THERE was a glimpse of what life looks like without Mo Salah, afforded as a subplot to a very derby-esque derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. Of course it’s not the first game Salah has missed, but his absence felt like a very real void, perhaps for the first time....
I GO through phases of swerving Old Trafford. It’s logistically the second easiest away jaunt of the season but also the most potentially stressful. It’s the one with the most edge. I’m going to say I can’t remember seeing us win there. It’s probably best I don’t go....
THERE was a deja vu element to Wednesday night’s partial “collapse” against Salzburg. A Liverpool team surrendering a big lead felt very 2017-18. Those were exciting times. Liverpool played some sensational football that season, but on certain days sure...
NOTHING quite like a “hard to gauge” European challenge. Salzburg are an unknown quantity. They could be mustard and yet equally they might be a bit shite. The mystery is part of the fun and feels comfortingly old school. Back in the glory years, when our first four...
I DON’T think I’ve ever been to Bramall Lane. It’s one of the few important grounds in the country I’ve not been to. Probably. Maybe I went there in the ’90s. I used to guard my trove of football memories so securely. Every game, every...
THERE’S a part of me that likes games like this one the most. If you love the game, are obsessed with your team, and every time they play you are tormented by anxiety, then you’ll know that simply watching your team week in, week out can feel genuinely...
THIS isn’t going to be a draw. Chelsea these days are a schizophrenic fantastic car crash of a side. Liverpool are nigh-on the best team in the world but one that’s just taken a disconcerting beating. The betting has The Reds as strong favourites and rightly so....
LIVERPOOL are almost too perfect. At times the football is so precious that it feels like it’s inevitable that it will eventually be stolen from us. When you’re in love with a beautiful football team, it can be hard. Take Sadio Mane’s achingly delicious equaliser...
“FOOTBALL is fantastic when it’s a morning match…” (Frank Sidebottom, “Football Is Really Fantastic” – 1983) I’ve quoted the late great Chris Sievey (aka Frank Sidebottom) before for this column. I love Chris/Frank, a man out of and ahead of his time, but he’s...
SOMETIMES I think I’m just wishing my life away. Last season has done strange things to me. Maybe you’re the same. I’m catching myself wanting the year to move along faster because I’m impatient to find out how this all ends up for the Mighty Reds. It’s funny but I’m...
