The Liverpool Thread

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Funny football weekend of emotions that where you’re left frustrated at the result as its them. But, yet again, L’pool win the weekend in the championship race.

Yesterdays admin-

Title Countdown:
14 wins down/ 15 to go.
46 points down/ 46 to go.

Current PL unbeaten run:
P 15 W 11 D 4 F 40 A 18 CS: 5

Current unbeaten home PL run:
P 8 W 6 D 2 F 18 A 7 CS: 3

Let’s start with the latter and context. I get the frustration as it’s United. And, yesterday aside, the worst United outfit in living memory at that. But some of the proper cringe embarrassing, WAY OTT on-line reaction I was reading yesterday evening, as I dried out from a horrid weather day, had me double checking if I was reading Everton twitter? 🤷‍♂️ This is a Liverpool side who have been almost perfect all season home and abroad. Who are currently on a stupendous 24 game unbeaten run. (20 wins/ 4 draws.). Which has them sat pretty atop both the PL and CL. With another massive cup semi to come this week. With the FA Cup to follow. A side with bona fide credentials to be seriously looking at a quadruple assault and football immortality. The CLEAR best side, at half-way, not only in England, but across Europe too. Who, as horrid as they were yesterday from the managers wrong team selection and in-game adjustments on down, didn’t lose to an excellent United side on the day. And, in fact, if you still think theres a ‘title race’, gained yet more ground on everyone by virtue of keeping parity with Arsenals result. Whilst Arsenal lost another game to close the gap. Yet SM is full of absolute gob-shites who would have you believe ‘the manager has been found out/ the players are all S and we need to spend big in January/ and the season is now unravelling!’ Context and perspective just isn’t a thing with these absolute whoppers. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

As to the actual game, by far and away our worst display under Arne. Who had by far and away his worst day to press on the job. From getting his team selection totally wrong by starting Diaz and not Darwin or Jota down the middle. (Diaz is like Bobby, dropping in and doing his best work outside the box. Sound as the focal point against two CH’s when he can drag one out with him to create space for others. Neither use nor ornament against a sitting back three. The only time we really occupied Utd’s back three was when Darwin came on and legged and harried them . Until his silly booking after which point he disappeared like the rest of them.). Through shocking in-game management and an inability to change. Something he’s been unbelievable at this year. In-game adjustments. But not yesterday. Bringing Jota on in midfield, when he needed to be pushed right on to the CH’s, just summed up Slots horrible coaching day. His tactics didn’t suit the conditions either. As horrid as the weather was, it was the same for both sides and not a day for pretty, controlled football. United realised that from the off. We never did. And his players, bar a brief spell from 0-1 to 2-1, played with no intensity, no control, and no intelligence. The mad scapegoating of Trent is just that in the context of NO L’pool player being a 7 out of 10. Yeah, Trent was abysmally poor. (Add him to Slots miserable day. Not subbing him WAY earlier.). But the whole team didn’t function as the cohesive, controlling unit we’ve come to know and love. All really, really poor in our worst collective display of the season. To signal one man out of that is churlish in the extreme.

And I’ll add myself and everyone in the ground to the P poor outing. Until United scored and woke us from our slumber, we were very quiet for a game against them. Absolutely NO excuses on or off the pitch yesterday.

FULL credit to Amorim and United. They were on it from first minute to last. As relegation ugly as they have been all season, they were absolutely brilliant yesterday and fully deserved the win. We were VERY fortunate to escape with a point. But the fact we did shows you the inherent difference between the two sides and just why they are where they are. United at their very best, couldn’t put us away at our very worst.

So all-in-all, an incredibly frustrating day to throw ‘one of them’ in. In the biggest game in World football. But, so far as the procession to the league is concerned, absolutely NOTHING has changed bar being one game nearer to pay dirt.

Now we can put the league to bed for a week or so and get stuck in to the cups and another trip to Anfield South for the seasons first silverware.

Up the bruised but FAR from out Reds!
 
The only one he’s spouting nonsense about is Gakpo. De Ligts was clear hand ball. The rest he has very valid points tbh. Hes missed another shocking decision out when Garnacho was flagged offside when he was through 1 v 1 when he was clearly about 3 yards on. Result was fair and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. I don’t expect anything from the officials these days. Shocking every match against every team!

Let’s not forget about Nunez yellow that should have been a red. Absolutely no intention to play the ball and leads with his for arm/elbow
 
Fully expect Trent to bounce straight back this evening and be as good as he’s been the majority of the season after all the ridiculous, OTT S being thrown around the last few days about him. Which had gone WAY beyond him having an abysmal outing Sunday. Missed all that the previous week at West Ham with his goal/ assist. 🙄

I would imagine, unless Jota is ready to start, that we’ll be pretty much unchanged tonight. Which we should be in a major semi. Accrington even more affords that Sat’day when you could pretty much change the whole side before Forest. Be folly to think like that tonight and lose match rhythm. And, listening to Arne yesterday, I aren’t even sure Kelleher will get his usual LC run out as he goes totally full strength.

They fully believe, as they should, that they can win all 4 this year. With the major difference from last year being that JMG aside, we are totally injury free with a fully fit squad for the second half of the season. Not having to play kids and running legs off those left/ having returning stars late not being match ready/ having match rhythm. If we were this healthy last year, NO way do we fall off the last month.

Straight into these soft Southern bleeps again Redmen. We’ve our trophy to defend and another big day out at Anfield South to secure.

All memories you just can not beat. And all you want as a supporter.
 
Getting in at just before 3. To be up again at half 6. In the immortal words of Danny Glover ….. ‘I’m getting too old for this S!’

First off, thoughts and prayers to Bentancur. When things like that happen, it just kills the whole ground and makes your heart sink.Thankfully he threw his arm up early so you knew he was conscious. But never pleasant to watch someone go through that. God speed mate.

First legs of League Cup semi’s are strange. They either bang. Or they are dull, cautious affairs as you know theres a second leg to come. Last night was the latter. We barely got out of second gear first half. Tottenham went against their usual style and sat a lot deeper/ played a far more compact, cautious game. Second half, with the additions of Trent and Darwin, we upped the tempo and had most of the play and chances. But 0-0 would have been the fairer result before Attwell got to work and robbed us blind. Proper annoying to end our ridiculous 24 game unbeaten run on an abysmal officiating decision but thats the game. A really strange game all round. Two teams nowhere near on it. And a really flat crowd. Thats the quietest 5 plus K Reds have been at a game in a long time. Hands up guilty as I was a part in that. Just a really strange game that never felt like a big semi.

Tottenham fans were a bit too bullish outside after. Lads, you only scored one goal, at home. And that should never have stood. You now have to come to a wild Anfield and all that entails. WAY too early to be celebrating and chanting about Wembley. Let’s put it this way, I’m in NO fear of cancelling the rooms we have for the Sunday night. Half-time boys. LONG way to go in this tie.

Good minutes in the legs for Tsimikas, Bradley and Jota. Trent got a brilliant reception from us when he came on. And was great thereafter which was really heartwarming after the last few days nonsense on him. And great to find out Quansah was just illness and not injury.

Weird game. Sound result. Banger of a home leg semi to look forward to at least. Not much more to add.

Uggh. 9 hours work to get through. 🤦‍♂️

‘I’m getting too old for this s …..!’
 
Bar the scandalous KO time/ needless telly game, and the biting cold, that was the perfect third round day that the manager will have got everything he wanted out of.

Yesterday’s admin:

Current unbeaten home total games run:
P 13 W 11 D 2 F 35 A 8 CS: 7
1 Straight Win/ 1 Straight CS.

First test, in the last leg of the quadruple assault, up and running and passed in style. ✅

Let’s get this straight. With absolutely no disrespect intended, Accrington, at home, couldn’t have been a more perfect third round tie that effectively gives you a straight bye into the hat. Really poor League Two opponents. As some of their hilarious passing showed. Bless them. No travel. Rotation options aplenty. Picture perfect draw. And that’s exactly how it turned out.

Really couldn’t have gone much better. Comfortable 4-0 win where L’pool barely even reached second gear. Let alone got out of it. Returning players getting valuable minutes. The magnificent work of Alex Inglethorpe and all at Kirkby on display in glorious technicolour as youngsters got to showcase their ability in front of the Nation. Related side-note- Utterly mad that ITV picked this game, as home banker as it EVER gets, for live TV. What in the World they thought their viewing audience would get out of this heck only knows? 🤷‍♂️ Romance of the FA Cup my pasty white a…! But I digress ….. In so far as what we got out, of what was effectively a gloried training session (and probably not as intense as our training sessions), there was SO much to like and take from it. And I loved the fact Arne treated it as such. By not only putting out a real strong side with players that needed minutes. Who all treated Accrington and the FA Cup with respect by taking it as a serious game. But by playing our methodical, composed, patient game and not going out to just blitz them. His system and style only improves through repetition every game. And it was great that we never deviated from it. As boring a watch as some of the play may have been to the TV audience. People talk about our perceived slow starts in games. But that has seemed far more by design than anything else to me as we both sit and take a look at what the opposition is giving us. Whilst also conserving energy that not only leaves us both far fitter and fresher in the second half of games. It is also benefiting us massively in this very genuine quadruple assault to the point we are fully healthy and fresh for the second half of the season sans Gomez. A MASSIVE difference to last season’s quad assault and how that fell away through a combination of the multitude of major injuries. All the kids that had to play. And those said major players returning late with no march rhythm. All COMPLETELY different to this year’s attempt to win all 4.

I loved the attitude of every player that came in to not only adhere to the game plan, but to show the manager they are fully part of this and that they are ready and fully committed when needed. As we’ve seen from league cup sides that have been a lot stronger than many asked for, Slot doesn’t rotate for rotations sake and he likes players to stay in match rhythm.

So many positives individually but a few stand outs:

Freddy Church-
As Jota is currently finding out, the exception of Konate and must needs aside, you have to be FULLY fit and ready to start for Arne. And it’s been hard to find opportunities to add him minutes until he’s at that point given we have played to such an exceptional standard this season. So as frustrating as it was to not see him ready to start, WHAT a second half cameo. Brilliant, dominant display that has levels to go. Accrington, as is their level, tried to be physical with him but he stood up to that brilliantly showing there’s nottin’ soft about him. And his willingness to run at them/ take the ball with his back to goal and turn and go, to then showcase his World class ability on the ball and playmaking, was a joy to behold. Even within the context of the opposition, he was involved in everything in a superb display. The deception when he shaped one way, to then cut back across himself and hit the post, was stupendous. Massively involved in Dans goal. And a Worldie finish himself. World class footballer this who is going nowhere. Our patience will pay off the next 6 months and beyond.

Rio-
Anyone still left in ANY doubt as to why the hype has been SO loud and why Chelsea were SO P to lose him? To be as composed as that, at 16-years-of-age, starting and playing 60-odd minutes, in the FA Cup, was unreal to see. Not only showcasing his mesmerising dribbling ability. But making the right, assured , mature decisions off the back of that. Another wonderful, top drawer talent being developed at Kirkby. Take a bow all concerned. Boys own, historical debut.

Jayden Danns-
PROPER striker. His goal was him in a nutshell. Brilliant dribble and lay off. Dropping his shoulder leaving Stanley for dead. Then following in to finish Chiesa’s save. Right place. Right time. ALWAYS!!!!! 3 goals and he’s not got 90 minutes under his belt yet! Physically imposing. Great technically. And a proper strikers instinct. Another that's a keeper.

Endo-
Mad that someone so small, with no pace, can slot back into CH and can be SO dominant. His reading of the game and leadership is a vital cog to have in the squad. Perfect, versatile squad player. Fortunate to have him around setting the tone day in, day out.

So a completely dominant run out, as it should have been in such a mismatch of the respective sides. Major players completely rested. Vital squad players getting vital minutes. And top youngsters taking their chance and both rewarding the managers faith in them. And showing to others that nothing has changed since Jurgen. That open pathway to the first team is alive and kicking here for you unlike most other clubs.

As run-of-the-mill as the atmosphere was for a guaranteed home banker, I both loved that Trent, for the second game in a row, received the appreciation and love he deserves away from the disgraceful nonsense spouted about him on-line after Utd. And that Accrington’s number 39, their Scouse lad, got a ground wide massive applause when he was subbed. Devoed for him when he hit the bar. That would have made his life and then some if he’d scored at Anfield. Funny hearing Accrington belt out Slade second half too. 🤣

As baltic as it got second half, an enjoyable day out in a competition that will forever be of the utmost importance to this football club and the City it represents.

Another lower league draw next round, at home, would be just the ticket between Tottenham and the Derby please football Gods.

Up the quadrupole ravenous Reds!
 
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Plymouth away.

Just F RIGHT off!!!!! 🤬

This had better be the Sunday! Monday night can proper do one!

Why do we always get the worst possible draw 9 times out of 10?
 
Proper, old school game of togger last night that, in context, just hammered home how we have no competition in this league this season

Yesterday’s admin-

Title Countdown:
14 wins down/ 15 to go.
47 points down/ 45 to go.

Current PL unbeaten run:
P 16 W 11 D 5 F 41 A 19 CS: 5

Current unbeaten away PL run:
P 12 W 7 D 5 F 33 A 17 CS: 4

And then you mooch around the net/ SM on the drive home and you’d honestly think we were Everton and are a club in crisis not winning the league! 🤦‍♂️

Make it make sense! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

L’pool go to the team in second place in the league. A team on a run of 7 straight wins. A team that are really, REALLY good at defending and frustrating with their time wasting. A team whose fans absolutely detest us more than anyone not called Derby County. Who turned their ground rabid feral with abuse and noise the full 98 minutes. And, bar a mad switch off to concede early, completely dominate the game. Especially second half. And especially the last 35 or so were Forest were panicking and just webbing it out to survive. A game they would have won handsomely were it not for a superb goalkeeping display and last ditch blocks and clearances off the line. I don’t normally put match stats into these missives as I prefer the lived, live experience. But those last night are testament to L’pool’s utter dominance of the game.

All told, the Xg was 1.95- 0.39 in the Reds favour. 28 shots to Forests 6. 7 on target to Forests 3. 4 big chances created to Forests 1 ….. And after a first half of dominant possession with no end product, the second half stats again attest to complete L’pool domination ….. 1.48- 0.09 Xg. 14 shots on goal to Forests 3. 7 on target to Forests 1. 3 big chances created to Forests 0 ….. All done, away from home, under the lights in a hostile atmosphere, at the second best team in this league. On the current best run of form in the league.

And people are narking and trying vainly to convince everyone we aren’t sound and winning this thing.

Make it make sense! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Chelsea drop points again. At home. 10 clear of them with a game in hand. No challenge there. City drop points again from a winning position. 12 clear of them with a game in hand. No challenge there. 7 points clear of an Arsenal side sinking like a stone with all the key injuries. With them to come at Anfield. Slimmest of slimmest challenges there. And 6 clear of a Forest side we’ve just shown up, in their house, with a game in hand ….. Pray tell WHO this season is capable of putting a significant run together to topple us?

PLEASE, make it make sense! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Massive point gained in a proper, old school game. That took you back to growing up first going the match and what proper rivalry nights out in enemy territory are ALL about.

*Sings ‘The Reds aint’ got no money, but we’ll still WIN the league!

Up the still WELL clear Redmen!
 
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F me they’ve gone full Trump! Forget socks. Fake tan bottles need webbing the pitch Derby day.
 
I hadn’t realised until this morning, on the same day we lost Law, we lost a bona fide Scouse legend in Phil Hammond. 😭

A great man who embodied everything the City stands for.

Words just can not convey the debt of gratitude we will forever owe him.

God rest and thank you mate. Sincerely. Enjoy seeing your boy once more finally. 🙏🏻❤️

It puts the triviality of a game of football today in STARK perspective.
 
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