Our immediate post-match show is the most explosive of reactions to Liverpool’s most recent game. Recorded before the ink is close to drying, it is the show to hear The Anfield Wrap at it most full-throated, whether joyous in victory or broken in defeat.
After the Lord Mayor’s Show, Neil Atkinson and Craig hannan try to pick the bones out of Liverpool’s final friendly fixture of the pre-season where the Reds lost heavily by four goals to nil to Mainz only twenty four hours after humbling Barcelona by the same score.
Sobering? Maybe.
THUMP
I listened to both these Pinks late last night back to back so in a sense, it’s a combined comment.
Firstly, the result yesterday doesn’t concern me in the least. Maybe the fact the match happened does but I read on Twitter it was an agreement of the Karius deal. I can see that having some credence. Don’t know the price to get in or the attendance but with hot dog sales it could be getting close to another half a mill euros.
My issue comes with Matip. I said to a friend who hadn’t seen it that he looked wank to which he replied ‘it’s his first game back isn’t it’. Well, true, but that doesn’t make me any less concerned. I thought there were a lot of things about his game which were bizarre to say the least.
I had exactly the same thoughts about Ings as Neil mentioned, great minds and all that. I’m also wondering if Henderson is a guaranteed starter under Klopp. I’m not convinced. Kavlan has to be. Don’t really see the point in keeping Wisdom which brings me nicely to my final point.
I think Senior talks a lot of sense. I completely don’t buy his views on the LB though. I find it unfathomable. I made an analogy on Rob’s Unwrapped which I quite liked, and so will repeat, that if I have friends round for dinner and go to the hassle of cooking a great Sunday roast but then decide to save a quid and not have gravy they’d think I was a fuckin weirdo. Why would anyone do that? Reminds me of when I lived in France and they used to put Pate on their croissants. It’s odd behaviour.
Milner is now out but much as he looks great going forward he gets caught short in defence, after all he’s not a left back. Similar could be said for Moreno, except he’s not great going forward. I saw a discussion on Twitter between Neil and Si Steers. Someone else butted in with Clyne can also cover at left back. Well, who then plays right back? We get our fair share of injuries. Let’s just say Moreno and Clyne get injured this week. The whole team is exposed. We look good across the board. It’s folly to neglect the final piece of the jigsaw. Let’s be less pessimistic and say only Clyne gets injured. We’re still exposed down both flanks, even when Milner returns.
Ok, not so much against Hull, Burnley et al but this season could be decided on points against the top 6. We can’t gift them such weakness. Would any of the others have a RB and a liability at LB and absolutely NO cover of note. Well, I can tell you they don’t. It’s a simple business case. Don’t give me this bollocks about Moreno being the 6th best and it’s hard to find better. It’s complete bullshit. There are over a 1000 top flight left backs in Europe. We’ll have a midfielder there. Failing that we’ll have a centre half and failing that we’ll have academy players.
I heard another rumour last month that Burnley were prepared to switch the game if we gave them a loanee. I didn’t believe it but now I do.