Liverpool were rotten in Turkey; do they need a Gerrard, Souness or even a Henderson? It doesn’t feel like they run enough.

We also have views on Spurs, Man Utd and Aston Villa. Send yours to theeditor@football365.com

 
An important note from Geoff
I’ve been reading your website for years. Loved 16 conclusions, winners & losers and big weekend in particular. Over the last few years, since you’ve lost all the great writers like Daniel storey the content quality has dropped so much. It’s also so anti Arsenal it’s ridiculous.

It’s such a shame.

Just thought I’d let you know.
Geoff

Liverpool have a soft middle
TBF with Bezos now involved in LFC, I’m only seeing them on MOTD and package programmes, but from what you see there; from the match reviews; from the comments on min-by-min – with a substantially better squad, things aren’t that much better at Liverpool.

The only evidence of pressing is in the replacement of players who didn’t press (Wirtz, Frimpong, Salah, Chiesa, Curtis Jones) with players who are keen to (Barcola, Munoz, Araujo).

The midfield looks the same, even though Mac Allister is out of his funk. No-one is getting out of Gravenberch what Slot managed. Teams just run through them, because the club doesn’t have a central midfield signing they’ve tried to make every summer for four years and failed to bring in.

The defence still looks slack, even though Jacquet is infinitely superior to the form Konate showed last year; Kerkez is better than he was at the end of last season than he was at the start, and the team have a truly excellent right back in Araujo.

The team is still running less. This was apparently a reflection of Slot last year and not the later clarity that they were demonstrably not fit, having been allowed to miss pre-season. I wonder what Iraola’s excuse will be, if he’s even pushed to provide one.

Neither results nor playing style, are that great. Maybe Will Ford should do another intellectual thought-piece, lambasting Iraola for things he didn’t say or mean?
Tom G

Liverpool are just soft
Been an age, and with good reason it should be said, since I’d bothered with Mason Greenwood in any way, shape or form, least of all watching his football. Yet having seen Greenwood take the pitch against my side in Europe tonight, it’s dawned on me Man Utd’s overarching general failure, over a span of 15 or so years now, owes much in part to never having instituted the no d*ckheads policy many other clubs implement to such good effect. For every Milner there’s a Pogba. And your ship will list and inevitably sink with names like Christian Romero or Lisandro Martinez or Richarlison in your side.

But watching us at the weekend and again tonight, it’s occurred to me clubs can also venture too far the wrong way with that policy. Liverpool could use with a tidy, structured, well-sourced d*ckheads policy these days. We are incredibly soft and don’t have that Souness or Gerrard or even Hendo in the side to bring teeth to proceedings.

Not sure if an edge can be developed so much as most are born with it, but we could definitely make do with a few harder lads in the squad because it’s clear Isak, Wirtz, Frimpong and the like are soft touches. We simply won’t win much with these.
Eric, Los Angeles CA (As much his Mancunian bias irks, Martin Tyler is such a great commentator. I wish Peter Drury could take note of some understatement and subtlety in the booth, rather than subject us (on Stateside telecasts at least) to his weekly bouts of loud shrieking and shouting at every turn.)

…Not that it should matter a tonne…hopefully. But that was as embarrassing a performance as I’ve seen in a while.

Anyone bar Nyoni (maybe Isak) over a 3/10 in rating? Talk about anonymous and Sunday league mistakes. Alisson not coming for a slowmo cross was Peak.

Not going to go through it but the the attitude was ‘this is a freebie’ and everyone needs a kick up the backside.
Nik (worried about Palace now), Paris

Enjoying unbeaten Arsenal
Having watched the Lancashire media dump on Arsenal for the national audience after their well fought and long awaited win at the very tricky ground that’s Anfield (props to Carra for bucking the tedious trend) – I decided to watch the Champions League games in which our North-West friends played with an open mind and an attitude to be prepared to accept being wrong.

After seeing 3 manic 3-2s I concluded that it’s not for me, thanks. I’m good with Mikel and his 19 unbeaten games in the ECL, reigning champions in EPL – top again and on 101 point pace. All built on a solid platform.

To quote our old Chair, Mr Hill-Wood, “thanks for your interest in our affairs. We will take it from here”.
Johnno

Are Man Utd not as bad as we thought?
A few quick thoughts on United’s win last night:

– The pathetic nature of the first-half display needs to not get lost in the hysteria after the second half turnaround. That was as clueless a 45 minutes as I’ve seen from United at Old Trafford, worse even than either half against Bournemouth recently. No shape, no plan to counter Roma’s setup when out of possession, no patterns with the ball. It was miserable.

– Diogo Dalot’s defensive shortcomings seem to magnify impossibly when he gets shifted over to left-back. It’s not just that he’s forced to play off his weaker side – his positional awareness and effort somehow also dwindle. His part in Roma’s first goal was a scandal.

– Ayden Heaven seems to be feeling the heat lately more than anyone else in that back line, though. Poor touches, fluffing basic passes, diving in with rash challenges – he’s filling the bingo card for centre-half calamity. The penalty incident was unlucky, mind – no shade thrown at him for that.

– Leny Yoro, meanwhile, is quietly progressing despite being the centre-half forced to play at right-back. He doesn’t have Dalot’s tendency to take up good (sometimes kamikaze) positions further forward, but he’s decent on the ball and his defending seems to be benefiting from having to learn a new position. Hopefully he continues in this vein, there’s a serious player in there.

– Bruno reverted to prime angsty bitch, which was awful to see. He created nothing in the first half and positionally was appalling. The guy has carried the whole team on his shoulders pretty often over the past 6.5 years, and is categorically the best signing we’ve made since Fergie retired. But if the aim is to construct an efficient and competitive team in the next 3-5 seasons, Bruno should be sold and replaced by someone who brings discipline along with (probably less) creativity.

– Baleba really grew into the game and started to show some proper intent going forward until he pinged his hamstring. Hopefully he can make a quick return, he’s starting to get a grip of the most important role in the team. Tielemans was energetic after he replaced him, which makes me wonder whether he’s best used as a finisher to impact tired defences. Lovely player, just maybe not a 90 minute fixture for a team that badly needs to increase its intensity and dynamism.

– Lacey needs to replace Amad on the team sheet. I appreciate that Amad will always give you effort as a baseline, but Lacey adds intent and bravery to that. Lovely balance and close control, plenty of trickery, and he’s able to pick an incisive pass. Deserves more game time.

– Delighted for Carrick that he got an evening like this. The fans responded to a ridiculous level in the second half, and he now has a classic United fightback win on his CV. It unfortunately doesn’t change the fact that he should still be replaced during the international break, the team is plumbing some incredible depths for long spells in matches.

Not sure if you can trust that there will be anything built on from the game, but it did serve as a reminder that this squad has plenty of quality to tap into. Roma are no mugs and are scoring goals for fun, so blitzing them in the second half showed what the ceiling can be. If I were a diplomat of Eddie Howe’s nature and able to deal with the morons in the boardroom, I’d be licking my lips at the prospect of introducing some structure and consistency to the team while adding a few components to address the glaring gaps.

For the moment though, Villa might also be salivating ahead of the weekend, and I wouldn’t blame them.
Keith Reilly

Why the Unai upgrade clamour?
Why is there this clamour for Unai to go to a ‘bigger’ club?

Now, I like the guy. I’ve liked all of the managers who have taken charge of the Arsenal since I first started supporting the club almost 40 years ago.

But what’s wrong with just admitting that Emery didn’t fit and we all move on?

He fits at Villa. They love him. He loves them. And I’m happy for Unai and the Villa fans.

It reminds me of Clough. He went to the ‘bigger’ club in Leeds, it didn’t work out and he made his way to Forest and the rest is history.

So how about everyone just shut up about Unai’s moving to a bigger club? He’s right where he needs to be and he shouldn’t be going anywhere near the mess that is Old Trafford.

United have the same back four as they had in 2022. In 2022, Rob Holding was still on Arsenal’s books. I have no idea where Rob Holding is now.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

Beware the optimism, Spurs fans
‘Horrible being a Spurs fan. Even during this mini revival it all feels like it’s just one international break away from collapse. And what is this we see approaching? An international break, therefore dropped points looming beforehand, and the inevitable injury to…got to be Fernandes and Tonali, hasn’t it?

Loved seeing the praise finally coming Archie Gray’s way so give him an injury too.

However that’s just the ingrained pessimism talking, why it took so long to pair Fernandes with Tonali is anyone’s guess but it’s seamlessly turning into a midfield duo we’ve not seen in many moon, and perhaps this is the ingrained football fan talking after two + years of utter dross, but it feels like the epiphany moment, as so often is the case, happened due to circumstance (Bentancur red card and Bergvall injury leaving RDZ with little choice but to play his two record signings in tandem).

Who’d have thought that two players who looked to the layman like a perfect blend of skill sets would work so well.

Here’s my chief gripe, and was for the previous season but with a loan being a reasonable option, why have the club sold Lankshear when so many supporters could see what a beast he was becoming? A hulking lad, fast, powerful and with every ingredient to be a great talent.

Solanke is honest, I guess, but £60m worth of trotting around, and having a semi okay goal celebration isn’t going to be good enough. Then to bin off Richarlison, who I have little time for, seems to be cutting off ones nose….

Delighted Lankshear is thriving, just feel like having him alongside Williams-Barnett would be such a huge injection for the supporters who have had scant few players to really get behind.

Anyway, Leeds 1 Spurs 1.
Dan Mallerman

Stop treating goalkeepers as vulnerable
The agonizing tragedy of Jesús de Miguel’s death following his collision with FC Andorra’s Jesús Owono has understandably horrified the footballing world. But while the inevitable hand-wringing singles out Owono’s specific actions at the halfway line, the entire discourse remains blind to the systemic rot that made this catastrophe inevitable.

For over a century, football has operated on a textbook a priori error: the unshakeable, dogmatic axiom that the goalkeeper is uniquely “vulnerable.”

We mouth this premise without thinking. We use it to justify why a 6’5″, hyper-conditioned apex predator is permitted to launch themselves horizontally through the air, knee rigidly locked out like a skeletal bumper, entirely clear of any duty-of-care for an opponent. If a central defender executed that exact mechanical block anywhere else on the pitch—completely cutting off a runner’s established line of attack with zero regard for human physics—it would be an instant red card and a multi-match ban. Drop that same collision into the six-yard box, and the refereeing logic completely inverts. The striker is penalized for “interference,” and the commentator often notes with solemn approval that the keeper “had a right to protect himself.” From what? One might add.

But who is actually vulnerable in that equation? The heavily armored 6ft 3in goalkeeper flying forward with a raised knee, or the soft, exposed forward tracking a ball over their shoulder with their ribs and neck entirely unprotected?

The “vulnerable keeper” is an archaic relic of a 19th-century rulebook, written when forwards could legally shoulder-charge a goalie over the line. Today, it is nothing more than institutional gaslighting. By coddling goalkeepers and shielding them from standard safety laws inside the 18-yard box, our refereeing infrastructure has systematically de-skilled their tackling vocabulary and stripped away their self-preservation instincts.

When Jesús Owono sprinted to midfield, he didn’t invent a malicious new piece of violence. He simply executed the exact high-velocity, knee-first blocking mechanic that referees have validated and rewarded him for using thousands of times inside his box. He carried a sanctioned weapon out into open play, and the arbitrary protection of the penalty area wasn’t there to hide the raw, lethal physics of it. He was executing a technique drilled into him from when he was 10 years old.

If a Spanish police investigation into involuntary manslaughter teaches us anything, it’s that the real world does not care about football’s a priori myths. A high-velocity strike to the chest is dangerous anywhere on Earth. Until IFAB and referees stop treating goalkeepers like a protected class and start applying the exact/similar same standards of reckless and excessive force across all 105 meters of the pitch, outfield players will continue to pay for this structural delusion with their safety—and, as we have tragically seen, their lives.
Dan McG LFC