Regular readers of my work will know that I often write about referees. Truly, I don’t want to. I honestly would prefer it if I didn’t know the name of a single referee of top-flight football. The problem is that they make mistakes with such an unerring degree of consistency that it is all but impossible to talk about football and not mention them. That is especially the case when you’re a Liverpool supporter. The funny thing is, I have spent most of the weekend convinced that the red card shown to Andy Robertson on Saturday was the right decision, only to find out that Dermot Gallagher, who spends most of Ref Watch justifying any and every decision made by the referees over each matchday, thinks that the red card was wrong. The level I use in my own interpretation is ‘would I want that to be a red if it happened against Liverpool?’ In this case, that answer was very much ‘yes’, as I imagine it would also be for pretty much everyone else. With that in mind, I think the only person to blame for the red card was Robertson himself, who has struggled at times this season.
No red card, Tony Harrington is sabotaging Liverpool’s title race pic.twitter.com/nSTutFOXHy
— Terrible Football (@TerribleFutbol) December 14, 2024
Tony Harrington’s performance in the middle of the park was another in a long list of genuinely dreadful ones that we’ve had to put up with so far this season. As I say, I was fine with Robertson being sent to the dressing room early, but how exactly Issa Diop avoided one for kneecapping the left-back just a few minutes earlier is beyond me. It has been suggested by some that it is because it was so early in the match, but referees taking that sort of thing into account is exactly why the art of refereeing is on its arse. Similarly, Andreas Pereira should’ve seen red for a dangerous challenge on Ryan Gravenberch, whilst Antonee Robinson might well have been shown a second yellow for pulling the Dutchman back towards the end of the game if Gravenberch had made more of it. Then there is the penalty that should’ve been awarded to Joe Gomez after Kenny Tete simply smashed into him in the box. It is easy to understand why the referee might’ve missed such things in real time, but the Video Assistant Referee is there for exactly that reason. Another failure for Captain Gaslight’s PGMOL.
Liverpool’s Resilience Should Give Fans Heart
Going a goal behind early in a game isn’t an easy thing to recover from. The fact that we did so so many times under Jürgen Klopp’s management last season is testament to the mental strength of the Liverpool players. To then go down to ten men will have meant that the players had the perfect excuse to lick their wounds and accept defeat. Instead, they were galvanised into action, with Arne Slot proving that he and his team are very much the real deal by not panicking in the face of adversity and taking their time to get things right. He made a number of tactical tweaks in the first-half that allowed the Reds to wrestle back control of the game from Fulham before half-time, getting level straight after the break. Fulham’s second goal was a counter-attack, which shows just how dominant the home side had become by that point in the game. The fact that we should’ve won the match in the end is a testament to the head coach and the fact that the players are very much on board with what he’s asking from them. It should also give supporters hope that we’re in this for the long-haul.
“Liverpool showed resilience and spirit – players and crowd, the manager showed nouse.”
“A lesser Liverpool would have lost there but there’s a lot of positive signs that they’re absolutely up for the fight and longevity of the season.”
Post Match Pint 🎥 pic.twitter.com/LiAgop6ZIF
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) December 15, 2024
There has been a narrative from Arsenal fans, amongst others, that Liverpool haven’t really faced any adversity this season. Certainly we haven’t been without Martin Ødegaard, which apparently means that we’ve had no injuries. Supporters know better, of course. The form of Caoimhín Kelleher masked the fact that we were without the best goalkeeper in the world for a long spell, whilst all of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté and Diogo Jota have missed substantial periods, to name but a few of the lads we’ve had out. Yet in spite of all of that and the reality that we’re constantly battling against the Professional Game Match Officials Limited group every single time we play, we have been able to lead the way in both the Premier League and Champions League and have lost just one match in all competitions so far. This is a serious group of players led by a talented manager, who have both the ability and the desire to go ahead and win the title. That doesn’t mean that we will, but the result on Saturday should confirm out credentials for all to see.
Chelsea are the Biggest Threat
I completely understand the fear that so many people have over the possibility of Manchester City getting back into the title race, having watched them do so year after year. The reality is, though, that if a team that has now won just one game in 11, losing eight of them, gets back into the title picture then we’ve fallen off a cliff of our own. Arsenal supporters will be keen to suggest that their club deserves to be part of the conversation and there is certainly some evidence to suggest that they could very much make themselves part of it in the not too distant future. Yet the truth of the matter is that they’re on course for a 71 point season, having dropped points in seven of the 16 Premier League games that the’ve played. It is true that they could go on a brilliant winning run, but the evidence doesn’t suggest that they’re all that likely to. Instead, it is much more likely that they’re suffering the sort of ‘post-coming second’ drop off that has happened to pretty much every team in recent years. Lots could still happen to bring them back into the mix, but it isn’t a given that it will.
So far we have 1.87 points/game.
If this current rate continues we will go on to achieve 71 points.
Liverpool are on course for 91. Chelsea 80.
The maximum points we can now achieve is 96 (if we win all of our remaining games).
— JARRADtalks AFC (@JARRADtalksAFC) December 15, 2024
Chelsea, on the other hand, have been steadily going about their business from the word ‘go’ this season. The size of the club’s squad along with the fact that Enzo Maresca has been able to rotate it almost completely between Premier League and Europa Conference League games means that his players are largely fresh heading into each game. On top of that, the backups are ticking over nicely, so it isn’t as if they’re completely cold when they’re called upon to do a job. There is something about them that feels a little bit Liverpool 2013-2014 to me, insomuch as their attack is brilliant but the goalkeeper is questionable and the defence feels as though it’s built on sand. There is also the fact that Maresca’s Leicester City were going like the clappers in the Championship last season, but then lost seven of their final 14 matches, barely clinging on to win the title. This is an entirely different proposition, of course, and the club has the institutional memory of what it takes to end up as champions, which is why I think this might well now be a two-horse race.
