Welcome to 308 of Red All Over The Land.
Unfortunately, due to the time of the year I had to send this issue to our printers before the Fulham, Southampton and Tottenham games. That’s life in Fanzine land but Paul the Printer wanted time off this Christmas, so I reluctantly agreed to his wishes. I prefer the Scrooge approach myself, but he did ask nicely.
With Storm Darragh wiping out the ’derby’ – plus half the northwest as well, not to mention my garden fence, the final Premier League game we covered was that at Newcastle on a wet and windy night at St. James’s Park. The fact that we ’only’ drew maybe shows where this team is currently at. The draw was greeted like a loss in some parts. In truth considering the number of games we’d had I thought a point wasn’t too bad.
Seven days previously we’d beaten and outplayed Real Madrid and followed that by doing likewise to Manchester City at Anfield. When was the last time we played like that in Europe and when was the last time we’d played like that in the Premier League. Both opposition managers admitted they’d been, not only outplayed, but couldn’t cope with the Anfield crowd. Both on and off the field, that’s the level we will need to be at for the rest of the season.
Rumours still abound about the contract talks with Mo, VvD and TAA. The best Christmas gift we could receive would be news that at least two, if not all three will be at Anfield next season and beyond. In the case of Mo, he’s one of the greatest players in the world, and the world’s best don’t always age as quickly as others. Look at Messi and Ronaldo. To be honest it’s all got a bit boring, and the media hype and fantasising is maybe because of the tight-lipped attitude from inside the club.
By the time this Fanzine returns the dreaded Transfer Window will be open and a tidal wave of rumours will greet us each day. Unless the contracts are sorted, we know what to expect. We don’t usually bring anyone in, but we can hope.
So, as I send this off to Mister Printer, we are four points clear in The Premier League with a game in hand. We could get a slight easing off from the overloaded fixtures by finishing in the top eight of the European League [AKA Champions League] and after six games we’re just about home and hosed but they’ll probably stick the rearranged derby in there somewhere. I’m looking forward to watching Accrington Stanley at Anfield in the FA Cup and a good run in this competition is always welcome even if it does add more fixtures to the list. It’s been said before, fixture overload is the price of success.
An interesting 2025 could be on the cards. Let’s Make It A Good One [circa John Lennon].
JJP: Don’t mock those who still believe in Father Christmas no matter what their age. Remember, there are still Evertonians who believe Everton are bigger and better than Liverpool.