Iraola will lift the gloom encircling Anfield. He’s likeable & knows the league. My question is whether the Reds have the kind of players who can deliver the style of football he wants. He’s definitely more of a gegen press type like Klopp. Maybe we’ll get a hint in the transfer window.

Slot sacked. Ibou out. Kevin fights cancer. Sir Kenny reveals cancer. What a week for Liverpool. 😕#YNWA

It’s been over 24 hours and Virgil Van Dijk & Ryan Gravenberch are the only Liverpool players to post their reaction to the dismissal of Arne Slot.

I suspect in the season end review, something changed. Maybe one on ones with the players exposed how much Slot had “lost the room.” I also wonder if the club was getting the hint from certain player agents that Slot was an obstacle to them joining Liverpool. Mo, Robbo, Ibu, gone. Summer of change.

If you don't know @CBCTom.Bluesky.social, you should. If you do know him, you'll like him even more after watching/listening to this especially for his singing & candid take on the World Cup Legacy in Canada. #CANMNT GET IN! youtu.be/1ryfpjfOj64 Full Pod: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/foo…

A day after Mikel Arteta won the Premier League title, the man he succeeded at Arsenal, Unai Emery wins the Europa League. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad manager after all. Well done by both men.

Need a break from the gloom? Walking through the neighborhood, I spied this tiny miracle of nature. Tulips that look like burning flames. Spectacular.

Quite an indictment of the Liverpool culture by Mo Salah. Timing before his final game is well…awkward. Could he have waited? Maybe. Either way he’s kneecapped Slot for the second time this year. There’s already blood in the water around Anfield but the King just added a lot more.

When Szoboszlai fell after Liverpool tied it and Villa scored, I gave up. The season in 2 minutes. It can’t end soon enough. #AVLIV

A month before Canada opens the World Cup, I got an email from MLSE as a TFC season ticket holder. I could buy a ticket to the opener vs Bosnia at BMO Field - the price range is $1150 to $2955. The most significant match in Canadian soccer history is not sold out. Wonder why.

If nothing else, the Arsenal VAR decision should be the impetus for the league & the PGMOL to get tough on the clutching & grabbing. It’s been rampant in recent seasons & only getting worse. Start circulating video to the clubs saying what’s allowed & what isn’t - with zero tolerance.

What’s especially disheartening is I’m more surprised by victory than defeat. Disappointment is the most common form of expectation with this Liverpool club. Hard to fathom after last year’s exhilarating performance. #LFC #MUNLIV

Some images from our footy trip. 4 matches in 4 days. At the Etihad, Selhurst Park, Loftus Road & The Valley. Our band of merry men.

Watched Liverpool win the merseyside derby in the concourse of the Etihad. Then me & my 🇨🇦 mates watched City beat Arsenal to tighten the title race even more. This sign unfurled after the match was “pitch perfect” #LFC

One photo is from Orion, taken in 2026. The other is from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ made in 1968. Pretty remarkable really. #artemis

Another blowout to PSG next week and these final weeks will feel like a death march for Liverpool. Mo will be glad to see the door. #FACup #MCILIV #LFC

My friend & former colleague Susan Bonner will host her last newscast today on “Your World Tonight”. A dedicated & principled journalist whose career spanned 4 decades in both radio and television. Reporting from Washington and Ottawa. A tremendous legacy that will be hard to replace.

The first #OpeningDay game I ever saw, I covered for CBC Radio Sports in Montreal. The Expos hosted the Phillies. Leading off Pete Rose, who delivered his 4000th hit off Jerry Koosman, a double to RF. Still have the scorecard from that chilly April day at the Big O. #openingnight

Makes you wonder if the emotional impact of Mo’s departure will drive Liverpool forward into a stretch run to a top 5, maybe an FA Cup, maybe even a Champions League title. Some sort of special farewell gift. #LFC

I know he played elsewhere before coming to Liverpool but it’s hard to imagine Mo Salah in another kit. He’ll always be a Red to me. Long Live The Egyptian King. #LF. #YNWA

Alisson is officially a reason for concern. Missed 30 matches from 2017-18 through 2022-2023. Missed 61 from the start of 2023-24 until today. Double the missed matches in half the time. He’s approaching 35. Transition time.

Hard to know how to interpret this Liverpool performance. It’s against a team they should hammer but unlike other times this season, they actually did it. Mo & Hugo may have some chemistry tho the King has a knock. A different set up seems to have made a difference. More of this vs Brighton. #YNWA

There are reports Liverpool chairman Tom Werner was over visiting from the US & was in the Anfield directors’ box on Sunday. He usually only comes twice in a season, at home opener and last home match of the season. An omen?

Man, Liverpool makes bad teams look good. Forest, Wolves. Spurs. 15th goal conceded in the final quarter hour of games. 19 points lost from winning or drawn positions. Could have 68 points. Have 49 instead. Ugh. Loss vs Galatasary may spell the end for Slot.

One of the most simple yet touching rituals in Judaism for me is the yahrzeit. The offspring commemorating the anniversary of the death of their parents. As darkness fell, my wife & I lit two candles for my late in-laws - wonderful people who led exemplary lives. May their memories be a blessing. ✡️

Liverpool embodied one of the most confounding aspects of professional sports. How two teams can play each other in the span of 4 days and one can look so awful in the first and be emphatically better in the second. 🤯 #YNWA

Villa losing, United losing. Today’s results drive home just how damaging that shambolic performance was by Liverpool. A massive opportunity missed - and embarrassingly so.

Remember the Pottery Barn rule? “You break it, you buy it.” A generation laterz, there’s a new version. “You break it, you leave the mess in the corner and just slide out the door.” #iran

In case you were wondering, Iran has qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The team is scheduled to be based in Arizona.

Kerkez and Szobo were top level. Liverpool were Hungary tonight. Up the Reds. #LFC

My last broadcast almost a year ago. Miss the crew, the newsroom - and you. Keep listening especially on World Radio Day. 📻🎙️🇨🇦

Bradley, Frimpong, Endo. Being the right back for Liverpool is like being the drummer for Spinal Tap. #LFC

Lots of nostalgia today as the Olympics open in Milan. 20 years ago, I was Turin - one of 8 games I covered for CBC News & CBC Sports from 1996 to 2010. Remembering big moments, powerful stories & working with some of the best people in television. Photo: Sydney, September 2000

First win of 2026 on the last day of the month. The tears of Ibou, the smile of Hugo. Best Liverpool have looked in quite awhile. I’ll take it. #YNWA #LIVNEW

Liverpool hammered an inferior opponent as they should. That will not keep the wolves away from Slot’s door but may buy him some grace from the supporters. Til Saturday and Newcastle. #LFC #YNWA

Liverpool is interested in acquiring the guy who broke Isak’s leg? Mickey Van de Ven might be fast but he may be slow making friends at Anfield. #LFC

As a Chiefs fan, I’m more than happy to hand the mantel of “NFL’s most hated team” back to the New England Patriots. Enjoy the vitriol gang. #HOUvsNE

As a Chiefs fan, I’m more than happy to hand the mantel of “NFL’s most hated team” back to the New England Patriots. Enjoy the vitriol gang. #HOUvsNE

I’m no expert but the Reds playing slow seems to allow the low block to flourish especially with weaker sides. There’s no sense of panic. Burnley never seemed phased. Liverpool pressed better today but then it’s like they push the “slo-mo” button after being on “fast forward.” #LFC

One aspect of Mahomes recovery from surgery is his usual off season routine of inviting receivers to work out with him in Texas is likely disrupted. Especially challenging if the Chiefs recruit some new talent.

What might have billed the Match of the Year turned into the Match of the Yawn. But given the circumstances (no striker, thin bench, on the road, opponent with 5 straight wins) I’d call that a solid result. Maybe the break will bring new help & new ideas.#LFC

My gut says Harbaugh goes to either Atlanta or the Giants. NY is a massive rebuild but there are some building blocks. And it IS New York. Atlanta has a young unproven & injured QB, the NFL’s best RB, a top group of receivers & a decent defence. Harbaugh can win quicker in the Peach State.

I’ll stand by this post especially after today. #LFC looks out of ideas. Even in the wins, the Reds never look dangerous for extended periods of play. Unimaginative & bewildered at the same time.

Glass half empty post. A team with this much talent and this large a payroll should be making mincemeat of a club such as Wolves. Other clubs flatten them. Liverpool escapes them. It’s a good run but a deceptive one. #LFC #YNWA

My wife decided to make her own birthday cake, inspired by one she recently saw in a store. Before you is a lemon Tiramisu. And it was outstanding. Even without the ladyfingers being soaked in lemoncello, it was rich and refreshing. Hope you’ve had a sumptuous repast wherever you are. 🎄🎁🎂🍋

Withrow Park, Toronto. Christmas Eve, 2025. “Let your heart be light”

Reid says Mahomes feels as though he let everyone down. Being your own worst critic is not unusual. It’s why Mahomes has achieved so much. He’s been the lynchpin of the franchise’s greatest run of success & one of the best eras in NFL history. He didn’t let me down. #chiefs

That 4th down decision may have cost the Chiefs the season. A ridiculous call by Andy Reid. #chiefs

IMO the Liverpool board has to back the manager. Salah gave them no choice. If Slot is fired because Mo is angry, the power balance is out of whack. #LFC

I’ve been willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Arne Slot. But after this debacle at Leeds, FSG doesn’t have a choice entering the busy holiday schedule. They need to make a move before the CL and top half are gone. #LFC