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Watching this game back, with the benefit of replays etc, confirmed that the performance of the officials was, if anything, worse than it seemed in the stadium at the time. It was the best example of applying different rules to each team - or at least different thresholds for the challenges. If it was even handed we’d have had 2 penalties. The faint arm by Mac on the shoulder was nowhere near as much of a foul as the tug on Darwin moments earlier. Likewise, Mo going down over Dunk’s legs in front of the Kop was more of a foul than the similar challenge by Mac seconds later on Baleba(?) in midfield. Neither were fouls but it’s the lack of consistency and even-handedness. And how come linos can spot a big toe being offside (Diaz here, Mo at OT), yet that cunt on Sunday didn’t spot that Dunk was well offside for that header which Kelleher pushed away for a corner… which could have led to a goal, which then would have counted. An extension of the death from a thousand cuts which certain refs deploy against us was on display here….. giving us a non-existent advantage when we clearly would get more benefit from a free kick. Taylor does this…. against Newcastle, when he should have given us a free kick and given Joelinton a second yellow. Instead he gave us ‘advantage’ when we had 2 attackers versus their five defenders and the momentum had gone. Quansah and Bradley brilliant again. I’ve said before, the difference between Bradley and Trent is that the former clearly enjoys the defensive work, relishes it, whereas it looks like a chore for Trent, a necessary evil but he’d rather spend his time pinging passes. Mac Allister - complete performance, excelling in every aspect of the midfield role.

The jabroni feedin', toddler yeetin', money trail-blazin', cuckoo clock praisin', all around, snot down People's Pub, The Brick! Nil Smell Nisi Cooking.

Three Brits murdered trying to feed starving children and some stupid cunts were pretending to struggle last week over Nike changing the colours of a fucking flag..

Darwin and endo are only2 bookings away from missing 2 games. Any player that gets 10 on or before match day 32 will get a 2 game ban. We're currently on 29! They both need reminding. Also, on the point of conceding early, yesterday was a perfect example of our full back inverted instruction being complete folly in the first 10 mins. Why can't we just have the back 4 as a normal back 4, especially in the harder games at home and all aways. Just fucking sit there and work your way into the game. United killed our right hand side in the cup and Brighton also targeted that space. We eventually got to grips with it but could've been 2 down before that. Maybe if konate plays, you could condone it to a degree, but quansah isn't quick enough to cover like konate does and endo also can't cover the ground when the full back inverts and we get attacked down that side. Bit of pragmatism won't be detrimental for 10 mins at the start of games and not conceding the first fucking goal in games at this stage of the season should be one of the top priorities.

100 carrot cunt

So did Everton!

Doesn't have to be like that, but at the same time when you've built a squad to play a certain way and signed/brought through players to play specific positions, it's a bit stupid bringing someone in who will immediately want players of a different profile for specific positions. You do that, and the guy you bring in is shit, it's a slippery slope. A big part of why Everton and United are so shite is they have squads filled with players signed by different managers for different styles who were quickly sacked for being shit. As a hypothetical, I'm not down with this fella (or whoever) coming in and saying "I don't want Robertson and Kostas, sign me Ait Nouri (just as an example), and there's no room in my midfield for Trent or Szoboslai as they don't fit the profile of player I like for my system". We let him do what he wants, he turns out to be a bum and next summer we're replacing him with someone else and the cycle then continues. Fuck that. We're onto a great thing here, I want someone to come in and keep that going and build on Klopp's legacy, not destroy it.

im not sure many people actually want to live in a tent,in sub zero temperatures,outsidethe asda,in all honestly..

Would rather we didn't bring in someone who is basically going to rip up what we have in terms of system, formation, style, personnel so he can do things his way. I want someone as close to Klopp's set up as possible to just carry on what we're doing and make the transition smooth. Don't want some cunt coming in and saying he doesn't fancy Robbo or Trent or Szoboslai because he can't shoehorn them into his fucking rigid three at the back set up. So if it's this fella, I hope he's flexible and open minded.

I said there are stacks of evidence: I don't have them to hand (and I have a job, so I can't go digging now). All the evidence I have seen has a recurring theme that approaches that put an emphasis on compulsion, coercion, criminalisation and punishment don't work; and if you think about it, it's obvious they won't. The only effective approaches are those that encourage and support people to turn their own lives around; the alternative is to look "tough" to the headline writers, sweep humans off the streets temporarily, but then go round and round in a cycle of failure, that sees people in and out of temporary accommodation, prison, hospital and back to the streets. The evidence of that is in every town and city centre in the country.

Finally listened to this episode this morning (I’m away with the family for Easter so had to spend yesterday visiting boring castles and museums in a coastal town I barely give a toss about) - not sure I’ve nodded more while listening to the TLW pod, from Paul talking about what a privilege it’s been to follow Klopp’s Liverpool to Chris talking about how he’s “scared” to get excited about us winning the title to Dave talking about getting the title won and then worrying about what comes next - yes, yes, yes. How I feel about everything. On a(nother) good point Paul made about whoever replaces Klopp needing to emotionally connect with the fanbase - totally agree but, in disagreement with Paul, I’d suggest Houllier and Benitez didn’t actually do much to emotionally connect with the fans - there were no standout soundbites or fist bumps - they ultimately connected with us by winning, and in the end that was the difference between them and Hodgson and Rodgers. So, really, that’s all the new guy has to do - win. Saying that, like most Reds I’m really uninspired by the choices to replace Klopp now Alonso has ruled himself out of the running. If I had to pick someone, I’d probably go with De Zerbi - he’s done really well at Brighton, plays really good football and seems like a bit of a dude; I can definitely see his face on a Love Follow Conquer t-shirt.

That new rule about ball-boys not being allowed to throw the ball back is gonna be a dream for the time-wasting keepers we get at Anfield each week. The farce of watching Coote waste time chasing someone to put aa ball on a cone was farcical. There's a game going on for fucks sake.

Dave touched on it recently and it got a full airing in this podcast: what defines the Klopp era is the home form. My record in games I've been at under Klopp is P35 W28 D7 L0 F100 A27. That doesn't tell the whole story though. Only once did Liverpool take the lead and fail to win, and that was the 5-5 draw with Arsenal in the League Cup that was won on penalties. Most incredibly though, they've gone behind 13 times in those games. 13! The consensus yesterday was that the Man City-Arsenal game was dogshit viewing, Mr Freedom-For-Catalonia-Slavery-For-Abu-Dhabi and his (footballing) protege stinking the place out with their forensic view of the game. Chris seemed a little awkward about saying it has been a privilege to get to see so many games with Klopp as the manager. I'm quite unabashed about it. It's been such a thrill, and when things go to shit (relatively speaking) in the next few years, I'm determined that I'll view this period as a case of 'tis better to have loved and lost' than marinating in misery.

Work-rate. Incisiveness. Nous. I don't ask for much. This is how it's gonna be. Build from the ground up. Please note the date and kick-off time. This one's live on TNT Sports. On the face of it, this one should be a gimme. Sheffield United have been poor all season, and taken some absolute hidings as the worst side in the division, especially at home. Chris Wilder returned to the dugout to replace the sacked Paul Heckingbottom earlier this season (I think the return fixture was his first game back), and his time is memorable only for the rant he detailed in a post-match interview after one of those aforementioned hidings, which only served to show that he has an ego far outreaching his ability. I don't knew who they have available or how they will set up, but my feeling is that Wilder will want to keep the score down and keep the game scrappy. No doubt the ref in charge will oblige by penalising every attempt of ours to win the ball back, and overlook their timewasting antics. We've seen this show before. Speaking of things we've seen before, we had to come back from a goal down at Anfield in October 2020 to claim the points. Sheffield United were helped by the VAR awarding a penalty for a challenge by Fab tat took place just outside the box (Mike Dean was the ref, and he initially awarded a free kick). Only Fab's heel (if anything) was touching the 18-yard line. The opponent wasn't in the box or on the line. Bear in mind this was one week after Virg was put out for the season by a reckless lunge that the VAR somehow forgot, plus Hendo having a derby winner ruled out because Sadio's elbow was deemed to be offside earlier in the build-up. No I'm not letting those go! Berge dispatched the penalty for the Blades, and it was almost half time before we got a leveller. Sadio's far post header was kept out by Ramsdale but he could only palm the effort into the path of the unmarked Bobby, who buried it (a little awkwardly it has to be said) from a yard out. Mo thought he'd put us ahead with a wondergoal in the second half, when he killed a high ball into the area with one touch, and fired a volley into the net with the second. Great goal, but ruled out thanks to VAR finding an offside. No matter, Diogo later buried Sadio's left wing cross with a textbook header to claim all 3 points. Mo nearly scored a cracker again, this time being denied by the woodwork. Both City and Arsenal play the day before so we might be off the top spot before our game kicks off. I'd expect City to beat Villa and I don't see Luton getting anything from the Emirates. Availability-wise, the likes of Ibou and Curtis might be involved in this one. Trent and Diogo may or may not be available for the weekend trip, but I would guess that this game is a little too early for their involvement. Baj might available again after missing most of the season. Ali is still at least a week away, and Joel and Thiago are done for the season. Regardless of availability, we need to make sure we approach this game with the perfect mentality, displaying both intent and patience and a complete absence of complacency. Maximum motivation, concentration, attitude and application from first minute to last. 3 points please and get back on top. Get it done!

The Reds returned to thePremier League summit after goals from Diaz and Salah erased an early setback to see off a tricky Brighton side. Chris Smith is joined by TLW Editor Dave Usher and Paul Natton to discuss a potentially pivotal day in the title race, with a draw in the City and Arsenal game putting us in pole position for the only fitting end to the Klopp era. We'll discuss the many permutations of the run-in and (mostly) keep the disappointment about Xabi Alonso's decision to stay with Leverkusen in check. View full article

A combo of Gomez and Van den berg more likely at this point.

De Zerbi still thinks he's a teenager, his hair is pathetic. Nagelsmann just looks like a little dweeb. I reckon my 8 year old would batter him

I don't think the formation matters at all. We've played large parts of this season with effectively 343 with the ball and as we have the ball 70% of the time, we're as good as 343 anyway. They're just numbers to me. Players are flexible these days. The important thing from my perspective is to be able to have a style of play that enables us to get the most out of the players we have. We've a lot of players who are at their best when we play with a high intensity. So we just need a coach who can embrace that. I don't know enough about any of the candidates really to know who's the best fit to follow klopp, but everything about the way we use data will be used to identify that. I also think that emotional way of playing football, really suits us as a fan base. It's become enjoyable watching the reds again, something I don't think we had for a long time. I know winning is a part of that, but the style is too. We had plenty of wins and good nights under houllier and benitez, but all the best times were the rare occasions they tried to harness the crowd to bring emotion to the game, when mostly they played sterile, controlling football. For me, I want a coach who can embrace heavy metal football. The rest of them can fuck off.

I dug out my previous thoughts on this....bit long sorry but sums it up for me. The fans being up for it so much more against us is so true... They were standing across most parts of the ground last night - you never see that usually for their league games. We really are everyones cup final aren't we. For me it is down to our history and fact we have across the decades had rivalries and competed for honours with all these clubs....The oil cheats don't have that history and there isn't that feeling towards them. It is also very much IMO down to this as well.... One of the biggest reasons we are so widely hated is largely down to fact that we have 'fans' all over the rest of the country, and supporters of other clubs have to put up with our fans every day at school, work, in the ale house etc etc Other clubs (Man Utd aside) just don't have same presence all over - Man City certainly don't and therefore are not universally hated....it must (and i know it does because i have heard people say it does) really nark people who have to listen to their local people, born/raised etc in their local town give it the big one about LFC to them.... People take it genuinely badly when what they see as 'glory hunters' basically, in their eyes are betraying their own towns/cities to 'support' us and compound it by giving it the big one. I moved to London years ago and I remember a West Ham fan at our work saying to me how much he hated all the 'cockney reds' at work, and how as a result he developed a real hatred of LFC and i remember Tottenham and Arsenal fans saying exactly the same thing, there was a real hatred and hostility towards these fellow London lads who were Liverpool fans, and a lot of piss taking too..and thing is these 'fans' they refer to are often the worst sort - clueless, sneering about the locals 'shit' teams and often so lacking in knowledge about game - I found that myself when i was latched onto by some of them as a Liverpudlian. They then have a massive presence online too which then builds up the perception in other clubs fans minds all our fans are same dickheads/clueless pricks....and it builds hatred. Imagine being a born and bred native of say Southampton for example and having to listen to another born and bred native of Southampton call Southampton FC shite and go on about how 'we' (Liverpool) are better than you/giving it the big one after beating you.....that happens in more or less every city and town across the land - and other clubs fans hate us as a result, because our club is a constant presence to them day in day out. Man Utd are the only other club with same presence and they are hated a lot too. Add that to a large dislike of us amongst people old enough to have lived through our dominance, and the generally quite high levels of anti scouse sentiment that exists and it explains the hate pretty well. It will change if Man City dominate for a long time...My lad is 11 and he says there are two Man City fans in his class at school - i know from speaking with their parents that they are not Mancs and the one lad openly said to my lad "I support Man City because they are the best team"....this will grow and become more prevalent across the country and when it does then fans of other clubs will start being bothered about them - but it will take a long time.

Yeah I think Willard is confusing being skint and desperate to being Grizzly Adams.

Where's my fucking fridge magnet?

The Brick talking about itself in the third person, quality. I'm gonna try and slip this comment in to the Mrs at some point today. "Where has the Brick said this?"

Don't know if the lack of posts in this thread reflects lower listenership with it being Easter but I'd suggest anyone that hasn't listened takes a couple of hours out to enjoy. I thought it was brilliant from start to finish, starts with a cracker on Joey Barton and just gets better. I agreed with everything in it, especially the intricacies of the midfield, I find watching the reds v Brighton is when I doubt myself most about what's happening on a football pitch. Virgil ended pressing or semi pressing beyond the midfield multiple times, no idea what led to that. Darwin had a quiet enough game but then Mo was clear through or close to it about 8 times. That doesn't happen unless Darwin is doing something very tactical that is beyond us mere mortals, especially those watching on TV.

Found it:

I’d also factor in what drives that ‘choice’. My brother maintained always that it was “his life, his choice”. He was mostly right of course. It was. He was empowered by those choices, in ways he wasn’t elsewhere. I think those choices were driven by; addiction, fear, anger, a lack of confidence, low self esteem, a sense that he didn’t belong, conscious/unconscious cries for help, that another direction was too difficult etc.. It’s too late now to know for sure, but if he could have been helped more (or perhaps differently is more accurate), then maybe he’d have made different choices.

The linesman defo should have spotted that, because they're really good and don't get much wrong. When I watched the highlights I called offside on the first view, as it was obvious and isn't one of those tricky ones in open play when one player is running towards goal and the last man is either stood still or moving the opposite way. This was a bread and butter decision for any decent lino and he should have flagged as soon as Kelleher made the save. As for our two penalty appeals, there's no way we were ever getting them. They were fairly soft, but softer ones were given this weekend. Coote was never going to give either of them though and with Tierney on VAR there was even less chance of them being given. I don't really have much of a grievance with either. The Mo one in normal speed did not look like a penalty at all from where I was sat, but after seeing the replay I think it's 50-50. Mo doesn't get those though.

True, but the point is why the flag didn’t go up once Dunk’s header from a clearly offside position gave them an advantage?

The kid Daves jealous off

Whoever takes over will be expected to deliver from day one, because - for the first time in 40 years - a new Liverpool manager will be taking over a club and a squad in good shape.

Really good podcast! Regarding the title, I'm in exactly the same place as you @Chris It's only really hit me this weekend that might actually win this fucking thing. I've been in denial for the most of the season, but now I'm getting the weird mix of fear/excitement going in to every game!

Remember this?

If it sounded awkward, I sometimes feel a little sheepish that I get to travel from abroad to attend games whereas others put in more hard yards than me in maintaining their membership credits and people who live locally aren't able to go very often.

That's kind of what I was getting at when I said as long as Klopp gets the send off he deserves, with a title and a parade, then I'll just take whatever comes next in my stride. If it goes to shit, so be it, but as long as Klopp gets his happy ending that's fine. The thought of him missing out again and then it going to shit for us is pretty sickening though.

Chelsea supporting fireman losing his job for posting bad stuff on the GF.

Jackie Scran

Nailed on we will be first team to have a goal chalked off as a result of this new rule and abi dhabi and the mancs will score one that should fall under same but will be 'missed' Ours will be really stupid like ball was not even thrown to us by ballboy but that it was not taken off a cone but 6 inches off it and as it was not same ball as what went out it can't count as rules state ball must be taken from cone.... Cue Dermot Gallagher on sky - "the ball was just off the cone"..... When questioned later about the mancs one "the ref was unsighted and var can't pick it up, you have to go with on field decision"

I've said it for a while now,we're gonna win the league by 7 points. That said, if I'm wrong, fuck it. It's been a hell of a ride with Jürgen and I wouldn't swap it for the world.

I woke my wife when I burst out laughing at Dave comparing his modesty and humility to Jurgen Klopp. Never change man.

VID-20231219-WA0028.mp4.220c08e94eac3270f3c079f415b69cb2.mp4

Man City are definitely signing him

Never shone so brightly.

I saw that part of the show. The owner seemed to agree with him that it's an important historical, educational artefact, but it's not something that is - or should be - traded among collectors for profit.