First State Kopites

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of Premier League Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Enrique and Daz. The season is over - well unless you ignore Gianni Infantino's narcissistic monstrosity taking pace here in the US in the next few months. We are going to do one of our look backs at the season, Being Champions, The Big Red Weekend, and maybe we'll start to look ahead as Liverpool seek to defend their title..Part One: Season highlights:Arne Slot - 26 games unbeatenWin over City in November - Guardiola's 6 fingers after we beat them 2-0 - yes we have won that many European cupsKelleher appeared in a ton of games October through December - Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Newcastle - Liverpool had no injuriesWeek 17 - Spurs 3, Liverpool 6 - 8 points clear with a game in handUnited home - the conditions were really awful.Matchweek 26 - Performance at City away - Mo:). Had not lost against us in 8 at the Emptihad before that.12 points ahead with 9 to play - loss to PSG and Newcastle. Team started playing with some fear.…..until Mac Allister scored against Spurs!! That day was joyous…Final game and the parade. Last time we 3 spoke, we'd just lost to ChelseaPart Two - Liverpool as Champions and the chasing pack‘Nobody expected this'. Well they got 82 points with a team decimated by injuries and handling the Jurgen emotion.VVD - imperious for the most part - more strikers trying to pressure him nowMo Salah - 29 Premier League goals plus 18 assists186 goals, one behind Andy Cole which will put him 4th early next season245 for Liverpool - 40 behind Roger Hunt in second placeArsenal's over-reliance on set-pieces, and their inability to defend them was quite a feature. Complete inability to find resilience - the complaints had to have an effect didn't they?‘The level we play is so high, but something is missing' Arteta said after dropped points against Villa at homeOverplaying their hand with the 5-1 win over Man CityDid you see the decision to disallow the Villa goal - leads to 2 oli state teams in the Champions League….FOOTNOTE - Oliver refereed the United home game, Forest at home and Everton away. He refereed 3 of the 9 games before we won the title where we dropped pointsHis record is 6-8-6 for us - interesting?Part Three - Looking ahead:TransfersClub World Cup impact?Style next season?They are back in early July - lots of time for them to work on new stuffWe will be back with more reflections before we are done with the 2024-25 season. Thanks to Daz and Enrique for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of the 2024-25 Premier League Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean. We are recording this a week after the Reds picked up the Premier League trophy and had a very big parade. We'll do a short review of the Palace game, look back at the big red weekend, reflect on PSG's Champions League win and then start to look ahead as Liverpool seek to defend their title..Part One - Reds draw with Crystal Palace at Anfield in session ending game - xG 2.14 to 1.77 - 35 to 15 touches in the opposition boxGame, slow start, real wall of sound for the last 10 to 15. The non-call handball - Darren fuckin England again. Salah's 29th goalTrophy lift and the Parade with one bad actor claiming too much of the narrativeThe national reporting of Liverpool's title has been bizarre - Mo Salah just matched the goal involvement totals of Shearer and Cole in 4 less games. POY on every measure.Part Two - knock out football is tough - Champions League Final20th anniversary of IstanbulLost to PSG on penalties and somehow Villa and Arsenal occupy more of the narrativeNation states - thanks to Clive Tyldelsey for bringing it upPart Three - looking ahead:What is Richard Hughes trying to solve for - pace, between the lines, learning from PSG?Jeremy FrimpongWirtz - looks like we will have to pay moreKerkez - personal terms agreed?10m Euros for TAA, up to 19m GBP for Caoimnhe We will be back with more reflections and looking ahead. Thanks to Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of the 2024-25 Premier League Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Justin and Daz. We are recording this after the Reds went to Brighton via Dubai to record another loss that doesn't matter. Briefer pod than normal with a short review of the Brighton game and then look ahead to the big red weekend where Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in a preview of the Community Shield on August 9th.Today's game - xG 2.34 to 2.11 - 25 shots to 18, 2 big chances to 3 for us. Salah 0.86 xGOverall approachGood game - no time wasting!Salah, Szobozlai, ElliottBradley, QuansahPalace at home in the last gameGame itself - line up - TAA visibility?Who else are we bidding farewell to? Good question!!The Trophy liftCelebration plans?Istanbul 20th anniversaryWe will be back after the Palace game and the celebrations. Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of the 2024-25 Premier League Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We will review last weekend's Arsenal game, and continue to reflect on a 20th top flight title. Obviously we will touch on the Trent situation. We will look ahead to the Brighton match and we'll be looking around at what's happening elsewhere.Part One - Arsenal at home - xG 1.92 to 0.58 in the first halfFirst half, Reds are generally magnificentSalah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo - well that was funSecond half - it was warm, Arsenal appeared to be beatenWe just didn't look the same teamAnd then the booing started and the game and the whole future narrative about the game changesAll Mikels are forever shady - ‘unscrupulous and fraudulent'Booing Thomas ParteyPart Two - ‘Brand Trent', the crowd and the impact on the game - 1.99 xG conceded in the second halfSuggestion that it was led by younger fans on the Kop‘I don't support the booing but he deserved it'Other issues that I've heard from Scousers who were upset‘The ear cupping'The AI generated goodbye messageYou are leaving us:you've used the Scouser in our Team stuff to support your brand‘Just a normal lad from Liverpool'Part Three - 2 games left. Mo Salah - FWA Player of the YearBrighton away on a Monday night. Nice opportunity for a beer with some friends?Signings - Frimpong and Kerkez seem to be high on the list. Not so much Huisen.Xabi Alonso, also going (back) to Franco's boys:We will be back after the Brighton game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. Might need to record the night of to get it done.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of the 2024-25 Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Enrique and Daz. We will review the Chelsea game, and continue to reflect on a 20th top flight title. Obviously we will touch on the departure of Trent and the other noises around the squad. We will look ahead to the Arsenal match and we'll be looking around at what's happening elsewhere.Part 1 - Chelsea away - Fotmob xG 3.13 to 1.05 (I saw another call it at 1.96 to 1.36)65% possession for us - Palmer controlled this gameBest English player?Elliott, Endo, Quansah, Darwin, We committed 11 fouls to their 10.Guard of HonorPart 2 - Arsenal at homeA marker for next season?They might be fragile or they might be boosted by the PSG game?The manager - ‘one game left to save his job!Part 3 - Bigger picture - departures and arrivalsTrentDarwin and a center forwardCentral defenderLeft BackWe will be back after the Arsenal game. Thanks to Daz, Justin and Enrique for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the podcast of Champions. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We will review the Spurs game, probably briefly, reflect on the events surrounding th game as Liverpool celebrated its 20th top flight title. We may look ahead to the Chelsea match and we'll certainly be looking ahead…. Part 0 - the experienceCrowds, songs and joyPart One  - Liverpool 5, Spurs 1 (xG 2.28 vs 0.46)Everyone says Spurs were terrible. Are they just perfect for us?Solanke goalThe Diaz goal broke this one openMac Allister - the best we've seen from the Argentine. First left footed goalMohammed Salah - 28 goals - passess Aguero. These last 2 weeks he's looked sharper - gets an early sighter on goal.Part Two - Reaction from around the world‘Won it by default' or one of the best performances everNO ONE CARESHow people feel about Liverpool - ‘The burden of the badge'Arne Slot Na Na Na Na NaPart Three - - looking ahead:4 games to go - Chelsea awayTop 5 racePromoted teams/relegated teamEuropean footballWe will be back after the Chelsea game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. We will review the Leicester game, look ahead to the Spurs match and then do our now typical wider view, of where everyone else is and maybe some next season chat..Part One - Leicester Away - xG 0.27 to 3.03The numbers tell us it was a walk in park - could have been 2 up in 11 minutesIf this had've been 4 or 5 nil no one would've raised an eyebrowSense of nervousness - due to the gravity of the three pointsShould we get shut of Diaz as a 9? Jota and Diaz average position behind Mac AllisterOf course Leicester decide to give it a go against usJota should've given Mo his 19th assistThe substitutions - Curtis just going straight down the tunnelCody - is there a conversation to be had post injury?Traveling Kop — festive but moody…?Trent introduction and goal. His celebration. Jamie Vardy is still a prickPart Two - Spurs at homeBeaten again this weekend. 15 1-goal losses. Talk of Ange being gone regardless of Europa successDo they show up and give it go? If they give it a go like in the League Cup semi, we are goldenDo we think that Palace will give Arsenal a go?Lineup PredictionPart Three - what are YOU gonna do if we win the league?Michael Cox piece - 4 reasons why it's good that Liverpool are winning the leagueCan you rent an open top bus near you? What is your likely reaction?Who do we think is most likely going to round out the last 2 CL spots?We will be back after the Spurs game. Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We will review the win over West Ham last weekend, look ahead to the Leicester game and then do our now typical wider view, now that we can be certain that Virg and Mo are sticking around and Liverpool are about to have a big summer.Part One - West Ham home - xG 1.78 to 1.50 - 1.34 to 0.77 in the first halfGame of 2 halves BrianFirst half - as much intensity as we've seen for a few weeksSecond half - their changes seemed to confuse usOwn goal - more defensive mistakes would have been the narrativeFirst Virgil goal at Anfield for 14 months - maybe the Salah vs United 2020 moment?The funk - is it Tiredness? Complacency? Unknown territory?Alexis Mac AllisterPart Two - Leicester AwayHaven't scored at home for monthsDid get a point at Brighton in a game where Brighton had an xG over 4Team selectionPredictionsPart Three - Any other businessTitle watch - Spurs at home?Virgil contractBig summer says Virgil‘Liverpool won't be at the same level next year'Champions League? Still pissed that Barcelona ends up playing Benfica and Dortmund. Narrative around Villa Arsenal are brilliant… well, let's see shall we?We will be back after the Leicester game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Today is the 36th anniversary of Hillsborough where 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed. Many lives were changed that day. To help understand the impact on Liverpool, the City, the people and those directly affected, we are airing an episode from Season 2 where we got to hear from 2 Hillsborough Survivors - Ritchie and Damien. It could be much better produced, but it was our most viewed episode when we did the YouTube channel. This is for all of those affected by the tragedy, whose story deserves to be told over and over.Ritchie and Damien share some really insightful perspectives from lifelong, match going fans. Many thanks to them.

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Justin and Daz. We will review the defeat at Fulham last weekend, look ahead to the West Ham game and then take a wider view, especially in the light of the news about Mo Salah's contract.Part One - Fulham away - xG 1.5 to 0.74 (2H 1.45 to 0.22). ‘Fantastic Fulham win'First half - terrible performance or a series of individual errors?Started bright, low point the ‘penalty' and the Konate error14 mins - Mac Allister with a long range shot - called that onexGOT was 1.34 for them - doesn't reflect well on KelleherTheir goals - slaps forehead:23 mins- Jones/Konate - hmm31 mins - Andy Robbo hat trick34 - Jota almost equalizes37 - VVD could have done better, but Ali probably saves itStephen Warnock. that Liverpool legend tells Virgil, it's not good enough. Usual Warnock bollocks in the commentarySecond half - chances, chances and more chances until 80 minutes:48 - Jota chance64 - Salah miss72 - Luis Diaz goal75 - Jones header79 - Elliott hits the bar (move stopped again with an offside that wasn't)91 - Chiesa chance92 - Elliott - needed it to be on his left footOverall:Subs brought on earlier? Bradley and Luis Diaz impactShape against man to man marking? Need speed.Part Two - West Ham United at home at 9:00AM ET on Sunday:‘Liverpool haven't played well in 2 months'Villa - Forest xG 3.03 to 1.48, Arsenal - Real Madrid 1.64 to 0.5Mo Salah loves playing against West Ham - Balon D'Or, contract, Ramadan..Line up, prediction'sPart Three - how do we reflect on such a disappointing season?Mo Salah - more in than outBig weekend for MamardashviliChampions League - we could have won this…PSG look really good, We will be back after the West Ham game. Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We will review the Derby victory in some detail. Then we'll look at the Fulham game and briefly the last 7 games before the 20th title.Part One - Everton at home xG 1.47 to 0.67 (.53 to .03 in the second half)First half - not perfect, Curtis was greatJota blocked shot at 10 minutes - felt like a small signVirgil, Ibou, the pitch and the weather and the Beto chance30 to 45 - Everton looked there for the takingSecond half - we controlled this:Much more urgency and by 57 the goal was comingOffside rule is bad but Luis Diaz does well Diogo - magic feet. Sean Rogers talked about the seriousness of the punctured lungDidn't like us deciding the game was done - 1-0 is a tenuous leadMore refereeing shite:Tarkowski and Tierney combine to produce one of the worst decisions you'll see. PGMOL (eye roll)The offside goal (20) - CSI arrives.Barrott blows his whistle for the foul on Szobozlai when the ball is in the air. Maybe he thought the defender had the ball. VAR could still tell on Pickford.At the end, we could have had a breakaway.Sam Barrott - maybe too big a game for him at this point.Overall - some narratives:VVD - they play a certain way and we managed to cope with their tactics said Slot.Slot was passive aggressive about Everton - the rule helps teams with a high press, not that Everton do that…in the Fulham press conference he mentions the low block againPart Two - Fulham away:Team selectionFulham - lost 2 in a row. Didn't look great against Arsenal.Outcome?Part three - bigger picture:The 5 games in 15 days - obliterating our 2 weeks off that we'd earned in the UCL2 week int'l break - the dust settling after March's disappointments. Maybe bring up how Virg dressed down the turkey burger that is Michael Owen and his “just the Premier League” barb.Elsewhere in the league and the Champions LeagueSequence of Sunday games might help us get in a rhythm with the pod as well!!We will be back after the Fulham game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to our extra episode. I'm Paul and I am joined once again by Enrique and Daz.We start up in 14 days at home to Everton.Annoying national narrative that this season has ended up being disappointing - mate, you didn't live 2022 and 2024.Lots of post game chat about squad refresh and the seeming unlikelihood of resigning VVD, Mo and TAA. Position on FSG changing?We will be back after the Everton game. Thanks to Daz and Enrique for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Enrique and Daz. So the Champions League journey is over for another season after the Reds lose in a penalty shoot out to PSG. Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final is not a game we will want to dwell on much after today. Part One - a 1-0 loss at home to PSG.xG 1.59 to 2.63, (Dembele's goal was 0.95) - 1.51 to 2.13 in normal time (0.10 in the second half). A lot of nearly moments - the offside goal, the Quansah header, Salah had 4 shots.Plan for 90 to 120 and the penalties. Probably not a good coaching move to practice penalties before this game when you have the leadPart Two - Newcastle at Wembley. xG 1.05 to 1.93 - 0.8 to 1.18 second half - First time we've gone down by 2 goals this season. Their game plan worked out better than they could ever have hoped. Would love to have done better on the Burn header.What was our plan? Play it long?The line up, tiredness, lack of sharpness?2 narratives can be true at the same time:John Brooks, Joelinton - 14 fouls against us with 66% possession - 10 against them on 34% possession. 2 yellow cards for them for time wasting.Look out for the extra look ahead episode. We will be back after the Everton game. Thanks to Daz and Enrique for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Enrique. So the Reds went to Paris for the first time since 2022 and again one of the goalies had a man of the match performance that prevented the dominant team from winning - this time it went in our favor. We are going to review PSG away, and Southampton at home which left us 15 points ahead after this weekend and then look ahead to the return leg and then the Carabao Cup final. 3 finals Slot had said on Friday.Part One - Paris Saint Germain away - this was a tough watch until the 87th minute:xG - 1.78 to 0.16 First half - the blanket was in the wrong place. Were they just so good (so much better than anyone we've played) or were we bad in tactics and performance?Lots of Konate and Kvaratskheilia, Napoli away vibes, Alisson Becker - wowSecond half - created a better defensive platform - 0.42 xG. Best xG shot of the second half was 0.07 from Harvey Elliott. Dembele's right foot shots from distance were a sign of frustration and tiredness. They tried to avoid attacking down the middle - no surprise there…‘Lucky' - Liverpool had an xG of 2.19 in the final against Real in 2022 but didn't score, Real had an xG of 0.91 and did. Anyone remember the myriad articles after these games about Liverpool being robbed? No, me neither.Part Two - Southampton at home - xG 4.12 to 0.36 - 1.44 to 0.25 first half, second half, just over 1 without the penalties. Tiredness, complacency?First half - rhythm broken by the head injury after 12 minutesDarwin red card - huh? ‘Nunez endeavoring to answer the age-old question: “what would it look like if you gave Divock Origi a little bit of meth before each game?”'Their goal……..Second half - upped the levels but should we have done more to get the third earlier?Half time changes - Robbo, Alexis Mac Allister and HarveyOverall TAA and Virg looked very solid.Mo Salah moves up in the lists -Joint 5th PL list - 184, level with Aguero and 3 behind Andy Cole.3rd alone in the all time LFC list with 243 - 42 behind Sir Roger HuntArsenal drawing at Old Trafford makes the result look perfectLFC Women also knocked Arsenal out of the FA CupArteta walked out on his SkySports interview - don't blame him.Part Three - looking ahead to a big weekPSG second leg at Anfield - team, expectations, hopes and scoresDarwin to press Marquinos?Often we talked in the Klopp years about the importance of having a lived experience - how much will that help here?Newcastle United at Wembley - they are without Gordon, Hall and Botman. Hopefully we will have almost everyone ready. They don't appear to be playing with much confidence.We will be back next week with a review of PSG at home and the Carabao Cup final. After that our next game Thanks to Enrique and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to this bonus episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. So the Reds are 13 points clear with 67 points and 10 games to play in the League. We are going use Liverpool's weekend off to take a broader view of the season - looking back and looking ahead to the last 3 months of the season:Part One - looking back - 20 wins in the League, seeded first in the UCL draw (for what that is worth) and a Carabao Cup Final (with one really decent performance):Two highlights each - (potential talking points)Lost 1, won 11 in first 12 gamesPeople really started to take notice when we dispatched real and city in the same weekThe Fulham 2-2 win (down to 10, 1 behind and prob should've won) showed the type of grit the team had. Ebbs and flows of the league—been a proper champions mentality. “Wobbles” are ties away from home, where we are still unbeaten after 28 fixtures, in tricky fixtures and with 5 games in 15 days. Going down first or early isn't a death knell (which is an improvement from last season)growth/development of Dom and GravenberchThe Spurs away 6-3, coz fuck AngeIn the cold light of day (inner chimps away and after rewatching) the data shows conclusively that we are exactly where we should be.Healthy squad—the Arne effect? The way we play? Both? Arsenal's challenge - 'over my dead body'. The 11 points from 15 in the 5 games in 15 days.Pet peeves - Michael Oliver, Rebecca Lowe and any other uninformed pundit who says it's been easy. Any others?PGMOL in general. Not just for us but as a general rule how poor they have been The seeding of the UCL and how little it actually means to be first.How we are often the agents of our own demisePart Two - looking ahead:Champions League - tough draw, hardest side of the bracket. Club Brugge or Villa in the last 8 if we get through.Carabao Cup final in 2 weeks against Newcastle - presumably with Joelinton and Isak (went off today, but prob be ok) No Gordon.The league - what's your expectation for the last 10? Let's not leave it till the last 4Full list of league opponents Soton (h)Ev (h)Fulham (a)Hammers (h)Leicester (a)Spurs (h)Chelsea (a)Arsenal (h) — full week in between Ars and CheBrighton (a)Palace (h)Southampton and Leicester have been terrible - will van Nistelroy still be there?6 homes, 4 aways (Fulham, Brighton, Chelsea)Will be our 20th top flight titleFitness and form of No. 9s to be deciding factor…?We will be back next week with a review of PSG away (and maybe Southampton at home depending on availability). Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds beat City last weekend, and in similar fashion outplayed Newcastle this midweek. Top of the Premier League by 13 from Arsenal (game in hand), 19 from Forest, and 20 from City and 21 from Chelsea. We'll review the City and Newcastle games and then look ahead to the PSG round of 16 away leg and maybe Southampton at home. Part One - finally we win a league game at the Etihad Was this a case of them revisiting the need for control or Man City forced us into a low block? Or was this a Rafa tribute moment? Salah, Dominik, Virgil, Ibou - and lots of other great performances. On City: Doku's unbelievable performance… oh wait A few weeks ago, Sean asked if Rico Lewis ever played right back for them, only when they lose was my reply - I am taking credit for thatPart Two - Newcastle at home xG 1.7 (Gakpo .52) to 0.23 ‘Turn on the pan of league winning oil at a low temperature' Ben Jonno, so we can still keep enjoying it. Control is back, just in time for the Champions League round of 16 We took the referee out of the equation today - Salah penalty?? Dominic Szobozlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister. Salah's 17th assist.Part Three - upcoming games and elsewhere: Arsenal's enablement of our title challenge: West Ham fans to Rice - ‘You should have signed for a big club' PSG - why bother trying to get first in the Champions League table? We are not favorites in this tie!!  Salah - when asked about whether he is getting better, his answer is the equivalent of, well some people prefer Sgt. Pepper others says it's Abbey Road….. Rebecca Lowe still doesn't have him in the EPL all time XI…. - recency bias.. What about unconscious bias? We will be back next week with a review of PSG away (and maybe Southampton at home). Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. The Reds beat Wolves, and play out an interesting one at Villa. Still top of the Premier League - 8 from Arsenal, 14 from Forest, and 17 from City. We'll review the Wolves and Villa games and then look ahead to City away and Newcastle at home. After that we can take a breath.Part One - how nervous were you about the Wolves game? First half wasn't perfect but 1.76 xG vs Wolves 0.25 (including penalty) Second half felt really challenging but there were just a couple of moments of concern Second gear, reaction to the Everton match? The third goal would have been a sliding doors momentPart Two - Villa away - much better performance than the last 2. xG was 2.44 to 0.73. If we bought into the idea that we need 9 wins in the last 13, this was not a bad result. If we think we need to put pressure on Arsenal, probably not the ideal outcome. Villa scored their big chances, but conceding from the set piece was poor. Looked short of energy at the end of the first and second half Diogo and Darwin should have probably done better (probably??). A certain player is very disappointed. Diaz injured??Part Three - Looking ahead and a word about Mo Salah - in part because we may only have 13 league games left with him: Comparisons with Rooney are interesting - he has 265 goal involvements in 289 PL games, Rooney had 311 in 491 games (92% vs 63% involvement to game ratio). 3 goals behind Aguero, and 1 behind Gordon Hodgson now. 24 goals this season, 15 assists. A word on Diogo - strange game against Wolves, but he has now played 16 games with 12 left - at the start of the season we said if he plays 28 we win the league… City - are they back? Well, maybe in England, the new midfielder Gonzalez can't hurt but Newcastle seemed extremely passive (and that hasn't worked for anyone). Looks like no Stones on Sunday. Real Madrid were not so passive. Selection, predictions Newcastle at home. Please let's have the shit show that showed up in Manchester last Saturday please. Selection, predictions. After City, 7 of our last 11 will be at Anfield. Need for rotation? Could we get our midfielders some help? Endo? Then we'll have a week till the Champions League round of 16 away game against PSG or Benfica. Champions league draw - Brugge, PSG, We will be back next week with a review of City and Newcastle.Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds draw against Everton. Still top of the Premier League - 7 from Arsenal, 10 from Forest, 14 from Chelsea and 16 from City and Newcastle. We'll review the game and then look at Plymouth away and Spurs at home in the Carabao, with a look ahead to Wolves and Villa away.League win at Everton - oh never mind: Seven points clear - have that dickheads says John Gibbons The referee conversation has dominated how we've looked at this game Midfield and then the attack never got in rhythm - that will happen when there's a foul every 3 minutesLeague Cup - beat Spurs 4-0:This team is scary…. Mo Salah, what of Messi is better? Gakpo - down the line? Set pieces looked better!! 50 to 65 - looked ridiculous  75 - Szobo goal - oof VVD was always going to scoreFA Cup at Plymouth:This team wasn't… Harvey's worst 90 No complaints about the line upPart Three - looking ahead 8 home games and 6 away games Wolves - line up, predictions Villa, line up, predictionsWe will be back the week of February 20th with a review of Wolves and Villa away.Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. The Reds win at Bournemouth. Still top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 6 from Arsenal, 9 from Forest and 13 from Chelsea and 15 from City and Newcastle. We'll review the PSV game and mostly look at Bournemouth, with a look ahead at the next 2 weeks.Part One - PSV Eindhoven: xG 1.32 to 1.61 (0.76 penalty)Frustrating, because a draw would put them in the mix for the round of 16 tie against us. Conceding in the 6th minute of 4 minutes of added time in the first half was frustrating.Some good signs - Chiesa, McConnell and Andy Robertson. However Quansah - oof. Elliott - what do we think? Danns….Finishing first - yawn….Part Two - Bournemouth away revised Fotmob xG 1.58 to 2.52 (.76 for the penalty) but Opta has it at 1.00 to 2.66. Statsbomb somewhere in between.Kepa and the nightmare for him that is Mohamed Salah. Thinking Chelsea Kop end 2019. 21 PL goals this season, passes Lampard to go 6th on the all time PL list - 178, 6 behind Aguero. Moving closer to 3rd on Liverpool's all time list - 236 - 241 is the next milestone (Gordon Hodgson - played between 1925 and 1935)..Narrative nationally that we were lucky and that it's been easy…TAW game review suggested the Match of the Day reporting was rather like NBC's highlights. They hit the post twice, missed an open goal, should have had a penalty, we should not have had a penalty…They had spells, but we had longer ones - in the first half, Trent, Dom could easily have scored.Part Three - 14/15 games left. The mighty Arsenal win the champions league against City (oh wait)56 points - 7 wins against lower table opposition (6 at home and Leicester away_ would yield 21 points. 77 with 8 other games to play. 3 other wins takes us to 86. Arsenal could get to 92, but you feel that emotion cannot sustain them.Over-emotional FCHow many wins do we think?Spurs Plymouth, Everton. Lineups and predictionsWe will be back the week after February 12th with a review of Spurs and Plymouth Argyle and then Everton away.Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band –https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. The Reds win against Lille and Ipswich. Still top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 6 from Arsenal, 9 from Forest and 12 from City and Bournemouth. We'll review Lille and Ipswich and then talk about the upcoming Champions League game against PSV and the Premier League away against Bournemouth plus a look around. Part One - 7 wins out of 7. Lille's 21 game unbeaten run comes to an end - xG 2.46 v 0.49 Some rotation - Bradley, Quansah, Curtis, Tsimikas Unexciting, said Slot senior. Efficient I told my daughter Salah finish - 50 European goals Disappointing to conceded, but great to come back score and almost score a third (Chiesa and Darwin) Part Two - Ipswich swatted aside - 4-1 - xG 1.98 vs. 0.48 (I think .28 comes from the goal) Dominic Szobozlai catches the eye Salah goes past Thierry Henry in the Premier League goal list - 176 over 175 (82 to 74 in assists Cody is on quite a run of form - great pass from Trent. On 8 goals now, level with Luis Diaz. Lots of players get rested. Subs tried but everyone else had taken it down a notch McKenna claimed the numbers show his team competed - 16 shots to 3 - all 3 happened after we were 3-0 up. Over 300 final third passes, Ipswich had 30 (56% success). Part Three - Coming up PSV on Wednesday - PSV leading the Eredivisie.  Hopes, lineup and predictions Bournemouth away - most difficult game so far? Hopes, lineup and predictions Season so far Liverpool after 22 Premier League matches (Opta) 2023-24 2024-25 Goals 51 54 Shots 422 392 Expected goals 49.4 52.1 Goals against 19 21 Shots faced 241 201 xG against 24.8 19.4 Points 51 53 Arteta - a difficult spell for Liverpool - ‘they usually do' Bad news Mikel - we need 11 wins in 16 to get to 86 points (and that assumes we don't get any points in the other 5 games) Arsenal's hysterical title challenge We will be back after February 2nd with a review of Bournemouth and PSV away - previewing Spurs in the Carabao, Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup and then Everton away on February 12th..Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us.  If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Justin and Daz. The Reds win at Brentford with the Darwin Nunez late show. Big win especially after Arsenal dropped points. Top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 6 from Arsenal and Forest and 10 from Chelsea, 12 from surging Newcastle and reborn City. We'll review Brentford and then talk about the upcoming Champions League game against Lille and the Premier League home against Ipswich plus a look around. Part One - Brentford away - xG 3.43 vs. 0.77, although shot quality (37) wasn't always great. Diaz as a nine In game dominance - front foot approach vs. more passive against Forest The difficulty of scoring goals! Set pieces Subs - I hate taking Mac Alister off… but the changes worked Clean sheet - Allison looked better Part Two - Ipswich at home, Lille at home in the UCL Background… Lille, currently 3rd in Ligue Un, 8th in the UCL. Only lost 3 games all season. Jonathan David. Hopes, lineup and predictions Ipswich - tonked 6-0 by City Hopes, lineup and predictions Part three - wider analysis: We have 9 home games and 8 away. 12 wins would give us 86 points.  xG difference, according to Paul Tomkins is the 4th best since 2017. Arsenal's max points is 92, requiring them to win 16 games in a row… they are running at 2 points a game. Man City wage system?? We will be back after January 26th with a review of Ipswich and Lille at home and previewing PSV, Bournemouth away and Spurs in the Carabao..Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us.  If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds drew with Forest 1-1 last Tuesday after dropping points against Man Utd a week and a half ago in the League. Still the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 12 points clear of City, 4 from Arsenal (same games) and 10 from Chelsea. We'll review those games and then talk about the upcoming Premier League game against Brentford plus a look around the league.  United - xG 2.82 including penalty, 1.05 (Martinez shot was 0.55?) Should've won. No two ways about it. Both there goals are easily stopped with better defensive effort.  Look at it as 2 points dropped or four points taken across the season against United The ghosts of late 2023/24 season seem to be creeping in. Allowing very soft goals after controlling (even if sterile or not at the races). Endo introduced too late? Trent convo — do we even bother with the transfer saga and how that was dragged out into the sunlight for everyone to weigh in? Our system did not help without Szobo. Forest - 71% possession - xG 1.99 vs 0.31. Forest 6 shots (3 on target) First half I needed violence. Mo pulling out of the tackle and a goal that any top level EPL goalie should save. But when the final whistle blew, every meaningful statistic (bar the W) was heavily in LFC's favor Vacillate between being angry and accepting that maybe it is a good point against a team who have proven they deserve to be in the top four.  Deserve - worth a conversation. Jon Champion claimed they went toe to toe with us….. Salah fouled in the box again. Spurs Carabao See above. Lot of players very much off the boil, esp Mo who didn't really seem interested. Jones was almost invisible. Wonder if it all is starting to feel a little stale for some of them. Perhaps the 6-3 pounding was still in their heads? Reffing again. Man who should be sent off scores as the man who he fouled is off the pitch after receiving treatment.  Endo bossed it in that roll even if only as a make weight Quansah. How do we see him in light of it coming out in that Slot might just not be that into him? Ali convo might need to be had  Acc Stanley Moving on. Some players got a much needed run out. Nice assist from Darwin, but he was poor in front of goal again.  Danns nets. Again. A goal every 15 minutes in the FA Cup. Chiesa cameo was pretty damn good. Could've had a hatter. Part Three - looking ahead: Brentford - hopes, line up, predictions Slot preferences - who's in and who's out? The run in - win 13 of 18.… We will be back January 19th with a review of Brentord away and then what follows.Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us.  If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds beat Leicester 3-1 last Thursday and played another tough one against West Ham on Sunday - just the 5 goals this time. We are at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 14 points clear of City, 9 from Arsenal (same games) and 10 from Chelsea. We'll review those games and then talk about the upcoming Premier League game against Man United plus a look around the league.  Part One - Leicester City at home - xG 1.91 vs 0.34 Conceding early again, but it felt different. Lot of pressure, didn't necessarily count in xG ‘Abject' said James Pearce in the first half. Really…  Maybe too many crosses, maybe a little too rushed. Second half - so much movement, Jones! 17 fouls against us to 5! With 68% possession. Szobo yellow card. Darren Bond doing a solid Coote/Oliver/Tierney impression. The VAR stuff was weird CSI in its intensity. Gakpo 2nd, Nunes doesn't touch the ball. Cody Gakpo and Mo's goals - woof! Part two - West Ham away - xG 3.09 to 0.32. 7 shots from West Ham, Sean Rogers tells us that title winning teams concede less than 10 on average. Difficult fixture for us this one - well at least on paper. Surprised the ground was so full at the end - assume they expected this. Started great, but West Ham were easy to play through. Areola started like Yashin and eventually reverted to the mean Luis Diaz finish, Joe Gomez injury, Kudus at 1-0, Then some Mo magic. Mac Allister with the most pressures (regain led to Mo's goal). Second half, unusually low key - Trent. Mo's 10 chances, the Jota goal….  Word on Antony Taylor - no cards, 10 fouls against us, and 7 against them.  Part three - elsewhere and look ahead Man United on the horizon… they were actually abject in the first half against Newcastle, More on Mo Salah -  Passed Beckham and Henry to be 10th for the all time EPL assists. One behind Thierry Henry for goals - 8th, could get to 4th by the end of the season. 8 games with a goal and an assist - most ever in the Premier League and he's got 20 games to go. NBC's Rebecca Lowe insistent that Mo is nowhere near the best player in the Premier League era - WTF But is he as good as Cole Palmer?  Contracts - Bascombe, La Marca, AS  We will be back January 13th ish  with a review of United at home and the various cup games, looking ahead to 2 potentially season defining away games at Forest and Brentford. Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. Wishing you all a Happy New Year If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

We so enjoyed the conversation after the win at Spurs on Sunday, we came back to chat about the next few games: Looking ahead: Leicester - hopes, line up, predictions West Ham - hopes, line up, predictions Manchester United - hopes, line up, predictions  We will be back in 2 weeks with a review of those four or five games, and maybe some previews. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. Look out for the bonus episode coming soon previewing our upcoming games. I'm Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. The Reds drew 2-2 with Fulham last weekend, beat Southampton 2-1 last Wednesday in the Carabao Cup and played a tough one against Spurs today - well OK, a game we dominated. We are at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 12 points clear of City, 6 from Arsenal and 4 from Chelsea. We'll review those games and then talk about the upcoming Premier League games against Leicester, West Ham and Man United. Part One - Reds drew at home Fulham - xG 2.13 versus 1.22 Losing Andy Robertson after 17 minutes was tough The team looked like an 11 for the most part The challenge on Gomez was huge. 2-1 up with 20 to go would have been great. Szobo and Ryan were magnificent. And Oh his name is Diogo!! Part Two - a word on Southampton (xG 0.7 to 1.7) and then the Spurs game: Southampton: Actually a good performance by a much pared down squad - Nyoni, Morton, Endo, Elliott. Some decent performances in there. Good goals by Darwin and Harvey. Lots of CSI shit about the challenge by Quansah on Fernandes (cf with national reporting of the foul on Gomez in the Fulham game). Spurs (xG 4.60 vs 1.25) Lots of bad memories at this stadium. Even when we won, Bobby got poked in the eye Apart from the vertigo suffering Madison's goal, that first half was just about perfect Diaz, Gakpo, Salah combination That midfield - probably helped by the break that we had and they didn't Salah - 2 behind Henry, 5 behind Lampard in EPL goals. Just passed Billy Liddell, now 4th on the all time Liverpool list. Joint 10th on the EPL list of assists, about to pass David Beckham. Concern about conceding 2 late goals? We will be back in 2 weeks with a review of those four or five games, and maybe some previews. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds drew with Newcastle away 3-3 a week ago, had the Merseyside Derby postponed, and beat Girona 1-0 on Tuesday in the Champions league. Net result is we are 3 points clear at the top of the Champions League table and still the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 8 points clear of City, 6 from Arsenal and 4 ahead of Chelsea. We'll review those games and then talk about Fulham in the Premier League and maybe Southampton in the Carabao Cup.  Part One - Reds drew at Newcastle. Not a great first half performance, but a lot of positives in the second half. xG 2.09 to 1.98 (first half 0.89 v 0.25). Second half 10 shots to 4 from inside the box. First half seemed a tired performance, but having Quansah at right back took away outlets and a lot of attacking threat. Mac Allister did have a couple of good efforts. Not Joe Gomez's best performance.  Newcastle had a lot in their favor here. They get up for big games at home. They had an extra day of preparation. They were facing a team that had just come through 2 of their biggest games of the season and without a lot of scope for rotation, especially with the defensive injuries. Refereeing, Slot mentions how difficult it was to be aggressive when every tackle drew a yellow card. Maddley is shite for us - waiting for the video where he tells us he or his mate hates Scousers. 5 cards to 1, 17 fouls to 9. Salah fouls. Goal - saved by Ali? VVD only left him part of the goal to aim at. Third goal for them - Caoimhin to blame? (I think that chance has a 0.4 xG) Second half - more energy, Looked a different team with Trent. Great finish from Curtis and Salah is just Salah - takes him to 13 goals for the season (5 behind Thierry Henry) Part Two: Girona away. Felt like we started rusty and eventually controlled the game. xG 1.84 to 1.21 for us (0.8 vs 0.73 in the first half): Joe could have scored in the first 5 minutes. Frustrating 10 minutes or so - Ali was great, press and marking was a little off Neil talked about the strange formation where they vacated the middle of the field when they had the ball Nunez performance, Diaz- what did he do to piss the French referee off? Salah was OK but that penalty makes it even more clear that the Real Madrid factor was real for him when he missed 2 weeks ago. He has 227 Liverpool goals, one behind Billy Liddell now. 50 UCL goal - 10th on the list, 1 behind Thierry Henry Part Three: Fulham at home; Southampton away in the Carabao Fulham - challenges? (Bassey, Andersen) Team selection, predictions Southampton - approach? Challenges? Most of these teams are not used to playing 2 games a week. Team selection Over the holidays - Sunday, Thursday, Sunday - let's drain the optimism We will be back next week with a review of the Fulham and Southampton games, and maybe some previews. Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us.

details to follow

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. The Reds beat Southampton 3-2 on Sunday and went 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League. Given the proximity of the Real Madrid and Man City games, we'll focus on the last game and consider how we should be reacting to this lead after almost 32% of the season. Maybe a word more on contract chat. Part One - Reds make hard work of beating the bottom team OR another game that we were always in control of (based on xG). Non penalty xG 0.49 to 2.36 (2H 0.26 vs 1.74) Starting line up - no Tsimikas or Trent, Luis Diaz and Mac Allister on the bench. First 30 minutes - controlled, lots of saves but not ones that should result in a goal - 9 shots Liverpool's pressing did not get the credit it deserved At 1-0, did we think this was going to be easy? - The over dribbling (one of which led to the penalty), the high risk passes. BTW such a poorly taken penalty. Some of the defending was a bit under-8s. See 2nd goal for evidence Mostly good from 1-2. Did Southampton try to defend the lead or were we just too good? Individual performances - Darwin, Robbo, Konate. International Break? Part Two - bigger picture  Players coming back - being done with the International break.  What should the reaction be going forward - nervousness, enjoyment? Feelings about the upcoming games? Watching City and Newcastle helped Feelings about City, Chelsea and Arsenal. Guardiola's contract? Salah - ‘I am more out than in'.  We will be back next week with a review of the Real Madrid and Man City games, and maybe some previews. Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. The Reds beat Aston Villa 2-0 last Saturday and went 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League. Given the international break, we will review the first part of the season, and look ahead to Southampton and Real Madrid . Part One - Villa - xG (2.02 to 1.38 - Villa 0.73 set play xG in the first half). Villa 2 big chances in the second half?: Starkest example of the Arne Slot plan to control games. It was quite hard work at times wasn't it? Bradley, Andy Robbo The center backs…. Scousers can't have the best in the world obviously. The big fast runners through the middle looked a lot less effective here. Incredible midfield control - no Villa shot between 46 and 82. Gravenberch and Jones looking really impressive I thought Salah - 10 goals and 10 assists in 17 games. Best goalie in the world! Martinez has great PR….  Austin McPhee - how do I know this fella's name? Had some chances, could have conceded 4 from their corners - first 20 minutes, Bailey Red card? Part two - After Southampton, we have Real Madrid and Man City in the same week 2024-25 hopes aspirations.  Salah seems to have the 2019-20 Sadio Mane role, where he is not going to allow us to stop before we've won the league. 9 points ahead of third etc. including Arsenal Southampton - narratives, Team selection and prediction Real Madrid - narratives, Team selection and prediction Man City narratives, Team selection and prediction Part Three - The Coote video and refereeing: David Coote - no surprise about what happened, have we?  Lack of reference to the ‘we hate scousers' stuff. Suddenly applies to everyone. The Salah test - 220th in the list of number of fouls per 90 last season We will be back next week with a review of the Southampton game, may have to wait for a view of the Real Madrid game with it being Thanksgiving. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds had a win away at Brighton last week, followed by 2 very big wins. We will look ahead to Villa at home - the last game before the 3rd international break. Part One - 2 games against Brighton: Brighton away in the Carabao Cup - 3-2, could have been comfortable with Jarrell's few moments Brighton at home - xG 1.65 to 1.01 (0.71 to 0.77) Game of 2 halves - first half we look slow, poorly shaped and lacking some energy. 9th minute Darwin chance. 14th minute we look as outnumbered as we have at any time this season (Mitoma?). Second half looked immediately different, then by 69, we were ready to take over the game. Estupian was man of the match until he wasn't. Subs at 66 were huge - Jones and DIaz. But chances had started to flow (Gomes, VVD, Mo). Gakpo, vintage Salah (164 EPL goals now) and the Kop. The high press. Joe Gomez was magnificent. Endo then helps close the game down. Part Two - Leverkusen: 4-0 over the German champions - xG 3.79 to 0.80 (0.63 v 0.16 first half). Statsbomb has 2.9 for Liverpool 3rd defeat in 18 months for Leverkusen Very even in the first half - you could see why they have been hard to beat. Lots of intricate movement. Second half, the Curtis pass to Luis Diaz was the trigger Second goal again within 5 minutes;  Now Liverpool are 93.3% chance of finishing in the top 8 Part Three - Villa at home brings us to the end of this difficult spell: Narratives Villa are quietly in a slump Team selection  Prediction We will be back next week with a review of the Villa game. Thanks to Daz. for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

The Reds had a difficult away trip to the Emirates on Sunday, improving on last year's performance with a draw against Arsenal. We will look ahead to Brighton at home (after we've played Brighton away) and Leverkusen in the Champions league. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world - including the sad departure of our favorite Man Utd manager (maybe even more than Olly).  Part One - Arsenal 2, Liverpool 2: xG - 0.92 to 0.81 - 0.77 to 0.37 in the first half Lots of overloads on the right side, but surprisingly few clear cut chances (2 big chances - Merino?) Robbo - much discussion about his trajectory,  First half performance: No corners, but 5 ‘daft' free kicks.Set piece at 43 - Partey soft foul, Gabriel blocking Konate, not enough for it to be a foul. Could Ali have saved their 2 goals? 39 long balls from Kelleher, did it hurt us to bypass midfield so much? 18 - beautiful corner - using their aggressiveness (Macca and Ibou) against them Saka and Havertz go to ground very easily - although VVD's couple of hacks at the latter were tasty. Gabriel getting a foul while holding onto Darwin is laughable - ‘a fuckin Joke' in fact. Second half - we held onto the ball longer said Virgil We started more on the front foot - 63 with the changes, felt like we had already started to look better Arsenal stopped pressing as much - trying to slow the game down. Watching back I was prepared to hate their time wasting. I don't know if I can honestly claim there was that much of it Gabriel and Timber both looked injured Trossard kicked in the face by Grav at 68 - oh wait Antony Taylor gets another one wrong 70 to 80 - Sean Rogers thinks we were terrible. The stop start of the game really seemed to get to us. Timber went off at 72. Didn't create that much Some Salah moments - 57 just delays the ball to Diaz, but Diaz could have held his run? Saliba vs. Konate and other delusional Arsenal fan media. Anthony Taylor gave them everything said one not particularly unhinged Arsenal fan. Usual inconsistency with his yellow cards - Rice committed multiple fouls, Macca just 1 I think. Arteta - ‘we did well given the situation we are in'. Twitter response, ‘Is the situation in the room with you right now, Mikel?' Injuries (try being without your center backs for half a season, 30 minutes is nothing), decisions. Have to mention the victim mentality that Artie is instituting. Esp amongst fans who are outraged that their third goal was chalked off, after three fouls, and hand ball and a potential offsides. Graeme Le Saux more of a dick than Stephen Warnock? This is brilliant from Arsenal -  his first half observation. End of the game - numbers were even, but Arsenal edged it for me…. Part Two - Brighton and Leverkusen - 2 home games Also - Ibou, Jota and Sunday Narratives Team selections  Predictions Part 3 - elsewhere: Could need 3 replacement defenders next season:O Trent wants to win the Balon D'Or - err, not happening at Real Madrid mate. Amorim then -  2023-24 Out of possession, Amorim's side boasted one of the meanest defensive records on the whole continent last season (‘Chance prevention', 98 out of 99). Only Arsenal and Feyenoord had a lower non-penalty expected goals (xG) conceded than Sporting's 0.78 per 90 minutes across Europe's top seven leagues. We will be back next week with a review of the Brighton and Leverkusen games. Thanks to Daz and Enrique for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

The Reds just keep on winning and we are not getting tired of that. We will talk about the Chelsea and RB Leipzig wins and look ahead to the games we will face beyond the international break.. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world.  Part One: 2 more wins Chelsea home - 2-1; xG 1.94 to .99 (0.73 in the second half) Dom and the dirty work Injuries - Diogo? Chelsea practicing facial expressions Lepizig away: Arnie - not setting out to lose any game xG 2.38 vs 0.76 - highlights made it seem much closer. So many big chances for them are offside. Gakpo chance, multiple Gulasci saves (Darwin, Cody, VVD), somehow FotMob gave Caiomhin Kelleher MoM 69 - Dom and Alexis Mac Allister nearly combine for goal of the season, that did seem to give RBL some life Part 2 looking ahead: It isn't quite as much fun is it? Arsenal - injuries, conspiracy,  Part 3 - what else: Champions League - Bayer Leverkusen, the 36 team table  We will be back in a few days with a review of the Arsenal game. Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Good news is that the Reds keep winning. We will talk about the Palace and Bologna wins and look ahead to the games we will face beyond the international break.. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world.  Part One - Palace away 60 minutes of control - second goal would have been great, but actually winning 1-0 might be OK xG of 1.39 to 0.64 (.76 to .57 in the second half). Touches in the box 28 to 9. But too many shots off target - 4 of 16 on target. We scored on 1 of 4 big chances, and they missed 2. VVD… should have been a penalty, this is only a conversation with us, isn't it? Slot looked angry at the officiating for the first time. Another ridiculous foul count 1-12 after 55 minutes, with 75% possession. Haven't lost at Palace for 11 years now Part Two - Bologna at home: 10 minutes, Nunez looking for Salah, Salah's beautiful cross, Mac Allister finish. 15 Darwin, if Trent hits the pass first time he's in. Created chances early, xG of 1.21 to 0.59 - just .19 to .33 in the second - Bologna missed one big chance in the second half (55 mins), but they created chances from dead ball situations and with the man marking press. Pass accuracy 82% 75 - a Mo Salah goal from the past. Series of doubtful bookings - VVD, Konate, Tsimikas Part Three - looking ahead Chelsea at home on the 18th Background, team,  predictions RB Leipzig away on the 23rd Background, team,  predictions No Alisson out for 6 weeks,  Conceding an offside goal early Much talk about haven't played anyone yet. Maybe the last few performances have been more low key than the first few…. Elsewhere….. City wins!! We will be back in 2 weeks with a review of the Chelsea game. Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz. Reds return to winning ways. We will talk about the Wolves win, pass over the Bologna game because it's probably happened by the time you are hearing this, and we will preview Palace away. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world.  Part One - Wolves away First 20 minutes Overall, defending looks very solid - xG of .24 for Wolves if you take away the goal we gave them Szobozlai conversation. Curtis Jones performance. That goal!! MoM - Ryan, should it have been Ibou? Taylor's officiating Part Two - Palace away Early kick off again - 4 times in 8 years We've generally been successful at Palace - over under on them mentioning 2013-14. 5 minutes? We've won 8 of the last 9. They are not in a good place - trying to change the style without Michael Olise Part Three - elsewhere The United PTSD has been relieved Champions League - it already looks a bit of a bore Jeopardy seems in short supply Tchouameni We will be back next week with a review of the Wolves and Bologna games. Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. Reds return to winning ways. We will talk about the Bournemouth win, the EFL cup tie win, and we will preview Wolves away and Bologna at home games. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world.  Part One - Bournemouth home: The team that Richard Hughes built….. Hesitant start - Semenyo again.  xG in our favor - 2.06 to 1.08  (0.46 at half time). After 75 minutes, lots of shots from Bournemouth Well, there's Kepa - xGOT of 3.84 Luis Diaz, Darwin Again the midfield shape, defence - targeted our right side, but then Konate hits a few great passes.  TAA assist, Ryan Gravenberch Part Two - West Ham in the League Cup 5-1 again, but was much more of a battle - xG 2.55 to 0.57 (0.37 came from set plays) Jones, Gakpo, Jota performances West Ham appear to be a bit of a mess. Fabianski wasn't great Not sure we can conclude much from Endo and Morton's appearances Bradley, Quanah, Gomez, Tsimikas - definitely our back up back 4 Part Three - Wolves away and Bologna at home: Team selections and expectations Predictions ‘We love the low block' Elsewhere?  City Arsenal - lots to discuss.  Man City fan watch - not many of them at the Premier League fanfest:() We will be back next week with a review of the Wolves and Bologna games. Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Arne Slot's perfect start takes a hit. We will talk about the Forest game, the victory in Milan and we will preview the Bournemouth and West Ham League Cup games. If we have time we will look at what else is happening in the footy world.  Part One - Forest home: xG still favored us but Forest game plan worked - 0.9 to 0.6 (0.0 at half time) First half wasn't terrible. Mo and Szobo are not great. Forwards lost a lot of duels Diaz on 15. Jota on 25, MacAllister 37 - what if…. Oliver has become a liability - Yates catches McAllister and Robbo in the first 5 minutes and nothing is given. Ignores another hand to the face at 20. 15 fouls for them, 6 for us. Almost 70% possession. Andrew Beesley points out that disparity has happened 10 times since these stats were collected. 6 of them for us Gravenberch - had Gibbs-White staying with him. Still managed to impact the game with recoveries. 88% pass accuracy, progressive passing. Team was 69%. Second half - not so great, formation change then 3 subs and more formation changes What was the formation change after they scored? Made us even more disjointed. I felt that, in the moment, that it could be worrisome that we didn't have a response to a) going goal down and b) how frenetic it became after we did Forest game plan - got away with an hour of not much. We talked about their low xGA Part Two - Milan away - Dutch players in the San Siro: If any opposition coaches watched these 2 matches, they will have learned that this is not the way to play against this team. xG 3.09 to 0.61 (0.11 at 3-1). 23 shots. Milan 4-2-4 out of possession, big switches, punching through the lines. Creating width Gakpo, Gravenberch, Mac Allister - all making us look much better than Saturday. Duels won has been at 45% in the last 2 games - he called this out against Ipswich, makes it seem like that was a narrative for that game? Part Three - Bournemouth and West Ham at home: Team selections and expectations Predictions Elsewhere?  115 or 129 charges? For us, is there extra pressure knowing that City might not be a factor? City Arsenal this weekend. Lots of reasons not to watch - dull football, faux outrage from the entitled disciples of Mikel Arteta Puff piece in the Athletic focusing in the NYC City branch bar in Greenwich Village - the photos showed very few people in the bar, the article was at pains to point out that there were usually more people there for City matches. We will be back next week with a review of the Bournemouth game. Thanks to Enrique and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz, and Justin. And we are 3 for 3, as the Reds went to Old Trafford win 3-0 and we looked good. We will go into detail on the game, we will preview the United game and will look elsewhere at the weekend and what else is happening in the footy world. Part One - United away: xG might not be the most useful: United 1.38 total, - Statsbomb - .98? - 0.08 at half time Liverpool 1.78 total - 0.69 at half time. BUT xGoT 2.44 to 0.64. Overall 30 to 31 touches in the opposition box (favors United) - 16 to 9 at half time. BUT look at the position data - so interesting….. First Half: United set up differently - Slot explain the 7/11 press of last season and the 9/10 press (without the man marking) 5 minutes - so close to that iconic Scouser kisses the camera moment - VVD and Ryan fantastic movement.  At 35 - Caesmiro took the hit, but Mainoo, Mazouri, and Dalot positioning. One missed pass should not kill you. 42 - Luis Diaz interception - Casemiro falls down, thought Taylor would give a foul. Salah has Dalot backing off, Diaz first time shot. Second half 56 - Mainoo dispossessed by the least noticeable of our midfielders (Alexis) sweeping movement and a first time finish - Szobo and Salah. Game over at 59 minutes. Jota and Szobozlai chances didn't even count for xG Salah had a couple of great chances -  Game management - United had more chances, but it felt like we could step up a gear if we needed to. Salah… unbelievable consistency. Fantastic Michael Cox article breaking down how his dribbles have fallen off while his assists have dramatically increased - now ONLY De Bruyne has more since Mo started in the league. 10 goals at Old Trafford - top 5 in goals at OT in the time he's played? We are just better than them, player by player. Harder challenges to follow (Slot) Part Two - previewing Forest and Milan away: Team selection - same again?  Forest - what to expect? Less signings than usual? Formation against a team with one of the lowest xGAs in the fledgling PL season (2.1) ? Milan - what kind of rotation? Predictions Part Three - Elsewhere: Everton - a real crisis? Chelsea - ownership crisis? Leicester - can't be found guilty because they were relegated - what a wheeze We will be back in just over a week with a review of the Forest game. Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz, and Justin. And we are 2 for 2, as the Reds return home and collect another 2-0 win over Brentford. We will go into detail on the game, we will preview the United game and will look elsewhere at the weekend and what else is happening in the footy world. Part One - Brentford home: Similar Xg to last week:: Xg - Ipswich, 0.45 total, Liverpool 2.65. Brentford 2.65 vs 0.36 (.27 set plays) Touches in opposition box, 50 to 17 (7-7 at the half), vs 42 to 10 First Half: Brentford probably had more of the ball than we might have expected, but didn't create much - back 4 took a while to work out? Liverpool - slow, measured, controlled football. Started 4-3-3 maybe moved to 3-4-3? Great transitions - from our corners we outnumber them 13th minute, in contrast Mbuemo is chasing back Luis Diaz. 25th goal in 100 appearances. Left foot. Beautiful pass from Diogo. The goal on the break was joyous Ryan Gravenberch - the answer to the number 6 conundrum? Gravenberch the pessimist. Mac Allister a little too left in the first half. ` Second half Again, that movement and passing (especially one touch).  Goals was well worked, Salah finish. Could have had goals from Diogo, Luis Diaz and Salah. In between the slow stuff, there's some great football. Game management - no shots from Brentford after 55 minutes, and we could have scored again (and maybe again). Atwell had his moments. Glad it didn't matter. Gave them impetus at the end of the first half, decided to ignore the smack in the face for Dominic Szobozslai Part Two - previewing United: Team selection - same again? Konate? United - what to expect? New signings? Formation against Brighton? Predictions Part Three - Elsewhere: (Of the EPL winners of the last 11 seasons only 1 - us - is not under investigation for breaking spending rules) Transfers: 1 week left for our transfers - Tyler Morton, Sepp van den Berg, Bobby Clark - leaving. Arrivals? Marmadashvili, Chiesa Barca…..  Chelsea are back baby! We will be back next week with a review of the United game. Thanks to Justin and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the third episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz, and Enrique. And we are away for 2024-5 - on the 50th anniversary of Bob Paisley's first game as Liverpool manager, Reds go to Portman Road and win 2-0. We will go into detail on the game, we will preview Brentford and we will look elsewhere at the weekend and what else is happening in the footy world. Part One - Ipswich away: Very pragmatic - play in long if they man mark Xg - Ipswich, 0.45 total, 0.31 First half, 0.28 set plays. Liverpool 2.65 with 0.45 in the first half. Touches in opposition box, 50 to 17 (7-7 at the half). First Half: Ipswich didn't lose at home last season, crowd was up for it,  -ve some hesitancy. MacAllister wasn't really in it. Lot of soft fouls - foul every 2 minutes? Disruptive. Won 41% of the duels (54% in the second half) Formation - definite 4-2-3-1 to start, evolved 3-3-4 at times. +ve defensive solidity, started to create some chances towards the end of the half ZERO shots on target (3 total) Second half Konate replaces Quansah Wow, that movement and passing (especially one touch). They found gaps with movement, yet they won some duels… Goals were beautiful, Salah, Jota, TAA, Szobozlai, Gravenberch, VVD playing a part Some of the misses were beautiful Had other chances - Salah, Diaz game management - no shots from Ipswich after 68 minutes, and we would have scored again. Part Two - previewing Brentford: Team selection - same again? Konate? Brentford - what do we know about them? Predictions Part Three - Elsewhere: (Of the EPL winners of the last 11 seasons only 1 - us - is not under investigation for breaking spending rules)  Transfers: 2 weeks left for our transfers - reflections on our needs and some of the weirdness elsewhere We will be back next week with a review of the Brentford game. Thanks to Enrique and Daz for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the second episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We are days away from the 2024-25 season. And a real game may take away the bad taste of the news around transfers and new contracts.. Part One - pre-season wraps up: Sevilla and Las Palmas Lessons learned: Team selections? Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz Midfield without Zubimendi but with Ryan Gravenberch Nyoni? Uncertainty surrounding so many players in the squad - feels like this will be destabilizing if the contracts are left to run down.  Outlook for the season - what position would represent success? Part Two - previewing Ipswich: Team selection - the Sevilla team? Ipswich - what do we know about them? Part Three - Elsewhere: Of the EPL winners of the last 11 seasons only 1 - us - is not under investigation for breaking spending rules  Chelsea - can any of this work? What charges might they face? 115 charges case being reviews soon Leicester - guaranteed relegation? We will be back next week with a review of the Ipswich game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me, Paul. Thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

Welcome dear listener to the first episode of the 6th season of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We are here in the last weeks before the 2024-25 season gets started. It's been almost 2 months and I think we are happy to have some real content to look at. The US tour has gone very well by most metrics and in 10 days the new season will get underway. Part One - 2024 Pre-Season US tour - overall, yes it was a rip off, but we got to enjoy big Liverpool crowds and a chance to meet good friends. Pittsburgh and Betis Philly and Arsenal - the experience and the game SC and United Highs and lows? Overall thoughts? Players who have made a solid case to keep the jersey? Quansah is the Matip replacement? Tsimikas Carvalho Arne Slott and his system: What do we think of Arne so far? Who fits into this system and who doesn't? Part Two - the upcoming season Many questions remain: How long before the team gels?  Are we relaxed about the fact that a lot of guys haven't participated in team play and there are 11 days til the season kicks off? 3 players with 11 months to run on their contracts What is our best team? Role for TAA - Athletic comments section, .. ‘Apart from passing what else does Trent have to offer?' Aspirations for the season for the Reds Aspirations for the next 2 games Highest hopes and lowest lows elsewhere? Part Three - Elsewhere: Of the EPL winners of the last 11 seasons only 1 - us - is not under investigation for breaking spending rules  Chelsea, Cheats and the latest from the Theater of Dreams $100m for Alvarez - WTF? Chelsea squad is roughly the same size as a Taylor Swift concert audience We will be back soon, maybe with more on transfers and an Ipswich game preview, definitely with a reaction to the first of 38 games that we'll play. Thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

Welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm Paul and I am joined by Justin and Sean. We are here in the last week of the season. We finished 3rd, and all that's left is to celebrate the Jurgen Klopp era. We may mention Wolves but we'll really reflect more widely on the season.  Part One - Recent games: Away at West Ham - 2-2 (xG .70 vs 1.75) Felt like another one we threw away. Recognition that it didn't matter as much? Spurs - 4-2, moments of brilliance, weird ending (xG 3.37 vs 1.24) Harvey Elliott, Cody Gakpo Being at Anfield…….  Villa - 3-3, moments of control and then the last 10 minutes (xG 3.2 to 1.74) A word about Simon Hooper - 10 fouls against us to 1 given to us in the first half. Part Two - what have we learned - using Data Game by Josh Williams as our platform Wolves at home - thoughts….. Is the season a case of overachievement in the first part or a fall off in the second half? The Klopp effect was great till it wasn't Our defense - we've scored about the same as we did when we won the league Trent Nunez and Luis Diaz - can't have both? Saudi messaging re: Salah and Allison Part Three - Elsewhere: City - more boring football from the Cheats Arsenal and City - defensively stronger Chelsea - Europa League? No VAR? Wolves, are you kidding? Man Utd. what is going on? We will be back with a review of the Wolves game, plus a bigger look at the Klopp era. Thanks to Sean and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic 

It's April 17th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Justin and Daz. It's been a big week in the Premier League and not the right time to stop scoring at home. Before we are done we'll look ahead to Atalanta away in the Europa League and Fulham away Sunday.  Part One - Liverpool 0, Palace 1 - 2.81 to 1.98 according to FotMob First half looked very flat - Palace had a lot of moments, didn't mean we didn't have chances Manager talked about Endo and Mac Allister minutes - Robbo and role for Mac Allister Second half… four big chances - while Darwin may have dropped a level, others had chances (Jota, Salah and Curtis). Much better performance, one goes in I think we've seen that script before The subs - taking off Nunez and Diaz, not Salah A word on the ‘bottling it' chat 6 games remaining - just focusing on us, can we get back in rhythm? Part Two - Atalanta beat us 3-0 - xG 2.6 v 3.22. Possession 70% Narrative about being outplayed? Or some defensive slip ups that then define the narrative? Formation, pressing  Going for a goal back when we concede the third Jota and Mo almost scored Part Three - looking ahead and the context: Atalanta - what do we think? Formation, forecast The run in Will being 2 points behind City be terminal? UCL impact Our mindset Fulham away on Sunday  Team selection and predictions Naby Keita We will be back with a review of the Fulham and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's April 9th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Justin and Daz. It's been a big week in the Premier League and we are going look at home wins over Brighton and Sheffield United and a disappointing draw against them. Before we are done we'll look ahead to Atalanta in the Europa League and Palace at home on Sunday.  Part One - it's them again: xG of 3.74 vs. 0.74 - well we clearly missed chances and even though I think we were better than in the cup tie. Michael Cox wrote a tough piece to read about just how dominant we were and how all over the place they were (a variation on the donut formation) Second half… The errant Quansah pass gave them oxygen and sent us to a dark place, Quick word on Szobozlai, Elliott, Darwin, Diaz and Salah. The same boys who today missed a few chances are the ones who brought us to 71 points said my favorite manager Good news not one of the remaining 7 games is at that place with that team and their unbelievably counter intuitive tactics Part Two - 2 home wins: Began with a victory over Brighton who are really hard to play against - 2.98 v 0.51 xG. Went down early, looked like a comeback was never in doubt.  Starts with typical Diaz goal from the chaos. After a lot of Salah shots (a lot) 2nd goal was my favorite from the season - Szobo, Macca and a Salah finish The Arsenal 3-0 was kicked off with the kind of penalty if we'd got would have been generating parliamentary questions. Win over Sheffield United - 3-1 in the end. 2.52 v 0.72 xG Less assured than the Brighton win? Darwin's mad goal, Mac Allister screamer, and Gakpo chips in Part Three - looking ahead and the context: The run in Champions League as a source of hope? Will being 1 point ahead of City be the most significant point? Our mindset Return of Alisson, Trent and Diogo J A quick word on Atalanta, the EL and completing Klopp's trophy collection with us Palace at home on Sunday  Team selection and predictions Room for Reuben Amorim chat? We will be back with a review of the Palace and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's March 23rd - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Daz and Sean. Reds lost to Man United on Sunday and we are now focused on a treble. We'll look back on that game and the Sparta Prague last 16 tie in the Europa League. And before we are done, let's take a pulse on how we see the rest of the season playing out. Part One - the FA Cup 6th round - Manchester United 4, Liverpool 3 Well we always hate losing to them don't we? First 30 minutes were way too open - United had more shots (7) on target in a first half than they have for a long time. Switched on end of first half - could have been 3-1 Second half, their weird formation made it seem like we were bound to score, but actually did not have many good opportunities (other than the ones Darwin created) Taking Salah off at 77 with the game won… While it's still 2-1 bad things can happen. Right foot from Antony, felt like a stopped clock telling the right time moment. Extra time - everyone looked very tired. Could not take enough people off. Blessing in disguise? Can't say yes for sure but 2022 experience suggests it could be Part Two - Liverpool 11 to Sparta Prague 2 - aggregate score: Four goals up in 14 minutes. Front foot attacking exploiting some very naive defending? Liverpool should not be playing us said the coach, they should be in the champions league. Part Three: Quick word on officiating: We talk about high bars when we choose to They talk about intent as well - I thought IFAB had made intent irrelevant Atwell on VAR - ‘they both came in high' What are we feeling now: Maximum of 15 games Players returning 10 wins in the League likely would be enough but there's plenty of challenges left  United, Fulham, Villa, West Ham and Everton away - 3 aways in 6 days (unless Arsenal beats Bayern Munich) Brighton, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Spurs and Wolves at home. Europa League - quarter final against Atalanta, with the prospect of Benfica or Marseille in the semis. Atalanta not considered a difficult draw… 6th in Serie A. Playing Coppa Italia either side of our fixtures. Elsewhere, Champions League draw…. FA Cup -  City have to play Chelsea in the FA Cup. If they make it past Real Madrid, they will have no midweeks available. Arsenal - Bayern Munich. Could easily see Arsenal winning this one. International chat? Luis Diaz We will be back with a review of the Brighton game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's March 11th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm Paul, joined by Daz and Justin. Reds drew with Man City yesterday and are now 2nd in the premier league, behind on goal difference. We'll look ahead to Man United at the weekend and we'll look at the state of the Europa League and the Sparta Prague tie. Part One - The Reds should have won this, shouldn't they? First half 15 minutes of City threat, City had 4 or 5 openings earlier Gradually made our way back into this: Endo tackle on Foden after 5 13 minutes chance for Bradley Endo, Mac Allister and Elliott were very good VVD so many times he was exceptional Clever goal from the cheats Liverpool responded well. Press intensified. Rodri and Walker tactical fouls Gomez moving into midfield Second half: 47 minute penalty and the non-penalty at 98 Michael Oliver!!! City have their usual sterile domination at times Diaz multiple big chances (inc Gakpo) Other thoughts? What a gang of ******, Foden, Walker (on Salah), Rodri, Bernardo Silva Walker - Oliver wasn't intimidated Part Two - Sparta Prague - 5-1: Mac Allister and Nunez were great Defense was not until Virg arrived Gakpo bad luck? Salah almost 14th sub goal Next Thursday…..  Weakest team possible  Part Three: United in the FA Cup Formation, predictions Our perspective - players are coming back, 10 wins would probably do it, given City and Arsenal We will be back with a review of the United game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's March 6th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Daz, Sean and Justin. Reds beat Nottingham Forest last weekend to maintain a narrow lead at the top of the premier league. We'll look ahead to Man City at the weekend and we'll look at Europa League and Sparta Prague. Part One: Forest - first win since 1984. The year Echo and the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain was released, the Reds won 3 trophies: 0.97 to 2.07 (Fotmob) - Darwin's goal had an xG of 0.11 Should have won this, but not much of that rationality made its way into the wider discourse They started of with a lot of intensity and for 20 minutes, there was some back and forth but the Reds had taken over. (22 - Elanga chance, looked offside) Kelleher great save, 24 - Clark almost; 26 Luis Diaz went close Second half, habit has been to take it up a level - created some chances but found it hard - especially against the mid/low block. Injuries taking their toll? Not enough width? Tsimikas did give us some when he came on. Did we struggle to adapt to the subs initially? Officiating - Let's shine a light on the corners we should have had in the first half. Seriously, the coverage of this monumental mistake was beyond overboard. And no mention of Kung Fu kicks from Yates ‘Some elite level shit if there are any shenanigans happening' - Gareth Roberts 18th winner in added time in the Klopp era, Fergie only had 16! Moyes has 21, Wenger also has 21 BTW Anfield has had 28, next is Goodison with 24 (3 of them scored by us!) Part Two - Big game coming up: Game against the team with 115 charges is hard to ignore FCK MCI - looked like a couple of easy games for them Hoping for a big Anfield contribution - biggest crowd for a game against the cheats Guardiola has not won at Anfield with a crowd. I'm sure that's not in his head! Tactics - go early or wait for the 2nd half momentum to kick in Channel the 2022 FA Cup Semi Final? Team and predictions We start with Sparta Prague in the Europa League first leg They are confident they can win after beating Galatasaray They are top of the Czech league, just drew at home to their biggest rivals Slavia Prague Macca talked about a great battle. Coach Brian Priske was the manager of Midtjylland in 20-21. Mohammed Salah might return. Part Three - AOB: Arsenal have scored a few goals haven't they? Worst case, we could end up 3rd. How are we dealing with that? Ignoring it, rationalizing it? Liverpool are visiting the city down the road next summer - best way to talk this up? Chasing Man City's commercial revenue…. We will be back with a review of the City game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

 February 29th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Daz. Reds won their 10th League Cup, beat Luton in the League and reached the 6th round of the FA Cup. We'll look ahead to Nottingham Forest away at the weekend and toward the Europa League return against Sparta Prague before we are done. Part One - League Cup triumph Chelsea 0, Liverpool 1 (xG 2.28 vs 1.78 Opta) Kelleher - faced 2.9 xG - 4th most in the top 5 leagues in the last 7 seasons (Andrew Beesley) without conceding. This is counting multiple shots from the same sequence. 2 big moments really hurt Liverpool our momentum Gravenberch being stretchered off VVD first header ruled out; 1.7 of the Chelseas xG happened between then and the 98th minute. And, John Brookes with the CSI Stockley Park. Compare with United's FA Cup goal in midweek 5-2 yellow cards…  some shit behavior from Chelsea not punished. Academy players - culture that allows you to bring in young players Clark 24 pressures (Macca 35) and McConnell had the most touches (47 in 40 minutes). Gomez is third in minutes Changes showed that the league is the target Szobo and Darwin did not look injured. Part Two - Luton game and Southampton on the cup Luton - xG 3.32 vs 0.92 Diaz chances, 11th minute Ogbone. Bit 442, first half just too hurried  First half Klopp was upset - look at the counter pressing first not the result Don't make me angry…. ‘Elite'  Rob Edwards described the team, the tactics, intensity and crowd. 2nd half intensity was impressive - the washing machine. Southampton - xG 1.89 vs 1.71 Could have lost it in the first 20 Koumas and Danns are great stories, but Clark and McConnell looked really solid Kelleher again Part three - looking ahead Forest - could be challenging. They will allow us the ball. They haven't got a great record after playing midweek. Team, predictions Europe - Sparta Prague - need to give them some respect. What else - Arsenal, Man City to win this weekend we assume. We will be back with a review of the Forest game and a look ahead to City. Thanks to Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's February 20th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Daz and Justin. Reds won away at Brentford at the weekend but at some cost - we'll review. We'll then look ahead to Luton tomorrow night and Chelsea in the League Cup Final at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done. Part One - Brentford 1, Liverpool 4 (Understat 1.7 to 3.09; statsbomb 1.14 to 2.43) Predictions First Half - Brentford dominance! First 20 minutes, they should probably have scored was the narrative (Toney had a chance at 14 and 19 - Ibou steered him away from goal for the 2nd) In practice, Bradley had an effort turned away at 9 minutes, Jota manhandled at 12 (Jensen challenge was 50/50), Jota shot turned away at 20. 35 - Darwin finish - if he scores in the next 13 games we are right in this Refereeing again; Oliver doing the same stuff we've seen increasingly - players go down with minimal contact and it always seems to be a foul against us. 9 fouls against us and 1 for? Not one given for the 2 Noorgard challenges that caused serious injuries. Toney - what a diver… Second Half - controlled large portions of this: xG of over 2 again - this is quite exceptional. Played with a swagger after 2-0. Klopp reaction to the dangerous tackle on Bradley 54 - Endo to Gravenberch to Mo to Macca 67 - Mo goal - more Route 1 football :() 71 - Could have conceded a pen (Robbo on Toney), they score on 74 Didn't get much of a sniff until the very end 82 - possible Diaz penalty 86 - Gakpo's 10th of the season - be good to him going Finished 15 fouls to 3 (the Arsenal game with Taylor was 11-11). Lots of shout outs: Kelleher, the defence, the midfield, whichever Front 3 was on the pitch. Post Jones midfield looked good, and then Elliott had a nice cameo. Part Two - looking ahead: Luton at home - 13 games left Luton - thoughts? The injuries Team selection, predictions Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday Chelsea - can't be as dominant as we were a few weeks ago, can we? Chelsea appeared to play a back 6 at City, and ran out of gas at 70. Team selection, predictions Part Three - looking wider: Arsenal (2.2 xG and 5 goals); City will go on a run to everyone is going to drop points - did have an xG of over 3 against Chelsea). Ollie Watkins….. Only Mo Salah Most goals by a Liverpool sub - 13 from 27. Jurgen and the Dinosaurs! How many teams chant You Scouse Bastard and have an intro song written by a couple of Scousers? We will be back with a review of the Luton and Chelsea games. Thanks to Daz and justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's February 13th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I'm joined by Daz and Sean. Reds got back to winning ways against Burnley, a game we'll review. We'll then look ahead to Brentford at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done. Part One - Liverpool 3, Burnley 1 (xG - Liverpool 3.15, Burnley 1.11) Review predictions First Half: Lots of gaps, illnesses, slow start How much was Klopp's hand forced a little with lineup/formation? Trent injury - had an impact on the first half Jota goal - foul on Trafford! HA HA Jota grab - defender was standing his ground says Stephen Warnock Burnley goal was a header from 12 yards - Kelleher's feet? Second Half: Lots more control - from 46 a lot of pressure building Goal at 51 - foul by Mac Allister?  63, 66 Fofana misses - Quansah? 70 to 78 created multiple chances before Nunes excellent header  Good news stories: Andrew Robertson Curtis Jones Endo, Mac Allister Kelleher deserves a mention. Part Two - away at Brentford: Haven't won there yet, they'll have their players back from AFCON. Toney is scoring. It is a 12.30 kick off and we'll have a week, and we may have players back/healthier Formation? Prediction Part Three - some trends: Anny (Anfield) Road end - leading the singing. Almost 60,000 Cards - Nunez for kicking the ball away and no card for Endo being kicked in the face. yellow cards for dissent and tactical fouls. We will be back with a review of the Brentford game. Thanks to Daz and Sean. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

It's February 11th - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds get past Burnley to go back to the top of the league and now have a week before Brentford. I'm Paul and I am joined by Lingerr, Haitham and  We'll talk about the Reds before we are done but after a great tournament we need to talk more about AFCON. Part One - reflections on the tournament: Context, your AFCON experience over the years - growing up, watching from afar here in the US? As an outsider, this one was a great spectacle, it seemed about the teams and the football, and almost no Gianni Infantino or Alexsander Ceferin is an absolute bonus. Seems like a series of upsets from an outside perspective. Lots of last minute goals and spot kick drama. Super exciting for someone not fully invested in any of the teams - must have been tough to watch if you were. Overall a more open tournament - 116 goals - 2.4 per game. Goals dried up a bit in the knock out games. What about the favorites - Senegal, Egypt, Morocco? Was that it for Mo and a chance to win AFCON? North African teams generally:( I enjoyed Cape Verde, Angola, DR Congo - how much did they exceed expectations? What about South Africa? Where did they come from? Did it help having everyone be familiar with each other? The state of club football - Morocco 84th in the world  Number of players born outside Africa - perspectives? Part two - the Final and wider: The Final - Côte D'Ivoire vs Nigeria The game itself Was it destined to be them? ‘The dead goat does not fear the night' Nigeria played up to its reputation finally didn't they? But really didn't look as good in the final Wait Alex Iwobi is Jay Jay Okocha's nephew! All those strikers - Osihmen, Chukweze (and Boniface who was injured) Does this mean anything for the 2026 World Cup? Could CIV host a World Cup? Wrap up - Liverpool - 14 wins to a deserved 20th title? We will be back with a review of the Burnley game. Thanks to Lingerr and Haitham. And thank you dear listener for joining us. If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic