Unbeaten in eleven, the Reds march to the title continues apace with even more capital punishment dished out, with Crystal Palace this time the recipients of the swarming, whirling, irresistible boys in toxic green whose attacking performance lit up Selhurst Park more than their luminous shirts.
Joined by Adam Smith, Jay McKenna, Ian Salmon and Simon Hughes, Neil Atkinson hosts another victorious big show live from the big room.
The Reds – Toxic Mustard.
Agree that we are the best attack after Barcelona. If they are to football what Buena Vista Social Club is to music, then we are a slightly cheaper pressing of that classic self-titled album played at 45rpm.
More exciting, though.
Taka Taka.
You know what, I knew Karius wouldn’t get mentioned. It had a feel of Russian or Chinese state tv.
Yeah, we’re all buzzin. Yeah, we’re all made up the Reds are playing brilliantly. Yeah, we all want him to do well and be brilliant. But, in a discussion about the match where all we heard for 63 minutes was everyone salivating about how good we are (and rightly so), there was one aspect of Saturday’s game that was bizarre and that was Karius’s performance. I’m getting used to hearing how good we are and I love it but you can’t just ignore the difficult question about Saturday and blame time. It’s not Blue Peter.
Two balls were hoofed into row Z for no apparent reason. He had 2 shots at him. One from Benteke was hit well but it was straight at him and he failed to get his hands to it. The fact it smacked him in the head can’t be argued that he got his body behind it because it was already there. The other shot was tame and he spilled it. We’ll get punished for those errors. I saw a fair few debates on Twitter over the first goal and I’d find it hard to defend him. Yes, it was Lovren’s mistake but Karius’s reaction was most odd (as briefly alluded to by Neil as token gesture). I don’t believe most sources in the press but if I did then I’d think Klopp was having second thoughts about who is number 1 is.
In the private conversations I’ve had about the match everyone has been buzzin about how we played. Then as a caveat at the end they’ve mentioned Karius. This is our chance to win the league. If we’ve got a weakness let’s not pretend it isn’t there or it’ll just go away. I know it was covered in a recent pod and from what I saw on RAWK’s Anfield Wrap forum I’m definitely going to go back to that and listen to it as I heard Melissa was fantastic, but this is my feeling – if you ran out of time fine but I said to myself after 20 mins of this show, they won’t talk about Karius. It was based on a number of things but primarily we know by now that Neil doesn’t like this negativity after such a brilliant win. It’s not trivial though. It’s the one and only narrative that’s striking fear into LFC fans. We also know that Adam and Ian have been very vocal in support of him which I admire and prefer (I’ve not criticised him once, the worst I’ve said is it’s too early to be giving him praise as we still don’t know what he’s like) but I want balance. I’ve got nagging doubts that verge on concerned and in truth, I was looking forward to hearing what others made of his performance and I’m disappointed because despite being one of the most intriguing he was left out. For the record, I don’t want to hear him crucified, far from it. It’s more a case of ‘have I got it wrong, was his reaction to the first goal fairly standard’. Why do our keepers hoof it out when other teams keepers don’t seem to (I’m watching 3 or 4 games at the weekend currently). Apologies, but it just felt like a teacher discussing the 1972 Olympics with the children and only concentrating on the medal winners and how great the Olympics are.
Good point Robin. Karius should have been discussed. He is part of the 11 isn’t he?
Karius does not look the business (at the moment). When Peter Cech and Courtois debuted in the Premier League they looked a lot safer. Karius is of a different style but I was hoping to see a bit more under the nervy exterior.
Nevertheless, it is early days. Lets hope he improves quick time.
Maybe he’s got luck on his side and I don’t say that sarcastically. I want him to be good more than any other player but he was lucky not to cost us a goal at Swansea in the last minute and he was lucky not to cost us the points v utd with his gift. 1 good ball to Milner aside his kicking seems worse than Mignolet to me. I hold my breath when he comes for crosses because the only time he got close to anything round was when he smacked lovren in the head and the best I can say on his shot stopping would be to quote Mike Nevin and say he got close to the Hull goal they scored. Yes, it’s early days and I’ve no doubt he’ll be a very good signing simply because I’ve got faith in klopps judgement. My only issue is TAW was successful because in their words it’s like mates sitting round talking about the game. My mates are not unique. We touched on karius after half an hour of saying how good the Reds were. I felt this was by design. The rules even changed to accommodate it. Front to back.
Fair enough point Robin but after 2 or 3 seasons of Migs being ok but not great with his own tendencies to brainfart, maybe now is the best time ever to blood a keeper who obviously has Klopp’s trust.
I’m not saying that Karius is beyond criticism but right now everyone is having way too much fun watching the stuff that happens at the other end of the pitch. It sounds blasé but ultimately true. Can’t remember who said it but maybe it will take a tough game where the shit is hitting the fan where Karius actually does some boss stuff and starts to look like the keeper Klopp expects him to be? Dunno mate, just a thought…
I’m certainly not advocating bringing Mignolet back. I’d be happy if I never saw him start for LFC again. I’m ok with League Cup games for him if that’s what happens. I’m not even saying he’s no good. I simply don’t know at this point. Yes, I’m worried, I won’t lie, but he has to start games. It’s him or Mignolet and so for me it’s him. Personally, I wasn’t overawed when we bought him but my lad told me he was good on FIFA so I was ok with it. I accept he needs time and for that reason the only (what could be construed as) negative I’ve said about him prior to this thread was when I saw some people on Twitter insinuating he’d done better than Mignolet and I butted in to say that’s simply not true. The reason for that was because I felt it was more anti-Mignolet than a true reflection of what we’ve seen (which isn’t much good or bad).
So today, I’ve expressed the fears I hold privately on here publicly as a response to what I felt was avoiding a difficult question. The reason I’ve done that was because during this show I thought I’ll be very interested to hear Adam and Ian’s views about his performance on Saturday and the contributors in general. Maybe, I wanted reassurance because I’m getting a bit jittery over it and probably know deep down my concerns are over exaggerated. He could well make saves that win us 2 points that end up being the difference at the end of the season. To avoid the question all together was disappointing imo. The shows shouldn’t be good news shows. If anything, Karius could be exempt from criticism as the threat we feared didn’t materialise. The long balls came over the top which was ultimately the centre halves remit. I don’t remember balls coming in from the wing and being crossed into the box but I also feel it’s probably a good job. So, I don’t feel there’s an alternative to Karius but at the minute I’ve got that feeling like in kids football when your keeper tells you he’s ill on the morning of the match and out field player goes in goal. You pray the defenders will protect him and not expose him because you know it’s 50/50 whether he can stop anything. You know that if a situation arises where a player is clearly going to head the ball that he won’t be able to anticipate that and may spread himself as he would if the player was going to kick it passed him. The fact that my kids team were excellent made it workable and we got away with it in general, winning 4-2 and the like.
Anyway, I think I’ve more than made my point now. I don’t want criticism of Karius from the show, it helps no one. I just would have liked every player mentioned as is normally the case. I would have liked to hear views on whether their first goal was as ridiculous as it seemed to me or whether there wasn’t much he could do. Right or wrong, my opinions on players are becoming shaped by all these shows I listen to rather than what I see and I needed help on this one.
I get what you’re saying mate about good news shows but to be honest, I quite like that at the moment. I just think it was a mixture of that and genuinely running out of time and didn’t want the pod to go out on a low. Who knows?
The team, fans and media are now starting to recognise what we’re capable of. So are other teams and their fans…and are scared shitless! The keeper and our defence should be the very least of our worries right now, and theirs for that matter.
(sidenote…my missus worries about way too much shit than is medically safe, most of which is either beyond her control or just worrying for worries sake. I tell her not to worry but I know that it will fall on deaf ears and she sometimes forgets to enjoy the very things in life that actually make her happy, because she’s too busy worrying!)
Not directly relevant but you see what I’m getting at…Jürgen and the team will smooth out any worries you have given time so just relax and enjoy the good stuff.
I know the keeper isn’t perfect now but I think he’ll be decent given time and support. The media and some of our fans think our defence is a liability to our title aspirations…set piece brainfarts aside I think they are playing really well. And everything in front of them is mustard and we’re winning in style so I couldn’t give a flying fuck about anything else in the world right now!!
All I’m saying is until we start dropping points, or performances on the pitch start to dip significantly then why not just enjoy the ride? I’m sure the shows will reflect any deficiencies if that happens but right now I bet Jürgen and the team are busting their schnitzels to improve every tiny aspect of the team, especially in the keeper and defensive areas.
Up the couldn’t give a flying fuck reds!!
Haha, in life I don’t worry. Don’t see the point. Most of it is anticipating what ‘might’ happen. When it comes to LFC I’m struggling a bit a the minute to cope. I’m fearful of how I might react when we don’t take the 3 points which has to happen soon (Sunderland at home). See mate, worrying again. That buzz when the whistle goes and we’ve got the points is brilliant though. Safe for another week. I feel I need to step back from it all a bit though. I’m placing too much emphasis on every game at the minute and I don’t think it’s healthy or constructive. Ironically, we have a private forum of mates where we discuss LFC. I’ve been getting stick because I keep saying we’ll win the league. I’m the positive one on the thread and people don’t like that either, haha.
Fuck stepping back from it all Robin…take a massive-bastard-eyes-closed leap forward instead! Don’t go folding when you’ve got a Royal Flush…GO ALL IN!!! And you’re supposed to be the positive one amongst your LFC group?! If you can’t allow yourself to be completely engulfed by these magnificent reds then it’s time to pack in and join those nice folks down at the bowling club that Jürgen paid a visit to. I bet that lovely lady who told Klopp she wants to see the reds win the league before she dies isn’t stepping back…let that sink in for a minute.
After the 13/14 bubble burst and Suarez left and we were shit the following season, I never thought I’d get the chance to see us play like that, or feel like that again for quite some time.
Then along came Jürgen…BOOM!!!
Haha, fair point. Rob Gutmann summed it up for me on his Palace pre match review. He said something along the lines of he feels he’s wasting his life away because all he’s doing is praying it’s match day. Nothing else matters and I’m feeling the same. I just want Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday out of the way. My point is I need to switch off until say, Saturday night then re-engage but I can’t and it’s not helping my life. Even on Saturday morning I remember thinking ‘fuck, there’s 7 hours till kick off, what can I do to make it go faster’. I tried to go back to sleep for a few hours as it’s less unbearable when you’re asleep and that’s out of character for me. I like to be out and about, pottering around. Personally, I think it’s all getting too intense. I just hope there’s not one almighty backlash when we finally drop points. Everyone’s head is gonna go. We’re used to winning now.
The other thing I noticed in the game on Saturday – I suddenly realised my chest was very tight and rigid. I have a habit of not breathing when I’m under pressure. My pupils were dilated and my mouth so dry I couldn’t speak properly because my tongue was sticking to my palate like a rave lizard. I mean, I’m absolutely loving it mate. It’s got the potential to be the best season ever as a fan and I’m defo all in regardless. I appreciate everyone is going through a similar thing but I just question the sustainability of this pressure on the body, haha. I’d like to be just a little less caught up in it all but still be loving it.
Funnily enough, I remember 22 years ago I was living in Paris and I really fancied this girl like never before. It consumed my every thought. It seemed I could only be happy when I was with her. Being away from her was torture. We had a 10 year spell when we weren’t away from each other for more than an hour. Largely down to circumstance of travelling around but even so. Still together now. I’ve got a similar feeling over the reds at the minute. That’s what I’d liken it to. Only happy when they play. Anything else is torture and emotions all over the place. Anyway, nice one mate. Keep up the positive vibes.
Will do mate. Until the day comes and we’re all feeling empty and sick due to dropped points after a draw or a loss, then nothing and nobody is pissing on my chips!
If I can save someone else’s chips along the way then sound…
Great podcast. I’m a new subscriber and really enjoying the content. Brilliant stuff lads
Great pod as usual. Just FYI – Elephants are really afraid of bees. So much so that African farmers have been trialing bee hives on boundary fences in Kenya to prevent elephants trampling crops and houses.
So Neil wins!! :-)