tlw content

"One day we will beat Manchester United, I promise you that." Those were the immortal words from Gerard Houllier after a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to the Red Devils at Old Trafford in January of 1999. Houllier was never a manager chasing headlines with the way he spoke, but the Frenchman saw something in the team he had taken sole ownership over just a few months before after initially sharing the role with Roy Evans. It had been close to ten years of misery when playing at the home of Liverpool's arch rival and the last minute loss in the fourth round FA Cup clash felt like it was a tipping point. Fast forward nearly two years later to December 2000 and Liverpool were doing a fine impression of their inconsistent selves, sitting sixth in the Premier League table and coming off a home defeat to recently promoted Ipswich Town. It was hardly the positive mindset required as the Reds prepared to meet their bitter rivals, who were just coming off their treble season and already had opened up had a five point lead half way into the 2000/1 season. If the challenge wasn't already daunting enough, Man United had not lost a league home game in two years. The early stages were keenly contested but the Reds were showing they were well and truly up for the battle not giving their opponents any space. Midfielder Danny Murphy tested Fabian Barthez in the United goal from long distance on the half hour mark, and that was the perfect sighter as he prepared for a free-kick after a blatant handball by Gary Neville ten minutes later. Murphy executed his dead-ball delivery with perfection from 20 yards, curling the ball inside the left-hand post of Barthez and leaving the Frenchman flat-footed. The players and away fans were ecstatic, but in the back of their minds all would have realised that we had been here before and there was plenty of hard work to be done in the second 45 minutes. The central defence pairing of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz were superb in dealing with any incoming crosses from the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs and with Michael Owen up front, there was a significant threat available on the counter -attack. Naturally there were a few scary moments, but the more United pushed for a equaliser, significant openings emerged in their defence and so that proved when Vladimir Smicer was hauled down by substitute Luke Chadwick leading to a straight red card. Soon after, the final whistle blew and a famous victory had been registered on enemy soil, more than 10 years since the last win (March 1990 to be exact). It began a run of four consecutive league wins against Man United with Murphy yet again proving to be the match winner at Old Trafford in the 01/02 and 03/04 seasons. It's a shame Betfair promo codes were not around back then! You look for important signs during the course of the season and that win (along with the 4-0 rout against the Gunners the week after) showed that the team was on the rise. While there would be some bumps along the road, the resilient nature of this victory was worth its weight in gold for the challenges that lay ahead. The ability to produce under pressure ended up being the hallmark of this squad as they went on to win a treble of their own, along with securing Champions League qualification which made up for the heartbreak of falling at the final hurdle in the previous season. Jason Harris

Saturday Nov 10: This is hilarious. It’s reached a point where I suspect these Everton players might actually just be laughing at us now, as there’s no way this is legit. This is Yerry Mina in the Telegraph today… “The truth is Professor Marco spoke to me every day, telling me to come to England”. PROFESSOR MARCO!!! Hahahaha fucking hell. It gets better. “I was always focused on Everton. Any talk with Manchester United was just to my agent,” said Mina. “I have always been aware of English football – Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham.” Haha good job there with the notable omission, that’ll play well with the Bitters. There’s more. “But Everton has always been an important club for me, honestly. I watched them when back in the day when Fellaini was playing here.” Ok just stop right there, what do you take us for? There isn’t a person in the world who follows a team just because Fellaini is in it, not even Fellaini’s mum, so I’m calling bullshit on this. I hear he also said something about how he loved watching Aaron Lennon too but that never made it into the article. Understandable really, imagine interviewing someone and they’re coming out with such outlandish shit that you’re wondering “is he having a laugh at my expense here?”. Sunday Nov 11: L 2 Fulham 0 Fairly straightforward. We played ok, nothing more, but it was enough. Fulham gave a better account of themselves than most teams who come to Anfield and at least they weren’t scared to cross the halfway line. They should have gone in front but Sessegnon fluffed his lines, and when he missed that any hope Fulham had of getting something disappeared. Mo looked really sharp and took his goal well. Great counter attack that, just like last season that was. There’s no finer sight in football than a Reds quick break, I fucking love it. More of this please. I was really shocked to see that Fulham were 25/1 to win today. Those kind of odds are usually reserved for San Marino or the Faroes playing Germany or something, but apparently this is becoming more and more common now as the gap grows between the haves and the have nots. Red Star were 22/1 to beat us last week. 22/1 to win a home game in the Champions League?!?! Mental. That’s the kind of price I’d expect if we got a non-league side in the FA Cup. Monday Nov 12: Sturridge is in hot water. Initial reports are sketchy but it seems he is in breach of the FA’s gambling policy. Maybe he took that 22/1 on Red Star last week? It’d certainly explain that fucking sitter he ballooned. Seriously though, I bet (no pun intended) this is a storm in a teacup. Sturridge is not going to be betting on games or anything like that. I highly doubt he’d be ‘betting’ at all. There’s some talk that it relates to people weighing in on his loan move to West Brom and that he must have ‘leaked’ it. Hold on a fucking minute. He’s entitled to tell whoever the fuck he likes if he’s moving clubs. If bookies want to offer odds on shit like that, then it’s on them if they get stung. What an absolute joke. “Sorry Daniel, you can’t tell your friends and family you’re moving back home to the Midlands because it’s not fair on the bookies”. Get the fuck outta here. Bookies will offer odds on any old shit so if they get caught out once in a while by someone with a bit of inside info, so what. They’ll survive. Let’s not forget that half the shit we see peddled on SSN about players moving clubs is solely to get people to throw some dosh on SKyBet. If this FA charge is indeed based on Studge telling people he’s moving clubs, he should fight it all the way. Tuesday Nov 13: I read this morning that Joe Cole announced his retirement today, and I had to check to make sure I hadn’t time travelled back to 2010. He’s only retiring now? When was the last time you even heard his name? Where’s he been, who has he been playing for? Also today, I saw a tweet from Marcotti saying Barca’s wage bill is 44% higher than United’s, and 62% higher than City’s. Hmmm. Firstly I’m not buying it that United’s wage bill is that much bigger than City’s (I know they vastly overpay shite like Pogba and Sanchez, but still), but the real take away here is that Barcelona need a new accountant, because no fucking way are they paying anything like what City are. Wednesday Nov 14: More revelations about City. Turns out they paid £51m to sign Tevez back in the day. That money all went direct to the company that owned him (basically it all went to Joorabchian as it was his company) and Tevez was being paid £210k a week. Football is a fucking horrible dirty business these days. Just a chance for leeches to get rich for doing fuck all. I mean look at this shit today with that Scudamore prick. The PL have asked all of the clubs to donate 250k to get him a leaving present!! Honestly, that might actually be the most shocking football story I’ve ever heard. Someone actually thought that was an appropriate thing to do? Imagine being a chief exec of a PL club and opening your inbox and finding that email. I’d be looking for the mention of a Nigerian Prince, as it reeks of scam. Meanwhile, Harry Kewell is sacked by Notts County. We still haven’t seen the best of him. Fulham also sacked their manager today and immediately appointed Ranieri. One of his first moves is apparently to try and sign Matip. Let’s face it, Fulham’s defence needs urgent attention and Matip is a good player, but we can’t be letting him go mid-season as we might need him. Next summer though, let Big Bird go and bring in that Dutch kid De Ligt. Virgil loves him and he’s meant to be a massive prospect, so get it done. Sorry Joel. Thursday Nov 15: There’s been some talk recently of a new deal for Robertson. He’s got three and a half years left but it’s standard club policy to give new contracts when a player has outperformed his contract, and Robbo has certainly done that. Whatever he’s being paid isn’t nearly what he’s worth. James Pearce reckons the club have no intention of doing anything though as he has so long left on his current deal. I feel like it’s taking advantage of the fact that Robbo won’t be arsed about it and will be happy with what he has. Put it this way, if he was a superstar foreign striker and not a humble Scottish left back they’d be following him round with a contract and a pen begging him to sign. Not that it seems to be working with Mané like. He's defo off I reckon. I'm not even arsed, when he goes I'd bet good money that Klopp will find someone better. Ok, here’s something that’s pissed me off for ages and I’m finally going to say something. The word ‘bromance’. It’s shit but it’s being used more and more. I hate it. People can’t be mates any more without some cunt calling it a ‘bromance’. As an example, Lovren and Mo are big mates, but any time there’s some sort of interaction between them I see some shitty news article or some tool on social media referring to their ‘bromance’. Just fuck off. Speaking of Lovren though, Modric was asked about the criticism Big Dejan levelled at Ramos last week, and he said this: "Ramos is a great player and a great captain. In my opinion, all the criticism he has received is irrelevant. In football everyone has a very short memory. He has character and I am sure that criticism does not matter to him." Did he just call Lovren “irrelevant”? I think he did you know. No bromance going on there thats for sure. Trent scored tonight in Wayne Rooney's testimon... what, it was an actual real international fixture? Why was Rooney playing then? No-one seems to know but there's lots of wailing about it. Don't see the harm in it myself, other nations would do this for their top players and they were only playing America. They could have brought Bobby Charlton on and still won. He was probably outside flogging tickets though. Friday Nov 16: Not much going on really other than internationals. This caught my eye today from Southgate though: “Last night they were watching TV with a picture of Danny Welbeck by the side of it” Is he sure they weren’t just watching Red Dwarf? Yeeeeooowwwwwwww. The most notable thing today though is Big Dejan and his epic rant on Instagram after Croatia’s win over Spain last night. So when I first saw this I didn’t know how to react. I felt as though I probably should be frowning upon it, as it’s not really becoming of a Liverpool player to act like that. Generally the Liverpool Way has been to do all the talking on the pitch, they don’t do this type of thing, never have done. On the other hand though, Ramos is a cunt and Lovren is sticking it to him in a way that none of us can. So on reflection, I feel as though this might be one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. I mean think about it, Lovren elbowed him in the head, called him a pussy and taunted him over the result. What’s not to love? All we can do is insult him on Twitter, so thanks Dejan for living our dream. That was the week that was….

While eyes are focused on the fortunes of the first team, it is also worthwhile looking at how our stars of the future are faring in their time away from the club. Rather than just looking at the statistics, we will be giving the readers a clear insight courtesy of fans who observe their progress on a game to game basis. In the first of a new series, TLW's Jason Harris caught up with Ollie Wright from @derbycountyblog to check on the progress of the Reds' Welsh Wizard, Harry Wilson... What was your first impressions of Harry Wilson when he arrived at the club? He was a really exciting signing for Derby, arriving on a season-long loan at the same time as the Chelsea starlet Mason Mount. We knew that there had been serious competition for his signature, with anyone who was anyone in the Championship bidding for him, so getting him felt like a coup and boosted feelings of optimism for the season ahead, after the arrival of new manager Frank Lampard. Have you seen steady improvements in his game from the early part of the season to now and if so what are they? Early in the season, he suffered an injury and that clearly set him back, but he's fit again and the key moment in his season so far came midway through our home game against Sheffield United. After Craig Bryson was injured, Lampard decided to bring on the attacker Tom Lawrence and shift Wilson from a wide forward role to an advanced central midfield role, alongside Mount. This allowed Wilson to exhibit his energy and willingness to press, as well as his technique. The Mount-Wilson duo, backed up by the sturdy Tom Huddlestone, was the hub of a Derby side which marched through October in deeply impressive fashion, beating then-leaders Sheffield United, whipping West Brom at the Hawthorns and outclassing Middlesbrough for long spells at the Riverside, before running Chelsea extremely close at Stamford Bridge. What is the one key aspect of Harry's game that really stands out for you? The eye-catching thing is clearly his technical quality. You'll know all about his mind-blowing free kick at Old Trafford - his ability to strike a ball is beyond question. He also scored a brilliant goal from range at West Brom and almost bagged a brace of free kicks against Birmingham, netting with one cheeky strike from an implausible angle and then rattling the post with a more straightforward strike. In your opinion, what is the one main improvement he can make? I just think for Harry, it's a case of playing as many games as possible. At the moment, he's playing centre midfield, which may not have been where he expected to play, but he is adapting well to the challenge. His ability is not in question, now it's a case of proving that he has the resilience to do it consistently throughout what will be a gruelling season. Is there a performance by Harry that stands out for you so far this season? The Manchester United goal will live long in the memory, but I think his performance as part of an outstanding team display at the Hawthorns should be picked out as the highlight to date. This was the game in which the Rams bared their teeth and demonstrated to the Championship that they have what it takes to challenge for promotion - and Wilson was key to the victory, not only scoring a rip-snorter, but also by acting as part of a devilish, high-pressing swarm which harangued the Baggies defence to death. What (if anything) has he brought to the team that wasn't noticeable to your eye last season? He's been part of a major overhaul of the squad conducted by Frank Lampard, which has brought considerably more energy, speed and technical quality. Who does he link up well with in the Derby team? His partnership in midfield with Mount has been eye-catching on and off the ball, with the duo providing the bullets for striker Jack Marriott and a rotating cast of wide forwards. What are your thoughts on how Frank Lampard has worked with Harry so far this season? I think Liverpool will be delighted with how it's going. The ideal situation, for me at least, would be for the Rams to go up and then do a fresh loan to keep Wilson at Pride Park for another season! The Championship is widely recognised one of the toughest leagues in World Football due to its competitive and attritional nature, do you think the league is perfect for academy graduates to hone their game? Without question. Last season, Wilson showed he could cut it in the Championship with Hull City, so a move to a club aiming to get promoted to the top flight was the perfect challenge for him this year and he is gaining a hell of a lot from this experience.

Damn, I really put the mockers on Bournemouth the other week didn’t I? Since I hyped them up they’ve lost both games to teams they probably should be beating. Complacency cost them at home to United last week, and this week they lost to hapless Newcastle. Rondon got both of Newcastle’s goals while Lerma pulled one back for Bournemouth. Ibe was given his first start of the season and he should have equalised but blasted his shot over the bar from close range. He does my head in you know. He should be so much better than he is but his finishing is just terrible. If he fixed that he’d be really good as he’s got a lot of other things going for him. Alternatively, he could just sign for Man City and score 20 back post tap ins a season and fool people into thinking he’s suddenly become a good finisher. Well why not? It worked for his big bro Raheem. Massive win for Newcastle but I feel as though Rondon is wasted in English football. He’s a good player but as long as he’s here he’s destined to be used as a lone battering ram in shite, defensive sides, forever locked in relegation battles. In another country he could play for a side contending for titles, but because of his style of play and willingness to scrap and fight, defensive managers are drawn to him like flies to cowpats. Poor Rondon’s lot in life is to plough a lone furrow, run the channels, battling manfully to hold the ball up against two defenders. Occasionally he’ll have the odd scrap to feed off, usually from a set-piece, but for the most part there’s no joy in what he does so I just hope he’s well paid for it. Spurs were fortunate again this weekend, avoiding a trip to Wilfried Palace and instead coming up against the utterly abject bunch that is left when Zaha isn't there to carry them. No Zaha means no points, we all know that. At this stage there seems to be little point even playing the match other than for goal difference purposes. Palace had plenty of chances but their record without Zaha speaks volumes. They're the very definition of a one man team. Spurs were crap but got the points. They've done that even more than us this year. At least we've had a few decent showings. Foyth got the only goal of the game. No, I have no idea who he is either. I saw Kane on twitter this week boasting about shooting his first under par round of golf. He posted a video of himself holing the final putt on 18. What he didn’t show was Hugo Loris booming all the drives and Eriksen stiffing all the approach shots for him to tap in putts from six feet. Seriously though, how do we know he shot under par? We only have his word for it and we know he’s a lying cunt. That putt could have been for a 93 for all we know. And I bet he didn’t make it at the first attempt either. Prick. I saw this mischievous tweet from ESPN this week about Sol Bamba and big Virg. Where’s the stat for Bamba getting caught under the ball, losing his man and allowing Lewis Dunk to head Brighton in front last weekend? You can manipulate stats to show whatever the hell you like. I feel bad for Bamba because the Van Dijk comparison does him no favours. I like him, he’s a good defender and Cardiff are lucky to have him. Comparing him to the best defender in the world is silly though. Cardiff equalised through Paterson, who has done alright as a makeshift striker. He’s scoring more than the likes of Benteke and Sanchez anyway. Brighton were reduced to ten men when Stephens was red carded for an over the ball tackle, and Bamba made up for his error at the other end by scoring the winner from close range after his overhead kick had come back off the post. He was offside initially so he got away with that, and he got away with taking his shirt off after scoring too. He said afterwards the ref asked him ‘did you take your shirt off?’ and he told him he didn’t. Premier League refs, best in the world…. There was a Cardiff fan with a wig and fake tash pretending to be Vincent Tan, the club’s owner. The seat next to him was empty, no doubt because his missus didn't want to be seen with him. Imagine getting ready to go the match and going, “actually luv hold on, I’m just gonna stick on a pair of glasses and a grey wig and go as John Henry today. Get your red dress out and you can be Linda”. Whopper. Elsewhere, Leicester dominated at home to Burnley but couldn’t find a way past Joe Hart and the game ended goalless. About time Burnley had a Burnley type score, but on another day they’d have lost handily. Southampton got rid of Les Reed this week but kept Mark Hughes. Laughable that. Getting rid of the guy who keeps signing players who are sold on for massive profits, while somehow managing to replace them with players who are also then sold on for massive profits. He was the best thing they had going for them. My boy Gabbiadini put them ahead and then my other boy Charlie Austin thought he’d made it 2-0 but it was ruled out in farcical circumstances when the linesman thought Yoshida had gotten a touch on the shot while in an offside position. He was nowhere near it. Just a staggeringly shit decision and Austin and Southampton were left fuming. It was a shocker, but then they’d gotten away with a clear penalty earlier when Bertrand scythed down a Watford player. Not that Useless saw it that way of course, the whiny bastard. “It’s not good enough. All we want is for the key match defining moments to be given correctly”. Like the penalty you mean? Which would have been a second yellow for Bertrand by the way. He was a fucking cry baby as a player and he’s an even bigger cry baby as a manager. I quite like Southampton, but fuck Mark Hughes. Charlie Austin’s post match rant was epic though. First class stuff that. Alex Pritchard became the first Huddersfield player to score at home since April when he fired in from 20 yards against West Ham. Anderson equalised with a brilliant finish and although both sides could have won it late, it ended 1-1. Not really much use to either of them that. Onto Sunday now. Arsenal have reverted back to being Arsenal again. That long winning run came to an end and since then they keep drawing. There’s a defeat coming in the post for them soon too, I can smell it. Their next game is Bournemouth away. They look ripe for the picking, but it depends if the hoodoo I put on Eddie Howe’s boys is lifted in time for that game. Arsenal will then go on a six game win streak which will have everyone saying they're back, before they throw in another couple of clunkers. It's what they do. They were lucky to even get a point at home to Wolves, who were comfortably the better side. They went ahead after a howler from Xhaka. Cavaliero picked the ball up and exchanged passes with Jiminez before finishing past Leno. If the Wolves fans don't have a chant for him based on the Simpsons "Canyonero" song then they don't deserve to ever see their team win again. Arsenal were wide open on the break again. They always are. That’s why I was disappointed with how we played against them. Wolves' front three exploited the space far better than ours did. Arsenal equalised late on with a fluke from Mkhitaryan. Traore should have won it deep into stoppage time but Leno denied him. Then that Morgan-Gibbs kid I mentioned last week almost hit a spectacular winner but his brilliant curler came back off the inside of the post. Arsenal have Leno to thank for he point because Wolves deserved to win. They defended superbly (Coady was great) and posed a huge threat on the break. Good side. Have Wolves changed their kit mid-season? This was a proper Wolves kit, with the gold shirts rather than the yellow ones I was complaining about back in August. Maybe it's my TV that's the problem? Everton did us a favour by taking two points off Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Jorginho should have been sent off for a terrible lunge on Sigurdsson. He got away with only a yellow card because Kevin Friend fucking loves Chelsea. I’ve been telling you that for years. Everton wanted a penalty too when the ball hit Rudiger on the arm. Even I wouldn’t have given a pen for that so there’s no way Friend was giving it. The draw was just about fair, although Chelsea had the better of the chances. The Manc derby saw United arrive at the Etihad quivering in their collectively stupid coloured boots. I don’t care who you are, if you just sit back against City and hope to keep them out, you’ll fail. I don’t know how many times managers need to see it, but the only chance you have is to have a go at them and expose a defence that isn’t actually very good when put under pressure. You’d think Mourinho of all people would know this, having seen his side come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 last season after they had to throw caution to the wind. That’s the only chance you have against City, but predictably he tried to park the bus, and as the magnificent Mark Goldbridge ranted “you can’t park a bus when it’s got no bloody wheels”. City’s third goal came with four minutes to go and United only a goal behind. They put together 44 passes before Aguero’s finish. You’re losing 2-1 with a few minutes left and you’re standing off letting the other team put 44 passes together without even attempting to press them and put a tackle in. Fucking shameful. And De Gea can fuck off too, the teen wolf looking cunt. Every time he plays us he’s sensational, but look at the fucking state of him in this game. Prick. United now have a negative goal difference. What have I always said about goal difference being the real measure of a team? The points can often be deceiving, but the goal difference never lies. They’re shite. That's it for this week then and there's no round up next week because of the internationals, which is great for me as I'm still completely up the wall since the house move. We've had to get a full rewire done so the place has been like a building site. We had most of our furniture in a storage unit but we emptied it this week so at least we have a bed and a sofa now. Actually that reminds me of something that happened this week that I may as well share. My Dad was helping me empty the storage unit and as we're putting stuff in the car, there was another family also moving stuff. The Grandma was stood by the exit looking after a little baby in a pram, and my Dad walks past carrying a big mirror. He stops, puts it down in front of this woman and says "I don't know why I'm having to take this. I've told him to dump it. I mean look at it, isn't that the ugliest picture you've ever seen?" Now he's never met this woman before and has no idea if she can take a joke, or if she'd even get it for that matter. I'm stood there thinking "oh fucking hell, not again", but thankfully she saw the funny side, as did her husband who heard the exchange from around the corner and said to her "don't you be looking straight into that, you'll break it". Old scouse fellas just don't give a fuck do they?

That’ll do. I thought Kloppo brought up an interesting point in the build up to the game when he said he had fed the narrative about our ‘poor form’ by talking too much immediately after games. The list of what he was saying was that often the performances had been better than he initially thought, but that he had fuelled it further by talking about how we can do things a lot better. I don’t entirely agree with him with regards to the quality of performances, but he’s probably right to downplay the negatives and talk up the positives as there's been a bit of a cloud over us of late that really shouldn't be there when you look at the results we've had. We're doing alright. We can do better, but it makes sense for Klopp to try to nip this negativity in the bud. So with that in mind, this was fine. We didn’t tear Fulham apart and score six or seven goals as we might have done when at our best, but we won. We kept a clean sheet, scored a couple of good goals and barring a couple of first half scares it was extremely comfortable. Until the blistering form returns this is exactly what is required. The goal difference is well gone already. We’re not clawing that back so the pressure is off in that sense. It doesn’t matter if City are winning 6-0 and we’re winning 1-0, just as long as we can match them point for point and stay on their coat-tails. That’s all we can do. Of course that will be a hell of a lot easier to do when we start dismantling teams as we can do, but for now it’s a case of just getting the job done. I’d also make the point that Fulham were actually pretty good. Far better than most teams that come to Anfield anyway. Their defence has been a train wreck all season but they ditched some of the clowns who have been costing them goals (Fosu-Mensah and that American centre half) and overall they did pretty well. I knew we’d win the game as soon as it kicked off though. Fulham had four attackers on the pitch and they were playing their usual style. They hadn’t come to sit back and try to stifle us, they were going to have a go. And going toe to toe with us was never going to end well for them. Fair play though, they gave us some anxious moments in the first half and can consider themselves unlucky to have been behind. Sessegnon missed a glorious chance when he took advantage of a lucky ricochet to go past Gomez and find himself with just Alisson to beat. He dragged his shot wide and he knew immediately how costly it might be. They had another couple of chances too, and also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision. You can argue the case either way, which to me shows how tough that was for the linesman. That was virtually impossible to see with the naked eye, but the direction the players were moving in certainly makes it look more offside than it was. Fulham’s disappointment was doubled when the ball was in their net 14 seconds later. That was last season’s Liverpool that. We’ve not seen anywhere near enough of it this year but it was exhilarating stuff and the kind of goal we were scoring as a matter or routine last season. There's no finer sight in football than one of our lightning 'defence into attack' breaks. It all started with Van Dijk. He didn’t touch the ball but as soon as the goal had been ruled out he was yelling at Alisson to start a counter. The keeper did just that, finding Trent who then hit a brilliant ball down the line to set Mo clear. He never looked like missing did he? Great finish. I thought Mo looked sharper than he has all season. The swagger was back in his play, but I wonder how much of that was down to Fulham not surrounding him with three players as everybody else seems to be doing. We’ll find out over the next few games I suppose. The first half performance was patchy. Some good, some not so good. Part of the problem for me is the 4-2-3-1 system doesn’t seem to suit Bobby. I’ve said before that it feels to me that the system change is because Klopp doesn’t trust Shaqiri and (to a lesser extent perhaps) Fabinho in his usual 4-3-3. Shaqiri has to play because he’s our most creative player and the man who can provide the kind of passes that Salah and Mané thrive on. The logical thing to do would be to keep Mo on the right, Bobby as the nine and play Shaq as the ten, but Klopp so far doesn’t fancy that at all. I remember him once saying that the number ten has to be the hardest worker on the pitch, which would explain his use of Firmino there over Shaqiri. Defensively I can understand the logic, but the bottom half of the Premier League are generally garbage so would having Shaqiri in there really be that much of an issue? I dunno, I’m just thinking out loud. All I know is that Firmino has not looked comfortable in that role and at times doesn’t seem to know where to run. Normally he never stops moving, but there were times against Fulham where he looked a bit lost, as other players were in the space he’d normally be in. Maybe it just needs a bit of work on the training ground, but maybe that time would be better spent teaching Shaqiri how to play in the midfield three in the role Coutinho used to occupy occasionally? He has to be in the side somewhere, that much is obvious. There were three or four passes he played that were a fraction away from being perfect. I love how he plays. There’s a busyness and infectious enthusiasm about him every time he gets the ball. Any time he has the ball at his feet I’m expecting something to happen, because he can spot a pass and he can execute it. And how about that finish? He made that look far easier than it was, because the ball was in the air a long time and tat could have led to indecision. Initially I thought he might head it, but he kept his cool and just stroked it in the corner with that magic wand left foot of his. The cross from Robbo was great though, a fact recognised by the Kop who immediately chanted his name. Bit sly on Shaq, but as soon as someone comes up with a catchy song for him I can see that being this season’s equivalent to “Egyptian King” last year. At 2-0 we were safe but it was good to see the professionalism and determination to keep a clean sheet. That’s a point of pride for this team now, you can tell they don’t want to ever concede goals regardless of how many they might be ahead. It’s standing us in good stead this year, because if we were relying on being prolific at the other end we’d already be out of the title race. Some will argue we’re really in it anyway as City are looking unstoppable. We can’t control what they do, so as demoralising as it is seeing them just churn out easy win after easy win, there’s no point dwelling on that. We just have to take care of our own business and hope that eventually someone will be able to take points off them (personally I’m hoping it’s the Premier League and UEFA). Wolves held them to a draw so you never know. They won’t win every game between now and May so we have to make sure we’re in position to capitalise if and when they slip up. Star man is Andy Robbo who completely dominated that entire side of the field. I was thinking after the game, is there any Liverpool team from any era that Robbo wouldn’t get into? Certainly not in my lifetime (Steve Nicol could just switch to right back), but maybe he’d have his work cut out shifting Gerry Byrne from Shankly’s side. He’s fucking boss though. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho (Keita), Wijnaldum (Henderson); Shaqiri (Milner), Firmino, Mané; Salah:

It’s going to be a slow process to get back to the kind of blistering attacking form of last season, so in the meantime wins like this are just what the doctor ordered. Three points, a clean sheet, two good goals and some nice football in spurts. Decent day at the office. The good... Andy Robbo was terrific, Shaqiri showed again that we really benefit from his creativity and that he should start every week, but the most positive thing was how sharp Salah was. This was the best he’s looked all season after a slowish start to the campaign. Can he top the goalscoring charts again? If you think he can then sign up with bet365 with the code valid in 2019. The bad... Nothing to be too perturbed about and it’s not a day to be looking at negatives. Manager rating out of 10: Jurgen Klopp, 7 -- Picked the right team to start the game and was rewarded with the win. He may have been tempted to bring Henderson back in but it was the right thing to ease him back gently as a second half substitute. Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating) GK Alisson Becker, 7 -- Didn’t have anything particularly difficult to do but at least Fulham kept him involved, which is more than some have managed this season. Distribution mostly excellent and it was his quick thinking that caught Fulham on the hop for the opening goal. DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 6.5 -- Better than he has been of late. Some nice cross field passing and one or two good crosses. Still a bit wayward at times and clearly not at his best, but he did alright and the ball down the line for Mo's opener was quality. DF Joe Gomez, 7 -- Had one or two difficult moments with the physical Mitrovic but otherwise another fine display from the classy youngster. DF Virgil Van Dijk, 8 -- It’s just too easy for him. Strolls through games just being utterly dominant. Wins every header, sprays passes around and oozes machismo. The only thing he’s not doing is scoring, which is perhaps why he used his captain’s privilege to pull rank on a free-kick that he smashed it into the wall. Might be a while before he gets to take another. DF Andy Robertson, 8.5 -- Best player on the pitch. Everything he does is good. Not flashy, very unfussy, but just good with everything, whether its defending, crossing or passing. Brilliant ball to create the goal for Shaq and was a constant threat. Almost scored too, but was denied by a good save from the keeper. MF Fabinho, 6.5 -- Kept it simple. Did ok but games like this are fairly easy. MF Georginio Wijnaldum, 6.5 -- Same as Fabinho really. Disciplined, did his job, didn't really stand out. FW Xherdan Shaqiri, 8 -- So close to completing defence splitting passes on so many occasions. Every time he gets the ball he's looking to make things happen. Has the vision and the execution to pull it off. Nice cool finish in front of the Kop to make the game safe. The crowd loves him. I love him. My Dad loves him more though. FW Robert Firmino, 6 -- Looks a bit lost in this 4-2-3-1 system. As a 'nine' he's just perpetual motion, he never stops. Playing behind Salah though he just doesn't look as effective and there were times where he didn't seem to know where to run. Not sure why Klopp insists on using Mo through the middle every time he plays this system, but I'd like to see Mo on the right, Shaq in the hole and Bobby up top. FW Sadio Mane, 6.5 -- Very erratic. Had some good moments and some terrible ones. An elephant like touch cost him a one v one with the keeper in the first half but he almost scored a screamer in the second with a rasping 25 yard drive. Nobody blows hot and cold quite like Sadio. FW Mohamed Salah, 8 -- Sharp. Took his goal superbly and had some “vintage Mo” moments where he tied defenders in knots dribbling in the box. He’s had a few performances where it looked like he was back in the groove only to then follow it up with a below par display, but hopefully he can find some consistency now. Substitutes: MF Jordan Henderson, 6 -- Replaced Wijnaldum for the final 20 minutes or so. Heavily involved, as he always is. Will presumably be starting again after the internationals. MF James Milner, NR -- Late introduction for Shaqiri. Not really time to make much impact. MF Naby Keita, NR -- Came on fro Fabinho in stoppage time. Dave Usher

The rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold from academy prospect to English international over the past two years has warmed the hearts of anyone associated with Liverpool. There is nothing like seeing 'one of our own' take to the pitch. Especially in the current environment where big money signings are the norm for top flight clubs and youngsters have to fight tooth and nail just to make the odd substitute appearance. To his great credit, Jurgen Klopp has been an advocate in giving young talent an opportunity in his time with Bundesliga clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and has continued to do since arriving at Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold was given a brief taste of first-team action during the 2016/7 season and his Football Index value has been on the rise ever since. He sensed an opportunity at the start of last season when Nathaniel Clyne was sidelined by a long-term back injury. At first, Klopp alternated Alexander-Arnold and fellow youngster Joe Gomez in the position, but with the latter dealing with some niggling injuries along with a dip in form, Alexander Arnold was given a great opportunity to show his talents on a consistent basis. The teenager relished being on the domestic and European stage and won a wide range of complements from managers, pundits and fans across the footballing spectrum. However, there were always going to be some bumps in the road and Alexander-Arnold has found it a lot tougher at the start of this campaign. The signs were there to see when the youngster produced a lacklusture performance against Arsenal last Saturday evening. It was further highlighted when Klopp replaced him at half-time in the Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night. The manager believes he has put his finger on the English internationals’ below-par performances to begin this season. It has nothing to do with a sudden loss of ability, more the fact of his insatiable desire to play constantly without a proper break. Klopp knows he needs to balance Alexander Arnold’s youthful enthusiasm by not burning out the talented youngster. The Mirror reported Klopp as saying: "Trent has played constantly. I have spoken to him about it – but not along the lines of ‘This is good, that isn’t’ It’s more general ­advice. "He is still a very young boy. He had two weeks off in the summer. That’s really not a lot. "We constantly try to keep an eye on him and, fitness-wise, what he needs to do with the group. Actually, he’s in a good place at the moment. "He has played a lot of football. He will play a lot of football – that’s the good news for him. It’s more important that he stays injury-free." Aside from the second 45 minutes in Belgrade, Klopp has taken Alexander-Arnold out of the firing line in a couple of league games this season, most notably against Man City at Anfield. The manager has seen this many times with young footballers before and believes Alexander-Arnold will be much better off in the long run. "What’s happening is fine and normal. These are usual things. "It won’t be the first time or the last time in his life that everything isn’t 100%, but he’s still an outstanding player and really important to us.” Alexander-Arnold will be heading off to join the England squad at the conclusion of the game against Fulham. It isn't an ideal prospect when the best remedy for his sluggish start to the season would be to have a quiet week at home. However, you cannot deny youthful enthusiasm and the wish to improve themselves at any opportunity and Alexander-Arnold has that in spades. What is undeniable is that after years of pain the club now has a defensive nucleus that can carry us through the next decade or more. Alexander-Arnold 20, Gomez 21, and Andy Robertson 24 (who is rumoured to be receiving a well earned pay rise) are only going to become better players from here. They will be mentored along the way by one of the best defenders in the game in Virgil Van Dijk (27 yo), while Alisson at just 26 years old has not even reached his peak for a goalkeeper. After a few years of being spoilt watching the front three inflict damage on the opposition, we can now sit back and enjoy the work of the back four with a deal of pride.

Saturday Nov 3: Arsenal 1 L 1 Any time you avoid defeat at any of the ‘big six’ clubs you’ve done alright. Wins are fantastic but the onus is more on the home side to win these games, so a point away is never a bad thing, particularly when that opponent has been on a great run and is in good form. It’s weird then that so many of us were left disappointed, some with the result, some with the performance and some with both. It’s partly because City are so relentless that anything other than a win feels like it will prove costly, but for me personally it’s not so much the result that disappointed me, it was more how we played. Arsenal aren’t the wide open mess they have been in recent seasons by any means (they were decent I thought), but the way they play still seems tailor made for us to exploit. They leave space behind the full backs and they defend high up the pitch. I expect us to murder teams who play like that so when it doesn’t happen it’s frustrating. We had plenty of chances but most of them fell to Van Dijk and he didn’t take any of them. Milner took the one that came his way, but where were the front three? It’s doing my head in now, I keep expecting them to play like they did last season but it’s not happening. The defence were great and I didn’t have any real complaint about the Arsenal goal as it was just brilliant finishing from Lacazette. Fair play to him. Of course we were a little unlucky with Sadio’s ‘offside’ goal that was ruled out. Apparently that was onside, which shows you just how completely fucking stupid the law is these days. Bit galling that Cardiff’s goal last week stood but this one didn’t. Really don’t know why they over complicated offside, as it was fine as it was. Some pretty shocking clickbaiting after this from the Star and Express though. “Klopp aims dig at Van Dijk after Arsenal draw” said the Star, while the Express went even lower with “Klopp slams Van Dijk after Arsenal horror show - “I’d have scored three”. The actual quote was “I saw Virgil van Dijk after the game and he said ‘I should have had a hat-trick.’ I was not a good football player but I was good at heading and today I would have scored three.” Hardly slamming him is it? Twats. Sunday Nov 4: Chelsea and City both won but nothing could spoil my mood today. You may have seen it on twitter, but I’ll put a little meat on the bones of it here. My daughter, Adrianna, started playing footy four or five years ago and she’s been in defence since day one. Chris Kirkland coached the team for a while and he did try to get her to play in midfield and even up front, but it was a short lived experiment as the opposing half was like Kryptonite to her. She’s only interested in defending (which will stagger anyone who has ever played with me). There was one tournament they were in where everyone else in the squad had scored, including the keeper, and they were just hammering everyone. They were 5-0 up in the final so I told her to go up front and get a goal, and she shot me down, saying “no, we haven’t let a goal in all day and clean sheets mean more to me than goals”. I almost demanded a DNA test after that. How can any kid of mine think like that?? So anyway, a couple of years ago I told her I’d give her 50 quid if she scored. The problem was she didn’t want to go up for corners and leave the team light at the back, so she always stayed back. I told her to just get one of the other girls to stay back but she wouldn’t do it, until two weeks ago when she decided she was going up there. She went up for every corner that day but none cleared the near post (like watching the Reds a couple of years ago). Today though, the second corner of the day landed right in the middle of the six yard box where I’d told her to stand. Most of the girls in there just watched it (hardly anyone wants to head the ball in these games) but Adrianna is fearless and will stick her head on anything. She nodded it goalwards, over the keeper (who was taller than me) and it looped into the top corner. I had to do a double take, and so did she. It was only when all her mates went mad that she realised it had gone in. She comes running towards me and I’m thinking she’s gonna just do a Lallana with Klopp and jump into my arms, but as she reaches me she starts doing this: I just grabbed her and we shared a big hug, it was a really special moment that I’ll never forget. Cost me fifty quid but I’ve never been happier handing money over than I was today. They won 3-1, with one of her mates scoring the other two. She was on a pound a goal bonus and as she came off I told her “you need a better agent”. So yeah, I’ll worry about Man City another day, the pricks. Monday Nov 5: Like today. All that stuff I’m reading about their financial doping is just depressing. I mean, I knew that was going on, but actually seeing the details of it (and how it took a German website to expose them because the English media don’t give a shit) is maddening. It’s cheating, pure and simple. What they are doing is no different to Ben Johnson shooting himself full of steroids. Drug cheats get their medals taken away, and the same should happen to City. Any trophy they won through breaching FFP should be stripped. Whether that means handing it to the second placed team (which would mean United and us) or just removing it from the record books and having no winner is up to the authorities to decide, but there’s no way they should be credited with those titles and they should have points docked this season if there’s any evidence they’re still doing it. The problem is that UEFA and the PL probably feel powerless and are terrified of the legal implications if they take the appropriate action. So this is what should happen. The other clubs should all lodge a formal complaint about it. If the authorities have the backing of the rest of the clubs they can pretty much do whatever they like. Throw them out of the Champions League, ban them from participating for the next five years, and dock the cunts points in the Premier League. I mean, why isn’t this happening already? How come the likes of ourselves, Arsenal and Spurs aren’t all over this? All three clubs who’ve played by the rules and at times been unable to compete financially. United’s business practices are dodgy in an entirely different way, they’re at a disadvantage due to the Glazers rinsing them, and I’m not sure whether Chelsea are above board now or not, but all those clubs who are doing it within the rules should be kicking up the mother of all stinks about this. Tuesday Nov 6: Red Star 2 L 0 That was so bad. What’s going on? How come we’re so shit? Last year we destroyed anything in our path in Europe. We dropped points in the group games but it was usually stupid mistakes that undermined dominant performances. Now we’re just fucking garbage. We didn’t have a shot in Naples and this wasn’t much better. It won’t matter if we beat PSG in the next game but anyone who isn’t concerned by how we’re playing just can’t be paying attention. A lack of fluency was understandable in August but it’s November now and if anything we’re getting worse. I don’t agree with leaving Shaqiri at home either. We’re not playing well enough to have that luxury. So what if their fans hate him and would give him stick. That pitch was miles from the stands so all that talk of it being hostile and intimidating has been well overplayed I reckon. So what if there’s a bit of graffiti in the tunnel, big fucking deal. Our players have had to deal with far worse than that. It’s the fans who need to be worried as they didn’t have security escorting them everywhere. Not a place I’d want to go to, that’s for sure. Meanwhile, it’s day two of the City revelations and this time it’s something about how they managed to turn a £30m cost into a profit by setting up a dummy company dealing with ‘image rights’. This on its own should be enough for them to get fucking massive sanctions, let alone all the even worse shit we read about yesterday. Wednesday Nov 7: That Sterling penalty tonight was as bad as it gets. This is where VAR is needed because its hard for a ref in that situation. Who would have believed that a so called top player could just trip over the turf and fall over? You’d automatically just assume he must have been fouled so I feel bad for the ref as he looks like a dickhead now. Couple of things though. Firstly, yet again I find myself wondering what the point is in those dickheads behind the goal. The ref mightn’t have seen what happened but how did the other fella not? Secondly, Sterling should have come clean and admitted what happened. This isn’t your standard case of a player going over under a challenge or even deliberately diving to try and deceive the ref and win a pen. Sterling didn’t do anything wrong other than just trip himself up, but not admitting it is poor form. Guardiola admitted as much, but then brought up a completely irrelevant incident involving Milner in the CL last season. We’re still in his stupid fucking bald head. Prick. Still, at least this gives that German website another tale of Man City corruption to look into. First place they should start is the bank balance of that official behind the goal. Today’s story was something about Mancini being paid more money for being an ‘advisor’ to another team owned by Sheikh Mansour than he was getting for managing City. What a joke. Also tonight, Ronaldo scored against United and celebrated by flashing his abs. As Ronaldo as it gets that is. Juve got complacent and conceded twice in the last few minutes though, giving United an unlikely win and prompting Mourinho to give it the arl Hulk Hogan ear cupping to the home fans. Souness wasn’t impressed, claiming he could have caused a riot. Mick McCarthy was in the studio with him and his response was fucking boss. “Ya planted a flag in the middle of the pitch in Turkey” Not many would have pulled Souey up on his rampant hypocrisy because he’s such a scary bastard, but McCarthy doesn’t give a fuck. Thursday Nov 8: A report emerges that FSG are looking to sell. Yawn. FSG say it’s bollocks. How many times a year does this happen? Two or three at least. Usually because of some fucking blowhard leaking shit to the press even though he doesn’t even have the money to buy us even if FSG wanted to sell, which they don’t. Any time you read anything about FSG looking to sell, just disregard it as they aren’t going anywhere for some time yet. Meanwhile, the club unveil a bust of John Houlding outside Anfield and it’s fucking boss. There should be more of this type of thing. Paisley, Moran, Fagan, Kenny, Digger, Rushy, Stevie and others should all have statues or busts outside the ground. Hell, they should be selling mini ones in the shop. I’d defo buy a couple. Some talk around social media and various sites that we’re not playing well because we’re missing Buvac. I’m not prepared to completely dismiss that possibility, but I don’t really see how Buvac not being here plays a part in Salah and Bobby hitting passes directly to the last defender. Friday Nov 9: Klopp says people expect us to play like Man City. Nope, I’ve never once looked at us and compared us to City. I’m not jealous of how they play and we don’t have to take a back seat to anybody in terms of style. I don’t want us to play like City, I want us to play like us, and for most of this season we haven’t. Meanwhile, Sevilla are rumoured to be interested in bringing Moreno back. Must have some Brazilians who need entertaining. That was the week that was….

When a new signing arrives at the club, there is a collective thought process about how long he will take to adapt to new coaching methods and whether the fanbase will instantly connect with him. For every Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Mo Salah, there is a Milan Jovanovic, Fabio Borini or Mario Balotelli where you just have a sense that they are not going to have a happy spell at the club. It may be early in his time at the club, but it is fair to say that Xherdan Shaqiri fits into the former category. The Swiss attacking midfielder signed from Stoke in the summer, has been warmly embraced by the fanbase for his all-action style and creative mindset during games. It was viewed by some onlookers that the signing of Shaqiri was the back-up plan or 'consolation price' for failing to land Nabil Fekir from Lyon. The 27 year-old may have only made 13 appearances for the club, but his performances show that he is a quality player in his own right. Having bagged his first goal for the Reds in the recent 4-1 win over Cardiff City at Anfield, those partial to online betting might be tempted to back him to follow that up with another strike against lowly Fulham this weekend. Shaqiri says that although it is a process at a new club, he is learning quickly and really enjoying his time under Jurgen Klopp. Speaking to the Official site, Shaqiri said: "The process is going very well - I think you can see that also on the pitch. I’m very happy to be here and I’m settling in very well, but I think it’s going to be much, much better the longer I settle in. "The coach has helped me a lot to improve and that’s the most important thing. Jurgen Klopp doesn't like putting undue pressure on his new signings and often takes his time to bring them into the starting lineup. Shaqiri was no different in this regard. However rather than get frustrated and downhearted, the solidly built attacker knew the plan all along. “I think you need patience always in your life, so [you need it] in football too. “I knew my time would come and I spoke a lot with the coach, with Jürgen, so it was also important for me to have good conversation. "Of course in the end the coach can only play 11 players but it was always in my mind to try when I came on to help my team, to make an impact and like I said before I am very happy with how the process is going. "I am just trying to help the team when they need me, when I play from the beginning or when I come in, to be successful.” Shaqiri has contributed three assists and one goal in four of his past five appearances for the Reds. The first time he put the ball into the back of the net as a Liverpool player against Cardiff is a memory he will never forget. “To be honest it was very special and I don’t know how to describe this feeling. "I scored goals for other big teams also, but in front of the Kop was very special for me. "It was my first goal at Anfield and it was maybe not the most beautiful goal I’ve scored but it was a good one! "It was a special one and it will always be in my heart.” A sign of an impactful player is that it is clearly noticeable when they are not on the pitch. The absence of the former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan star was telling on Tuesday night as the Reds fell to a limp defeat against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League. It is a credit to Shaqiri that he had that kind of impact in his time at the club. Let's hope that he continues that vein of form for the foreseeable future.

An Arsenal legend could be ready to resurrect the career of Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The Mirror (via Het Belang van Limburg reports that Nice manager Patrick Vieira is not happy with his current goalkeeping options and is keen to bring the Belgian to the French club in January. It was widely thought that Mignolet would leave the club at the end of last season, especially when it was clear that Loris Karius was Jurgen Klopp's preferred option between the sticks. However that all changed when a catalogue of high profile errors from the German at the tail end of the last campaign, which ended up carrying over into the pre-season changed the mindset of Klopp in that regard. Karius was packed off on a two-year loan spell to Besiktas and in came Alisson from Roma to take the number one mantle. Mignolet who had been linked to a move to Barcelona was now in limbo as it meant that with Karius leaving, Liverpool were not going to let two goalkeepers leave in the same transfer window. Knowing that wasn't in the managers’ plans but realising that his exit had been blocked for the immediate future, Mignolet committed the cardinal sin of a footballer by going to the press to air his frustrations. He said at the time: “I find it bizarre that Karius was loaned while I also had options to be loaned. But for some reason that was not possible. “The transfer of Karius doesn't change anything for me. I have always been clear: I want to play. "Being number two or number three makes little difference. Playing minutes is the most important thing. "Nobody has said anything to me after the departure of Loris. So I don't know what my future at Liverpool is.” Understandably, Klopp was unhappy with one of his squad speaking to the newspaper without coming to him with his thoughts first. While completely understanding Mignolet's frustrations about his current plight, in response Klopp offered this classic response. '”There are worse things in the world that being No 2 - and you are pretty well paid at Liverpool.” The Belgian has largely been a spectator throughout this campaign with his lone start coming in the third round of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, which ended in a 2-1 defeat. Klopp is certainly no fan of the mid-season transfer window. The German very rarely does any business during the month with the main exception being this past January with Virgil Van Dijk coming in and Philippe Coutinho heading to Barcelona. If Mignolet does depart, then it will be interesting to see if Klopp looks to replace him with a proven backup, or have faith from within the squad with youngsters Caoimhin Kelleher and Kamil Grabara. It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on to see how this plays out in the next few months.

Cardiff drew the short straw this week and were the first team to face Leicester after the tragedy. Leicester were always going to win this week no matter who they played and Cardiff probably did well to keep it to 1-0. Lee Probert dropped a bollock when he somehow failed to spot Sol Bamba turning a Vardy shot onto the bar with his hand. Sometimes you know by how vociferous the protests are that you’ve got one wrong. The Leicester players were going nuts and Probert was stood there clearly thinking “ah shit, I must have fucked up there but I can’t give it now”. It was a bad day all round for the ref, who got dogs abuse after booking the goalscorer Demarai Gray for removing his shirt and revealing a message in tribute to the late chairman. You could see the grimace on the ref’s face when Gray started removing his shirt because he knew what he had to do next. He could have just said “fuck it” and thrown the rule book out of the window I suppose, but I’m not entirely sure how these things work. If he’s downgraded by the match assessor that might cost him a cup final or a glamour game between the top clubs. I don’t think he deserves the abuse he’s been getting. He wasn’t being a twat about it like some refs might have been, he was just doing his job. Then again, you can say the same about traffic wardens but I hate those fuckers. So actually yeah, fuck Lee Probert the bad jobsworth goon. West Ham had a good win on Saturday but they were only playing Burnley so it was to be expected. Burnley have gone from being involved in games with only one or two goals in them to conceding by the bucket load every week. Only Fulham have conceded more than them so far. It’s been quite the fall from grace for them, and they were a mess at the weekend. Tarkovski turned like the QE2 and was robbed by Arnautovic for the opener. He’s shite him. Just a big yard dog, but for some reason he’s been talked up as being a player. He’s not. He’s a Poundland Harry Maguire. On a bad weekend for the officials Roger East missed the clearest of penalties when Defour lunged in and caught his man. Shocking decision that. Burnley took full advantage of the let off and equalised through Gudmundsen. Anderson restored the Hammers’ lead but Wood’s towering header got Burnley level again with 13 minutes left. Not looking good for West Ham but they regained the lead in fortuitous circumstances when Anderson’s deflected shot left Hart helpless. Burnley kept plugging away and Wood headed against the bar before West Ham wrapped it up on the break in stoppage time through Hernandez. Nothing worse than a Hernandez goal when Jonathon Pearce is on commentary. All that “Cheecharito” bollocks. I’d rather have Motson than that shit. The best game of the day was at Molyneux, where Spurs just about held off a spirited fightback by the home side. Spurs have been a lot like us. Every time I watch them they look shite, jaded, and just not as dynamic as usual, but they’ve churned out results. Lamela (hate him) put them in front with a shot the keeper should have saved. The Brazilian Andros Townsend doubled their lead with a header and Kane made it 3-0 after Wolves had seen a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. At that point it looked done and dusted but Neves converted a penalty to give Wolves hope. Costa then missed a sitter before Mike Dean awarded Wolves a second pen, which was converted by Jiminez. Spurs held on but Wolves got screwed on that disallowed goal. That Gibbs-White kid for Wolves looked boss. One to keep an eye on him. After me talking Bournemouth up last week it was inevitable they’d shit the bed this weekend. Had I know who they were playing I’d have kept my big mouth shut, so that’s on me. In fairness, they battered United in the first half and should have scored three or four. They managed only one though and the Mancs were much improved in the second half and somehow came away with a win after a stoppage time goal from Rashford won it for them. I’m still up the wall after the house move, and we’re getting the whole place rewired this week, so I had to watch MOTD in my Mum’s. She watched a bit of it with me and the bit she saw was the Everton game. She’s worse than me when it comes to slating players. Sigurdsson had a great early chance that he fluffed and my mum scoffs “of course he missed, he was moving. He can only kick a ball when he’s standing still.” A few minutes later the same thing. “See? If he’s not standing still taking a free-kick-kick or corner he’s useless”. You can see where I get it from can’t you? She’s ruthless. Richarlison opened the scoring with a smart finish to round off a lightning counter attack from a Brighton corner. Brighton set the record straight on their next corner, when Dunk powered in a header to tie things up at 1-1. Seamus Coleman restored Everton’s lead. Not going to say anything snarky about him after what he did for Sean Cox. Richarlison wrapped it up with a well taken goal after a shocking pass from Dunk had presented him with the ball. Took it superbly though to be fair. Wonder whose badge he’ll be kissing next season? Newcastle finally won one, although Watford will be wondering just how that happened as they dominated the game. Pereyra hit the bar, Success went close and Deulefeu missed a great chance. No no surprise there as I told you about him last week. Good for one or two great goals a season and nothing else other than a silly haircut. That Ayoze Perez loser headed the only goal of the game and did a weird celebration where he put both fingers in his ears. What’s that about? Watford missed another sitter late on. Big three points for Newcastle but they’re fucking rubbish. Looks like it’s between them, Fulham and Burnley for the final relegation spot at this point. Fat Sam will be rocking up at Fulham soon though I suspect. Onto Sunday now. We knew when we drew at Arsenal that it would cost us top spot the next day. There was an outside chance Palace might be able to give Chelsea a problem, but Man City’s win over Southampton was a foregone conclusion. Still, was it too much to expect for Southampton to at least stay in the game past the opening 12 minutes? Fucking cowards. Hoedt’s own goal at least robbed Sterling of his customary back post tap in. Sterling was offside and the commentator claimed the defender would have been better off letting him score, but you know the linesman wouldn’t have flagged as I mean, come on, it’s City. Hoedt had little choice but to try and clear it. Sterling put one on a plate for Aguero soon after and Southampton just folded like a cheap suit. Ings did win and convert a penalty from a rare Saints foray, but other than that it was one way traffic. Sterling scored the next one but it summed up exactly why his stats just don’t match the eye test. He completely missed his kick and that took the defender out of the game, allowing him to score at the second attempt. He added another in the second half with a low finish that the keeper allowed to go through his legs. Sterling’s numbers are really impressive but he just never manages to look good doing it. As I’ve said before, for a good player he does a fantastic impersonation of a shit one. If you watch Sane and Sterling there’s no comparison. The German looks miles better than him but in terms of production Sterling blows him (and most others who play in his position) away. It’s weird. My eyes tell me he’s shite, but Sterling’s production says otherwise. I just think it’s an anomaly based on how dominant City are. Look at Sterling for England and then you get the true picture. Has he ever even scored for England? One or two I’d say. *googles* Four in 46 apparently. That’s actually better than I thought but it’s still turd and he’s never done it in a tournament. Bet those goals were against dog shit nations. *googles* Lithuania and Estonia. Sounds about right. The other two he scored were against Spain a couple of weeks ago, showing once again that the sun even shines on a dog’s arse somedays. If we’re relying on anyone in the bottom half to give City a game then we’re fucked. Most of them just aren’t interested. They’re beaten before they even start and just want it over with. City are a great side but it makes me sick to my stomach seeing these teams just roll over and have their bellies tickled by them. Put a tackle in, kick a few of them and get in their faces. Show some fucking pride at least. Who was it earlier in the season that didn’t even commit one foul in the first half? Huddersfield I think. It’s pathetic. You’re not going to stand any chance to sitting off and letting them play, you’ve got to kick them a bit and make life uncomfortable. Mark Hughes though. Useless. Southampton need to fuck him off because they’ve got too many good players to be getting bummed like that. Absolute loser he is, and a right miserable, downbeat twat. Chelsea had a routine win over Palace. Morata has started scoring now (six so far this season) which isn’t good for us as the lack of a goalscorer was the biggest thing holding them back. He scored two against Palace, with Pedro adding the other. Andros Townsend got Palace’s goal with a good finish. Can’t get used to seeing him with hair though, it’s weird. Finally, Monday night’s game saw Huddersfield finally get a goal at home and a win. Fosu-Mensah had another ‘mare for Fulham. He followed up the pen he conceded last week with an own goal this time. Huddersfield worked hard and were always a threat from set-pieces, but Fulham were just so disappointing. They were playing great stuff early in the season but the schoolboy defending was undermining all the good stuff they did. Now they just look crap. He’ll be the next manager to go, which is a shame considering the great job he did getting them here. Mind you, their next game is against us so maybe he’ll be able to earn himself a stay of execution. Our misfiring attack against their wide open defence. It should be a big home win but I’m taking nothing for granted anymore after watching the way we’ve been playing of late.

Betting on Liverpool in the Premier League Eleven matches into the 2018/19 Premier League season, Liverpool are arguably better-placed with the bookmakers to take the title than they have been at this stage of a campaign for a number of years (the late surge under Brendan Rodgers in 2013/14 notwithstanding). Still undefeated after 11 games and third in the Premier League table on 27 points (2 points behind Manchester City and below Chelsea only on goal difference), Liverpool are currently 2nd favourite to take the title with most uk bookies, (see www.playright.co.uk), behind Pep Guardiola’s City (who are currently odds-on at 4/11). You can get a best price at the moment of 9/2 on Liverpool winning the 2018/19 Premier League with bet365 and Betway, although it is as low as 10/3 with Ladbrokes, Coral and BetBright. The bookies clearly fancy Klopp’s side as the strongest potential challengers to City, as they are priced well ahead of Chelsea at 10/1, Spurs at 50/1 and Arsenal at 66/1. Aside from outright winner of the league, there are a number of other bets around that will interest anyone wanting to have a punt on Liverpool — depending on whether you are an optimist about how this season pans out, or you take a more pessimistic view! For instance, there are decent odds of 9/4 at SkyBet for the current top 3 remaining as it is, and City, Liverpool and Chelsea filling these places come season’s end. If you want to add in a fourth side and have a bet on Top 4 Exact Order, you’ll currently get 12/1 on the ladder as it stands finishing this way on the last day of the season (City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs), or 6/1 if you think the Reds will pass Chelsea and finish in 2nd place (City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs). If you have a particularly gloomy outlook on how this season will end up, then you can currently get a best price of 16/1 with PaddyPower on Liverpool finishing the season outside of the top 4 — a decent price, but small consolation! Betting on Liverpool in the FA Cup On the other hand, if you fancy a punt on Liverpool making a cup run, it is second favourite for the FA Cup at a current best price of 7/1 with SkyBet (although this is before the draw for the Third Round has been made). In terms of betting on individual players, despite Mohamed Salah’s slow start to the season, you can get a best price of 6/1 with BetVictor on his finishing the campaign as the Premier League’s top goalscorer, third favourite behind Sergio Agüero and Harry Kane. Sadio Mane is currently priced at 20/1 with Unibet to top this list. If you have particularly high hopes for this season, you’ll get 20/1 at SkyBet if you want to combine Salah winning the Golden Boot with Liverpool winning the title. You can also get 12/1 at 188Bet on Salah winning the PFA Player of the Year, 25/1 with BetVictor on Virgil van Dijk, or 33/1 on James Milner, taking out this award. Betting on Liverpool in Europe After a surprise 0-2 away loss to Red Star Belgrade away on Matchday 4, Liverpool has slipped to second in Group C in the Champions’ League, level with Napoli on 6 points but behind on goal difference. However, it remains odds-on to qualify out of the group stages at 4/9 with Coral, and favourite to win the group at 41/20 with Marathon Bet. In terms of going all the way and winning the Champions’ League at the Wanda Metropolitana in Madrid on 1 June 2019, Liverpool are currently sixth in the betting at 12/1 with bet365, William Hill, Betfair and PaddyPower, behind City, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich and PSG. You can also currently get a price of 20/1 at PaddyPower on Mo Salah being the top goalscorer in the competition. Bet on Liverpool to win multiple trophies If you’re feeling especially optimistic about this current campaign, you can get 7/4 at SkyBet on Liverpool winning any trophy. The price on a Premier League/FA Cup double currently stands at 33/1, or 40/1 on winning both the Premier League and the Champions’ League. If you fancy Klopp to win the treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions’ League), you can get a best price at the moment of 250/1. However, if your outlook is gloomier and you think Liverpool won’t win anything, unfortunately the bookmakers agree, with odds-on prices of around 2/5 on the club ending up with no silverware at the end of this season.

It had been coming. You can’t keep playing the way we have without it eventually catching up with you. The wins over Red Star and Cardiff at Anfield suggested we were getting back into the groove but we now know that’s not the case. This was shite. We weren’t very good at Arsenal but we were just terrible in this game. There are a lot of reasons why and one of them is complacency. After what we did in Europe last season it’s understandable to a degree, but the whole approach to this game just reeked of “walk in the park”. Firstly, leaving Shaqiri at home. Why? Why would you do that? I get that there are tensions involved and that the Red Star fans hate him. So fucking what? Are we going to leave Lovren and Van Dijk at home when we go to St Mary’s this year then? Of course not. Yes, there’s a difference in the hostility levels in Southampton and Belgrade, but the point still stands. The stadium was hostile anyway, Shaqiri or no Shaqiri. Choreographed chanting with one end shouting “Fuck off” and the other end replying with “Liverpool”. They booed and whistled throughout. So fucking what? They’re miles from the pitch so it shouldn’t matter. And I don’t think it did matter. We didn’t play like shite because of a few boos and whistles and there is nothing that Shaqiri shouldn’t have been able to handle. We were reduced to bringing on fucking Divock Origi to try and salvage something because we left the little fella at home. Fact is, we’re not playing well enough to be able to leave Shaqiri out. So that’s the first thing. Then there’s the team selection, with Sturridge, Matip and Lallana all brought in from the cold. Loads seem to be fuming about that but personally I have no great problem with it. It’s not like the rest were all great and those three let us down, but it's a valid point to say that making those changes does make it look like we took Red Star too lightly. We can’t play the same eleven players every game though and we should have been able to rest a few and still have enough to beat Red Star. That’s not how it turned out though and when it goes wrong like that a manager is always going to cop some flak for making changes. It’s not the changes themselves that I have an issue with, it’s that the team just didn’t look prepared and went swaggering out there as though it was going to be a walkover. Maybe Klopp needs to get them more focussed and give them a few home truths? In fairness, perhaps he already has, I have no idea what goes on behind closed doors. Looking at it from the outside though I’d say there’s too many of them loving the smell of their own farts at the moment. There’s lots of big talk from them about how well we’re doing, but look beneath the impressive results and it really hasn’t been much to be bragging about, especially up front. It's also alarming to see that we've been outrun in seven of the last eight games. What the fuck is that about? Up front is where my biggest frustrations lie. It's mad the amount of times I’ve found myself muttering “oh fuck off Mo” or “what the hell was that shit, Sadio?”. They’re doing my head in, it's like they've all been replaced by bang average versions of themselves. They set such a high bar with how they played last season that they’re now victims of their own success. They were the best front three in the world and although statistically they’re not doing that bad so far, it’s nothing like how they were playing last year. It’s not just them but it is mostly them, because when they aren’t getting it done everyone else looks worse. We can moan about Milner and Wijnaldum not making enough of an impact, or complain about the lack of thrust from the full back positions or whatever, but really it comes down to the forwards not delivering like they were last year. When they don’t perform it makes everyone else look worse. That said, it wasn’t the forwards fault that Milner inexplicably passed the ball straight to a Red Star player in the build to their second goal, or that Wijnaldum was prancing around the goalscorer scared to give a foul away. Or that Alisson made a pigs arse of his attempt to save it. Seriously, what the fuck was that? I’m no goalkeeping guru but I know that if you go for a ball like that with your left hand then you’re giving yourself far less chance of saving it than if you go with your right. Seriously, try it now. Move your left arm to your right and see how far across you can reach and how much space you can cover. Now use your right hand and do the same. The difference is fucking massive. He had no chance of saving that shot with his left hand. So there’s more than enough blame to go around for this loss, but it’s the forwards who are angering me the most right now and have been all season really. Things might have been very different if Sturridge hadn’t missed a fucking sitter when it was 0-0. There’s just no excuse for that, he has to score. It’s his only fucking job. We know he won’t do much pressing and he can’t run, so he’s in the side to put away any chances that come his way and he failed miserably by basically missing an open goal from six yards. He missed that and then spent the rest of the half being a greedy bastard trying to make up for the one he wasted. No surprise he was hooked at half time, although in fairness there were about six players who could just as easily have been subbed. It was just shit. We were giving up chances and making them look like a top side. They played well and defended for their lives, but under no circumstances should we be losing to them and we’ve made life unnecessarily difficult now in terms of qualification. It’s more than that though. If we manage to win in Paris we’re through and the defeats here and in Naples won’t matter. So I’m not fixating on the results, it’s the performances that are the real concern. All season we’ve been saying “we’re getting results but haven’t clicked yet. Imagine how good we’ll be when we hit form”. Well it’s November now and if anything we’re getting worse. Seven straight wins to start the season but we’ve only won three of the last nine. I don’t know what’s wrong but it’s clearly not clicking at the moment. Maybe we’ve been found out and teams have sussed how to play us, or maybe it’s just a case of too many players (specifically the frontmen) just not being in form. Could even be a hangover from Kiev combined with tiredness from the World Cup. I don’t know, I just hope Klopp does and knows how to get us going again. We’re still in a great position in the league and if we beat PSG or Napoli (might need to do it by two goals) then we’re in the knockouts, so it’s hardly cause for panic. Thing is though, unless we start to play better then it won’t be long before a gap opens up between us and City (and maybe Chelsea too), and on this form it’s hard to see us getting anything in Paris. Time to get your shit together lads. Star man is.... shit, I don't know. Gomez was alright I suppose but he only played a half, so I'll go with Robbo as he didn't do much wrong. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner, Lallana (Origi); Salah, Sturridge (Firmino), Mané: