There are certain people, you know the types, that desperately want to be right all the time. When it comes to being on the internet and supporting Liverpool, this manifests itself in them actively wanting the club and/or specific players to fail, just so that they can say ‘I told you so’. I am the complete opposite of that. I don’t think of myself as a particularly pessimistic person, but then I see how I react to certain things do with the club that I’ve supported all my life and realise that perhaps I’m wrong on that front. A perfect example of that could be found this weekend, specifically regarding my reaction to the Liverpool team news. Having already watched James Milner be sent off twice for the club, both times playing right-back and going up against Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace, I feared a repeat performance this time around. Add into that an Ibrahima Konaté who was making his Premier League debut and the lack of Andy Robertson and I was nervous.
Haven’t seen the game yet but it doesn’t look like Palace got much joy out of Milner. pic.twitter.com/3U1HAnCPjZ
— Andrew Beasley 💙 (@BassTunedToRed) September 18, 2021
The thing about this Liverpool squad is that they keep proving idiots like me wrong, time and time again. James Milner, as I’m sure you’ll all have seen by now, finished 1st in terms of touches, passes, passes in the opposition half, crosses, tackles, distance covered and sprints. He made me look like a fool and I couldn’t be happier. If I’m wrong in my negative opinions, that means that the Reds are succeeding and that is literally the only thing that matters. I am fortunate insomuch as I have no cultivated a Twitter following, for want of a better phrase, that I know is mostly made up of sound people. As a result, I can have a laugh with others about my stupidity rather than feel as though I’ve got to go on the defensive. Most people know that all I’m interested in is Liverpool succeeding as often as possible, which is exactly what happened in our 3-0 defeat of Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace side. If I’m made to look like an idiot, the Reds are winning, so we’re all winning.
Being Right Is Overrated
There are many things that I’ll never understand in life. Women are a perfect example, with higher-level maths also being on the list. The desire to be “right” on the internet is another thing that I’ll never understand, both in political terms and in the sense of being correct. Frankly speaking, who cares? The internet is mostly filled with odd-bod strangers who you will rarely come into contact with in real life, whilst those that you do meet and interact with will generally be great and understand that you’ve tweeted something whilst your chimp is out, to paraphrase Dr Steve Peters. As someone who occasionally gets to go to Anfield but watches at home more often than not for medical reasons, I must say that the negative mindset affects me more when I’m away from the ground. Perhaps it’s getting caught up in the narrative that the TV company broadcasting the match wants to peddle, or maybe it’s just having less time to be distracted, but I’m worse when I’m at home.
Milner shouldn’t sniff the starting 11. Only idiots and deluded individuals, beg to differ. #LFC
— Timmy Robson (@WaveyTimz277) September 18, 2021
Typing something online is easy. It is done without any acknowledgement to real people and those that do it are able to move the goalposts to fit their own narrative. I personally just don’t see the point. I thought Divock Origi wasn’t great against AC Milan last week, but I was made up for him that he got his assist and was more than willing to listen to the people who tweeted me telling me that I was wrong. I thought he looked ok in his small cameo against Palace, even if I’m not convinced that he’s the right player for Liverpool Football Club in the long-term. If he somehow manages to turn his game around and becomes the player that he threatened to be during the 2015-2016 season, I’ll be the first person championing his success. If Origi proves me wrong, it means that Liverpool are doing well and that is far more important than me being able to say that I was ‘right’ about something online. Long may the Reds continue to make me look like a fool.
A Cup Run Would Be Nice
One of the things I’ve been fairly certain about this season is that Liverpool will do well in the Premier League and the Champions League but struggle in the domestic cups. That opinion is based partly on the fact that Jürgen Klopp genuinely doesn’t seem to care about the League Cup and the FA Cup and partly on the idea that our squad isn’t strong enough. There’s an extent to which I’ve been caught up in the transfer-lovers’ narrative on the last point, however. That we only signed Ibrahima Konaté during the summer meant that I began to think that our squad wasn’t that good, yet I think I’ve been disproven on that notion already. Curtis Jones looked great when he came on against Crystal Palace, for example, whilst Kostas Tsimikas was dangerous down the left for the entire game. I wouldn’t been keen to see James Milner playing three games in a week, but if he had to then I think his professionalism would be enough to ensure that he barely puts a foot wrong.</>
100 – Sadio Mané has scored his 100th goal for Liverpool in all competitions, 10 of which have come against Crystal Palace, his most against a single opponent for the Reds. Centurion. pic.twitter.com/gJ4x7qNl34
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 18, 2021
Having worried that Sadio Mané was picking up where he left off at the end of the last campaign, where he could barely do anything right in front of goal, he’s now scored two goals in two games and seems to be adding finishing to the confidence he’s displaying in the rest of his performances. All of which, and more besides, suggests that a cup run might yet be something that the Reds could achieve this season. It would allow the fringe players to keep their rhythm at the same time as giving some of the younger players a chance to have their name added to the Liverpool roster. Kaide Gordon has been earning rave reviews, as an example, whilst Harvey Elliott will hopefully be back in the fray sooner rather than later. Once again, a cup run would prove my negative mindset wrong and I’d be all for it, given that it would mean that we would increase our chance of adding some more silverware to an already bulging cabinet. Keep proving me wrong on the internet, Reds.
