Welcome to Issue 277 of Red All Over The Land.
First, my apologies for a couple of typing errors in the last Editorial; I should not leave things until the last minute but sometimes I have to.
In the last Issue, after the win at Old Trafford I said, I did not know how good this team of ours might be. I added that we could not bathe in the glory because games come thick and fast, and we will only be as good as our last result. Well, our last result was not that good and as far as The Premier League’s concerned, we were not particularly good in the one before either. In between we beat Atlético with a degree of comfort and ensured we would top our group and can now leave Champions League football off the list of priorities until February and we are in the Quarter Finals of The Carabao Cup. So, not all doom then? Although if you read Social Media, you could be forgiven for thinking the world was ending.
As far as the games against Brighton and West Ham are concerned, by the time this Issue went to the printer both had been analysed by everyone so no point in doing so here. We all know what went wrong but I will chip in and say, I did not expect to see us conceding the goals we have started to concede and that was before Brighton and West Ham.
One thing is obvious, we do not have the strength in depth that others do. In times of emergency, we bring on Divock Origi or Taka Minamino, hardly a frightening prospect to the opposition. I think the Divock goal at the London Stadium was his first in The Premier League for two years. We can possibly lay the blame for a shortage of forwards on a lack of investment because it is obvious we need a better level of cover. However, last season it was defenders, now it is either midfield or up front. January should be the time to address the situation, but I do not think we will be holding our breath.
I went into the stadium earlier than normal for the game against Atlético having been told I could ‘enjoy the pre-match build up.’ There were no TV screens on, people were buying a fair bit of the ‘bargain’ priced Carlsberg [and its only Carlsberg which slots into the ‘bargain’ category, everything else remains overpriced] but there was nothing happening that would entice me to get in early again. Peter McDowall shouted out the teams about fifteen minutes before kick-off with the ground still only three-quarters full [at best] and the score from the early kick off in our group was not announced – even at halftime. To be fair, getting in has become easier but if the club want to get people in to enjoy the ‘pre-match build up,’ then make sure there is a ‘pre-match build up.’
This Issue comes out around the 26th anniversary of Issue One. It has been a long journey. Thank you to all those who have made it possible. See the articles about selling Fanzines.
This Issue should be on sale at the games against Arsenal, Porto, and Southampton and the away game at Wolverhampton. The next one is planned for the home game v Villa! That has suddenly taken on a new level of interest hasn’t it?
JJP: I asked somebody where have all the prophets of doom that used to stand around Anfield predicting hellfire and damnation gone. He said, “They’ve got season tickets at Goodison.”