Premier League Match 2 - Southampton 1 Liverpool 2

One Who's Done Well Since Leaving and One Who Hasn't.

Having declared a personal war with words against Liverpool last season, I kind of thought the once they won the Champions League and I therefore lost the war, that I wouldn’t be that bothered any more.. Unfortunately, it has just made it worse because all the things that are fucking dreadful about them have just got worse. The great media hand job is carrying on at an increased pace as has their fans unbearable belief that they are the best team ever and are somehow more important than everyone else. Then we have the ‘Scouse not English’ booing of the national anthem bollocks, which they did in the Community Shield against Manchester City, which happily they lost.  The one thing that we all have left to cling to is that the Premier League champions are the best team in England and it is 30 years since Liverpool last won it.

Since we last played them they have won the aforementioned Champions League and a couple of nights ago they won the European Super Cup, beating Chelsea on penalties. Okay, fine. Then we get the little film from the dressing room and Virgil van Dijk throwing gangster poses around the trophy and looking like a fucking twat. They just can’t help themselves. Actually winning a trophy has not made Klopp any different as he is still a hypocritical twat, moaning about other teams spending money when his team has been assembled for the amount of money that could support a small country for a year. Does he not know that all his old interviews and his record in the transfer market is all part of public record? For fuck’s sake.

So, newsflash, Juergen Klopp is a wanker. A fucking huge hypocritical wanker. He is so fucking annoying. He’s one of those fuckers like Harry Redknapp and Terry Venables who I really want to hate I think that he is a massive bell end but at the end of the day, they’ve all got quite engaging personalities so sometimes you do find yourself actually liking them and then you have to pull yourself back and remember that they are wankers.

What can be said that hasn’t been said already? Quite a lot actually but with different insults but I’m a serious writer now and I’ve been on Podcasts and YouTube and everything so it would be very childish of me to resort to name-calling. Wankers.

So it’s basically the same Liverpool side as last year which includes all those players that didn’t cost any money. They do have a new player as they signed for my West Ham goalkeeper Adrian on a free transfer as cover for Allison who promptly got injured in the first game of the season so Adrian will be in goal today.  I hear that due to rotation and the European game on Wednesday that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may start a game of football which will be novel for him as he continues his quest to have a whole career without ever being a first team regular anywhere.

Post Burnley shitshow it appears that Ralph has worked the players incredibly hard this week, cancelling days off and generally leaving them in no doubt that it simply wasn’t fucking good enough. The big question today was would Kevin Danso be thrown straight in for what would be ridiculously tough baptism of fire.  The answer was no as Ralph went for a pragmatic approach meaning Ings got left out to accommodate Hojbjerg starting and the only other change saw Yoshida preferred to Stephens who went from starting to not in the 18.  Liverpool have a full side out in defence and attack but a 2^nd choice midfield of Milner, Chamberlain and Wijnaldum.  That’s the area we have to target.

Away we goo and the press by the forwards is looking decent.   Adrian clearly doesn’t want the ball at his feet and you can see the panic on his face whever one of their defenders passes him the ball.  We win a corner as a result of one of his panicky clearances and really should take the lead as JWP’s delivery is met solidly, 5 yards out by Yoshida but he puts it too close to Adrian who flicks out an arm instinctively and pushes it away.

The next big chance is also ours as Romeu flings over a really good first time cross and Adams ghosts in between Matip and Trent but shows no conviction with his free header and it kind of floats harmlessly over the bar, not even making Adrian shite his pants a little bit.  Andre Marriner then stamps his authority on the game as Liverpool are struggling and Romeu goes in hard and wins the ball back on the edge of the Liverpool box. Free kick and a booking.  Fucking ridiculous.

The first half really is all Saints – we are winning the midfield battle against the three reserves and their defence is creaking.  Up front, Salah is doing his usual head down blind alley thing and despite some ropey moments, our defence is holding firm.  Then they win a throw out on the left and the ball is worked to Mane who hasn’t moved but has somehow found space on the corner of the box.  A touch away from Bednarek and before Hojbjerg can get to him, bang, curler with the right foot, just inside the far post, Gunn no chance.  It only takes a seconds lapse in concentration and there we have it, one chance, one goal. Fuck.

The second half starts and we can’t get the ball.  Romeu has been sawn off by the booking and Liverpool are of course trying to put it to bed.  It all looks somewhat inevitable.  Mane puts Salah away on our left and he’s right in on goal but rather than get his head up or actually look for a team mate for a tap in, he gets too close to Gunn and allows him to block.

It look like a matter of time and Ralph rolls the dice and Ings is on for Romeu so now it’s basically 3-4-3 which looks like carnage when we lose the ball and the press doesn’t work initially.  Another Liverpool break and Mane superbly finds Firmino in the box but we get lucky as he produces a dreadful miss and passes it wide.

Another slight change as Armstong comes on for Adams which gives us a bit more in midfield and Ings curls a decent effort just over which stemmed from Milner giving the ball away on the edge of his own box.  Interestingly, Milner flew late into two tackles in trying to make up for it and not a word from Andre the Giant twat.

The little flicker of light from that chance on goal was then snuffed out and it’s nother trademarked Southampton fuck up.  It’s our own throw and Bednarek takes it to Yoshida and gets it back and proceeds to fuck about, get dispossessed by Mane and into Firmino it goes who calmly steps inside Vestergaard and scores with ease.  Fuck sake.

Now it suddenly looks like they’re going to go in dry as Mane tees up Robertson with a superb back-heel and Gunn has to be alert to push the near post shot wide.  Mane is the difference - I expect he didn't cost you anything Jurgen.  The last throw of the dice is Djenepo on for Bertrand as Ralph decides we may as well go for it and the new boy makes things happen.  Trent can’t handle him at all and actually manages to get booked.

Armstorng is doing well in midfield and he digs in to find Redmond.  He tries to return it to Armstrong but van Dijk reads it and knocks it back to Adrian.  What an absolute cock…. The keeper just passes it straight to Ings who knocks it straight into the net.  Surely not – 8 mins to go.

You always get that one chance.  If you’re a great team you score and if you’re a lucky team you score.  If you’re Southampton then you build up through half the team and the final ball in from Valery is excellent and then Danny Ings, who you signed from Liverpool for £20 million…. plays a fucking airshot from 6 yards out.

You don’t get two chances.

Bollocks. A disappointing result but we can relatively pleased with the performance. The first half in particular was excellent until Mane showed that quality of finishing that we, as a club from outside the top six just do not possess. Liverpool turned the screw in the second half but we held firm until yet another bit of calamitous defending, this time by Bednarek, handed them the second goal. Danny Ings got his goal from a decent bit of closing down and a goalkeeper being a dickhead and Ings could have got a point for us but showed that quality of finishing that we, as a club from outside the top six, do possess.

It’s unfair to single out Danny’s miss though, even though it was the worst of the bunch. Che Adams should have got his header on target in the first half and Yoshida really should have given Adrian no chance whatsoever with his header from the corner. That would’ve been beautiful as well because he got off the ground and King Dijkhead just stood and watched.

VAR didn’t have to do anything particularly controversial in this game this game did highlight one of the problems that we still have and will always have with referees. When we had the totally incompetent referee at Old Trafford last year, I pointed out how it’s all the little things that don’t get given in your favour but almost have as much effect as the big penalty calls for example. Saints were doing really well until Liverpool scored at the end of the first half until he booked Oriol Romeu for what was basically, the cleanest winning of the ball that you could ever see. I mean, we were on the attack and Liverpool were struggling to get out. They won the ball and Romeu won it back perfectly so we should be on the attack but the idiot gave a free kick which was never free kick, killed our momentum managed to compound the mistake by booking Romeu and therefore restricting him for the rest of the game. That’s quite a big deal and played no small part in the chance of dominance at the start of the second half.  In comparison, James Milner was allowed to foul at will and get away with it, possibly because he had a fucking bandage around his head but more likely because of who he was playing for. Inconsistency is still going to go on. If Sadio Mané had been wearing a red and white shirt today and I think he would’ve picked up the booking he got for hacking down Moussa Djenepo a lot earlier than he actually did.

Will anyone care? No.  Would they if we’d one and they’d had the injustices?  Of course.  The more things change the more they stay the same.

So – Saints were better and we had deent performances out of Gunn, Vestergaard & Romeu and an encouraging one from Djenepo.  Stating the obvious here but our season is not defined by games against the likes of Liverpool – they and City are on a level where you have virtually no chance of even getting a point and this is before you factor in the likes of Andre the Giant Twat.

Next up is Brighton and a decent performance in that one is not enough on its own.  Points are needed and we need to be picking up our first 1 or 3 on Saturday.