THE RIDER – PAY ATTENTION

NEIL ATKINSON, John Gibbons, Stephanie Heneghan and Adam Melia get into the reaction to Kanye’s booking at Glastonbury, Kendrick Lamar’s new album and they ease their way through the first half of the show. It feels like an album week. Ten terrific songs...
MATCH REVIEW: SWANSEA CITY v LIVERPOOL

MATCH REVIEW: SWANSEA CITY v LIVERPOOL

HALF time. Half time and my Lord, my hand to God, Liverpool look a mile away. As though the game has come as an enormous surprise to the lot of them. A day out at the Gower and Colin Pascoe says: “Forget this area of outstanding natural beauty lads, we kick off...
A MANIFESTO FOR MODERN FOOTBALL (SLIGHT RETURN)

A MANIFESTO FOR MODERN FOOTBALL (SLIGHT RETURN)

I TALK to Mick Coyle on his CityTalk show on a Tuesday morning. It’s one of the best things I get to do on a weekly basis. Last Tuesday we spoke about Matthew Crist’s piece on this very website, his ‘manifesto for the modern game’. I spoke...
MATCH REVIEW: LIVERPOOL 0 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0

MATCH REVIEW: LIVERPOOL 0 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0

I’M going to get into the game. But three things I want to bang on about first. 1. Play The Semi Finals At Wembley……if you must. It’s a dreadful affair Wembley. The London night, fractured — the feeling everyone is having more fun. The...

THE RIDER: EQUIDISTANT

NEIL Atkinson, John Gibbons, Stephanie Heneghan and Adam Melia plan an award ceremony, talk more flute and ruminate around the name Jeff. Jeff! Jeff? Jeff!  Ten great songs but you guessed that already. It’s everything you could want in one show –...
MATCH REVIEW: LIVERPOOL 2 BURNLEY 0

MATCH REVIEW: LIVERPOOL 2 BURNLEY 0

TWO of your goals to nil. Two nil. 2-0. The scoreline of undoubted superiority. I’ve seen few undeserved twonils in my time supporting the Reds. It’s a submission scoreline. It’s boxing for the inevitable points win. It’s 6-4...
TAW PLAYER: THE NEXT THING FROM THE ANFIELD WRAP

TAW PLAYER: THE NEXT THING FROM THE ANFIELD WRAP

THIS is it. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m a bag of nerves. But this is it. This is the next thing. TAW Player. For the last 12 months I’ve been frustrated. Too many talking points. Not enough time. Too many guests. Not enough time. Too much...

MATCH REVIEW: LIVERPOOL V MANCHESTER CITY

GREAT games. To be involved in great games is a marvellous thing. Only good teams tend to get themselves in great games. Liverpool have been involved in two great games against Chelsea and one against Spurs recently. This, the fourth, is arguably the greatest and...
MATCH RATINGS: BESIKTAS  v LIVERPOOL

MATCH RATINGS: BESIKTAS v LIVERPOOL

LAST week, when we decided to do player ratings, John said: “Do you want to do Besiktas at home as the first one?” And I said “Well, as you’ll do most of them, you do the first one and set the tone. So hang on for Southampton.” The tone he set was dead funny....
JOE ALLEN: IS HE GOOD ENOUGH FOR LIVERPOOL?

JOE ALLEN: IS HE GOOD ENOUGH FOR LIVERPOOL?

ON one of our shows recently, after the Crystal Palace cup game, Steve Graves said that Joe Allen ‘couldn’t Joe Allen himself out of being lightly thought of by many at Anfield’. If Mignolet or Balotelli have a run of nine out of 10 games there will...