Seeing a lot of conversation now about how we are missing a ball winner in midfield. Said this back in April.

I think the biggest reason people dislike Cody Gakpo is we have grown used to having guys like Diaz, Jota, Salah, Mané in attack that play with an speed & intensity that indicate hunger/desire. Gakpo has a fairly languid running style by comparison. Doesn't look like he goes through the gears. He

My model projects 0.8 xGD to be worth ~2.02 points per game / a 77 point season. A 66% win rate. It is usually enough for a title challenge as title challenging teams tend to overperform xG & therefore xPoints. A better predictor than xG difference can be xG Share. To give an extreme example why

The Transactional Corruption World Cup

"I'm very close with him. It's him and his own choice with what he is doing with his own life and his own career," said the Hungary captain "It's nothing to do with the players, I guess, so nothing to say about it." Jones, Ali and others have publicly got behind Slot and distanced themselves from

Great thread from Stephen. I think the ideal would’ve been to ease Salah out over time (starting fewer games) but the drop in form from both him and the team has upset that approach

I'd argue that in the way the team's set up in Mo's absence he's been replaced in the 11 by Szobo; by far our player of the season and by playing Szobo where he's best we can also use Wirtz and Isak/Eki to the best of their ability. That is preparing for the future and getting return on investment

Clearly Isak, Wirtz, Eki is here primarily to lead us after Salah, not to play with him. If it had worked this season everyone would have been happy but its not and then it would be madness to start adjusting the squad and tactics to accommodate a 34 year old on decline.

A superb 🧵 from Stephen, talks so much sense. Agree 💯; that Mo quote leapt out at me too “"I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it" sorry but you DO have to fight for the shirt every game. Mo is in our leadership group, v sad to see him go to the media like he has 🥲

There shouldn't be a versus. The fact there is at all falls entirely on Mo imo. Slots HAS to be in his right to drop players performing poorly and try others in their position. Does Mo think he wasn't performing poorly? If he does, then why not come out, say that he knows his performances haven't

Ignoring everything else that was said... "I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it" This is the crux with having older player's legs going on your pitch. If you drop them, they are club legends and feel slighted that all they did was forgotten so quickly. If you

I am begging us in media to stop mealy-mouthed avoidance of bias with phrases like "in a controversial move." When what we actually mean is "in a move antithetical to every scientific finding and medical recommendation." "A move that will cause both illness and death."

“What have I done!” 🤡

Please tell me @theathletic.com didn't waste my subscription money "researching" why the most corrupt POTUS in history loves the most corrupt sports organization in history (...who made him a gold statue & made up a fake "FIFA Peace Prize" to give to him in order to influence his opinion of them).

The cavalier (at best) or adversarial (more often) attitude of the administration toward science, the arts, knowledge, humanity, even life itself disgusts me. It’s truly a collection of detestable people.

A thread from Stephen is always worth paying attention to imo

9 defeats in 13 games is a wild run of form right now. I said at the start of the year - too much change = transition year and that tends to always be bad. Ideally you want to phase out older players and phase in replacements over a period of 6-12 months. Robbo & Fabinho are probably perfect

0-2 win. Thats what you need when you are in the shit. Don't care how it happens. How grindy it is. You just need to stop the rot and start getting points on the board.

Robbo switched off on that throw in there. How does that happen with Robbo - he's only been on the pitch 5 minutes

This could cost Arne his job. It's an utter mess. #LFC Robbo gets beat. @babuyagu.bsky.social was right, his legs have completely gone and he can't defend 1v1 any more.

This is what happens when you put a preening, lazy, populist, dilettante in charge of a country. Johnson was completely out of his depth and more concerned with his pathetic perceived popularity than leading this country through the greatest crisis since 1939. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...

It is well known that positive feedback locks in what you are doing (e.g. getting a question right in a test) & critical feedback helps you improve. Maybe refs getting positive feedback for shocking performances and refusing to accept or even hear criticism is why they are locked into being shite.

I'm not saying referees are corrupt. I am just saying there is a reason why conflicts of interest are so important and avoided in industry. If someone acts generously towards you, or has indicated they will in future (e.g. cushy high paying ref job in gulf state when you retire) then you are

Salah is a problem regardless of whether he's playing or not. If you start winning when you have your ~£350k-per-week star player on the bench, it's an issue. An expensive one at that.

When the Conservative Party in Korea declared martial law, the Korean Democrats knew if they didn’t send them to hell there would be no opposition afterwards. And look at them. They’re taking the ex conservative president and ensuring he never breathes free ever again.

Had an article in the works on this for weeks (hopefully out in coming weeks (the downside of being freelance)). Agree that lack of coverage (in front pages too) is an issue. It's so directly related to a high-profile club and by extension their group of clubs that football shouldn't ignore it.

Building with a double pivot again and Liverpool all of a sudden look to be able to play football.

Holding your knee after a challenge like that isn't good. Suggests knee ligaments possible. Hope I am wrong.

Real are trying to get a sub ready who isn't Mbappe to see if they can get an attacker on the pitch who looks like they give a fuck.

Btw... enjoyed Wirtz performance here so far.

Didn't have Macca bullet header on my opening goal bingo. Anyone?

Can we drug test Courtois after this match please? I know he always does this when we face him and he is a super human shot stopping freak. But even by his disgusting standards, this is a filthy display to watch.

I don't want bullshit penalties. They are game changing moments and should be treated as such. I like that the ref went to the monitor when a FK would be changed to a penalty because that isn't a decision you should give easily. But please... some fucking consistency. I know this is PGMOL and their

Great read from @iandunt.bsky.social on whether Starmer should stay or go, including the mystery of how, if you’re launching a popular climate, energy, and growth strategy, why wouldn’t you stage a press conference on it? iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...

A) Venezuela has oil reserves. B) Wars are profitable for tyrants and C) provide distraction from other issues. D) For authoritarians and fascists if you cant get the resources take the resources. E) No Congress means no oversight. F) “But they cant do that!” Well. They are. Shenanigan Cocktail.

How to watch LFC vs Crystal Palace. Step 1:

Late starting the game as I was working on something. Just wanted to say that lineup is wild. Screams 'stop naming us in your shitty cups we dont care about'. Fair play if they win, they fucking earned that shit. Not getting any extra load on the legs of EPL & UEFA match players seems #1 priority

There is a rule to dealing with moments like this. Don't talk about big picture or finish line when you are in the shit. You have to just survive the next 5 minutes. Then the next. In our case its game to game. The league table, objectives, targets - they don't matter. Just get out of the shit.

This is the high bar bollocks again. Hooper wanted to give them a soft fuck free kick because he's a shitref. But then VAR is just checking if its in or outside the box. Not if it was a legitimate penalty. It cant overrule Hooper and say 'that isnt a foul' just say where it occured. Its like

That is by a mile the softest penalty I have ever seen. How are you giving that? Jesus fucking christ. I genuinely thought the officiating couldn't get worse but I should know better than to doubt PGMOLs ability to fuck up a match

PSA: Wirtz isn't a right midfielder.

Just a reminder of my threat of what an aging Robbo looks like. That was another good example. Fear of being taken on 1v1 so he backs up invites the player into the box, lets him size up the situation and pick his spot and moment, curve it around him into the goal. Reminds me of Skrtel. Brutal

After a week of ridiculous Republican smears and Trump claiming that “very few people are going to be there,” you just made history. #NoKings

In his career, going back to 2015, including the 4th tier in France - he has never had more than 7 shots in a game (Fra v Spa, Olympics | Mainz v Hoffenheim, Bundesliga 2018/19). He averages 1.76 shots per game. Highest xG was 2.1, Avg 0.345 Highest in EPL is 5 (vs Ful & Lei, 2024 | v Wol 2022).

I think two things are happening at the same time. 1. lots of new faces in attacking positions, which leads to problems while they settle in 2. the guys we hoped would be constants while they bed in (Dom, Gakpo, Salah, Macca) are either playing out of position or seriously out of form. For

I am reminded of what I think it was @babuyagu.bsky.social who said that with his decline Robbo doesn’t get as tight to players for fear of being turned or run past, and it’s so noticeable in this game

Losing to 96th minute goals two games in a row is fucking murder. Maybe a bit harsh but think Robbo should have taken up a much better position to protect the back post. Guess he would have needed to sag the line to do so though.

Gakpo has been terrible since the goal.

Good example of there of Dom not checking his shoulder and getting his body orientation wrong for crosses. Had no idea Enzo was coming in behind him

Very slow to get out and press the ball there after the corner