by Neil Atkinson | Dec 13, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
LIVERPOOL were fucking crap tonight. Immediately after typing that the realisation hits that this is exactly the sort of writing which means that yours truly isn’t about to be offered Barney Ronay’s column at The Guardian. We could find a wry way around...
by Neil Atkinson | Dec 10, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
A WIN always helps. And Liverpool didn’t get one. A win always helps because it helps you shrug off what doesn’t go well; what you disagree with, who didn’t have their best game, what wasn’t right. It’s another edgy team selection from...
by Neil Atkinson | Dec 6, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
LIVERPOOL were downright irresistible. I’m not interested in messing about; I’m interested in the facts. The facts are that there is a gulf between these two sides. I was in The Kop for the second. Shall we have a chat about it? It looked, from where I...
by Neil Atkinson | Dec 2, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
WHAT a win that is under the circumstances. It’s a manager backing himself, his staff and his team, and them standing up for themselves and for him. They had to be switched on, aggressive and good. They nailed all the above. Imagine getting the teamsheet in the...
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 30, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
THEY flit. Sadio Mane comes across and Mo Salah sees him. Goes the other side and fills the space. No one sees this because right in front of all of us, the Stoke players, the Liverpool end, everyone is fixated on Mane. How can you not be? The pace and the power of...
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 25, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
WHEN I saw the selection I presumed we were in for something; in for a trick. I presumed there was some grand unifying plan of Liverpool’s intention, something to thrill and surprise. I thought it may be similar to West Ham or perhaps an unlikely back three to...
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 21, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
LIVERPOOL 0-3 ahead on 30 minutes. Fabulous. Up the Reds. I have seen none of the goals. I see the replay of the third in a Seville bar where they make me welcome. Drinks across the bar. A seat made available on a table. Nice people. This is important. Nice people....
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 18, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
THE new normal? Let’s not get carried away, but something is happening in these Liverpool matches. Something interesting (at least for us). Something we haven’t seen. The better side is mostly on top. There are squalls but they are mostly on top. A couple...
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 4, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
HOW strange was that first half? It was everything a football match shouldn’t be. Let’s be crystal clear — I’m not complaining. We tell ourselves all sorts of lies about the fixture list. We say “well, it evens itself out”. We say...
by Neil Atkinson | Nov 1, 2017 | Footie, Match Review
NIL-nil half time. Three-nil full time. The first half is turgid. Are you surprised? Were you angry? Don’t be angry. You are better than that. Regardless, if you are a half-decent football team and you got carved apart time and again — it’s worth...
