Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the leagues!
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All right, Reds, Tony Evans here with Walk On, your Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. I'm here with James Pearce and Andy Jones. Blip! What blip? Liverpool are back in full flow, form up Saturday's late drama Bremford by keeping up 100% records in Europe. That's pretty impressive, you know. We'll talk about the win over Lille.

The defence of resilience, as well as Derwin's reminder of what he can provide. But we'll start with those three words. Andy, I'll come to you this week. I'm going to go with second gear cruise after last night. I can live with that. James?

Top of everything. I like it. I like it. And, well, let's see what the listeners are saying. Mark Williams, actually, has said, has gone on the same vein as you, James, but he says, top of both leagues. He's made O, apostrophe, both, one word. Does Simon use levels of behaviour? Yeah, yeah.

We need a stewards inquiry into that. Mark, don't be doing that. Use us away. He's off for his annual winter sun. You know, it's, well, I say annual. It seems like a monthly winter sun. My clerk says, grind them out. Martin Sidebottom, start Elliot soon. And Dave Frew, record-breaking mug. To join our community of listeners on Facebook, just search Walk On Podcast and join the group. Mohamed Salah!

It only takes a second. James, well, you know, as weeks go, it wasn't a bad one, was it? Everyone's like, oh, must win at Brentford, must win at Brentford. And, oh, you know, otherwise the title challenge will falter. And then who knows the knock-on effects? It all turns out all right.

It did, yeah. It's been a brilliant week, I think, especially if you rewind to kind of... I think it wasn't a bad point, was it, at Forest, as we talked about last week, with the form that Forest are in. But then, of course, when you then hear that Diogo Jota has suffered another injury setback, and of course he was the man who'd made the difference off the bench at the city ground, I think there would have been a degree of concern, especially because Brentford have got such an impressive home record. But...

to go there and play the way they did. And yeah, you could still pick holes in the performance because of just how wasteful I think, well, anything Liverpool were in the final third, but perseverance paid off with Darwin Nunes, the hero. And then Lille on Tuesday night, similar, I think, you know, not a game that will live long in the memory, but another victory. And if they can keep on chalking them off like that, we'll all be happy, won't we? Because yeah, they got a bit of the help in hand, of course, with the sending off.

early in the second half. But yeah, Liverpool could and probably should have won that game more comfortably. And yeah, when you throw into the mix an Arsenal meltdown having been 2-0 up against Villa. No, no, no, James, go stop you, go stop you. It's not a meltdown. It's a conspiracy to stop Arsenal.

I'll tell you what, my favourite bit actually was the Arsenal accounts on social media that were desperately trying to find an angle of the Havertz handball that showed that it hit his chest. And...

And the best thing was, it was like, even they were just like, well, this is crystal clear. Look, it's bounced off his chest as it strikes his forearm and balloons up into the air. It couldn't have gone much better for Liverpool the last week. You know, Ante, I love that.

I love the two things that happen. One of my favourite ways to win a game, of course, is to be very, very ordinary and then score late on the last minute. That's probably my favourite way is to kill the game early so you can just move on and do something else. But no, no. Last minute, late winners are great. But when it's combined with an Arsenal late disallowed goal, it's just perfection, wasn't it? Yeah.

Yeah, it made it even better because there were points edging towards that 90th minute where you just thought Liverpool had run out of ideas a little bit maybe or it just wasn't going to come where you thought another draw three on the bounce and it almost felt like Arsenal were going to beat Villa. But as soon as that goal goes in from Nunes, you suddenly feel like

there's a chance that Arsenal might slip up now it's the way it works isn't it momentum's a very very strange thing and you can imagine those Arsenal players I don't know if they were warming up at that point but you can imagine them hearing the news and going oh for God's sake here we go again type thing and it just being a real you know from being really excited for their game and being able to close that gap I think it would have been to two points wouldn't it and

and you know feeling like they've got the momentum and Liverpool haven't but yeah you're right last minute goals are the best way to win games even if they are the most stressful 2-0 after 10 minutes and cruising is nice and you can have a nice chat with everyone while the game's going on but erm

The tension and the let-off that happens after a last-minute winner is unbeatable, I think. And James, to qualify in this way for the Champions League, it didn't look like it was going to be any sort of performance, did it, until the goal? And then, of course, Salah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Liverpool had to be patient. I think you've got to give Lille credit. I...

But, you know, I think the atmosphere was really flat, I thought, first half hour. I think there was just a general feeling of, oh, you know, this will be routine. But Lille had gone a club record 21 games unbeaten. And I think we saw they are no mugs. They were really difficult to break down, frustrated Liverpool. And yeah, it was, I don't think it was any great coincidence that the breakthrough comes when Lille had actually committed a few players forward pretty much for the first time.

Simakas did really well to win the ball back off Jonathan David, I think it was. And then it was the pace of the pass, wasn't it, from Curtis Jones, you know, looking up and delivering it early. And Lille weren't able to regroup. And yeah, it was by Salah's standards this season. It was a drought, wasn't it? He was on having gone three games without a goal. But yeah, he took it brilliantly. It was his 50th European title.

goal for the club. And yeah, although there was that, you know, I think probably a little lapse in concentration led to their goal just so soon after Mandy had been sent off for that second yellow. But, you know, Liverpool's response to that was so swift and,

that, you know, yes, they get some good fortune with the deflection for Harvey Elliott's goal, but they probably should have had one or two more late on. But yeah, it was a solid night's work all round. And it'd be interesting to see what slot does now with that final group game against PSV Eindhoven next Wednesday night, because there's no real benefit to finishing first rather than second. Of course, you know, obviously there's prize money at stake there.

for every win in the league stage of the competition but whether you finish first or second you're still going to play one of the teams that finished between 15th and 18th in the last 16 so I think from a prestige point of view you probably do want Liverpool to go over there next week put on a show and make it 8 out of 8 because I think that sends out a statement ahead of the knockout stages but

I certainly wouldn't be trying to do that with a full strength team. That Barca goal was really annoying, wasn't it, right at the end? Because I worked out the ground when it was 4-4 and didn't realise they'd scored that last minute one to...

to keep their hopes of finishing top alive. There's also the PSV element. I think Slott is, they're one of Feyenoord's enemies, aren't they? So I don't think Slott will want to rock up and lose or even draw. That's just the type of character he is. But yeah, there was a fella behind me actually who,

who sort of echoed that thought about that first 20-25 minutes and he sort of sat there and said this is the problem with the new format and I was like the only reason there's a problem is because Liverpool have been so good this time round whereas if you look at basically every other team in the competition other than Barcelona

and a couple at the bottom next week is going to be like insane about where they finish and there's so many permutations so basically Liverpool being too good is why that felt a bit naff if you see that fella ask him what does he want Olympiacos

You know, no, no, we're out of qualifiers. I was happy with no jeopardy at all. I mean, that's the way we like it. I think Slott summed it up best afterwards when he said, I thought it was quite a good quote. He said, he said, the reality is we don't know whether there's any benefit to finishing in the top two, really, because you look at some of the names loitering around, around those 15th to 18th places and,

you could still end up with a really tough game in the last 16. Because the way the format is now, where you just play eight different teams, and clearly for some teams the schedule has been a lot harder than others, Man City would be an example, wouldn't they, in terms of someone who's still scrambling to make sure they actually get through.

but if they get through I think we all know that they will be a proper force especially with with the money they're throwing around in January so yeah it's you know Slott's quote was it's not tennis he said you know if you're the number one seed in tennis and you face the number 24 seed you know it's going to be easier than facing the number eight seed because those seedings have been based on performances over a long period but he said because of this new format

we don't know that he said the only thing he does know is that it will massively help Liverpool bypass in the playoff round in February because that is a real benefit not having those two games when you think how crowded the schedule is anyway now Liverpool you know once they get that last game against PSV out of the way no European football until March that really will will help him yeah definitely and

It is brilliant to be top of both leagues at this time of year. And it just gives Slot, Andy, some flexibility, doesn't it, in his decision-making? Yeah, and we saw that last night as well a little bit. I mean, even though Liverpool still technically hadn't qualified, the way the format works, you knew they were going to get through it. It would have been pretty incredible if they'd lost both games and still not qualified because it would have required a number of teams to have won both of their last two games as well.

But I think you saw it in the way he was able to... I think everyone expected him to go strong, but the substitutions he was able to make, obviously, I think he said afterwards he wanted to do Gravenberg and Sabazla at half-time. Obviously, the Jones injury changed things a little bit. But just to be able to take those two players off at half-time in a Champions League game is not a luxury that basically any of the managers are having at the moment because of the jostling for positions and wanting to get the best finish and try and sneak into the top eight. So,

So and then he was able to even, you know, as the game carried on, you know, take a few more players off as well and get some valuable minutes into the likes of Elliot and, you know, another quite bright cameo from Keizer as well. So, yeah, all in all, a really, really good day at the office with the exception, I guess, of the Curtis Jones injury. And hopefully that's not, you know, not a long one.

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Well, James, your match piece, which is really worth reading, people, go over to the Athletic website and read it, was focused on Kwanzaa. And it was good to see him back, you know, on the start in 11. It's been difficult for him, hasn't it? You know, the first day of the season at Ipswich, getting taken off from course Ipswich, a

looming on the horizon this week. It's a reminder that young players can hit road bumps, perhaps unexpected times. Yeah, 100%. I think everything he touched seemed to turn to gold last season, didn't it? And you think from where he started to where he finished last season, it's

was incredible. When you think, you know, he hadn't even played a senior game for Liverpool, he'd had that loan spell at Bristol Rovers in the lower reaches of the Football League and he expected to go out on loan initially.

in that summer before Klopp's last season in charge yet he ends up making the leap from fifth choice centre half to being first choice alongside Van Dijk you know he lifts the Carabao Cup at Wembley scores the last goal of Klopp's reign he gets himself in that preliminary England squad for the Euros he must have been thinking this is easy this

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's all the fuss about? Why doesn't every young lad from the academy do this? And then, of course, as you said, it's not sustainable, is it? There's always going to be bumps in the road. And he hit one immediately at the start of this season. And I think there was a lot of noise around it, wasn't there? Because I think, you know, to get hooked at halftime in a new manager's first competitive game in charge, and of course...

you know, I know Slott kind of backtracked a bit afterwards in terms of, you know, I wasn't saying that Jarrell was the problem. He said, you know, it was a collective issue, not winning enough physical duels and getting outmuscled. But the reality is, you know, since that day when Canarte came on at halftime, Canarte has been ahead of him. And then when Canarte was out, Gomez was in ahead of him. And then when Gomez pulled his hamstring at West Ham at the back end of December, Canarte was rushed back straight into the starting lineup, having only just

got himself fit and as he revealed before that the Lille game has been playing with with painkillers so it has been tough for Kwanzaa because he's mainly only had game time in the in the domestic cups and you think back to you know the unfortunate own goal against West Ham the errors against Brighton that he ends up getting taken off late on as Liverpool were hanging on a bit

And then, of course, even at Tottenham the other week in the semi-final first leg, illness forced him off. And he thought, just nothing's going right for this kid at the minute. So I thought he really needed a night like last night. And of course, it wasn't like he was massively put under huge amounts of pressure because Lille's attacking threat was limited. But I just thought it was exactly what he needed. It was like a really reassuring command in 90 minutes work.

comfortable and composed in possession you could see Van Dijk talking him through it didn't really put a foot wrong and it gives him something to build on I do think he's had some unfair criticism because he's 21 I'm sure if you looked around Europe's top leagues there's very few 21 year old centre-halves playing regularly for a team anywhere near as good as Liverpool and

And yeah, there's always a clamour for something shiny and new. And yes, because of the fitness history of Gomez and Canate, I understand the argument why people would want another centre-half to come in. But I think people are far too quick to overlook the fact that Liverpool have got one of the best young defensive centres.

centre-backs around certainly in terms of players that England have produced in Kwanzaa because he has got so much potential Yeah if we use the term fringe players Andy which we've already alluded to but I think it's worth just talking a bit more about them it was good to see them being used Connor Bradley

you know, played well. Darwin, the big daff lump, he works hard, doesn't he? He works hard. And, you know, I'm not a Darwin hater. There are too many of them. Why do you hate players who play for your team? I've never understood that. Unless, I don't know, it's Julian Dix or someone like that. I get that. But, I mean, Enzo, come on. And even Chiesa. I actually thought, for the last two games, I'm like, oh,

this fella might be able to contribute something by the end of the season. Yeah, he's definitely, yeah. I think he's looked really, really bright. And you can sort of, you're beginning to see, and again, it's, you know, we're only getting very small glimpses of things, but we are beginning, you're beginning to see why Liverpool thought it made sense to take the gamble on him. I do find it quite funny that his one single aim in football is to score. He just doesn't seem to want to pass at all. Yeah.

when he's in and around the box, which I haven't really got a problem with, to be honest, as long as he's... Because even the shots that he was getting off, they were...

he was you know getting saved and obviously Nunes puts one in obviously he's offside it'd be pretty bad Andy it's just going to stop you there if you had a forward whose aim wasn't to score no it should be the main aim but it has made me laugh I mean against Atkinson it was like I'm scoring and I don't really care what else happens which is a good mentality to have but yeah you can sort of see that that little bit I mean even in the very brief cameo against Brentford again he makes a bit of a difference and it's just a different option and a

if you can just keep building them up and giving them that time. And I was hoping we got a little bit more time yesterday, to be honest, you know, just to sort of build those minutes up. Because I think Slott said pre-match that it was kind of his fault that he'd

he's still not ready to start because it's trying to find the minutes and again it was interesting he brings the one on the left instead of the right and because Salah's continuing to be Salah but yeah I mean across the board you know again you're getting you know good performances from from Bradley and okay you know you could you say he gets caught out a little bit for Leo's goal and yeah Endo again you know comes on and produces the typical Endo performance that he's becoming you know the signature of him and yeah Nunes was just lacking a goal I think and

you know, again, he puts himself about and from watching him personally, I could see a difference in him after those two goals. I just felt he was

there was even more energy to his play. There was a bit more purpose to what he was trying to do and not everything came off, of course. And, you know, there were still those times when he was, you know, maybe takes the wrong decision or, you know, doesn't quite do what you're hoping he's going to do. But I just felt that just watching him, it felt like more of a purpose and more of a clarity to everything that he was doing. So again, that's another, you know, step forward, especially with Jota being out again, because, you know, it's another period where you need to rely on Nunes to be

producing the goods up top, whether that's scoring the goals or just providing the assists or being the nuisance to let everyone else flourish. It's a big period for him now and one that he's got to take because you continue to get to last chance saloon with Nunes, don't you? And then he scores an important goal and everyone loves him again and it's fine and he gets another three months to live off that a little bit. So, yeah, but all in all, yeah, every single one who came on the pitch, Elliot as well, obviously getting the winner,

gave slot a little bit more to think about and a bit more confidence in being able to use them as we go into the second half of the season. Well, James, yeah, I was just about to ask you about Harvey Elliott. So, so it was just as well that Andy brought him up. He spoke in the last week about the speculation about his future and made all the right noises, all the sensible noises and backed us up with a goal and a really,

reasonable performance yeah yeah I think it's it's been it's been a really really positive week for Harvey Elliott when you think about the impact he had off the bench at Brentford you know played a big part in in both goals and then and then to come on against Lille and to have that moment of scoring the winner and yeah there's a big slice of luck obviously with the deflection but I

I think the footballing gods probably decided he deserved that because he has had a tough time of it. I remember speaking to him over in the States on the pre-season tour back in July and he was talking about how he really felt this kind of change in the brand of football would suit him and how he was so kind of excited about playing a big part. And of course, that just hasn't happened so far and there's been...

mitigating circumstances for that, not least the fact he broke that bone in his foot that kept him out for a few months. But I think he will also know he's been having to kind of battle to kind of win slot over really, especially in terms of getting minutes in that kind of central area where he prefers to play. Because I think even when he has started games in the domestic cup, slots tended to have rested Salah and played him wide right.

So to do what he's done against Brentford and then against Lille, I think in terms of earning the manager's trust, I think that's big for Elliott. And yeah, I think when a player doesn't play like he has, you know, I think he still hasn't started, has he, in either the Premier League or the Champions League yet?

um so far this season so when that happens and you're 21 and you've been on the scene as long as Harvey Elliott has and you've got 130 odd senior Liverpool appearances on your belt there's bound to be speculation but I asked him after the game at Brentford about that and he was you know he was at

absolutely emphatic you know he said you know this is my club I absolutely love being here and I'm gonna stay and fight and prove that I deserve to have a bigger role and yeah much more effective than bold words a bold deeds and he he certainly did that with with the way that he's impacted the last two games I think it's it's the physical side of the game I think

for Elliot isn't it you profile him compared to Sobislai and they are very very different players in terms of physique and frame and obviously Sobislai's work rate is unbelievable but I think one of the other things I took from when he's been speaking recently was the idea that he's been into the manager and he's asked what do we need to improve on and admitted that he needs to get better at certain things so I think

That's all part of it. You know, if, you know, there are players who will just, given, as James listed off, you know, what he's already achieved at Liverpool, he probably, there are certain players who think, you know, I've made it, I've shown what I can do, you know, whereas he is evidently very, very keen to continue to get better and get better. And I think slot reference, it was in reference to Nunes a little bit and he's

this is probably isn't a great thing for Elliot because he won a star games but he referenced sort of the last half an hour Liverpool have got a lot more control over games especially when they're winning or even when they're you know they're trying to you know find a winner or something like that where they've got control of it and I think that's

that's the situations that really suits Elliot because that's where you need the technical players you need the ones to find the little passes to break down defences and that was exactly what he showed against Brentford especially with that little ball into Trent that leads to the assist for Nunes' goal so I think more and more you're beginning to see the trust build and while

you know, it's going to be difficult still for them to start games. Maybe it becomes open if Jones is out and, you know, you can't play Sebas Lai in every single game.

so that might open the door for him a little bit but I know he doesn't want to be the super sub but he's that type of player the way Liverpool are now on the slot where that last half an hour is almost suited and made for him to be the one to be able to make the difference because of his ability to see a pass and the technical attributes that he's got Well yeah I definitely think

One of the lessons of the Lille game, well, even the Premford game, is that there are so many options off the bench and that bodes well for the running. Well, James, contract news. You know, part of me craves contract news. And then the other part of me goes, I don't want to talk about it. Don't want to talk about any of it. Don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone. But we do have some contract news this week.

I guess it depends how you define news. I'd say something of a... Okay, okay. Contract comedy. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I'd say a small update. I've got to say, Ibrahima Kanate doesn't do much media, but I thought he was absolute box office at the pre-match presser before the Lille game. Talking very, very candidly on a whole host of things. And I particularly enjoyed it when it was put to him that...

that him and Van Dijk had formed the best centre-back partnership in Europe. And he said, yes, absolutely. Yeah, we have. Yeah. I was thinking, well, surely it's going to be the routine. Well, that's not for me to say. You know, if people are saying that, it's very nice. But, you know, I just keep my head down and focus on the next game. And he was like, yeah, yeah.

And then he said, you know, my target is to be even better than Virgil. That's what I'm aiming for. But yeah, he was also asked about his contract. I think I wrote back in October that Liverpool had kind of opened preliminary discussions with

with his representative about an extension and yeah he confirmed that he had been offered a new deal but having been so talkative on lots of other things that was where he where he clammed up a bit and yeah he was asked whether he was close to signing it and he said that's

that's a different conversation and he wouldn't go there so yeah of course it's not the most pressing concern contracts wise currently but it's another thing lingering in the background isn't it he's only got 18 months left on his deal and

I think it probably is a tricky one. I was thinking about it because I'm sure at this stage in his career, like mid-20s, he's probably thinking, well, this is the big contract and I'm playing for the best team in Europe, the best team in the Premier League. So that inevitably will mean a big hike. But he does still miss a lot of football, doesn't he? Which you'd imagine would probably lead to Liverpool wanting a decent degree of success

incentivization within that contract. But yeah, at the moment, I've got no real concerns on that because I think the other thing that shone through was he absolutely loves being at Liverpool and he's got his mojo back in there. Let's not forget that Canarte really lost his way towards the back end of the Klopp era as well as Kwanzaa did as we were talking about earlier. Canarte, you know, really fell away.

but he's a real different proposition now. And, you know, he's had the honour of captain in France. You know, he's developed into a leader in slot dressing room as well. So, yeah, he is one that Liverpool simply have to keep around. Do you think your partnership with Virgil is probably the best in Europe at the moment? This season? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Well, this...

There's some interesting times coming up, not least to the end of the transfer window. I mean, I'll get James's view on it in a second, but I don't think there's going to be a lot of business, is there, Andy? It doesn't look like it. And that's sort of been the expectation, I think, you know, all month, all sort of...

anticipation leading up to the window as well. Well, I'm sure Liverpool fans would like players to be added in certain positions and strengthened from a position of strength, which is usually the sort of cliche that you can roll out at these times. But I think it's always been that Liverpool will add if there is a perfect player who fits into the value and

sort of the long term plan but equally those players are difficult to find when given it's January you know clubs don't want to sell their best players and

And ultimately, you know, values go up in January as well. So it is a tricky situation where... Well, and the thing is, what I was going to say is that, you know, we've just spoken at length about the options slots got off the bench and the squads. And here's the problem with the January winter. Yeah.

you have a bad result, you draw up for us. Oh, we need more bodies in midfield or we need, you know, more people up front. Then you have two good results and you're like, ah, you know what? He's got loads of options. We've got a great squad. Actually, I think if we're talking about it in the same manner, I would be quite happy to sit past in this window because I think the squad is,

is good enough to take us at least to close to where we want to be the only thing is injuries I think the problem is that Liverpool fans understandably have been scarred a little bit by injury crises that have happened in the past which have derailed things you look at last season for example we'll never have one as bad as Arsenal we'll never have one as bad as Arsenal no no no I mean Arsenal God imagine just imagine where would we be but

But that's the thing, isn't it? It is they, you always want too much just in case. And that's not how squad building works. And ultimately, you know, if you bought another player in, suddenly someone's not even making the bench. You know, you should be making the bench if you like. And that's the difficulty. I think there's areas of the team where you feel like Liverpool could upgrade, but they are not a necessity. Now, if Ryan Gavenberg gets a three-month injury and it's the 1st of February or whenever the window closes...

and Liverpool haven't strengthened then you know that will bring a bit of panic but Liverpool have also got enough midfielders in there to deal with it and Slott has shown that he can play not obviously hasn't played them those because he's not needed to but he can play other players in those positions and I'm sure the drop off won't be as dramatic as people might fear so it is I think you're right I think

ultimately Liverpool have shown that they've got a squad that is one of the best if not the best in Europe at the moment given where they are in the league and the Champions League so there's no reason why other than injuries and you can't plan for injuries because that's just not how it works really that's why I think they should just continue because continuity is usually the best way to do things when the harmony is good you don't want to disrupt it I'm going to leave this programme now to go over to

James Pearce, Liverpool's shadow sporting director, to tell us what is going to happen. Oh my gosh. What I should have done really is I should have written down a short list of my favourite Twitter abuse. Trying to explain to people I'm not actually responsible for signing players.

You lie. You lie. He is people. He is responsible. He's the man to blame. My favorite, definitely the favorite one was a fella telling me there is no hope left for this club.

After I'd said there was no truth in Liverpool signing a young Greek striker who's currently on loan at Nuremberg in the second division in Germany, who I guarantee the fella had never heard of 24 hours earlier. But in that period, it decided that that was definitely the missing piece to propel Liverpool to a historic quadruple. So, no, it's... At the minute, it's...

It's quiet. As Andy said, Liverpool's stance throughout the January window hasn't shifted. It's been, we don't think there's any glaring gaps that need filling, but we're ready and waiting to react if a market opportunity comes up that makes sense for the long term, not interested in any short-term fixes. So at the minute, there's no sign that that is going to happen. I think more the focus is on whether Liverpool

what they sanction in terms of outgoings with loans. I think Jadon Dan's is a really interesting one because I got told that you could pretty much, rather than list the championship clubs who have said they want to take him on loan, it'd be easier to list who hasn't asked for him on loan. And you can understand why, can't you? Because he is...

are just a natural finisher and especially the way the championship is. It's such a mad league, isn't it? Where if you put four or five wins together, you can suddenly go up seven or eight places. I'm not surprised there's a clamour to get him. But it is complicated by the fact that obviously with Jota being injured,

you know Nunes you know isn't particularly free scoring Diaz for me still hasn't massively worked as an as a number nine especially against certain teams like I'd be really tempted to keep Dan's around and it's probably made even more difficult by the fact that that that game in the FA Cup at Plymouth with it not coming until February the 9th because it's after the window shut and I think that's exactly the kind of game that you'd want Dan's for and

And to probably a little bit of a lesser extent, same conversations going on about James McConnell, who's got, you know, serious interest from the championship. You know, both Danza McConnell would have been loaned out early on in the season if they hadn't had injuries. And then you've got, there'll be a few others, you know, Cade Gordon, who obviously got recalled from Norwich because he wasn't getting a game. They're just trying to sort out where to send him out on loan for the second half of the season. And Luke Chambers, who came back from Wigan because...

of a back problem you know I'm expecting him to go back out on loan because he's recovered from that issue so not a particularly spectacular end to the window at the minute in terms of how it's shaping up but

I didn't really expect anything different. And then we move on to Ipswich at home on Saturday. 3pm kick-off, flat atmosphere. I believe, Andy, a team will come in and play what you kiddies call the low block, which we used to call to Fenton. Also, a team that were big in the 70s, near the 80s. It's not going to be another Nottingham Forest shocker, is it? I hope not. And I do hope that Ipswich play well.

as openly as they did against Manchester City recently because Liverpool should pick them apart the problem is is that almost that happening makes it

Very, very likely that that's not the case. And they really, really may put in a real defensive performance to show their fans that that won't happen again. It's one of them, isn't it? It would just like a nice comfortable home victory for Liverpool. For all we've said about our last minute winners now, which we love them, we don't want that on a Saturday. No, just this one. Maybe we can go back to that at Bournemouth or something like that.

But for this one, I just think Liverpool need a nice, comfortable home win. Given, you know, obviously Brentford answered a lot of questions about whether this was a blip and stuff. But, you know, it would just be nice to just have that, you know, just a nice, comfortable three points. I think that would do everyone the world of good and just continue to settle everyone's nerves about the possibilities of it all going wrong. So, yeah, you know, if it's coming up, they'll try and play the football and

And as I said before, I think they will be a little bit more defensively responsible than they were against Manchester City. And generally, Ipswich have given most teams a game this year. Well, they give us a bit of a fright for a state of the season. Yeah, yeah. Which you kind of expect, given a home game. They haven't been in the Premier League for so long. You sort of expected that. But you could see how they could get out of Liverpool. And the duels was a big thing. And Ipswich will come and want to win as many duels as they can.

But ultimately, Liverpool at this stage of the season should be more than capable of meeting those expectations earlier in the game and not needing slots to drag someone off at half-time to make a change. The biggest danger for them is Liam De Lappe, who I think is developing into a really, really quality striker. He's a real danger in running the channels and Liverpool saw a little bit of that in that first game and sort of was...

His couple of involvements late on in the half was the reason why it was Kwanzaa who sort of got subbed. But yeah, ultimately Liverpool are a far better team than Ipswich and I don't think Ipswich have that defensive solidity that Forest, for example, do. I watched Dario Che a lot last year and he is not...

or Murillo, put it that way. He's not a RoboCop. I'm not part of the guard. The ghost of Simon Hughes. Yeah, yeah. Guard of Seval, yes. How strong, James, do you think Slott will go? Yeah, I think he'll go very strong, especially with so little riding on that game at PSV in midweek next week. So I think he's rotated his resources well

really shrewdly of late. You know, you'd expect Canarte to come back in having been given the night off against Lille. Be interesting to see what he does at left back. You know, Robertson is obviously enjoying a really difficult period and I think Simakas has kind of repaid some of that

slots faith in terms of being picked ahead of him both at Brentford and against Lille so you wonder whether he might stick with Simakas again and then Alexander-Arnold will come back in won't he I think you know it was it was good for Bradley to get minutes under his belt but yeah he looked tired for me late on Bradley to Trent to come back in McAllister

Obviously only came off the bench, had a bit of a breather. I think also in that first half an hour when not much happened, it was...

For me, it was quite evident there was an Alexis McAllister-shaped figure missing in that midfield because he is so influential. And then a Gagpo would be another one, wouldn't he, in terms of the other ones who were left out against Lille that you'd expect him to find room for. So, yeah, Ipswich have impressed me, actually, since they've come up. They've still given themselves a chance of staying up, but...

Yeah, Liverpool are in decent shape going into this one. You know, obviously waiting to find out what the situation is with Curtis Jones having limped off. But, you know, Liverpool have got plenty of other options in that department at the minute. So, yeah, they just need to...

to do a professional job and then move on to PSV next week. Yeah, and with Arsenal away at Wolves and Forest away at Bournemouth, or three o'clock kick-offs, it's almost like the old days. So that's it for Walk On, your Liverpool podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Thanks to James and Andy for joining me and you for listening. We'll be back next week. We'll catch you then.