Real Madrid's Trent approach & relegation 'threatened' Man Utd head to Anfield
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The Athletic FC Podcast Network.

And was your month off?

You know what? A neighbor of mine stopped me in the pub over Christmas telling me that you two guys have been having a right old go at me on this podcast.

Of course, I knew that because I do listen to the podcast when I'm not on it. But yeah, you're going to have to be careful now, aren't I, when you choose to take your time off? If you don't show up for a podcast, you have to be ready to be abused. It's as simple as that. Well, one person we won't be abusing is Mohamed Salah. I mean, the man's an outrage. We'll talk about him, we'll talk about contracts, and we'll look forward to Sunday's visit of Manchester United.

And we love it when Manchester United come to Anfield, especially when they're in such a mess. But let's start with those three words. So you must, you've had a month to think of three words. I have, I haven't. I've come up with this one in the last 10 minutes. It's send them down. Now I could be talking about either Manchester club, of course, but in this case, it's Manchester United. I've never heard a Manchester United manager say, we could get relegated. It's...

It's like, I thought, is Roy Hodgson in charge here? That was my first thought as well. Unbelievable. Oh, you know, it's... James. I'm going to go for not now Madrid. Well, yeah, that's fair enough. And it won't be now. It certainly won't be. Well, that's what James and Simon think. Here's what you're saying.

Callum Stanton, title winning year. I like that, Callum. I like it. Jim Richards, happy new title. Oh, another one, another good one. Faisal Mukhit, goodbye trend. Oh, that's not so much fun. And Gary Simpson, another 7-0. 7-7? I want more than 7. To join our community of listeners on Facebook, just search Walk On Podcast and join the group.

Well, James, before the new year, you said you expected six points from six over the Christmas period. Well, that's what we got. Yeah, I think Liverpool just delivered, didn't they, on what we expected from them with the high standards they've set so far this season. It wasn't particularly polished, was it, in the first half against Leicester on Boxing Day. But even then, you kind of, you thought, especially with the way things have been this season where slot has had such a knack of

of tweaking things to get a big response in the second half. I think we all would have had that confidence. They would have turned it around and they did in some style, didn't they? To beat Leicester and then, yeah, put on a show at West Ham to go there and win 5-0. And you can pick, obviously, plenty of holes in how bad West Ham are currently. But some of the football was absolutely scintillating.

Yeah, again, and with some other clubs slipping up, it was just about the perfect festive period, you know, to go into 2025 with, what is it now? I think obviously with Arsenal beating Brentford, six points clear with a game in hand. It's a position which just absolutely whets your appetite for the months ahead. Yeah, so I mean...

James just alluded to one of the narratives that's going round, that, you know, everyone's bad. And Liverpool are only a prunk because everyone's bad. Yeah, 23 wins from 27 in all competitions. 14 from 18 in the Premier League. You know, Arteta's like, we will be there. But, you know, Donoradi, Arsenal. Yes, I have...

and seen this accusation across social media that Liverpool only play rubbish teams. And our colleague, Adam Crafton, added to that suggestion earlier this week. And they've definitely got, in theory, an easier game coming up against Manchester United, which I'm sure Adam will enjoy that retort. I think that's a bit unfair, really. It just doesn't add up as a theory, does it really? That maybe Liverpool have got a little bit lucky at times when teams are coming into form and when they're not.

But they've had to work quite hard for a lot of the results. As James said, there's been a lot of games where Arnaud Slott has changed the shape of the team slightly. Not like significantly, but just little tweaks. Brought different players on. I think he's rotated really well so far. I think that's one of the big things that he's done fantastically over the last month. You know, there's...

Two players in the attack and two players in the midfield who are constantly rotating between games and keeping them fresh. And you can see that energy in Liverpool's performance. So I think it does a disservice a little bit to, certainly to the achievements that Liverpool have reached already this season and being, you know, opening up a decent gap between them and the chasing pack.

Yeah, I mean, I think what we should be doing is collecting titles that have asterisks alongside them. You know what I'm saying? There's always some reason, isn't there, why Liverpool win the league? It can never just be, well, they're just a bit better than all the other teams trying to beat them. James, there's something, you know what I like about it? There's something that reminds me of, what, 40 years ago, the ruthlessness, the...

I won't say lack of flair because, you know, the great teams of the 80s had loads of flair. But it's like, we're winning the game. We don't care. We don't care how you feel about it. We don't care about you being entertained. We're ruthless. We're going to win the game. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and,

And as we've spoken about many times this season, the balance is there as well, isn't it? It's not, you know, at times they are absolutely scintillating to watch, but there is also, you know, such a clever kind of structure and balance to it. Which means that, you know, when things don't work out, they don't leave themselves exposed to counterattacks, which was what was happening earlier.

Far too often last season, when you actually look back on last season, it was almost a miracle really that Liverpool remained in the title race for as long as they did because they were having to really dig games out of the fire. It felt like week after week at times and that's just not happening at the minute. Yeah, you could pick a few holes in the first half against Leicester, but it was still one an absolute canter.

And West Ham was a mismatch. And when you look at who Liverpool are up against this season, and then probably I'd say I'd widen it to the whole of Europe rather than just the Premier League. There isn't anyone, is there, that's got that array of firepower. When you look at the way in which Diaz and Gagpo have gone to the next level under slot, yes, Salah is the headline grabber with the crazy, crazy numbers he's delivering.

But there's so much else in reserve. And then you look at, you know, he's even been able to have the luxury, hasn't he, of really easing Diogo Jota back in gently. We probably, I was probably amongst those who would have thought, well, he's going to have to chuck Jota straight back in as soon as he's fit. You know, it wasn't really happening for Darwin Nunes. But, you know, because he's now kind of

You know, given Diaz another string to his bow with the ability to play through the middle, that gives him another option. And yeah, the depth in that front line is crazy. Yeah, well, Si, we've got to come and talk about Salah. You're a Wales expert in Salah. The Wales expert in Salah, having produced a magnificent boot, chasing Salah, which has got, get it now, kiddies, it's worth it. It's got all the verve and pace of,

of the man himself. No, he's just, I mean, my mind is boggled watching him. I mean, the West Ham game was just another example of his greatness, really. I think the really fascinating thing about him is I think he's learnt over, certainly over the last two years, that sometimes standing still can actually be really effective as well. You know, he seems to have found this ability

Little area of pressure where it absolutely kills the opponents. I mean, I think it was interesting what West Ham did by playing Wan-Bissaka, a right-footed player, left back, obviously to combat

the prospect of Salah cutting in fields and he has done that a few times Wan-Bissaka and you know what he's not actually a bad tackler but he's not he's not an all-round defender and I think that's ultimately why he's at West Ham but he's had decent games against Liverpool in the past on occasion

But on this occasion, he just did not know where Sala was half the time. His understanding of space is incredible, I think. Yeah, I mean, we could go on and on about why it would be foolish to let him go. Not foolish, but I can understand the arguments and the concerns around age. Criminally insane? Yeah, I can understand the arguments and concerns around age because...

If you do get a bad injury and you're a bit older, it takes longer to get back. But then you just, any player could get injured at any time. No, really, if we're being honest. And his injury record is excellent at Liverpool, bar one that he had last year. But he's not relying on his pace anymore. He's a more rounded footballer. He's one of them where even if he's having a flat period...

Defenders know that any second he might just erupt and they've got to account for him. He's magnificent. James, other great performances over the Christmas period. Gakpo, you mentioned, and Curtis Jones. Yeah, I think Curtis is certainly in that bracket of players that has kicked on.

Really impressively under slot. I think it was against Leicester, wasn't it, that he made his 100th Premier League appearance. And yeah, it's a real luxury, isn't it, for slot. As Simon said, one of the few positions he does tend to rotate is that slot in midfield where it's the more advanced, isn't it? Where you probably need that freshness in terms of the energy of whether you go for Curtis Jones or Zabozlai.

And yeah, I'm really pleased for Curtis because I think he's, at times, I think he's been really unfairly criticised

and people have almost you know questioned what he does yet you know he i think he's such a an a gifted all-round player in terms of the work he does off the ball as much of the quality that he shows on it and it's funny i think back to the tour of america last summer when if you remember rightly he was he was probably a little bit too effusive too early in terms of like what he was saying about slop because it it came across as almost like he hadn't enjoyed playing for klopp which he

which clearly wasn't the way that he intended it to come across because he said, you know, this is the happiest I've ever been. And, you know, this suits me much more. But I think kind of what, six, seven months down the line, you can see what he meant because it is a slightly more possession based measured approach. And he likes to be on the ball and to make things happen. And he's adding more of an end product in terms of, you know, goals and assists.

And yeah, long may it continue because it's great to see another local lad flourishing.

It's 10 years ago today that Steven Gerrard announced he'd be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. Can that really be 10 years? How quickly time passes. And, you know, that was a year on from being so close to winning the title. And, you know, when you consider how much has made about side, the loyalty that Steven showed to the club, you know, getting on the verge of moving to Chelsea and then not being able to actually play

you know break the ties to the club those kinds of that loyalty wasn't exactly repaid at the end was it no it was pretty brutal from what i was told um in terms of the way liverpool handled it um this of course was right to well not right at the beginning but just in the periods where michael edwards's ascendancy is coming through at liverpool and

Liverpool had assessed that really that Steven Gerrard wasn't having quite the same impact on the pitch and wouldn't in the future. And the terms, and I think the length of the terms that they were willing to offer just weren't what Steven Gerrard was expecting. I remember the person who was in charge of that meeting, I was told Ian Eyre turned up late as well, which is never a good thing. That's what I was told. I think I wrote that at the time.

Well, you know me, we're big mates. Yeah, well, yeah, it is. It's an interesting point and period to reflect upon because as you said, Tony,

Not long before Liverpool had gone very close to winning the title and Steven Gerrard in his deep-lying midfield role was integral in that season. You know, he was. I mean, how old was Steven at that time? Was he 30, 33, 34? Of course, it's a different position to somebody like Mohamed Salah who's further up the pitch. You know, both very different footballers, different expectations around them in terms of what they're meant to be doing.

But the way Steven Child's career ended at Liverpool, there is a touch of sort of, it's almost like, it's almost a bit tragic, isn't it? You know, in terms of he didn't win the title for Liverpool, even though he's, in my opinion, still the greatest player I've seen play consistently for Liverpool over a long period of time. Bearing in mind, I only really started watching Liverpool at the start of the 90s.

And then for him to finish with a game against Stoke, going out at Stoke off the back of a 6-1 defeat. And then missing out on the Aidan Clopp period. Obviously, Aidan Clopp's appointed barely three months later.

You know, it's one of those sort of if only... A bit like Jamie Carragher to some extent. I think if Carragher had extended his Liverpool career by one year, maybe it would have made the difference when Liverpool tried to win the league the next year. And equally, had Steven stayed at Liverpool for another year, maybe that he could have made a difference in that season where Liverpool got to two finals and lost. Maybe he wouldn't. It's an if only sort of thing. But it is interesting how...

things can change so quickly in football. I mean, as you say, Steven Gerrard went from almost doing what he'd wanted to do his whole career to

in 2014 to being out the club within 12 months. Yeah, I mean, James, he wanted to stay. And the way it was described to me is he made it clear that wasn't about money. But the offer that was made to him made it about money. It was such a bad offer. Is there a lesson here for anyone today? I mean, like Trent Alexander-Arnold and about loyalty and about...

Yeah, I mean, I think with everything going on at the moment, people are bound to draw comparisons. You know, the reason why Steven Gerrard has the, you know, kind of almost, you know, I'd say probably alongside Kenny Doglish, that kind of unparalleled...

His adulation and respect whenever he stepped foot back inside Anfield is because of the astonishing loyalty and longevity that he gave to Liverpool. It wasn't just, you know, he's certainly the most complete footballer I've ever seen in a Liverpool shirt, but...

It was also the fact that he played a lot of his career in a team where he wasn't surrounded by elite talents. I think Salah is almost, with his achievements, is putting himself into that conversation amongst the greats who have played for Liverpool. But that's the difference, isn't it? The fact that Steven Gerrard carried Liverpool for so many of those years.

seasons and so many times when he could have left in search of greater riches certainly won a lot more in terms of his medal collection but that bond with the club you know although he came close he just felt he couldn't break it and that

That is all part of his legacy, isn't it? Which makes it so special. And I'm sure we're going to come on to talk about Trent now, but that's something that he has to think about. Because if you want to be remembered as one of the all-time greats to have played for your boyhood club, then he's going to have to stay put.

Yeah, say, where do you see this going from here? Doesn't look great to me. No, it doesn't. And a few other people have made this point, but it is a fair point, is that any football club, particularly a football club of Real Madrid standing, don't make an offer to another football club.

And that doesn't become public without something going on behind the scenes, you know, between the parties you were involved, really. So I think it shows you the direction with where this is heading, really. I would be surprised at this point, you know, we're on January the 2nd now. We started this countdown to January six months ago, I think, Tony, and we're here now and still all of the players...

haven't agreed terms in terms at least that hasn't been announced publicly Trent is the one that I'm the most concerned about I think if he stays at Liverpool at this position I'd just be very very surprised really I think Real Madrid don't move for a player in any way unless they think they're going to get him erm

And it would be, I mean, I think Trent would be insane, to be honest, to want to leave Liverpool this January, given that they've got a very good chance of winning the league this season. Where's the rush? Where's the rush to go? But yeah, if he was still a Liverpool player at the start of next season, just in terms of where we are, this isn't based on me knowing...

or the Athletic knowing what's going on, you know, in terms of the conversations that have been happening. This is just my view in terms of where we're at now, you know, and the reality that Real Madrid have actually made a bid for the player, which has been rejected by Liverpool. Usually when that thing starts to happen, you know where it's going to end up. I remember when James mentioned Steve McManaman there, I think the year before Steve McManaman left,

left Liverpool, Barcelona went in heavy for him that summer. That bid was rejected and he ends up at Real Madrid, of course. In my view, Liverpool have only got them, or certainly the owners have got themselves to blame for this situation coming to pass, which we've discussed many times before. More than happy to discuss it again. But I think they've allowed the situation to slide too far to a point where the player has considered his future.

James, back in the... Back really around the time when Klopp announced he was leaving, we knew about the three contracts. I was told, I'm sure you were told, I'm sure everyone was told that Trent was the priority. What's changed? What's changed? I'm not sure anything has changed, really. I mean, it's... I think...

It's difficult, isn't it? Because the way that the process has gone and Trent hasn't spoken publicly properly about his future since back end of September when I was one of a few that spoke to him, I think it was after the home game against Bournemouth. And of course, he said then,

Like, you know, I don't want this to be played out in public in terms of the finer details of, you know, have I got an offer? How many offers have I had? How far away are we in terms of the discussions? And obviously Liverpool have kept very tight lipped on that as well. So it's hard when you don't know exactly what has been offered and when.

I think what we do know, picking up on what Simon said, is that Liverpool were far too late to the party on this. And yes, we know the circumstances around it, you know, in terms of, you know, the upheaval with Julian Ward leaving, Jörg Schmadke essentially being a facilitator of transfer deals rather than a sporting director in the true sense of the word. And then, of course, Klopp.

tell him the owner's he was off, then it being kept a secret for two and a half months. And then of course, everything was on hold till the new manager came in. But even saying that this should have been sorted out way before that. And this because, and that's why, you know, just, and we've said it all the way along, haven't we? That it's such a different situation to Salah and Van Dijk because with Salah and Van Dijk, I could understand why,

whether people like it or not now because they've been playing so well this season, it's easy to say, well, this should have been sorted out 12, 18 months ago. But I'm thinking, well, that doesn't really tend to happen with players who are in the twilight years of their career. But Trent's only just turned 26. Like this...

You know, just purely from a business viewpoint in terms of how valuable he is as an asset, you know, this should never, ever have been allowed to get down to his final year. And in terms of, you know, what's happened of late, I think all it has done really is

you know, the approach from Real Madrid that was instantly rebuffed in terms of, you know, the inquiry of, you know, could we talk about a potential deal for January? It, you know, it just, it just makes official what we've known for a long, long time about the strength of, of Madrid's interest, you know, and you speak to our Real Madrid reporters and, and they say there's real confidence in Madrid that he, that he will end up there. And, you

I don't think for a second it will happen in January because I think even if, and I got told that the conversation between Liverpool and Real Madrid didn't even reach specific figures, but say there's £20 million or £25 million on the table. Why on earth would Liverpool take that now? I've seen some fans on social media say Liverpool should just get what they can for him now.

But it's like, you know, that would be cutting off your nose to spite your face, you know, to keep Trent for the rest of the season. If he plays an important role in Liverpool winning the Premier League and or the Champions League, then £20 million is absolutely nothing. You know, part of me with me sort of hard-headed hat on.

That's a strange expression, but I'll go with it. I've never seen you wear a hat, never mind a hard hat. No, I tend not to wear hats. Is it like what you'd wear on a building site? Is it that kind of thing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Although in the era when I worked on building sites, there was no health and safety. But I can understand the reluctance to make a full-back your highest paid player. I can understand that...

the way Liverpool play has changed and Trent is no longer the creative fulcrum of the team. I can see all that, but not what stands on that. I just think...

He's got so much to offer. Trent, at this moment in time, he must surely be thinking, am I really making the right decision here if I'm thinking about going? Because it feels like Liverpool got back together suddenly, but has it gone too far prior to that? As James says, we don't know at which point either Trent has said to the owners, you know what, I'm going to try something different, or we don't know for certain what offer was made to him or if an offer was made at any point.

So maybe, who knows, you know, when this decision has been made, if a decision has been made. It all sounds very speculative, I know, which isn't particularly my job as a journalist, but I'm not trying to pretend that I know exactly what's happened. I'm just trying to

piece together the events that have happened and try and understand people's thought processes that have gone on in that period so I can understand Trent's position I can understand less Liverpool's position I agree what you said Tony he's a right back but he's still a very important player to Liverpool you know I understand that the role has changed you know for him in the team now but he's still a very very important player and to lose him at this age particularly with his value

It's not good. It's just not good, really. History will not reflect well upon the owners, even when he decides to leave, even if Liverpool win the title. You know, Trent isn't a young player anymore. He's just coming into his prime. So to lose a player in the prime in any business model, whether it's Moneyball or, you know, however you're trying to run the club, it's just not good.

No, no, and especially when you don't even get a fee for them. James, so where are we with the contracts? I mean, I think we've reached the point where we're no longer going to do contract weekly and all that sort of stuff. Even I'm bored with it now. Where are we? Well, we're not really any further down the track, are we? I think I thought it was interesting again

the other day that, you know, having actually gone back to kind of keeping his counsel, Mo Salah kind of broke rank again, didn't he, in terms of saying that nothing was particularly close, which wasn't exactly what Liverpool fans wanted to hear. I mean, obviously we've reported it, I think it was early December, wasn't it, that all three had now received offers. And we'd also, I think we talked about on this pod that

some of the reports that Salah was on the brink of signing were far too premature and that wasn't the case. And yeah, I think the degree of alarm has to be cranked up, doesn't it? Because we're now in a situation where clubs can openly approach them. Now, of course, I think probably the January the 1st date

I think is a lot more kind of symbolic and gets talked up a lot more in the media than, you know, when I speak to people from the different camps, they've kind of all played down the significance of January the 1st because it's like, you know, come on, no one's naive enough to think that anyone holds fire and waits for Big Ben to chime midnight and then right now we can make an approach. But it does just ram home to you, doesn't it? The fact that there's a situation where

as good as Liverpool have been this season, you know, buzzing away in the background is the fact that now

their captain, their vice-captain and their record-breaking top scorer are all inside the final six months of the deal and could, within the rules, could now pen a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club. So that, of course, that is a huge concern. And yeah, I think, you know, in terms of Trent, from both a professional and a personal viewpoint, he's obviously got the biggest...

decision of his life coming up, isn't it? The difference for Trent compared to some of those names we talked about previously is that

you know, they could claim with a fair amount of authority that they had to leave because it was ambition in terms of wanting to compete for the biggest prizes. Now, no player who thinks about leaving Liverpool at the minute could possibly say that, could they? Because, you know, you don't need to go anywhere else if your biggest motivation is glory.

then you're talking about a team that are out in front in the premier league and the champions league and then the semis of the the carabel cup and the fa cup to come so i think for trent obviously it's it's about does he just want that that new challenge but i know also that he's absolutely loved life under anna schlott he feels that slot has helped develop him as a player he's

He's been very genuine, I think, and open in terms of talking about slot's attention to detail and how he feels as if he's improved him defensively. So I think the information I have is that there isn't a definitive decision yet on his future. But of course, if that is the case, if he hasn't, then he's going to have to make it very, very soon. If I'm Real Madrid, I'm booking a private plane for three days.

and send it to Anfield. Well, hopefully we'll get resolution pretty soon because every day that goes by gives me a more and more ominous feeling. Talking about ominous, imagine you're a Manchester United manager. Imagine you were talking about a relegation battler.

I'd quite like to manage Manchester United, Tony, at this moment. I'd love you to. Well, I mean, frankly, given the squad they've got, you're probably two better than the fellows they've had lately. I can't believe how bad they are, you know. I've had this discussion with my mates quite a bit. I mean, have Liverpool. When Liverpool were trying to catch up to Man Utd between 1990 and...

and 2020. Were Liverpool ever as far behind Man Utd as United are behind now? I know United have sort of pushed into the Champions League a couple of times during Liverpool's sort of rise over the last nine or 10 years, but they don't convince me that they're there to stay for very long. You know, they fall away and they're so flaky. I mean, this season is for them as bad as ever.

as potentially the Graeme Sooner season. It was at 93, was it 92, 93, 93, 94 when in March Liverpool were a couple of points above the relegation zone. You know, they're so bad. They're just the most unconvincing. This isn't all Ruben Amarim's fault, of course. You know, he's inherited this absolute mess, but...

It seems like he jumped from one manager who'd set up a team to play one way tactically and recruited around that and then hired another manager that plays a very different way and expecting the players that the previous manager signed to fit into that very different system, which is to some extent what it boils down to on the pitch, but certainly off the pitch, I don't think...

Magic Jim Ratcliffe has the ones that everybody thought he had. I've got the answer. I've got the answer to getting Manchester United back on track. Let's sack all the lowest paid employees. That'll work. Reduce the Christmas bonus. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's a proper Scrooge, isn't he? You know, I just... Everything about the club just stinks at the moment, to be honest, Tony, from top to bottom. I mean, I think the club...

It's been reported elsewhere. Some of the reports have reported how bloated United had come. But then it seems like Rackless responded to that by sacking and removing a lot of people, particularly the move on the ex-players as well. I mean, that's one thing you don't do if you're an owner under pressure because the first thing ex-players are going to do is come out.

and criticise the club at the first opportunity next time it turns around. So I don't think he's thought that one through very well either. Well, no, there's not a lot of talk going on there. And the Glazers must be loving it, James. They've found themselves a patsy to take the blame. It does smack of kind of be careful what you wish for, doesn't it? Because I remember, you know, it's one of those weird things, isn't it? That you're at the mercy of some billionaire who is making money

that impact millions and millions of people who to them, their club means absolutely everything. And they are just, they seem as shambolic off the pitch as they have been on it. I mean, sitting and watching them play Newcastle the other night, it was, and I go back to, funny enough, I've had the same thoughts watching that game the other night. So I'm picking up what Simon said in terms of, you know, in my lifetime, have Liverpool ever been

that bad and I think it's more kind of how consistently bad they've been because I thought back to that year under Souness obviously you think back to Hodgson and and you know when you hear Amorim then entertaining talk of a relegation battle you know that that rings true with obviously Hodgson in that you know 2010-11 but they were these were like

you know, moments in time, weren't they? It just feels that United have had so many of these over such a long period. And yes, it's been punctuated at times by, you know, minor trophy successes. But,

But I mean, the other thing that strikes me is the sheer amount of money that's been squandered as well. Like their recruitment policy is absolutely crackers. Like you see that Xerxe the other night, what was he the best part of 40 million quid? And he subbed off after half an hour. You know, you have, you know, I think most people, and I was absolutely delighted that Ten Hag kept his job last summer.

But I think it was plain for everyone to see that, you know, surely they're not going to be hoodwinked by that FA Cup win. Surely they look at the bigger picture and look at, God knows how many defeats in the league and think,

They got a change, but they let him stay. They let him spend then, what was it, the best part of 200 million. And then you get rid of him. So then you've got the expense of getting rid of him, getting a manager in, paying compensation, who's then lumbered with players he doesn't want that don't fit a system. I mean, that's the other thing. Obviously, Liverpool looked to hammer him before they appointed slot. But I got told there was a few reasons why they decided no.

not to go down that route. One of them was, well, we don't think our squad of players is suited to Amarim's system of three at the back. You know, where would, you know, where would people like Salah fit in? You know, Salah's not a wing back. And they also felt that the brand of football just wouldn't have been a good fit for the Anfield crowd and wanting to, you know, create that emotional attachment with, between the manager and the fan base. So it's, it's,

it's just absolutely crackers and then you've also got the stuff you know how many times we've seen it in recent years as well with you know Rashford's been the latest one some high profile star you know some you know big fallout and disagreement and those kind of things just they just don't happen at Liverpool do they no no not at all how do you see it going on Sunday say

You know what, every time I'm really confident Liverpool are going to slam Man Utd, I end up regretting saying it out loud, to be honest. So there is that superstitious element in me. But I can't see anything other than, at the very least, a convincing Liverpool victory. You know, Liverpool at the moment, I mean, obviously they smashed West Ham, didn't they, the other day?

Liverpool have got a very busy January coming up. They've got some big games. Obviously, I'd say the Forest away game is the biggest game of the month now, obviously given their position in the league and given how...

difficult to place the city ground is. You know, Liverpool have found it difficult getting points out of that ground over the last couple of years since they got promoted anyway, even when they were at the bottom end of the table. So it's going to be absolutely bouncing, particularly a night match in the middle of January. You know, Liverpool are going to really need to have a go in that game. But I think...

I just can't see United laying a glove on Liverpool. I just can't. I just don't think they've got it in them. I don't think they've got the organisation. I don't think they've got the personality in the team. I don't think the fans, I mean, the Man United fans, to be fair, do tend to back the manager. And I'm not saying that Amir's position should be up for debate at the moment. It'd be stupid.

you know, to make another change. But, you know, when the manager starts talking about relegation, I could understand if you were beginning to question that as an owner. It's like you've been brought in to try and improve things, not send them down into the championship. Yeah.

What possesses a manager to say things like that? I can't believe he said it. You just say it's a really big job, but I'm here to win trophies. I need to get this club back on track. I couldn't believe it. My concern about him was, it was on the first day that he played Ipswich, didn't he, at Portman Road, and he was complaining about the amount of press interviews he had to do. I was like, mate, you're managing a Man United now. You know what's not?

with respect, Sport and Lisbon, big club in Portugal, but you've got a global audience that you're performing in front of now. Again, it reminds me a bit of Hodgson on his first day at Liverpool. I remember him complaining in front of me about the amount of interviews he was having to do. I was like, Roy, you best get used to this, mate, because, you know, it

Depending on that, well, any time win, lose or draw, there are going to be people wanting to speak to you. You're never in Fulham anymore. There's the new manager on his first day complaining about it, like in front of his press officer. I was astonished, to be honest. I would have thought he'd have been better briefed by either somebody at the club or certainly his own advisors that your manager at Manchester United, now every word that you say counts and is poured over.

And complaining about the amount of intrusion that you're subjected to only ends one way. What can we expect from the team? I mean, one of the great things, James, about how well Liverpool played in 2024 in the Champions League and the league is it's put Salah in a position where you've got a ridiculously busy January and February, but in many of those games...

he can shift things around and he can concentrate on the Premier League as opposed to the Cup games and there's probably only what five or six games where you need to put your strongest side out and let's face it we don't need the strongest side to get Manchester United do we? Are you suggesting resting players for Accrington Stanley?

Exactly, exactly. You know what I'm saying? Well, exactly. I mean, you know, Accrington are probably better than United at the moment. I really hope this doesn't come back to bite us on the backside next week. Yeah, it's... I know what you mean, yeah. It's, you know, obviously, especially the position Liverpool are in in the Champions League. You know, I'm sure that all, you know, I think it's effectively done and dusted, isn't it? So that will certainly enable him to make

major changes that you'd have thought against um Lille and and and PSV to to come yeah I think I think the squad's looking strong the only the only concern obviously is defensively with Joe Gomez going off with that that hamstring problem uh at West Ham was still waiting for something definitive on the time scale but it it didn't sound great in terms of you know slot confirmed that you know they they thought there was some damage to the hamstring uh

Canate is not too far away, but I'm not expecting him to play against United. So, you know, it's a big one for Jarrell Kwanzaa. He obviously looks likely to deputise alongside Van Dijk. And I don't, you know, with the almost, what was it, a week gap between games? Yeah.

I don't think we'll see many changes, if any other ones from the West Ham game. I guess the one would be Zabozlai, you know, with probably a toss-up between, do you bring him back or do you stick with Curtis? I think that's a really difficult judgment call, but it's a really nice one for slot to have. Yeah, and I mean, whenever you play United, no matter what the state they're in, it's always a big game.

and the place will be rocking. Well, let's... Go on, let's really put our necks on the line. Let's have a prediction. Sorry. 3-1 Liverpool. James? I'm going to go...

5-1. 5-1? Oh, I do like that. I do like that. Yeah, I mean, actually, I've asked you two for a prediction. I'm not going to do it. I want to hear your prediction, Tony, and so do the listeners. You know, I'd like them to outdo seven, but to be honest, all I care about is three points. Yeah, exactly. And you know what would be even better? What would be even better is if United put together a heroic game

performance and they're hanging on with seconds to go with Liverpool attacking the cup and then I mean almost like the Origi goal against Everton

Out of the blue. Sporny wins. Sporny wins are far more satisfying, I would say, as a spectator at least, than absolutely battering the team, I think. You know when the opponent is going home, kicking and screaming, saying it should have been this, it should have been that, and you've just fluked your way to a win. I'd rather that person. What I'd like to see is, as I say, deep into stoppage time, and that would probably affect me health in the 90 minutes plus before...

But keeping the stoppage time a heartbreaking goal and seeing all those players in Manchester United shirts slumped to the ground, the face is a picture of agony.

feeling the pain of what it's like to be beaten by Liverpool because over the years they've done it plenty of times to us well that's it for Walk On your Liverpool podcast brought to you by The Athletic thanks to James and Simon for joining me and you for listening we'll be back next week we'll catch you then The Athletic FC Podcast Network