by Neil Atkinson | Apr 8, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
HIS shirt in the air. His shirt in the air and the ball has catapulted back from the net. His shirt in the air after the truest moment of quality in the game. His shirt in the air and he is absolutely roaring, he is giving it the big one in front of the travelling...
by Neil Atkinson | Apr 6, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
WAKING up and it doesn’t feel much better. Liverpool’s 2-2 draw was the most disappointing of likely outcomes, not least because of the substitution which saw Liverpool shift to a back three/five, saw Liverpool take a backwards step, saw Liverpool yield...
by Neil Atkinson | Apr 1, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
NIL Satis Nisi Optimum. Long been my favourite of the football mottos. Only the best will do. Dwell on it. Roll it round your mouth. You can build any organisation around that. You can build a football club around it. Only the best will do. There wasn’t a lot of...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 20, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
WATCHING it back. Watching it back. Overwhelmed and overwhelming. Ninety tough, tough minutes. Even knowing the end, the twists and turns take your breath away. What a game of football. What a joy to be alive. Manchester City and Liverpool duked it out at the Etihad...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 12, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
MARCH 12. Write it down. March 12, 2017. The last time Liverpool played poorly and won. They played so, so poorly. It is hard to put over how poorly they played. Poorly has a scale. Winning doesn’t. Football matches end and you get three points, one point or no...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 4, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
WATCHING the clock. Counting it down. Calling the minutes out — 83, 85, 87. Then Adam Lallana picks it up, holds it, holds it, holds it. Opens his body. Finds Divock Origi. And Gini Wijnaldum steams forward. Veins in his neck bulging. Lungs bursting. Body crying...
by Neil Atkinson | Feb 28, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
THE issue isn’t losing. The issue is acquiescing to being dreadful. To not seeing any way to stop it. To being so tame. The issue isn’t even going 3-0 down. Well, it is a bit, but the issue is getting one back and never, ever, ever, ever, ever looking like...
by Neil Atkinson | Feb 20, 2017 | Footie
THERE has been something distorting about what Chelsea have done so far this season. Something which has damaged perceptions across the division, especially within the other sides in the top six. The rate they have notched points up has left everyone else searching...
by Neil Atkinson | Feb 11, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
A FOOTBALL match, a tale of two teams, profoundly decided by one half. This isn’t to say the second half isn’t important. This isn’t to undo those efforts. Those necessary efforts. This isn’t to act like all that running round was irrelevant....
by Neil Atkinson | Feb 8, 2017 | Footie
THREE years to the day since the best 20 minutes of your life. Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-1 on this day in 2014. The first 20 minutes were the best 20 minutes of your life or you just aren’t doing it right. Your life I mean — you aren’t doing your life...
