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I had to go to a funeral with about 20 to go in the game. It was for a young man, 40ish, who took his own life, 4 weeks after his partner passed away from cancer. He left behind a 7 year old daughter and a heartbroken mother and father (I used to play football with him). There was a Liverpool picture on his coffin. It put some perspective on this for me.

Tell me, could you possibly be the same Liverpool Gladstone Trotter who, in 1992, fell down the cellar of Spartak Moscow, and received one hundred pounds compensation? I can’t remember that far back sir. Well, let’s try a more recent case then. Could you be the same Liverpool Gladstone Trotter who, in 1995, fell down the cellar of Brondby, and received a two hundred and twenty five pound out of court settlement? Me mind’s a blank! Maybe you were the same Liverpool Gladstone Trotter who, in 1997, fell down the cellar of Racing Strasbourg? How about Celta Vigo, or does Sporting Braga, ring a bell? Whilst we haven’t been more down holes than Tony Jacklin, boy have we made some huge fuck ups in the UEFA Cup/Europa League over the years. I actually researched the litany of exits listed above to make sure they were in the right order and it just made me shudder. And so, the cup match reporter returns for another outing – join me, Dan Thomas, as I try to pick apart the latest UEFA Cup/Europa League fiasco. I have been very dismissive of this competition over the course of the season, and I stand by everything I’ve said. The Europa League is laden with nothing teams as well as 5 or 6 really good ones. We have gotten to the quarter finals without even needing to go into first gear, we’ve been in neutral in fact. And the first time we’ve drawn a good team, we’ve got our arses handed to us on a silver platter. Assuming that is the last European action we see at Anfield under Klopp, it’s a grim way to end it. A really unfitting way for this glorious period to come to an end, drifting away into nothing. I have this down as being one of the worst performances during Jurgen’s time at the club. It’s definitely the most costly. Yes, I know it’s just five years since one of the greatest footballing miracles of all time when the mighty Barcelona were overwhelmed by a raucous Anfield. But this team is not that one – we will go to Bergamo next week, and we might win on the night. Will we go through? Not a chance for me – we simply aren’t playing well enough. Thursday night was a result in the post, a result that has been coming after a string of performances where we were just asking for it. Atalanta played the game perfectly – they contained us with ease after 20 minutes, quietened the crowd down from a quiet whisper to total silence and it’s comfortably their best result in European football. Fair play to them – they man marked us into nothing and got men forward when they had the ball. Gasperini is an experienced manager who knew exactly what he was going to set up to do and his team played it to perfection. They stitched us up a treat. Us on the other hand…. This would be a very brief match report if I used some suitable adjectives – and I have plenty in mind. However, let’s deep dive. Firstly, the atmosphere was dreadful. I wholeheartedly blame the owners for this. I think a second price rise in 12 months is crass, insensitive and reprehensible and has been communicated awfully. You’re already getting your two extra Champions League games next season – there’s your increase in revenue. Get in the sea. And anyone who is saying “it’s only £x” or “give me your ticket then” you can also get in the sea. The cost of living has not come down, bills haven’t come down, going to the match isn’t something we need to go up in price in addition to everything else. And to announce this after that scandalous United result and before a home quarter final. Some real thinking, that. Boneheads. The atmosphere was flat before the game and during it and it’s of no surprise. The club have to own that. I do also think there was some complacency from fans as well – it didn’t feel like a quarter final at any point. It frankly had the feel of a group game when you’ve already qualified with a game to spare. Flat, passionless, barely above a whisper for the majority of the game. We were just awful from start to finish. We were lucky to not go behind inside of three minutes when Kelleher made a great save with his face. I thought it was a foul on Elliott personally but it wouldn’t have been overturned had they scored. Kelleher did all he could – make himself as big as possible, use his body as a goalkeeping glove, and kept it out with his grid. It was another slow start, the same as the Sheffield United game when we could have been behind inside of 5 minutes. It is a pattern, it badly needs addressing, and we will not achieve the heights we can until this absolute plague has been cut right out. We did actually recover from that terrible start, apart from Kostas who had his worst game for the club – possibly the worst game of his entire career in fact. He was so bad he could have been substituted at half time twice – once to get brought on and once to get taken straight off. He was wretched. Again though, it was final ball and decision making that let us down. Gakpo, who I thought was our best player by a mile in the first half, was lively on that left hand side and he could have put Elliott in but didn’t get his head up. Now that I am thinking and looking back, we actually created a few chances at 0-0. Nunez went through and inexplicably stuck it wide. I haven’t seen it back (and I never will) but did he kick the ball onto his own foot or something? It went well, well wide and I was expecting a lovely little clip over the keeper into the net a la Brentford. And from that moment, we barely created a better chance. This is just who Darwin is unfortunately – you don’t know what you’re going to get and this match was one of those days where nothing went right. Elliott did hit the bar and post with a great effort cutting in from the right, really unlucky and it did start to feel like we were building up a head of steam. And then bam, behind. We lost possession far too easily, Atalanta countered quickly and Scamacca’s shot squirmed through Kelleher and in answer to the age old thing, yes “Alisson saves that.” The manner of the goal was frustrating as much as it was concerning – they cut through us way too easily. We nearly went further behind after Kelleher gave the ball away too easily but he atoned for it with a good save as the impressive Koopmeiers closed in on goal. We got to the break and the word “ragged” was being thrown around at half time as well as “disrespectful” and “arrogant.” The sentiment around me was that we should have gone full strength to try and finish the game off and then make changes. Whilst we rotated, I had the team that we put out as capable of winning the match. But we played so poorly the whole thing has spectacularly backfired. You could in theory have made 11 changes at half time. Well, 10, no situation can be saved by bringing Adrian on. As it turns out, it was Tsimikas, Jones and Elliott were the ones who were taken off. Tsimikas was the worst player on the pitch by a mile, Jones has not looked sharp since returning from injury and I think Elliott was a bit unlucky to be honest. But with Salah on the pitch we’ll make at least 5 or 6 chances for him to miss, right? Wrong! We did start the second half well and were pressing for an equaliser. We should have had it as well but Nunez lifted it over the bar. Again. Very frustrating because that puts us right back in it and Atalanta don’t have experience of Anfield on the up with the Reds pursuing a winner. I think we’d have rolled them over. We then got sucker punched. We weren’t building up a head of steam don’t get me wrong, but we were definitely on the front foot and then Atalanta broke down the right, De Ketelaere just stayed onside and swung an absolute peach of a ball across. All Scamacca had to do was guide it with his foot – Kelleher was flat footed and had no chance. Tidy finish, great ball in. 2-0 and getting towards famous European night in the second leg territory. It also caused all of the Atalanta fans in the Upper Kenny to celebrate and cause the usual trouble. I have no idea why that happens but it does in every European home game. It just ends with a load of stewards standing around their fans. But I digress. As that goal went in, Darwin went off. I have no idea if that was pre-planned or what, but bringing Nunez off when you need a goal is not what I’d be doing. As frustrating as his finishing can be, he looks like he is going to make something happen at all times. Diaz came on and played with plenty of endeavour but there was just nothing in and around him. It was such a flat performance we were lucky to end up with 0. Salah was unlucky though, his shot forced the keeper into a good save. We then had the ignominy of a Dejan Lovren moment. The SHOOOOOOOOT dickheads in the crowd got their way as the ball fell to Joe Gomez outside the box. Instead of trying to lift the ball back into the packed box, Gomez decided to blaze it into the Kop. Yet again, playing Joe Gomez’ Shooting Challenge. May I suggest a cross into the box? You have selected POWER DRIVE! Ball is in THE KOP. Would you like to play again? You have selected NO. That just summed the game up, it was a terrible decision when much better options were available. That’s the story of our last month really, since that FA Cup game. We are wasting chance after chance, or not creating a chance because of making a terrible decision. It’s going to kill us if we don’t sort it. Not that I am blaming Joe Gomez for that. I will blame the knobheads in the crowd shouting SHOOOOOOOOOOT though. At 2-0 down in the first leg, you’ve always got a chance. Given the absolute state of how we played, I’d have been happy to take 2-0 and get back to Bergamo still in the tie. It briefly looked like we’d go back at 2-1 but Salah just went too soon – and I don’t think he needed to. He did look just off as the ball went in and I spotted the flag right away – a long time before several people around me did. Jota came on with 15 minutes left and the first thing he did was win a free kick on the edge of the box. But the reality of the situation is that we were putting way too much expectation on someone coming back from months out injured. The fact he’s back for the run in is a bonus full stop as I was worried he was gone for the season. Atlanta should have scored a third before they did, with Koopmeiers firing a good chance across the goal and someone missed a great chance with a header. But it didn’t matter in the end, they were rewarded for the way they set up and the way they played with a third. Ederson (not the dipshit with the neck tattoo) was afforded way too much time to shoot, and Kelleher could only parry the ball into the path of Pasalic who gleefully tapped in. Game over. Tie over? Almost certainly. As the third went in, commence Operation Anfield Exodus. And I don’t blame anyone – but that is as big a mass exit as I’ve seen and as far as the performance goes it was well deserved. It was an absolute shambles – we had the chances for it to be 3-0 the other way but didn’t take them, we shipped a couple of awful goals and it is just a terrible way for Jurgen to sign off in European football at Anfield. You could not rule out us going out there pissed off, fired up and winning 5-0. We’ve done exactly that in the last 3 years. But for me, we’re not playing well enough, we have key players out of form at the exact wrong time and we will end up going out. Star man? The full time whistle. But our “best” player on the night was arguably Gakpo and that is up for discussion because he fell off a cliff second half. Team: Kelleher; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas (Robertson); Endo (Jota), Jones (Szoboszlai), Mac Allister; Elliott (Salah), Nunez (Diaz), Gakpo: View full article

Work-rate. Incisiveness. Nous. I don't ask for much. This is how it's gonna be. Build from the ground up. It's pretty hard to motivate myself to start a match thread after such a chastening evening for the team the night before. Can sort of imagine how Dave must feel when he has to write match reports and other content when you feel so dispirited. They do say though that the best way to get over a setback is to clear your head and get back on the bike. This game, like nearly all of our remaining league fixtures for however long we last in the Europa League, takes place on a Sunday. And boy oh boy do we need to get back on the bike. That said, last year's corresponding fixture saw us in similar form to this past week. It was also a microcosm of our malaise until the last couple of months of the season, as we were too easy to open up at the back. while lacking precision and ruthless efficiency up front. For all our possession football, we struggled to create real chances. Mo fired wide from inside the box, and Darwin was played in only to mishit his effort which bounced off the far post and stayed out. Then we got sucker-punched when Eze got between 2 of our players too easily on halfway and played a ball into Zaha's run. The Ivorian had stayed onside and had space and time to pick his spot, firing his effort into the far corner. The game's biggest talking point came in the second half when Darwin was goaded into retaliating by Palace defender Andersen, who duly hit the deck after being shot. Officials are like WWE refs in these situations, only looking at the retaliatory act rather than the cause. Actually, that's not quite an accurate comparison, and besides, I used to love Eddie Guerrero's shenanigans when the ref's back was turned or if he just so happened to have been 'accidentally' floored. Tierney was the ref, and Darwin was made to walk. His home debut was a dud and it's fair to say he's never really taken off after that. We did eventually get an equaliser, and what a goal it was too. Lucho picked up the ball in his customary left wing spot and dribbles his way through and around 3 or 4 weary Palace legs before hitting a rocket past the Palace keeper. We have seen similar goals from the likes of Sadio and Phil. Anyway, a point only as we continued our winless start to the season. Palace replaced Hodgson with Oliver Glasner a couple of months ago. I don't really know how he's got on as from what I can tell, Palace's general results have followed a familiar trajectory. I know Eze has been in and out with injury issues, and I think Olise is out long term. Whatever they've got, we can't allow them to show it. The crowd may get nervous and edgy if we don't start sharply, but my hope is that the players are so angered by what happened against the Mancs and Atalanta that they want to make every opponent pay for it. Starting with Palace. We've been getting players back from injury, but one or two that have played a lot recently are showing signs of mental fatigue. Those guys need a rest so the ones coming in are hopefully ready. Whoever is selected to start and be on the bench needs to be right up for the fight. I want ruthless efficiency and precision in attack, I want the midfield to dominate and I want the defence to be controlled and impenetrable. That requires maximum motivation, concentration, attitude and application from first minute to last. 3 points please. Get it done!

Apple Podcasts giving a transcript these days. @Paul outburst captured perfectly.

I'm not sure what Robbo has said wrong here, basically saying the players made the crowd anxious "I'm not sure. The crowd were anxious today, and rightly so the way we were passing the ball, giving it away and giving chances. Maybe we reacted to that. Maybe players who aren't as experienced at being in a title race. Some of the shithouse calls, are a bit well, shithouse. We've ran out of steam, and players are tired. It happens.

She is saying that people have been on the streets calling for opposition to the Israeli oppression of Palestinians. And if people want to see this on a global scale, then they can expect to see more incidents like the one at Sydney Mall. It's clearly dangerous racist scaremongering.

Not angry. No lack of effort but it was all just a bridge too far. The fact that we couldn’t play through a determined but limited and hardworking midfield shows our limitations. We’d have won that game in the first half of the season. Of our big chances, I think Nunez and Mo did all they could have for theirs. Jota should have had more composure and of course Jones had to score. The players who haven’t been rested or injured have looked goosed, especially Macca, and the players coming back from injury aren’t ready yet. Some of the bile directed at Jones and Trent on here has been embarrassing. Jones made mistakes but he was the only one of our midfielders pressing or getting into threatening areas. Klopp has deserved better than this. The injury to Jota at Brentford and Mo at Afcon have been massive turning points. We’ve been left to rely on Nunez and Diaz who just aren’t that reliable. We are where we might optimistically have expected to be at the start of the season, but to go from a 2-point lead to a 3-point deficit in a week and also effectively go out of Europe is heartbreaking. The only good point that Carragher made was about this being similar to the way Arsenal faded last year. I get people wanting to vent and I was furious last week and on Thursday, but I think the squad deserve better than abuse. We’ve seen all season teams playing week above theirselves against us, and we saw it again today with block after block, and no ricochets falling for us. The only thing we might have done differently over the last few weeks (in terms of approach, not individual errors) is play the kids a bit more, but that’s hindsight really. A horrible end to a season that will live long in the memory.

I dreamt we score seven today, the main problem with the dream is that I played in midfield and provided most of the assists.

Not the general election, but if any of you lovely people live in Stockbridge ward in Knowsley, and fancy voting for change, I'm standing for Greens in the council elections again on 2nd of May.

The ref in this Arsenal match has been superb. Didn't fall for any of the Gooner play acting at all.

I think we should prioritise every single game until the end of the season.

it was ‘words, actions and behaviour's’. Like, for example, using an event, attributing it to ‘Islamic extremism’ and falsely, and dangerously, trying to conflate that event with the peaceful marches attended by hundreds of thousands if not millions of people from all faiths religions and background with false quotes about a ‘call for global intifada’, as a false forewarning about the dangers of these peaceful marches. Horrible, dangerous racist.

Dave's talk of this all being part of the narrative is a lovely idea. If this was a Hollywood movie this would definitely be the part where everything looks bleak and hopeless for the protagonists. In the movie Klopp and the players would at about this point learn some important life lesson which would help them finish the movie triumphant.. There would be a joyful final scene in which they paraded the premier league trophy through the streets of Liverpool in front of millions of happy fans and then one final still of Klopp rising his fist in triumph to the crowd (with maybe a brief cut scene to chief antagonist Pep Guardiola miserably watching the scenes on TV at City's training ground and then turning his fury on Howard Webb who stands quivering in front of his desk, demanding to know how Webb's PGMOL gimps allowed this to happen). Unfortunately, as we've seen before, the Premier League doesn't seem to do happy Hollywood endings. The only lessons ever learned are bleak ones. The bad guys always win and never face any consequences for their actions. This all just seems to be shaping up to be another really shitty ending in which, even if we somehow sort ourselves out again and win all our remaining games, City just mechanically tick off win after win while friendly officials step in to help out if things are ever in danger of getting a bit dicey for them Football is really shit sometimes. Thanks for the pod. I feel pretty much the same. Not angry, just disappointed. This hasn't happened through lack of effort or desire, but the pressure has definitely got to most of the players. Sometimes strengths become weaknesses if not used wisely, and passion and desire just seem to have turned into desperation in the past week for this club.

It’s a shame but they just ran out of steam in the end, some of Klopp’s obvious tactical weaknesses and a few unfortunately timed injuries, did for them. That said, I thought we were finished after last season and he’s turned it around brilliantly, in the main. To go from 5th to comfortable top 4 again and a trophy, exceeded my expectations - I expected a battle for top 4 that we can just nick with a fair wind, like the end of season Middlesbrough game in his first full term - I felt something like coming again. I never expected a title race and like all of us I went along with it until the last week but we really didn’t have enough - as good as the Endo lad has been, City have Rodri, Arsenal have Rice - it’s the absolute foundation and bedrock of the best sides. Of course the obligatory internet/tellyclapper provincial bantz merchants will be having a ball online but to get the Club a Champions League restart is hugely important, for the new fella and financially. He was miles better than expected, Klopp. Gave us some amazing memories and moments and was almost perfect. He changed the club from a museum - that mad season under Rodgers aside - to pure excitement with a good dose of excellence thrown in. He had his faults off the ball and in defence of course but I’ll always be truly grateful. I’m 46 and those five years of 2016-2021 will be the best football I’ll ever see and that was because of him.

Sunday morning.

…but here are my first tulips

If these players allow Klopp to go out like this, with a fucking whimper, then I'm all in on whoever comes in next to just doing whatever he likes and getting rid of whoever wants as I wont care. Don't even want to look at them right now. Something changed after that cup defeat at United, we lost all momentum but they better get it back quick.

2 points, fucking VAR has cost us more than that this season.

Jesus, give it a fucking rest! The trouble with you is you've got too much to say for yourself.

VID-20240415-WA0021.mp4

The thing that is always the hardest for me is just reading the list of names and ages. We lost a mate there, I was 19, he was 20, I was just luckier than him, getting there 10 mins or so earlier - another mate who I was with on the same day has also passed away since, he was never the same again and lost his life to drink. I look through the list and see how many people who died who were around our age. We hadn't started our lives, they never got to have them. This wasn't a few unfortunate old people caught up in something a bit out of hand, these were people in the peak of life, destroyed for nothing more than football fans being thought of as a sub-human.

This conflates Jews with Israel. The fact that Israel gets a free pass on a lot is linked to nothing more than geopolitical strategy, not victim status. An ally in the region, largely due to being in opposition to Iran, much like Saudi Arabia. They may as well be black Quakers. Asking why a group have been discriminated against, and aiming the spotlight at the group themselves. Well, just transpose that with, for instance, anti-Irish sentiment, and perhaps you'll see why that's a troubling viewpoint.

Just listened to this with my lunch (cheese sarnie and a yoghurt in case anyone is interested) and to reiterate a point I made after the Arsenal pod back in February, I appreciate the podcast more after a defeat than a win, and I feel pretty certain I'm not the only one. As a Red, you've got so many bad thoughts/emotions swirling through your body and you want to know if others feel the same and how they're coping/rationalising the pain - in part you get that through talking with you mates and in part you get that from listening to three fellas you don't know try and make sense of it all between themselves, and that always helps - so please Dave and the lads, always do post-defeat pods even if, quite understandably, you're not in the mood to do so. Also, please always litter than with fuming rants about Pep Guardiola - well in Paul! Onto the team itself - I 100% agree that what we've seen in the past two games has been a collective mental breakdown, in part brought on by the natural stress of being in a title race but also in part brought by the pressure of knowing this is the last chance to be champions under Klopp. We've felt it as fans pretty much ever since the manager made his announcement that he was leaving and it's now got to the players, and the trigger for that was most definitely the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last week. I was in the away end and it really struck me hard how gutted the players looked at the final whistle. Diaz collapsed onto the turf while others stood around looking like they'd just seen their dog been hit by a car - a mixture of shock and despair which immediately told me something had gone in their heads. They clearly recognised not beating United was a big opportunity blown and that carried into Thursday which, in turn, carried into Sunday. I'm simply not having anyone say these players don't care - if anything they care too much, and that's the problem; they've tensed up under the pressure of winning this title for Klopp which has led to anxiety and ultimately a total failure to do the basic fundamentals - pass, press, cross, shoot - correctly. Saying that, there's also their utterly infuriating knack of starting games slowing and conceding the first goal, which, really, has been a problem ever since the tail-end of the 2021-22 season and for which the manager and coaching staff have to take a large share of the blame. I'm sure they prepare the team for every game but for too long now there has been a failure in that preparation, whether that be in training, or how the players are told to rest and recuperate, or in the final message they get before going onto the pitch - who knows, but something has definitely not been right for too long now. Equally, I agree with those who say the players have to take responsibility for their own performances and make sure they're 'on it' from the start of all games. All in all what we've seen for the best part of two years now in regards to how we start games has not been good enough and it needs to change. In regards to the title - yes, we're still in this and there could well be more twist and turns but personally I think yesterday was it for us. As said by the lads on the pod; once you get behind Man City in a title race, and especially at this stage of the season, it's near impossible to catch them. We've seen how this movie ends twice and the trilogy is upon us, sadly. Simply no way, given the team's physical as well as mental shape, that we're winning our remaining six games, which is what we'd need to do to stand any chance of being champions. Like Dave, I see Fulham on Sunday as a massive banana skin, and even if we don't slip up then we will somewhere else. Praying to God it's not Goodison. All in all, this is such a sad state of affairs to find ourselves in. Like Chris said on the post-Atalanta pod - everything changed when Klopp made his announcement, and while the reasons for that were understandable, that doesn't stop me/others wishing he had not said anything and simply walked in the summer. That would have meant no sudden dropping of mood, no distracting chat about who replaces him (and subsequent, further despair when Alonso ruled himself out of the running) and no rising anxiety, in the stands and on the pitch, which led to Anfield being an utterly rotten place to be yesterday. My worst day there since the Gerrard-slip game almost exactly 10 years ago. I'm gutted and, like Paul, massively pissed off with seeing the cheats prosper again. They've stolen glory for us and they're fans barely give a fuck about any of it. It's disgusting and, well, sad.

Mrs HL started making her own sourdough a couple of weeks ago. This is the second loaf of a twin batch baked today.

One of the easiest tastiest veggie scrans around this one. Halloumi cut in half, smeared with crunchy chilli oil/sauce wrapped in tinfoil. Bung it on a roasting tray surrounded by small spuds, sliced onion, mushrooms, toms, and courgette tossed in salt n pepper and a teaspoon of oil. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

This Netflix series is gonna be boss. Jurgen eating cornflakes out of the Worthington Cup, Salah walking around topless and Nunez spending three hours in a revolving door.

Best fanbase in the world

I am getting fed up of seeing Mo and Darwin grinning away after missing chances.

Khamenei've a go if you think you're hard enough.

His campaign video…

Really pleased with this little Acer I planted.

It’s football, enjoy the ride, don’t stress out for that. We are lucky enough to follow the last games of the Klopp’s era. We shall remember those days with happiness for years to come. It may not turn out the way we want but we can still make it and that’s great to have the chance to be part of it right ?

Missed this post. Having gone this route after my wife suffered 7 miscarriages, it worked great and now I’m the miserable parent of a 5 and 6 year old. The very best of luck mate. I’ve everything crossed for you including my now unemployed penis.

My daughter and her mate have been reading the lemony snicket books and so wanted to cook pasta putanesca, which I'd never heard of. They've absolutely smashed it, honestly.

I've just got the one. I call him Tiny. He's my newt.

I hoped we would cut our goal difference deficit to Arsenal today. And we did!

We're not at city or arsenal's level now. I wouldn't change the last 8 years for the world though.

I’ve just had a text from my manager asking if I can work from home tomorrow so at least that’s something! There’s a Palace fan at work!

The last game I went to I got talking to a nice lad from Malaysia in the row in front who was at his first game, but when I stood up to sing YNWA he recorded me for the whole version, which was a tad unnerving. I imagine I am now as big as Robbie Williams on Youtube in KL and would struggle to get out of the airport for fawning admirers.

Fucker to kill in Mortal Combat he was.

He absolutely deserves and has earned the right to decide this. He has even given the club until the end of the season and didn't leave in a hissy fit mid way through. He is bringing through excellent youth talent and doing part of the work for the new manager too. We are all pissed off,but most of us not at Klopp as he deserves nothing but praise and respect for what he's achieved and how he's done it. He is now a club legend regardless.

Hope is stronger than fear or resentment. What do we want to feel ? We moaned for years because challenging for the League was over at Christmas. We all agree no one expected us to be where we are now back in august. It may hurt but it could be awesome. Never give up !