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The Reds set up a quarter final date with West Ham thanks to a stunning winner from substitute Darwin Nunez on a wretched night on the South Coast.

 

Chris Smith is joined by John Brennan and TLW Editor Dave Usher to look back on a gritty performance from the boys. There's also reaction to the draw, some mocking of Manchester United and the usual nonsense about chippies and 90s pop references.

 

 

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We’re making these games look routine again now. I didn’t think for one second that we wouldn’t win this, because it’s at Anfield. We’re back in that place now where a home game is almost a guaranteed three points. Had we been playing Forest away then I’d have been open to the possibility we might drop points, but not at Anfield.

 

We had to do this without Luis Diaz though. Just a truly horrific situation which I’m not going to dwell on because we don’t know how it’s going to play out. Hopefully it all works out but this must have been such a tough day for his team-mates. They have to just get on with it and I dunno, maybe playing the match is a good thing for them because they can focus on something else.

 

They’ll all be feeling it, especially those he’s closest to. I suppose having a game to play helps them feel like they’re doing something to help. Win the game, send him a message of support and just hope for the best.

 

We’re lucky in the sense that we have a ready made replacement for him in Jota. Completely different types of player, but Jota is scoring pretty much every time he starts now after that mad drought he had when he came back from injury. The front five are scoring at a ridiculous rate this season, averaging two goals a game. My money is on that going up rather than down as the season progresses. Darwin might average two a game on his own once he gets a proper run of games.

 

The midfield has been the big plus for us this season though. We knew the forwards would score goals. They scored goals last season even when we were shite. But the midfield was an issue. Not the only issue, but we knew it needed rebuilding and it has been.

 

For what I think was the first time this season we started with our entirely new midfield. Macca, Dom and Ryan. For all the gnashing of teeth and wailing about our summer activity (some of it certainly justified) we’ve completely rebuilt the midfield and it’s been quite seamless really. No period of transition, we’ve just brought in new, young players, and we’ve immediately been ace. Hell of a job, despite the debacles with Bellingham, Caicedo and Lavia.

 

The midfield really impressed in this game. Gravenberch was fairly quiet, certainly in comparison to the other night when he was brilliant, but the balance of the midfield looked really good. We’ll have Curtis back now too, so Klopp has a tricky decision to make. It will get even trickier if he adds Andre in January and frees Mac Allister up to play in the role he was bought for. All of a sudden our weakness has become a strength.

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Monday Oct 23:

 

Fucking hell, this Konate / Beto thing is still rumbling on. It’s mental how much airtime it’s getting. A lot of you won’t even know about this if you don’t watch MOTD, but in the last round of fixtures two weeks ago Bruno Guimares was booked for a foul and then a couple of minutes later he did pretty much the same thing and the ref bottled it and didn’t send him off. That was MUCH worse than the Konate one (which was not a definite yellow) but hardly anyone knows about it? Why? Because decisions like that happen in most games, and sometimes they happen when a player is already on a yellow.

 

It’s completely normal, yet this one has gone viral because these bitter fucks are piggy backing on the recent officiating controversies and trying to put this in the same ball park. It’s pathetic and it undermines the actual problems there are with officiating. You can’t be castigating a referee for THAT performance. Compared to what we usually see, Pawson’s display was very good. Yet these fucking paranoid cranks are crying conspiracy against a referee who didn’t give us a penalty for the foul on Diaz and needed VAR to tell him about the handball he missed. If he was trying to fuck Everton then he did a pretty poor job of it.

 

Sean Dyche is a crying cunt. Always has been, always will be. Now he’s found the perfect home for his small time, everyone hates us, little club, paranoid, chip on the shoulder whiney bullshit. The sooner these go out of business the better for everyone, including their own fans who need saving from themselves. As long as Everton exists they’ll be miserable.

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Three points, a clean sheet and more goals for a forward line deprived of Luis Diaz who was back home in Colombia after the shocking kidnapping of his parents.

 

Chris Smith is joined by Dan Thomas and TLW Editor Dave Usher to go through the talking points of the afternoon, including the awful situation with the Diaz family as well as another impressive display from the Reds. 

 

 

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Enjoyed that. Plenty of goals, some nice individual performances, opportunities for a few kids and some typical madness from Darwin. This is what we wanted from the Europa League, not the scabby, dull games we’ve had prior to this. Not that it was perfect, we were probably only at around 70% but that was more than enough.

 

Toulouse had a go and that made life easier for us. I thought they were shite without the ball but they were adventurous with it and tried to attack. I respect that, they were never going to get anything from the game but instead of just sitting deep and hoping to keep the score down they decided they wanted to try to give their fans something to remember. And they did, because they got themselves a goal and really ought to have had another one.

 

Their fans had a great time and that’s what this competition is about. We’re playing teams we’d never normally play and it’s a big deal for them. It’s been quite refreshing really in that sense. Union and Toulouse fans have come to Anfield and had a great time in town and been welcomed to the city. Our fans went away to LASK and were giving a warm welcome too. Compare that to how Newcastle’s fans have been carrying on in the Champions League, acting like England knobheads.

 

As much as last season was a slog and depressing for the most part, maybe it needed to happen. It prompted the rebuild we needed and although it left us in the Europa, I’m convinced now that this is exactly where we need to be for this particular season. If we had been playing Dortmund this week would Luke Chambers, Endo, Kelleher, Elliott, Gravenberch etc have been playing? No, we’d have started with Kostas, Mac Allister, Alisson, Szoboszlai, Mo and the rest of the first eleven.

 

That’s not a good thing. This way we can rest players and give minutes to those who need them while not having to worry about potentially dropping points. It’s also very helpful when it comes to integrating the new players. Endo especially needs games to get up to speed, but Gravenberch too. He’s featuring in the league but these Europa games are great for him. He hardly played last season so any minutes he’s getting now will help to get him back up to speed, and he’s starting to look like an absolute steal isn’t he?

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The Reds continued their 100% record in the Europa League with a routine 5-1 win over Toulouse at Anfield as goals from Jota, Endo, Nunez, Gravenberch and Salah put Klopp's side within one more win of early qualification to the knock out stages.

 

Chris Smith is joined by John Brennan and TLW Editor Dave Usher to pick through the bones of an entertaining night at Anfield in which Gravenberch shone, Endo bagged his first goal for the club and we were treated to the full Darwin experience.

 

 

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Arsenal and Chelsea were involved in a hum dinger at Stamford Bridge. Not sure who that last 15 minutes says more about though. Chelsea blew it but at the same time I have to give Arsenal credit for no longer being the lightweight fannies they were for so long. They’re made of sterner stuff now, there’s no question about that.

 

I don’t know what to make of Chelsea right now though. I think they’re probably better than people think, but their results are not always showing it. This would have been a big win for them at this stage of their development, a signature result to kick start the Pochettino era. No-one is paying much attention to them these days but had they saw this game out they'd have been back on the radar.

 

They almost had it too. Palmer put them ahead from the spot after Saliba had handled. It is a pen but he's unlucky as there’s not much he can do. His arm is out because he’s challenging for a header. The ball is headed goalwards and hits his hand, so you have to give the pen there really. What I would say is it was nowhere near as bad as the one Jackson got away with against us on opening day.

 

Murdyk made it 2-0 with a mis-hit cross that looped over Raya. Jonathon Pearce on MOTD kept going on about how it wasn’t a fluke and he clearly meant it. Pochettino said the same thing. Fuck off, it was a cross. He’s just shite so he mis-hit it and got lucky.

 

Tell you what though, that Raya isn’t all that. I’d be fucking fuming if I was Ramsdale. He’s not great himself, but he’s done well for Arsenal and all their fans loved him. He was not the reason they came up short in the title race last year. I sort of get why Arteta replaced him as he’s thinking that to win the league he needs a better keeper than Ramsdale, but that’s not Raya. They’re much of a muchness and it really wasn’t worth shitting all over Ramsdale like that to bring in someone who isn’t any better.

 

This obsession some managers have now about keepers who can use their feet is hilarious. Look at the clown United have in goal now. The funniest part is that these keepers who are supposedly great with their feet (I include Alisson in this too) always look like they’re going to fuck up and do something daft, and they often do.

 

Raya got away with murder in this game through passing it to marked team-mates and generally thinking he’s Xavi or Busquets.

 

That Chelsea keeper is dogshit as well. He was lucky not to give away a pen when he missed a high ball and wiped out Jesus, but he was punished soon after when his pathetic pass into midfield went straight to Rice who hit it first time to leave him stranded. Chelsea had been in total control of the game until that moment but then everything changed. Young Farage came off the bench to equalise late on. and the keeper is garbage on that too.

 

The biggest take away from this though is Ben Shite. Just look at the absolute fucking kip of him. Bleached blonde hair is usually a sign of a bellend. We already knew what a dick Ben White is, but he’s cranked it right up now. Between the leccy beach tan and the white hair, he looks like a fucking pensioner that retired to the Costa De Sol. I’d be ashamed to have him in my team.

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You’ve got to hand it to Everton. Only they could suffer a completely routine defeat in which they managed only one effort on goal and somehow make out it was controversial. It’s crazy to me that all the talk after this game was about a referee who was for the most part fine.

 

This is the most Everton thing you’ll ever see. Essentially they’re attempting to stir up a massive controversy and crying about conspiracies and unfairness based on…. well one minor foul that may or may not have been a yellow card. That’s it. One fucking decision that a referee made a judgement call on. Imagine if these fuckers had to deal with what happened to us at Spurs.

 

They aren’t complaining about Ashley Old getting two clear yellows. They aren’t complaining about the stonewall penalty. The sane and rational ones aren’t anyway. But they are crying conspiracy because the referee chose to award a free-kick and no yellow card for what was just a pretty standard foul. And for some reason that’s become the story of the game that everyone is leading. Shit, I’m even doing it here.

 

So many games this season have been ruined by refereeing decisions and we’ve been on the receiving end of those fuck ups more than anybody. This isn’t that. And trying to lump this in with the other shit we’ve seen undermines the genuine debacles we’ve seen. Craig Pawson’s performance wasn’t bad. Other than that one Konate decision which could have gone either way, what’s the problem here? There isn’t one. It’s a fucking joke.

 

There’s nothing here that you won’t see in literally every other game of football this weekend. I guarantee you can find a foul in any game where you can argue a yellow should have been given but wasn’t, or vice versa. That’s all this is. Everton will argue that all the decisions went against them. They’d be wrong. Pawson didn’t give us a penalty when Patterson brought down Diaz and let’s not forget that he didn’t give the penalty for handball either until VAR told him he’d missed it. So one decision went against them and it’s sparked all of this. It’s pathetic.

 

This reaction and behaviour from them is embarrassing even by Everton standards. Manager, p[layers and fans. All of them are making fools of themselves. You’re really going to make a massive song and dance over that Konate foul? Jesus Christ. Even if the ref had sent him off we’d have still beat them as Everton can’t handle it when there’s any sort of expectation on them to do something. You know when Everton are in their absolute derby game element? When they’re down to ten men, crying about referees and putting up a ‘brave, backs to wall’ effort in a valiant defeat.

 

If that game went ten v ten they couldn’t have just sat there on the edge of their own box, pumping alehouse balls up to whichever big donkey they have up top. They’d have had to try and play a bit, and they’d have got royally fucked because that would have left space for my boy Darwin to run them ragged.

 

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Monday Oct 16:

 

I mentioned last week about the Anny Road delay and how it meant fans who had tickets couldn’t go to the Everton game and others. I think I referred to it as unfortunate situation and that there wasn’t much the club could do about it. That’s true to some extent, but I didn’t know the half of it. The email that landed in my inbox today was somewhat bizarre and points to them being caught on the hop. Offering season ticket holders who don’t want to go on Saturday “1/19th the price of their season ticket” and a tenner to spend in the club shop isn’t much of an incentive now is it?

 

If I wasn’t going, I’d be far more likely to pass it on to someone on my friends and family list than I would be to take up that offer. If they want to look after those who’ve been let down then this is not the right way to do it. Interesting that you can still buy tickets on the touting websites though. Funny that isn’t it?

 

Four thousand fans had tickets and now can’t go. It turns out that some of those are Any Rd upper tier season ticket holders who have up to now been accommodated in other areas of the ground. Because the club thought it would be open, those season ticket holders are now without a ticket. I’m not sure how that works from a legal standpoint, I’d probably be taking legal advice if I’d been shafted like that.

 

Meanwhile, no update yet on Robbo’s injury but the speculation isn’t good. The talk is that if he needs surgery he could be out for months rather than weeks. That means Kostas in the important games and probably Luke Chambers in the cups. I wanted to see Chambers get an opportunity but not like this. He’s injured too at the moment, but should be back soon.

 

There was a report today from that German journo (Faulk I think?) who is always on Twitter saying we’re keeping tabs on Musiala from Bayern. Not. A. Fucking. Chance. Stick this in the file with Mbappe and Bellingham. I’m not getting taken in this time. He’s fucking brilliant but if he leaves Bayern it won’t be to come here. We just never shop at that end of the market. We window shop and then watch as Real Madrid come along and slap their platinum credit card on the counter and say “we’ll take that”.  He’s either going to Madrid or maybe he’ll end up being De Bruyne’s successor at City.

 

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Not a classic but three points and a relatively comfortable afternoon for the Reds as two Mo Salah goals sank Everton.

 

TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by Paul Natton and Julian Richards to look back on yet another Anfield derby win and go through all of the major talking points.

 

 

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Monday Oct 9:

 

That Paul Merson vs Mike Dean thing was mad. I’ve never heard anybody shout that loudly at another person on TV before but I still think Merse was restrained under the circumstances. Seeing Dean being so smug and condescending and talking down to those ex players like that tells you everything you need to know about how fucked we are now with these officials. I use the term “busy traffic warden bastards” a lot and Dean’s behaviour here is the perfect illustration of it. 

 

It takes a certain type of mindset to want to be a Premier League referee. I don’t think all of them are knobheads, and many referees lower down the chain are just normal fellas (and women) doing it for the love of the game. But to get to the top it seems like you need to have that same kind of attitude we often see with police, traffic wardens and some of those old school headmaster types. Remember David Elleray? Smug cunt. Now we’ve got loads like him. Where are the Jeff Winters now? He was a knobhead too but he was a completely different type of knobhead. Players could at least have a laugh with him and he wouldn’t go running to mummy if someone swore at him. Someone like him couldn’t make it now though. Not robotic enough, not bald enough and not Manc enough. 

 

Mark Halsey is another always speaking out about how robotic and shit a lot of these refs are. Players would swear at him and he’d just tell them to fuck off. There isn’t one of these refs who would engage with players like that now, because they adopt this superior attitude where they think that to have authority means you have to talk down to people and not engage in conversation. You can tell an awful lot from how Dean interacted with Merson and those other players on Saturday. He clearly thinks he’s above them, that he’s better than them and that it’s beneath him to be questioned by someone like Merson. He was like that on the pitch and you might argue that he needed to be, but this was a fucking TV studio and he’s still acting like that, which tells me that everything people have said about him for decades is true.

 

Merson was completely in the right and all Dean could come back with was to continually talk about “the law”. And he did it in that irritating, calm, quiet way where you just know he’s trying to get the other person to lose their shit so he can claim the moral high ground. Watching that, I felt sorry for Merson having to deal with it. He probably wanted to go over and fucking chin him. 

 

When Dean was asked if ex players should be involved in VAR he scoffed at it and said “they don’t understand the laws of the game, you only have to look at these three here who wanted to stop the game for the sake of it”. That’s what set Merse off. The condescending, sneering superiority of Dean while also saying “for the sake of it” as though they wanted the game stopped because of a throw in or something trivial. “FOR THE SAKE OF IT!!!” Merson was screaming. We were all Paul Merson at that moment.

 

As angry as Merson was, I was even more angry. These busy little arrogant cunts are ruining football. They’re the Tory Mp’s of our beautiful game, fucking destroying everything they touch. They’ve been given too much power and they’re now using it to influence the results of games. Fans have always accused refs of having it in for their team, but prior to VAR you could just dismiss that off as human error. VAR has removed that excuse. 

 

We can see them giving decisions that they want to give rather than what is right. It happens every week. Whether you think that’s because there’s financial shenanigans going on or not, the fact that they are manipulating subjective decisions to get the outcome they want is indisputable. The worrying thing now is they’ve started doing it with decisions that are not subjective. 

 

And when it happens, you have the likes of Dean, Walton and Gallagher defending it, while the ones who aren’t afraid to speak out against it (Halsey for example) just don’t get the same kind of platform to do it. There’s fuck all any of us can do about it either. If I could walk away from it all I probably would at this point, as they’ve killed the sport. The team that wins the league now will be the one who got fucked the least by officials, and usually it’s Man City.

 

Meanwhile, Naby is injured again. He’s just returned from the injury he picked up in the warm up prior to his first pre-season game, and on his first start for Bremen he tore his thigh muscle. I’m not even going to take the piss as it’s just sad. I’d love to know what happened to this poor bastard. He was hardly injured before he joined us and then it was just muscle injury after muscle injury. He rarely had other types of injuries, just soft tissue ones all the time. How come in this day and age of advanced sports science, they’ve been unable to figure that out? He’s like Lallana and Sturridge. Just unfixable. Matip was like that for a while too but he’s been sound for a couple of years now, so they figured that out. Keita seems like a lost cause though. It gives me no pleasure at all, I wouldn’t have begrudged him going back to the Bundesliga and reigniting his career. Not gonna happen though is it? He’ll be like Sturridge, retired at 32.

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We almost had another comedy defeat at Old Trafford this weekend but they flaked two stoppage time goals to rescue it and rise to the dizzy heights of… *checks table* 10th.

 

It’s a measure of how utterly irrelevant they are now that I wasn’t even that arsed when I heard they’d turned it around. In fact, we can take positives from it because it’s the hope that will keep killing them. Just let them do enough to think it’s worth persevering with. That’s the perfect scenario here, although it would have been hilarious if they’d lost again.

 

It was still funny anyway seeing them made to sweat like that again. They’re SHITE and they’re as far away from challenging as at any time since Ferguson left.

 

Jensen put Brentford ahead midway through the first half with a shot that went in the middle of the goal, with Onana diving and being unable to save it. Diving for a shot right in the middle of the goal is a red flag and points to poor positioning, but even allowing for that he should have saved it anyway but it went under his hand. He might be my favourite player in the entire league, I love him.

 

McTominay came off the bench really late on and scored in the 94th and 97th minute to win to for them and send Old Trafford wild. Usually I hate seeing United celebrate but this wasn’t like that. I just laughed at them, enjoying this as though it actually means something. Celebrating like they’d done something meaningful. It’s just funny, I pity them.

 

That Antony cunt is back and he’s ditched the bleached blonde look. I always say that’s a massive cunt identifier and he’s a case in point. Getting rid of that won’t fool anyone though, as his face is also a dead giveaway.

 

Brentford are not doing themselves any favours though, losing at home to Everton and then capitulating like this against United. They’re in danger of replacing Brighton on my shit list at this rate. Their goalkeeper is shit, he should have done better on both United goals.

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Another week another VAR controversy. I’m not sure what to think about the fact I’m more annoyed at our own performance than I am about any officiating blunder. Maybe I just expect more from our players and have no expectations of the officials other than us getting shafted?

 

Let me first say though that any problem I have is not specifically with Anthony Taylor. He was generally fine and reffed the game in the way I would want to see a game reffed. There were plenty of chances for him to get his card out but he treated that a last resort. For example, Alexis would not have completed the game with most other refs in charge. Two of the fouls he committed were more yellow card worthy than the two two Jota got last week for example, yet he escaped punishment.

 

Taylor was lenient and let a lot go, which is what I want to see as long as it’s consistent for both teams. And this was. I thought he should have booked March early on for taking out Nunez. He didn’t, so I’m thinking “ok, that’s fine as long as this is how you’re going to call it for both teams”. And he did call it that way so no complaint from me there, especially as I was worried about him beforehand.

 

As for the red card he missed, again, he’s trying to ref the game leniently and to keep players on the field. Maybe it all happened so fast that he wasn’t even thinking about a red card? There was a lot going on there, so I can certainly see how he’d miss that because he got one look at it and was probably concentrating on the foul itself rather than examining whether there was any attempt to play the ball.

 

What’s VAR’s excuse though? Taylor can adopt a lenient approach and officiate the game in the manner he wants to, but we’ve been getting told all week that VAR does not have that luxury and they must adhere strictly to the ‘law’. So says Mike Dean, a man who lets not forget chose to disregard that ‘law’ when he didn’t want his mate to have to go to the screen and make a decision that would make him unpopular.

 

The point here is that VAR has to look at that incident and not decide what the best decision is for the game as a spectacle, or what punishment is morally ‘too severe’. That isn’t their call to make, they are there to apply the laws of the game. And the laws of the game say that a player who denies a goalscoring opportunity in the box when not making a genuine attempt to play the ball should be given a red card. No ifs ands or buts, it’s that simple.

 

They failed to do it, and the excuse given afterwards was that Szoboszlai was moving away from goal and did not have control of the ball so therefore it isn’t a goalscoring opportunity. These clowns are making it up as they go along. Not a goalscoring opportunity? Fuck off.

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Another week another VAR controversy as the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw at Brighton in a game that should have seen the hosts reduced to ten men.

 

TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by Dan Thomas and Paul Natton to look back on an eventful game that the Reds should have won but could have lost. 

 

 

 

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Monday Oct 2:

 

That’s some u-turn from Neville isn’t it? He was venting about how bad this was in the immediate aftermath and then all of a sudden he wasn’t. And now he’s turned his guns on LFC because he doesn’t like the statement we pout out. A statement that was only saying the kind of thing he was. He’s a little fucking worm with zero credibility because he’s so full of contradictions and hypocrisy. I’d love to know who got to him and told him to tone it down on the refs. Shithouse. 

 

It’s not just him though. Some of the pro PGMOL bollocks I’m seeing from the media is genuinely bewildering. It feels like we’re taking on the tories or the met. You’re having to deal with the media they control too. I wouldn’t have thought Howard Webb would have had this kind of influence but I underestimated him. 

 

How has Darren England not been sacked already? How is the audio not out there? Why are they protecting him? I mean if this were a football manager doing a job this badly he’d be getting fucking hammered and no-one would give a shit about ‘duty of care’ or safeguarding his mental health. Fuck this shit. That England is one bad cunt. The audio of the whole game should be out there for public consumption. There is no reason not to unless they have something to hide.

 

In fact, why should we even need to request it like this? It should be readily available to listen to after every single game. If they don’t want to let us listen live, that’s one thing. But how come we can’t hear what’s said afterwards except for the exceptions made by Webb when he does his little self promotional show with Michael Owen where he selects which bits of audio we’re allowed to listen to? The last one they did should have included the Mac Allister red, as that was the most contentious decision and it was overturned. Instead we got to hear ones that Webb wanted us to hear so he could congratulate himself on their “process”. The audio from every single game should be available on request, starting with this one.

 

I’ve got far more questions than just what happened on the goal. I want to hear what he said on the red card too, and how he judged that as a clear and obvious error by the referee when even those pundits who think it might be a red card aren’t saying it with any conviction, and there are plenty saying it’s just the wrong call. So whether it is or it isn’t a red, it was absolutely not a clear and obvious error. Dodgy. As. Fuck.

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Well this will be short and sweet. Sometimes these reports are difficult because there’s so much that needs to be covered that I don’t really know where to start. The Spurs game last weekend for example. Then there’s this, which is equally difficult for entirely different reasons. 

 

Hardly anything happened, it was dull as shit but we won the game so there’s not even any reason to be pissed off. There’s not too much to be excited about either, it’s just basically a big whole of nothing really. And we need to get used to that because this is the Europa League experience. I think many of us had forgotten that as it’s been so long. 

 

When we think back on previous campaigns, we remember the Alaves final or the craziness of the Dortmund game. I couldn’t actually tell you who we played in the group stages of any Europa campaign we’ve ever had. Shit, I barely remember who we played in the Champions League groups last season. I think Ajax was one, but I wouldn’t put any money on it.

 

The point is, while we often think these games are going to be goalfests against teams we’ve never heard of, the reality is different. Look at our last game against Lask. Look at how Villa and Brighton have struggled to beat teams they should be dealing with easily. The Europa League is fucking shit unless you win it. Hopefully we will win it, but get used to uninspiring games like this. We might have one game where we smash the opposition but generally it will be like this.

 

The mad thing is that Klopp is actually picking strong teams and we’re still making hard work of it. I suppose there are two choices. And understrength team playing in fifth gear and being really up for it while maybe struggling to get over the line, or a strong team playing in second gear and struggling to get over the line.

 

Starting Mo Salah shocked me. I didn’t think we’d see Mo starting any of these group games. I know he only played a half, but it’s still surprising to me. Alisson too, although his selection was kind of forced upon Klopp due to Kelleher’s injury and Adrian not being registered.

 

Trent needs the minutes, Konate is currently behind Matip in the pecking order and Nunez had to play because of the injury to Gakpo. So I can see why all of those played, but Mo being involved and Doak not even getting on the field is strange to me. It’s not like it even worked. We weren’t good even with all of them on.

 

It might have been different had we taken some of the early chances we had. Maybe then we’d have got the big scoreline we wanted. We didn’t take the chances though and my boy Darwin missed an absolute fucking sitter. Incredible miss that, and a massive shame as it was a lovely move. He didn’t sort his feet out though and screwed his shot wide. Awful. Much better he does it in this one though than when it actually matters.

 

It was just a low key performance all around, except for Gravenberch who started brilliantly, disappeared for a bit, then came back into it again. I like what he brings to the table. He’s not like a Szoboszlai who is at the heart of everything, he’s more of a moments player, but whenever he had the ball he looked like he would do something.

 

He’s only played a few games but he’s had two assists and a goal already. It’s promising. I like how he’s able to receive the ball on the turn so he can immediately glide away from people. He brings something different to our other midfielders and is a bit of a wild card. The goal he scored was a simple one but it’s not that often you see our midfield players in those positions. That’s what I mean about him bringing something different.

 

He almost scored again in the second half when he cut in from the left and curled one towards the top corner, forcing the keeper into a good save. On a distinctly forgettable night he’s the one thing that stood out.

 

Not that everyone else played badly, it’s just that we probably have more intensity in training sessions than we had in this game. Konate and Quansah did well. It’s not like they had loads to do, but if they hadn’t done what they needed to then this game could have gone wrong in a hurry as the longer it went the more Union grew in confidence and at 1-0 the game was far from over.

 

Eventually we wrapped it up late on when Jota ran through and finished well, but even that goal was pretty unimpressive. Not the finish, that was good, but the way the ball ended up with Jota was scruffy as fuck. Both of our goals came from their set-pieces though, which is a big strength of ours.

 

The substitutions strongly hinted at what we’ll see on Sunday. Mo and Darwin were subbed at half time and we know they’ll be starting. Endo also went off, replaced by Macca. That’s interesting to me. I think Endo will start on Sunday and Macca will get a chance in the more advanced role that we signed him to play in. 

 

I’m looking forward to seeing him in that role as I can see Darwin benefitting from his skill around the box in picking out little passes. Trent is almost certain coming back in too, and once again we saw in this game that he spent more time dropping inside to centre back rather than joining the midfield. 

 

I quite like that as it gets him on the ball with a bit more space to pick out the runs of the forwards. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if either Darwin or Mo scored on Sunday from a Trent ball over the top.

 

I’m confident about that because I don’t think we can look at these Europa League games as any kind of barometer of form, either individually or collectively. They’re almost like training sessions. We’ll do better against higher calibre opposition, and we’ve got a couple of scores to settle with Brighton. I just hope the officials don’t get in the way.

 

Credit to their fans, they made the most of the trip they’d been so looking forward to and I thought their team gave a good account of themselves. It might be tricky over there, but hopefully we’ll be well qualified by then and it won’t matter what happens.

 

Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endo (Mac Allister), Elliott, Gravenberch (Szoboszlai); Salah (Jones), Nunez (Diaz), Jota:  

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Would have been a perfect weekend that. City lost, United lost, Everton lost and we were set to go top of the table. Until THEY decided that wasn’t happening. Far too often we’re having to play against the officials as well as the opposition, but this was something 

 

It’s crazy how transparent it all is yet no-one will say it out loud. Manchester City’s owners are giving high paid side gigs to Premier League refs and two days after Darren England had been away on the Sheikh’s dime he did THAT to fuck over a team that was about to go above City in the table. Best league in the world? It’s more stage managed than WWE. We’d probably have more chance if Vince McMahon was writing the storylines.

 

But I’ll try to leave all of that out of this and just stick to the games, starting at Goodison as I think we all need cheering up this week don’t we? You can always rely on Everton to bring cheer when it’s needed most. 

 

The Blues had actually shown signs of life with wins at Brentford and Villa (in the cup) and this looked like a home banker. There’s no such thing with these bums though is there? They can literally lose to anyone, at any time, in any place. No Everton loss is shocking to me anymore. Not even this one. It was mildly surprising though, even I have to admit that. 

 

Luton took the lead in scrappy fashion when Morris hit the bar with a header and Lockyer flew in to block a clearance by Ashley Old and got lucky as it ricocheted into the net. Morris made it 2-0 with a nice finish after being picked out from a free-kick. He’s decent him, he looks a bit old school and you can see why he did well in the Championship. 

 

He reminds me a little of Troy Deeney and he’s the only Luton player who has posed any threat all season. You’d think Everton might have been aware of that and decided that marking him might be a good idea. Dyche being undone by set-pieces is always nice to see.

 

Calvert-Lewin bundled one in that was even scrappier than Luton’s opener but the Blues didn’t have an equaliser in them. Beto did have two really good headed chances and put both of them over the bar. In his defence, it’s difficult to keep headers down when you’ve got a two foot neck. One little flick of those neck muscles is like trying to hole a short putt with a driver. Can’t control the force coming off the club face.

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Promise we didn’t spend 90 minutes talking about the game! After a quick recap of the Europa League win over Union SG at Anfield, Chris Smith, Dave Usher and John Brennan turn their attention to the ongoing aftermath of the weekend’s officiating scandal. 

 

How have Liverpool played it so far? What needs to happen next to keep the pressure on? And the predictable rounding of the wagons from fans and media around the country. The lads also look ahead to a crucial-looking clash at Brighton on Sunday, which presents a chance to enter the international break on a high.

 

 

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Oh fucking hell, where do I even begin here? This is genuinely the biggest officiating scandal / catastrophe I can remember in this country. At this point, I don’t think there is anything I can say that is over the top or unreasonable, because everything is on the table here. When something this outlandish happens, you can’t rule anything out.

 

But before I get to all of that I want to talk about the lads. Because that won’t get spoken about as much as it deserves to. I’m fine with that because the focus absolutely needs to be on what the officials did and that should be the main talking point in any football related show for some time to come. I’ll get to all of that in due course because you won’t be surprised to know I have a lot to say about it.

 

But first, what a fucking heroic effort from our lads. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt prouder of my team than I did here. They were incredible and that is the most unjust defeat I’ve ever seen. The amount of shit they were having thrown at them, yet they kept fighting and fighting and refusing to yield. And they they lost to the cruelest of blows right at the death. Just heartbreaking, and yet it might just prove to be another thing that speeds up the development of this team as they become even stronger. You go through adversity and through it comes strength. We’ve seen it already this season and this is just more fuel they can use.

 

We’ve seen it already. The defiance from the players as they thanked the travelling fans. Darwin giving it the beans, pounding his chest and getting the fans going. Then he goes on social media talking about how “its us against everyone”. You’re damn fucking right it is.

 

I’ll call it now and I don’t give a fuck. We’ll win the league this season. We’re already fucking boss and we’ll get even better. If we don’t win the league it won’t be because we’re not the best team. It will be because of the kind of corruption some of us have always suspected was there and now is there in plain sight for all to see. If they keep fucking us then it’s going to be hard to overcome that. If somehow the heat from this means they have to start calling our games down the middle, then God help everyone because these boys are going to run all over everyone.

 

I kept saying last season how we’d lost the eye of the tiger. Well it’s back. This group of players are hungry and fuck, talented as anyone and now they’re motivated like nobody else. Brighton thought this weekend was bad. Wait and see what happens next week when we roll into town with a score to settle.

 

Spurs were being talked up a lot prior to this game. If it had stayed 11 v 11 we’d have tatted them. Probably by three or four at least. The signs were there, we looked like we could slice through them at will. Had it stayed 11 v 10 we’d have beaten them too. I could see that coming a mile off. Even with ten men we looked the more dangerous side and the gaps were there to be exploited. Darwin was ready to come on and finish them off, and then suddenly we were down to nine men and the plan had two change.

 

And even with NINE FUCKING MEN we weren’t in trouble. Alisson had virtually nothing to do after Jota’s dismissal and it needed a fluke own goal for him to be beaten. The way we defended was perfect right up into Joel got his feet into a mess. Spurs can take the points from the game but - and they may kid themselves and think differently - there’s nothing else they can take from this because clearly they’re nowhere near us.

 

We don’t take any points from it, yet I take much more confidence and belief from it than I had going in. This team is going to be special. Klopp knows it. The players know it. The fans are beginning to know it too.

 

So all of that needed saying first and foremost. Now to the rest of it.

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As the dust begins to settle on what happened at Spurs yesterday and new information has come to light on why exactly the Luis Diaz goal was not allowed to stand, we felt we needed to do a follow up to the post match pod.

 

TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by Ian Brown and Stu Montagu to unpack everything that has happened since the game.

 

 

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How do you sum that up? The Reds have had their unbeaten record stolen after some questionable decisions by the officials plus one that may well be the biggest 'mistake' ever seen on a top flight football pitch in this country.

 

Dave Usher is joined by Paul Natton and Julian Richards to dissect an unbelievable game in North London in which the Reds lost yet still managed to lay down a serious marker in the title race. A fantastic performance full of heart, resilience and class may have ended in heartbreak, but this team is the real deal.

 

(The pod was recorded shortly after full time before we had the 'explanation' for why the Luis Diaz goal was not given but we'll address that in the next pod after the Europa League game)

 

 

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Interesting weekend at the top and a depressing one at the bottom. Those three newly promoted sides look increasingly like they’re going to be cast adrift at the bottom, especially if teams whose name starts with a ‘B’ keep shitting the bed against Everton. For Brighton last year, see Brentford this year.

 

Who saw that result coming? It wasn’t a fluke either. Everton played them off the park and fully deserved the win. It was such a shock that it got top billing on MOTD which might be the first time in Everton’s history that happened.

 

They took the lead from a set-piece (shocking, I know). Brentford cleared the initial ball in but you know what’s coming in that situation. Everyone knows. Except Brentford, seemingly. The whole world knows they’ll put a big ball up for Tarkowski to nod down. Brentford pride themselves in their analytics and leaving no stone unturned, yet they conceded a goal like this? When you play Everton the first thing you eliminate is Tarkowski getting his big head onto balls in the box.

 

The second thing you eliminate are the options available to him if he wins one of those big balls in the box. Doucoure is usually the main beneficiary of them, yet Brentford allowed Tarkowski to win a knock down and they left Doucoure unmarked to finish it. Fucking clowns.

 

McNeil almost doubled Everton’s lead and Doucoure was denied by the bar as the Blues piled on the pressure.

 

Brentford got back into it against the run of play when Jensen found the bottom corner after a lovely ball by Janelt. 

 

Beto missed a great chance to restore Everton’s lead and although it looked a bad miss I’m a bit concerned by that as it was a great run in behind and the dinked clip (which went wide) hints at a subtlety in his finishing that I wasn’t expecting. I’ll stick my neck on the line and say that he might be less shit than everyone thought.

 

Of course Beto himself could stick his neck on the line lengthways and cover every inch of it between the goal post and the corner flag. 

 

Lewis Potter then missed an absolute fucking sitter from a yard out just before the break, and Everton did a number on them in the second half as the Burnleyfication of the Blues was there in full effect. Tarkowski headed in a McNeil corner to make it 2-1. Defo seen that movie before.

 

In fact, I distinctly remember I would always write “Burnley scored from a set-piece (of course they did)” because that was pretty much the only way they could score. Everton are the same. Dycheball. That’s the only way they’ll survive though, a fact seemingly lost on a lot of Evertonians who wanted Dyche gone after their bad start. He’s the Obi Wan Kenobi to Everton’s Princess Leia. He’s their only hope, a lot of them just can’t see it. I’d love nothing more than for them to sack Dyche. Hopefully the cowboys trying to buy them will listen to the Grand Old Team forumites and get rid of him.

 

Calvert-Lewin wrapped it up after that Collins loser got caught on the ball. He’s shit him. He was shit at Burnley when they got relegated but for some reason Wolves bought him. He was shit for them too when they flirted with relegation, yet for some reason Brentford bought him. This bum has been bought for over £20m twice in a 12 month period. Modern football is mental.

 

Word of praise for Dominic Calvert-Lewin though. He’s a far bigger man than I am as he said afterwards “some of our own fans booed me off at Villa Park but today they’re cheering me because I scored. I know it’s just because they care and they want to see me scoring goals”.

 

No mate, it’s not. It’s because they’re cunts. They booed you off when you suffered a broken face trying to score a goal for them. They deserve no credit at all, but fair play to you for not taking it personally. I’d have been giving it the full Hulk Hogan “ear cupping” celebrations in front of the pricks. Like I say, bigger man than me.

 

Given the way the newly promoted teams are going it looks like we might need that points deduction to flush the Blues after all. 

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So is anyone detecting any patterns to our season, then? Slow starts? Check. Conceding single goals? Check. Dominant, front-foot, attacking displays? Check. Big impact substitutions? Check. 3-1 wins, even? Again, check.

 

This season feels like it's gone from the zero of last season to, if not quite 100mph, at least 80 in pretty short order. Excited again everyone? If not, you should be because I don't think we've got any right to expect so soon this level of entertainment and - more importantly - run of results, given the huge changes in system and personnel coming off the back of the most depressing campaign of the Klopp era.

 

Because it is, isn't it? An era. If you consider our ridiculous history of both great and dominant football, these years under Jurgen stand apart. Yes, we can quibble about the varying demands of football over the ages, but most professional observers acknowledge the quality of the modern game surpasses anything that came before and in Klopp we have a manager who not only navigates these choppy waters of state ownership and billion pound transfer outlays, but builds a battleship that's as fast and destructive and resilient as anything else at sea. And then, once the rust suddenly appears, takes the good ship LFC into dry dock and whips her back out again in short order ready to take on all comers once more.

 

 

An over-egged appraisal of where our season is at before we even enter October? Maybe. But if there's one thing we can surely all agree on, it's that these days under Jurgen have been, for the most part, overwhelmingly fun and if we don't enjoy the good times while they're here, more fools we. Because make no mistake: the season to date has been fun and there aren't too many signs of that waning.

 

Leicester arrived at Anfield on the back of an equally exhilarating run of form, relatively speaking, that has taken them to the top of The Championship, with a team which, while denuded of the continuing intermittent deadliness of Jamie Vardy, still retains numerous PL and international experienced familiar names worthy of some respect. Plus Conor Coady.

 

Let me get this our of the way now: my years of bewilderment at Dave's hatred of Coady were rectified at the final home game of the 21-22 season when, as "a massive Red"...

 

*Coughs* Bullshit!!! *Coughs*

 

...he proceeded to waste time from the opening minute of our final opportunity to go a step closer to the unprecedented quadruple we had in our sights and generally revelled in he and his team shithousing their way through the game. And that's before he joined Everton!

 

No, he's a completely self-obsessed prick and not anything even vaguely approaching my idea of a Red. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't looking for any favours from him in that match against Wolves (which we ultimately won, anyway). However, I didn't expect him to literally try and cheat us out a win that day and absolutely delight in doing so! And how any genuine Red - regardless of what's happening with his career - joins an Everton as embittered and shambolic as the current iteration and then continues to look in the mirror is literally inconceivable; ergo, he's no Red.

 

Anyway, I digress (been reading Dave for too many years, soz). The line up from Liverpool was almost exactly what I wanted to see in this competition: an almost completely rotated side which had eyes on the triple prizes of squad freshness, individual development and - most crucially of all - victory. I say "almost" because Curtis' inclusion was a surprise.

 

That said, it was a happy one given the fact that Jurgen elected to make him captain over a more established option such as Jota. This has been a huge season for one of my long term favourite players as he has emerged from what feels like years in a wilderness of injury and ill-fitting tactics to become a nailed-down first team player.  So to see him given what looked like further affirmation - and also opportunity to continue his growth into a serious talent firmly harnessed to the team - was genuinely delightful. And the fact that he was trusted with the Trent hybrid role speaks volumes about the esteem in which both his talent and intelligence are held by the coaching staff. 

 

We have a very proud tradition in this competition, despite it's numerous name changes, and I desperately want to put further distance between us and the flat-track bullies who've crept into sight in our rear view mirror as all time leaders on the league cup honours board. I admit there was a time when I was dismissive of the league cup. However, given what sports washing has done to squads in terms of size and quality for the top English clubs, it's not only desirable to go deep into the domestic and lesser European trophies, it's essential. We need the games in order to keep the entirety of the squad focused and fresh, whilst also retaining a keen eye on a fundamental aspect of our success under Klopp: player development.

 

So the game kicked off with a much changed line up of familiar faces and almost immediately hit a snag as Leicester broke against us by pressing Kostas, who was running towards his own goal, and exploiting his tendency to over-elaborate when trying to convince the referee he's been fouled. Look, it probably was a foul (it certainly looked as much from my spec on The Kop), but he's got to be cuter than that silly effort when trying to win a free kick - especially given the position he was in and the fact that so many of our players were higher up the pitch than him.

 

Curtis had a go at slowing the attack while cutting off the pass, but ultimately his back line/offside trap inexperience left him a little too deep and McAteer broke through to receive the pass and beat Kweev low and to his right. It looked very offside to me at the time but, while it's not absolutely conclusively onside, having seen the highlights, it was a welcome throwback to the pre-VAR footballing age.

 

I say "welcome" because I thought referee had a good game. There's something really refreshing about watching a game that's allowed to flow because my biggest bugbear with the new anti-time-wasting directives to have 100+ minute games is that it doesn't actually help a side like us which thrives on momentum and the flow of our game. Besides, despite the early set back, I had absolute zero concerns about the ultimate outcome of the match - and so it proved.

 

The rest of the first half saw us completely dominate Leicester with high-pressing, fluid football which, while occasionally dipping in intensity, created myriad opportunities for goals somehow thwarted only by the woodwork and desperate goal-line clearances. Key to much of this was the new triangle on the right hand side of Curtis, Harvey and Ben Doak with the prodigious teenager showing plenty of evidence of the potential height of his Liverpool ceiling by taking on numerous one on ones, putting dangerous crosses in and hitting the bar himself.

 

Other areas of the attack seemed less lustrous and I suspect that's why Jurgen called Endo over at the mid-point of the half to pass on instructions to Curtis, who then switched into the double pivot slot thereafter, curtailing that right side threat considerably. Certainly the attack seemed better balanced until half time, albeit slightly neutered.

 

It was in this period that the lack of regular match experience for much of the crowd became clear. I have no issues with good Reds taking a rare opportunity to get to Anfield as the regulars opt to save their money for the bigger games, even if they do betray themselves every time with the inevitable early applause for YNWA. What does irk though is a lack of patience in what they're seeing and an inability to, if not recognise the predictability of a Liverpool comeback (we almost never drop points/results at Anfield under Klopp), at least suspend their audible disbelief. That said, we went in at half-time a goal down and, in my mind at least, comfortably placed for a second half assault on The Kop end augmented, if necessary, by the big guns sitting on the bench.

 

And that's exactly what transpired when we came out for the second half. After just a couple of minutes or so, Gggggravenberchhhhhh (shout out to Chris on the pod for the pronunciation skills) received the ball under pressure on the edge of the area and defied the received wisdom about footballing "big men" to rapidly switch feet and play an incisive pass around a defender's attempt to close him down and into the feet of Gakpo. Cody then used his strength to hold off the defender and spin him to hit a great shot into the right hand bottom corner.

 

1-1 and that thing about classy grocks which I've wittered on about previously was starting to look like a theme, given the emergence of Szoboszlai not long afterwards to similarly impact the game. Ever since Arsene Wenger (from the time when he was good, rather than when he went all "tiki-taka tart") showed the way in the signings of Viera and Henry, it's always seemed clear to me that - give or take what will be obvious exceptions - modern top class sides shouldn't see power and pace as incompatible attributes with touch and intelligence in a footballer. If you can have everything in one package, why the hell wouldn't you?

 

And in the two new Dutch lads, plus Hungary's apparently god-like captain (not to mention Jarell Quansah - more on him later), that seems to be our new recruitment aim. To me it's an absolute no brainer and I think we're increasingly going to see the significance of these physical yet gifted players as Klopp 2.0 continues to emerge. 

 

On 64 minutes, the aforementioned Szoboszlai came on alongside Darwin to replace Gravenberch and Doak and the performance immediately moved through the gears as Darwin caused utter mayhem with his pace, energy, pressing and clever movement, thereby creating space for teammates all over the place. One such moment ultimately led to Szoboszlai's screamer as a clearance fell to Endo (finally starting to look like the experienced pro he is with a busy yet composed second half) and he immediately fed Dom to unleash what has to be one of the hardest hit shots Anfield has ever seen.

 

It was an absolute screamer into the top left corner that seemed to actually be picking up speed even as it billowed the net. The Stevie comparisons have started unduly early with this lad for my taste, but I don't see there's anyway to stop them given the way he's starting to impose himself on games and opponents with increasing frequency (witness the near-as-dammit mirror image effort on goal some ten minutes later in the game). It seems bizarre that he's only 22, so preternaturally mature is his reading of the game and deployment of his talent therein.

 

However, it's equally bizarre he has fewer than ten appearances for Liverpool so absolutely at home does he seem in a Red shirt and fundamental to the way this team now wants to play. I'm not going to eulogise him at length here as others are already doing so wherever you look in the LFC-verse right now. However, I will say this: no matter how excited any of us feels about him currently, I think we've barely scratched the surface of what he will eventually be for Liverpool. 

 

So at 2-1 it was clear to all that the result was in the bag and the only question remaining was to what extent we could turn our dominance into goals. That it transpired only once more should not detract from the overall quality of performance from a scratch side and especially not in the context of that final successful strike. Kostas took a free kick from a couple of yards outside the penalty area on the left hand side and the ball eventually broke to the right after a great effort by Harvey to intervene in what would have been a fortuitous Leicester counter-attack.

 

Quansah charged back at pace from his attacking position at the set-piece and bullied Justin off the ball before running into the penalty area and laying a lovely pass on for Jota whose finish was class personified as he judiciously flicked a back heel at the ball, hitting it perfectly into the far corner. 3-1 and that really was game over.

 

So, Bournemouth away next in this competition at the end of next month, which I'm a little gutted about for two reasons: firstly, I've really got a taste for seeing the full depth and breadth of our squad displayed like this and I doubt we'll see such a complete change before that next round, even allowing for the Europa League matches in between. Second of all though, it's frustrating that the next match is away as I get the sense that the significance of Anfield is going to show itself again this season and we all know that the more opportunities the players have to perform in front of their home crowd, the more confident and therefore effective they will become.

 

Before then though we go into consecutive tough away games in the league (separated by what should be a comfortable visit to Anfield for us by Macca's brother and his mates) that will give us an indication of just how ambitious we should really be this season. Spurs and particularly Brighton will present challenges of the kind we've not faced this season and together have the potential to really shape the campaign, should we emerge with good results from each match.

 

On the pod a couple of games into the season, I said that, contrary to what we'd all thought about the opening match of the campaign having been a good time to play Chelsea, rather Chelsea might come to regard it as having been a good time to have faced us. Given the way we have passed every subsequent test, moving through the gears as we do so, who would bet against a couple of great away wins now? I don't think we can regard either game as anything less than a real challenge, but I just get the sense that this is a team - and squad - that will continue to find ways to win.

 

The significance of the five substitutes rule is becoming apparent to all Liverpool fans now as Jurgen repeatedly deploys our attacking riches from the bench to deliver wins. Furthermore though, he is able to make in-match adjustments to our tactics in response to the problems presented by other sides and I think both factors are going to be significant over the next few matches and beyond.

 

I'm aware I need to rein in my default setting of overwhelming optimism a little right now as we're not even out of September yet. However, I think the summer business is starting to look far more astute than it appeared in the context of the switch away from Bellingham, the fruitless jousts with Chelsea and the left-field recruitment of a clearly far from first choice option for number six. Dom and, to a lesser extent, Macca, speak for themselves as signings, and Endo and Gravenberch have clear potential to be at the very least excellent value, if not more, based on what we've seen so far.

 

Of particular concern to me though this summer was the lack of action in signing a centre half. However, the previously never-mentioned Jarell Quansah has seized his pre-season opportunity and acquitted himself magnificently when called upon so far. He's another one who combines brawn and acceleration with touch and composure and I've been delighted to watch his low-key emergence as a viable squad option, even as I continue to worry about the availability of the senior centre halves we have on our books. 

 

So after the first eight games of the season, I don't think any of us could be happier given the mess of the previous campaign and the wild fluctuations in mood of the transfer window. This feels like an exciting bandwagon that's rapidly gathering pace and - hopefully - momentum. Entertaining matches such as last night's are very much part of the recipe; rather than these being an annoyance or a distraction, we need to see ourselves as favourites to win the trophy and be the first club to move into double figures with league cup wins.

 

Star Man is a difficult one given the quality of goals, the precocity of some of the performers and the fact that we were denied what could have been an absolute trouncing of Leicester. However, I'm going to go with Endo just edging out Harvey, Quansah and Dom, for producing what was, for me, a reassuring performance that showed me what I wanted to see from him from the outset. He's not going to be a world beater, but he can be a wise older head and leader whose ability to play a specific role can be the tactical foundation for the more mercurial talents liberally scattered throughout the rest of the squad to explode from.

 

And Saturday tea time? I'm going to go right out on a limb with this team and predict...

 

 - you've guessed it -

 

...3-1!!! Come on you Reds!!!

 

Team: Kelleher; Jones (Bajcetic), Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas (Chambers); Endo, Elliott, Gravenberch (Szoboszlai); Doak (Nunez), Gakpo, Jota:

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Another game, another 3-1. Four in a row now, although this one should have been much more as the Reds created countless opportunities that they didn't take.

 

The three they did take through Gakpo, Szoboszlai and Jota were enough to ensure comfortable passage into the next round and set up a date with Bournemouth.

 

Chris Smith is joined by Stu Montagu and TLW Editor Dave Usher to reflect on a good evening's work from the boys and to look ahead to a mouth watering clash at Spurs this weekend.

 

 

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October 19th, 2022. The Reds beat West Ham 1-0 at Anfield three days after beating Man City at the same venue to a) pull away at the top of the table? b) remain neck-and-neck in the Title race with City? or c) move on to 16 points after 12 games?

 

It was c). Yes, it was that bad. Indeed, The Reds would remain on 16 points after 14 games, having lost the next two to Forest and Leeds. An average of 0.875 points for each of the first 14 games.

 

So, with the obvious proviso that it’s still early days this season, how about an upbeat article on how The Reds have done so far, given that they’ve already reached 16 points on September 24th. And this season started a week later too!

 

One reason for this ‘positivity’ is the context of the summer. To say many of us were fuming with the farcical ‘work’ of the Club with regards to Caicedo and Lavia would be an understatement. Although the (para)phrase ‘to dodge two bullets’ now comes to mind. Add to that the unexpected departure of Fabinho, the trauma – for that is what it was – of Henderson’s betrayal, the departure of other iconic figures like Bobby and Milner and Reds could be forgiven for being pessimistic about the season to come. The fixture ‘computer’ didn’t do us any favours either, with tough fixtures – on paper at least – away to Chelsea and Newcastle and at home to Villa and West Ham.

 

And yet, despite all of that, The Reds sit on 5 wins out of 6 in the League, 6 wins out of 7 in all competitions. The unbeaten run in the League now makes pleasant reading. The last defeat was April 1st. Since then, 12 wins, 5 draws. 41 points out of 51. 42 scored, 19 conceded. Since that Leeds defeat at Anfield last October, we’ve won 12 and drawn 3 in L4. A sign of things to come? Let’s hope so.

 

‘Hope’, that revered yet pain-inducing adjective of all football fans. We’re all feeling it, at the moment, aren’t we? See, it’s the hope that gets you. It gets us all. In fairness, there are four solid reasons to be hopeful for the season ahead: the Europa League, the ‘old’ lads, the new lads and the bench.

 

First, the Europa League. None of us wanted to be in this, did we? It’s a sign of failure because it means you’ve finished outside the Top Four. Yet, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened us. You could almost describe out failure to finish in the Top Four as a ‘blessing in disguise’ (throwback to February 2003 when Gérard said that after out FA Cup exit at home to Palace!). Why so? Well, it’s not hurt us in terms of attracting top players. The financial impact will be manageable. But most of all, it will allow us tick so many boxes which should help us in the long-term.

 

What ruined The Reds last season was the previous season and its 63 games. We played every game we could have. Like in 2000-01. It’s almost impossible to replicate that. So a break from that intensity (if not volume) of games which The Europa League offers us should be welcomed with open arms. Last season, Alisson and Virgil started all six group games in The European Cup, Trent, Fabinho and Mo five, Harvey and Bobby four, no wonder we were goosed!

 

This season, The Europa League will allow us to tick several boxes: keep fringe players happy (Kelleher, Doak), nurse players back to match fitness (Konaté), try out players in different positions (Bajetcic), give others a chance to play together and grow in confidence (Luis and Darwin), rest senior players (only Virgil, Luis and Darwin started against LASK and West Ham). Despite all this, we should still qualify comfortably from the group and can then ‘park’ this competition until March. Not forgetting that Arsenal, United and Newcastle will have to deal with a ‘real’ Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday schedule until December.

 

How about the ‘old lads’, then? Well, Alisson has already been decisive on several occasions this season. Newcastle, Villa and West Ham immediately come to mind. Since Joe came on against Newcastle (to slot in at centre-back after Virgil was sent off), he’s been great, at centre-back or right-back. Andy, after a dodgy opening-day performance against Chelsea, has been his old self. Indeed, he’s played 90 minutes in every League game, along with Alisson and Dom.

 

Mo has been involved each time we have scored in the last 13 games through goals or assists. He was a level above everyone against LASK and has been influential against Newcastle, Wolves and others. Virgil and Joel also seem to be in good form. And as for Jota? Ee’ar, sport, it’s in the name.

 

What about the new lads? Well, one stands out, and that’s Szoboszlai. He’s played in every game so far and played 90 minutes in the six League games. He’s ace. Powerful. Fast. Tactically aware. Technically good. And most of all, in your face. As he demonstrated in the 90th minute, against West Ham, when 3-1 up. A fantastic player and key to how our season will go.

 

Macca has taken a little longer to settle in – through no fault of his own – but that pass for Darwin shows what he is capable of. Endo will be fine – he needs time. Gravenberch showed good signs against LASK, too. All in all, they’ve done really well. There is even an argument for putting Luis and Darwin in the ‘new lads’ category as they never really had a chance to play together last season, given the mess that it was. 14 goals already from our front five, 11 from out first-choice front three. It augurs well.

 

Finally, for all the worries – legitimate ones, might I add – that we had about the depth of the squad during the summer, the bench has been great for us this season. Gomez against Newcastle after the sending-off. Quansah, Jota, Harvey and of course Darwin in that same game. Diaz, Darwin and Harvey – again – against Wolves. Mo against LASK. Jota against West Ham. Everyone contributing. Everyone keeping everyone else on their toes.

 

Things are looking good. Six wins out of seven. A far cry from last season where we were at sixes and sevens. The next few weeks will tell a lot, but the previous few have told us a fair bit – mostly good.

 

John Brennan

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