Jim Boardman and Jay Reid are back for the first Scouser Tommies of the New Year, as Liverpool get ready to face the old enemy from down the Lancs, Man United.
Another year over, one that ended on a huge high for the Reds, two more victories over the Christmas period placing Arne’s men firmly at the top of the tree with a six point gap and a game in hand. A 3-1 win at home to Leicester despite the Boxing Day fog, then a 5-0 hammering of the Hammers, ensured the Reds saw 2024 out in style.
As Jay points out, if that West Ham game had been a boxing match, the referee might have called time on it, or at least let the trainer know it was time to throw the towel in. A week before a similar performance against Spurs saw the Reds win handsomely with six goals, but still concede three, something the boss was far from happy with. As Jim mentions, there was very little evidence of the foot being taken off the gas and the sheet was kept clean.
Next up though is one of those games that is massive regardless of what the league table says. The visit of the Mancs, not to be confused with their neighbours, a clash that conjures up so many memories of previous battles.
This is a true North West derby, one of the first games fans of either side will look for when the fixtures come out. It’s fair to say neither set of fans expected the gulf to be this big when that calendar was first confirmed - league leaders Liverpool have more than double the points tally of United, who are in 14th place only five points above Everton, having played a game more than both Merseyside clubs.
This fixture does not care about any of that though, and whilst Jay and Jim have different memories growing up of why these battles were so big, both know that nothing can be taken for granted. Victory for the Reds is not a done deal, there’s work to be done. The game is going ahead at a reasonable hour too, 4:30pm in the UK, under the floodlights, which should ensure the atmosphere is as it’s meant to be for such a huge tie. Maybe authorities in Merseyside are more confident of their abilities to handle an event like this than their counterparts in Manchester, who always seem to insist on breakfast football.
As good as it is to watch the football right now as a Red, talking about it inevitably turns to the contract situation of three of the club’s biggest names and more deals yet to be done. Christmas Day didn’t bring us a photo of ‘three kings’ holding up new contracts in front of the tree. But January 1st didn’t turn out to be a day where hangovers were mixed with the headaches of announcements of which club away from Anfield the three would be playing for next season. Maybe that's still to come, and very few people really know what’s going on, but as Jay explains, the longer it drags on the more damaging the situation will become, regardless of the end result.
Also this week, a brief look ahead to the League Cup semi first leg against Spurs, but it’s hard to think of that with such a big match on the horizon. With heavy snow forecast, let’s just hope the weather doesn’t steal it from us…
