THERE’S a scene in the film The Commitments where Joey ‘the Lips’ Fagan, the elderly trumpet player with ‘the hardest working band in the world’, finally loses patience with his saxophonist Dean Fay. Over the past weeks Dean has refused to don the regulation tuxedo...
ONE of the complaints levelled against Liverpool of late is that they haven’t had the injuries of the other title contenders. Like many blanket accusations, this isn’t entirely true. You can look at Joel Matip, Mo Salah (still not 100 per cent), Naby Keita and, of...
SOME people really don’t like us, do they? I don’t mean just fans, but media outlets, pundits, the rent-a-quote Mersons and phone ins. You expect the odd bit of abuse to head our way – it comes with the territory – but it’s more marked and darker since we...
DECEMBER is the cruellest month. Not everyone likes Christmas. Some love it, but for many it’s a painful time to negotiate. Maybe it’s like the final frames of It’s A Wonderful Life for you. I hope so, but I prefer to compare it to the main section of the film where...
THERE’S been a subtle narrative in the football media of late. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but there’s been a decided turn of events over the past few weeks. Such is the nuance that you’d be forgiven for missing it such is the delicate way it has seeped into...
THIS is all about small margins. With the clock ticking down to a disappointing climax on Saturday, Manchester City finally took the lead against Southampton. Meanwhile, 70 miles south on the M6, Liverpool were behind and struggling to overturn a 1-0 deficit. A...
THERE was a golden moment in the first half that will stay with me for a long time. We were all singing Poor Scouser Tommy – the everyday story of a dying soldier pronouncing his love of Liverpool FC while lying supine and injured when you’d forgive him for...
SOMETIMES, there’s no harm in admitting that the opposition just played better. It hurts and can only be said through gritted teeth, but it’s true. Liverpool v Man Utd is usually a war of attrition rather than an exhibition of pure football and Sunday’s bunfight was...
I’M not falling for it. Liverpool’s next opponents currently sit in 12th place with nine points having won just twice this season. The opening eight games represent their worst ever start in Premier League history. Their last away win came at Selhurst Park back in...
JÜRGEN Klopp will tell you it means nothing. That’s where we and he differ. While the manager will be looking at the next three points rather than where Adama Traore’s late salvo puts the title race, we can’t stop looking at the league table and wishing it was early...
