Topic: The Anfield Wrap

[Hij]

I've sent my brother the Pink from beyond the paywall.

He does gardening and has always been apathetic towards the Pod. But now he has to do a lot of manual work, I'm sure he could do with a few shows on his iPhone while he's working away so I've given him a taster.

I've always said it's cathartic to listen to a group of sound lads who actually fucking care about the fortunes of the club discuss the fortunes of the mighty reds. Hopefully you'll forgive me because I'll have him paying the fiver by the end of the month

[Hij]

I did the sensible thing and gave myself 30 hours off the footie discussions, even MOTD2, so I only found out about the Utd defeat teatime today. I find the podcasts make me feel better usually, but this weeks pink and the proper wrap were left unfinished. I think the problem being, you can't polish a turd, and no amount of discussing it makes the game and the loss of points a big stinking "I'd leave it a while before going in there" kind of game. best thing about this few days in footballing terms is Utd now going on to lose De Gea and take a gamble on a young striker. Could be the making of our season. They will drop points, and definitely could against us.

The two Pinks involving Arsenal and West Ham are the best in my opinion on what it has to offer. Maybe because I'm not from Liverpool. I've got mates who support Liverpool but they aren't as passionate or as knowledgeable as me so it's difficult to have a discussion if I can't respect their opinions. I work in bars and kitchens so there is always time to get paid my minimum wage while listening to these lads talk it out which is definitely worth it for me.

It certainly doesn't make what happens on the pitch feel better, but like I've always said, it's essentially Sunday Supplement but different types of show all week with people who actually give a fuck about the team. A fiver is cheap.

[C]

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/09/philippe-coutinho-over-rated-underwhelming-and-like-a-schoolboy/

codswallop

[Grobbelrevell]

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/09/philippe-coutinho-over-rated-underwhelming-and-like-a-schoolboy/

codswallop

In what way? Not saying I agree with all of that, but at least outline where you specifically don't.

[Fitzy.]

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/09/philippe-coutinho-over-rated-underwhelming-and-like-a-schoolboy/

codswallop

The analysis by Mulligan is harsh, but NA's piece is arguably fair. Essentially, the floor in having Coutinho as your best player is that it means your best player is not your regular match-winner. Right now we want a regular match-winner who can pop up with a goal every other game, at least. Benteke is the player who could become this and a returning Sturridge is also someone to offer hope. But in a team of players who lack a cutting edge, there is too much emphasis on Coutinho to win matches with a piece if brilliance.

Rather than Coutinho being overrated it's just that there aren't enough players who can divert our attention away from him.  It's a bit like the Sterling situation last season. He couldn't be the match-winner we wanted him to be and needed him to be. But that wasn't Sterling's fault, it was the fault of a lack of other quality to rely on.

In short, Coutinho isn't overrated - he's just being asked to be too much.

[jambutty]

This piece has made the next coupla weeks bearable for me:

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2015/09/liverpool-rodgers-good-v-rodgers-bad-and-the-nowhere-in-between/

[gazzalfc]

Quick question for those who subscribe. Can I pay for just a months worth and download a load of shows for a holiday to binge listen to?

[Joseph-Immanuel Queen]

Quick question for those who subscribe. Can I pay for just a months worth and download a load of shows for a holiday to binge listen to?

I suppose you could. I reckon if you did subscribe though you wouldn't cancel - 5 quid a month is really nothing for the amount of great content you get.

[redforlife]

Quick question for those who subscribe. Can I pay for just a months worth and download a load of shows for a holiday to binge listen to?

Not aware of any time limit on downloading previous episodes, there'll be loads though and some won't be relevant now.  Best ones imo are the 'What We Call History Shows' and the 'And Could He Play' as well as AFQ.  Pretty sure once you subscribe you won't cancel though.

[Iska]

Yeah, agreed.  If you already like it enough that you're planning to devote holiday to it, you might as well commit fully.

[DonkeyWan]

In what way? Not saying I agree with all of that, but at least outline where you specifically don't.

It's complete balls from start to finish. First of all the premise is based on article froma  Dublin-based radio station, Newstalk. I am a regular listener, the station is made up of self-professed Everton supporters (Colm Parkinson) and Man United supporters (Tom Dunne). Parkinson is particulalry vitriolic and never passes up an opportunity to have a pop at Liverpool... depsite being from the Midlands and never having attended a game.

The article is also shit because it bases it's criticism on the rest of the team around Coutinho being shit and forcing Coutinho to play shittily to accomodate them. To wit

"Coutinho is at his best as a footballer facilitating others, making them better players, making them the best player. The tone of the criticism he gets both here and at times in general is that he should have more nine out of 10 games. In reality, he needs to have more sevens and eights leaving other lads taking the plaudits for nines they don’t quite deserve."

So, Coutinho is shit by not making everyone else look better, i.e. Coutinho is shit because he is not Suarez, or Alonso, or some kind of deep lying playmaker... it's the equivalent of saying Ronaldo is shit because he doesn't get more assists. Fuck that, we have a diamond of a player and they are criticising him for a] not being a diffferent type of player b] not making the shit players around him  look average.

What kind of fucked up logic is that? Next week, how Mignolet fails to score more goals, how Gomez really needs to get those 60 yard defence splitting passes sorted and finally, why Ibe needs to become a dominant header of the ball in the box.

The most football manager article ever written, bilge, why don't they edit wiki to see if that improves his game for them...

[tmsneil]

It's complete balls from start to finish. First of all the premise is based on article froma  Dublin-based radio station, Newstalk. I am a regular listener, the station is made up of self-professed Everton supporters (Colm Parkinson) and Man United supporters (Tom Dunne). Parkinson is particulalry vitriolic and never passes up an opportunity to have a pop at Liverpool... depsite being from the Midlands and never having attended a game.

The article is also shit because it bases it's criticism on the rest of the team around Coutinho being shit and forcing Coutinho to play shittily to accomodate them. To wit

"Coutinho is at his best as a footballer facilitating others, making them better players, making them the best player. The tone of the criticism he gets both here and at times in general is that he should have more nine out of 10 games. In reality, he needs to have more sevens and eights leaving other lads taking the plaudits for nines they don’t quite deserve."

So, Coutinho is shit by not making everyone else look better, i.e. Coutinho is shit because he is not Suarez, or Alonso, or some kind of deep lying playmaker... it's the equivalent of saying Ronaldo is shit because he doesn't get more assists. Fuck that, we have a diamond of a player and they are criticising him for a] not being a diffferent type of player b] not making the shit players around him  look average.

What kind of fucked up logic is that? Next week, how Mignolet fails to score more goals, how Gomez really needs to get those 60 yard defence splitting passes sorted and finally, why Ibe needs to become a dominant header of the ball in the box.

The most football manager article ever written, bilge, why don't they edit wiki to see if that improves his game for them...

You honestly seem to have very much missed the premise of the article which isn't that Coutinho is shit but quite the opposite in that he's really very good indeed but is being unfairly judged by fools such as these lads on the radio and possibly, arguably played out of position. That to get the best out of him we need to get him further back and have more good options ahead of him

[BEAST]

It's complete balls from start to finish. First of all the premise is based on article froma  Dublin-based radio station, Newstalk. I am a regular listener, the station is made up of self-professed Everton supporters (Colm Parkinson) and Man United supporters (Tom Dunne). Parkinson is particulalry vitriolic and never passes up an opportunity to have a pop at Liverpool... depsite being from the Midlands and never having attended a game.

The article is also shit because it bases it's criticism on the rest of the team around Coutinho being shit and forcing Coutinho to play shittily to accomodate them. To wit

"Coutinho is at his best as a footballer facilitating others, making them better players, making them the best player. The tone of the criticism he gets both here and at times in general is that he should have more nine out of 10 games. In reality, he needs to have more sevens and eights leaving other lads taking the plaudits for nines they don’t quite deserve."

So, Coutinho is shit by not making everyone else look better, i.e. Coutinho is shit because he is not Suarez, or Alonso, or some kind of deep lying playmaker... it's the equivalent of saying Ronaldo is shit because he doesn't get more assists. Fuck that, we have a diamond of a player and they are criticising him for a] not being a diffferent type of player b] not making the shit players around him  look average.

What kind of fucked up logic is that? Next week, how Mignolet fails to score more goals, how Gomez really needs to get those 60 yard defence splitting passes sorted and finally, why Ibe needs to become a dominant header of the ball in the box.

The most football manager article ever written, bilge, why don't they edit wiki to see if that improves his game for them...

lol nice.  Now I won't have to take you seriously when you froth at the mouth in post-match threads ..... your reading comprehension is terrible. 

[mrantarctica]

How I interpreted that quote was that :

- Coutinho facilitates others and makes them look like great players
- The criticism is that he should deliver more 9/10 performances i.e. be the star of the show
- If we are really getting the most out of him he should really be getting 7-8/10s and we should be seeing others getting 9/10s because of him, because that's his best trait is to make others look better

"Coutinho is shit by not making everyone else look better" -

Well if his best role is to facilitate the play of others and make them look awesome by creating lots of goals/chances etc, and that isn't happening, then he's probably not at his best role - that could be because of form, or because of what the manager is asking him to do.

[DonkeyWan]

You honestly seem to have very much missed the premise of the article which isn't that Coutinho is shit but quite the opposite in that he's really very good indeed but is being unfairly judged by fools such as these lads on the radio and possibly, arguably played out of position. That to get the best out of him we need to get him further back and have more good options ahead of him

The entire tone of the piece is that there is a problem with Coutinho being the type of player he is, when the entire piece should be that there is a problem with the players around him not being good enough, for example;

"In general, there is a problem Coutinho being Liverpool’s official best player. There is a problem with Coutinho playing high up the pitch, especially at home."

"In general, there is an issue when your best player isn’t a goalscorer."

"There is a correlation between Coutinho becoming Liverpool’s best player and Liverpool’s goals scored column flatlining."

"A lot of what can make Liverpool a better side this year could well be a realisation that while he looks like a concert pianist, Coutinho might actually be the best piano mover we have. (and that's their summary of the situation by the way)"

All of the above are nonsense, problems created by the players around Coutinho either being sub-standard or under-performing. We got the best out of Coutinho when he had better players around him. Suggesting that Coutinho somehow needs to change his game to accommodate the rest of the team is the wrong mentality as far as I am concerned.

[Dougle]

At the risk of repeating myself the Tuesday Review was again excellent. It takes something to make listening to lads chatting and analyzing the flop last weekend worthwhile. Fair dues, great work. Check it out.

[pjshaun]

The entire tone of the piece is that there is a problem with Coutinho being the type of player he is, when the entire piece should be that there is a problem with the players around him not being good enough, for example;

"In general, there is a problem Coutinho being Liverpool’s official best player. There is a problem with Coutinho playing high up the pitch, especially at home."

"In general, there is an issue when your best player isn’t a goalscorer."

"There is a correlation between Coutinho becoming Liverpool’s best player and Liverpool’s goals scored column flatlining."

"A lot of what can make Liverpool a better side this year could well be a realisation that while he looks like a concert pianist, Coutinho might actually be the best piano mover we have. (and that's their summary of the situation by the way)"

All of the above are nonsense, problems created by the players around Coutinho either being sub-standard or under-performing. We got the best out of Coutinho when he had better players around him. Suggesting that Coutinho somehow needs to change his game to accommodate the rest of the team is the wrong mentality as far as I am concerned.

Isn't that the case with every player though (changing their game to suit the always changing tactics and formations)?

We bought Benteke and don't want/intend to cross to him unless we are in a panic mode.
We bought Firmino and playing him on the right where he has never played before.
We are playing Coutinho everywhere but in the center.
We played Henderson in the holding role sitting in front of the center backs.
We have been playing Gomez at left back.
We are playing Milner in the center (but that's down to the promise we made to him when he signed for us).

I don't want to get started on the last season.

[tmsneil]

The entire tone of the piece is that there is a problem with Coutinho being the type of player he is, when the entire piece should be that there is a problem with the players around him not being good enough, for example;

"In general, there is a problem Coutinho being Liverpool’s official best player. There is a problem with Coutinho playing high up the pitch, especially at home."

"In general, there is an issue when your best player isn’t a goalscorer."

"There is a correlation between Coutinho becoming Liverpool’s best player and Liverpool’s goals scored column flatlining."

"A lot of what can make Liverpool a better side this year could well be a realisation that while he looks like a concert pianist, Coutinho might actually be the best piano mover we have. (and that's their summary of the situation by the way)"

All of the above are nonsense, problems created by the players around Coutinho either being sub-standard or under-performing. We got the best out of Coutinho when he had better players around him. Suggesting that Coutinho somehow needs to change his game to accommodate the rest of the team is the wrong mentality as far as I am concerned.

We appear to be in the most violent of agreements.

[Raaphael]

Going back to AFQ Thursday on the Drake issue. Death Row Diner is playing Drake as we speak, Rob Gutmann. And there is nothing wrong with that

[red_Mark1980]

We appear to be in the most violent of agreements.

It's people missing the point so badly they work themselves up.

It's something only we as Liverpool fans can do...what did you say once

"everyone has a cob on with everyone about everything"

Or am I paraphrasing?

[Bastion Of Invincibility]

They need to get Joe Connolly on one of the football pods. He's hilarious.

[Hij]

They need to get Joe Connolly on one of the football pods. He's hilarious.

First class.

[DanA]

Am I only able to have this on one device at a time or do I have an issue with my Ipad? I have it working on my phone but would rather use my Ipad if listening at home (using a podcast app) as I can't be arsed logging into the website.

[redk84]

top work lads

unfortunately I haven't yet subscribed....your month preview on the TAW launch made me aware the content was surprisingly still good. But I felt the Tuesday Review/AFQ/Regular Pods were the only ones I could regularly listen to.....given the time I have......and couldn't justify it in the end. Though im sure there is an argument to say those 3 shows are worth the fiver on their own!

But I have been listening to youse from the start pretty much so feel to contribute at the very least. (think I remember you saying one off payments can be made?)....there a link to that which anybody could point me towards?

[Redman0151]

Loved the new show about how we're portrayed in the media, and the comparisons with other clubs around us. Thought it took a good objective view and discussion rather than "All of the media hates us!!" crap

[BassTunedToRed]

unfortunately I haven't yet subscribed....your month preview on the TAW launch made me aware the content was surprisingly still good. But I felt the Tuesday Review/AFQ/Regular Pods were the only ones I could regularly listen to.....given the time I have......and couldn't justify it in the end. Though im sure there is an argument to say those 3 shows are worth the fiver on their own!

That was exactly my view - a lack of time rather than an issue with the quality of the pods. But I finally signed up last week (I needed my Tuesday Review fix!) and definitely think it'll be worth the fiver each month, even by only listening to 2 or 3 each week.

[Raaphael]

Some poetry from Heaton there: "I`m not getting the cock out just yet".

[Scott0908]

I thought Joe Connolly was phenomenal on CityTalk Today. 

[Hij]

Some poetry from Heaton there: "I`m not getting the cock out just yet".

That was funny.

[badkhan]

All the talk of non-league football on Midnight Caller inspired me to go and watch Bronshoj BK, the club a stone's throw away from my home. I was a little anxious though as hooliganism is alive to some extent in Denmark. But It was a great experience, with this banner being one of the main highlights. Thanks for, to borrow The Rider's slogan, getting me out of the house and into society. 

[JimmyGrunt]

Joe Connolly is boss 

[Raaphael]

Think the latest shows have been brilliant. Some great memories as well, going back to the match of the day special. The 87 season was the season I became a Liverpool addict. I especially remember the home game against Arsenal that season when McMahon kept the ball in and passed it to Beardsley, then Aldridge who scored. I remember buying "The Mighty Reds" on VHS, including the 5-0 trashing of Nottingham Forest. Shaped me as a person. I met John Barnes a couple of years ago and got a signed picture of him in the dugout wearing the kit of that season, and he mentioned that there was a hole in the kit, and how they had to wash the kit regularly , because they wore the same one the whole season.

Found this about John Barnes : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij0t-3RRSiU

Great stuff. What a player. My greatest football hero as a kid. When people talk about legends, I think he`s a little underrated. He`s up there as one of the absolute best players in Liverpool`s history. Found him to be a really intelligent guy as well. Would like to see him in a role at the club.

[John C]

Re the last Rider, brilliant again. I've got the Blue Nile albums, A Walk Across the Rooftops and Hats on vinyl from the 80's
Loved the first one!

[RMG]

Gutting myself at that impression of that guy from the Everton board room.

More please.

[Adamski LFC]

The live match review on Android would not work as even when muted the podcast was over ruled by YouTube.   Only thing I can think would work is a streaming or downloadable video.

[WidnesJon]

Re the last Rider, brilliant again. I've got the Blue Nile albums, A Walk Across the Rooftops and Hats on vinyl from the 80's
Loved the first one!

I've got the The Blue Nile albums too - and if they consider those to be shockers I can gazump them many times over!

Cheers
Jon 

[realtarragona]

The latest WWCH is brilliant. Can't wait for part 2.

[Yiannis]

The latest WWCH is brilliant. Can't wait for part 2.

What season is it, mate?

[Iska]

eighty five eighty six

[G1-tiga]

The latest WWCH is brilliant. Can't wait for part 2.

It was ace, as someone who didn't live through it, it really is an insight into how the club used to be received and what going to the match was like.