Search the Community

Here’s a stat for you. Our first team have not retained a trophy for 40 years now. 1983/84, when we retained the First Division title and the League Cup for the third season in a row under Uncle Joe, is the last time it happened. In the 80s we had a couple of close calls when we finished runners-up in the European Cup in 1984/85 and in the league in 1988/89. In 1989/90 we got to the semi final of the FA Cup having won the cup the year before. Our title wins under Kenny saw us finish as runners-up the following season, but miles off top spot. In 1988/89 we were something like 30 seconds away from retaining the title before the Michael Thomas moment. Since then, our trophy wins have been followed by an early exit from the competition the following year. In the domestic cups in particular, we’ve seen a 3rd or 4th round exit as a regular occurrence. Against a Southampton side having a really tough time of it back in the top flight, we have a chance of reaching the two-legged semi at the very least, which brings with it the possibility of reaching Wembley to defend the cup we won last season (thanks in large part to our younger players). Southampton have seen off Cardiff, Stoke as well as the shite to reach this stage. As I write, they face Spurs at home in the League today and are desperate to pick up some points. Do they prioritise the league and go full strength against Spurs, or do they treat the Spurs game as a free hit and go full strength in the League Cup? For a long time now, many teams at the bottom of the PL have forfeited cup progress and put out teams full of squad players for any cup ties between December and February. That’s the dilemma Russell Martin faces for the quarter final in midweek. Southampton haven’t really been blown away by anybody in the league, but Martin’s focus on having them play out of the back has seen them caught out repeatedly hence why they concede a lot of avoidable goals and find themselves propping up the league. We were the beneficiaries of this ourselves only a few weeks ago. Slot has this dilemma too. We’ve slowly started to get numbers back in attack and midfield (and in goal) following the returns of Diogo, Fede, Harvey and Ali. Macca’s served his domestic suspension so is another who is available. Our issues are with the defence, where Conor and Ibou are still unavailable. Trent and Robbo have both looked a little out of sorts - the former has talked a lot about the need to focus but has been prone to casualness, and the latter is making errors that are costing us. Jarrell looks a bit rusty, and the partnership of Joe and Virg in the middle hasn’t been as secure as we would like it to be. Kostas returned to training this week, but as Robbo will be suspended for the Spurs game, it might be prudent to start to start the Scot and bring Kostas on later, or start Kostas with the aim of giving him an hour to get some rhythm into his legs. Robbo’s red card was for a professional foul so I think that carries just a 1-game suspension, and suspensions are now served in the same competition in which they were incurred so he should in theory only be unavailable for the Spurs game. Probably just as well because he’s been a bit Martin Skrtel when we’ve travelled to Spurs in recent years. I think Slot will ring the changes and rest a few, so expect to see Queef come back in goal, Endo and Harvey come into midfield, and Fede start. I’d expect to see Darwin start also. I’d like to see Jayden Danns have some involvement. After all, it was in the FA Cup tie at Anfield between these sides last season that Danns put on a supersub masterclass. Approach the game with the correct mentality and don’t treat it as a distraction we could do without, and see where we are at the end of it. How have our previous managers got on in their first League Cup tie against the Saints? It’s a pretty crap record, with that game under Jurgen really jumping out as the only positive. Some fella called Virgil was in defence for the Saints that night, and some other fella called Sadio opened the scoring for them, but Big Div decided they could be Everton for the evening and tore them a new one. Shankly...16/11/1960...3rd Round...Liverpool 1-2 Southampton (Hunt) Paisley...N/A Fagan...N/A Dalglish...11/02/1987...Semi Final, 1st leg...Southampton 0-0 Liverpool Souness...N/A Evans...N/A Houllier...13/10/1999...3rd Round...Southampton 2-1 Liverpool (Owen) Benitez...N/A Hodgson...N/A Dalglish...N/A Rodgers...N/A Klopp...02/12/2015...5th Round...Southampton 1-6 Liverpool (Sturridge 2, Origi 3, Ibe) I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. Make the next round please. Get it done!

Note the early kick-off time for a fixture down on the south coast. Not content with not leaving our game to TNT Sports and our traditional Saturday lunchtime slot after the international break, Sky Sports have decided to lump this in just prior to a run of games in which we go up against the Spanish government’s footballing arm followed by the UAE government’s footballing arm. Other leagues would have scheduled us for the Saturday 3:00pm or Saturday 5:30pm slots, as there’s more legroom after the international break and Liverpool would gain a rest day followed by 2 days of training prior to the European game in midweek. Our only benefit with the Sunday lunchtime slot is that our South American contingent has some time to get over their jetlag (assuming they aren’t crocked on international duty of course). The two teams meet with vastly contrasting fortunes so far this season. So vast that we are currently 5 points clear at the top of the league, while the Saints prop up the table, 4 points from safety. It’s still early days in both camps obviously, but in Southampton’s case, they and their manager Russell Martin have looked out of their depth. He’s gone down the same route as Vincent Kompany at Burnley, trying to get his team to play out from the back. He’s encountered the same issues as the Bulbhead in that while his players could do it in the Championship, they repeatedly succumb to the pressing and counter-attacking traps set by coaches and players in the Premier League. I actually don’t have a problem with coaches that try to play football, and it’s a far cry from the alehouse shit we always used to see from teams down near the bottom. On the flip side, these coaches also seem to encourage their players to dive a feign injury. The sort of thing we saw Ireland’s Molumby do against England at the weekend. The slapdick officials in this country, VAR or no VAR, always fall for it too, while also allowing Mo to get roughed up by the sort of shithousery that sees rugby players get sin-binned and/or sent off. Southampton were promoted after beating Leeds in the play-offs, and that has more to do with Leeds messing up automatic promotion when handily placed than it does Southampton being ready for a top-flight return. Signings-wise, they’ve added Ramsdale from Arsenal in goal, Brereton Diaz and Archer from Villarreal and Aston Villa respectively in attack, and made defender Harwood-Bellis a permanent acquisition from City after he spent last season down on the south coast on loan. Oh, and they’ve brought back Lallana a decade after he left the club. In terms of players to catch the eye this season, Dibling has been the one to watch. From what I’ve seen of him, he has a bit of pace and skill and likes to get in your face. A nuisance if you allow him to be. We can’t let Southampton be a nuisance to us. It needs the sort of control and composure that was lacking on our last visit to St Mary’s. That was the 4-4 draw on the last day of the 2022/23 season, and the swansongs of both Bobby and Big Game James. The Saints are there to be got at and if we do things right, we could drive another nail in the coffin of their beleaguered manager. As I write, we still need to see how availability is affected for the players still away with their national teams. Virg will miss the Netherlands’ upcoming game and is returning to Merseyside for an assessment. He’s tough as teak so it’s probably nothing more than a player being given a breather by a team that has nothing to play for in their remaining Nations League game having already qualified for the next stage as group runners-up to Germany. No word yet on the previously absent Ali, Harvey, Diogo and Fede but I hope they are once again available. Fede in particular needs to at least be available for 5 or 10 minutes cameos at the end of games, preferably when we’ve already put the result to bed. How have our previous managers got on in their first away fixture against the Saints? It’s a shit record, amongst the worst against any of the sides that have spent a considerable amount of time in the top flight since 1992. By the way, I’m only counting PL era onwards hence why Souness’ first season or so isn’t in the mix, nor are any of the managers before him. Slot has the chance to change the record, and he’s certainly inherited a better squad than his predecessors with which to do so. Souness...13/02/1993...Saints 2-1 Liverpool (Hutchison) Evans...14/02/1994...Saints 4-2 Liverpool (Dicks pen, Rush) Houllier...23/10/1999...Saints 1-1 Liverpool (Camara) Benitez...22/01/2005...Saints 2-0 Liverpool Hodgson...N/A Dalglish...N/A Rodgers...16/03/2013...Saints 3-1 Liverpool (Coutinho) Klopp...20/03/2016...Saints 3-2 Liverpool (Coutinho, Sturridge) I don't ask for much. Maximum motivation, control, application, attitude and concentration from minute one. 3 points please. Get it done!