THE New Year’s Day game is the end of a gauntlet. A gauntlet for everyone. Players, coaches and supporters. Christ the supporters. What a testing Christmas period it has been. Boxing Day away, an enormous Monday against Swansea and now this. There are other...
HALF time and it is probably Liverpool’s best Anfield first half of the league campaign. Damning in one sense. Encouraging in another. There is tons of progress here since Sunderland. Tons of football. These footballers look like something approaching...
LET’S have a catch up. I’ve been banging on about being good in both boxes. Been banging on about how you can be great for 70 yards but what happens in front of goal defines results. Today, first half especially, Liverpool were second best, were dreadful,...
I’M obsessed with structures. You never want to work with me. I’ll structure you to death, put all sorts of things around you. However, once we have those structures, let’s go crazy. Structures empower. They encourage creativity, guarding against...
IT is a good job I didn’t write this immediately after the match. I was furious and frustrated. Furious for all the reasons you’d be furious: Liverpool not capitalising on their dominance, being weak as kittens in defence in key moments. Basically what we...
I AM drenched and broadly speaking lost, trying to get back from Manchester after having discussed Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United live to a nation who would prefer it if I didn’t swear or blaspheme. Bar one shout of “God in heaven”...
MADE up we won. Absolutely made up. Stupidly made up. Giddily made up. Why? Because it means I can spend all of this article slaughtering Lee Mason without anyone saying it is because of the result. I hate talking about referees. Hate it. It’s the thing you do when...
A cold, cold night. A proper cold. Crisp, not dank. Supplements your bones rather than making them ache. Christ, I love Eastern Europe at this time of year. We try to come here every year. Makes winter real in a way another downpour doesn’t. Sofia was plain odd...
YOU can approach this a number of ways. You can point out Liverpool did alright and were unfortunate, especially with the equaliser occurring while the solid Allen was off the pitch. You can observe the misses from Lambo along with the goal. Two chances, one...
THIS needs a power crawl. It’s a massive game for us and them and it needs a power crawl. Don’t know who decided that. Me or Graves. One of us. It involves getting in, and being in, the city from 11. Being there and touring it. Hitting it. Being one with...
In’s & Out’s – Ekitike, Diaz & Rodrygo: Gutter Extra
With Ekitike currently undergoing medical, before completing his move to Liverpool and flying to meet his new team-mates in Hong-Kong, where will the French striker fit into Arne Slot’s plans?
Ian Ryan hosts Adam Melia, Andy Bell and Mark Jones.
