Great Suprendo*

@henrywinter @Batchowski20x Henry, these are very good questions amongst many that those who watch us regularly have no idea of the answers to.

Mo Salah not the force he was, he’s leaving Liverpool but… trailing 2-0 and not bringing on an attacker who’s still Footballer of the Year and instead bringing on an 18-year-old midfielder in Nyoni seems strange. And why Gakpo not Ngumoha? #PSGLIV

@henrywinter If he’s not going to put him in as a full back then stick him down as a midfielder. That right food can’t be left watching the World Cup from a sofa. I’m not saying start him but there will be times where crosses etc are needed.

Few players could conjure up a cross as Trent Alexander-Arnold did for Kylian Mbappe against Bayern in the Bernabeu. Few could see the perfect place to put the ball for Mbappe let alone execute the pass. Alexander-Arnold could. Vision and technique. Other countries would celebrate such a talent. He’s won the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool. He now starts for Real Madrid. Yet can’t make a 36-man England squad for a couple of friendlies. Neither of which England won. Alexander-Arnold did show why the watching Thomas Tuchel has concerns about him defensively. Few expect England’s head coach to pick him in his World Cup 26. Reece James, fitness permitting, and probably Tino Livramento are Tuchel’s right-back picks. But Alexander-Arnold showed the huge reward that goes with occasional risk. His dead-ball delivery and crossing are world class. Can Tuchel really leave such a game-changing talent behind? He probably will. And there will be crunch moments in the knockout stages, late on in tight games against far more testing opposition than England swanned past in qualifying, perhaps even in a penalty shootout, when England will regret not having Alexander-Arnold's right foot to kick-start their recovery. His club-mate, Jude Bellingham, showed at the Bernabeu why he has to start at 10 for England at the World Cup. Big-game player, came on and brought more menace to Real. His strong personality, technical and physical qualities are needed in pressure situations. Tuchel has exceptional options at 10, and Morgan Rogers is a Tuchel favourite, but Bellingham is world class. He has to start. #ENG #RMCF #RMABAY

@johngibbonsblog @gavinjoneslive If Slot has anything about him he should start his team meeting by pressing play on this then walk out. I’m all for giving Slot some shot this season, he deserves it, but some of this lot are robbing a living.

@gavinjoneslive I think there is every chance they think I’m a bellend 😂 But you’ve got to try

I think there is every chance that the players show each other this - I hope so. Well done @johngibbonsblog 🙌🏻

@LfcNuel This might be the best click bait ever. He’s not said that surely?! 😂

🚨🗣️ Liam Rosenior on Liverpool’s upcoming Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain: “People are going to get romantic about Anfield under the lights, but I don’t care, this Liverpool team is living off a reputation they built half a decade ago. PSG are going to expose it. When Paris turn up the intensity, Liverpool won't look like mental monsters… they’ll look like a training cone. We keep hearing ‘European royalty, European royalty’ based on what? Aura? Because I don’t see resilience this season, I see a side that has already lost over 15 games. I see a defense that is terrified of pace in behind. We felt what PSG can do firsthand, they put eight past us, and let me tell you: the real top teams stand their ground. This Liverpool side just hides behind the noise of their crowd. And let’s be honest, if their name wasn’t Liverpool, we’d be having a very different conversation right now. To be sitting in fifth place, clinging to past glories while fighting for your lives, should be ruthless territory. But somehow, they keep getting the benefit of the doubt while others get slaughtered. For me? This Liverpool side isn't elite anymore. It isn't even resilient. It is fragile… and fragile gets you humiliated by Paris.”

@PaulSenior1 Brilliant this. It’s unbelievable how only 18 months ago we would never have been speaking like this. The culture has changed and that comes from the top. As much shit as Slot is getting, and rightly so, many of these players need to remember who they are playing for.

“They won’t hit the players cos the club will revoke their access” John just put you and your silly argument all to bed with some of the best fan punditry you’ve ever seen here. Outstanding

@StevenD1977 @stehoare Fulham is far more important than PSG. Let’s be honest, to win the CL with who is left in given the state of us is unrealistic. Those CL spots are a must regardless of who the manager is.

@stehoare I’ve still got a feeling it could be in the next 9 days if we’re exit CL and Fulham doesn’t go well Gives a new guy/interim a few days, then irs one game a week so the lack of fitness issue Slot seems to have introduced won’t be as big a factor

If they do change the manager, it won’t be until the summer at the earliest. I think the idea that 2 legs against the European Champions are make-or-break is a bit far-fetched.

@scouserlfc1892 Let’s put it this way if how to pick someone to take a penalty to save my life it wouldn’t be him

@Gr8Suprendo The quality of them was 18 and 13 in a row hit the net 😅

I would've put a lot of money on him missing that pen.

@scouserlfc1892 You’ve missed my point. I know his record is decent I’ve just never been convinced by the quality of his penalties.

@Gr8Suprendo At one point he scored 18 pens in a row Then scored 13 in a row But he wasnt good at pens

@StevenD1977 PSG may as well go on a 3 day bender in preparation for Wednesday night.

Even forgetting ‘new manager bounce’, surely it’s wise to try and get someone in now. With the WC, players only come back around August. Thats no time to assess, sell the unwanted, buy and integrate. Changing now gives a head start on the assessment stage before the window opens

@StevenD1977 And coasted is the right word. Good teams don’t have to get out of 2nd gear against us. Quick burst for 10 mins and we’re done.

Reminder: We beat these twice last season. This season they have coasted to 3 wins against us.

This isn’t all on the manager but his position is untenable now. Getting pumped by anyone half decent in all competitions. Miles off it and there does t appear to be any confidence from anyone that he can sort it. #lfc

@StevenD1977 Ye exactly. Errors everywhere.

@Gr8Suprendo And then Ibou letting his runner get goal side. Great move but equally awful defending

Thought we played pretty well until the penalty and if we got to half time at 1 we were in it. That second could be killer. Jones dawdling on the ball, Nunez given all day to pick a pass and Ibou losing the striker. Awful goal to concede, awful time too concede it

@henrywinter The fact Trent can’t get in this England squad is MENTAL!

If England are without Kane at any point at the World Cup (God forbid) … why not try out now a real No 9 like Solanke, rather than a false one like Foden (who’s better elsewhere)? Or look at Rashford or Gordon, who can both play through the middle. #ENG

@henrywinter I’ve tried explaining this to some people on social media and all I get back is I’m talking nonsense and he can’t defend. Firstly, he can defend, there are just others who are better. Secondly, and most importantly, he is the best player with the ball at his feet. Crazy.

Still can’t believe that England are going to the World Cup without arguably their best passer. Watching fringe candidates labour at Wembley highlights even more the nonsense of Alexander-Arnold’s omission. He’s a game-changing option from the bench. If you have pace out wide in Gordon/Rashford and Saka/Madueke/Bowen and want to launch a quick counter, TAA can deliver. If England are in a shoutout, he can deliver. Risk/reward. #ENG

@SternhammerWulf @AnfieldEdition On Salah’s best day he wasn’t the player John Barnes was. Salah is/was phenomenal. But he was never described as unplayable. John Barnes was.

@AnfieldEdition Salah was better than Barnes

Today has shown just how little people understand how good Graeme Souness, Ian Rush and John Barnes were.

@henrywinter Glad you finished that with ‘mad’. We must have some squad if Trent can’t get in it…

Thomas Tuchel spoke to Trent Alexander-Arnold about why he’s been left out of England friendlies. “I know it creates noise when you leave a player like Trent out. We had a call, I tried to explain the situation. He just has to accept it. It’s just a choice. A ‘sportive’ choice. A difficult choice and maybe a hard choice - and maybe to a certain degree unfair, but these choices have to be made. “I think I know what Trent can give us, so the choice was for Ben (White) and for Tino Livramento, to stick with the guys who actually had good camps with us in September, November, December. They also need the minutes and there are a lot of good players for this position and Djed Spence as well, who fights for a ticket.” Mad. #ENG

@TheAnfieldWrap Random one this, but tunnel cam from the Arsenal game where he won the ball from their last man. He goes through at pace, 2 seconds later chased by everyone else.

What’s your favourite Mo moment? 🇪🇬👇

@eddiegibbs I wonder if he’s been told Slot is staying and that’s why he’s pushed for this.

🟥 What happens next is all that matters now. Like it or not, Salah leaving was inevitable. But this is the real turning point. How Liverpool rebuild, how they replace not just goals but the belief, that will define the next era. And where does Mo go next: Saudi Arabia, the USA, Europe? My latest on Substack, please subscribe to support my work... itwasalwaysliverpool.com/p/liverpool-wi…