Category: Uncategorized

I was out all Saturday afternoon with our twin granddaughters. At just after 5pm I had a spare minute to check the BBC Sports Page on my phone. Arsenal beaten by West Ham.  A sort well hidden air punch followed.  Of course, it wouldn’t mean quite as much if we had a bad afternoon in Manchester on Sunday so my nerves were even worse than usual.

A point gained at Villa or a point dropped? Glass half empty or half full.  Mo, as usual, scores as does TAA. We go ahead, then have to fight back. Another two goals conceded so that’s 18 conceded in 13 games.  Does the defence have a case or not?

Welcome to Issue 310 of Red All Over The Land.

I know the days of when you could work your life out once the fixture list was published died with the dinosaur but when you’re the editor of a Fanzine the fixture list now can drive you to drink.  Or in my case a short walk to the wine and brandy collection in the cupboard.  Try as I may to keep up with what’s going on, this issue will be out of date by the time it falls off the printing press.  We’ve had our say on how the land lies after the League Cup, FA Cup, Goodison and Wolves but by the time we’ve played at Aston Villa and Manchester City the whole complexion of our life and times as a Liverpool fan could have changed.

Back to how things stood when I sent this copy to Paul the Printer.  In the space of ten days, I’d gone through all kinds of emotions.  Ecstatic after Tottenham.  Angry after Plymouth.  Shell-shocked after Goodison.  Left Anfield a jabbering wreck after Wolves before calming down when looking at the league table.  How I feel when this copy comes back from the printer, I’ll let you know in Issue 311.  Either way the wine and brandy will probably be called upon for either pleasure or medicinal purposes.

Going back to Everton, the game ended in chaos and sending offs galore.  Two of them were caused solely by Doucoure trying to incite our fans.  I don’t know what Arne, or his number two said to the inept Michael Oliver, but it obviously upset him, so he sent both off.  I used to see Oliver as the best referee in the Premier League but he’s not now.  I accept some of the abuse he’s taken this season and last was out of order but when managers, coaches, players, former referees, and supporters are all passing comments it can’t be a coincidence.  The free kick he gave which led to the first Everton goal was wrong, he will know it but won’t have the balls to admit it. There were others but there’s no point in going on about them because nothing will change the course of events. 

We await the news of our opponents in The Champions League and after the first legs it will be either PSG or Benfica.  Not for football reasons I’d prefer Lisbon to Paris, based mainly on past experiences.

However, to me the number one priority must be the league.  I want it so bad it hurts.  The fixture list is doing us no favours, but we must get on with it.  We need to rediscover the level of consistency we showed up until the Manchester City home game.  Since then, we’ve conceded sixteen goals in twelve league games while scoring thirty-four. The ten goals conceded against Newcastle, Fulham, Manchester United, Forest and Everton have cost us 10 points.

If you’re heading to Wembley have a great day.  Two sets of fans who should be able to make it a special occasion.  We’ll cover the day in Issue 311.

Just heard the news, ticket prices are frozen for next season.  Congratulations to everyone involved.

 

JJP: How does it feel to be on your own, no direction home, like a complete unknown.  Or a Manchester United fan?

 

Okay, we beat Wolves but looked both tired and weary in doing so.  It was possibly the worst we’ve played all season in the league, certainly since Forest beat us. The goals from Diaz and Mo gave us what some saw as a comfortable two goal lead at halftime, but in some ways it flattered us. After they pulled a goal back we were hanging on and even the changes made didn’t make us look at ease. However, this is a slog and the next three games will be harder. In the end, three points and the seven point advantage restored.

This was one last night in the madhouse.  All the stuff at the end was crazy and will be remembered more than the game. Michael Oliver knows he had a bad night but in all honesty, we didn’t play anywhere near our now expected level. We probably didn’t deserve to win and we certainly didn’t deserve to lose, so I’m taking the point and being grateful we’ve extended our lead at the top to seven points. Mac Allister was brilliant and penalised for nothing. Mo Salah was his usual self and given no protection whatsoever by the incompetent Oliver. Our defending needs to go back to what it was earlier in the season, but hey, top by seven points.