by Neil Atkinson | Apr 10, 2016 | Footie
LIVERPOOL’S most comfortable league home performance of the season did everything Rob Gutmann told you it would. It announced one young talent, reaffirmed another and allowed the manager to experiment. Liverpool played as many shapes as they scored goals and...
by Neil Atkinson | Apr 8, 2016 | Footie
THERE is a period of time between Dortmund’s equaliser and the pinball in their penalty area finishing where Philippe Coutinho has the ball in their area for what seems like forever. In that period of time the big bang happens, galaxies are born, dust becomes matter,...
by Neil Atkinson | Apr 7, 2016 | Footie
FOR this game versus Dortmund John’s gone with the facts. Done it excellently as per. Shall we do the feelings? The emotions? I like the reported German approach and response to football. I like it. The game as event. The game as a thing to look forward to and...
by Neil Atkinson | Apr 2, 2016 | Footie
TONIGHT at Anfield we watched two of the best 20 teams in Europe go head to head. Being honest, being frank, we probably watched two of the sides that would rank fifth to 20th in Europe go head to head. Bayern, Real and Barca a solar system away; Juventus and Atletico...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 20, 2016 | Footie
BEING brutally honest with you I’m not entirely sure where to start with that one. Liverpool were simply so dominant but every change made Liverpool weaker while every change made Southampton stronger. Normally you walk out of away grounds and just keep your...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 17, 2016 | Footie
SHOW them. Show them. Show them the way to go home. They’re tired and they want to go to bed. Cos they’re only half a football team compared to the boys in Red. Oh! Show them… Not quite as straightforward as that. On 42 minutes, Ben Johnson tells me...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 11, 2016 | Footie
THERE are three pieces here. Maybe four. Which one should we have? There’s one which slaughters: “The Sun was right, you’re murderers.” I like that one because I like Manchester. Manchester is better than that. Manchester is a working-class...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 6, 2016 | Footie
THERE was a line running through my head before the winner. It was this: “The record books don’t record everything.” This while Liverpool are toiling at 1-1 and down to 10. Thinking that will look like Liverpool have failed to back up one good win...
by Neil Atkinson | Mar 3, 2016 | Footie
YOU trudge out of Wembley. You have a face on. The face on. The face of yours that your loved ones know. It’s the football. It was more than that though, you know. It was the feeling you were part of an eternally losing battle. Against the system. Against the...
by Neil Atkinson | Feb 28, 2016 | Footie
I LOOK across on 65 minutes or so and Raffy Gutmann, aged six, at his first final, is in tears; tears rolling down his cheeks. He’s in tears and really it isn’t unreasonable. I have no solace to offer. None whatsoever. If I was six years old I would be...
