The Liverpool Press

Palate Cleanser

The-Dude-Abides — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 21:51:40 GMT

Credit: Liverpool.com (Getty Images)

When I left off with Liverpool Football Club last season, the big question that I felt faced the club was whether they would embrace the larger trends that defined the Premier League last season? Jürgen Klopp provided the money quote on what the league has become when commenting on Germany’s disallowed goal against Pa…

Ain't No Easy Way Out

The-Dude-Abides — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:10:17 GMT

Photo: Liverpool.com

Right then, what to make of Arne Slot’s future?

As I’ve stated previously, if you hold the view that Slot’s position as head football coach at Liverpool FC is untenable, I believe you also must …

A Better Son or Daughter

The-Dude-Abides — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 20:11:52 GMT

There’s a well-known blog that covers sports at my collegiate alma mater. It once billed itself as covering the university’s (American) football, basketball, hockey teams and what have you. After the school’s highly successful head football coach retired in 2007, his replacement had a very rough first season that didn’t befit the winningest program in c…

Running on Empty

The-Dude-Abides — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 16:16:05 GMT

The narrative following Liverpool’s 4-0 Champions League win at Anfield suggested that ‘running’ was the magical ingredient that made the Reds look so dominant. All you need, the pundits suggested, was to run your legs off and the rest will take care of itself. They ran more collective kilometers than Galatasaray, and that fully explains the outcome.

We…

I Confess

The-Dude-Abides — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:56:27 GMT

During the first half of play, Liverpool produced wave after wave of attacks inside the Galatasaray 18 yard box, yet couldn’t score the go-ahead goal. Part of the reason was the fact the Galatasaray players would go down whenever there was contact, and the referee did the reflexive thing, which is to give the defender the benefit of the doubt and whistl…

Having a Think on LFC's Starting XI

The-Dude-Abides — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:55:35 GMT

Spoiler alert

This is going to be a short one. I’ve outlined my concerns about the lack of quality in the Liverpool first team, so let’s move on from that and give some thought to how the Reds can advance in the Champions League to the Quarterfinals.

The Wheels on Arne's Bus Go Round and Round

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:42:02 GMT

TL;DR

Dem spreadsheet bois need to have themselves a cracking summer after hiring a ~~manager~~ head coach and saddling him with a side that cannot play the football their spreadsheets indicate can win trophies.

Will Cr…

We've Tried Nothing and We're All Out of Ideas

The-Dude-Abides — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:38:01 GMT

When Arne Slot was hired, Liverpool FC — a club that gained notoriety for the use of analytics to ascend to the top of the football world — placed an advert for a set piece coach. The ad, as we all know, proved fruitless, and the Reds continue to look clueless in defending set pieces. Their shambolic defense of corner kicks sprung up once again, allowin…

Death or Glory

The-Dude-Abides — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:33:24 GMT

Photo credit: This is Anfield

When chewing over this most recent Liverpool FC performance, I find myself having trouble apportioning the blame between Liverpool and the Premier League.

Just under two week ago, Alexis…

Odds & Sods

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:02:51 GMT

It would be understandable if you approached this past Saturday’s match against West Ham United with a sense of trepidation: Liverpool would once again play without Florian Wirtz, the fulcrum of their attack as they have rebounded from their poor run of form earlier this season. While they were facing what looks to be a relegation bound side in West Ham…

Simple Music is the Hardest Music to Make

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:50:51 GMT

In the Reds Roundtable video produced by the club a few weeks back, Arne Slot talked a bit about how he wants his team to have the ball, and he wants them to be intense. Being Arne Slot, he was self-effacing in saying he didn’t feel his club was there yet, and that he fully agrees with Liverpool supporters who aren’t enjoying the football the team is cu…

The Internet Will Break Your Brain

The-Dude-Abides — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:32:29 GMT

2021 wasn’t a particularly memorable season for Liverpool FC, certainly not when it followed the magical 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Virgil was lost for the year in Matchweek 5, and it soon became clear the team would fall far off the pace we’d come to expect from the former Champions of Europe and reigning Champions of England; from January 4th throug…

What, Me Worry?

The-Dude-Abides — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:43:15 GMT

Photo credit: BBC

It’s been something to hear the banter merchants debate whether to sack Arne Slot in order to bring on Xabi Alonso? This is often justified by referencing ‘the most underwhelming 12 game unbeaten streak in football’.

Closing Time

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:45:33 GMT

Photo credit: The Mirror

At the 24 minute mark, Joe Gomez crouched down near midfield. After a brief chat with the referee, it was clear his day was done. One minute later, Mohamed Salah was subbed in as his replacement. While this match may have been Salah’s final with the club, there’s some symmetry in the fact the Egyptian King replaced Gomez, another…

Kill Yr Idols

The-Dude-Abides — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 22:39:24 GMT

Credit: Vicious Sloth

I’ve taken a hiatus from writing about English football due to the fact it’s become considerably less enjoyable. I’ve wondered how the Reds would go about replacing Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez, I’ve pondered how the press would work this season under Arne Slot, and I outlined the end game for Mohamed Salah. I’ve also lamented the fac…

Back to Life, Back to Reality

The-Dude-Abides — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 22:51:06 GMT

Arne Slot chose to enlist a boatload of Academy lads in the League Cup last week when facing a Crystal Palace side that had twice beaten his charges comprehensively earlier this season. While this raised some eyebrows, it’s now clear exactly what he had in mind, with Premier League and Champions League matches on the line, including the 15 time CL champ…

I Went to a Bootball Game and a Football Match Broke Out

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:25:42 GMT

I coached both my kids in rec league ~~soccer~~ football when they were 7. The defining characteristics of one of the lowest levels of football imaginable? You put the kid with the biggest leg on defense and have him kick it as far as he can to get it out of his end. Ideally, you then get your fastest player to go chase the ball in an attempt to get behind …

Hips Don't Lie

The-Dude-Abides — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:38:20 GMT

Bill Shankly famously proclaimed that ‘the League is our bread and butter’, placing what is now the Premier League trophy at the forefront of Liverpool FC’s annual goals. Jürgen Klopp made it clear that he felt the early rounds of the FA and League Cup were the perfect time for him to reward his depth players and the youth who train at Kirkby. Arne Slot…

I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

The-Dude-Abides — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:09:04 GMT

Sports leagues tend to go through periods where the game evolves sharply. Evolution of style of play can be good (entertaining and exciting) or they can be bad (uneventful with limited outcomes or outcomes based on luck), and in the case of the National Hockey League, the evolution in the 1990s that led to the Clutch & Grab era grew in response to the 1…

Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?

The-Dude-Abides — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 21:40:07 GMT

As Liverpool FC put the finishing touches on their impressive summer transfer haul, supporters felt a bit like the kid on Christmas morning tearing open gift wrapping to reveal one amazing present after the other, with the only question being ‘which one do I play with first?’. Arne Slot was the beneficiary of all this amazing football talent, and it was…