Stottie

Its a pity he didn't score, not because it would have majorly affected the result, but because we could have seen the paragon of virtue and fair play that is Liverpool Football Club not time waste or do any kind of sportsmanship in closing out the game with a precarious one-goal lead. As it was we merely got to see Fabinho, who committed the worst unpunished tackle of the season but didn't get a ban.

Six points ahead of Liverpool and in a final next week. I'll take that! Still the league's best defence by absolutely miles. The positivity out of the way, we made some basic errors today and got punished for them big time. Gaping holes in our defence. The Pope one was a carbon copy of the Salah goal against Man City earlier in the season. BIg hoof to Salah is their Plan B and we should have been better prepared for it. From the way that felt, maybe one of yous has done a Faustian pact with the devil and we'll lift the cup next week in reward for sacking this one off. If looked like voodoo or at least old NUFC was at work for it to fall apart so spectacularly.

Liverpool were shit scared of Gordon last season. Fouled him four times. He has to get a run out.

Ha ha, 10 men and two down but still in this. Just on the January window, but you could argue that's FFP working exactly as intended. They want the established teams to stay established. Its a de facto Super League.

Just on the "helped relegate Burnley", but the move also helped Weghorst end up at Man U. I hope that does not hurt us next week. That transfer story may have more to come.

Book Saka for the first one and he's off there.

Ten more draws and we'll be level on points and probably ahead on GD. We have a game in hand too! In other optimistic news, we can lose 9-0 today and still have the joint best defence in league.

Joelinton missed that follow-up header against Man U, so he has a score to settle against them. With all the chances from set pieces, Schar is due a goal too.

If Maddison wanted to extend, he's just wasted six months where he could have been on higher wages and bonuses. He won't be in a situation where waiting gets him a better deal. To do that, Leicester would have discover lots more money they could pay him.

Some of our big chances from set pieces have involved Bruno, either that extended short corner for Tripper to cross it to the Bruno far post header or the ones where its been a layoff to Bruno for a loopy ball in behind. When its just been Trippier crossing for Burn or Schar, we've not had as much joy. It's a simple one, but "not won without Bruno" may be the most illustrative single stat we have this season. So long as the defence holds up, we're going to compete in every game. Most of the draws were failures to grab three points, not battles to avoid defeat.

Yeah, they've scored six in their six games since then. We've scored six in our seven. Both us and them have 12xG in those games according to Understat. The difference is our xG against is 6, with two goals conceded. Liverpool's is 11.5, with 11 actual goals conceded. Liverpool have conceded three in each of their last three away games!

I tend to be overly positive anyway, but this could be just the opposition we need, a defensively suspect team who will be playing to win and not setting up in a low block. We've only conceded two in the last six, both flicked on corners that can be worked on in training. There's no reason to suggest Liverpool will do something Arsenal and Man U couldn't do against us. On the off-chance its a case of either/or and risking injured players, then by all means write this game off and go for it in the final.

With respect, there is no way Tottenham or Liverpool are getting to 75 points this season. They have far too many shortcomings. fwiw, in the last six games, we've still got the joint best defence, with only two conceded. Yes, we've only scored three in those six games. and that is poor. As it happens, a team with far more attacking talent than us, Chelsea Football Club, has also managed just three goals in their last six games. That's by a team with so much depth that Raheem Sterling becomes a forgotten man. This shows that its not just about squads, strength on paper, and yes I'll mention it, whatever fantastic sum you've just spent in the transfer window.

All transfer talk from fans involves speculation, but it cuts both ways. About players who are avaiable and not available. Ultimately all players are available if you pay enough and push hard enough. For the level of player we want, high-level desirable players, pushing hard enough may include paying them more than another club they have their heart set on. However, unless its Arsenal or Man City, where competition will be fierce, such players are now just as likely to get Champions League here as at any other English club. We are a much more attractive proposition now we are sitting near the top of the table. Unless Tielemans has a deal set up already with Arsenal, PSG or someone, presumably he was "available". The selling club would have no option but to sell. Leicester are not in a position where they can forego the equivalent of 1 million quid plus per game (in lost transfer fee plus wages) for him. Even if our January budget and FFP meant it was only one of a forward (Gordon) and a midfielder, there is still scope for us fans to debate which of those choices should have been made. This is a football talking points forum and it is a valid football talking point. The fact that we did sign one expensive player tells us there was money there to be used. Had we paid a higher fee for Gordon, but in installments, there may have been enough money for two players. Despite us giving Everton cash, they promptly went and didn't use it, suggesting they didn't actually need cash in after all.

Very poor performance today. Also concerning is that the main circumstance for it, the lack of squad depth, will be with us until the end of the season. We're still well placed, and have to be favourites or second favourites for fourth. So no panic stations, none at all. However, this was much more concerning than the draws against Palace and Leeds where we created lots of chances. West Ham was so-so. Conceding two in two games from flicked on corners is poor, and amplified by our (new) inability to create chances at the other end. Without Bruno, the midfield lacks creativity and can be dragged down into a battle of who can outmuscle the other. Joelinton seems headed for a suspension soon, but I doubt he'll leave a hole as big as Bruno's speed on the ball. We have a playing style that has evolved this season without ASM, Isak, and (obviously) Gordon, so hopefully the team and coaches will work on this and we'll see them click in better in coming games. All three have the ability to contribute more, much more than we saw yesterday.

Given how dawdling we've been on the ball, it's good to have Gordon on already, who looks to move it as fast as Bruno does.

Nice goal, and something to build on. I hope it gives Miggy some confidence back. Double figures for him, so well done lad! Bit of stinking first half, another crap goal conceded from a flicked on corner, but it ends even stevens and the match is there to be won.

Pleased with the lineup and quietly confident. Howay the Lads!

Just to wind up the Scouse Mackems, because it's their tune. Anthony Gordon took a notion For to join Eddie's team (or For to join N U F C) And he left Everton behind him Lying in the bottom three

As the xG or Haydn's list says, we're still creating chances, and what is important, we are creating them in a difficult game state where the score is level and our opposition is defending. As a pacy team, we'll create more on the counter attack when leading in games and are opponents are forced to try and score themselves. The West Ham game was disappointing, but no Bruno, no Isak, and a bit flat after the Carabao Cup semi explain that. Credit to West Ham too, who are not bottom half material. If he's going to play, ASM needs to be integrated back in, because the link up play to and from him was poor. Several passes in his direction were easily cut out, so its not just his fault.

Yesterday was the first time in ages we drew a game that finished level on xG. All of the other draws were us missing chances. Yesterday we didn't create so many. I'll personally start worrying about whether we are good enough for Top 4 when our xG falls off. An eyeball test of us missing chances would do too of course. It is possible to miss out due to us having good xG (i.e., creating chances) but not scoring (i.e., taking the chances), but that would mean that our strikers and AMs were not good enough. This is something many of us would have suspected anyway at the start of the season. Play Gordon and Isak and I think we'll be okay.

It's very tempting to think he'd have made a difference yesterday. It's vexing/frustrating that he had to miss the game, but perhaps not something to dwell on. Other teams have much worse luck with injuries than us.

I thought he did okay but that there was little understanding between him and Maxi, which lead to moves breaking down in turnovers.

Maybe as folk say, his time is coming to an end with us. If it is, I'd first like to see him play for thirty minutes on the same side as Trippier and Bruno. Just to see what happens and to mix things up on what teams will know about us. On the left, Maxi gets doubled up on with little attacking help from behind. We've had good moves down the left this year, but they are invariably counter attacks with Willock or Joelinton carrying the ball from deep in one-on-one type situations. I can't recall many times we've overloaded on the left and passed a way through. Had Bruno been playing, perhaps first sub yesterday should have been Miggy. Switch ASM right and play Gordon left. Since Rice was dominating the middle, the logic instead became take the guy who can't press off.

Disappointing. A bit of a hangover from midweek, which in turn was a hangover from 14 years or whatever from Ashley. I say that because the team should not have been nervous and Bruno should never have been sent off when we were two goals up at home. I think it happened due nerves emanating from a history of habitual failure, the lingering smell of Ashley. That free kick also sidelined Isak, a big potential difference maker today. Maybe its little stuff at the margins, maybe its the butterfly batting its wings in chaos theory, but these are little things striking me as linked in one way or another. As takeaways from this game, ASM is not something we can just switch on and off, he needs to play and be integrated in the team, which he wasn't today. While he scored, Wilson had a couple of great chances he didn't take, so not quite the great return to form. Gordon looked like the Everton player of last season, and his cameo was the clear highlight. Some laser pointer passing from Rice, who excels against us. It gets an asterisk due to Bruno missing, but a great performance from him.