantastic block to deny Trossard and he looked very positive going forward. There were one or two moments when he got himself in the wrong position (both with and without the ball) but that’s to be expected as this might be the first time he’s ever played left back. It’s not THAT different to right back but it is different and there are subtle things that you need to do differently. He’s got a decent left peg though and I have no doubt he can be a nice option for us there the more game time he gets. Taking him off at half time was the smart thing to do because he was on a booking and Brighton were going to target him. More experienced players than Williams have suffered the same fate with Klopp, as it’s something he does tend to do when players are at risk of a red card. The yellow card was a bad decision I thought because Lamptey had missed the ball completely and ran across Neco. There was nothing he could do to avoid contact. Had Lamptey taken the ball in stride and then gone across Neco then yeah it’s a foul and a yellow, but given that he miscontrolled it and then ran in the opposite direction (with the ball going out for a throw) I thought that was harsh. That being said, he’d gotten away a few minutes earlier and Neco tried and failed to drag him back (luckily Hendo came around on the cover to snuff out the danger), so morally the card was probably deserved. That fucking ref though, he did his best to spoil the game didn’t he, the whistle happy bastard. Obviously I was happy enough with a 2-1 lead at the break but what bothered me about that first half was that Neco seemed to be left all alone to deal with Lamptey. Not only did he have Gross to worry about, but he also had this little flying machine right back bombing at him constantly as well. Just where the fuck was Ox? I don’t think this happens if Mané is on the field. Look at their goal. Neco is marking the right sided attacker and goes to close him down. He lays it off and then Neco then has to run out wide to try and block the cross from Lamptey. What the fuck is Ox doing? Not much. I hate to labour the point because I’m boring myself with it now, but Ox in a front three is just horrible. I could almost live with the lack of attacking production if he was at least contributing defensively, but he didn’t even do that. It’s just a completely pointless selection. I don’t know how many times we need to see it before Klopp eventually gives up on it. Who’s worse out wide; Ox, Minamino or Origi? It’s like asking would you rather step in dog shit, cat shit or cow shit. Doesn’t really matter which is worse, they’re all still shit, you know? I don’t want to see any of them in that role next season so I’m hoping for another solution. Maybe it’s Shaqiri (although he wasn’t even on the bench so fuck knows what’s going on there) or maybe it’s Harry Wilson. Neither are the perfect solution but I’d take both of them over the alternatives we usually see. Anyway, Neco made way for Robbo at half time and it made a difference, but it was only when Sadio came on that we really took hold of the game again. Brighton had bossed the second part of the first half and they were doing alright after the restart too. They should have equalised when Burn missed an absolute sitter. That was their moment and they didn’t take it. With the introduction of Fabinho (who was great) and Mané I felt like the game swung back in our favour and after that it was always a case of when we’d score rather than if. We had plenty of chances, Salah was looking really dangerous and Robbo was flying down that left hand side delivering a stream of crosses. It was from a Robbo cross that we made the game safe, as he picked out Mo with a near post corner and he found the bottom corner with a really sharp header. He made a little crack afterwards about how “it’s about time Robbo assisted me”. I later read than Robbo has given him more assists than anyone else. Maybe Mo is confusing him with Trent or maybe he just wanted to bust Robbo’s chops. Mo is in great spirits at the moment. He was laughing and joking in his post match interview and he’s got a real spring in his step at the moment. He’s got that Golden Boot in his sights, you can tell. He was fucking fuming with himself during the game when he missed a couple of chances and it’s just obvious he’s thinking about making it three in a row. He’s three behind Vardy so it’s not going to be easy, but he’s got it in him to go and score four in one game so I reckon he’s good a real shot at this, especially as he’ll be up against David Luiz and Arsenal in a week or so. The pressure is off us now that we’ve secured the title but you know that these lads still want to go out and win every game. Maybe Mo’s chase for the Golden Boot is an extra motivation for everyone (except maybe Sadio!) too. They’ll want him to get it, maybe that’s why Bobby dummied that ball for him. These little goals are helpful I think. Like the chase for the points total. None of them will say it but I’d be willing to bet everything I have that the squad desperately want that record because it gives them a legitimate claim to being the best side ever in the country. Four wins from the final four games would not only shatter the points record, it would mean that we’d averaged over a hundred points for a two year period. That’s probably not something the players are thinking of, but they will be wanting to beat City’s record, of that I’m sure. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to see us at full speed as it’s virtually impossible to be full throttle when the title is won and the stadiums are empty, but overall we’re doing a decent enough job and the effort and desire to get wins is still there. You can see it in the performances that the determination to win by whatever means necessary is still there. It was shite for a long time against Villa but they kept going and in the end found a way. Against Brighton they showed it again, albeit in a different way. I liked the intensity we started the game with and although it understandably dropped off, we dug in and protected the lead, withstood some pressure and then eventually regained our dominant grip on the game and ran out comfortable winners. These lads just want to win all the time and will do whatever it takes. So there were plenty of positives to take from this, not least the display of Naby. This is the frustration with him though. He gives you just enough to make you excited and to want to see more of him, but so far he has never been able to build on it. I thought he was terrific in this game and I was disappointed when he was brought off. I understand the reason for it and it was nothing to do with how he played, but I was enjoying his performance and didn’t want it to end. Having only played for an hour I’m assuming he’ll start the next game, especially with Hendo injured. So hopefully this time he can kick on because the opportunity is there for him to get a little run in the side now. We know what he can do, we just don’t know if he can do it consistently. At the point he was subbed he had clearly been our best player and looked a shoe in for the star man. He’s not getting it though because Salah overtook him with what he did in the last half an hour. He’d been sharp even before that but Keita had still been our best player. By the end of the game though how could I not give it to Mo? Also a special mention to Van Dijk who was imperious again. That moment when he dealt with a difficult ball over the top by heading it back over Connolly and collecting it himself before playing a no look pass to Robbo was actually unfair. I don’t think is anyone else who would have even thought of doing that let alone been able to pull it off. He’s fucking ridiculous. Gomez on the other hand doesn’t look like he’s playing with any confidence at the moment. Very shaky and uncertain. I can see why Matip was selected ahead of him for the first game back now. At the time I was surprised by that, but if Joel was fit now he’d be playing I think. At least Trent and Robbo looked more like their usual selves. Final word is on Hendo’s injury. I’m not unduly concerned at the idea he might miss some games as it just means opportunities for others like Keita, Milner and maybe (hopefully) Jones. The idea of him not being able to do the shuffle when he lifts the trophy though is something I’m just not prepared to contemplate. Whatever they need to inject him with to make that happen, fucking do it. We’ve been robbed of so much already when it comes to celebrating this title. That would be too much though. We need to see that shuffle. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Williams (Robertson); Henderson (Milner), Keita (Fabinho), Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino (Minamino), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Mané):

Tuesday Jun 30: The content keeps on coming. Great little interview with Mo on LFCTV today where he spoke about five of his goals from this season. He doesn’t tend to do that many interviews and when he does he doesn’t give too much away, but this was great as he looked so relaxed and happy. But then why wouldn’t he? He’s been here three years and he’s won all the big trophies already. You'd be like a dog with two dicks wouldn't you? I was thinking today about last Thursday and how it all unfolded with the players watching together at Formby Hall. Short of winning it on the pitch at Anfield in front of a full house there was no better way that could have played out, as they were all together and could celebrate properly. After we beat Palace Klopp said he would watch the City game but only because we were playing them next week. He had no plans for a celebration. I believe him too. At that moment I’d bet that was exactly what he was thinking. In the end though it was Klopp himself who ordered the squad to stay together the next day and it was really the only decision to make. Otherwise you’d have had some groups of players watching it together and others staying at home. There would have been no moment to enjoy it together. What they did was a stroke of genius really. Organising a barbecue and then watching the game after. If City had won the game it would have been a good team bonding exercise regardless, and we’d never have known about it because it was kept low key. Players only started posting stuff to social media after the game when the celebrations started. It was all very clever really. Klopp will have hated the idea of ‘tempting fate’ by watching the game together hoping City lose as that’s not how he rolls, but it was really the only thing to do and as it turned out, it was perfect. They had a great day together, became Champions and then - based on some of the videos that have come out since - they had the party to end all parties. Klopp dancing in his little tight shorts was fucking hilarious. I wonder how many players didn’t have a drink? The muslim lads obviously didn’t, Milner defo won’t have, but Hendo was hinting that he might have one. Do we reckon they’ll have let Harvey have a little bevvy? Not only is he underage but based on what he did after Madrid last year there was also the risk he might get on snapchat and call Guardiola a fucking slaphead or something. My guess is they let him have a few bottles but confiscated his phone, just in case. Wednesday Jul 1: Speaking of Elliott, this is great. The club posted a training video on their Facebook account, and his nan replied to it, saying: “Harvey you are doing so well. So proud of how far you have come. Love nan xx Good to see Milner back too x” It’s cracked me up. It’s the most ‘nan thing’ ever. Sending it to the club account rather than Harvey’s was funny enough on its own, but it was the ‘good to see Milner back too’ afterthought that tipped me over the edge. To quote a famous washed up musician, it’s just ‘too funny’. Also today, there’s a training video on LFCTV and Shaq’s hair is incredible. However much he paid for that op it was worth it, as unlike other ones I’ve seen (Kloppo and Rooney for example) he’s actually got a head of hair that’s so thick it could be a pundit on Talksport (with apologies to Ray Parlour, my favourite fella on that station). Other content on the site had Lovren talking about winning the title and he was asked about the instagram post he made where he spoke of all the people who didn’t get to see us do it. He expanded on it to say he had spoken with a terminally ill 14 year old lad who was desperate to see us win the title, but he passed away three days before we won it. He had tears in his eyes and it was a really touching moment. He’ll probably move on this summer (although he wasn’t talking that way) and I feel that it’s time for that now, but he’s a good guy is Dejan and I’ll always have a soft spot for him. Ol’ Big Bird did an interview too. He doesn’t speak much and he has no social media presence whatsoever (I fucking love him for that) but we need to see more Matip as his voice is boss. He revealed that he won’t play again this season because of the injury he picked up at the Pit, but he hopes to be ready for the start of next season. Initially I thought ‘fucking hell, didn’t think it was THAT bad’. Then I realised that there’s only about four weeks left and then probably just a two week break. It’s just hard wrapping my head around all this shit, it’s been a mad few months. Thursday Jul 2: City 4 L 0. Well that wasn’t fun at all. Not what I was expecting, especially after the really bright start we made. The guard of honour was interesting. One City player didn’t applaud. You might know already who it was but if you don’t have a guess and I’ll reveal it a bit lower down. It was a really strange game because when I saw their team I thought we were going to snot them everywhere. The game started that way and we were well on top but then they got the penalty and it became clear that we were having one of those wasteful days in the final third. Happens quite regularly that but usually it’s not accompanied by Arsenal like defending at the other end. Robbo will never have a worse game in his life. Trent wasn’t much better either. Gomez struggled and even Alisson wasn’t himself. Virgil is great but he can’t hold off Man City all by himself. Ultimately this doesn’t mean anything and some Reds won’t care about it. I wish I didn’t, but I do. It pissed me off. It doesn’t take the shine off being Champions in any way shape or form and I’m not over-reacting to it. I’m just saying, I fucking hated sitting through this and it did sting. City are all cock a hoop about it which I find quite amusing. I know how they feel to be fair, we’ve had games like this where we’ve faced a team that has just won a trophy and we’ve wiped the floor with them, and convinced ourselves it meant something and there was relevance to it. There wasn’t, and there’s none to this either. All this ‘laying a marker down for next season’ shite. It’s stupid. This game means absolutely nothing in terms of next season. Next time we meet it will be in completely different circumstances and the line ups will be different too. Well, City’s will. They’ll no doubt spend like a drunken sailor now because FFP will be relaxed, whereas we’ve got fuck all to spend. Let City enjoy their little moment and we’ll hopefully learn from the experience. When you play against these you’ve got to be clinical in attack and you’ve got to be careful with the ball. We kept giving it away and letting de Bruyne get turned and running at us. If you do that, you’ll lose. Simple as that. We don’t usually do that and that’s why we’ve done well against them for the most part. Ok, the player who didn’t clap was Bernardo Silva. He’d have been high on my list as he’s a right snide little cunt but loads of people don’t seem to have realised it yet, presumably because he’s a tricky, skilful little forward player. He’s fucking horrible him though. Always leaving his foot in and generally acting the twat. So I’m not shocked he didn’t applaud. I’m more shocked that he was the only one who didn't, although I haven’t looked that closely so maybe there were others. Friday Jul 3: Klopp is pissed at the PL ruling that says players need to feature in five games in order to get a medal, and says his players will get one regardless of games played and if the PL don’t provide the medals then he will. He even said he’d give his own medal to one of the young lads if necessary. A far cry from the way the club just accepted that Sinama-Pongolle, Mellor and others didn’t get a CL medal in 2005. Yeah, I’m still banging on about that, I’ll never let that one go. What a man Klopp is though. He fights for his players and puts them above himself. That’s why players will do anything for him and why Robbo keeps saying that Klopp is like their Dad. Meanwhile, Sterling says “next season starts now” and Foden tweets “Congratulations to Liverpool but we showed we’re ready for next season”. Yeah, next season doesn’t start now lads, there’s still half a dozen games of this one left plus the close season. It’s funny seeing how fired up they are about what is the ultimate pyrrhic victory. You won the game on the night we took to the field as Champions having taken your title. Think about that. Saturday Jul 4: Thiago Alcantara? Nah, not having this at all. It makes no sense and it’s surprising to me that it seems to have gotten the traction it has. It’s being spoken about like it’s virtually a done deal. I’d be beyond shocked if that’s the case and here’s why: 1) We don’t have the money to sign anyone unless there are significant funds made from sales 2) If we did have money, we need a striker / wide forward as a top priority. Midfield is the last position (other than right back) we need to strengthen 3) He’s 29 and on huge money. We’ve got loads of players that age on big money, why would we add another, especially when that;s the exact type of transfer we've shied away from since Edwards and Klopp came together? 4) The two main sources on this seem to the two Italian phoneys Romano and Palmeri. What’s Italian for Dumb and Dumber? Pretty sure it's Romano and Palmeri. The only way this could be a goer is if Wijnaldum is leaving for the same kind of fee that Thiago would cost. So if that’s happening, then yeah this would be a smart signing. But if Gini is staying then this makes absolutely no sense at all so I’m calling bullshit on it. Also today, a new contract for Curtis. He only signed one a year ago but this is how the club operates these days and it’s great. When players out perform their contract they get a new improved one. And Jones deserves it after the season he’s had. The kid is a special talent and deserves more playing time. Whenever he’s on the field he makes things happen and I love his confidence. Sunday Jul 5: L 2 Villa 0 Shite for an hour then it was decent. The subs completely changed it as before they came on it looked like we’d never score. Origi’s display was as shocking as his new peroxide hair. Dreadlocked Div was boss, any other Div is pretty shite. Time is running out for him now I think. A pity, as we’ll always love him for last year but he hasn’t built on that at all and he’s been fairly useless this season. I didn’t think Ox or Keita did anything to stake a claim either. Keita at least had that brilliant assist for Mané but overall he didn’t do enough. This seems to be his standard performance, he just floats around showing nice technique but not really making any impact. Occasionally though he does something that keeps you hoping that he might be able to produce it regularly. I’m not sure he ever will but what does it matter what you or I think? As long as he retains the faith of Klopp he’ll still get opportunities to prove he’s worthy of it. Am I being unfair if I say that Jones has done more than Naby this season with far less opportunity? It could just be that I’m seeing it through rose tinted glasses because Jones is a local kid trying to break through and therefore anything he does is magnified whereas Keita was a player we had huge expectations of, but it feels like Jones has made more of an impact on the season. He scored the winning penalty in front of the Kop to beat Arsenal in the League Cup, he scored a worldy to beat Everton in the FA Cup, he scored away at Shrewsbury and had a brilliant game in the replay and now he scored in the league too even though he was only on the field five minutes. What has Keita done? I remember he scored in the World Club Cup and I think he’d scored in consecutive games prior to that, but there’s very little that immediately jumps out when I think of him. It’s not just goals either, it’s how I feel when I’m watching. This is almost certainly influenced by the different expectations we have of kids v big money signings, but when I watch Jones I’m excited and when I watch Keita I’m usually disappointed. As I said yesterday I just love the confidence of Jones. You watch him talk and he gives off an air of complete confidence and self belief even though he's still a relatively untested kid, yet he somehow manages to do that without it ever coming across as arrogance. There's just a real innocence about it. Like when he was asked what Klopp said to him before going on against Villa and he says casually "just the usual. You're great on the ball but it's about knowing when to dribble" and "he wanted me to just take the game by the scruff of the neck". He cracks me up. Anyway, this was shite for the most part but it’s a good three points and it restores our 23 point lead over Manchester “our season starts now” City. To be hones though I just want the season over now as it’s not really very enjoyable watching these games with no fans. I don’t have particularly high hopes for our remaining games. I’d like to think we’ll see more performances like the Palace one but I suspect that ones like this will be the norm now. Hopefully I’m wrong. Meanwhile, James Pearce and Paul Joyce both followed Thiago on Twitter today, prompting a tidal wave of “we must be signing him” tweets from Reds. Yeah, and that is exactly why they did it. They’re just taking the piss, I’d put money on it. Probably pissing themselves laughing at the hysteria it caused. Monday Jul 6: New contract for Harvey. Isn’t that the third one he’s had in the last few weeks? Defo getting a sense of deja vu about this. I feel like I’ve written about it at least once before in recent weeks. Anyway, good for him, he’s living the dream. Interesting that he did an interview with LFCTV as that hasn’t happened too often. Klopp even alluded to it in comments of his own where he said people don’t know the real Harvey yet because they’ve protected him to this point. He then went on about how humble he is, what a lovely kid he is and how brilliant a player he is. He absolutely loves the kid and it seems like his staff and the other players do too. The way Klopp was talking about him was not really the kind of thing you hear from managers too often. He doesn’t hold back on praise and he doesn’t really caveat it much with the usual “he needs to keep his feet on the ground” talk either. Most managers don’t like talking up young players in case they get a big head but Klopp’s line is more like “this kid is fucking brilliant and it’s up to us to ensure he makes it”. Klopp is just completely unique in how he does things. The psychology of how he interacts with people is fascinating and to me it’s probably the thing that sets him apart from everybody else. There are loads of good coaches who are geniuses on the tactical side of things, and Klopp himself is no slouch with that, but it’s how he handles people that is so different. Take Guardiola for example. He’s successful, he’s brilliant at what he does, but do you think his players love him? They probably appreciate what he does and have total respect for his knowledge, but I reckon they think he’s a bit weird and they wouldn’t want to socialise with him. That’s fine though, most managers keep a healthy distance with their players. It’s normal. Ours though? He’s the boss but he’s got no qualms about getting shitfaced with the lads and dancing around in his little tight shorts. A year ago he nearly fell off the back of the parade bus and a laughing Rhian Brewster was having to make sure he was ok. He just makes people feel good about themselves and creates a positive environment for everybody to thrive in. I honestly don’t know what we’d do without him. He’s probably the most important figure to arrive at the club since Shankly. ….and that was the week that was