Jim Boardman and Jay Reid are back to discuss the latest goings-on in and around Anfield, including the local reaction to the derby that didn’t go on. Also this week: the win against Gerona, the return of Alisson Becker, the future of Darwin Nunez, a look ahead to Fulham and then Southampton, a referee gets sacked and English football finally notices that Arne Slot exists.
The derby didn’t go ahead, because of the threat to safety posed by Storm Darragh, a decision made after consultations between the clubs, the council and the police. Of course not everyone across the park sees it that way…
Having had a bit more rest than expected Arne Slot’s side travelled to face Gerona in the Champions League, yet didn’t exactly look like a side benefiting from the extra time off. What was described by many as a game of basketball did end with Liverpool gaining all three points, courtesy of Mo Salah converting the penalty won by Luis Diaz, so no real harm done and plenty to learn from.
One big learning point was being reminded just how good a keeper Ali is, the first choice keeper back after injury and given no easy ride. As Jay and Jim point out, it’s not being critical of Kelleher to say he’s not as good as the main man, because few if any are anywhere near that good.
It was also another chance for Darwin Nunez to stake his claim for a place as a regular starter. With Jota on the verge of a return and Chiesa not too far behind, it could be one of his last chances for a while, but taking chances isn’t exactly his strong point at the moment. Is the criticism of Darwin a bit over the top, given all the other stuff he does when he isn’t trying to score, or is it justified for a player wearing that Liverpool No.9 shirt and costing what he did?
The mark of Everton never seems too far away in football these days, and Liverpool’s next match sees them face another side whose boss used to be at Everton. Fulham’s Marco Silva became the boss at Goodison a couple of years after beating Liverpool as manager of Hull, but that’s probably just a coincidence and didn’t even get a mention when the Blues were looking for a new boss at the time. Nowadays he’s managing a Fulham side that was involved in one of the worst yet best Anfield games last season, the 4-3 win for the Reds after going 3-2 down. They are a side that can cause Liverpool problems, especially at their own place, but this is Anfield! It was for the 4-3 though…
News this week that David Coote had been sacked by the PGMOL following the release of a video that suggested he didn’t really like Liverpool or their former manager Jurgen Klopp. Coote had been on VAR for the derby that saw, amongst other things, Jordan Pickford go unpunished for a challenge on Virgil Van Dijk that could have been career ending and certainly put him out for a lengthy period. There are many more to mention, and questions have to be asked of PGMOL about how rife this level of apparent bias might be. Questions that won’t be answered of course.
Slot has said that Jota and Chiesa are in contention for the squads at least for the Fulham game, but hinted at giving Chiesa his first outing in next week’s Caribou Milk Cup tie against Southampton, and maybe it could see Harvey Elliott get a start having missed so much of the season with injury. Is that the best way of looking at this competition, a chance to get players fit, to give fringe players some time, or do Liverpool, as holders, need to take it more seriously? With so many injured, is this the right time for Slot to give some of the undoubted talent the club has at youth level a chance on a bigger stage?
Mo Salah won the Premier League player of the month, and Arne Slot won the manager of the month - for the first time! Why is he only getting recognition now, with the club flying high at the top of the table with just one - reported - league defeat?
Meanwhile, Jim and Jay ponder what kind of Christmas card Endo will be getting from the boss, and whether there might be a bit too much excitement about what the blue-suited Santa is going to be dropping down the Goodison chimney. That’s the chimney best known for its work helping millions and millions of pounds of transfer fees going up in smoke.
