First State Kopites

It’s April 17th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Justin and Daz. It’s been a big week in the Premier League and not the right time to stop scoring at home. Before we are done we’ll look ahead to Atalanta away in the Europa League and Fulham away Sunday. 

Part One - Liverpool 0, Palace 1 - 2.81 to 1.98 according to FotMob

• First half looked very flat - Palace had a lot of moments, didn’t mean we didn’t have chances
• Manager talked about Endo and Mac Allister minutes - Robbo and role for Mac Allister
• Second half… four big chances - while Darwin may have dropped a level, others had chances (Jota, Salah and Curtis). Much better performance, one goes in I think we’ve seen that script before
• The subs - taking off Nunez and Diaz, not Salah
• A word on the ‘bottling it’ chat
• 6 games remaining - just focusing on us, can we get back in rhythm?

Part Two - Atalanta beat us 3-0 - xG 2.6 v 3.22. Possession 70%

• Narrative about being outplayed? Or some defensive slip ups that then define the narrative?
• Formation, pressing 
• Going for a goal back when we concede the third
• Jota and Mo almost scored

Part Three - looking ahead and the context:

• Atalanta - what do we think? Formation, forecast
• The run in
• Will being 2 points behind City be terminal?
• UCL impact
• Our mindset
• Fulham away on Sunday 
• Team selection and predictions
• Naby Keita

We will be back with a review of the Fulham and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s April 9th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Justin and Daz. It’s been a big week in the Premier League and we are going look at home wins over Brighton and Sheffield United and a disappointing draw against them. Before we are done we’ll look ahead to Atalanta in the Europa League and Palace at home on Sunday. 

Part One - it’s them again:

• xG of 3.74 vs. 0.74 - well we clearly missed chances and even though I think we were better than in the cup tie. Michael Cox wrote a tough piece to read about just how dominant we were and how all over the place they were (a variation on the donut formation)
• Second half… The errant Quansah pass gave them oxygen and sent us to a dark place, Quick word on Szobozlai, Elliott, Darwin, Diaz and Salah.
• The same boys who today missed a few chances are the ones who brought us to 71 points said my favorite manager
• Good news not one of the remaining 7 games is at that place with that team and their unbelievably counter intuitive tactics

Part Two - 2 home wins:

• Began with a victory over Brighton who are really hard to play against - 2.98 v 0.51 xG. Went down early, looked like a comeback was never in doubt. 
• Starts with typical Diaz goal from the chaos. After a lot of Salah shots (a lot)
• 2nd goal was my favorite from the season - Szobo, Macca and a Salah finish
• The Arsenal 3-0 was kicked off with the kind of penalty if we’d got would have been generating parliamentary questions.
• Win over Sheffield United - 3-1 in the end. 2.52 v 0.72 xG
• Less assured than the Brighton win?
• Darwin’s mad goal, Mac Allister screamer, and Gakpo chips in

Part Three - looking ahead and the context:

• The run in
• Champions League as a source of hope?
• Will being 1 point ahead of City be the most significant point?
• Our mindset
• Return of Alisson, Trent and Diogo J
• A quick word on Atalanta, the EL and completing Klopp’s trophy collection with us
• Palace at home on Sunday 
• Team selection and predictions
• Room for Reuben Amorim chat?

We will be back with a review of the Palace and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s March 23rd - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Sean. Reds lost to Man United on Sunday and we are now focused on a treble. We’ll look back on that game and the Sparta Prague last 16 tie in the Europa League. And before we are done, let’s take a pulse on how we see the rest of the season playing out.

Part One - the FA Cup 6th round - Manchester United 4, Liverpool 3

• Well we always hate losing to them don’t we?

• First 30 minutes were way too open - United had more shots (7) on target in a first half than they have for a long time.

• Switched on end of first half - could have been 3-1

• Second half, their weird formation made it seem like we were bound to score, but actually did not have many good opportunities (other than the ones Darwin created)

• Taking Salah off at 77 with the game won…

• While it’s still 2-1 bad things can happen. Right foot from Antony, felt like a stopped clock telling the right time moment.

• Extra time - everyone looked very tired. Could not take enough people off.

• Blessing in disguise? Can’t say yes for sure but 2022 experience suggests it could be

Part Two - Liverpool 11 to Sparta Prague 2 - aggregate score:

• Four goals up in 14 minutes. Front foot attacking exploiting some very naive defending?

• Liverpool should not be playing us said the coach, they should be in the champions league.

Part Three:

• Quick word on officiating:

• We talk about high bars when we choose to

• They talk about intent as well - I thought IFAB had made intent irrelevant

• Atwell on VAR - ‘they both came in high’

• What are we feeling now:

• Maximum of 15 games

• Players returning

• 10 wins in the League likely would be enough but there’s plenty of challenges left 

• United, Fulham, Villa, West Ham and Everton away - 3 aways in 6 days (unless Arsenal beats Bayern Munich)

• Brighton, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Spurs and Wolves at home.

• Europa League - quarter final against Atalanta, with the prospect of Benfica or Marseille in the semis.

• Atalanta not considered a difficult draw… 6th in Serie A. Playing Coppa Italia either side of our fixtures.

• Elsewhere, Champions League draw…. FA Cup - 

• City have to play Chelsea in the FA Cup. If they make it past Real Madrid, they will have no midweeks available.

• Arsenal - Bayern Munich. Could easily see Arsenal winning this one.

• International chat? Luis Diaz

It’s March 11th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m Paul, joined by Daz and Justin. Reds drew with Man City yesterday and are now 2nd in the premier league, behind on goal difference. We’ll look ahead to Man United at the weekend and we’ll look at the state of the Europa League and the Sparta Prague tie.

Part One - The Reds should have won this, shouldn’t they?

• First half

• 15 minutes of City threat, City had 4 or 5 openings earlier

• Gradually made our way back into this:

• Endo tackle on Foden after 5

• 13 minutes chance for Bradley

• Endo, Mac Allister and Elliott were very good

• VVD so many times he was exceptional

• Clever goal from the cheats

• Liverpool responded well. Press intensified.

• Rodri and Walker tactical fouls

• Gomez moving into midfield

• Second half:

• 47 minute penalty and the non-penalty at 98

• Michael Oliver!!!

• City have their usual sterile domination at times

• Diaz multiple big chances (inc Gakpo)

• Other thoughts?

• What a gang of ******, Foden, Walker (on Salah), Rodri, Bernardo Silva

• Walker - Oliver wasn’t intimidated

Part Two - Sparta Prague - 5-1:

• Mac Allister and Nunez were great

• Defense was not until Virg arrived

• Gakpo bad luck?

• Salah almost 14th sub goal

• Next Thursday…..  Weakest team possible 

Part Three:

• United in the FA Cup

• Formation, predictions

• Our perspective - players are coming back, 10 wins would probably do it, given City and Arsenal

We will be back with a review of the United game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s March 6th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz, Sean and Justin. Reds beat Nottingham Forest last weekend to maintain a narrow lead at the top of the premier league. We’ll look ahead to Man City at the weekend and we’ll look at Europa League and Sparta Prague.

Part One: Forest - first win since 1984. The year Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain was released, the Reds won 3 trophies:

• 0.97 to 2.07 (Fotmob) - Darwin’s goal had an xG of 0.11

• Should have won this, but not much of that rationality made its way into the wider discourse

• They started of with a lot of intensity and for 20 minutes, there was some back and forth but the Reds had taken over. (22 - Elanga chance, looked offside) Kelleher great save, 24 - Clark almost; 26 Luis Diaz went close

• Second half, habit has been to take it up a level - created some chances but found it hard - especially against the mid/low block. Injuries taking their toll? Not enough width? Tsimikas did give us some when he came on. Did we struggle to adapt to the subs initially?

• Officiating - Let’s shine a light on the corners we should have had in the first half. Seriously, the coverage of this monumental mistake was beyond overboard.

• And no mention of Kung Fu kicks from Yates

• ‘Some elite level shit if there are any shenanigans happening’ - Gareth Roberts

• 18th winner in added time in the Klopp era, Fergie only had 16! Moyes has 21, Wenger also has 21 BTW

• Anfield has had 28, next is Goodison with 24 (3 of them scored by us!)

Part Two - Big game coming up:

• Game against the team with 115 charges is hard to ignore

• FCK MCI - looked like a couple of easy games for them

• Hoping for a big Anfield contribution - biggest crowd for a game against the cheats

• Guardiola has not won at Anfield with a crowd. I’m sure that’s not in his head!

• Tactics - go early or wait for the 2nd half momentum to kick in

• Channel the 2022 FA Cup Semi Final?

• Team and predictions

• We start with Sparta Prague in the Europa League first leg

• They are confident they can win after beating Galatasaray

• They are top of the Czech league, just drew at home to their biggest rivals Slavia Prague

• Macca talked about a great battle. Coach Brian Priske was the manager of Midtjylland in 20-21. Mohammed Salah might return.

Part Three - AOB:

• Arsenal have scored a few goals haven’t they?

• Worst case, we could end up 3rd. How are we dealing with that? Ignoring it, rationalizing it?

• Liverpool are visiting the city down the road next summer - best way to talk this up?

• Chasing Man City’s commercial revenue….

 February 29th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz. Reds won their 10th League Cup, beat Luton in the League and reached the 6th round of the FA Cup. We’ll look ahead to Nottingham Forest away at the weekend and toward the Europa League return against Sparta Prague before we are done.

Part One - League Cup triumph Chelsea 0, Liverpool 1 (xG 2.28 vs 1.78 Opta)

• Kelleher - faced 2.9 xG - 4th most in the top 5 leagues in the last 7 seasons (Andrew Beesley) without conceding. This is counting multiple shots from the same sequence.

• 2 big moments really hurt Liverpool our momentum

• Gravenberch being stretchered off

• VVD first header ruled out; 1.7 of the Chelseas xG happened between then and the 98th minute. And, John Brookes with the CSI Stockley Park. Compare with United’s FA Cup goal in midweek

• 5-2 yellow cards…  some shit behavior from Chelsea not punished.

• Academy players - culture that allows you to bring in young players

• Clark 24 pressures (Macca 35) and McConnell had the most touches (47 in 40 minutes).

• Gomez is third in minutes

• Changes showed that the league is the target

• Szobo and Darwin did not look injured.

Part Two - Luton game and Southampton on the cup

• Luton - xG 3.32 vs 0.92

• Diaz chances, 11th minute Ogbone. Bit 442, first half just too hurried 

• First half Klopp was upset - look at the counter pressing first not the result

• Don’t make me angry…. ‘Elite’  Rob Edwards described the team, the tactics, intensity and crowd. 2nd half intensity was impressive - the washing machine.

• Southampton - xG 1.89 vs 1.71

• Could have lost it in the first 20

• Koumas and Danns are great stories, but Clark and McConnell looked really solid

• Kelleher again

Part three - looking ahead

• Forest - could be challenging. They will allow us the ball.

• They haven’t got a great record after playing midweek.

• Team, predictions

• Europe - Sparta Prague - need to give them some respect.

• What else - Arsenal, Man City to win this weekend we assume.

We will be back with a review of the Forest game and a look ahead to City. Thanks to Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s February 20th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Justin. Reds won away at Brentford at the weekend but at some cost - we’ll review. We’ll then look ahead to Luton tomorrow night and Chelsea in the League Cup Final at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done.

Part One - Brentford 1, Liverpool 4 (Understat 1.7 to 3.09; statsbomb 1.14 to 2.43)

• Predictions

• First Half - Brentford dominance!

• First 20 minutes, they should probably have scored was the narrative (Toney had a chance at 14 and 19 - Ibou steered him away from goal for the 2nd)

• In practice, Bradley had an effort turned away at 9 minutes, Jota manhandled at 12 (Jensen challenge was 50/50), Jota shot turned away at 20.

• 35 - Darwin finish - if he scores in the next 13 games we are right in this

• Refereeing again; Oliver doing the same stuff we’ve seen increasingly - players go down with minimal contact and it always seems to be a foul against us. 9 fouls against us and 1 for? Not one given for the 2 Noorgard challenges that caused serious injuries. Toney - what a diver…

• Second Half - controlled large portions of this:

• xG of over 2 again - this is quite exceptional. Played with a swagger after 2-0.

• Klopp reaction to the dangerous tackle on Bradley

• 54 - Endo to Gravenberch to Mo to Macca

• 67 - Mo goal - more Route 1 football :()

• 71 - Could have conceded a pen (Robbo on Toney), they score on 74

• Didn’t get much of a sniff until the very end

• 82 - possible Diaz penalty

• 86 - Gakpo’s 10th of the season - be good to him going

• Finished 15 fouls to 3 (the Arsenal game with Taylor was 11-11).

• Lots of shout outs:

• Kelleher, the defence, the midfield, whichever Front 3 was on the pitch.

• Post Jones midfield looked good, and then Elliott had a nice cameo.

Part Two - looking ahead:

• Luton at home - 13 games left

• Luton - thoughts?

• The injuries

• Team selection, predictions

• Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday

• Chelsea - can’t be as dominant as we were a few weeks ago, can we?

• Chelsea appeared to play a back 6 at City, and ran out of gas at 70.

• Team selection, predictions

Part Three - looking wider:

• Arsenal (2.2 xG and 5 goals); City will go on a run to everyone is going to drop points - did have an xG of over 3 against Chelsea).

• Ollie Watkins….. Only Mo Salah

• Most goals by a Liverpool sub - 13 from 27.

• Jurgen and the Dinosaurs!

• How many teams chant You Scouse Bastard and have an intro song written by a couple of Scousers?

We will be back with a review of the Luton and Chelsea games. Thanks to Daz and justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s February 13th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Sean. Reds got back to winning ways against Burnley, a game we’ll review. We’ll then look ahead to Brentford at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done.

Part One - Liverpool 3, Burnley 1 (xG - Liverpool 3.15, Burnley 1.11)

• Review predictions

• First Half:

• Lots of gaps, illnesses, slow start

• How much was Klopp’s hand forced a little with lineup/formation?

• Trent injury - had an impact on the first half

• Jota goal - foul on Trafford! HA HA

• Jota grab - defender was standing his ground says Stephen Warnock

• Burnley goal was a header from 12 yards - Kelleher’s feet?

• Second Half:

• Lots more control - from 46 a lot of pressure building

• Goal at 51 - foul by Mac Allister? 

• 63, 66 Fofana misses - Quansah?

• 70 to 78 created multiple chances before Nunes excellent header 

• Good news stories:

• Andrew Robertson

• Curtis Jones

• Endo, Mac Allister

• Kelleher deserves a mention.

Part Two - away at Brentford:

• Haven't won there yet, they’ll have their players back from AFCON. Toney is scoring.

• It is a 12.30 kick off and we’ll have a week, and we may have players back/healthier

• Formation?

• Prediction

Part Three - some trends:

• Anny (Anfield) Road end - leading the singing. Almost 60,000

• Cards - Nunez for kicking the ball away and no card for Endo being kicked in the face.

yellow

cards for dissent and tactical fouls.

We will be back with a review of the Brentford game. Thanks to Daz and Sean. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s February 11th - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds get past Burnley to go back to the top of the league and now have a week before Brentford. I’m Paul and I am joined by Lingerr, Haitham and  We’ll talk about the Reds before we are done but after a great tournament we need to talk more about AFCON.

Part One - reflections on the tournament:

• Context, your AFCON experience over the years - growing up, watching from afar here in the US?

• As an outsider, this one was a great spectacle, it seemed about the teams and the football, and almost no Gianni Infantino or Alexsander Ceferin is an absolute bonus.

• Seems like a series of upsets from an outside perspective. Lots of last minute goals and spot kick drama. Super exciting for someone not fully invested in any of the teams - must have been tough to watch if you were.

• Overall a more open tournament - 116 goals - 2.4 per game. Goals dried up a bit in the knock out games.

• What about the favorites - Senegal, Egypt, Morocco? Was that it for Mo and a chance to win AFCON?

• North African teams generally:(

• I enjoyed Cape Verde, Angola, DR Congo - how much did they exceed expectations?

• What about South Africa? Where did they come from?

• Did it help having everyone be familiar with each other?

• The state of club football - Morocco 84th in the world 

• Number of players born outside Africa - perspectives?

Part two - the Final and wider:

• The Final - Côte D’Ivoire vs Nigeria

• The game itself

• Was it destined to be them?

• ‘The dead goat does not fear the night’

• Nigeria played up to its reputation finally didn’t they? But really didn’t look as good in the final

• Wait Alex Iwobi is Jay Jay Okocha’s nephew!

• All those strikers - Osihmen, Chukweze (and Boniface who was injured)

• Does this mean anything for the 2026 World Cup?

• Could CIV host a World Cup?

Wrap up - Liverpool - 14 wins to a deserved 20th title?

We will be back with a review of the Burnley game. Thanks to Lingerr and Haitham. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s February 8th - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds lost at Arsenal and now have a week together before Burnley show up at Anfield.. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We’ll look at Arsenal and look ahead to Burnley at the weekend. We’ll also do some football finance chat

Part One - let’s tackle it head on:

• Team selection - probably not many other options

• Formation - could we have gone 3 at the back at least at the start to build from a solid base - twice in the last 3 seasons we played them in cup games, did not concede early and then opened them up in the second half

• Poor first half - right side (usually a big strength) felt it lacked cohesion

• Second half till the mix up, felt like we could take the initiative

• After that, it felt like we didn’t get the subs into the game, the way we have done for much of this season

• The refereeing? Typical Taylor - misses blatant shirt grabs on our players yet every Arsenal player went down at the slightest prompt (often acting like they’d been mortally wounded). Felt like this was intentional. 

• Konate red completely took it away from us, Thiago and Macca at center back!

• Pearce, ‘He can have no complaints’. Jurgen points us to Gabriel.

Part Two - looking ahead:

• 15 games in the league. Win them all and the league is ours

• Starts with Burnley at home. They do seem to have been improving - came back from 2-0 down to get a point against Fulham. Some suggestion they have modified their style to be less possession oriented.

• Our formation - lot depends on injury news. If Darwin plays…. 

• Predictions

Other chat:

• BLUE CARD! yay/nay? Why?

• Some chat about football finances and then there is Chelsea

It’s February 1st - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds reached the League Cup Final, are in the 5th round of the FA Cup and last night they overwhelmed Chelsea. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean, Daz and Enrique. We’ll look at Fulham and Norwich, do a deeper dive into the Chelsea game, look at some of the fallout from the Klopp news, and finish off looking ahead to Arsenal at the weekend.

Part One: Cup glory:

• Fulham - 1-1 in the second leg. 

• Lot of commentary about Fulham being too emotional to focus early on

• Should probably have scored another

• Difficult few minutes after they got an equalizer

• Closed the game down brilliantly with Konate and later Bobby Clark

• Norwich 5-2 stroll - least important game for the rest of this season (hopefully)

• Some nice goals - Jones, Darwin, Jota, Virgil and Gravenberch

• Return of TAA, Andy Robbo and Dom

• Why did he play James McConnell (who was very good) over Bobby Clark? 6 vs 8?

Part Two: Chelsea at home (xG 2.95 vs 0.56) - first time we have beaten them at Anfield since we won the League!

• First half was especially compelling, especially so after watching it back and realizing they are not the Russian state backed operation they once were:

• Looked so lively, especially Jota and Diaz

• Connor Bradley is 20. Toffee TV presenter tweeted about them losing players and playing people out of position, while Liverpool lose their best player and discover the next Cafu.

• Mac Allister, Jones and Szobozlai - that is some midfield

• Darwin 37 pressures, Alexis 49

• 78 - Darwin creates the chance for Luis Diaz only he will create

• 67 to 71 looked a bit disjointed after 4 changes. 

• BTW Nkunku finish… if Darwin has that luck, he’s scoring 5.

• By 75 we are back making chaos 

• They’re only half a football team compared to the boys in Red:

• Badiashiel, Madueke, Mudryk

• Cole Palmer - signing of the season (apart from James Madison!)

• Paul Tierney!! Surprised he didn’t give them at least one penalty.

• 3 weeks we’ll be back, said the Chelsea fella in the pub, So will Mo…. 

• They can’t be this bad at Wembley, can they?

Part Three - fallout, state of our season and Arsenal:

• Starts with VVD answering some mixed zone questions about his contract. He finished his comments (not reported in most places) with:

• ‘It’s noise that we don’t need. We just focus on getting the job done. At the end of the season, different things will happen of course but that’s for the club to sort out, not for us to speak about.’

• And although he is speaking about the manager search. Feels like it’s noise we don’t need could be applied to all of these articles. James Pearce we are looking at you.

• 4 goals in each of the last 3 Premier League games. Feels very 1987-88. No one gets battered but almost everyone concedes 4 goals (9 times in that season, although we also beat Forest 5-0 at the end of the season). On pace again for a 90+ finish.

• Arsenal away:

• How tricky do we think this one will be? Arsenal have won both their games since we beat them in the cup (Palace and Forest)

• They have Jesus back, we have Szobozlai, VVD and potentially Robbo.

• Line up? Predictions?

We will be back after the next Premier League game against Arsenal. Thanks to Sean, Enrique and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us. 

It’s January 27th - here's a bonus episode after we woke up yesterday morning to the news that Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of this season. Shock, sadness and maybe a little reflection on this amazing 9 year journey. I’m Paul and I’m joined by Justin and Daz to offer some immediate reflections and maybe some perspective (maybe).

Start with our initial reactions:

• ‘The loss of a man who can make a set of players far greater than the sum of its parts is a huge loss’

• What he shared with Roger Bennett about how he viewed success - making the world you are in better than it was before.

• In hindsight he seemed too relaxed at his Thursday press conference, and his acceptance at Bournemouth that VAR would not intervene because it was Tierney.

• What had tired him out - PGMOL? Game scheduling, the Deloitte money list, playing against nation states? UEFA at the 2022 final? Pre-season tours? German press talked about the job of a premier league manager being harder than that of someone in the Bundesliga.

The man himself:

• ‘He made us all feel that we’re not alone, that we’re all part of something. That we weren’t individuals with individual purpose, but that we’re all in “this” together. The “this” I speak of is simply the possibility that dreams can happen in reality. That together we will always be bigger than just one of us. That shared joy is the only joy that matters.’

• Neil Atkinson talked about his connection to the City of Liverpool - such a grounded person, with a belief system that fits well in the very left leaning Scouse republic.

• Jamie Webster said he was a better human being than a football manager and that is saying something because I believe he’s the best football manager in the world

• Attributed to Raffa Honigstein - he’s ruined it for other German managers as he does everything so well - the managing, coaching, PR, press conferences

Our best memories - too many for this brief pod:

• Boom - all of the last 9 years

• Barcelona, 2019 UCL win, the post match interview after City lost at Chelsea 

• 96th minute Divock winner against Everton, the Parade in 2019

• His appearances in Nivea commercials

Looking ahead

• Generational managers do not just come and go. Does this doom his successor to failure? Absolutely not. Jurgen Klopp has left us in a good position. The squad is rejuvenated with talent everywhere. 

• Examples of Ferguson and Wenger being replaced with managers who were a poor fit for what they needed.

• Shankly and Dalglish examples. 

• The next 4 months - how should we approach it?

It’s January 23rd - welcome to an extra exciting show that we decided was necessary after the Reds went to the windswept south coast of England and beat a very dangerous Bournemouth team 4-0. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin, and Daz. We’ll dissect the Bournemouth game,, look at some wider issues in the game, and finish off looking ahead to a big 2 weeks, with a word in passing about Fulham being played tomorrow.

Part One - Bournemouth 0, Liverpool 4 (xG 1.39 to 1.55) 

• First half was dismissed by national pundits - no shots from inside the penalty area. I left the first half thinking, this is a real clever tactical battle, apparently I lack insight.

• Bournemouth have a plan (Erik?) but by 80 they are exhausted

• Diogo Jota is ridiculous - his 2 goals came from xG chances with a lower xG than 3 Bournemouth chances. His 19.3% shot conversion is elite.

• Alexis Mac Allister was awesome - 14 duels won, 15 recoveries, 11 passes into the final 3rd. Gibbo said it was like he was playing FIFA on easy mode and everyone else was set to most difficult

• Darwin 10 assists, 10 goals this season - they were well taken goals, to be fair he was unlucky against Newcastle and Fulham. Slight shift in the national narrative.

• Konate,  and Virg (‘experience’ said Le Saux - yawn)

• And Bradley, Jones, Gomez

• We made the referee not matter (after Diaz challenge and Jota penalty)

Part Two - refereeing, ownership and P&SR and AFCON.

Parochially we’ll start with an absence of forensics on decisions that have gone against us - not a conspiracy but it does look like bias over incompetence, doesn’t it?

The Odegaard handball:

• Kavanagh initially said that he had not given a penalty because Odegaard’s “hand was on the floor”. Having watched replays of the incident, Coote told assistant VAR Lee Betts: “For me Lee, he’s falling down, he’s moving his arm in towards him, so it’s check complete for me.”

• Betts: “Yeah from the brief look I’ve seen, yeah, agreed, yeah, yeah.”

• Coote: “Check complete. Confirming on field decision. No penalty.”

The Kluivert challenge on Diaz:

• Again another 5 second review, completely at odds with the forensic team that they brought to bat for Curtis at Spurs. Tierney on VAR of course.

Ownership and P&SR:

• The narrative about these teams being held back from inflating the transfer market is interesting. Of course that’s not their spin.

• Forest and Everton….. 

AFCON:

• Mo Salah - who knows what the story is… 

• today Pep says hamstring has a proper tear

• Egyptian reaction appears negative (Klopp may have spoken out of turn?)

• Some exciting games - lots of winning but mostly tying goals in added time

Part three - looking ahead:

• Patterns - only ahead in 7 of the 21 games at half time, Most second half goals including 19 in the last 15 minutes. Defence and midfield.  

• Fulham away - Andy Robertson available 

• Norwich at home (cue Luis Suarez jokes) - Trent and Szobo return. Beck, Clark and Gordon surely?

• Chelsea at home - Tierney. Got to make the referee not matter.

• Arsenal on Sunday February 4th - watch out for their set pieces!

It’s January 11th - welcome to the latest show after Liverpool have been absolutely battered in 1 cup game and outplayed in another and miraculously find themselves in the FA Cup 4th round and ahead in the League Cup semi-final. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We’ll talk about these 2 games and the upcoming Bournemouth game and the 2nd leg of the finely balanced League Cup semi-final.

Part One - Arsenal 0 - Liverpool 2 (xG 1.76 to 0.64 - 5 big chances to 5 to 1)

• Outplayed and outcoached - BATTERED, they said. If Arsenal had scored all their big chances (3 were in the same sequence) we’d have been buried at half time. 

• TAA did hit the bar in the game the first Half.

• Formation needed a bit of working out - Odegaard and Havertz pushing high, creating problems with the press - season high 5 recoveries in our half.

• We are really good at blocking, or are Arsenal just poor at creating open play chances. Gomez (Joey!), Quansah and mostly Konate - immense

• Team selection - very strong compared to what it could have been

• Second half…. 

• Diaz chance, good save from Ramsdale, Jota header off the bar, Nunez snapshot was close

• Trent’s cross and then our one big chance Luis Diaz buries

• Lots we could say about Arsenal, but safe to say they are not on the same level as us right now.

• One narrative is that Havertz took too many touches - and when he shot ‘there were purple shirts everywhere’ unlike in the Liverpool store.

• Note on John Brooks - Harvey gets a yellow for one moment of dissent, Odegaard has multiple moments and the key foul and ….nothing. As for the man with Oompa Lumpa skin tones at right back:(). Oh and there’s Jorginho telling him to fuck off.

Part Two - Liverpool 2 - Fulham 1 (xG 1.99 to 0.48 - Fotmob had 1.77 to 0.29)

• First half - figuring things out with changes - still need to effectively assimilate Gravenberch (saw some Szobozlai moves in that second half).

• Be better after a full pre-season?

• 19 minutes - not great defending from VVD, but preoccupied by Jimenez and the Willian shot squeezes through.

• Before their goal we were just lacking a little bit of quality in their final third. Last ball just wasn't there

• They had a bit of momentum for a few minutes but overall it was a game we dominated. Second half the pressure ramped up. Commentary did their best to big up the Decordova Reid moment - only had to make a good pass for a tap in… That second goal was a work of art - Curtis, Diogo, Darwin and Cody’s flick finish.

• This team is relentless - there’s a reason they don’t lose many games. And the subs are a cheat code - Nunez and Gakpo, after being tested by Jota and Luis Diaz for 56  minutes.

• Conor Bradley - he is not an inexperienced footballer, but he’s not played much at this level. Love the Academy boys coming through - CURTIS!!!

• We have to mention Darwin’s offensive contribution (19 G/A) on the season. As well as his contribution to an impending coronary. 

• Let’s parse through our individual feelings about him. 

• The  chaos line is a lazy bullshit narrative that misses his incredible contribution. 

• Coote performance was not as bad as I feared - the non foul for Pereira in the second half was probably a result of him being told he was duped by the same player in the first half.

Part Three - Bournemouth and Fulham to come in just over a week’s time.

• Formations hugely impacted by availability.

• Darwin has looked so unmanageable in the last 4 games - more of that and goals at the Vitality would not go amiss

• We think Bournemouth will be tricky. They lost 3-1 away to Spurs and should have got something from that game

• Lineup + prediction. 

It’s January 4th. Happy New Year dear listener. We have now passed the halfway stage in the season’s Premier League.. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Haitham and Daz. We’ll talk about the Newcastle game and we’ll look ahead to Arsenal in the FA Cup and Fulham in the League Cup.

Part One - Newcastle 4-2 (xG 6.9 v 0.6 Statsbomb):

• Best performance of the season from the Reds so far, in less than ideal conditions.

• Reds were a threat all the way through - in the first half alone chances in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th 17th (offside), 23rd, 25th (2)  and 35th minutes. Dropped off after a series of decisions went against them and they quite rightly appeared to be furious with Taylor.

• Missed penalty at 19 could have derailed them. Came out with real attitude in the second half.

• 48 -  first goal - great from Diaz and Nunez to set up Mo. 150th league goal for Liverpool. Followed by Dubravka saves from Nunez at 50 and 52.

• 53 - really should have done better with Gordon and Isak. 56 - VVD foul on Almiron. Worst we’ve seen from him this year?

• Diaz, Nunez, Salah. Best from Diaz in a while, Darwin? Salah’s 2nd half was great

• 64 - Jota, Gravenberch and Gakpo. That feels unfair. By 68 Liverpool are relentless again

• 73 - Jones goal from Salah and Jota. Passed it round him twice.

• 77 - Lesson for Darwin, don’t hit it so cleanly! Mo’s pass!

• 80 - No one blocked Botman from the corner (looks like an enforcer from a crime movie)

• 84 - Mac Allister pass to Jota; Jota never reestablishes his balance. Salah 151 - 

• 94 - Nearly scored again through Jota and Salah.

• Curtis Jones, Joe Gomez - could probably name the whole team

• Newcastle:

• Showed some threat on the break - 30, 36 (narrow offside)

• Went full Athletico at the end with some of the challenges

• Dubravka - 11 saves

• What happened to the rule on the technical area?

• The disingenuous Mr. Howe… the xG was made up of penalties. And claiming Longstaff was fouled at 72 (deflect, deflect, deflect)

• Officiating:

• I counted at least 10 situations where Anthony Taylor gave them the benefit of the doubt - I thought he helped them throughout the game to avoid even more pressure. Soft fouls, non-calls (Diaz shoved in the back, and he ends up with the yellow card). Joelinton - how many fouls for 1 card in the 66th minute?

Part Two - Wider narrative and other news:

• Reds are ‘flawed’. Losing Mo could be the end. 

• 18 games left - Arsenal, Villa and United away

• City will go on a run

• Anyone else?

Part Three - Arsenal and Fulham:

• Hard not to see them as linked and the latter more important right now

• Formation - solutions to the gaps?

• And predictions 

It’s December 29th and we have reached the half way stage in the season’s Premier League.. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin. We’ll talk about Arsenal and Burnley, and we’ll look ahead to Newcastle at home.

Part One - Arsenal 1-1 (xG 0.98 vs 0.9):

• Solid performance from the Reds or a Rice, Saliba masterclass (London newspaper ™)

• Solid commitment to overselling Rice at the expense of the other 21 players (Barney Ronay). Quietly misses how effective Waturu Endo has become.

• Arsenal create very little - apparently half of their goals have come from set pieces, Saka is the leading scorer with 5, Martinelli has 2.

• Arsenal had the better of the first half perhaps - but then there’s the Odegaard handball, what a strike from Mo Salah (202 - 149 fro Liverpool in the league). 

• Martinelli has an open goal(?), Konate effectively blocks this shot and pretty much everything else he did.

• Second half - Liverpool dominate the game till the Trent miss at 72 - Salah, Diaz, Gomez and Elliott have chances but we don’t always seem as composed. 

• 53 - foul given against VVD - what have you been drinking says Virg to Kavanaugh. 82 Kavanaugh books Mo Salah! For what looked like an Nketiah slip.

• Strange chummy interaction between Arteta and Kavanaugh

Part Two - Burnley 2-0:

• Surprisingly low xG - 0.74 vs 1.98, but that’s without the 2 disallowed goals.

• Feel like their chances might have been inflated - VVD and Allison moments

• Tierney and his big chance reputation shows up again. Books TAA for what probably wasn’t even a foul. The canceled out goal changed the game - after 53. Felt like Tierney was going to rule out anything we scored, gave them real hope.

• Oh his name is Diogo

Part Three - Newcastle and any other business:

• Poor Newcastle, but they could sit deep and try to frustrate us.

• Formation and predictions

• Theme - Liverpool have given up as many fouls as a bottom half team - before the Arsenal game, we were at 202 and City and Arsenal were at 162. Just looks like they find it easier to give fouls (and soft yellows) for us. 

• Andrew Beesley - 5 teams have gone unbeaten at home since 2016

• FOOD BANK support and community

It’s December 21st and we are ready to take on the league leaders in 2 days. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We’ll talk about United and West Ham, and we look ahead to Arsenal at home and Burnley away.

Part One - the United game:

• It was perhaps too good to be true…. They sat deep, the crowd was not as big a factor

• ‘Two teams played poorly’ One of them had 34 shots and the other a generous xG of .66

• Arsenal had 26 shots and were worthy title contenders

• Nobody actually said defensive masterclass but you spent 1bn GBP on this?

• Should they leave Fernandes (#42) out more often? Guardian’s latest list of 100 best world footballers has him ahead of #44 VVD:()

• What could we have done?

• Performances weren’t bad - link up play was not optimal

• Gravenberch was not to blame as much as Michael Oliver

• Jurgen said that we were good in so many ways

•  A ‘Hairball’ need to be rejected

Part Two - West Ham in the EFL cup:

• West Ham were terrible - didn’t show up

• They said we needed a performance - isn’t that it?

• Isn’t this the formation they used to beat Chelsea and Brighton?

• Harvey Elliott , Endo, Quansah, Curtis, Szobozlai, Darwen

• Fulham in the next round

Part Three - Arsenal, Burnley and any other business:

• Arsenal 

• ‘Liverpool are flawed title challenges’ - not as good as 2019-20

• Build up suggests Arsenal have some of the greatest players in the world (#14, #18, # 22). Their results are so scary, are they really?

• Formation, predictions

• Burnley - 

• 50th anniversary of us losing 2-1 on Boxing Day - Roy Evans played

• They aren’t very good are they - looked good in moments, but they do lose in key moments don’t they?

• 4th anniversary of our Club World Cup 

• Kieran Trippier (#63) - TAA would have been crucified (#57)

• Number of Dewey crushes consumed in this show?

It’s December 16th and we are in the middle of an intense period. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We’ll talk about Palace, USG, and we will look ahead to Man United at home and maybe touch on West Ham and the EFL cup.

Part One - let’s start with Palace and Union St Gilloise:

• Reds escaped with a 2-1 from South London and are now top of the league - xG 1.77 vs. 1.11 - that includes the 0.75 for the penalty).

• Reflections? 76 minutes of not very good then we showed an ability to stretch the play with the subs. 

• Use of subs - Harvey Elliott, Curtis and Gakpo, Gomez and Konate

• Salah 200 goals

• The press continues to be underwhelmed in contrast to Arsenal (‘who are playing wonderful football’).

• USG - didn’t feel like we had a plan to score, and playing 2 at the back is very risky without Ali and VVD. Much easier to be the one young lad in an experienced team. 6 were 20 and under, Jones, Kelleher, Konate and Gakpo bringing the experience.

Part Two - we play United tomorrow:

• This is too good to be true isn’t it? Their fans appear to be afraid. I used to hate these games (with John O’Shea or some less than stellar player stealing it in the 90th minute)

• How much does the 7-0 from last season help them? Are they wounded? Who are they - literally what line up?

• Bournemouth and FC Bayern;) They are going to sit deep aren’t they?

• 57000 crowd

• We score early, this is over isn’t it?

• Formation, predictions

Part Three - any other business:

• EFL cup

• City, Villa and Arsenal

• Chelsea and Man Utd

It’s December 7th and we are in the middle of an intense period. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We’ll talk about LASK, the crazy 4-3 at home to Fulham, solid away performance at new manager boosted Sheffield United, we will look ahead to Palace away and maybe touch on USG and the possible team selection.

Part One - let’s start with last week:

• Few words on 4-0 against LASK of Linz. Goals by Gakpo (2), Diaz and Salah (his 199th for Liverpool). Their fans were spectacular

• Let’s dwell on the Fulham game - xG 2.7 to 1.5

• Were Fulham difficult or did we make it easy for them? 1-1, 2-2, 2-3. Neil Atkinson said the game was defined by what Fulham did (4-3-2-1 without the ball, asymmetric with Paulinho, Jimenez and Wilson in different positions).

• Trent was on, best Tsimikas performance (or did Fulham leave him alone)? Fulham attacked Virgil interestingly - he wasn’t have any of it - won 7 of 10 duels.

• Lot of people seemed a little off (e.g. Darwin, Gravenberch, Szobozlai?). Kelleher? Diaz - did he lose his pace with the injury?

• Great goals - favorite? ‘Where’s your famous atmosphere?’

• Title winning teams win games like this? Surely depends on what happens next

• Joel Matip ACL

Part Two - Sheffield United (A) looking for a new manager bounce:

• Having read about their performance at Burnley, there was definitely something different here - snapping into tackles, very (overly) aggressive, press numbers are up, pass completion is 47% (didn’t want the ball).

• Were we too passive last night - xG 1.80 to 0.80? Team set up not to concede?

• Salah - the 200th goal preying on him?

• Endo, Joe Gomez, Szobozlai better performance? Kelleher save.

• Fouls around the goals? Trent’s response to you’re just a shit Kyle Walker.

• 2 points behind Arsenal, 4 points ahead of City and 7 points beyond 5th place

We will be back after the Palace/USG games. Thanks to Sean and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

It’s November 26th and proper football is back. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We’ll talk about the solid away performance at the home of the team with 115 charges, we will look ahead to LASK and Fulham (and maybe Sheffield United away). And maybe cast an eye elsewhere…. 

Part One - highlights and regrets

• Team selection 

• Jet lagged performances? Ali - ‘he needs to be stronger’, 4 missed passes

• Overall reflections on the Reds

• City goal - 1.3 xG is some defensive performance 

• Trent (with his new boots), observations and performance - midfield excitement. 9 possessions recovered.

• Our second half performance with Diaz and Gravenberch

• A few words about the cheats - League One? The crowd?

Part Two - looking ahead

• No Jota or Alisson for the next few?

• Doak against LASK? Chambers? Jones at right back? Endo to start a couple.

• Less than 72 hours to Fulham, just over 72 till Sheffield United

• Fulham and Sheffield United - the threat? 

• Fulham did draw at Brighton but have looked a bit toothless overall. They play the Wolves tomorrow.

• Sheffield United will be up for it. Did draw at Brighton, lucky to beat Wolves, but if we score early, they have shown that they will wilt. Face Burnley next.

• Formations and predictions

Part Three - elsewhere

• Everton’s punishment

• Chelsea sequence 4-1, 4-4, 1-4. Reece James record.

• We can contend for this, can’t we? Kyle Walker - ‘not even close’

• Arsenal and Villa win, United and Newcastle also, Spurs 3 loses in a row. 

It’s November 15th and the 25th international break is underway. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz, Justin and not physically but spiritually Sean. We’ll talk about the quiet efficiency of the Brentford performance, look back at 12 league games played and consider any lessons from Toulouse and Luton:

Part One - convincing enough?

• xG - 1.5 to 1.5 on average. Liverpool’s post shot xG was over 3 (under 2 at Luton last week)

• Brentford - coming off 3 wins, more center halves than a team really needs. Tierney - arrogant performance?

• Our formation against the height and physicality

• Fit and firing - VVD, Alisson, and Darwin

• Stepping up - Joel, Diogo

• In the spotlight - Endo and Kostas Tsimikas

• Our home form seems to have gone unnoticed by the wider pundit community. Again it wasn’t on TV in the UK.

Part Two - To lose in Toulouse and to be held at Luton:

• Reflections beyond the immediate - oh no, the wheels might be coming off

• Looked very open in Toulouse, bearing in mind this was probably their game of the season (and maybe a few seasons). VVD not available

• Luton - just don’t think we stepped up the pace at 30, which we did against Brentford.

Part Three:

• Season so far - 12 games 27 points, good return compared to most seasons - 34 points from 12 in 2019-20 season being one outlier. Jurgen says let’s look at where we are in March/April. After City we have some very winnable games.

• City next - haven’t won there since 2018, but Darwin and Mo have some good history against them. An imperious VVD and Allison Becker. Formation and prediction? Away form generally - giving up breaks and chances from set pieces.

• Elsewhere - Spurs regression, Chelsea surprising? Arsenal haven’t been exceptional. Man Utd are not there

It’s November 5th and it’s Guy Fawkes night in the UK - bonfires and fireworks. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. As promised, special guest is Lingerr from the San Francisco Supporters Club. Also here is Daz. We’ll talk about the disappointment of the Luton game and look ahead to Toulouse away and Brentford at home:

Start - Lingerr, how have you been? What happening in San Francisco?

Part One - Luton 1, Liverpool 1

• Luiz Diaz - libertad para papa

• Bournemouth game was a battle with the elements

• xG - 3.04 plays 0.81. We have 6 big chances to their 2. Also had 74% possession and were only given 7 fouls with 13 against.

• Penalty shouts - VVD is dragged down from a corner - nothing given presumably because they don’t often give these unless you play for an oil state team (and then it’s nailed on). The handball, don’t love it but we’ve seen enough of them given,

• Darwin looked dangerous, but in the end, he makes one of the chances he has, we win 3-1, 2-0 like we had discussed.

• Dom wasn’t quite as on it as usual (midweek in the storm?). Mac Allister - had his moments. Is it worth discussing starting endo in PL matches. No Curtis:(

• Gravenberch

• Defense - VVD awesome as usual, Gomez at left back?

• Subs? Good bad indifferent?

• Carra. Do we agree with his assessment of us needing additional help? Is this a potential title winning season for us? (Lotta “experts” writing is off as a result of today’s match). Doesn’t it always look worse because of the cheats?

Part Two - this week

• Toulouse 

• Win and we’re in. 

• Do we play the kids? Do we try to get the rhythm back? What mix/blend do we opt for 

• Brentford next Sunday 

• They have 2 wins in a row

• What threat do we think they pose?

• Predictions?

Part Three - what else?

• First weekend where the stratified didn’t play out the way we expected (Brentford, Villa, us). 

• The fraud that is Mikel Arteta?

• United are back - ha ha. Ten Hag. By the way Gary, 3 penalties in 10 years doesn’t suggest even handedness back then.

It’s November 1st - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. Today we’ll review the Forest and Bournemouth games and look ahead to Luton at the weekend. 

Part One - Liverpool 3, Nottingham Forest 0

• Luis Diaz

• xG was at worst 2.95, with Forest 0.48. Most of that coming in the last 20 minutes when the game was pretty much won. Daz said 2-0, I said 3-1 - could have been either depending 

• Virgil and those defensive numbers (they are good)

• Mac Allister and of course Big Dom, and Ryan Gravenberch - this is cheating isn’t it? The interplay between midfield and forwards is unbelievable - looks like there’s been an elevation since the start of the season

• Salah watch - 196th goal for Liverpool

• Won all 39 games Jota has scored

• Darwin - overhead kick at 41, his ceiling is so high - hit and miss said the commentators

• Wasn’t the commentary shite?

• First 30 - looked like we were looking to figure out the gaps in a really smart way (haven’t found it easy to break down Forest said the commentators)

• Terrible error by Murillo they said for the first goal…. 

• Claiming Darwin didn’t know much about his finish - yawn…

Part Two - Bournemouth , Liverpool

• Team selection - strong (Salah, Szobozlai)

• Weather - absolutely ridiculous 

• Darwin - loved that they cheered when he didn’t get the ball first time. Goalie at fault?

• Elliott - close control

• Klopp’s smile, Cody Gakpo, 8 teams left and we got West Ham at home (I am sure they are thrilled)

Part Three - Looking ahead to Luton:

• Beyond plastic pitches and chaotic games (80s references). Xabi and the 5-3

• Luton’s form - are they firmly part of the bottom strata?

• Line up and predictions

One thing from elsewhere?

• United have lost 5 of their first 10 games and ETH says they are on their way up!

• Spurs have a more difficult run coming up - let’s see what happens in the next 6 fixtures

t’s October 28th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We’ll do a review of the Everton and Toulouse games and briefly look ahead, given Liverpool play Forest in less than 24 hours. 

Part One - The Merseyside Derby - 243rd version, Liverpool have 99 wins now.

• We need a red card and a penalty to beat this lot - not great for a team with title ambitions OR solid win given the international break

• The key decisions - which hardly feel like the 12 against 10 argument that we’ve heard. 

• Interesting approach to Everton set pieces - 4 breaks in the first 20, could have picked better passes

• Everton had an xG of 0.29, if we’d played the final third of the match with 10 (again) do we really think they would have offered much? We had over 2 and that doesn’t take account of most of the breakaways.

• Also bizarre that the Guardian’s report decided to single out this game to talk about poor officiating.

• Young - first player to get 2 yellows against us since 2015 (Sadio Mane) - are the Tomkins/Beesley messages about refereeing bias seeping out there? Penalties at Anfield, fouls on Salah, and now 2 yellows. 

• Sean called out the liability that Young seems to have become and we talked about if he gets a yellow in the first 20 for the cynical foul he usually commits, it will limit his ability to foul. That bit wasn’t quite right, as the late challenge on Diaz wasn’t great.

• Tsimikas should have had a yellow - to be fair, if Pawson had a better view of his 3rd foul it probably would have been a yellow. He just commits too many fouls.

• Konate should have had 2 argued Toffee TV. I didn’t think the 2nd was a foul real time but on the replay it’s clear that Ibou clips Beto. The first yellow did seem a bit soft though (and one wonders whether the Jota 2 yellows and the admission that the first should not have been given, played into this decision).

• The penalty is thrown in there as if it wasn’t absolutely blatant - but there were 2 non-calls that Marcus Rashford may have been given (one of which the TV didn’t even replay). 

• Some bright performances - Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szobozlai. Salah did not seem very sharp (but still has the most goal involvement in the Premier League), but Jota and Luis Diaz were bright at times. Darwin looked sharp when he came on.

• Briefly on Toulouse:

•  Weaker line up than against USG. Some great performances - Gravenberch, Jota, Endo

• Definitely using these as training games - will be even more so for the next 3 you feel.

Part Two - another big week:

• Forest 10am on Sunday (thanks to the UK clock changes) - what do we expect?

• Forest have dropped points against Luton and Burnley. Won at Chelsea, lost at Man City - 3 straight draws.

• Awoniyi has been out and they’ve had to rely on Chris Wood. They were potentially unlucky not to beat Luton (highest XG, most shots of their season).

• Reds will have Gakpo back but not Curtis, Tsimikas will continue at left back we assume.

• Strata beginning to develop - where are Forest? 

• Predicted line up and scores

• Bournemouth in the EFL Cup  - Europa League game

In other news:

• Only Mo Salah corner - 7 goals, 4 assists - 144 PL goals for Liverpool in 227 appearances - 195 altogether for Liverpool - well past King Kenny and Stevie G on the all time list. Billy Liddell with 228 in 4th spot is next.

• Mane is 14th and Firmino 16th in that list.

It’s October 20th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean to do a brief preview of what’s next for the Reds. We have Everton tomorrow in the early kick off and Toulouse at home next Thursday.

What do we expect:

• 13th time we’ve had this slot since Klopp arrived, nearest to us is 6. Actually does this just tell us that the Reds are really well supported in Asia and Oceania.

• Everton had nobody traveling or did they? Pickford, Patterson, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Onana.

• Andy Robbo injury - 10 weeks minimum James Pearce is reporting

• Tsimikas…. Lacks a lot of things, can we compensate or should we be looking at Joe Gomez in the bigger games?

• Jet lagged South Americans (they were on Liverpool’s video), Gakpo had one training session.

• How did our boys do on the break - Darwin, VVD, Dom big contributions?

• Jones suspension hurts - we have won every game he has been on the field

• Biggest problem is the inability change things from the bench

• Formation (especially in view of the training game on Thursday?)

• Prediction

• Next week Nottingham Forest on the Sunday - still no Jones but should have all 5 attackers available. Winnable games follow.

Elsewhere:

• Referees in the UAE…. do they not care? 

• Schedule difficulty increases for some - Chelsea-Arsenal; City-Brighton 

• United's financial transactions

We will be back after the Everton game. Thanks to Sean for joining me. And thank you for listening.

It’s October 10th welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin today. With the second international break upon us, we are going to reflect on the last 3 Liverpool games. Spurs, Union SG and Brighton. Apologies to keep you waiting for the fume about the officiating at the Tottenham Stadium.

Part One - let’s look back at the 2-1 defeat at Spurs:

• Let’s dive right in to the refereeing masterclass:

• Jones red card (Kovacics)

• Diaz goal that wasn’t - good process

• Jota 2 yellows (Kovacics)

• Hooper - refereed the game well said Max Rushden - beg to differ mate… Salah, Robertson cards 

• Gakpo goal was well taken - tackle on him could be the worst of the game

• 11 v 11 thought we were controlling it and about to take over the game

• 11 v 10 - lost a bit of control at the start of the second half but then were asserting ourselves until

• 11 v 9 - did absolutely great. Unlucky to concede but obviously a feature of the way Hooper had affected the game.

Part Two - Europa League training games:

• Lots of fellas getting 45 minutes here - it was great to see Gravenberch, Salah, Diaz and Jota getting a nice run out.

• Think we’d have had Endo for 90 if it hadn’t been for the Mac Allister meet up.

• USG clearly a level below. Only question, will it take more than 3 games to lock up the group?

• A word for their fans - really delightful 

Part Three - an entertaining 2-2 against Brighton:

• First 20 seemed a conscious effort to conserve energy and not give too much away (having had some recent bad memories at this ground). The set up with Pascal Gross as a third in the backline was a challenge for a while.

• Absence of 3 potential game changers really showed here. 

• Commentators sure talked up Brighton. Didn't seem to me they created too much after 20, certainly not after 30. Felt like we started to get more of the second ball - almost got in a few minutes before we did - out of nothing they said. xG 2.2 to 2.5 (Understat). 2 attempts between 40 and 70 from Brighton.

• The penalty - Gross literally drags him down and then acts horrified when the penalty is given. But Taylor is pointing to the second challenge.

• More difficult game than Spurs I feel. Gravenberch chance was really big (53). Pressing was good in moments as was theirs. Gravenberch looks someone to be excited about. Andy Robbo seemed a little off, Gomes wasn’t great.  Atko though Diaz was terrible, felt that was harsh. The set up with Pascal Gross as a third in the backline was a challenge for a while.

• Taylor gave them fouls aplenty - 20 actually. Yes, he rates positive on big decisions but he gives so many of the half fouls against us (including the one that led to their second goal), and I’ve lost count of the number of games where the Liverpool player gets the first yellow (usually for less than he’s let go).

We will be back with a preview of the Everton game (and Toulouse). Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me. And thank you for listening.

It’s September 25th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul, joined by Daz. We are here to look at the West Ham game, mention Leicester in  the Carabao cup and look ahead to Spurs away. Thanks for joining us

Part One - West Ham look as good as they have in years and we still beat them

• xG Liverpool 3+, West Ham just over 1. Revisit predictions. Not a bad team,

• We didn’t start particularly great again - Ali save (Szoboszlai foul), Antonio header.

• Felt like after 20 minutes we had figured them out. Surprising approach from a Moyes team - more open and intentional. Although I think the Bowen goal is unexpected 

• Salah penalty. He was awarded 3 fouls in the first half, apparently since 2017-18 he has been awarded 4 five times and he actually had 6 in the 7-0 against United. That’s 6 games in 5 years where he’s had more than 3 fouls in a Premier League game.

• Darwin - goal every 141 minutes for us - Only Mo Salah at 134 minutes beats him in the current team. 

• Salah ties Henry’s premier league record for goals in European competition at LASK.

• Is the Mac Allister at 6 experiment/move one for all matches? Or just for use when we are expected to have the lion’s share of possession? Helluva ball for our second.

• Second half, more like 2019-20. Controlled possession, West Ham had very few chances to get out, Antonio ends up being withdrawn. Screw was slowly turning from 50 through 70

• Guardian weekly podcast devoted not very much time to Liverpool, but enough to observe defensive frailties. One pundit suggested we might be going under the radar. It’s weird. 

Part Two - Leicester midweek

• A word about LASK

• Top of the championship, new coach. Could be tough with a rotated squad?

• Quick line up thoughts and predictions

Part Three - Spurs in the 5.30pm kick off

• They’ve started well - some surprise that they’ve started so well without Kane.

•  Maddison, Son, Brenan Johnson?

• This will be a test for us, but potentially a bigger test for them. 

• Team selection, predictions

We will be back with a review of the Spurs game (and Leicester) and a preview of the Brighton game (and Union St. Gillois). Thanks to Daz and Sean/Justin for joining me. And thank you for listening.

It’s September 20th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Justin and Daz. We are here to look at the Wolves game, mention the LASK game and look ahead to West Ham at home. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - game of two halves Brian:

How bad was the first half? ‘Plumbed the depths’ said James Pearce.

• Defense had a few bad moments OR was it overall a bad performance

• Quansah had some good moments

• ‘Terrific stuff by Wolves’ said the commentator at 10 - once again it felt like a few moments. After 20, it felt mostly us to me.

• Various attempts to have Gomez play the Trent role. Obviously wasn’t effective

• Mac Allister - why did he play? I counted 7 giveaways. Card was super soft.

Wolves tactics - after what they and Gary O’Neill did last year, I assume we expected a low block. Neto is very good (Wolves tried to find him at every opportunity - once we cut the supply, it was a very different game) and Bellegarde looks a handful (first game, played 128 games at Strasbourg).

The good parts were very good:

• xG 0.54 to 2.83 (according to Understat). Didn’t include the Cuhna miss at 34 minutes.

• Darwin is an absolute handful

• Salah (leads the league in big chances created (6)), Szoboszlai, Matip and Gomez front foot defending kept Wolves penned in the second half.

Predictions?

Part Two - Elsewhere and LASK

• Bad news for Everton - Burnley looked OK at Forest

• Chelsea continues to look like a team of strangers (happy for it to continue)

• Man United crisis - the backdrop shows an absence of ethical compass, the foreground shows a collection of mismatched players - Rashford and Fernandes are less effective at pressing than Weghorst, Ronaldo and Elanga.

• Champions League first round just started - Europa League tomorrow and hopefully the road to Dublin - any takeaways?

• League Cup against Leicester who are 2nd in the Championship and have only lost one game.

Part Three - Home to West Ham

• They have looked better this season than last - what does that tell us about Declan Rice?

• Three wins, a draw at Bournemouth and a defeat against City. They’ve won at Brighton and Luton.

• Less than 72 hours after LASK but not the biggest concern

• Everyone available? 

• Formation. 

• Predictions?

It’s September 11th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Sean and Daz. We are here to look ahead to the Wolves game, start the conversation about the upcoming Thursday afternoon adventure against LASK and glance ahead at West Ham, Leicester, Spurs away, Union SG and then Brighton away. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - away at Wolves:

• We had a nightmare there last year - early goals conceded

• They looked better under Lopetegui, but they’ve lost Neves, Traore, Jimenez and now Nunes. They have Kalajdzic back (and Matt Doherty)

• Unlucky at United, lost to Brighton 4-1, outlasted Everton and lost to Palace but it wasn’t reported as close

• Early kick off after the international break

• Some good performance - Szoboszlai, Endo, Darwin, 

• None of the South American contingent will be back till Thursday - Brazil don’t start till 10pm ET on Tuesday.

• No Virgil, not sure about TAA or Ibou. 

• Formation. Predictions?

Part Two - looking ahead and other news:

• 2 Europa League games in the next sequence:

• LASK - do we know anything, other they seemed very excited to play us - 3rd after 6 games with 11 points - RB Salzburg has 18. Couldn’t find anything to be scared about.

• Union SG and Toulouse are the other two.

• 3 games that look more challenging than this one:

• We’ll do a deeper dive but of this 4 game sequence what would be a good outcome - 8 points, 10 points, 12 points

• Once we are done with these aways, we’ll only have City, United and Arsenal away.

• Sidenotes: 

• Salah did not leave as we predicted last week. I read a lot about Sky being upset that he didn’t leave, given it fuelled their coverage for a week.

• Klopp win stat 300 games - 188 wins vs Fergy 183; Wenger 180…

• Ali was not on the Ballon D’Or list of goalkeepers - Ramsdale, Martinez, Ederson, Ter Stegen I could go on - other than to say you wouldn’t trade any of them for Alisson Becker.

It’s September 5th Labor Day here in the US. It’s the 7th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Enrique and Daz. We are here to review the Villa game and spend a short amount of time reflecting on where we are after 4 games. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - This is going to be good!

• Jurgen - Top game, most convincing we’ve been in a long time. Looked really good in possession - close to perfect. 

• Team selection and predictions - didn’t want Darwen to play and it be like last season.

• Szoboszlai - worthy inheritor of the #8 shirt? Hard work and the goal. 

• #8s who are 22 and have so much energy - made me realize how much we missed last season. 28 pressures from Dom and 24 from Curtis.

• The defense - lot of Liverpool journos want to talk us down it appears. Joe Gomez, love that guy! Trent - performance and positioning

• xG 2.86 vs 0.66 

• Officiating - Simon Hooper must be doomed, there is so little fuss in the games that he referees for us. Giving Liverpool a man advantage won’t be tolerated.

• And a word on Salah’s performance

• Finally, thoughts on Villa and the level they are at

Part Two:

• Wider narrative:

• 4 games in - thought it would take more time for them to gel quite honestly

• Kev Walsh - ‘I love the team, I hate the owners’

• Midfield signings - Ryan Gravenberch to start with

• Defence - Jarrell Quansah…. Was there anyone out there with more value?

• Our opponents:

• The Cheats, Arsenal, United, Newcastle, Brighton, Spurs and then there’s Chelsea

It’s September 1st and it’s the 6th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Daz. We are here to talk about the Newcastle game - review our predictions and spend a short amount of time on the game against Villa - 2 days away. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - comfortable 2-1 win over Newcastle:():

• I watched this one back and I think there are a few narratives that are imagined:
• Gordon terrorized TAA (3 successful take ons out of 5). 
• To be fair, TAA did gift the ball to him for the goal, he misplaced some passes
• And, he hadn’t been very effective in the second half - 2 runs early but not much else. Talking off someone with pace theoretically hurt.
• VVD was over the top in his reaction to the Brooks red card - the officiating:
• TAA early yellow brought back the PTSD of recent officiating. New directives only seem to be directed at us. Jason F’in Tindall
• VVD - ‘he got the ball’ said Robbo. Anger was a bigger picture issue.
• Joelinton - how many fouls?
• 2 minutes before Gomez was allowed on
• Liverpool were awful till the red card
• Not much going on apart from the few moments that are referenced again and again
• Newcastle’s tactical errors led to the comeback
• The Reds had a lot of positives:
• Starting at 55, Jota and Elliott made it look like 11 on 11. Forced NUFC to make changes at 71. Not giving Howe a pass but they needed to shore it up - the crowd had gone quiet. They got better control for a few minutes.
• At 75 we became more dangerous than them when Darwin and Jarrell Quansah show up.
• We’ve said before how much Klopp doesn’t particularly love midfielders - there were not many left at the end of this game were there?
• Jota, Szobo, Salah and Darwin all combine to make the Reds look in control. Salah, Jota, Trent passes, and Dom’s presence.
• Other thoughts - Endo on Tonali? Ali is awesome - and yes that allows some of the risk taking. Formation looked solid when TAA created the extra man
• Is it long before Eddie Howe becomes the Admiral Motti connection in Star Wars - "I find your lack of faith disturbing", says Darth Vader?
  

Part Two - This weekend and looking forward:

• Signings - if we could get a center back for the weekend
• Europa League - Toulouse, LASK, and Union SG
• Villa - team selection and score predictions

We will be back with a review of the Villa game. Thanks to Daz for joining me. And thank you for listening.

It’s August 22nd and it’s the 5th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by special guest Andrew Beesley (BasstunedtoRed) also got Daz, Sean and Justin. We are here to talk about the Bournemouth game, the state of play in the Liverpool world through Andrew’s lens and the upcoming trip to the other Oil state team. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - comfortable 3-1 home win over Bournemouth:

• By the stats it was comfortable. Last 10 there were one or 2 chances.
• The first 10 (20)?
• The 50 to 60 segment when we had them pinned in their defensive third
• The sending off and the reaction - role of Endo and Dominic Szobozlai
  

Part Two - What trends are you seeing:

• The attack - Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Mo? Where’s the space for Darwin
• The much maligned midfield
• The defence - one injury away from a disaster? Trent and VVD performance? 

Part Three - Newcastle away:

• Team selection
• Expectations
  

We will be back with a review of the Newcastle game, and a look ahead to Villa at home. Thanks to Andrew, Daz, Sean and Justin. And thank you for listening.

It’s August 17th and it’s the 4th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about the Chelsea game, the state of play in the Liverpool world and the upcoming visit of Bournemouth. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - The circus that is Chelsea:

• The good - signs the front 5 could run over people - conversations about pianos
• There were moments - Salah, Mac Alister, Szobozlai, VVD
• The last pass - is that a familiarity question?
• xG - 1.3….
• The bad - the formation? 
• Did they assume that that Chelsea away was like a bottom 10 game? 
• 2nd half big gaps between Gapkpo, Diaz and Robbo
• The ugly:
• Chelsea fans, Chelsea’s spending, 
• refereeing, Graeme ****** Le Saux
• The cavalry - Elliott, Curtis, Darwin

Part Two - Some people are embarrassed way too easily:

• Our failure to ‘back the manager’
• We’ve got Endo!
• Caicedo and Lavia - victims of a modern Ponzi scheme?
• Pretty sure it’s not us leaking any of this shit
  

Part Three - Bournemouth and beyond:

• Bournemouth - opposition research?
• Team selection
• Expectations and predictions

We will be back with a review of the Bournemouth game, our level of embarrassment and a look ahead to Newcastle away. Next week we hope to be joined by Andrew Beesley, friend of the Pod and someone who can help us dig into the numbers. Thanks to Daz and Justin.. And thank you for listening.

It’s August 9th and it’s the 3rd episode of our 5th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Enrique. We are here to talk more about how the pre-season has gone and look ahead to Chelsea this weekend. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - Bayern Munich and SV Damstadt

• The balance - scored 18 conceded 11 - I think there were 4 when VVD was on the field
• Defending - the over the top goals and chances - was it the press or the high line?
• Midfield look - the absence of a #6? Mac Allister’s role. Curtis?
• Offense - Szoboszlai corners? That front 5 looks scary doesn’t it?

Part Two - Chelsea upcoming:

• If Pochettino sets up 4-3-3, what approach do we take?
• How do you think we will line up? As offensive as the pre-season?
• What do we expect from Chelsea overall?
• Will Poch last the season or will they be successful

Part Three - looking elsewhere:

• Who do we need? 
• What about Romeo Lavia?
• Andre (Fluminesne) has been mentioned
• Tyler Adams at $20m - Reds don’t seem interested
• We are not fans of the foment around transfers, we are hoping it doesn’t transmit to the players

We will be back with a review of the first game and a look ahead to Bournemouth. Thanks to Daz and Enrique.. And thank you for listening.

It’s July 13th and it’s the first episode of our 5th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We are here to talk about reflections on last season, the off season and initial impressions of how we are shaping up for next season. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - 2022-23 in the rear view mirror:

• Three brief highlights

• Biggest regrets

Part Two - The off season:

• Trent for England

• Started hot and heavy with Thuram, Gravenberch and Kone rumors

• Szoboszlai and Mac Allister

• U21s - Jones and Elliot

• KSA - Fabrizio Romano - Hendo and Fab

• Biggest plus, biggest concern

• More to come in? Levi Colwill (54 appearances)? Romeo Lavia (36 appearances)? 

Part three - looking ahead to 2023-24:

• New stand - 61,000 attendance

• Pre-season, Karlsruher SC next Wednesday, Greuther Furth Monday July 24th.

• The competition? Boehly’s genius, City (Gvardiol), Newcastle (Tonali), United (Mount, Onana)

• The season starts away at Chelsea, then home to Bournemouth

We will be back soon to do more season previews. Thanks to Daz and Sean. And thank you for listening.

It’s May 25th and it’s episode 31 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last game - 1-1 against Aston Villa fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Introduction:

• Istanbul Day

• Rome ‘77

Part One - Villa at home:

• The deserved narrative for Villa.. Nothing happened for them in the first 20 minutes

• xG - 0.9 to 1.5

• Another time waster team who disrupts the game so much:

• Shirt grabbing, falling over and OMG the time wasting

• Martinez 7th yellow card

• Villa fans claiming that our tactical fouling was a bigger issue 

• I thought Diaz, Gakpo and Jones looked bright - heard conflicting views

• Didn’t think Trent or Salah had great days and then there wasn’t anyone else stepping up. Too much through the middle, over the top passes weren’t quite working

• Referee rant part 4,625: was giving the whistle to a man that Klopp had just punked on national tv the best possible move?  

• All the big decisions - penalty (can we get one of those), Cash shove on Diaz, red card, penalty, offside goal. 

• PGMOL - ‘plausible interpretations of subjective rules’

Part Two - Southampton:

• Chance to experiment?

• Chance to have one last beer with a crowd

• How much will we be watching the relegation battle?

Part three - end of an era:

• Bobby - 361 games, 110 goals; Milner 330 games - heart and soul

• Ox and Naby salutations muted it felt like. I feel for both of them as it could’ve been so much more for them. 

• Who do we think might be the other outgoings? Kelleher? Joel? Tsimi? 

• Connor Bradley is up in the air?

• New signings - MaCalister? Mount? 

• Kane - Fallon D’floor

We will be back next week after the Southampton game to do a season wrap. Thanks to Daz. And thank you for listening.

It’s May 18th and it’s episode 30 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz, Sean and Justin. We are here to talk about our last game - 3-0 over Leicester  and then look ahead to the Villa fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - Leicester away - 7th win in a row:

• Curtis Jones

• xG 1.73 to 0.53 (Understat)

• 3-2-5 shape continues to be used, Salah the assist king

• Two scousers scored, first time since 2006

• Trent 3rd time lucky - Klopp ‘we hit our own man with the previous 2’

• Bobby Firmino - Si Senor….

• Leicester - shout for the most obnoxious fans in the league. Won’t be missed.

Part Two - home to Villa

• Unai Emery, Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey

• Our line up?

Part Three - elsewhere:

• Confirmed departure of Millie, Bobby, Ox and Naby

• Bobby - we loved that man

• Millie - 7 year end of career move

• Naby started only 49 PL games in 5 seasons

• Ox - great contribution, felt like it could have been more

We will be back next week after the Villa game. Thanks to Sean, Daz and Justin. And thank you for listening.

It’s May 11th and it’s episode 29 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last game - 1-0 over Brentford and then look ahead to the Leicester City fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - Brentford at home 3rd at home in a week, but the next to last - lots to consider:

• Before we talk about refereeing, let’s talk about the line up and the approach

• Salah - ties the Gerrard record for goals. He’s been quietly brilliant.

• TAA, big chances. A defensive performance - Jurgen 15/16 set pieces. 

• Brentford’s tactics - xG - 0.2. Response to Taylor or an over reliance on set pieces?

• Ball in play - 43 mins, 10 secs - lowest for the Reds since records started in 2006

• Leads to another Greater Manchester man conversation:

• Every 50-50, the cards - Alisson! 19 fouls - the most since Klopp’s 3rd game in charge. Gakpo’s comment that it influenced how they played the game

  
  

  Part Two - the National Anthem stuff

• Only the usual suspects seem to be upset - Piers Morgan (‘pathetic’)

• Eurovision looks way more fun 

Part Three - Leicester and is this race really on?

• FiveThirtyEight has us 29% to get Champions League - was 9% on Friday.

• Leicester have over 3xG in their last 2 games, but their defense looks shot.

• We have got the second phase corner thing looking good. 15? goals from corners, Leicester are the worst in the Premier League defending corners

• Uniteds - Man and New - need 3 wins in 4 - for Newcastle 2 is probably enough

• Elsewhere - the miracle of the Amex Community Stadium

We will be back sometime next week after the Leicester City game. Thanks to Daz. 

It’s May 4th and it’s episode 28 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last two games - Spurs and Fulham and look ahead to the weekend Brentford fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - the rearranged Fulham game at home - as low key as we’ve had since West Ham in October

• Thiago out for the season was the pre-game news. Plus the fallout from Klopp’s comments on Tierney.

• 4 penalties in just over a month, can’t believe there was so much objection to the penalty

• Nunez - felt peripheral not for the first time. Klopp talks up his contribution

• Tsimikas as the left of a 3 didn’t look great

Part Two - the rollercoaster ride that was the Spurs game

• Liverpool’s performance

• TAA - fluidity is a challenge for teams (eventually Spurs brought Kane back to sit where Trent was). 6 assists in 5 games.

• Defense - Konate looked a little unnerved - does he need to be less front foot in this system? Robbo looks uncomfortable in this system doesn’t he? Back line - too high, not straight enough?

• Jones and Elliott looked like they gave Liverpool the width that created so many problems for Spurs. Could have been 4 up easily.

• Diaz, Gakpo, Salah looks workable.

• Nunez plays Richarlison on for their 3rd goal.

• Paul Tierney’s performance. The man from Wigan who has no allegiance to things Manchester:

• He’s refereed us 7 times in 33 games this season - most elsewhere is 5.

• Paul Tomkins Big Decision analysis (red cards, penalties) - show us he (although he’s not alone) gives more decisions against us than for us. Even though every other team that dominates possession come out positive here

• No penalties since 2018? Until the elbow.

• I think it’s the fouls not given and the cards that lean against us - the Skipp challenge on Diaz, the card for Milner, the foul called against Salah.

• ‘Of course Jota should have been sent off’ Haaland -cough, cough

Part three - brentford and other stuff:

• Brentford - they have looked a bit disinterested but have managed to beat Chelsea and Forest with very few goalscoring chances

• Elsewhere - Everton need Leeds, Leicester and possibly Forest to be worse than them to survive. That is a low bar. But Leeds have big Sam!

• Salah’s shit season continues - he’s currently scored more than Rashford, Watkins, Martinelli and Callum Wilson (who have all been outstanding of course)

• Most 90+ minute winners in PL history

• Liverpool 41

• Next is Arsenal on 30, Spurs are on 29, and United are on 27

• Most winners conceded:

• Spurs - 26, Villa - 24, Everton - 20, West Ham - 20, City -19

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Brentford. Thanks to Daz. 

It’s April 27th and it’s episode 27 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last two games - Forest and West Ham games. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One:

• Forest are poor aren’t they? Long balls seem to unnerve us - wasn’t the same watching it back

• Were we good and bad in moments or bad and good in moments?

• Diogo Jota is back

• Trent’s positioning

• Salah’s finish - again being dragged back

• Nicholas Cage - maybe a Forest fan?

Part Two:

• West Ham - toughest on paper

• Gave up a couple of big chances

• What about the midfield with Jones and Trent?

• Agents of our own demise more often than not

Part Three:

• Looking ahead - Spurs and Fulham at home

• Is it a concern that we haven’t got a defined way of scoring - apart from corners?

• Elsewhere - no mention of the Cheats - United and Newcastle

• Relegation battle - looking rough for Everton

It’s April 19th and it’s episode 26 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last three games including us playing like peak 2021-22 Liverpool for at least 100 minutes. And in part 3 we will look ahead to the Forest and West Ham games. Thanks for joining us. 

Want to get started by acknowledging last Saturday was the thirty fourth anniversary of Hillsborough:

It’s April 3rd and it’s episode 25 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last few games including being beaten by the Cheats, and to look ahead to the upcoming series of games.. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - big defeat to City:

• Klopp said he thought Gakpo, Fab, Hendi and Alli could be excused…..

• The ‘chasm’ that now exists between us and City?

• First half, if we’d gone in ahead would that have been a surprise? You think they were not trying? Mo’s reaction to being grabbed told us he was fired up.

• Rodri - they failed to set about him after the second bookable tactical foul. BTW he committed 4 that I counted

• Grealish MotM? And Jesus, the diving - the theatrics are bizarre

• Our 2nd half performance - like a team that easily loses confidence

Part 2 - elsewhere:

• Man Utd continue to struggle in the League since they lost 7-0 to us. Martinez and Shaw still got plaudits on NBC’s coverage though.

• Manager merry go round - Rodgers, Potter.

Part 3 - Looking ahead:

• Chelsea 

• Arsenal

• Leeds

Part One - last Sunday, Liverpool had a wonderful night at Anfield when we beat ‘Them’ SEVEN goals to NIL:

• The first half - Gary Neville - Jurgen Klopp won’t be happy, United were on top.
  • Overall xG 2.8 to 0.8, at no time were United ahead in xG.
  • Michael Cox wrote a piece about how Liverpool’ system was more like a 4-2-2-2 and United couldn't figure it out. Elliott was a wild card, enabling Gakpo to find space. He argued that Klopp may have enjoyed the 1st half more.
• Second half - They didn’t defend well, but the 3rd goal (Gakpo) was a thing of beauty.
  • BTW Isn’t having a 5’ 9” central defender going to create a problem?
• Arguably the best night in living memory that didn’t involve a trophy
  • Amazing privilege to be there - the crowd, their snarkiness and a referee that decide he was going to follow PGMOL rules around bookings and penalties

Part Two:

• Just a week since we drew at Palace - tough game to watch. Return of VVD was good. Needed something to go in (TAA free kick or Salah’s shot that hit the bar)
• Last Wednesday, the return of Ibou against Wolves - comfortable in the end. Nunez and Salah looked the part. All good, despite Tierney and the bizarre Warnock commentary on the game

Part Three:

• Bournemouth  - it will mean slightly less if we don’t get the points here (slightly)
• Real away - can we do this?
• 4th or even 3rd - is that possible?
• UEFA - ticket refunds all around. How would it feel if everyone at Hillsborough was offered ticket money back? Too much pain and suffering to push it under the carpet.

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Bournemouth and Real Madrid. Thanks to Sean.

• If the dust has settled, what do we think?
• Where we as poor as some would have it or somehow struck by the misfortune of it all and had trouble responding after the 3rd goal
• Team selection?
• Refereeing!

Part 2 - Newcastle:

• Were we more solid? Them going down to 10-men really affected the flow of the match - complete control to a slightly chaotic second half.
• We are the only team to have beaten them in the league this season—home and hawaay! Are they are serious top 4 contender? Lots of ties and they have the same number of wins as us.
• Substitutions: Do our subs this year seem to make us worse? Personnel or tactical/formation issues? Having said that Jota could have scored 3.
• Refereeing!

Part 3 - Coming up:

• Mindset
• Team selection
• Expectations

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Palace and Wolves in the league. Thanks to Daz.

Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

Part 1 - Everton:

• Were we very good or are they just bad? Are they bad enough to get relegated?
• Bacjetic, Gakpo, Gomez, Hendo
• Salah positioning different? First big chance in 2023
• Refereeing

Part 2 - Big games to come:

• Late kick off against Newcastle - crowd will be hostile
• Central defender options - some interesting data on VVD, Konate, Matip and Joe Gomez.
• Then, can we just beat Real for once without them getting any good ‘fortune’
  • They haven’t been great, but they did win the Club World Cup and beat Elche 4-0
  • Can we take anything from Barca - Man U?

Part 3 - UEFA, new Head of Data, more City news, have Arsenal lost it already?

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Newcastle in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League, before we take on Palace away. Thanks to Sean .

Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

Chelsea game:

• Their fans suck. Still singing the Gerrard song, 9 years later
• The commentary was absolute crap - ‘VAR ‘saved’ Liverpool” WTF? OMG Jim Proudfoot  was so negative about Liverpool (again). 22 minutes - Chelsea playing the better football… were they? 32 minutes - Liverpool really struggling:
  • There was a lot of flatter to deceive stuff from Chelsea. Apart from set pieces not much of a threat.
  • Mudryk sycophancy? It is officially the second coming of Christ with the neck tattoos! Irony of money from this transfer going to Ukraine.
• How has Oliver become this bad - Jorginho falls over in the box and gets a bail out free kick? Gallagher?
  • And his mate the linesman was bizarrely wrong on multiple occasions
  • And the hand ball - of course Thago didn't know anything about it;)
• Took us a while to figure things out - took the initiative last 10 of the first half and first 15 of the second. Then took Keita off for Darwin. Could Darwin have appeared for 30 minutes at half time?
• The press  - feel like Elliott can have a negative impact on it
• Gomez/Konate, Bajcetic, Keita - green shoots!
• Cody Gakpo

Part 2 - Brighton away and assess the squad

• Given how we’ve played against them both games this season, do we see ourselves getting past them?
  • They drew their last league game to Leicester. Leicester.
• Line up - midfield, attack, defense?
• Caceido transfer - the rumor they will take Ox of our hands for the low low price of zero pounds. And it has to be right now.
• Mo Salah - playing poorly or not getting the opportunities?

Finally. these beautiful human beings did something that was considered impossible

• 110 points in 38 games

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Brighton. Thanks to Justin and Daz.

Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

Part 1 - Let’s start with Brighton:

• Anything good? What was going on?
• Midfield, formation, legs, mindset
  • Mindset - bloody hell, 3 of 4 seasons getting 90 points, 3 UCL finals - hard to ‘go again’. And those lucky B******* at Arsenal are having it easy.

Part 2 - Victory over Wolves:

• 3 teenagers, absence of height, absence of pace
  • Bichatitch?
  • Pass to Keita yelled someone in our pub!
  • Daz - goalie?
• Konate, Thiago and Gakpo remained
• Keita, Milner, Gomez - all have been criticized by people on this pod
• Energy level was higher
• A decent refereeing performance - Andre Marriner?

Part 3 - Looking ahead to the weekend:

• Chelsea did win last weekend
• What formation and team would you go with?
• $400m+ on players - Kieran Maguire says it isn't as bad as it looks from an accounting perspective

And any other business:

• Miguel Delaney - Pep, Darwin
• Qatari rumors - James Pearce… partial investment
• Kaide Gordon

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Chelsea. Thanks to Justin and Daz.

It’s episode 18 of our 4th season. Happy new year dear listener - whether you are a subscriber, a casual listener or you stumbled on us by mistake. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. It’s January 11th - Reds have played 3 League games and 2 cup games since the break. Our goal is to separate the Twitter commentary from the facts. Reds are not in the best shape, what do we think is wrong and how can we address it going forward.

Few statistics:

• In the 5 games, we’ve conceded 10 goals and scored 10.
• City, Villa, Leicester, Brentford, Wolves
  • People have talked about our lack of threat - from my vantage point a 3-3 against Brentford would not have been a surprise. Leicester and Villa feel like 4 would not have been unfair.
  • Does listening to the commentary just adds to the negative narrative?
• Overall xG and xGA have been in our favor - against Wolves and Brentford it was very close
• Leaving teams in the game - xG has been relatively good, but we seem to retreat when we’ve conceded in the last few games.
• Pressing stats across the team have been down. This season, Liverpool have become more open when they lose the ball - losing the ball seems to have become more from carelessness than taking risks. Is that why we aren’t as compact?
• Seems easy to pick on individuals
  • Performances, but seems clear that Fab and Hendo are not at their peak levels

Looking ahead:

• Shape - wide open spaces. Time for the double pivot?
• Role for Curtis, Naby?
• Brighton - much to admire
• Wolves in the cup replay

Part 3 - Transfer window is open and elsewhere:

• Cody Gakpo and …….
• And $250m to spend next summer

Elsewhere:

• Chelsea - what is going on?
• More VAR hypocrisy - Arteta ‘scandalous’ refereeing. Lopategui and his Tactical camera
• Newcastle - fairy tale?

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played away at Brighton. Thanks to Sean and Daz.