by Rob Gutmann | Apr 21, 2017 | Footie
WHEN I was a kid we seemed to be exposed to quite a bit of Ancient Greek mythology. I think whatever passed for the national curriculum in the 70s was still rooted in the basic disciplines of an Empire education. Those Greeks. All their stuff seemed so long ago. Where...
by Rob Gutmann | Apr 14, 2017 | Footie
A SUNNY Stoke Saturday. An edgy, narrow victory. A league position unaltered by the gaining of the points on offer. The occasion shouldn’t register on any scale in Liverpool FC history. Yet, the final whistle heralded a cue for wild celebration. The clenched...
by Rob Gutmann | Apr 7, 2017 | Footie
THIS is going to be a slog. I can’t quite remember when we last had to dog a season out quite like this. There’s lots to play for but the gods are moving against us. It’s tempting to pre-mitigate failure by noting that we’re having to stumble...
by Rob Gutmann | Apr 4, 2017 | Footie
THE Reds are teasing us now. They’ve been toying with us all season, truth be told. First day of this campaign — the Emirates stadium. Oh look, there are Jürgen Klopp’s all new Redmen smashing title hopefuls Arsenal in the face in their own back...
by Rob Gutmann | Mar 31, 2017 | Footie
LIVERPOOL FC great Alan Hansen once said that he hated the derby. I hate the derby. We should hang out more, Alan. I can tell you why I hate the prospect of the game itself — the ratcheting up of tension, the strain of watching a match in which you fear the...
by Rob Gutmann | Mar 18, 2017 | Footie
THE notion of loyalty gets a lot of airtime in football. Loyal fans. The loyal servant. The disloyal want-away. The loyalty of the board. The lack of loyalty towards a manager. We’ll support you evermore. You’ll never walk alone. You’re one of our...
by Rob Gutmann | Mar 10, 2017 | Footie
‘I WAS in a car crash — or was it the war? — well, I’ve never been quite the same’ (G.Numan, ‘Down in the Park’, 1979) Melissa Reddy of Goal.com and The Anfield Wrap posited this week that the Liverpool players were still...
by Rob Gutmann | Mar 7, 2017 | Footie
THE reporting of Liverpool’s renewed interest in Mario Gotze (by the unimpeachable Melissa Reddy) was roundly greeted with a consensus of eye rolling and head shaking by the Liverpool FC nation. Why do we want he who didn’t want us, and has turned out to be a dreadful...
by Rob Gutmann | Mar 3, 2017 | Footie
THAT beating we took on Monday was a real kick in the pants. Let’s downplay nothing. As the manager noted ‘we started badly, it was bad in the middle, and bad in the end’. It’s hard to recall feeling so debilitated by a Liverpool result. What...
by Rob Gutmann | Feb 24, 2017 | Footie
CLAUDIO Ranieri was sacked last night (at the time of writing). It is too obvious to state that this represents a disappointing state of affairs. That the figure head for as great an achievement as there has been in British sport should find that his team no longer...
