Liverpool FC vs Crystal Palace
Premier League Week 33
14/4/2024 14:00 Kick Off
Venue: Anfield
vs
Officials:
Referee: Chris Kavanagh.
Assistants: Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan.
Fourth official: Keith Stroud.
VAR: Michael Oliver.
Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt.
Managers:
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp
Crystal Palace: Oliver Glasner
Team Selection:
Liverpool: TBD
Crystal Palace: TBDThe world is really simple when you break it down. We are born, we live, we die. Simple. It is the stuff between being born and dying, you know the living bit that is all complicated. Family life, housing, eating, school, work, and so on... and then there is the leisure activities that occupy our time and minds. Football is one such activity. Like life, football is really simple when you boil it down. 22 players kick a ball around a pitch for 90 minutes and the team that puts the ball into the back of the other teams net the most wins. Simple. Like life, football is complicated by the stuff the happens in the 90 minutes between whistles for kick off and the game ending. Margin of errors, pass completion, presses made, XG percentage, fouls committed, atmosphere, time of day, time relative to the last game, and so on... Complicated.
It seems this season, run in, this month, is even more complicated than the game is in the 90+ minutes of each game. Klopp leaving, player injuries to the likes of Allison, Trent, Jota, Matip, pressure from opposition teams to try and be perfect, reliance on our youth/academy players, controversial decisions by the refs/pgmol/and VAR, ticket price increases.
It need not be this way. We can simplify things again.
The world, it seems, wants to complicate things for us. Pens not given for us against both our title rivals, legit goals not given, Mo finally getting injured and not starting a league game in almost four months, the complacency last night... And then, a few months ago, a local lad gave an innocuous interview to a reporter which was blown way out of proportion. It means more to us. It simply does. Full-stop. One does not have to look hard or far to see this. You only have to look at the manner in which Liverpool have responded to their injury crisis. The way the youngsters carry themselves. The emotion in the voices of the Kop. The way the captain inspires the side, the city, the global fanbase. It Means More To Us. It really does.
Sunday, there will be far fewer flags in the Kop, as a protest to the ticket price increase. I applaud this decision, it can not be one taken lightly. The powers that be are wrong to raise prices, supporters give so much already to this club, wither they are locals that attend week in and week out for decades or traveling Reds who pinch pennies and save pounds to visit Anfield and see the team and city we love. There are more important things than money, than a paltry few million more pounds from a ticket price increase. We have a fervent desire to see our team win the big one for the gaffer before he departs. We know how much Anfield can shape a game, can push us to the next and higher level, can seemingly propel us onto victory. Additionally we know the importance of our passion this time of year. I am not referring to the run in, but to the anniversary of Hillsborough. Games around this date are always poignant. There will be flags honoring dearly departed Reds, there will be a moment of silence, there will be somber faces in the crowd, where waving flags should be.
Complicated.
But, there will also be XI players in Red, looking to bury any doubt that we belong at the top of the league table. XI lads looking to score as many goals as it takes to ensure three points. To keep the pressure on the teams around us, those pretender clubs.
Score more than the opposition, concede less. Win.
Simple.
We have just three remaining home games in the league left with Klopp at the helm. THREE. Make them count. I know the lads in Red will.
After-all, There is a League to be Won.
UP THE REDS!
YNWA
