Anfield's title party, Salah's selfie & season-defining moments
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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. Champions! Champions! Champions! Champions! Champions! Champions! Alright Reds, Tony Evans here with Walk On, your Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. I'm here with James Pearce and Simon Hughes. Have you sold us up yet? Today, we're going to bask in the glory of Liverpool being champions of England. Premier League champions. Let's say it again. Champions.

So come on, boys, let's have your three words. Sigh. Kebab plus burger. Wow. That's where I ended up on Sunday, well, Monday morning. Do you know where kebab plus burger is, James? I don't know. Where is it? It's on Berry Street. It's actually called Bow Tan.

But for years, it just had this sign in red and yellow saying kebab plus burger. So it tells you exactly what they do there. And that's where we ended up in the early hours of Monday morning. It sounds like the kind of place that would lure me in. Honestly, I've got to say, the meat is incredible. It's very good. It's very, very good. And they had a huge number of staff there as well. Very good service.

Very, very happy with my... I got a Donna Rapp in the end. I left it for a Donna Rapp.

Now, if I remember rightly, there's sweet chilli sauce. Oh, Tony, so have you been, have you? Have you been to Kebab Plus Burger? Do you think there's a single kebab house in Liverpool I haven't been to? A single kebab house? There are some bad ones, Tony. I'm not going to name the bad ones, but there are some bad ones. This is a very good one, I think. So anybody listening to this who travels into Liverpool for a match one day, I'd recommend finishing your night there.

James, we might have to be away from you. I can't really compete with that. I was going with Guard of Honour. Guard of Honour. I love it, I love it, I love it. And we'll be getting one from Arsenal soon, won't we? How did they get on in the Champions League? They're going to win it? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You know what? Let's just, let's not talk about anyone else. Let's just talk about Liverpool. Anyway, let's see what you're saying. Jed Lunny is saying, Anfield's in ecstasy.

Joe Davis, all together now. Yes, the firm. I knew those fellas at one time. Mark Green, beautiful red mist. And Brian Lavin, day of days.

And so the coronation today will surely be the day that Liverpool win their 20th league title. The only moment I was emotional today was when we arrived at the stadium to see what it meant for the fans, what it meant for these people. McAllister! Gakpo and still! Salah onto his left boot, Salah shoots! The Egyptian king with the crown!

for the new champions of England. That was all alright, wasn't it? That was a lovely montage, that, wasn't it, by Guy? Yeah, you know, I mean, you know, it's... Si, you know, you just...

You just jumped the podcast the other night, didn't you? And he's just like, that was it. I'm gone. I'm out of here. That's not a fair reflection of what happens. I'm going for a kebab. I had a technical, I've lost connection. You know, one night back in the 80s when, you know, on another night we won the league, I was out on Herbman Street and I had a kebab up there. And on my way home, I had two more. Oh, that's.

That's a commitment to meet that, Tony. What a hat-trick. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, it was a good night. It was a good night. I mean, you only had one. I only had one, yeah. I mean, I did have a bit of a technological meltdown, hence my early dart from the podcast. You lie, you lie. You just ran. You just went. I've had enough of this. No more. I need to get out. Well, you know, there is proof that we were there, wasn't there, James? Because I know Liverpool put out a video of...

Ibrahima Kanate's moment of contemplation in the mainstand with me and you lurking in the background. So we were still working very late. And no one quite lurks like you, Sue. So we were there very late, but I got out. I was really keen to get out. You know what? A lot of pubs ran out of ale.

It was remarkable. I've never seen that happen before. And I know, I think the Solly did, where I went to the Grove, did by nine. But I mean, round by Anfield, it was incredible. I mean, you know, it was like, I was trying to think of how you compare, but it's how I imagined New York City to be in the blackout. You know what I mean? Where house parties were going off everywhere, raves. Everyone was just piling into random houses, you know?

Over the road from the grove where we were, because the aisle ran out...

I might be wrong about this, but I think that they stole the DJ from the Grove and went into a house and just invited everybody into this house. And the music was bouncing. It was really good. It was really good. Yeah, it was... I mean, immediately outside Anfield. I mean, everybody's seen the pictures, but the energy there was just off the scale. Like, just...

Yeah, very difficult to put it into words, really. I think it's one of those things that you just have to see and smell and feel because, yeah, it was like Liberation Day.

Yeah, I used to go to the Grove in the 80s, and it was known as the grave. So it got a bit lively. James, you wrote a piece, which you've got to go online, people, and see. This is why you need to subscribe to The Athletic about Liverpool celebrations going on until 3am. Yeah, I was tucked up in bed by then. You lie, you lie. Yeah.

No, I was actually. No, I got back home about half to. I must admit, just picking up on what Simon said, I left the ground about nine o'clock. So what's that? Good two and a half hours after the game had finished.

And I'd never, ever seen anything like what greeted me on Walton Brett Road, which I don't know, on a normal match day, probably reopens half an hour after the game, I imagine. And you could barely get down Walton Brett Road. That was that there was thousands upon thousands there.

And, you know, people up lampposts, people of dozens clambered up onto the Paisley gates on top of the roof of the club shop. It was just it was absolute mayhem. But but.

in the best possible way you know everyone just having the absolute time of their lives so yeah I ended up going home via the Red Lion and Jacaranda watching Andy Kelly obviously quite a few people will know from his days at the Liverpool Echo well watching him dance was a sight to behold in the Jacaranda at two o'clock in the morning and yeah it was a fair bit of dancing going on in the Carlsberg dugout in the main stand I think it was just before three o'clock that the

the last of the players and staff who were there at Anfield for the party finally made their way home. Yeah, it sounded like a great night. Very informal, no big speeches. A lot of the players were just wearing the Champions of England shirts and club tracksuits and stuff. A lot of them went back out onto the pitch really late at night.

for more photos in a deserted stadium. A lot of them wanted photos with their families in front of the Kop. Sultan's A Swing by Dire Straits got a good airing, I'm told. That's become one of the anthems of the season and that's down to Alison Becker. That was his contribution to the dressing room Spotify list. That's a bit disturbing there, isn't it? I didn't have it down as one that we'd be talking about.

say they're in the grounds until three in the morning i mean was it because they couldn't get out of you know out of the stadium because there's so many people around yeah well i i left the amfield area i'm just trying to think it must have been around 11 ish something like that and it was still very lively you know some of the pubs as i said shut because they'd run out of liquor to sell and

Which I've never seen before in my life. I mean, it's incredible that that would happen. But it was still very busy. I mean, I think the player, had they wanted to, I'm sure that they'd have been able to get out by that point. The way taxis are around. But I suppose from a purely logistical point of view,

You know, in years gone by, Liverpool's players, they'd always socialise in town anyway. It was a lot easier to do that then. They'd socialise, they'd go out, Hardman Street, all around that area. Now, obviously, the world has changed. But I do think that there's just a practical reality to this in that

Liverpool were found to be hiring out a venue to celebrate a league title that wasn't delivered. It becomes a bit of a story, doesn't it? So you can have a party inside Anfield, keep it in-house, enjoy yourself. And who knows, they'll probably have another event, won't they, after the trophy list somewhere else. Now it's all settled.

Well, you'd hope to be having events on a daily basis all the way now until the end of May. James, with a couple of days to think about it, how have you processed what happened? Yeah, it still seems a bit surreal, to be honest, thinking back to Sunday. Yeah, it was just the most incredible day. And I think it was only really... Oh, it was probably Tuesday before I actually sat down and started...

Going back through all the, a lot of the social media stuff that people, other people had taken and also that the club had put out just to like soak it all in really, because it was unique. And, you know, I think as we talked about on that, the pod straight after the game, you know, so many people, not just inside the stadium, but all around the world had waited their entire lives for, for that moment. And, you know, someone said to me yesterday that, well,

you know, it was everything they hoped it would be and more, which, which obviously when you've waited so long for something, sometimes there can be, you know, we think, Oh, was that it? Because you build it up so much. But I think that that's, that shows you how,

unbelievable a day it was that I think most people... Yeah, there was no sense of anti-climax about it, was there? No, no, no. And it was... And someone else said to me, like, well, do you think it was better than being in the ground for Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final in 2019? It was just so different because... Yeah, yeah, yeah. With a game like that, it was like you had defiance, then a little bit of hope, a bit more hope, and then that

unbelievable burst of elation. But because there was no jeopardy at Anfield on Sunday, it was just this celebration from three hours before kickoff when I got to Anfield and saw you could barely get down Anfield Road because it was so rammed right through to, you know, it's the early hours of Monday morning. And it was just like a tidal wave of

of joy and ecstasy that just kept growing bigger and bigger and bigger. Just one of those days that you never forget. Yeah. And we, we did the pods very quickly afterwards and which has led to Colin Duffy who enjoys it saying fans, Shenton fireworks are requirement for all podcasts. Now is there a health and safety issue there? Uh,

Probably. And do we care? Do we care? No, we don't. Who's sorting the fireworks out for the next episode? Say. Say. James definitely uses a helmet on a palisade, doesn't he? Right now, the Home Depot has spring deals under $20. So no matter what you're working on, the deals are blooming at the Home Depot with savings on plants, flowers, soil and more.

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After Sunday's title was confirmed, we asked you to get in touch in order to share your celebrations. And you've obliged. My mate Zach from Indianapolis got in touch with me and said...

I've never felt like this in my life. The best decision I ever made was supporting Liverpool. I was throwing my boys in the end, celebrating with pints and flares in the front yards in Indianapolis. Can you imagine? And, you know, loads of you have sent your thoughts, questions, voice notes, emails us at walkonattheathletic.com.

Well, let's see what else everyone said. Hi Tony, James and Simon. This is Aima. I live in Toronto, Canada. I'm originally from Lagos, Nigeria. I hope you folks are doing well. Who would have thought? A year ago, Jurgen Klopp, the greatest manager of my lifetime, left Liverpool and a year later, we are the champions of England. Credit to Anas Lutz for all the successes that he's done.

I'm 31 years old, I've never seen Liverpool win the league in Anfield with fans in the stadium. When we won the league in 2020,

I didn't know how to celebrate because it was COVID and it was a tough time. But being able to see Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis McAllister, Darwin Nunes all being able to celebrate in Anfield, that was a special moment. I don't know what the future holds for Liverpool, but nothing will ever be this moment. I watched this game all by myself because right now I currently live in Canada and my family is back in Nigeria and some of them in the States.

And tears were rolling down my eyes when I just saw the club chanting, you never walk alone. To be a Liverpool fan is a privilege I don't take lightly. I hope you folks are having a good time celebrating us being champions of England. We're back on top. Cheers. Now there you go. We're aligned. Being a Liverpool fan is something I don't take lightly.

That's just brilliant, isn't it? And our mate Jorge from El Salvador, who's been on the show before, biggest scowl in El Salvador, I believe. He's been back in touch and talking about the post-match You'll Never Walk Alone. He says, I've never been so inspired by the You'll Never Walk Alone anthem being sung by the crowd with all the players lined up. I put it on loud at home and sang it.

It's more than a deserving punch. How beautiful it was to see slop pay back Jürgen as well by chanting his name. James, what did you make of that post-match? You'll never walk alone. It was one of my favorite moments amongst many, just incredibly poignant on it. And I think just, it was, it was one of those moments where, where it's that, it's that togetherness, isn't it? I think that strikes you more than anything you see,

You see that bond between the players and the staff on the pitch, all linking arms and facing the cup. And it was, yeah, it was, it was spine tingling. That, that was a real special moment. Another, another one that I absolutely loved was, was the sight of Alison and Andy Robertson beckoning over those ball boys to, to join in a celebratory huddle. That was great. And then, you know, and again, when I was looking back over the,

the footage last few days, you know, Curtis Jones did something that was absolutely classy. When you, there was a young lad called Harry, uh,

who sits near to the front of the cop and people will remember him a lot of people remember him from earlier on in the season when they did one of those i think it was in partnership with nivia they do those those kind of in social media videos where curtis had gone to home bake the cafe near the ground and surprised harry and and basically they've struck up a really lovely rapport since and i think in the same way as you know you know what the everwalk alone underline that

togetherness and that unity I think that gesture from Curtis Jones lifting young Harry over the hoardings and putting him on the pitch for the celebrations just yeah little classy moments like that

No, I mean, tremendous, tremendous. But sorry, I've got to ask you, because we lauded the Salah selfie. No, no. On Sunday night. No, no, no. And, you know, we said how great it was. We were excited, you know. It was like, it showed the connection between the players and the fans. And it turns out it was, yeah, it turns out it was an advertising campaign.

Which I was a bit surprised about from Salah, really. Yeah. Because he's always been so conscious of his own image and his own status and to do that. Yeah, so obviously when we were talking about it, I was like, oh, this is just such a great sort of genuine...

It obviously wasn't quite that. I mean, I suppose Salah still did celebrate with the fans and we had quite a lot of debate about it yesterday amongst reporters and editors at the Athletic.

I mean, I just think football at its best is like, it's an unscripted drama, isn't it? And I thought, I thought it was Salah just seeing somebody with a phone and thinking, you know what, I'll give him a photograph that he's going to cherish forever. You know what I mean? Wow, what a moment. It wasn't quite that way in the end. We've been told that apparently there has been somebody there

for at least some of the season if not all the season with the camera and Salah and it was an option for the players to use it and Salah sort of must have just thought well this is the right moment to do it you know what I mean and

So to some extent it was spontaneous maybe, but yeah, it's not quite, it's not quite that sort of interaction between him and the crowd that we, that it seemed to be at the time. I mean, people aren't going to moan and groan about it ultimately because Liverpool have won the league and everything else. And,

Some people within the industry will say, well, look, these relationships between Liverpool and Google help pay for the contracts of players like Salah. But for me, I just think it's just nowhere near as good as Salah picking up the phone of a young kid or anybody on the front row and just taking a snap himself just because he can. So, yeah, I mean, it wasn't... I won't look back on it with the fondness that I thought I might when we were speaking about it on...

on Sunday because as soon as I got out the ground actually I started talking to to me mate about it he said you do realize it came from a club official and I was like no or you know it was it was through an official channel so I can't believe that please no on this day just make it you know authentic um anyway

Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's a, it's a small, it's a small, but I'm not going to get too wound up about it, but I just wish, you know, it would have been nice. You know, like, I mean, as James just mentioned the Curtis Jones's moments, I think that seemed pretty spontaneous and just a nice thing to do to a moment to share with somebody who you've got some sort of relationship with. It would have been better if that was more the case, which it isn't, but hey, ho. Yeah.

let's just see if it creeps into football it's not the first time it's happened by the way I think Virgil van Dijk did it at Forest last season you know when they got a late goal as well and yeah yeah so you know it's not the first time it's happened I just I just think oh that's just a little bit naff really everything's content now isn't it James you know it's like even even you know we were talking in the podcast about the Canarte you know sitting on the stands by himself and

I mean, who knows? He may have been doing that by himself at moments of contemplation, but nevertheless, it was filmed and used by the football club as this like, you know, man in reflection after the greatest moments of his sport and life. I don't know whether there was an agreement between him and the club to do that or whether the club, somebody just saw him with a camera and decided to film it and use it as content, but everything is content now, isn't it? Everyone's got a camera. Um,

I mean, I can't really complain. I took lots of photographs the other day and not many of them are very good. Maybe I'm just jealous of the Google Pixel image that Salah produced so expertly. Well, we do know that you're the selfie king of Anfield. Not true. Oh, actually, yeah, me and James took a selfie, didn't we, the other day? Yeah.

You did? It's one of the ugliest things I've ever seen in my life. That picture was taken in association with all our partners, which we thank a lot for their support over the years. We couldn't have done it without them. You ever wonder how our skins are so smooth? Thank you, Nivea. That's a lie. That picture, I seem to be in the... I don't know what it is about the angle you took it at, but I look about three foot two. You are, aren't you? LAUGHTER

I thought it was pretty accurate. It looked like a dad and lad pic. Like, your head looks bigger than my entire body. Well, that's not unusual. Well, that's true, isn't it, anyway? That's not unusual. People usually have to get a restricted view, you know, when they're sitting behind me.

Well, next up to share the thoughts on Sunday, it's James. No, not Pierce. A different James. Hi, Tony, James and Simon. A fellow James here, massive Liverpool fan, and I just wanted to say I love the pod.

Now I just thought I'd share my tale and experience of Sunday. Now I've been going to Anfield since I was six and for context I'm 26 now with my dad who's now into his 60s. Now initially when the Spurs game was rescheduled to the Sunday 4.30 I'd sounded out my uncle to potentially take my ticket as I was running Manchester Marathon on that Sunday.

However, when I received my start time for the marathon, which was luckily at 9.30am and the results fell the way they did, I realised I could probably do both in one day. I ran the Manchester Marathon in three and a half hours, got changed in the Oxford Road Park and jumped on a train to Lyme Street with my dad.

Now, me and my dad have experienced some amazing games at Anfield. Beating Real Madrid 4-0 in 2009 was my personal highlight, amongst the beating Barcelona 4-0 and the Manchester United 7-0, of course. However, Sunday was definitely the best game I've ever been to. My dad has seen us win titles throughout the 80s and was on the Kop with his dad and my uncles throughout that time.

Now, we weren't sat together for this game, but we were both in the Anfield road end. In the 87th minute, I left my seat and me and my dad squashed into half a seat each. Now, bear in mind, my legs were in agony, having ran the marathon and not been able to sit down all game. But what a day, what an experience. We were both incredibly emotional at full time and hit Liverpool hard and drank well into the night.

He ran a marathon. What's one of those? James. I ate a marathon.

I mean, and then with the match, what a commitment, what commitment, unbelievable. Well, Si, you didn't quite do a marathon, but you walked from the Pier Red to Anfield on Saturday. I did. And you wrote a brilliant piece about it. Thank you. Listeners, it's not that far. Ha!

And he got the bus. Yeah. But the piece is excellent because it gives some idea about the history of the city and what it means to win. But you know what? I'll tell you what. Your editors are going to be in touch with you. You're going to have to do a marathon next time they win the league. You know, like James. Because, you know, I mean, that's just...

I'm very much a walker now, Tony. Very much a walker these days. But I'm up for any sort of journey that takes me from one place to another place of significance. If there's football around it, I very much enjoy doing that sort of thing. And yeah, I just thought it was important to try and explain why it was so important to Liverpool and Liverpool people and Liverpool supporters to

I think everybody knows, well, obviously everybody does know about what happened last time when they won the league and that it wasn't possible to celebrate. And I feel awkward talking about that because...

Obviously Liverpool couldn't celebrate, but it's not the greatest hardship in the world. There was a lot of people dying across the world, wasn't it? So it sounds particularly selfish just to say, oh, well, we couldn't celebrate. So it sits a bit uncomfortably when we talk about it, but nevertheless, it is the reality. Well, no, I think it's deeper than that personally, because what I think is that it was poignant because so many people didn't get to see and celebrate Liverpool

Because of the pandemic, I mean, you know, they died. It felt like a real weight on us all. Yeah, I've spoken to a few people over the last week who actually did, Liverpool fans who did lose family members and relatives and, you know, friends in the pandemic. And, you know, this achievement obviously made them very reflective of their lives and, you know, the people that they'd been surrounded with.

But nevertheless, you know, quite nice that they did enjoy this, you know, that they enjoyed. It felt quite cathartic for them as well. I think that they enjoyed, you know, because it allowed them to think of the, you know, the people that they knew. I lost two mates during the pandemic and, you know, on Sunday I was thinking about them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I wanted to write about that a little bit, but I also wanted to write about, you know, the longer story because...

Nevertheless, you know, all the things that were relevant five years ago, that Liverpool as a city, Liverpool Football Club has experienced, are still relevant now. You know, so I just thought it was important to try and reflect some of those issues, you know, that why...

You know, I mean, you can go all the way back through time really and explain why this was such an important moment. You know, for lots of people like me, it's just like, you know, I'm 41. I had never seen Liverpool win the league. You know, maybe I'm the threshold for that because people slightly older than me can remember the last time. It tends to be by my experience. But, you know, throughout that period, you know,

You've had Liverpool falling away. You've had post-Hillsborough, you know, the fight for justice around there. And this simultaneously running with Liverpool not being the club that it once was, you know. So a lot of people haven't really been able to celebrate. Winning the league just means so much because, you know, it's what the club was judged on. If you go back to Shankly, it's how, if we're being honest about it, you know, obviously Liverpool people...

England tends not to identify so much anymore with England and around it. And that makes people want to... Anymore? Anymore? I think that's increased in levels in the last 15 years, if I'm being honest. I think it was always there, but I do feel like now it's a lot louder than it used to be. You might say differently to me, but I think a lot of younger people

certainly wasn't something that I ever spoke about. There was a sort of lag where people didn't feel as strongly as, say, my generation was. And for me, it's really brilliant to see the younger generation embracing that identity. I think there's a good reason for that, and I think it's...

And certainly, again, I'm judging it around my age, but post-1989, post-90, the 90s for me sort of belonged to the previous generation. And then even through the 2000s, it still did. And until the Hillsborough Independent Panel findings came.

It still felt like the past belonged to the people who lived it rather than the people who were still living through it and still experiencing it and living with the consequences of it. Because I think a lot of younger people in Liverpool felt like,

You know, that they lived with the consequences of that period, but couldn't fully express themselves. Not because they weren't allowed to, but because out of the respect that they had for the people who had, if that makes sense. Whereas when, suddenly when everything starts to change, you know, post the 20th anniversary, post the reaction at Anfield, post...

Hillsborough Independent Panel findings and then the inquests people feel empowered by that and feel more like they want to express themselves now so I think that as you say there has been a lag I'd say there was a lag of about 20 years really I think and the younger people are getting a bit older they feel like they can speak with a bit more confidence and authority about their experiences and the people that they've encountered who've had that connection with the past and

So that's my sort of take on it, really. But I think, I do think that like, I tried to explore a lot of these sorts of themes in the piece as clearly as I could, hopefully a bit more clearly than I have just now. Putting a lot of that stuff aside and obviously as someone who's lived through it,

One of the, I think, for me, uplifting things, James, is when you see a new generation experiencing football in a different way to the way you did and...

getting so much out of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There was one of the things that caught my eye at Anfield on a mix of celebrations as well was a few rows in front of the press box. There was this little boy who'd been waving a flag pretty much for the entire, he was only probably six or seven years of age. And you, and you just think, imagine being six or seven and, and having this experience. I mean, that,

That is unbelievable, isn't it? Like I'm 47 and I'd never experienced anything quite that prior to Sunday. So yeah, these are special times. Yeah, I mean, it would absolutely take my hat off to James, but the idea of running a marathon and then being part of such an emotionally draining day as Sunday, I'm sure he slept well come Sunday night.

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♪♪♪

And another!

Away from Guardiola, and set for Somerslai! McAllister takes again. It's there, it's Virgil van Dijk to the rescue for Liverpool. Mo Salah, sunshine, champagne!

What a montage. Some of the big moments throughout the season, from the first goal of the slot era to Salah's 28th in the Premier League. He might have hit the bar with the selfie, but he's smart enough. And on this theme...

A listener, Gareth Harlan, has asked in a walk-on podcast Facebook group, at what stage of the season did you start to really feel this was 100% on? Yeah, yeah. I've thought a lot about this. I mean, you know, the montage there...

Takes you back to Ipswich, the first game of the season. The second half performance there. So you thought it was on at Ipswich? Simon Hughes knew the title was on. Yeah. Mr. Wise after the event. I think if you go back to the podcast post-Ipswich and I said Liverpool champions, no, it didn't at all. No, I was very encouraged by that performance, I must say. You know, straight away I thought...

They've obviously got a smart manager because he made some really key decisions in terms of the way that performance panned out.

So that gave me confidence, you know, that they might be all right this season. Then they beat United, obviously hammered United. That's not the barometer of where Liverpool need to be anymore. Let's have it right. United are a bog-average team who are lucky not to be relegated this season, but still to go with her. Well, just say that again for me. I like the sound of that. Just say it. Man United are a lucky team who...

who could have been relegated this season. I think they're so bad. Can you say it again with the word should replacing good? We could go on, Tony. We could go on and on. But the bottom line is Old Trafford still is a place where, you know, on its day, you know, it's still difficult, isn't it, to go and win? I just thought Liverpool played with such authority. But if you want me to give you a very clear answer, as soon as they beat Man City...

On the day Liverpool beat City, I think Arsenal lost that weekend to West Ham at home. I was like, well, it's done now, hasn't it? That was it for me. You know, you're always looking for that. There's always that moment a little bit ahead of time where it happens. I was like...

If they don't win this now, come on, they have to. And they then had to do something that they hadn't done all season. You know, like it had to be like, you know, a couple of games where they collapsed and, you know, Arsenal had to do something that they hadn't done all season. So I just thought they're definitely going to win the league now. James, when did you think...

Yeah, I mean, there was kind of like differing levels of like being convinced, I think. I think one big one for me was Brighton at home in early November. Because I think the first 45 minutes that day was probably as bad as I'd seen from Liverpool all season. If you remember rightly, 1-0 down could easily have been two or three. Brighton were far superior in every department. And then...

You know, I think that for me underlined Slott's kind of acumen as a coach in terms of how he used that halftime break, the tweaks he made, the impact of the substitutions that he made in the second half and for Liverpool to turn it around in the way they did with Gagpo and, you know, that really memorable Salah strike on the counter-attack. I think it was Curtis Jones who fed him the ball and it was classic Salah, wasn't it, cutting in onto his left and then...

hitting that rocket into the corner. They went top, didn't they, after that? Yeah, and been top ever since. I mean, yeah, in terms of being, would you now be prepared to stake your life savings on Liverpool being crowned champions, then definitely the Etihad in February. Just because I think the context of that in terms of Liverpool

Liverpool had had a bit of a wobble, hadn't they? When you think, I think it had stung them what happened at the end of the derby at Goodison. There was also a bit of, I don't know, like a bit of angst after the draw at Villa Park. You think that, you know, Darwin Nunes' miss and then, you know, after that slot having a bit of a pop at his work ethic in that game and I think in the one before. And you just thought,

as bad as City had been for a big chunk of the season, Liverpool's record at the Etihad wasn't great. I think you had to go back to Klopp's first season there for the last time he'd actually gone there and won in the league. And that was a proper, proper performance that day. Just, if you remember rightly, Liverpool controlled the game without the ball in the second half. And just, you know, once they went 2-0 up, it was like, right,

you know, you try and break us down. And that was a special day that, yeah, that was when I came away from the Etihad going, better get cracking on that long read about winning the title. Yeah, I mean, for me, it was a creeping thing. Once I realised City had dropped off a cliff,

I thought, because as you know, I dismissed Arsenal last August. Tony Deida can confirm this. He's not bull****. You can fail to dismiss them in August 2023, isn't it? Any title over the next couple of years. Oh, yeah, you know, it's like, well, I see Arsenal fairly often. I'm there having them, you know what I'm saying?

And maybe it'll change next year. But you know what? I'm dismissing them already. But no, I've got to say, the victory away at Brentford in January, that was one hell of a moment. Yeah, it was. It's a fair point, that. I mean, I know Nunes has had his...

critics and quite rightly but you know that he did contribute massive obviously I mean he won Liverpool the game didn't he yeah I'm like you know I mean even now still when he come on on Sunday I wanted to give him a hug and kick him off the jacksie and kick him off the jacksie at the same time the pass the pass for Salah

I was looking at James and we were just shaking our heads. It's like, you're what, four or five on up. You've won the league. You're burning down on the Kop. All you've got to do is either put the ball in the net or give it to the player who will. And he did neither. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, I'll always think fondly of him.

Anyway, James, we've got a look at the Stamford Bridge. Gods of honour. Can you imagine? Can you imagine how they'd be feeling about a Chelsea? Because, you know, the greatest manufactured rivalry in the history of sports. The most one-sided rivalry. I know. And this weekend is the 20th anniversary of Chelsea.

of the ghost goal, as Meridio called it, at Anfield. Do you know what? More than anything, and this, I must admit, when I was starting to make travel plans for Stamford Bridge yesterday, and I realised to get the train down to Chelsea on Sunday, it takes five and a half hours and four changes, and Fulham Broadway Underground Station is closed for the entire day.

This is going to be a long day with a lot of hassle for a game that actually really doesn't matter for Liverpool. But then I realised I get to see Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia giving Wataru Endo a guard of honour. And I thought, do you know what? It'll be worth it. I'll walk. It'll be fine. I'll...

So, yeah, it's a big game for Chelsea, isn't it? Because that race for the top five, as it is now, isn't it, is so tight now.

So, yeah, I'll be there for the Guard of Honour. It's just going to be funny, isn't it? Especially, you couldn't have scripted it better with the next couple of weekends. So, who's giving you the Guard of Honour? Oh, it's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then Mikel Arteta and the lads coming to Anfield the weekend after. The party just keeps on going. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, Si, you can imagine in parts of London where, you know, sort of...

I actually frequent the people going, you know what? You know what? No one cares about it. No one cares about it. I don't care about it. I don't care that Liverpool have won the league. I really don't care. Okay. Just be calm. Well, that's the thing. I mean, I've got two things to say on what James just said. I mean, that journey, if anything sums up Thatcher's Britain, that is it. So I'll just leave it on that. Then I just want to pick up on the ghost goal. Like Jose, I think Jose Mourinho thought, I'm going to call it this.

And it will annoy Liverpool fans because it's like, you know, the idea that you were unjustly, no, no, no, you're wrong on this, Jose. We absolutely love the fact that we got one over you that maybe we didn't deserve. I was working at the Times at the time and Sky did a graphic which they sent through which was supposed to prove it didn't go in. And when it come through to me,

there was like a number of Chelsea fans in the office. I just got the graphic and went, boys, boys, look, it's brilliant. It didn't go in. Exactly. Exactly. And do you know what? The maddest thing is with that, because I've been speaking to people who are involved in the game, is how Mourinho managed to like create this like narrative of like being hard done by. When...

when even the referee in the after I think it was a couple of days after the game came out and said well if my assistant hadn't flagged to give the goal I'd have sent off Petr Cech and given a penalty because there was no double jeopardy rule back then so it's like like as I actually spoke to Igor Bishkan who is managing over in Qatar and he made the point like they should be

Chelsea should be grateful. The officials did them a massive favour that night because by giving the goal, it ensured that it still gave them a chance in that game because it was 11 v 11. It was only four minutes into the game that happened, wasn't it? So yeah, it was just one of those nonsensical Mourinho comments. But I definitely agree that

I really hope it didn't cross the line. I'd like to think it was at least a yard away from crossing the line. It did not cross the line. And what happened was the linesman just absolutely shat his pants. That's exactly what happens. That is all that happens. You know, when people talk about like the power of Anfield, and I know it's a cliche and, you know, sometimes it's not there. It definitely was there on Sunday. Yeah.

But that night, you know, to dilute why Liverpool won the game, it was because of that. You know, the linesman just, I think he just panics and thought, oh, goal, you know. Do you know what I'm saying? I've spoken to Chelsea players who played that night and they won't say it on the record, but off the record they're like,

It was terrifying. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. And I have to say, Anfield was... The righteous anger from Anfield that night was on a different scale. And I was angry. Yes.

belligerence isn't it it's belligerence i think that's and one of the things that people mistake about atmosphere is it's not about songs it's not about songs it's about snarliness yes 100 anyway that's it from walk on which started in a very loving mood and ends up with

ended up with snarliness and that's walk on and that's why you should listen to it yeah liverpool podcast brought to you by the athletic thanks to james and sy and you two for listening and we'll be back after sunday's trip to stanford bridge and we'll catch you then i'll probably be a bit of snarliness then and let the procession begin the athletic fc podcast network