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Welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin and Sean. We are here in the last week of the season. We finished 3rd, and all that’s left is to celebrate the Jurgen Klopp era. We may mention Wolves but we’ll really reflect more widely on the season.

Part One - Recent games:

• Away at West Ham - 2-2 (xG .70 vs 1.75)

• Felt like another one we threw away. Recognition that it didn’t matter as much?

• Spurs - 4-2, moments of brilliance, weird ending (xG 3.37 vs 1.24)

• Harvey Elliott, Cody Gakpo

• Being at Anfield…….

• Villa - 3-3, moments of control and then the last 10 minutes (xG 3.2 to 1.74)

• A word about Simon Hooper - 10 fouls against us to 1 given to us in the first half.

Part Two - what have we learned - using Data Game by Josh Williams as our platform

• Wolves at home - thoughts…..
• Is the season a case of overachievement in the first part or a fall off in the second half?

• The Klopp effect was great till it wasn’t

• Our defense - we’ve scored about the same as we did when we won the league

• Trent
• Nunez and Luis Diaz - can’t have both?
• Saudi messaging re: Salah and Allison

Part Three - Elsewhere:

• City - more boring football from the Cheats
• Arsenal and City - defensively stronger
• Chelsea - Europa League?
• No VAR? Wolves, are you kidding?
• Man Utd. what is going on?

We will be back with a review of the Wolves game, plus a bigger look at the Klopp era. Thanks to Sean and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s April 17th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Justin and Daz. It’s been a big week in the Premier League and not the right time to stop scoring at home. Before we are done we’ll look ahead to Atalanta away in the Europa League and Fulham away Sunday.

Part One - Liverpool 0, Palace 1 - 2.81 to 1.98 according to FotMob

• First half looked very flat - Palace had a lot of moments, didn’t mean we didn’t have chances
• Manager talked about Endo and Mac Allister minutes - Robbo and role for Mac Allister
• Second half… four big chances - while Darwin may have dropped a level, others had chances (Jota, Salah and Curtis). Much better performance, one goes in I think we’ve seen that script before
• The subs - taking off Nunez and Diaz, not Salah
• A word on the ‘bottling it’ chat
• 6 games remaining - just focusing on us, can we get back in rhythm?

Part Two - Atalanta beat us 3-0 - xG 2.6 v 3.22. Possession 70%

• Narrative about being outplayed? Or some defensive slip ups that then define the narrative?
• Formation, pressing
• Going for a goal back when we concede the third
• Jota and Mo almost scored

Part Three - looking ahead and the context:

• Atalanta - what do we think? Formation, forecast
• The run in
• Will being 2 points behind City be terminal?
• UCL impact

• Our mindset

• Fulham away on Sunday

• Team selection and predictions

• Naby Keita

We will be back with a review of the Fulham and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s April 9th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Justin and Daz. It’s been a big week in the Premier League and we are going look at home wins over Brighton and Sheffield United and a disappointing draw against them. Before we are done we’ll look ahead to Atalanta in the Europa League and Palace at home on Sunday.

Part One - it’s them again:

• xG of 3.74 vs. 0.74 - well we clearly missed chances and even though I think we were better than in the cup tie. Michael Cox wrote a tough piece to read about just how dominant we were and how all over the place they were (a variation on the donut formation)
• Second half… The errant Quansah pass gave them oxygen and sent us to a dark place, Quick word on Szobozlai, Elliott, Darwin, Diaz and Salah.
• The same boys who today missed a few chances are the ones who brought us to 71 points said my favorite manager
• Good news not one of the remaining 7 games is at that place with that team and their unbelievably counter intuitive tactics

Part Two - 2 home wins:

• Began with a victory over Brighton who are really hard to play against - 2.98 v 0.51 xG. Went down early, looked like a comeback was never in doubt.
• Starts with typical Diaz goal from the chaos. After a lot of Salah shots (a lot)
• 2nd goal was my favorite from the season - Szobo, Macca and a Salah finish

• The Arsenal 3-0 was kicked off with the kind of penalty if we’d got would have been generating parliamentary questions.

• Win over Sheffield United - 3-1 in the end. 2.52 v 0.72 xG

• Less assured than the Brighton win?
• Darwin’s mad goal, Mac Allister screamer, and Gakpo chips in

Part Three - looking ahead and the context:

• The run in
• Champions League as a source of hope?

• Will being 1 point ahead of City be the most significant point?

• Our mindset

• Return of Alisson, Trent and Diogo J

• A quick word on Atalanta, the EL and completing Klopp’s trophy collection with us

• Palace at home on Sunday

• Team selection and predictions

• Room for Reuben Amorim chat?

We will be back with a review of the Palace and Atalanta games and a look ahead to the next block of fixtures. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s March 23rd - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Sean. Reds lost to Man United on Sunday and we are now focused on a treble. We’ll look back on that game and the Sparta Prague last 16 tie in the Europa League. And before we are done, let’s take a pulse on how we see the rest of the season playing out.

Part One - the FA Cup 6th round - Manchester United 4, Liverpool 3

• Well we always hate losing to them don’t we?
• First 30 minutes were way too open - United had more shots (7) on target in a first half than they have for a long time.
• Switched on end of first half - could have been 3-1
• Second half, their weird formation made it seem like we were bound to score, but actually did not have many good opportunities (other than the ones Darwin created)
• Taking Salah off at 77 with the game won…
• While it’s still 2-1 bad things can happen. Right foot from Antony, felt like a stopped clock telling the right time moment.
• Extra time - everyone looked very tired. Could not take enough people off.
• Blessing in disguise? Can’t say yes for sure but 2022 experience suggests it could be

Part Two - Liverpool 11 to Sparta Prague 2 - aggregate score:

• Four goals up in 14 minutes. Front foot attacking exploiting some very naive defending?
• Liverpool should not be playing us said the coach, they should be in the champions league.

Part Three:

• Quick word on officiating:
• We talk about high bars when we choose to
• They talk about intent as well - I thought IFAB had made intent irrelevant

• Atwell on VAR - ‘they both came in high’

• What are we feeling now:

• Maximum of 15 games
• Players returning
• 10 wins in the League likely would be enough but there’s plenty of challenges left
• United, Fulham, Villa, West Ham and Everton away - 3 aways in 6 days (unless Arsenal beats Bayern Munich)

• Brighton, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Spurs and Wolves at home.

• Europa League - quarter final against Atalanta, with the prospect of Benfica or Marseille in the semis.

• Atalanta not considered a difficult draw… 6th in Serie A. Playing Coppa Italia either side of our fixtures.

• Elsewhere, Champions League draw…. FA Cup -

• City have to play Chelsea in the FA Cup. If they make it past Real Madrid, they will have no midweeks available.

• Arsenal - Bayern Munich. Could easily see Arsenal winning this one.

• International chat? Luis Diaz

We will be back with a review of the Brighton game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s March 11th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m Paul, joined by Daz and Justin. Reds drew with Man City yesterday and are now 2nd in the premier league, behind on goal difference. We’ll look ahead to Man United at the weekend and we’ll look at the state of the Europa League and the Sparta Prague tie.

Part One - The Reds should have won this, shouldn’t they?

• First half
• 15 minutes of City threat, City had 4 or 5 openings earlier
• Gradually made our way back into this:
• Endo tackle on Foden after 5
• 13 minutes chance for Bradley
• Endo, Mac Allister and Elliott were very good

• VVD so many times he was exceptional

• Clever goal from the cheats

• Liverpool responded well. Press intensified.
• Rodri and Walker tactical fouls

• Gomez moving into midfield

• Second half:

• 47 minute penalty and the non-penalty at 98

• Michael Oliver!!!

• City have their usual sterile domination at times

• Diaz multiple big chances (inc Gakpo)

• Other thoughts?

• What a gang of **, Foden, Walker (on Salah), Rodri, Bernardo Silva
• Walker - Oliver wasn’t intimidated

Part Two - Sparta Prague - 5-1:

• Mac Allister and Nunez were great
• Defense was not until Virg arrived
• Gakpo bad luck?
• Salah almost 14th sub goal
• Next Thursday….. Weakest team possible

Part Three:

• United in the FA Cup

• Formation, predictions

• Our perspective - players are coming back, 10 wins would probably do it, given City and Arsenal

We will be back with a review of the United game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s March 6th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz, Sean and Justin. Reds beat Nottingham Forest last weekend to maintain a narrow lead at the top of the premier league. We’ll look ahead to Man City at the weekend and we’ll look at Europa League and Sparta Prague.

Part One: Forest - first win since 1984. The year Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain was released, the Reds won 3 trophies:

• 0.97 to 2.07 (Fotmob) - Darwin’s goal had an xG of 0.11

• Should have won this, but not much of that rationality made its way into the wider discourse

• They started of with a lot of intensity and for 20 minutes, there was some back and forth but the Reds had taken over. (22 - Elanga chance, looked offside) Kelleher great save, 24 - Clark almost; 26 Luis Diaz went close

• Second half, habit has been to take it up a level - created some chances but found it hard - especially against the mid/low block. Injuries taking their toll? Not enough width? Tsimikas did give us some when he came on. Did we struggle to adapt to the subs initially?
• Officiating - Let’s shine a light on the corners we should have had in the first half. Seriously, the coverage of this monumental mistake was beyond overboard.
• And no mention of Kung Fu kicks from Yates

• ‘Some elite level shit if there are any shenanigans happening’ - Gareth Roberts

• 18th winner in added time in the Klopp era, Fergie only had 16! Moyes has 21, Wenger also has 21 BTW

• Anfield has had 28, next is Goodison with 24 (3 of them scored by us!)

Part Two - Big game coming up:

• Game against the team with 115 charges is hard to ignore
• FCK MCI - looked like a couple of easy games for them
• Hoping for a big Anfield contribution - biggest crowd for a game against the cheats
• Guardiola has not won at Anfield with a crowd. I’m sure that’s not in his head!
• Tactics - go early or wait for the 2nd half momentum to kick in

• Channel the 2022 FA Cup Semi Final?

• Team and predictions

• We start with Sparta Prague in the Europa League first leg

• They are confident they can win after beating Galatasaray
• They are top of the Czech league, just drew at home to their biggest rivals Slavia Prague
• Macca talked about a great battle. Coach Brian Priske was the manager of Midtjylland in 20-21. Mohammed Salah might return.

Part Three - AOB:

• Arsenal have scored a few goals haven’t they?
• Worst case, we could end up 3rd. How are we dealing with that? Ignoring it, rationalizing it?
• Liverpool are visiting the city down the road next summer - best way to talk this up?
• Chasing Man City’s commercial revenue….

We will be back with a review of the City game and a look ahead to the fixtures before the international break. Thanks to Daz, and Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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February 29th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz. Reds won their 10th League Cup, beat Luton in the League and reached the 6th round of the FA Cup. We’ll look ahead to Nottingham Forest away at the weekend and toward the Europa League return against Sparta Prague before we are done.

Part One - League Cup triumph Chelsea 0, Liverpool 1 (xG 2.28 vs 1.78 Opta)

• Kelleher - faced 2.9 xG - 4th most in the top 5 leagues in the last 7 seasons (Andrew Beesley) without conceding. This is counting multiple shots from the same sequence.
• 2 big moments really hurt Liverpool our momentum
• Gravenberch being stretchered off

• VVD first header ruled out; 1.7 of the Chelseas xG happened between then and the 98th minute. And, John Brookes with the CSI Stockley Park. Compare with United’s FA Cup goal in midweek

• 5-2 yellow cards… some shit behavior from Chelsea not punished.

• Academy players - culture that allows you to bring in young players
• Clark 24 pressures (Macca 35) and McConnell had the most touches (47 in 40 minutes).
• Gomez is third in minutes
• Changes showed that the league is the target
• Szobo and Darwin did not look injured.

Part Two - Luton game and Southampton on the cup

• Luton - xG 3.32 vs 0.92
• Diaz chances, 11th minute Ogbone. Bit 442, first half just too hurried
• First half Klopp was upset - look at the counter pressing first not the result

• Don’t make me angry…. ‘Elite’ Rob Edwards described the team, the tactics, intensity and crowd. 2nd half intensity was impressive - the washing machine.

• Southampton - xG 1.89 vs 1.71

• Could have lost it in the first 20
• Koumas and Danns are great stories, but Clark and McConnell looked really solid
• Kelleher again

Part three - looking ahead

• Forest - could be challenging. They will allow us the ball.
• They haven’t got a great record after playing midweek.

• Team, predictions

• Europe - Sparta Prague - need to give them some respect.

• What else - Arsenal, Man City to win this weekend we assume.

We will be back with a review of the Forest game and a look ahead to City. Thanks to Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s February 20th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Justin. Reds won away at Brentford at the weekend but at some cost - we’ll review. We’ll then look ahead to Luton tomorrow night and Chelsea in the League Cup Final at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done.

Part One - Brentford 1, Liverpool 4 (Understat 1.7 to 3.09; statsbomb 1.14 to 2.43)

• Predictions
• First Half - Brentford dominance!
• First 20 minutes, they should probably have scored was the narrative (Toney had a chance at 14 and 19 - Ibou steered him away from goal for the 2nd)
• In practice, Bradley had an effort turned away at 9 minutes, Jota manhandled at 12 (Jensen challenge was 50/50), Jota shot turned away at 20.
• 35 - Darwin finish - if he scores in the next 13 games we are right in this

• Refereeing again; Oliver doing the same stuff we’ve seen increasingly - players go down with minimal contact and it always seems to be a foul against us. 9 fouls against us and 1 for? Not one given for the 2 Noorgard challenges that caused serious injuries. Toney - what a diver…

• Second Half - controlled large portions of this:

• xG of over 2 again - this is quite exceptional. Played with a swagger after 2-0.
• Klopp reaction to the dangerous tackle on Bradley
• 54 - Endo to Gravenberch to Mo to Macca
• 67 - Mo goal - more Route 1 football :()
• 71 - Could have conceded a pen (Robbo on Toney), they score on 74

• Didn’t get much of a sniff until the very end

• 82 - possible Diaz penalty

• 86 - Gakpo’s 10th of the season - be good to him going

• Finished 15 fouls to 3 (the Arsenal game with Taylor was 11-11).

• Lots of shout outs:

• Kelleher, the defence, the midfield, whichever Front 3 was on the pitch.
• Post Jones midfield looked good, and then Elliott had a nice cameo.

Part Two - looking ahead:

• Luton at home - 13 games left
• Luton - thoughts?
• The injuries

• Team selection, predictions

• Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday

• Chelsea - can’t be as dominant as we were a few weeks ago, can we?
• Chelsea appeared to play a back 6 at City, and ran out of gas at 70.
• Team selection, predictions

Part Three - looking wider:

• Arsenal (2.2 xG and 5 goals); City will go on a run to everyone is going to drop points - did have an xG of over 3 against Chelsea).
• Ollie Watkins….. Only Mo Salah
• Most goals by a Liverpool sub - 13 from 27.
• Jurgen and the Dinosaurs!
• How many teams chant You Scouse Bastard and have an intro song written by a couple of Scousers?

We will be back with a review of the Luton and Chelsea games. Thanks to Daz and justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s February 13th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of the pod. I’m joined by Daz and Sean. Reds got back to winning ways against Burnley, a game we’ll review. We’ll then look ahead to Brentford at the weekend and do the usual wider perspective before we are done.

Part One - Liverpool 3, Burnley 1 (xG - Liverpool 3.15, Burnley 1.11)

• Review predictions
• First Half:
• Lots of gaps, illnesses, slow start
• How much was Klopp’s hand forced a little with lineup/formation?
• Trent injury - had an impact on the first half
• Jota goal - foul on Trafford! HA HA
• Jota grab - defender was standing his ground says Stephen Warnock

• Burnley goal was a header from 12 yards - Kelleher’s feet?

• Second Half:

• Lots more control - from 46 a lot of pressure building
• Goal at 51 - foul by Mac Allister?
• 63, 66 Fofana misses - Quansah?

• 70 to 78 created multiple chances before Nunes excellent header

• Good news stories:

• Andrew Robertson
• Curtis Jones
• Endo, Mac Allister
• Kelleher deserves a mention.

Part Two - away at Brentford:

• Haven't won there yet, they’ll have their players back from AFCON. Toney is scoring.
• It is a 12.30 kick off and we’ll have a week, and we may have players back/healthier
• Formation?
• Prediction

Part Three - some trends:

• Anny (Anfield) Road end - leading the singing. Almost 60,000
• Cards - Nunez for kicking the ball away and no card for Endo being kicked in the face.

yellow

cards for dissent and tactical fouls.

We will be back with a review of the Brentford game. Thanks to Daz and Sean. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s February 11th - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds get past Burnley to go back to the top of the league and now have a week before Brentford. I’m Paul and I am joined by Lingerr, Haitham and We’ll talk about the Reds before we are done but after a great tournament we need to talk more about AFCON.

Part One - reflections on the tournament:

• Context, your AFCON experience over the years - growing up, watching from afar here in the US?
• As an outsider, this one was a great spectacle, it seemed about the teams and the football, and almost no Gianni Infantino or Alexsander Ceferin is an absolute bonus.
• Seems like a series of upsets from an outside perspective. Lots of last minute goals and spot kick drama. Super exciting for someone not fully invested in any of the teams - must have been tough to watch if you were.
• Overall a more open tournament - 116 goals - 2.4 per game. Goals dried up a bit in the knock out games.
• What about the favorites - Senegal, Egypt, Morocco? Was that it for Mo and a chance to win AFCON?
• North African teams generally:(
• I enjoyed Cape Verde, Angola, DR Congo - how much did they exceed expectations?
• What about South Africa? Where did they come from?

• Did it help having everyone be familiar with each other?

• The state of club football - Morocco 84th in the world

• Number of players born outside Africa - perspectives?

Part two - the Final and wider:

• The Final - Côte D’Ivoire vs Nigeria
• The game itself
• Was it destined to be them?

• ‘The dead goat does not fear the night’

• Nigeria played up to its reputation finally didn’t they? But really didn’t look as good in the final

• Wait Alex Iwobi is Jay Jay Okocha’s nephew!
• All those strikers - Osihmen, Chukweze (and Boniface who was injured)
• Does this mean anything for the 2026 World Cup?
• Could CIV host a World Cup?

Wrap up - Liverpool - 14 wins to a deserved 20th title?

We will be back with a review of the Burnley game. Thanks to Lingerr and Haitham. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s February 8th - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds lost at Arsenal and now have a week together before Burnley show up at Anfield.. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We’ll look at Arsenal and look ahead to Burnley at the weekend. We’ll also do some football finance chat

Part One - let’s tackle it head on:

• Team selection - probably not many other options
• Formation - could we have gone 3 at the back at least at the start to build from a solid base - twice in the last 3 seasons we played them in cup games, did not concede early and then opened them up in the second half
• Poor first half - right side (usually a big strength) felt it lacked cohesion
• Second half till the mix up, felt like we could take the initiative
• After that, it felt like we didn’t get the subs into the game, the way we have done for much of this season
• The refereeing? Typical Taylor - misses blatant shirt grabs on our players yet every Arsenal player went down at the slightest prompt (often acting like they’d been mortally wounded). Felt like this was intentional.
• Konate red completely took it away from us, Thiago and Macca at center back!
• Pearce, ‘He can have no complaints’. Jurgen points us to Gabriel.

Part Two - looking ahead:

• 15 games in the league. Win them all and the league is ours
• Starts with Burnley at home. They do seem to have been improving - came back from 2-0 down to get a point against Fulham. Some suggestion they have modified their style to be less possession oriented.
• Our formation - lot depends on injury news. If Darwin plays….
• Predictions

Other chat:

• BLUE CARD! yay/nay? Why?
• Some chat about football finances and then there is Chelsea

We will be back after the next game against Burnley. We'll start with an AFCON review on Sunday. Thanks to Sean and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s February 1st - welcome to the latest edition of the pod, after the Reds reached the League Cup Final, are in the 5th round of the FA Cup and last night they overwhelmed Chelsea. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean, Daz and Enrique. We’ll look at Fulham and Norwich, do a deeper dive into the Chelsea game, look at some of the fallout from the Klopp news, and finish off looking ahead to Arsenal at the weekend.

Part One: Cup glory:

• Fulham - 1-1 in the second leg.
• Lot of commentary about Fulham being too emotional to focus early on
• Should probably have scored another
• Difficult few minutes after they got an equalizer

• Closed the game down brilliantly with Konate and later Bobby Clark

• Norwich 5-2 stroll - least important game for the rest of this season (hopefully)

• Some nice goals - Jones, Darwin, Jota, Virgil and Gravenberch
• Return of TAA, Andy Robbo and Dom
• Why did he play James McConnell (who was very good) over Bobby Clark? 6 vs 8?

Part Two: Chelsea at home (xG 2.95 vs 0.56) - first time we have beaten them at Anfield since we won the League!

• First half was especially compelling, especially so after watching it back and realizing they are not the Russian state backed operation they once were:
• Looked so lively, especially Jota and Diaz
• Connor Bradley is 20. Toffee TV presenter tweeted about them losing players and playing people out of position, while Liverpool lose their best player and discover the next Cafu.
• Mac Allister, Jones and Szobozlai - that is some midfield
• Darwin 37 pressures, Alexis 49

• 78 - Darwin creates the chance for Luis Diaz only he will create

• 67 to 71 looked a bit disjointed after 4 changes.

• BTW Nkunku finish… if Darwin has that luck, he’s scoring 5.

• By 75 we are back making chaos

• They’re only half a football team compared to the boys in Red:

• Badiashiel, Madueke, Mudryk

• Cole Palmer - signing of the season (apart from James Madison!)

• Paul Tierney!! Surprised he didn’t give them at least one penalty.

• 3 weeks we’ll be back, said the Chelsea fella in the pub, So will Mo….
• They can’t be this bad at Wembley, can they?

Part Three - fallout, state of our season and Arsenal:

• Starts with VVD answering some mixed zone questions about his contract. He finished his comments (not reported in most places) with:
• ‘It’s noise that we don’t need. We just focus on getting the job done. At the end of the season, different things will happen of course but that’s for the club to sort out, not for us to speak about.’

• And although he is speaking about the manager search. Feels like it’s noise we don’t need could be applied to all of these articles. James Pearce we are looking at you.

• 4 goals in each of the last 3 Premier League games. Feels very 1987-88. No one gets battered but almost everyone concedes 4 goals (9 times in that season, although we also beat Forest 5-0 at the end of the season). On pace again for a 90+ finish.

• Arsenal away:
• How tricky do we think this one will be? Arsenal have won both their games since we beat them in the cup (Palace and Forest)
• They have Jesus back, we have Szobozlai, VVD and potentially Robbo.
• Line up? Predictions?

We will be back after the next Premier League game against Arsenal. Thanks to Sean, Enrique and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s January 27th - here's a bonus episode after we woke up yesterday morning to the news that Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of this season. Shock, sadness and maybe a little reflection on this amazing 9 year journey. I’m Paul and I’m joined by Justin and Daz to offer some immediate reflections and maybe some perspective (maybe).

Start with our initial reactions:

• ‘The loss of a man who can make a set of players far greater than the sum of its parts is a huge loss’
• What he shared with Roger Bennett about how he viewed success - making the world you are in better than it was before.
• In hindsight he seemed too relaxed at his Thursday press conference, and his acceptance at Bournemouth that VAR would not intervene because it was Tierney.
• What had tired him out - PGMOL? Game scheduling, the Deloitte money list, playing against nation states? UEFA at the 2022 final? Pre-season tours? German press talked about the job of a premier league manager being harder than that of someone in the Bundesliga.

The man himself:

• ‘He made us all feel that we’re not alone, that we’re all part of something. That we weren’t individuals with individual purpose, but that we’re all in “this” together. The “this” I speak of is simply the possibility that dreams can happen in reality. That together we will always be bigger than just one of us. That shared joy is the only joy that matters.’
• Neil Atkinson talked about his connection to the City of Liverpool - such a grounded person, with a belief system that fits well in the very left leaning Scouse republic.
• Jamie Webster said he was a better human being than a football manager and that is saying something because I believe he’s the best football manager in the world
• Attributed to Raffa Honigstein - he’s ruined it for other German managers as he does everything so well - the managing, coaching, PR, press conferences

Our best memories - too many for this brief pod:

• Boom - all of the last 9 years
• Barcelona, 2019 UCL win, the post match interview after City lost at Chelsea
• 96th minute Divock winner against Everton, the Parade in 2019
• His appearances in Nivea commercials

Looking ahead

• Generational managers do not just come and go. Does this doom his successor to failure? Absolutely not. Jurgen Klopp has left us in a good position. The squad is rejuvenated with talent everywhere.
• Examples of Ferguson and Wenger being replaced with managers who were a poor fit for what they needed.
• Shankly and Dalglish examples.
• The next 4 months - how should we approach it?

Ultimately, ‘we’re so glad that Jurgen was a Red’. We plan to have an episode tomorrow, reflecting on the Norwich game and a big part of that will be how the players and crowd reacts to the news. Thanks to Justin and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s January 23rd - welcome to an extra exciting show that we decided was necessary after the Reds went to the windswept south coast of England and beat a very dangerous Bournemouth team 4-0. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin, and Daz. We’ll dissect the Bournemouth game,, look at some wider issues in the game, and finish off looking ahead to a big 2 weeks, with a word in passing about Fulham being played tomorrow.

Part One - Bournemouth 0, Liverpool 4 (xG 1.39 to 1.55)

• First half was dismissed by national pundits - no shots from inside the penalty area. I left the first half thinking, this is a real clever tactical battle, apparently I lack insight.

• Bournemouth have a plan (Erik?) but by 80 they are exhausted

• Diogo Jota is ridiculous - his 2 goals came from xG chances with a lower xG than 3 Bournemouth chances. His 19.3% shot conversion is elite.

• Alexis Mac Allister was awesome - 14 duels won, 15 recoveries, 11 passes into the final 3rd. Gibbo said it was like he was playing FIFA on easy mode and everyone else was set to most difficult
• Darwin 10 assists, 10 goals this season - they were well taken goals, to be fair he was unlucky against Newcastle and Fulham. Slight shift in the national narrative.
• Konate, and Virg (‘experience’ said Le Saux - yawn)

• And Bradley, Jones, Gomez

• We made the referee not matter (after Diaz challenge and Jota penalty)

Part Two - refereeing, ownership and P&SR and AFCON.

Parochially we’ll start with an absence of forensics on decisions that have gone against us - not a conspiracy but it does look like bias over incompetence, doesn’t it?

The Odegaard handball:

• Kavanagh initially said that he had not given a penalty because Odegaard’s “hand was on the floor”. Having watched replays of the incident, Coote told assistant VAR Lee Betts: “For me Lee, he’s falling down, he’s moving his arm in towards him, so it’s check complete for me.”
• Betts: “Yeah from the brief look I’ve seen, yeah, agreed, yeah, yeah.”
• Coote: “Check complete. Confirming on field decision. No penalty.”

The Kluivert challenge on Diaz:

• Again another 5 second review, completely at odds with the forensic team that they brought to bat for Curtis at Spurs. Tierney on VAR of course.

Ownership and P&SR:

• The narrative about these teams being held back from inflating the transfer market is interesting. Of course that’s not their spin.
• Forest and Everton…..

AFCON:

• Mo Salah - who knows what the story is…
• today Pep says hamstring has a proper tear

• Egyptian reaction appears negative (Klopp may have spoken out of turn?)

• Some exciting games - lots of winning but mostly tying goals in added time

Part three - looking ahead:

• Patterns - only ahead in 7 of the 21 games at half time, Most second half goals including 19 in the last 15 minutes. Defence and midfield.
• Fulham away - Andy Robertson available
• Norwich at home (cue Luis Suarez jokes) - Trent and Szobo return. Beck, Clark and Gordon surely?
• Chelsea at home - Tierney. Got to make the referee not matter.
• Arsenal on Sunday February 4th - watch out for their set pieces!

We will likely be back after the next Premier League game against Chelsea. Thanks to Justin and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s January 11th - welcome to the latest show after Liverpool have been absolutely battered in 1 cup game and outplayed in another and miraculously find themselves in the FA Cup 4th round and ahead in the League Cup semi-final. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. We’ll talk about these 2 games and the upcoming Bournemouth game and the 2nd leg of the finely balanced League Cup semi-final.

Part One - Arsenal 0 - Liverpool 2 (xG 1.76 to 0.64 - 5 big chances to 5 to 1)

• Outplayed and outcoached - BATTERED, they said. If Arsenal had scored all their big chances (3 were in the same sequence) we’d have been buried at half time.
• TAA did hit the bar in the game the first Half.
• Formation needed a bit of working out - Odegaard and Havertz pushing high, creating problems with the press - season high 5 recoveries in our half.

• We are really good at blocking, or are Arsenal just poor at creating open play chances. Gomez (Joey!), Quansah and mostly Konate - immense

• Team selection - very strong compared to what it could have been

• Second half….
• Diaz chance, good save from Ramsdale, Jota header off the bar, Nunez snapshot was close

• Trent’s cross and then our one big chance Luis Diaz buries

• Lots we could say about Arsenal, but safe to say they are not on the same level as us right now.

• One narrative is that Havertz took too many touches - and when he shot ‘there were purple shirts everywhere’ unlike in the Liverpool store.

• Note on John Brooks - Harvey gets a yellow for one moment of dissent, Odegaard has multiple moments and the key foul and ….nothing. As for the man with Oompa Lumpa skin tones at right back:(). Oh and there’s Jorginho telling him to fuck off.

Part Two - Liverpool 2 - Fulham 1 (xG 1.99 to 0.48 - Fotmob had 1.77 to 0.29)

• First half - figuring things out with changes - still need to effectively assimilate Gravenberch (saw some Szobozlai moves in that second half).

• Be better after a full pre-season?

• 19 minutes - not great defending from VVD, but preoccupied by Jimenez and the Willian shot squeezes through.

• Before their goal we were just lacking a little bit of quality in their final third. Last ball just wasn't there
• They had a bit of momentum for a few minutes but overall it was a game we dominated. Second half the pressure ramped up. Commentary did their best to big up the Decordova Reid moment - only had to make a good pass for a tap in… That second goal was a work of art - Curtis, Diogo, Darwin and Cody’s flick finish.
• This team is relentless - there’s a reason they don’t lose many games. And the subs are a cheat code - Nunez and Gakpo, after being tested by Jota and Luis Diaz for 56 minutes.
• Conor Bradley - he is not an inexperienced footballer, but he’s not played much at this level. Love the Academy boys coming through - CURTIS!!!
• We have to mention Darwin’s offensive contribution (19 G/A) on the season. As well as his contribution to an impending coronary.
• Let’s parse through our individual feelings about him.

• The chaos line is a lazy bullshit narrative that misses his incredible contribution.

• Coote performance was not as bad as I feared - the non foul for Pereira in the second half was probably a result of him being told he was duped by the same player in the first half.

Part Three - Bournemouth and Fulham to come in just over a week’s time.

• Formations hugely impacted by availability.
• Darwin has looked so unmanageable in the last 4 games - more of that and goals at the Vitality would not go amiss
• We think Bournemouth will be tricky. They lost 3-1 away to Spurs and should have got something from that game
• Lineup + prediction.

We will likely be back after the second leg against Fulham. Thanks to Sean and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s January 4th. Happy New Year dear listener. We have now passed the halfway stage in the season’s Premier League.. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Haitham and Daz. We’ll talk about the Newcastle game and we’ll look ahead to Arsenal in the FA Cup and Fulham in the League Cup.

Part One - Newcastle 4-2 (xG 6.9 v 0.6 Statsbomb):

• Best performance of the season from the Reds so far, in less than ideal conditions.
• Reds were a threat all the way through - in the first half alone chances in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th 17th (offside), 23rd, 25th (2) and 35th minutes. Dropped off after a series of decisions went against them and they quite rightly appeared to be furious with Taylor.
• Missed penalty at 19 could have derailed them. Came out with real attitude in the second half.
• 48 - first goal - great from Diaz and Nunez to set up Mo. 150th league goal for Liverpool. Followed by Dubravka saves from Nunez at 50 and 52.
• 53 - really should have done better with Gordon and Isak. 56 - VVD foul on Almiron. Worst we’ve seen from him this year?
• Diaz, Nunez, Salah. Best from Diaz in a while, Darwin? Salah’s 2nd half was great
• 64 - Jota, Gravenberch and Gakpo. That feels unfair. By 68 Liverpool are relentless again
• 73 - Jones goal from Salah and Jota. Passed it round him twice.
• 77 - Lesson for Darwin, don’t hit it so cleanly! Mo’s pass!
• 80 - No one blocked Botman from the corner (looks like an enforcer from a crime movie)
• 84 - Mac Allister pass to Jota; Jota never reestablishes his balance. Salah 151 -
• 94 - Nearly scored again through Jota and Salah.

• Curtis Jones, Joe Gomez - could probably name the whole team

• Newcastle:

• Showed some threat on the break - 30, 36 (narrow offside)
• Went full Athletico at the end with some of the challenges
• Dubravka - 11 saves
• What happened to the rule on the technical area?

• The disingenuous Mr. Howe… the xG was made up of penalties. And claiming Longstaff was fouled at 72 (deflect, deflect, deflect)

• Officiating:

• I counted at least 10 situations where Anthony Taylor gave them the benefit of the doubt - I thought he helped them throughout the game to avoid even more pressure. Soft fouls, non-calls (Diaz shoved in the back, and he ends up with the yellow card). Joelinton - how many fouls for 1 card in the 66th minute?

Part Two - Wider narrative and other news:

• Reds are ‘flawed’. Losing Mo could be the end.

• 18 games left - Arsenal, Villa and United away

• City will go on a run

• Anyone else?

Part Three - Arsenal and Fulham:

• Hard not to see them as linked and the latter more important right now
• Formation - solutions to the gaps?
• And predictions

We will be back after the first leg against Fulham. Thanks to Haitham and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s December 29th and we have reached the half way stage in the season’s Premier League.. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin. We’ll talk about Arsenal and Burnley, and we’ll look ahead to Newcastle at home.

Part One - Arsenal 1-1 (xG 0.98 vs 0.9):

• Solid performance from the Reds or a Rice, Saliba masterclass (London newspaper ™)
• Solid commitment to overselling Rice at the expense of the other 21 players (Barney Ronay). Quietly misses how effective Waturu Endo has become.
• Arsenal create very little - apparently half of their goals have come from set pieces, Saka is the leading scorer with 5, Martinelli has 2.
• Arsenal had the better of the first half perhaps - but then there’s the Odegaard handball, what a strike from Mo Salah (202 - 149 fro Liverpool in the league).
• Martinelli has an open goal(?), Konate effectively blocks this shot and pretty much everything else he did.
• Second half - Liverpool dominate the game till the Trent miss at 72 - Salah, Diaz, Gomez and Elliott have chances but we don’t always seem as composed.
• 53 - foul given against VVD - what have you been drinking says Virg to Kavanaugh. 82 Kavanaugh books Mo Salah! For what looked like an Nketiah slip.
• Strange chummy interaction between Arteta and Kavanaugh

Part Two - Burnley 2-0:

• Surprisingly low xG - 0.74 vs 1.98, but that’s without the 2 disallowed goals.

• Feel like their chances might have been inflated - VVD and Allison moments

• Tierney and his big chance reputation shows up again. Books TAA for what probably wasn’t even a foul. The canceled out goal changed the game - after 53. Felt like Tierney was going to rule out anything we scored, gave them real hope.

• Oh his name is Diogo

Part Three - Newcastle and any other business:

• Poor Newcastle, but they could sit deep and try to frustrate us.
• Formation and predictions
• Theme - Liverpool have given up as many fouls as a bottom half team - before the Arsenal game, we were at 202 and City and Arsenal were at 162. Just looks like they find it easier to give fouls (and soft yellows) for us.
• Andrew Beesley - 5 teams have gone unbeaten at home since 2016
• FOOD BANK support and community

We will be back after the Newcastle game. Thanks to Justin. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s December 21st and we are ready to take on the league leaders in 2 days. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We’ll talk about United and West Ham, and we look ahead to Arsenal at home and Burnley away.

Part One - the United game:

• It was perhaps too good to be true…. They sat deep, the crowd was not as big a factor
• ‘Two teams played poorly’ One of them had 34 shots and the other a generous xG of .66

• Arsenal had 26 shots and were worthy title contenders

• Nobody actually said defensive masterclass but you spent 1bn GBP on this?

• Should they leave Fernandes (#42) out more often? Guardian’s latest list of 100 best world footballers has him ahead of #44 VVD:()

• What could we have done?

• Performances weren’t bad - link up play was not optimal
• Gravenberch was not to blame as much as Michael Oliver
• Jurgen said that we were good in so many ways
• A ‘Hairball’ need to be rejected

Part Two - West Ham in the EFL cup:

• West Ham were terrible - didn’t show up

• They said we needed a performance - isn’t that it?

• Isn’t this the formation they used to beat Chelsea and Brighton?

• Harvey Elliott , Endo, Quansah, Curtis, Szobozlai, Darwen
• Fulham in the next round

Part Three - Arsenal, Burnley and any other business:

• Arsenal
• ‘Liverpool are flawed title challenges’ - not as good as 2019-20
• Build up suggests Arsenal have some of the greatest players in the world (#14, #18, # 22). Their results are so scary, are they really?

• Formation, predictions

• Burnley -

• 50th anniversary of us losing 2-1 on Boxing Day - Roy Evans played

• They aren’t very good are they - looked good in moments, but they do lose in key moments don’t they?

• 4th anniversary of our Club World Cup

• Kieran Trippier (#63) - TAA would have been crucified (#57)
• Number of Dewey crushes consumed in this show?

We will be back after the Burnley game. Thanks to Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s December 16th and we are in the middle of an intense period. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We’ll talk about Palace, USG, and we will look ahead to Man United at home and maybe touch on West Ham and the EFL cup.

Part One - let’s start with Palace and Union St Gilloise:

• Reds escaped with a 2-1 from South London and are now top of the league - xG 1.77 vs. 1.11 - that includes the 0.75 for the penalty).
• Reflections? 76 minutes of not very good then we showed an ability to stretch the play with the subs.
• Use of subs - Harvey Elliott, Curtis and Gakpo, Gomez and Konate
• Salah 200 goals
• The press continues to be underwhelmed in contrast to Arsenal (‘who are playing wonderful football’).
• USG - didn’t feel like we had a plan to score, and playing 2 at the back is very risky without Ali and VVD. Much easier to be the one young lad in an experienced team. 6 were 20 and under, Jones, Kelleher, Konate and Gakpo bringing the experience.

Part Two - we play United tomorrow:

• This is too good to be true isn’t it? Their fans appear to be afraid. I used to hate these games (with John O’Shea or some less than stellar player stealing it in the 90th minute)
• How much does the 7-0 from last season help them? Are they wounded? Who are they - literally what line up?
• Bournemouth and FC Bayern;) They are going to sit deep aren’t they?
• 57000 crowd
• We score early, this is over isn’t it?
• Formation, predictions

Part Three - any other business:

• EFL cup
• City, Villa and Arsenal
• Chelsea and Man Utd

We will be back after the United game. Thanks to Justin and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s December 7th and we are in the middle of an intense period. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We’ll talk about LASK, the crazy 4-3 at home to Fulham, solid away performance at new manager boosted Sheffield United, we will look ahead to Palace away and maybe touch on USG and the possible team selection.

Part One - let’s start with last week:

• Few words on 4-0 against LASK of Linz. Goals by Gakpo (2), Diaz and Salah (his 199th for Liverpool). Their fans were spectacular
• Let’s dwell on the Fulham game - xG 2.7 to 1.5
• Were Fulham difficult or did we make it easy for them? 1-1, 2-2, 2-3. Neil Atkinson said the game was defined by what Fulham did (4-3-2-1 without the ball, asymmetric with Paulinho, Jimenez and Wilson in different positions).
• Trent was on, best Tsimikas performance (or did Fulham leave him alone)? Fulham attacked Virgil interestingly - he wasn’t have any of it - won 7 of 10 duels.
• Lot of people seemed a little off (e.g. Darwin, Gravenberch, Szobozlai?). Kelleher? Diaz - did he lose his pace with the injury?
• Great goals - favorite? ‘Where’s your famous atmosphere?’
• Title winning teams win games like this? Surely depends on what happens next
• Joel Matip ACL

Part Two - Sheffield United (A) looking for a new manager bounce:

• Having read about their performance at Burnley, there was definitely something different here - snapping into tackles, very (overly) aggressive, press numbers are up, pass completion is 47% (didn’t want the ball).
• Were we too passive last night - xG 1.80 to 0.80? Team set up not to concede?
• Salah - the 200th goal preying on him?
• Endo, Joe Gomez, Szobozlai better performance? Kelleher save.
• Fouls around the goals? Trent’s response to you’re just a shit Kyle Walker.
• 2 points behind Arsenal, 4 points ahead of City and 7 points beyond 5th place

We will be back after the Palace/USG games. Thanks to Sean and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s November 26th and proper football is back. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We’ll talk about the solid away performance at the home of the team with 115 charges, we will look ahead to LASK and Fulham (and maybe Sheffield United away). And maybe cast an eye elsewhere….

Part One - highlights and regrets

• Team selection
• Jet lagged performances? Ali - ‘he needs to be stronger’, 4 missed passes
• Overall reflections on the Reds
• City goal - 1.3 xG is some defensive performance
• Trent (with his new boots), observations and performance - midfield excitement. 9 possessions recovered.

• Our second half performance with Diaz and Gravenberch

• A few words about the cheats - League One? The crowd?

Part Two - looking ahead

• No Jota or Alisson for the next few?
• Doak against LASK? Chambers? Jones at right back? Endo to start a couple.
• Less than 72 hours to Fulham, just over 72 till Sheffield United
• Fulham and Sheffield United - the threat?
• Fulham did draw at Brighton but have looked a bit toothless overall. They play the Wolves tomorrow.

• Sheffield United will be up for it. Did draw at Brighton, lucky to beat Wolves, but if we score early, they have shown that they will wilt. Face Burnley next.

• Formations and predictions

Part Three - elsewhere

• Everton’s punishment
• Chelsea sequence 4-1, 4-4, 1-4. Reece James record.
• We can contend for this, can’t we? Kyle Walker - ‘not even close’
• Arsenal and Villa win, United and Newcastle also, Spurs 3 loses in a row.

We will be back after the Sheffield United game. Thanks to Sean and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s November 15th and the 25th international break is underway. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz, Justin and not physically but spiritually Sean. We’ll talk about the quiet efficiency of the Brentford performance, look back at 12 league games played and consider any lessons from Toulouse and Luton:

Part One - convincing enough?

• xG - 1.5 to 1.5 on average. Liverpool’s post shot xG was over 3 (under 2 at Luton last week)
• Brentford - coming off 3 wins, more center halves than a team really needs. Tierney - arrogant performance?
• Our formation against the height and physicality
• Fit and firing - VVD, Alisson, and Darwin
• Stepping up - Joel, Diogo
• In the spotlight - Endo and Kostas Tsimikas
• Our home form seems to have gone unnoticed by the wider pundit community. Again it wasn’t on TV in the UK.

Part Two - To lose in Toulouse and to be held at Luton:

• Reflections beyond the immediate - oh no, the wheels might be coming off
• Looked very open in Toulouse, bearing in mind this was probably their game of the season (and maybe a few seasons). VVD not available
• Luton - just don’t think we stepped up the pace at 30, which we did against Brentford.

Part Three:

• Season so far - 12 games 27 points, good return compared to most seasons - 34 points from 12 in 2019-20 season being one outlier. Jurgen says let’s look at where we are in March/April. After City we have some very winnable games.
• City next - haven’t won there since 2018, but Darwin and Mo have some good history against them. An imperious VVD and Allison Becker. Formation and prediction? Away form generally - giving up breaks and chances from set pieces.
• Elsewhere - Spurs regression, Chelsea surprising? Arsenal haven’t been exceptional. Man Utd are not there

We will be back after the City game. Thanks to Justin, Sean (in spirit) and Daz. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s November 5th and it’s Guy Fawkes night in the UK - bonfires and fireworks. Welcome to the latest edition of our show. As promised, special guest is Lingerr from the San Francisco Supporters Club. Also here is Daz. We’ll talk about the disappointment of the Luton game and look ahead to Toulouse away and Brentford at home:

Start - Lingerr, how have you been? What happening in San Francisco?

Part One - Luton 1, Liverpool 1

• Luiz Diaz - libertad para papa
• Bournemouth game was a battle with the elements
• xG - 3.04 plays 0.81. We have 6 big chances to their 2. Also had 74% possession and were only given 7 fouls with 13 against.
• Penalty shouts - VVD is dragged down from a corner - nothing given presumably because they don’t often give these unless you play for an oil state team (and then it’s nailed on). The handball, don’t love it but we’ve seen enough of them given,
• Darwin looked dangerous, but in the end, he makes one of the chances he has, we win 3-1, 2-0 like we had discussed.
• Dom wasn’t quite as on it as usual (midweek in the storm?). Mac Allister - had his moments. Is it worth discussing starting endo in PL matches. No Curtis:(
• Gravenberch
• Defense - VVD awesome as usual, Gomez at left back?
• Subs? Good bad indifferent?
• Carra. Do we agree with his assessment of us needing additional help? Is this a potential title winning season for us? (Lotta “experts” writing is off as a result of today’s match). Doesn’t it always look worse because of the cheats?

Part Two - this week

• Toulouse
• Win and we’re in.

• Do we play the kids? Do we try to get the rhythm back? What mix/blend do we opt for

• Brentford next Sunday

• They have 2 wins in a row
• What threat do we think they pose?
• Predictions?

Part Three - what else?

• First weekend where the stratified didn’t play out the way we expected (Brentford, Villa, us).
• The fraud that is Mikel Arteta?
• United are back - ha ha. Ten Hag. By the way Gary, 3 penalties in 10 years doesn’t suggest even handedness back then.

We will be back after the Brentford game. Thanks to Lingerr and Daz for joining me. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s November 1st - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. Today we’ll review the Forest and Bournemouth games and look ahead to Luton at the weekend.

Part One - Liverpool 3, Nottingham Forest 0

• Luis Diaz
• xG was at worst 2.95, with Forest 0.48. Most of that coming in the last 20 minutes when the game was pretty much won. Daz said 2-0, I said 3-1 - could have been either depending
• Virgil and those defensive numbers (they are good)
• Mac Allister and of course Big Dom, and Ryan Gravenberch - this is cheating isn’t it? The interplay between midfield and forwards is unbelievable - looks like there’s been an elevation since the start of the season
• Salah watch - 196th goal for Liverpool
• Won all 39 games Jota has scored
• Darwin - overhead kick at 41, his ceiling is so high - hit and miss said the commentators
• Wasn’t the commentary shite?
• First 30 - looked like we were looking to figure out the gaps in a really smart way (haven’t found it easy to break down Forest said the commentators)
• Terrible error by Murillo they said for the first goal….
• Claiming Darwin didn’t know much about his finish - yawn…

Part Two - Bournemouth , Liverpool

• Team selection - strong (Salah, Szobozlai)
• Weather - absolutely ridiculous
• Darwin - loved that they cheered when he didn’t get the ball first time. Goalie at fault?
• Elliott - close control
• Klopp’s smile, Cody Gakpo, 8 teams left and we got West Ham at home (I am sure they are thrilled)

Part Three - Looking ahead to Luton:

• Beyond plastic pitches and chaotic games (80s references). Xabi and the 5-3
• Luton’s form - are they firmly part of the bottom strata?
• Line up and predictions

One thing from elsewhere?

• United have lost 5 of their first 10 games and ETH says they are on their way up!
• Spurs have a more difficult run coming up - let’s see what happens in the next 6 fixtures

We will be back after the Luton game. Thanks to Sean and Daz for joining me. And thank you dear listener for joining us.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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t’s October 28th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We’ll do a review of the Everton and Toulouse games and briefly look ahead, given Liverpool play Forest in less than 24 hours.

Part One - The Merseyside Derby - 243rd version, Liverpool have 99 wins now.

• We need a red card and a penalty to beat this lot - not great for a team with title ambitions OR solid win given the international break
• The key decisions - which hardly feel like the 12 against 10 argument that we’ve heard.
• Interesting approach to Everton set pieces - 4 breaks in the first 20, could have picked better passes
• Everton had an xG of 0.29, if we’d played the final third of the match with 10 (again) do we really think they would have offered much? We had over 2 and that doesn’t take account of most of the breakaways.
• Also bizarre that the Guardian’s report decided to single out this game to talk about poor officiating.
• Young - first player to get 2 yellows against us since 2015 (Sadio Mane) - are the Tomkins/Beesley messages about refereeing bias seeping out there? Penalties at Anfield, fouls on Salah, and now 2 yellows.
• Sean called out the liability that Young seems to have become and we talked about if he gets a yellow in the first 20 for the cynical foul he usually commits, it will limit his ability to foul. That bit wasn’t quite right, as the late challenge on Diaz wasn’t great.
• Tsimikas should have had a yellow - to be fair, if Pawson had a better view of his 3rd foul it probably would have been a yellow. He just commits too many fouls.
• Konate should have had 2 argued Toffee TV. I didn’t think the 2nd was a foul real time but on the replay it’s clear that Ibou clips Beto. The first yellow did seem a bit soft though (and one wonders whether the Jota 2 yellows and the admission that the first should not have been given, played into this decision).

• The penalty is thrown in there as if it wasn’t absolutely blatant - but there were 2 non-calls that Marcus Rashford may have been given (one of which the TV didn’t even replay).

• Some bright performances - Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szobozlai. Salah did not seem very sharp (but still has the most goal involvement in the Premier League), but Jota and Luis Diaz were bright at times. Darwin looked sharp when he came on.

• Briefly on Toulouse:
• Weaker line up than against USG. Some great performances - Gravenberch, Jota, Endo
• Definitely using these as training games - will be even more so for the next 3 you feel.

Part Two - another big week:

• Forest 10am on Sunday (thanks to the UK clock changes) - what do we expect?
• Forest have dropped points against Luton and Burnley. Won at Chelsea, lost at Man City - 3 straight draws.
• Awoniyi has been out and they’ve had to rely on Chris Wood. They were potentially unlucky not to beat Luton (highest XG, most shots of their season).
• Reds will have Gakpo back but not Curtis, Tsimikas will continue at left back we assume.
• Strata beginning to develop - where are Forest?

• Predicted line up and scores

• Bournemouth in the EFL Cup - Europa League game

In other news:

• Only Mo Salah corner - 7 goals, 4 assists - 144 PL goals for Liverpool in 227 appearances - 195 altogether for Liverpool - well past King Kenny and Stevie G on the all time list. Billy Liddell with 228 in 4th spot is next.
• Mane is 14th and Firmino 16th in that list.

We will be back after the Forest game. Thanks to Daz for joining me. And thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s October 20th - welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean to do a brief preview of what’s next for the Reds. We have Everton tomorrow in the early kick off and Toulouse at home next Thursday.

What do we expect:

• 13th time we’ve had this slot since Klopp arrived, nearest to us is 6. Actually does this just tell us that the Reds are really well supported in Asia and Oceania.
• Everton had nobody traveling or did they? Pickford, Patterson, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Onana.
• Andy Robbo injury - 10 weeks minimum James Pearce is reporting

• Tsimikas…. Lacks a lot of things, can we compensate or should we be looking at Joe Gomez in the bigger games?

• Jet lagged South Americans (they were on Liverpool’s video), Gakpo had one training session.

• How did our boys do on the break - Darwin, VVD, Dom big contributions?
• Jones suspension hurts - we have won every game he has been on the field

• Biggest problem is the inability change things from the bench

• Formation (especially in view of the training game on Thursday?)

• Prediction
• Next week Nottingham Forest on the Sunday - still no Jones but should have all 5 attackers available. Winnable games follow.

Elsewhere:

• Referees in the UAE…. do they not care?
• Schedule difficulty increases for some - Chelsea-Arsenal; City-Brighton
• United's financial transactions

We will be back after the Everton game. Thanks to Sean for joining me. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s October 10th welcome dear listener to the latest edition of First State Kopites. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin today. With the second international break upon us, we are going to reflect on the last 3 Liverpool games. Spurs, Union SG and Brighton. Apologies to keep you waiting for the fume about the officiating at the Tottenham Stadium.

Part One - let’s look back at the 2-1 defeat at Spurs:

• Let’s dive right in to the refereeing masterclass:
• Jones red card (Kovacics)
• Diaz goal that wasn’t - good process
• Jota 2 yellows (Kovacics)

• Hooper - refereed the game well said Max Rushden - beg to differ mate… Salah, Robertson cards

• Gakpo goal was well taken - tackle on him could be the worst of the game

• 11 v 11 thought we were controlling it and about to take over the game
• 11 v 10 - lost a bit of control at the start of the second half but then were asserting ourselves until
• 11 v 9 - did absolutely great. Unlucky to concede but obviously a feature of the way Hooper had affected the game.

Part Two - Europa League training games:

• Lots of fellas getting 45 minutes here - it was great to see Gravenberch, Salah, Diaz and Jota getting a nice run out.
• Think we’d have had Endo for 90 if it hadn’t been for the Mac Allister meet up.
• USG clearly a level below. Only question, will it take more than 3 games to lock up the group?
• A word for their fans - really delightful

Part Three - an entertaining 2-2 against Brighton:

• First 20 seemed a conscious effort to conserve energy and not give too much away (having had some recent bad memories at this ground). The set up with Pascal Gross as a third in the backline was a challenge for a while.
• Absence of 3 potential game changers really showed here.
• Commentators sure talked up Brighton. Didn't seem to me they created too much after 20, certainly not after 30. Felt like we started to get more of the second ball - almost got in a few minutes before we did - out of nothing they said. xG 2.2 to 2.5 (Understat). 2 attempts between 40 and 70 from Brighton.
• The penalty - Gross literally drags him down and then acts horrified when the penalty is given. But Taylor is pointing to the second challenge.
• More difficult game than Spurs I feel. Gravenberch chance was really big (53). Pressing was good in moments as was theirs. Gravenberch looks someone to be excited about. Andy Robbo seemed a little off, Gomes wasn’t great. Atko though Diaz was terrible, felt that was harsh. The set up with Pascal Gross as a third in the backline was a challenge for a while.
• Taylor gave them fouls aplenty - 20 actually. Yes, he rates positive on big decisions but he gives so many of the half fouls against us (including the one that led to their second goal), and I’ve lost count of the number of games where the Liverpool player gets the first yellow (usually for less than he’s let go).

We will be back with a preview of the Everton game (and Toulouse). Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s September 25th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul, joined by Daz. We are here to look at the West Ham game, mention Leicester in the Carabao cup and look ahead to Spurs away. Thanks for joining us

Part One - West Ham look as good as they have in years and we still beat them

• xG Liverpool 3+, West Ham just over 1. Revisit predictions. Not a bad team,
• We didn’t start particularly great again - Ali save (Szoboszlai foul), Antonio header.
• Felt like after 20 minutes we had figured them out. Surprising approach from a Moyes team - more open and intentional. Although I think the Bowen goal is unexpected
• Salah penalty. He was awarded 3 fouls in the first half, apparently since 2017-18 he has been awarded 4 five times and he actually had 6 in the 7-0 against United. That’s 6 games in 5 years where he’s had more than 3 fouls in a Premier League game.
• Darwin - goal every 141 minutes for us - Only Mo Salah at 134 minutes beats him in the current team.
• Salah ties Henry’s premier league record for goals in European competition at LASK.
• Is the Mac Allister at 6 experiment/move one for all matches? Or just for use when we are expected to have the lion’s share of possession? Helluva ball for our second.
• Second half, more like 2019-20. Controlled possession, West Ham had very few chances to get out, Antonio ends up being withdrawn. Screw was slowly turning from 50 through 70
• Guardian weekly podcast devoted not very much time to Liverpool, but enough to observe defensive frailties. One pundit suggested we might be going under the radar. It’s weird.

Part Two - Leicester midweek

• A word about LASK
• Top of the championship, new coach. Could be tough with a rotated squad?
• Quick line up thoughts and predictions

Part Three - Spurs in the 5.30pm kick off

• They’ve started well - some surprise that they’ve started so well without Kane.

• Maddison, Son, Brenan Johnson?

• This will be a test for us, but potentially a bigger test for them.

• Team selection, predictions

We will be back with a review of the Spurs game (and Leicester) and a preview of the Brighton game (and Union St. Gillois). Thanks to Daz and Sean/Justin for joining me. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s September 20th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Justin and Daz. We are here to look at the Wolves game, mention the LASK game and look ahead to West Ham at home. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - game of two halves Brian:

How bad was the first half? ‘Plumbed the depths’ said James Pearce.

• Defense had a few bad moments OR was it overall a bad performance
• Quansah had some good moments
• ‘Terrific stuff by Wolves’ said the commentator at 10 - once again it felt like a few moments. After 20, it felt mostly us to me.

• Various attempts to have Gomez play the Trent role. Obviously wasn’t effective

• Mac Allister - why did he play? I counted 7 giveaways. Card was super soft.

Wolves tactics - after what they and Gary O’Neill did last year, I assume we expected a low block. Neto is very good (Wolves tried to find him at every opportunity - once we cut the supply, it was a very different game) and Bellegarde looks a handful (first game, played 128 games at Strasbourg).

The good parts were very good:

• xG 0.54 to 2.83 (according to Understat). Didn’t include the Cuhna miss at 34 minutes.
• Darwin is an absolute handful
• Salah (leads the league in big chances created (6)), Szoboszlai, Matip and Gomez front foot defending kept Wolves penned in the second half.

Predictions?

Part Two - Elsewhere and LASK

• Bad news for Everton - Burnley looked OK at Forest
• Chelsea continues to look like a team of strangers (happy for it to continue)
• Man United crisis - the backdrop shows an absence of ethical compass, the foreground shows a collection of mismatched players - Rashford and Fernandes are less effective at pressing than Weghorst, Ronaldo and Elanga.
• Champions League first round just started - Europa League tomorrow and hopefully the road to Dublin - any takeaways?
• League Cup against Leicester who are 2nd in the Championship and have only lost one game.

Part Three - Home to West Ham

• They have looked better this season than last - what does that tell us about Declan Rice?
• Three wins, a draw at Bournemouth and a defeat against City. They’ve won at Brighton and Luton.
• Less than 72 hours after LASK but not the biggest concern
• Everyone available?
• Formation.
• Predictions?

We will be back with a review of the West Ham game and a preview of the Spurs game (and LASK). Thanks to Daz and Justin for joining me. And thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s September 11th. It’s the latest episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Sean and Daz. We are here to look ahead to the Wolves game, start the conversation about the upcoming Thursday afternoon adventure against LASK and glance ahead at West Ham, Leicester, Spurs away, Union SG and then Brighton away. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - away at Wolves:

• We had a nightmare there last year - early goals conceded
• They looked better under Lopetegui, but they’ve lost Neves, Traore, Jimenez and now Nunes. They have Kalajdzic back (and Matt Doherty)
• Unlucky at United, lost to Brighton 4-1, outlasted Everton and lost to Palace but it wasn’t reported as close
• Early kick off after the international break
• Some good performance - Szoboszlai, Endo, Darwin,

• None of the South American contingent will be back till Thursday - Brazil don’t start till 10pm ET on Tuesday.

• No Virgil, not sure about TAA or Ibou.

• Formation. Predictions?

Part Two - looking ahead and other news:

• 2 Europa League games in the next sequence:
• LASK - do we know anything, other they seemed very excited to play us - 3rd after 6 games with 11 points - RB Salzburg has 18. Couldn’t find anything to be scared about.

• Union SG and Toulouse are the other two.

• 3 games that look more challenging than this one:

• We’ll do a deeper dive but of this 4 game sequence what would be a good outcome - 8 points, 10 points, 12 points

• Once we are done with these aways, we’ll only have City, United and Arsenal away.

• Sidenotes:

• Salah did not leave as we predicted last week. I read a lot about Sky being upset that he didn’t leave, given it fuelled their coverage for a week.
• Klopp win stat 300 games - 188 wins vs Fergy 183; Wenger 180…
• Ali was not on the Ballon D’Or list of goalkeepers - Ramsdale, Martinez, Ederson, Ter Stegen I could go on - other than to say you wouldn’t trade any of them for Alisson Becker.

We will be back with a preview of the Wolves game. Thanks to Daz and Sean for joining me. And thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s September 5th Labor Day here in the US. It’s the 7th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Enrique and Daz. We are here to review the Villa game and spend a short amount of time reflecting on where we are after 4 games. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - This is going to be good!

• Jurgen - Top game, most convincing we’ve been in a long time. Looked really good in possession - close to perfect.
• Team selection and predictions - didn’t want Darwen to play and it be like last season.
• Szoboszlai - worthy inheritor of the #8 shirt? Hard work and the goal.

• 8s who are 22 and have so much energy - made me realize how much we missed last season. 28 pressures from Dom and 24 from Curtis.

• The defense - lot of Liverpool journos want to talk us down it appears. Joe Gomez, love that guy! Trent - performance and positioning
• xG 2.86 vs 0.66
• Officiating - Simon Hooper must be doomed, there is so little fuss in the games that he referees for us. Giving Liverpool a man advantage won’t be tolerated.
• And a word on Salah’s performance
• Finally, thoughts on Villa and the level they are at

Part Two:

• Wider narrative:
• 4 games in - thought it would take more time for them to gel quite honestly
• Kev Walsh - ‘I love the team, I hate the owners’
• Midfield signings - Ryan Gravenberch to start with

• Defence - Jarrell Quansah…. Was there anyone out there with more value?

• Our opponents:

• The Cheats, Arsenal, United, Newcastle, Brighton, Spurs and then there’s Chelsea

We will be back with a preview of the Wolves game. Thanks to Daz and Enrique for joining me. And thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s September 1st and it’s the 6th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul joined by Daz. We are here to talk about the Newcastle game - review our predictions and spend a short amount of time on the game against Villa - 2 days away. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - comfortable 2-1 win over Newcastle:():

• I watched this one back and I think there are a few narratives that are imagined:
• Gordon terrorized TAA (3 successful take ons out of 5).
• To be fair, TAA did gift the ball to him for the goal, he misplaced some passes

• And, he hadn’t been very effective in the second half - 2 runs early but not much else. Talking off someone with pace theoretically hurt.

• VVD was over the top in his reaction to the Brooks red card - the officiating:

• TAA early yellow brought back the PTSD of recent officiating. New directives only seem to be directed at us. Jason F’in Tindall
• VVD - ‘he got the ball’ said Robbo. Anger was a bigger picture issue.
• Joelinton - how many fouls?

• 2 minutes before Gomez was allowed on

• Liverpool were awful till the red card

• Not much going on apart from the few moments that are referenced again and again

• Newcastle’s tactical errors led to the comeback

• The Reds had a lot of positives:

• Starting at 55, Jota and Elliott made it look like 11 on 11. Forced NUFC to make changes at 71. Not giving Howe a pass but they needed to shore it up - the crowd had gone quiet. They got better control for a few minutes.
• At 75 we became more dangerous than them when Darwin and Jarrell Quansah show up.
• We’ve said before how much Klopp doesn’t particularly love midfielders - there were not many left at the end of this game were there?

• Jota, Szobo, Salah and Darwin all combine to make the Reds look in control. Salah, Jota, Trent passes, and Dom’s presence.

• Other thoughts - Endo on Tonali? Ali is awesome - and yes that allows some of the risk taking. Formation looked solid when TAA created the extra man

• Is it long before Eddie Howe becomes the Admiral Motti connection in Star Wars - "I find your lack of faith disturbing", says Darth Vader?

Part Two - This weekend and looking forward:

• Signings - if we could get a center back for the weekend
• Europa League - Toulouse, LASK, and Union SG
• Villa - team selection and score predictions

We will be back with a review of the Villa game. Thanks to Daz for joining me. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s August 22nd and it’s the 5th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by special guest Andrew Beesley (BasstunedtoRed) also got Daz, Sean and Justin. We are here to talk about the Bournemouth game, the state of play in the Liverpool world through Andrew’s lens and the upcoming trip to the other Oil state team. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - comfortable 3-1 home win over Bournemouth:

• By the stats it was comfortable. Last 10 there were one or 2 chances.
• The first 10 (20)?
• The 50 to 60 segment when we had them pinned in their defensive third
• The sending off and the reaction - role of Endo and Dominic Szobozlai

Part Two - What trends are you seeing:

• The attack - Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Mo? Where’s the space for Darwin
• The much maligned midfield
• The defence - one injury away from a disaster? Trent and VVD performance?

Part Three - Newcastle away:

• Team selection
• Expectations

We will be back with a review of the Newcastle game, and a look ahead to Villa at home. Thanks to Andrew, Daz, Sean and Justin. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s August 17th and it’s the 4th episode of our 5th season, welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about the Chelsea game, the state of play in the Liverpool world and the upcoming visit of Bournemouth. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - The circus that is Chelsea:

• The good - signs the front 5 could run over people - conversations about pianos
• There were moments - Salah, Mac Alister, Szobozlai, VVD
• The last pass - is that a familiarity question?

• xG - 1.3….

• The bad - the formation?

• Did they assume that that Chelsea away was like a bottom 10 game?

• 2nd half big gaps between Gapkpo, Diaz and Robbo

• The ugly:

• Chelsea fans, Chelsea’s spending,

• refereeing, Graeme ** Le Saux

• The cavalry - Elliott, Curtis, Darwin

Part Two - Some people are embarrassed way too easily:

• Our failure to ‘back the manager’
• We’ve got Endo!
• Caicedo and Lavia - victims of a modern Ponzi scheme?
• Pretty sure it’s not us leaking any of this shit

Part Three - Bournemouth and beyond:

• Bournemouth - opposition research?
• Team selection
• Expectations and predictions

We will be back with a review of the Bournemouth game, our level of embarrassment and a look ahead to Newcastle away. Next week we hope to be joined by Andrew Beesley, friend of the Pod and someone who can help us dig into the numbers. Thanks to Daz and Justin.. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s August 9th and it’s the 3rd episode of our 5th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Enrique. We are here to talk more about how the pre-season has gone and look ahead to Chelsea this weekend. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - Bayern Munich and SV Damstadt

• The balance - scored 18 conceded 11 - I think there were 4 when VVD was on the field
• Defending - the over the top goals and chances - was it the press or the high line?
• Midfield look - the absence of a #6? Mac Allister’s role. Curtis?
• Offense - Szoboszlai corners? That front 5 looks scary doesn’t it?

Part Two - Chelsea upcoming:

• If Pochettino sets up 4-3-3, what approach do we take?
• How do you think we will line up? As offensive as the pre-season?
• What do we expect from Chelsea overall?
• Will Poch last the season or will they be successful

Part Three - looking elsewhere:

• Who do we need?
• What about Romeo Lavia?
• Andre (Fluminesne) has been mentioned

• Tyler Adams at $20m - Reds don’t seem interested

• We are not fans of the foment around transfers, we are hoping it doesn’t transmit to the players

We will be back with a review of the first game and a look ahead to Bournemouth. Thanks to Daz and Enrique.. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s July 25th and it’s the 2nd episode of our 5th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Haitham. We are here to talk more about how we are shaping up for the coming season. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - On the Field:

• 4-2 over Karlsruher - what was good and what still needs work?
• Gakpo and Jota looked impressive together
• Diaz - still question marks?
• Scanlon and McConnell?
• Mac Allister and Dom looked quietly efficient

• Klopp said they needed more tactical discipline - the press, the defensive line

• 4-4 Greuther Furth

• ‘Got to watch a training session - don’t read too much into it’
• 2nd half defending - Gomez, Matip, Tsimikas? Team with Elliott, Salah and Nunez doesn’t press as well as it should?
• Darwin Nunez - 90 minutes 3 goals - 100% shots on target
• First half control - Bradley and Doak. Diaz, Jota, Gakpo and Mac Allister

Part Two - Off the field:

• Saudi Arabia as a destination of choice?
• Money, morals and big cups.

• ‘This is definitely nothing to do with his dogs’.

• What do the Reds need?

• Midfield (definitely one more said Jurgen), another defender?
• Levi Colwill looks impossible right now.
• Someone’s confirmed the Romeo Lavia bid. No one has any interest in giving Man City more than they have to.

Part Three - Elsewhere:

• Sadio Mane
• Women’s World Cup
• Singapore trip

We will be back with at least one more season preview. Thanks to Daz and Haitham. And thank you for listening.

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It’s July 13th and it’s the first episode of our 5th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. We are here to talk about reflections on last season, the off season and initial impressions of how we are shaping up for next season. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - 2022-23 in the rear view mirror:

• Three brief highlights
• Biggest regrets

Part Two - The off season:

• Trent for England
• Started hot and heavy with Thuram, Gravenberch and Kone rumors
• Szoboszlai and Mac Allister
• U21s - Jones and Elliot
• KSA - Fabrizio Romano - Hendo and Fab

• Biggest plus, biggest concern

• More to come in? Levi Colwill (54 appearances)? Romeo Lavia (36 appearances)?

Part three - looking ahead to 2023-24:

• New stand - 61,000 attendance
• Pre-season, Karlsruher SC next Wednesday, Greuther Furth Monday July 24th.
• The competition? Boehly’s genius, City (Gvardiol), Newcastle (Tonali), United (Mount, Onana)
• The season starts away at Chelsea, then home to Bournemouth

We will be back soon to do more season previews. Thanks to Daz and Sean. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s May 25th and it’s episode 31 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last game - 1-1 against Aston Villa fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Introduction:

• Istanbul Day
• Rome ‘77

Part One - Villa at home:

• The deserved narrative for Villa.. Nothing happened for them in the first 20 minutes

• xG - 0.9 to 1.5

• Another time waster team who disrupts the game so much:

• Shirt grabbing, falling over and OMG the time wasting
• Martinez 7th yellow card

• Villa fans claiming that our tactical fouling was a bigger issue

• I thought Diaz, Gakpo and Jones looked bright - heard conflicting views

• Didn’t think Trent or Salah had great days and then there wasn’t anyone else stepping up. Too much through the middle, over the top passes weren’t quite working
• Referee rant part 4,625: was giving the whistle to a man that Klopp had just punked on national tv the best possible move?
• All the big decisions - penalty (can we get one of those), Cash shove on Diaz, red card, penalty, offside goal.
• PGMOL - ‘plausible interpretations of subjective rules’

Part Two - Southampton:

• Chance to experiment?
• Chance to have one last beer with a crowd
• How much will we be watching the relegation battle?

Part three - end of an era:

• Bobby - 361 games, 110 goals; Milner 330 games - heart and soul
• Ox and Naby salutations muted it felt like. I feel for both of them as it could’ve been so much more for them.
• Who do we think might be the other outgoings? Kelleher? Joel? Tsimi?
• Connor Bradley is up in the air?
• New signings - MaCalister? Mount?
• Kane - Fallon D’floor

We will be back next week after the Southampton game to do a season wrap. Thanks to Daz. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s May 18th and it’s episode 30 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz, Sean and Justin. We are here to talk about our last game - 3-0 over Leicester and then look ahead to the Villa fixture. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - Leicester away - 7th win in a row:

• Curtis Jones
• xG 1.73 to 0.53 (Understat)
• 3-2-5 shape continues to be used, Salah the assist king
• Two scousers scored, first time since 2006

• Trent 3rd time lucky - Klopp ‘we hit our own man with the previous 2’

• Bobby Firmino - Si Senor….

• Leicester - shout for the most obnoxious fans in the league. Won’t be missed.

Part Two - home to Villa

• Unai Emery, Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey
• Our line up?

Part Three - elsewhere:

• Confirmed departure of Millie, Bobby, Ox and Naby
• Bobby - we loved that man
• Millie - 7 year end of career move
• Naby started only 49 PL games in 5 seasons
• Ox - great contribution, felt like it could have been more

We will be back next week after the Villa game. Thanks to Sean, Daz and Justin. And thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s May 11th and it’s episode 29 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last game - 1-0 over Brentford and then look ahead to the Leicester City fixture. Thanks for joining us.

Part One - Brentford at home 3rd at home in a week, but the next to last - lots to consider:

• Before we talk about refereeing, let’s talk about the line up and the approach
• Salah - ties the Gerrard record for goals. He’s been quietly brilliant.

• TAA, big chances. A defensive performance - Jurgen 15/16 set pieces.

• Brentford’s tactics - xG - 0.2. Response to Taylor or an over reliance on set pieces?

• Ball in play - 43 mins, 10 secs - lowest for the Reds since records started in 2006
• Leads to another Greater Manchester man conversation:
• Every 50-50, the cards - Alisson! 19 fouls - the most since Klopp’s 3rd game in charge. Gakpo’s comment that it influenced how they played the game

Part Two - the National Anthem stuff * Only the usual suspects seem to be upset - Piers Morgan (‘pathetic’) * Eurovision looks way more fun

Part Three - Leicester and is this race really on?

• FiveThirtyEight has us 29% to get Champions League - was 9% on Friday.
• Leicester have over 3xG in their last 2 games, but their defense looks shot.
• We have got the second phase corner thing looking good. 15? goals from corners, Leicester are the worst in the Premier League defending corners
• Uniteds - Man and New - need 3 wins in 4 - for Newcastle 2 is probably enough
• Elsewhere - the miracle of the Amex Community Stadium

We will be back sometime next week after the Leicester City game. Thanks to Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s May 4th and it’s episode 28 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last two games - Spurs and Fulham and look ahead to the weekend Brentford fixture. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - the rearranged Fulham game at home - as low key as we’ve had since West Ham in October

• Thiago out for the season was the pre-game news. Plus the fallout from Klopp’s comments on Tierney.
• 4 penalties in just over a month, can’t believe there was so much objection to the penalty
• Nunez - felt peripheral not for the first time. Klopp talks up his contribution
• Tsimikas as the left of a 3 didn’t look great

Part Two - the rollercoaster ride that was the Spurs game

• Liverpool’s performance
• TAA - fluidity is a challenge for teams (eventually Spurs brought Kane back to sit where Trent was). 6 assists in 5 games.
• Defense - Konate looked a little unnerved - does he need to be less front foot in this system? Robbo looks uncomfortable in this system doesn’t he? Back line - too high, not straight enough?
• Jones and Elliott looked like they gave Liverpool the width that created so many problems for Spurs. Could have been 4 up easily.
• Diaz, Gakpo, Salah looks workable.

• Nunez plays Richarlison on for their 3rd goal.

• Paul Tierney’s performance. The man from Wigan who has no allegiance to things Manchester:

• He’s refereed us 7 times in 33 games this season - most elsewhere is 5.
• Paul Tomkins Big Decision analysis (red cards, penalties) - show us he (although he’s not alone) gives more decisions against us than for us. Even though every other team that dominates possession come out positive here
• No penalties since 2018? Until the elbow.
• I think it’s the fouls not given and the cards that lean against us - the Skipp challenge on Diaz, the card for Milner, the foul called against Salah.
• ‘Of course Jota should have been sent off’ Haaland -cough, cough

Part three - brentford and other stuff:

• Brentford - they have looked a bit disinterested but have managed to beat Chelsea and Forest with very few goalscoring chances
• Elsewhere - Everton need Leeds, Leicester and possibly Forest to be worse than them to survive. That is a low bar. But Leeds have big Sam!
• Salah’s shit season continues - he’s currently scored more than Rashford, Watkins, Martinelli and Callum Wilson (who have all been outstanding of course)
• Most 90+ minute winners in PL history
• Liverpool 41

• Next is Arsenal on 30, Spurs are on 29, and United are on 27

• Most winners conceded:

• Spurs - 26, Villa - 24, Everton - 20, West Ham - 20, City -19

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Brentford. Thanks to Daz. 

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s April 27th and it’s episode 27 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last two games - Forest and West Ham games. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One:

• Forest are poor aren’t they? Long balls seem to unnerve us - wasn’t the same watching it back
• Were we good and bad in moments or bad and good in moments?
• Diogo Jota is back
• Trent’s positioning
• Salah’s finish - again being dragged back
• Nicholas Cage - maybe a Forest fan?

Part Two:

• West Ham - toughest on paper
• Gave up a couple of big chances
• What about the midfield with Jones and Trent?
• Agents of our own demise more often than not

Part Three:

• Looking ahead - Spurs and Fulham at home

• Is it a concern that we haven’t got a defined way of scoring - apart from corners?

• Elsewhere - no mention of the Cheats - United and Newcastle

• Relegation battle - looking rough for Everton

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Spurs and Fulham. Thanks to Justin and Daz. 
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s April 19th and it’s episode 26 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. We are here to talk about our last three games including us playing like peak 2021-22 Liverpool for at least 100 minutes. And in part 3 we will look ahead to the Forest and West Ham games. Thanks for joining us.

Want to get started by acknowledging last Saturday was the thirty fourth anniversary of Hillsborough:

First State Kopites Special with Richie and Damian. Hillsborough and the uniqueness of Liverpool - 97 football fans traveled to a football match and did not return - let’s not forget that the verdict of the last judicial review was that they were unlawfully killed.

Part One - demolishing Leeds 6-1 after no wins in 5 (random stat on TV)

• Trent - 40% of the episode has to be devoted to him

• Seems like a front foot Trent is always going to be better for us - but much depends on how we set up, games state etc.

• Feels like Leeds were a good opponent, sadly because they don’t try to cheat the clock like other teams we will go on to speak about. And Meslier….

• 6 attackers available for the first time this season

Part Two - Arsenal and Chelsea

• Arsenal - for 50 minutes we look like peak Liverpool 2021-22. 4xG or close to 4xG depending on the model you used, Crowd, team figuring out the changes.
• Penalties - do you know what counts for a penalty any more? Salah goes down easily AAAAAHHHHHH. Tierney did not hold onto Salah for long enough said the blustering Craig Burley - confirmation bias meets mental gymnastics again. Brighton get an apology, why not us?
• We seemed to have decided that the officials are against us given the much stronger reaction to the officials in recent weeks. Tierney to be fair has form.
• Arsenal - probably not going to win the league now. Their time wasting and flopping drove me to distraction. We had them on the ropes of course.
• Oh and a brief word on Chelsea - why didn’t we get to face Frank Lampard? Are they just disrupting themselves?

Part Three - looking ahead:

• Forest at home - they haven’t looked great away from home and now they look like they lack belief at home.
• West Ham away - probably one of the harder games
• Transfer speculation - Bellingham news - do we have the energy?
• Season review starts now… Liverpool have scored 56 times from 54.7 expected goals in the league this season.

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Forest and West Ham. Thanks to Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s April 3rd and it’s episode 25 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. We are here to talk about our last few games including being beaten by the Cheats, and to look ahead to the upcoming series of games.. Thanks for joining us. 

Part One - big defeat to City:

• Klopp said he thought Gakpo, Fab, Hendi and Alli could be excused…..
• The ‘chasm’ that now exists between us and City?
• First half, if we’d gone in ahead would that have been a surprise? You think they were not trying? Mo’s reaction to being grabbed told us he was fired up.
• Rodri - they failed to set about him after the second bookable tactical foul. BTW he committed 4 that I counted
• Grealish MotM? And Jesus, the diving - the theatrics are bizarre
• Our 2nd half performance - like a team that easily loses confidence

Part 2 - elsewhere:

• Man Utd continue to struggle in the League since they lost 7-0 to us. Martinez and Shaw still got plaudits on NBC’s coverage though.
• Manager merry go round - Rodgers, Potter.

Part 3 - Looking ahead:

• Chelsea
• Arsenal
• Leeds

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Chelsea and Arsenal. Thanks to Justin and Daz. 
If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Justin and Paul reflect on a wonderful trip to Liverpool where they saw the Reds achieve an historic 7-0 over their biggest rivals from the other end of the M62

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It’s March 9th and it’s episode 24 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean. We are here to talk about our last three league games, although really we are going to focus on one. Thanks for joining us.Part One - last Sunday, Liverpool had a wonderful night at Anfield when we beat ‘Them’ SEVEN goals to NIL:

• The first half - Gary Neville - Jurgen Klopp won’t be happy, United were on top.
  • Overall xG 2.8 to 0.8, at no time were United ahead in xG.
  • Michael Cox wrote a piece about how Liverpool’ system was more like a 4-2-2-2 and United couldn't figure it out. Elliott was a wild card, enabling Gakpo to find space. He argued that Klopp may have enjoyed the 1st half more.
• Second half - They didn’t defend well, but the 3rd goal (Gakpo) was a thing of beauty.
  • BTW Isn’t having a 5’ 9” central defender going to create a problem?
• Arguably the best night in living memory that didn’t involve a trophy
  • Amazing privilege to be there - the crowd, their snarkiness and a referee that decide he was going to follow PGMOL rules around bookings and penalties

Part Two:

• Just a week since we drew at Palace - tough game to watch. Return of VVD was good. Needed something to go in (TAA free kick or Salah’s shot that hit the bar)
• Last Wednesday, the return of Ibou against Wolves - comfortable in the end. Nunez and Salah looked the part. All good, despite Tierney and the bizarre Warnock commentary on the game

Part Three:

• Bournemouth - it will mean slightly less if we don’t get the points here (slightly)
• Real away - can we do this?
• 4th or even 3rd - is that possible?
• UEFA - ticket refunds all around. How would it feel if everyone at Hillsborough was offered ticket money back? Too much pain and suffering to push it under the carpet.

We will be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Bournemouth and Real Madrid. Thanks to Sean.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Part 1 - Real Madrid:* If the dust has settled, what do we think? * Where we as poor as some would have it or somehow struck by the misfortune of it all and had trouble responding after the 3rd goal * Team selection? * Refereeing!

Part 2 - Newcastle:

• Were we more solid? Them going down to 10-men really affected the flow of the match - complete control to a slightly chaotic second half.
• We are the only team to have beaten them in the league this season—home and hawaay! Are they are serious top 4 contender? Lots of ties and they have the same number of wins as us.
• Substitutions: Do our subs this year seem to make us worse? Personnel or tactical/formation issues? Having said that Jota could have scored 3.
• Refereeing!

Part 3 - Coming up:

• Mindset
• Team selection
• Expectations

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Palace and Wolves in the league. Thanks to Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s February 16th, and it’s episode 22 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and today I am joined by Sean. We are here to talk about our first league victory of 2023. Fears of a Sean Dyche masterclass quickly dissipated. Thanks for joining us.Part 1 - Everton:

• Were we very good or are they just bad? Are they bad enough to get relegated?
• Bacjetic, Gakpo, Gomez, Hendo
• Salah positioning different? First big chance in 2023
• Refereeing

Part 2 - Big games to come:

• Late kick off against Newcastle - crowd will be hostile
• Central defender options - some interesting data on VVD, Konate, Matip and Joe Gomez.
• Then, can we just beat Real for once without them getting any good ‘fortune’
  • They haven’t been great, but they did win the Club World Cup and beat Elche 4-0
  • Can we take anything from Barca - Man U?

Part 3 - UEFA, new Head of Data, more City news, have Arsenal lost it already?

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Newcastle in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League, before we take on Palace away. Thanks to Sean .

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s January 25th, and it’s episode 20 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. Well, we don’t like Chelsea and we don’t enjoy not beating them - somehow sent us off to talk geopolitics, philosophy, and finding the right curseword for that team. Thanks for joining us.Chelsea game:

• Their fans suck. Still singing the Gerrard song, 9 years later
• The commentary was absolute crap - ‘VAR ‘saved’ Liverpool” WTF? OMG Jim Proudfoot was so negative about Liverpool (again). 22 minutes - Chelsea playing the better football… were they? 32 minutes - Liverpool really struggling:
  • There was a lot of flatter to deceive stuff from Chelsea. Apart from set pieces not much of a threat.
  • Mudryk sycophancy? It is officially the second coming of Christ with the neck tattoos! Irony of money from this transfer going to Ukraine.
• How has Oliver become this bad - Jorginho falls over in the box and gets a bail out free kick? Gallagher?
  • And his mate the linesman was bizarrely wrong on multiple occasions
  • And the hand ball - of course Thago didn't know anything about it;)
• Took us a while to figure things out - took the initiative last 10 of the first half and first 15 of the second. Then took Keita off for Darwin. Could Darwin have appeared for 30 minutes at half time?
• The press - feel like Elliott can have a negative impact on it
• Gomez/Konate, Bajcetic, Keita - green shoots!
• Cody Gakpo

Part 2 - Brighton away and assess the squad

• Given how we’ve played against them both games this season, do we see ourselves getting past them?
  • They drew their last league game to Leicester. Leicester.
• Line up - midfield, attack, defense?
• Caceido transfer - the rumor they will take Ox of our hands for the low low price of zero pounds. And it has to be right now.
• Mo Salah - playing poorly or not getting the opportunities?

Finally. these beautiful human beings did something that was considered impossible

• 110 points in 38 games

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Brighton. Thanks to Justin and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s January 18th, and it’s episode 19 of our 4th season. welcome dear listener. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Justin. It’s January 18th - Reds suffered a desperately disappointing loss at Brighton last weekend , but last night recorded a nice win in the FA Cup 3rd round replay at Wolves to progress and as a reward, go back to the Amex one more time..Part 1 - Let’s start with Brighton:

• Anything good? What was going on?
• Midfield, formation, legs, mindset
  • Mindset - bloody hell, 3 of 4 seasons getting 90 points, 3 UCL finals - hard to ‘go again’. And those lucky B* at Arsenal are having it easy.

Part 2 - Victory over Wolves:

• 3 teenagers, absence of height, absence of pace
  • Bichatitch?
  • Pass to Keita yelled someone in our pub!
  • Daz - goalie?
• Konate, Thiago and Gakpo remained
• Keita, Milner, Gomez - all have been criticized by people on this pod
• Energy level was higher
• A decent refereeing performance - Andre Marriner?

Part 3 - Looking ahead to the weekend:

• Chelsea did win last weekend
• What formation and team would you go with?
• $400m+ on players - Kieran Maguire says it isn't as bad as it looks from an accounting perspective

And any other business:

• Miguel Delaney - Pep, Darwin
• Qatari rumors - James Pearce… partial investment
• Kaide Gordon

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played Chelsea. Thanks to Justin and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s episode 18 of our 4th season. Happy new year dear listener - whether you are a subscriber, a casual listener or you stumbled on us by mistake. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. It’s January 11th - Reds have played 3 League games and 2 cup games since the break. Our goal is to separate the Twitter commentary from the facts. Reds are not in the best shape, what do we think is wrong and how can we address it going forward.

Few statistics:

• In the 5 games, we’ve conceded 10 goals and scored 10.
• City, Villa, Leicester, Brentford, Wolves
  • People have talked about our lack of threat - from my vantage point a 3-3 against Brentford would not have been a surprise. Leicester and Villa feel like 4 would not have been unfair.
  • Does listening to the commentary just adds to the negative narrative?
• Overall xG and xGA have been in our favor - against Wolves and Brentford it was very close
• Leaving teams in the game - xG has been relatively good, but we seem to retreat when we’ve conceded in the last few games.
• Pressing stats across the team have been down. This season, Liverpool have become more open when they lose the ball - losing the ball seems to have become more from carelessness than taking risks. Is that why we aren’t as compact?
• Seems easy to pick on individuals
  • Performances, but seems clear that Fab and Hendo are not at their peak levels

Looking ahead:

• Shape - wide open spaces. Time for the double pivot?
• Role for Curtis, Naby?
• Brighton - much to admire
• Wolves in the cup replay

Part 3 - Transfer window is open and elsewhere:

• Cody Gakpo and …….
• And $250m to spend next summer

Elsewhere:

• Chelsea - what is going on?
• More VAR hypocrisy - Arteta ‘scandalous’ refereeing. Lopategui and his Tactical camera
• Newcastle - fairy tale?

We should be back sometime next week after Liverpool have played away at Brighton. Thanks to Sean and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 17 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz, Justin and Haitham. It’s December 6th - Reds haven’t played for 3 and a half weeks. So much speculation about ownership, transfer windows, and the return to action in just over a week. And the Human Rights World Cup in the background.

Season so far:

• Finished with a couple of good winds. Núñez and Salah had big moments.
• Injuries have taken their toll on the midfield - Fabinho, Hendo, Elliott
• There’s an adjustment to be made when you add 2 new strikers
• Where are we with the tactical changes? 4-4-2 suggested someone on our chat group

The break:

• New ownership?
• The backroom staff exodus
• Transfers - buying players at source? Not possible for us, is it?
• Only 7 players at the World Cup, with 6 still there through at least December 11th.

Upcoming:

• 2 friendlies in the Dubai Cup - Lyon and Milan?
• Man City away on December 22nd
• Villa away on Boxing Day
• Leicester Home on December 30th

We’ll be back sometime during next week. Thanks to Haitham, Justin and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 15 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Enrique. It’s October 26th, Reds just beat Ajax in the Champions League group game to qualify for the knockout rounds in 2023.

Want to review what happened since we last talked about Liverpool beating Oil state team #1. To be clear no xenophobia, supportive of Iran competing in the World Cup, at least those players seem OK at speaking out about issues.

West Ham home:

• Nunes - wow. I could argue that he has a higher ceiling than Haaland - Discuss…
• Henderson created great tempo
• Alisson Becker!!!
• Even second half, Firmino, Zouma almost OG
• A lot made of a few random chances at the end - Fabinho looked off the pace (we’ve been forced to play him and the other midfielders too much)
• When do we ever get a penalty any more?
• Keeping one of Hendo and/or Milner on the field is a thing
• Watching it live and then watching it back - much easier to blame Trent for everything than the swirling wind that created problems in a couple of situations

Forest away - what a great noise they made:) Hope they are among the other 10 teams that should get relegated:

• Another shit fan base - surpisingly oblivious to the fact that their fans could have been in the Leppings Lane end. Same old Scousers always cheating, really?
• Mitigating circumstances - I think this list is long:
  • Injuries - even Salah and VVD may have picked up injuries
  • The bench…
  • 3 games in 140 hours - Gomez, Firmino, Milner at least needed more rest
  • Just the bounce of the stupid Nike ball
• Still should have won based on the first half chances. Easy targets in this game, but we looked relatively subdued between 65 and 85. Not finding the right pass?
• Right before the Gomez foul, the commentator says, Liverpool have upped the pace. 10 minutes after the goal he says Forest have seen little of the ball. Gets lost in the final narrative but we take one of he chances, this is nothing but a Liverpool win.
• Tierney - of course he books a Liverpool player first, Kounate!!! The inexplicable second half decision to bring play back when Liverpool are on the break. And he gave every soft foul in their penalty area.

Ajax:

• Played this one with 5 days rest - 100+ hours between games.
• Started off slow - very open passing lanes and Ajax had 4 or so moments in the first 20
• After Salah scored we figured it out
• More on Darwin Nunes - could have had more - the one he scores he fights through a lot of grabbing

Up ahead:

• Leeds and Napoli - what do we hope for?

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played Leeds. Thanks to Enrique and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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On the road for this one - no frills, just good content about the Reds, focusing on their win over Man City

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 13 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. It’s October 10, we are supposed to be in crisis. Barney Ronay claims it’s time for a Viking Funeral with Jordan Henderson part of the boat to be sent out to sea.

Confidence or tactics or what?

Got to start with the Arsenal game - Paul claims it was refreshing to watch it back - 3 reasons:

• When did Michael Oliver decide to become Martin Atkinson:
  • 1st Goal - no VAR?
  • 8m - Martinelli trips himself, Diaz yellow card
  • 14m TAA fouled - nothing doing
  • 14m - handball not given - Gabriel with some fake suggestion it hit his chest
  • Saka gets 3 fouls - Kanesian - 20, 25 and 56, handball nio card?
  • 35 - Offside called on Jota, ball passed him by -
  • Partey assaults Diaz twice - knee injury no foul
  • Time wasting - only Joe Gomez is carded
• We had so many moments:
  • What’s working? Diaz looks dangerous, Jota, TAA forced Martinelli back more than might be apparent
  • But the defensive line (see first goal)
  • Wrong personnel at 70?
  • Getting the ball forward - could have been better at getting it to Nunez
• Arsenal in the image of their manager:
  • Martinelli
  • Saka
  • Jesus
  • Was Xhaka playing?
  • Odegaard was limited - opinions?

Rangers away and City coming up:

• What to expect?
• High hopes/worst case?

We’ll try to be back next week after Liverpool have played City. Thanks to Sean and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 12 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Enrique and Daz. It’s October 2, we just restarted the season and have 10 matches coming in the next 40dTA Part 1 - Brighton game - good, bad indifferent

• Trent was obviously to blame….
• Created some great chances
• De Zerbi?

Paty 2 - coming uo

• Rangers - let’s go 4-2-3-1?

Part 3 -  this weekend:

• Arsenal and City leading the way - how depressing is that?

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played Arsenal. Thanks to Enrique and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 11 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Haitham and Sean. Part 1 - win over Ajax

• Seems fitting that after one of worst European results, we come back against the team that inflicted the worst - a 5-1 away in December 1966 in Amsterdam.
• Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, Kostas Tsimikas
• Salah - more in the game, Why?

Part 2 - look ahead:

• International break watch - Andy Robertson less Scotland beat Ukraine 3-0, makes you wonder about the impact of the previous season on Ukraine 2-1 win in the World Cup playoffs.
• Injury situation - Jordan Henderson! Arthur?
• Brighton at home to come with a new hipster manager De Zerbi - previously from Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo.

Part 3 - elsewhere

• Leicester against Tottenham Hotspur
• Graham Potter and the new Chelsea
• US National Team - How far is Pulisic down the list?
• Liverpool Women 2 - Chelsea Women 1

We’ll be back in 2 weeks after Liverpool have played Brighton. Thanks to Haitham and Sean.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 10 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. Was supposed to be 2 games a week for the foreseeable future.

Part One - Newcastle home win

• “I enjoyed the win but we should have played more football,” said Jurgen - Dan Kennett shared that the ball was in play for 49 minutes (out of 99)
• “I don’t know [where the added time came from],” Howe said. “I would need someone else to guide me”. I hope he’s not relying on those people who are educating him on the behaviors of the Saudi ownership.
• You got to love a winner in additional time added because they had tried to waste the 5 minutes that had been added on.

Part 2 - Everton - so much you can derive from this:

• Are we in crisis? Off-kilter at best.
• We had a good xG but the quality of the chances wasn’t exceptional
• Klopp’s message very much like the Champions League final - we had chances. Their goalie played well. But we looked awful when Milner came on.

Part 3 - Napoli - we are definitely in a slump:

• 9 players not playing well - and that second goal….
• Everyone can see what’s wrong. We need to reinvent ourselves. The worst performance since 2015.

Ajax is tomorrow:

• Asked if the break could impact Liverpool's rhythm, Klopp added: "Did you see our game [against Napoli]? If we could lose this kind of rhythm it would be really cool."
• What do we expect from Liverpool

If we have time:

• Is the Nuñez chat (not performing) something to even worry about?
• Does Naby ever pull on the red jersey again?
• Does the extended break hurt or harm us? (Players maybe coming back/ones that are just back getting more time in the training pitch vs rhythm)

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played Ajax. Thanks to Sean and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 9 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. Well that’s not a bad way to get going:

Part One - review the 9-0:

• We said was going to be difficult or ugly
• Klopp comments about team meeting
• Diaz, Elliott, Trent, Robbo - positional changes
• Bournemouth showed nothing to convince they would not get relegated

Part Two - Newcastle and Everton to come:

• What are you hoping for? Newcastle struggled away from home?
• Drop offs after big wins? Goal early, first goal
• Everton - what can we expect?

Part Three - quick observations on elsewhere

• City copied our approach against Palace. Haaland can only play once a week.
• New signing?
• Elsewhere

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool play Everton. Thanks to Sean and Daz.

If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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It’s episode 8 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Haitham and Sean. We began last week by saying that the 2022-23 season has not started the way we all hoped. And it always worse

Losing to the Mancs - never a good experience

• Much debate over performances - was it individual errors, poor shape, or a lack of intensity? Did we just give them too much hope.
• xG - 2.02 vs 1.5
• Playing like Nunez was present weren’t we? Are we going to spend the season developing a new way of playing. Diaz and Salah as wide as can be.
• Good points from the game? Lot of injuries.

Looking ahead:

• 2 home games
• How many players will be coming back?
• Now got to win 30 out of 35
• What is Jurgen’s mindset?

What else is going on?

• Leniency is going to be an issue isn’t it
• Chelsea lost and City dropped points
• Transfer window closes

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool play Bournemouth. Thanks to Sean and Haitham. If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend.

Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

It’s episode 7 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. The only thing reasonable to say this week is that this 2022-23 season has not started the way we all hoped.

Part One - Crystal Palace - mixed feeling about the performance

• First half - Odd looking starting 11. Looked good but no end product. What did we all make of it?
• Second half - The Nunez incident drastically changed the game. What might have been?
• Why didn’t Gomez start? Missing Naby/Thiago? The story behind the story with Nunez - XG stats
• Hate to do it, but we gotta talk Tierney. When margins are fine, he completely erases them

Part Two - Manchester United and next week’s game

• De Gea and Maguire and Brentford
• Big Monday night match up
• How will we set up?

Part Three - elsewhere:

• More poor officiating in the Chelsea-Spurs match
• West Ham & Everton off to bad starts
• City the run away favorite now already?

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool head to Old Trafford. Thanks to Sean and Daz. If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites – a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. It’s episode 6 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Sean. The season has started, and for the first time in the Klopp ear, Liverpool did not start with a win

Part One - Fulham - apparently not an easy win

• First half - ooof. This performance came from nowhere didn’t it?
• Second half - so much better wasn’t it?
• Elliott, Nunez, Milner, Carvalho
• Fab, Thiago
• New team syndrome? Missing Mane? Not played well at Craven Cottage under Klopp

Part Two - elsewhere:

• Where will the threat come from? Spurs, Arsenal, City
• Relegation - Bournemouth, Leeds, Fulham?
• Refereeing again - e.g. ‘It’s so difficult to put a finger on why Manchester’s Paul Tierney has made so many generous decisions to Manchester United’. Mitrovic and Chilwell. This ‘crumpling’ is just awful - Maguire, Ben White, Chillwell. Does Mitrovic have English ancestry?

Part Three - belatedly, predictions:

• Top 4
• Relegated teams
• First manager to leave
• Player of the season

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played their second game. Thanks to Sean, Haitham and Daz. If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter – we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters.

it’s episode 5 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz and Haitham, The countdown is on for the season - 5 days to go till we take on Fulham

Part 1 - Excited to chat about beating those entitled ‘Cityzens’ comprehensively!

• Darwin Nunez again
• Salah, Trent, Thiago
• Haaland, Phillips, Silva - what state do we think City are in?

Footnote about Strasbourg:

• Kelleher, Ramsay, Tsimikas, Keita, Chamberlain, Jones, Jota could all have expected to play in this one - instead we had a lot of youngsters out there
• Was really good to see some of the kids get a run out (Clark and Chambers for me personally) - Elliott looked sharp again.
• Bajcetic looks like he’s been playing for more than his years suggest

Part 2 - Season starts on Friday:

• How are we feeling about us? Fulham manager says they aren’t ready
• Thoughts about elsewhere - only Paul is watching Everton - Chelsea

Part 3 - Women’s Euros comes to a close:

• Germany outplayed France - It was surprising given what we saw from France against the Netherlands. Popp was the obvious difference but Oberdorf looked good
• England beat Sweden - Mead’s goal changed the game, even though the Russo back heel got all the attention. Sweden’s performance?
• And England beat Germany - fine margins indeed
  • Some of the English coverage…. Those physical Germans
• What does it mean for the future of women’s soccer?

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played their first real game. Thanks to Haitham and Daz

If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic - they are a Welsh electro-pop band - https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Thanks for joining Haitham and me, Paul, on a special edition looking at the exciting women’s Euros. 4 quarter finals finished up on Saturday:

If you haven’t watched, you’ve got 3 games left to see what you’ve been missing. The standard we think is very high - a better watch than MLS we’d say.

Review the 4 games:

Spain - England:

• Bonmati looks a talent, Del Castillo gave Rachel Daly a tough second half - could have made it 2 with the chip that Mary Earps kept out
• England looked better with Alex Greenwood and Russo as the central striker on
• Without the last 5 minutes the narrative could have been so different

France - Netherlands - reminded me of the Spain-England game

• France had an xG of 4.69 but somehow needed a penalty to win. Renard leads the tournament for attempts on goal
• Losing Katoto has been a big loss - Malard didn’t look quite as sharp. Neither did Sarr. Geyoro’s first game hattrick looks like the anomaly that her record would suggest
• Karchaoui, Cascarino and Diani have looked really dangerous at times.
• They do seem to have great depth - Bacha from Lyon looked really impressive, they were able to bring Mateo off the bench
• Van Domselaar was excellent - making multiple saves in each of the games she played in - nearly saved the penalty. And there was Van Der Graght
• Miedema may well have been affected by Covid

Germany - Austria

• At one level this game was a close as any, with Austria hitting the woodwork 3 times
• This was a great example of what can happen when a team playing out from the back comes up against a team with an excellent press.
• Lots of good performances for Germany - Popp obviously, 4 goals in 4. Klara Buhl looks good, although she probably would like that chance she missed back.

Briefly on Sweden - Belgium - 33 shots to 3, Sweden having to rely on a last minute winner from defender Sembrant. Everard from Belgium was outstanding - she was -9 for goals conceded versus expected.

Impressed by:

Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir: Iceland, Wolfsburg Club Team

Lucy Bronze: England, new Barca player coming from Shitty

Disappointed by:

Norway National Team, especially Ada Hederberg

Renard’s inability to direct headers!

Looking ahead:

• England - Sweden - goals haven’t come easily for Sweden, although Blackstinius has looked sharp to me. England seem to have a lot of ways to score (Mead, White, Russo, Heap), but they will have to be aware of Asllani, Rolfo and Blackstinius
• France - Germany - does this follow the pattern of Spain - Germany? Lattwein and Dabritz are from Lyon - don’t know what influence that will have.

If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible’. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic - they are a Welsh electro-pop band - https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Thanks for joining us on First State Kopites - it’s episode 4 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin and Daz. The countdown is on - 6 days to the Community Shield, 13 days to the season start

Part One - Liverpool leather Leipzig

• Nunez obviously
• Who else? Salah, Elliott, Carvalho, Bacjetic, Milner
• Leipzig beat Southampton days before this - they do seem predisposed to let in a lot of goals from time to time - United in the Champions League 2 years ago
• Klopp’s analysis - not there yet in terms of fitness, tactics and timing

Part Two - upcoming week:

• Man City at the King Power
  • City warmed up by beating a Mane-less Bayern at Lambeau. Haaland appeared.
• Preceded by RB Salzburg in Austria
  • Chance to see who is likely to start at Fulham

Part three - other business

• David Moore’s passing
• Transfers - Firmino rumors and Juventus
• In need of work - Chelsea and United
• Look good on the face of it - Spurs and Arsenal
• Everton - Minnesota United - ranked 268 in the world by 538
• Barcelona - is ignoring your balance sheet an option?

Random topics :

• Changes to ways in which people get tickets - what does it mean being an international fan mean?
• Euros - Haitham and I are recording a separate episode

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played two games in a weekend. Thanks to Daz and Justin.

‘If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible’. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic - they are a Welsh electro-pop band - https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Thanks for joining us on First State Kopites - it’s episode 3 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Enrique and Haitham. The countdown is on - 2 weeks to the Community Shield, 3 weeks to the season start

Part One:

Reds on tour in Thailand and Singapore

• 4-0 to Man United.
• Simon Brundish said he only watched the first 30 minutes, could have been 6-1 to Liverpool.
• Players in the last 30 minutes had been back with the squad 2 days.
• Crystal Palace game - missing some players due to ‘vaccination status’
  • Never a bad thing to see Salah scoring
• Contractual obligation tour or useful pre-season experience?
  • Bonding seems important
  • Value of seeing how big the club is
• Anyone catch your eye? Elliott, Carvahlo?
• Level of concern about injuries?
  • Jota, Alisson, Chamberlain
• Didn’t win a game in 2019 pre-season….
• Where we are right now vs. start of the Standard Chartered deal

Part Two - transfers and the Euros:

• Comings and goings
  • Most impressive signing so far? Koulibaly, Sterling
• Some pre-season games - United with a 100% record:)
• Barcelona - what is the perfect metaphor - Payday loans, drunk guy, world is ending in 2 years

Part Three:

Women’s Euros:

• England favorites?
• Holland struggles without Miedema.
• France and Spain have lost key players with ACLs

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played their one more pre-season game. Thanks to Haitham and Enrique.

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Thanks for joining us on First State Kopites - it’s episode 2 of our 4th season. I’m Paul and I am joined by Justin, Daz and Haitham.

In part 1 we talk about expectations about how we will line up for 2022-23 season.

It’s less than 4 weeks to the season opener at Fulham. We’ll talk a lot about our expectations for the season in the next few weeks, we wanted to start with an actual listener question. How do you think we will line up?

• Gomez new contract - changes for the defense?
• The midfield - Chamberlain and Keita roles
• Attack - Núñez, Carvalho, Luis Diaz, Firmino

We’ll do more on expectations for the season as we get closer.

Part 2:

• Pre-season games - Man Utd and Palace coming up, then off to Austria
  • Previous Asian tours… Sterling not willing to travel in 2015, monsoons in Hong Kong (and Coutinho fallout) in 2017.
  • July 21st and 27th friendlies against the Red Bulls
  • 3 weeks to the Community Shield
• First month is now set - early games and Monday afternoon?

Part 3 a round up of what’s happening elsewhere

• Incomings/outgoings elsewhere - what have you been impressed by and what looks less than impressive:
  • Surprise, surprise, Barcelona seem central to so much of what’s going on.
• Women’s Euros - if you’ve watched what are your highlights?
  • Holland - Sweden? Performance of France, Spain, Germany?
  • Chris Kavanagh involved in the most doubtful refereeing of the tournament - shock horror. Why are male English referees even involved?
• Liverpool Women - some new contracts, Emma Koivisto - Finnish defender - joins.
• Sepp Blatter/Platini - innocent until proven guilty

We’ll be back next week after Liverpool have played their first 2 pre-season games. Thanks to Haitham, Daz and Justin.

Music is courtesy of Hypenotic - a Welsh electro-pop band - https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic

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Welcome to the latest  edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 1 of season 4 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).   

It’s Paul joined by Sean, Daz and Haitham to preview the 2022-23 season.  

Now that we’ve seen most (all?) of the incomings and outgoings at Anfield, let’s take a look at our expectations for the season, as things look right now: 

• Salah - salary and expectations about goals
• Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvahlo, Calvin Ramsay
• Departure of Sadio Mane, Divock, and Minamino
• Harvey Elliott - #19
• Jude Bellingham

What’s happening elsewhere 

• City - Haaland, Alvarez and Phillips in, Jesus (and Sterling) out?
• Chelsea - does Todd Boehly know what he is doing? (No says Sean).
• Spurs - Richarlison and some good players (Perisic, Bissouma, Spence)
• Man Utd - this just gets better doesn’t it?

We’ll be back next week as we countdown to the Asian tour. Thanks to Haitham, Daz and Sean. If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter  - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 40 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Enrique and Haitham to review the 2021-22 season. Sean is busy today and for Daz if you are listening, we are thinking about you - looking forward to having you join us again soon.

There’ll be more to say on transfers in a few weeks - when potentially we will lose another real hero from the last 6 years, and we will have another Uruguayan striker in our team. Our goal for today to help everyone reflect on what a season it was and find the moments that brought us joy.

Your best moment of the season:

• United away, beating Atletico Madrid, Salah goals, Winning the cup finals

Worst moment:

• Champions League final, final League game, Mane leaving, other fans negative chants,

Biggest surprise:

• Quite how useless United were, games from Joel Matip, Konate’s form, Virgil’s form, Luis Diaz, Lukaku form.

Favorite player:

• Salah, Thiago, Alisson, Mane, Matip? 6 of them in the PFA team of the year -

Favorite goal:

• Thiago against Porto, Salah against City, Divock at Wolves or at Preston

Favorite game:

• FA Cup semi final, Villareal at home, United away

Funniest moment:

• Alisson mocking Pickford, Fred being brushed aside by Kounate at Old Trafford, Tsimikas penalty at the FA Cup Final

Other stuff:

• Women’s team winning Championship
• Klopp signing to 2026 - everything he says
• Everton’s terrible season
• Karius finally leaves

We’ll be back very soon with the new season, starting with some transfer stuff and then the Community Shield is in 7 weeks. Thanks to Haitham and Enrique. And indeed thanks to everyone who joined us this year - especially Sean, Daz and Justin. If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible. Our Darwin Nunes news will not be coming from Fabrizio Romano.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 39 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Sean and Daz to the Champions League final, certainly not in the way we’d hoped or expected. We may get into some season review stuff, or leave that for the real last episode after some of the dust has settled. Our goal is to help ourselves and our audience process what happened and find a positive way forward.

Champions League final

• The mess that was the Paris final in 2022
  • UEFA, the French government, the tribalism
  • Fans arriving late without tickets - what playbook are you using?
  • Memories of Hillsborough and Heysel
• The game?
  • In the end did the extra cup games get in the way?
  • It really was alternate universe stuff that we didn’t win this one (1.91 to 0.89 xG?)

The parade - 500,000 on the streets:

• This team deserves so much credit
• There will be endings - Origi is leaving, Mane may be leaving, others?
• ‘Don’t be sad’

We’ll probably be back next week with a proper season review. Thanks to Sean and Daz (and all who joined us this year - especially Haitham, Justin and Enrique) - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest  edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 38 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Sean and Daz to reflect on a slightly disappointing end to the Premier League season and then onto our preview of the Champions League final.

Premier League review:

• Wolves
• Coutinho and Gerrard

Champions League final

• The really big one - is this the changing of the guard or do Madrid have one last hurrah (several years after we thought they’d had their last hurrah)?
• Injuries and fatigue are potential challenges for us
• Team selection

We’ll be back next week after the European Cup Final with a season review. Thanks to Sean, Daz and Haitham (and all who joined us this year - especially Justin and Enrique) - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter  - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 37 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Sean and Daz to reflect on a big couple of weeks in the Premier League and a second trophy of the season as Liverpool land their 8th FA Cup. The season has just a few more steps, but there’s so much on the line.

Chronologically in the League:

• Spurs at home. A disappointing 1-1. Paul watched it in person, the first half felt like we had them on the ropes, second half, did we resort to too many hopeful crosses (30 in the game?). We are right with Jurgen on the Spurs style of football.
• Villa away - come from behind, bit chaotic, some changes that we sorted out in the end
• Southampton away - Martin Atkinson one last time - Reds come back and play some nice football with a nearly new team
• Joel Matip comes up big, Thiago, Konate, Allison - unbelievable

FA Cup Final:

• Another penalty shoot out - big victory for small margins
• Should we have had this won before penalties?

Just 2 games left - and possibly 2 trophies:

• Man City - no peril for them and it's done. It seems when there is peril, things can happen….
• Wolves at home (again) - they have been quite awful in the last month, what do we expect?
• Every year we’ve been in a League and/or FA Cup final and a European Cup Final, we’ve won the European Cup. 2019 only year we won without appearing in a domestic final

We’ll be back next week after the final league game and look ahead to the Champions League Final. Thanks to Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Recorded May 4th after the Reds make it another Champions League Final. Lots of chat between Paul, Sean Haitham and Daz about Champions League semi- finals and the premier league games we are managing around them

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 35 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Haitham and Daz to reflect on a big week in the Premier League and a tougher upcoming week with Champions League and an early kick off against the surging sportswashers United from Newcastle:

Man Utd - wasn’t this glorious?

• United tactics - they’ve got 4 defenders who can’t organize themselves, let’s add another defender to help the Reds really exploit their lack of organization
• Salah 2 goals, the Mane pass, Thiago Alcantara,
• Fans of a certain vintage can’t spend long enough dwelling on a 5-0 and 4-0 over this really poor version of Man United.
• Anyone else remember Ryan Giggs saying that United would never end up like Liverpool?

Everton - wow this was quite a grind wasn’t it?

• 17% possession, time wasting, diving, Richarlison
• Penalties, sendings off….
• Slow 1st half, pace and style changed with the DIaz and Divock introductions
• Alisson - favorite moment
• Has anyone’s view on Everton going down being a good/bad thing changed in light of yesterday’s match?
• Would it be worth looking at some of the post match chat and conspiracy theories floated by Fat Frank and the Twitter Trogs?

Coming up:

• Villareal and Unai Emery - the stats tell us that they are the least capable of the 4 teams left but Danjuma, Parejo, and Chukweze look good. Don’t they have a few too many Spurs cast offs to be truly threatening?
• Newcastle away with the early kick off. Still 1 point back from Abu Dhabi City - just 1 or 2 games where it is 0-0 in the 70th minute, please.

We’ll be back next week after the Newcastle game. Thanks to Daz and Haitham - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 34 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Paul joined by Enrique, Sean and Daz this week to reflect on our last cup week of the season, and the upcoming Premier League matches.

FA Cup - City get outplayed by the boys in Red:

• Least important of the remaining games, till it wasn’t
• Best first half performance ever?
• Fan bases couldn’t be more different - show some respect to the Hillsborough 97 and their families please

Is ESPN’s coverage getting worse?

• More time spent on Steffen’s performance than some magnificent performances from Mane, Thiago, Keita, Trent, Kounate,
• They began their coverage asking whether it was worth the risk of playing Trent at right back…..
• Chelsea to come - should Rudiger and Azplicueta be mentioned as natural targets for Athleti? Maybe Simeone is trying to move on:)

Planned to start with Benfica - it’s a weird one:

• 7 changes - some decent performances, Tsimikas, Firmino
• The high line or the failure to press the passers?
• Semi final against Villareal - Gerard Moreno update….

Coming up:

• Man Utd on Tuesday - the podcast will appear tomorrow before the game
• Everton on Sunday - gotta rotate against that toothless bunch hasn’t he?
• How much will referees play a part? Concerns about injuries.
• Minimum of 7 Leagues games and 3 cup games left, Maximum of 11 games.

For sure we’re so glad that Jurgen is a Red. and We’ll be back next week after the Everton game. Thanks to Enrique, Daz and Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 33 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

Joined by Daz and Haitham this week to reflect on a big week for our Champions League and Premier League ambitions.

Let’s start with City:

Let’s get past their dodgy ethics (NIssan, never buying one of those cars) 2-2.

Being honest we could have lost this one.

xG looked quite close, and there were City offsides that didn’t seem to be called

City were 22-0-0 when leading. Not any more

We all know how much of let down dropping points at home can be.

NBC commentary - do they want a job in Abu Dhabi?

Recap on Benfica:

Another terrible away performance

Luis Diaz

Everton in Europe

Looking ahead - Benfica and City one more time…

Other stuff:

Chelsea xG against Real Madrid, and Tuchel seems to have admitted defeat

Worst Man Utd player - Wan Bissaka or McTominay

We’ll be back next week after the City FA Cup game. Thanks to Haitham and Daz - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 32 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

Joined by Daz and Sean this week to muse on the first game in April, and look ahead to a big week for our Champions League and Premier League ambitions.

Watford - key themes:

• Reminder - December 2019, 2-0 12.30 kick off. Watford had chances - got relegated. We finished the month as World Club Champions and an ominous 4-0 at Leicester on Boxing Day.
• Disjointed?
  • I felt there was an imbalance between right and left
  • The Jota and Firmino roles - 14 goals for Jota, Firmino looking sharp
  • Press was good, passing not up to the usual levels.
• Jones, Salah:
  • Salah looked sharp in the first game against Senegal, but tired in the second. Number of touches, bad touches. Could it just be too much football? Disappointment in Intl matches? Contract negotiations?
  • Jones faltering? Becoming more a Klopp player?
• Long shots - Foster had conceded 8 in 19
• Stuart Atwell was OK, wasn’t he? And VAR!!

Looking ahead - few words on Benfica:

• Darwin Nunes? Otamendi and Vertonghen

The big one - City away:

• Going into this with a 10 game winning streak
• Team selection?
• Biggest areas of concern
• Biggest opportunities

Other stuff:

• LFC Women promoted to the Premier League
• The World Cup draw

If you are nervous about what lies ahead, you might want to take a look at Virgil’s perspective - ‘Enjoy the Ride’

We’ll be back next week after the City league game. Thanks to Daz and Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the latest edition of First State Kopites. It’s episode 31 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

Joined by Daz and Sean this week to muse on the International Break and look ahead at 9 potential games in April.

After Liverpool labored at times in the FA Cup quarter final at Nottingham Forest. A Diogo Jota put us through to a semi-final against Manchester City on Easter weekend - which I mentioned only to highlight the FA’s ability to disregard the outside world when it comes to generating revenue.

In between we’ve had the international break:

• Any highlights? USA has (almost) qualified for the Qatar world cup
• Lance Corporal America?
• A Luis Diaz gem
• How well is football working for the nation states?
• Has all that money at the top ended of the game reduced our enjoyment?

Let’s take a look at the upcoming games:

• Starts with Watford early Saturday and ends early at Newcastle
• Benfica in the Quarter Final of the Champions League
• City on successive weekends
• United and Everton at home
• Late April (if we beat Benfica) it could be Bayern at home on April 26th/27th

Risk factors:

• Trent injury?
• Other injuries and/or Covid
• Squad rotation?

We’ll be back next week after the Watford game. Thanks to Daz and Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 29 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

Hi Sean, Hi Daz, it’s been a lower excitement week after the EFL Cup win - progress in the FA Cup to the last 8 and quite a challenging League game against West Ham:

The games:

Norwich - 2-1; felt too easy until Rashica scored, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane arriving at the end had to tell Norwich that it was over.

West Ham - close in terms of xG. Watching it back, feels like we should have been comfortable in this game. Lot more reflection on:

• How unlucky West Ham were…
• How many players didn’t play as well as they could
• The deficiencies of xG - the ball that rolled around their goal line had 0.0xG
• Luis Diaz - what would a pre-season do…

Games coming up.. Inter and Brighton….

Other narratives:

• Tomkins Times - Salah foul breakdown - #onlySalah needs to play more than a game to get a foul
• Man Utd - Sean is wrong surely. Wan-Bissaka is good in the way 1980s right backs could be considered competent.
• Chelsea - is their Russian golden age over?
• Everton - Munch painting emoji

We’ll be back next week after the Brighton game. Thanks to Daz and Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 28 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

I’m Paul and I am joined by Sean and Daz. It’s February 27th, the Mighty Reds have just collected their 9th League Cup against Chelsea at Wembley. 11-10 on penalties.

• How about you put the flag up for offside?
• Joel Matip should have been the hero
• Mentality monsters - turns out we cared about this
• How obnoxious are Chelsea - f**k off with shushes, the diving and the tactical fouls?
  • Kepa! If you sub the goalie, you better win.

The Reds beat Leeds 6-0 on Wednesday to draw within 3 points of City having played the same number of games (obviously Tierney and Kavanaugh made sure it’s now 6):

• Joel scores!
• We get 2 penalties!
• Leeds looked exhausted in both halves after energetic openings
• Strangely we took a while to get into this game

Looking ahead:

• Norwich in the FA Cup on Wednesday
  • 3 games from another Wembley final
• West Ham in the late Saturday kick off
  • The push for the title resumes

Other topics:

• Response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
  • Champions League Final destination
• We are back to City’s penalty favoritism aren’t we?
• Bielsa - we will miss him, his team has been great to watch (BTW the xG against Spurs was very close, despite the scoreline).
• We haven’t lost a game with a crowd at Anfield in 4 years?

We’ll be back next week after the West Ham game. Thanks to Daz and Sean - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 27 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s Monday February 21st, Daz, Sean, Haitham and me will unpick the week that just happened and look ahead to Leeds and Chelsea in the next 6 days. 8 wins in a row now:

• 2 wins at the San Siro in a season
  • Hendo, Luis Diaz, Keita as subs
  • How dangerous did we think Internazionale were?
• Norwich - narrative about a bad 60 minutes?
  • Tsimikas, Salah, Diaz, Mane, Chamberlain really close to scoring in the first 45
  • 150 goals for #onlysalah - beyond Rush, Fowler, Owen and the Other King
  • Alisson - goal or an assist in the last 3 years
  • Luis Fernando Diaz
  • Sadio revisits 2019-20 - Sadio through the middle?
  • Thiago Alcantara - it isn’t fair to bring him off the bench is it?
  • The crowd was into this….
  • What did we think of the 4-4-2 when Thiago came on?

A word on City - what do we know, what do we hope?

• Big chances, declining xG per shot, Guardiola?

The week ahead:

• Leeds come to us after an energy sapping Sunday defeat - what do we expect?
• Chelsea - League Cup Final… final thoughts

#penaltywatch - City 7 penalties in 11 games - handall in the Arsenal - Brentford game seemed very similar. Not a mention of the fouls on Sadio.

#onlysalah - this time Jarrod Bowen has the most EPL goal contributions apart from..

We’ll be back in next week after the League Cup Final. Thanks to Sean and Daz - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 26 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of those Liverpool supporters. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and on YouTube).

It’s February 13th, Reds have just gone to Burnley and avoided a banana skin. Joined by Enrique, Daz and Sean. So how do we categorize this one:

• Fortunate to survive a scrappy performance
• OR league winning 2019-20 performance
• And let’s not forget the wind and the rain…..

On Thursday, they battered an increasingly annoying Leicester 2-0 and it could and probably should have been 5. xG 3.27 vs. 0.45 - however the eye test tells me we could easily have had 3 more - Salah of the frame of the goal, the one that hit Schmeichel’s inside leg and just failed to cross the line, and the 1 on 1.

• Luis Diaz (el Quintero Beatle?)
• Virgil (and Joel)
• Elliott above Jones in the pecking order?
• Team selection

Week ahead - Internationale and Norwich at home:

• Inter had a hard fought draw with Napoli yesterday
• Norwich predictably lost to City

Back to penalties after Salah is cleaned out against Leicester, tripped against Burnley and still no penalty:

• As our friend Simon Brundish eloquently put it, re:Leicester, ‘How the f** was that not a penalty?’
• Englands Raheem Sterling has been awarded 26 Pens from 1218 touches inside the box having dribbled into the box 298 times
• Egypts Mohamed Salah has been awarded 13 pens from 1751 touches inside the box having dribbled into the box 328 times........
• Senegals Sadio Mane has been awarded 8 pens from 1246 touches in the box and 287 dribbles into it
• Englands Jamie Vardy has 14 pens awarded from 774 touches inside the box and 136 dribbles into it
• Englands Rashford has 12 from 835 TIB and 184 Dribbles into Box

Others 1) Net Spend story from CIES Observatory. 2) #onlysalah corner - Phil Foden away goals…

We’ll be back in next week after the Norwich game.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 25 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

It’s February 6th, and the Reds beat Cardiff City 3 goals to 1 earlier today on their way to the 5th round of the FA Cup. AFCON final also happened today - Egypt and Senegal played out a tight game in Cameroon - penalty drama, Sadio is the hero:

• Hopefully Mane’s message to Mo is, now it’s time to win the Champions League together one more time

To start with:

• Luis Diaz joined us at the end of the January transfer window
• Fabio Carvalho almost did
• Today, least important game in February
  • The first half… Taki on the right nullifies 2 threats
  • Harvey Elliot
  • So many players available - how do we manage the midfield and the attack?

AFCON:

• Abiding memories
• Salah, Mane and Keita?

Looking ahead:

• 4 league games - Leicester, Burnley, Norwich and Leeds - 6 points available in the next 6 days
• 4 trophies in play… (Noted… Inter lost the Milan Derby)
• Larger than usual squad to choose from
• Norwich in the 5th round and Chelsea to come at Wembley

Reds related round up:

• Only referee who gets suspended is the one who gives us a penalty…
• Shaq to Chicago?

We’ll be back in next week after the Burnley game.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 24 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

It's Daz, Sean and Paul on January 23rd, the Reds have been to London twice in a week to reach the League Cup final and cut City’s lead in the Premier League to 9 points. Reds have a game in hand and the chance to play at the Etihad to further cut the lead.

Let's start with today - 3-1 over Crystal Palace :

• Bizarre match reporting - Lineker ‘never a penalty in a million years’ - really? Guardian described how Palace were responsible for the whole tenor of the game, making mistakes for our goals and then asserting themselves.
• Klopp - fabulous for 35 minutes and then who knows what happened. He did mention tiredness though. 7 successful presses in first 30 minutes
• Firmino offside and Jota - ‘not a suggestion of ‘he’s been clever there’

Review of the Semi Final at the Emirates:

• Jota was obviously a big part of the story
• Confirms the notion that a low block might be a better way to stop the Reds
• Arsenal really threatening for 20 minutes - well, maybe 10?
• Thomas Partey - ‘work event’ - what was Arteta thinking?

2 weeks off till Cardiff in the FA Cup. Early kick off on Sunday February 6th.

February will have a cup final, Champions League tie and a few league games. Oh and the FA Cup

Other business:

• Anyone feel sorry for Tommy, the tiredness, the injuries?
• Everton - more Toffee TV. They seem really concerned about relegation and ultimately becoming Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday.
• AFCON
• Simon Hughes - reliving the Arsenal postponement

We’ll be back in 2 weeks after the Cardiff game.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 23 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

Joined by ‘Top Reds’ Daz and Haitham. Sean is unavailable.

It’s January 16th, the Reds have just beaten Brentford at Anfield. In the end it’s a comfortable 3-0.

o Their second string goalie helps us out

o Curtis Jones - quietly, he’s become quite a player hasn’t he?

o Happy birthday Taki

o Do you think they may change their tactic of leaving Robertson with all that space?

o The narrowness of both fullbacks in the last two matches is by design, isn’t it?

Other topics:

o Covid impact on the Reds and others

o League Cup - We pick the bones out of the 0-0 against 10 men and we look ahead to Thursday

o AFCON - Salah and Mane look like they are staying in Cameroon a little longer

o Palace away next Sunday

Elsewhere,

o Rafa, Coutinho

o Liverpool F.C. Women 7 points clear at the top of WSL 2. Katie Stengle scores her first goal.

We’ll be back next week (potentially) after the Palace game.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 22 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

It’s January 9th and just beat Shrewsbury Town 4-1 with a starting 11 that included Max Woltman (who Justin says is from the Wirral), Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton and Kaide Gordon. And we have the FA to thank for that! Kaide Gordon becomes the youngest player to ever score at Anfield in an FA Cup match!

We also look at the Chelsea game from last weekend, with the benefit of more hindsight:

o Chelsea gave up control to make it chaotic

o Team was disrupted again - Matip, no Firmino,

Looking ahead:

o Carabao Cup against Arsenal

o Brentford at home

Elsewhere:

o The fume about the Reds not playing on Thursday. What is this hatred of Liverpool that seems to pervade the English football world?

o ex-Pros talking bollocks - Sean Dyche and Lampard’s 60 games a season - never happened apparently.

o Most ridiculous thing we saw this week:

• Hyping the Man City Covid 19 outbreak

• Overstating the Chelsea injury list

• Man City’s 'new' sponsors

We’ll be back next week (potentially) after the Brentford game.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 21 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

It is December 29th and we (Daz, Haitham, Justin and Paul) are joined by Mari Lewis:

• She tells us a little about how she became an LFC fan.
• Share the highs and lows of her trip to Liverpool
• Some conversation about her commentator notes

There’s no real way to dress that up the Leicester game as anything other than a kick in the pills.

• Klopp was pretty sanguine about how subpar his teams performance was. Was it “one of those?”
• xG 0.75 to 2.5 - 4 shots on target out of 21.
• The most vexing aspect is that LFC turned it back around against what might have been considered a full strength team 5 days ago but couldn’t make in roads.

Where does this leave us?:

• Can we make up 6 points on a squad that just doesn’t seem to be making any missteps? (Beasley tweeted that on City’s current form, we’d have to win 17 and draw 2 for the rest of the season just to draw level).
• Conversation turns positive when thinking about all the opportunities we still have

Other stuff

• Nice not to be able to talk about the refereeing. At least not in our game. Although how do Kavanaugh and Tierney get to work the City game together?
• As 2020 part 2 comes to a close, what have been your most memorable moments as a Reds fan?

We’ll be back in 2022 to hopefully chat about the Reds winning in style. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow Mari on Twitter at @MariCLewis. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 20 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

Happy Holidays to all our listeners and viewers. Daz, Haitham and Justin join Paul to assess the last week and then look ahead

2 draws in a week, obviously very different emotions in place for these 2..

o Spurs - fresh from a Covid outbreak… VAR, Tierney, Kane, brand new midfield. ‘This is what the premier league is about’. Could have lost this one, but maybe not with a level playing field.

o Leicester - fresh from a Covid outbreak, field a really strong team and manage to create some great chances. After the changes at half time - Diogo Jota leads the way. Brendan Rogers finally gets to experience a great Anfield night under the lights

Upcoming… away at Leicester and Chelsea with no game now on Boxing Day. If we play all of these games we will be more than half way through the league season.

Other stuff:

o Teams with zero transparency about cases - I think we are learning that this is to protect the non-vaccinated.

o Afcon and it impact on the Reds

We’ll be back after the Leicester game to hopefully chat about the Reds continuing to win. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible (not Rickie Lambert)

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 19 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). 2 wins in a week, when Covid probably had more headlines than Liverpool, but we quietly did enough to maintain our league title challenge.

Villa - the Stevie G circus, Stuart Atwell!, felt like we controlled the game (Villa - no shots on target)

Newcastle - it felt like we were taking it easy at points through that game, watching it back, it could have been 5 or more easily. Absence of Fab and Virgil probably accounts for some of that.

Then…  away at Spurs, Leicester League Cup (maybe), Leeds (Boxing Day), Leicester. If we play all of these games we will be more than half way through the league season.

Other stuff:

• Champions League draw - embarrassing third party ‘software’ glitch
• Tuchel and Chelsea - it must be hard with all those injuries

We’ll be back after the League Cup game to hopefully chat about the Reds continuing to win. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter  - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 18 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). Delighted to be joined by Daz from Baltimore with Sean, Enrique and me here in Delaware.

It’s December 8th, the Reds have had another good week:

4-1 over Everton. Klopp seemed really delighted with this win:

• It’s been a hard place to go - 1 win in 9
• Biggest win since 1982 - Rush scored 1 etc.
• How much were you impacted by last season watching this game?

A goal in Divock time at Wolves - 11 of his now 37 goals have been scored in the 83rd minute or later. Third successive outing of the Thiago, Fabinho, Henderson midfield

Finally 18 points out of 18 in the Champions League group of death.

• Milan did not look like a team that was desperate for a Champions League knockout place

Upcoming

• Stevie G returns with Villa - what are the prospects in this one
• Then it’s Newcastle at home on the 16th

Only Salah moments -

• Only Mo has played more minutes than Andy Robertson in the premier league since 2017-18.
• Only Mo has more goals and assists than…. This week it’s Emanuel Denis of Watford - 6 plus 5

We’ll be back after the Newcastle game to hopefully chat about the Reds continuing to win. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 17 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). Delighted to be joined by Daz from Baltimore with Sean and me here in Delaware.

It’s November 29th, the Reds have had a good week - another 4-0 home win, and a relatively comfortable 2-0 over Porto.

Porto - 5 wins out of 5 in the Champions League group stage:

• Team selection - Tyler Morton, Neco Williams, Salah and Mane
• Started off a bit disjointed - Porto had a couple of opportunities
• Thiago’s goal and the reason Salah played (6 UCL goals), behind Sebastian Haller

.Southampton

• Early goal, big Alisson saves, final ball, more Thiago, Robertson, Konate
• More ‘only Salah’… as he leads the Premier League in goals and assists
• Record for 2 or more goals in 17 games since the 1920s?

Big week - 2 complete programs:

• Everton - haven’t won in 6 I think
• Wolves on Saturday - they have conceded very few goals and seem to have Jimenez back. It’s been a tough away for us.

We’ll be back after the Wolves game to hopefully chat about the Reds continuing to win. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 16 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). Delighted to be joined by Justin from New York, Daz from Baltimore with me here in Delaware.

It’s November 21st, the Reds have issued their traditional beatening of Arsenal - 4-0 at Anfield yesterday. Going to send most of our time dissecting that:

Are Arsenal an easy touch for us? 32 goals scored in the last 9 games at home. Mane scored his 7th in 10 games against them and Jota now has 4 in 3.

• Slow start - first 30 felt in hindsight like a deliberate attempt to work our way into the game, get comfortable after the minor slump of West Ham and the 2nd half at Brighton. Might have turned into our best performance of the season, or is that giving too much credit to Arsenal?
• Defense with Tsimikas - offsides looked more deliberate. VVD looked good, didn’t he? And of course 2 more Trent assists - he’s a good footballer said Klopp.
• Midfield. Thiago-Fabinho looks so solid. Chamberlain - Landmark performance? Tyler Morton. Counter press was insane - Klopp.
• Attack - ‘only Salah’… Jota goal and the proper knock. Mane - not great for 35 minutes and then...

Other topics:

• Big picture - the mess that is Manchester United
• Porto - our expectations
• Southampton - what is the biggest risk?

We’ll be back after the Southampton game to hopefully chat about the Reds continuing to win. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 15 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). Delighted to be joined by Justin from New York, Haitham from Chicago and Sean and me here in Delaware.

Atletico Madrid - Instant Karma’s gonna get you

• Tactics from Atletico seemed questionable - referees and Mane
• What is this - qualified for knockout without drama?

West Ham away - wasn’t expecting this, were you?

• End of the 25 game unbeaten run - matching the 1982 team.
• Let’s get refereeing out of the way first
• Performance seemed to have a lot of errors

Home to Arsenal next week:

• How many players will we have back? Is travel still an issue? Assume no Firmino, what about Keita, Jones and Milner? What about Mane?
• Should we really have to worry about Arsenal again? - 2 points behind us, 8 games unbeaten, including 6 wins. Conceded 4 goals in those 8 matches.

International Break - time for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Dean Smith at Norwich and Conte at Spurs to work with those members of their team who aren’t playing international football. And there's Michael Edwards.

We’ll be back after the Arsenal game to hopefully chat about the Reds return to winning ways.. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 14 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). It’s October 31st - Halloween and Liverpool just played Brighton, and for the 3rd time in 5 home games, we drew. First time we lost a 2 goal lead. Today we are delighted to be joined by Andre from Redmen Germany.

Redmen Germany - Andre..

• The story of your supporters club - 2013 started;
• How are the supporters clubs in Germany connected?
• How did you become a Liverpool fan?
• Your favorite LFC memory?
• Any Bundesliga favorite team and if not, why?

Home to Brighton:

• Disappointing result obviously
• What worked well - we looked good up till the Mane disallowed goal
• Chamberlain - 5 recoveries in Brighton’s half, great pass for Mane’s goal...
• What didn’t work? ‘Body language’
• Any title prospects worries? Over the last 5 seasons, only one team had 4 or more draws at the end of the season and won it all! In 15-16, Leicester City had 12 draws.

We assess Atletico Madrid at home and West Ham away

• Hopes and concerns?

We’ll be back next week to talk the outcome of the games. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 13 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). RIP Lee Curtis

It’s October 27th, Liverpool made it to the last 8 of the EFL Cup today beating Preston 2-0. Not really gonna dwell on this one - Thanks Divi and Taki! We are going to dwell on the battering of Man Utd:

• What did Liverpool do right?
  • ‘The line hasn’t looked great at times against better opposition’ said someone..
  • Was it as simple as we are a better team?.

Are we over the endless criticism of Man Utd?

• Let’s pile on just a little more

Liverpool are more direct than previously under Klopp - Pep’s ask about what they changed? 

Upcoming Brighton at home:

• Got to touch on xG
• Graham Potter
• What are we expecting?

We’ll be back next week to talk the outcome of the game with Brighton, and a guest from Redmen in Germany. Thanks to everyone - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter  - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 12 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube). We are delighted to be joined by friends from Chicago to Baltimore.

This week we will review the Watford game:

• Missing players are going to be a big issue, we confidently claimed.
• Front 3
• How poor were Watford? Was this a bit too easy?

The Atletico Madrid match

• A dirty win said Klopp - what’s your narrative for the game?
  • We backed off and mishit more passes at the end of the first half than I’ve seen in a while
  • moments in this one seemed more significant
  • Andrew Beesley - In their previous meeting with Atleti, Liverpool had 34 shots and only scored twice; here, they scored with their first two attempts, neither of which carried an expected goal value of greater than 0.05.
• They are annoying but Atletico are quite good aren’t they?
• Alisson Becker
• The midfield
  • Naby - seized upon by the newly discredited James Pearce
  • Milner the disrupter
  • Chamberlain - is he Atleti’s kryptonite
• Fouls on Mane - not given

Catching up on Mo Salah chat - the newly discovered world’s best player

• Goals and assists since the start of 2017-18 season
• Goals from partnerships list - Salah, Rush and Hunt
• Once more, the pass and the assist against Watford

Weekend game against United:

• Should we be concerned about our defence? The line hasn’t look great at times against better opposition
• What do we expect from the Reds?
• Is this as simple as, we are so much better than them?

We’ll be back next week to talk the outcome of the game at United. Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Special edition of the First State Kopites podcast - October 15th, 2021. This is recorded in response to the news that Newcastle United have been acquired by a consortium that is 80% owned by the Saudi Arabian investment fund (PIF). We are joined by Jimmy Conrad, former US Men’s National Team player, but for this conversation, the most famous Newcastle United supporter in North America.  

We talk about: 

How he become a toon fan? ‘Enough of the Manchester United stuff’ - something we could get on board with. 

Jimmy’s feelings about the consortium takeover 

• We touch on the need for transparency in football governance
• Excitement about what the future might hold (Philipe Coutinho obviously)

Other stuff we cover: 

• Newcastle - Liverpool games and players
• That goal against Mexico

What players he played with and against that bestowed total awe on you based on their play, regardless of what you had heard about them beforehand?  

We are covering this because we believe it will have an impact on the Premier League and on Liverpool. It has the potential to change the transfer market - it may give Barcelona a lifeline…. and it was so much fun to meet Jimmy - Thank You!

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Recorded October 4, 2021. Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 10 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them (and you can find us on YouTube).

This week we are joined by some familiar voices - Daz, Haitham, Sean, Enrique and Paul.

We talk about Sir Roger Hunt - We share favorite stories we’ve heard

Champions League against Porto

• So much for ‘it will be harder than last time…’
• Some really elegant football from the Reds - Curtis Jones
• Have we reverted to 2018 again?

City in the Premier League

• What a game!
• City have a lot of talented players - can we agree that Foden might be one of them?
• Mo Salah, Mo Salah running down the wing, yes he really was, over there by the Lower Kenny
• Lots of midfield and defence chat
• Klopp said the defence dropped deeper in the first half
• First half/second half
• Big chances and xG

And now the International break - groan

• we preview Watford away - In a few words…
• Not sure what this means for missing players…

We’ll be back in 2 weeks to talk the outcome of the Watford game and the upcoming games away at Atletico Madrid and at United.

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 9 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them.

This week we are joined by Jake Lota - who leads the Toronto supporters club. And by Haitham and Daz one more time.

We talk about Jake’s story:

• The story of the Toronto supporters club
• How he became a Liverpool fan and his favorite LFC memory?

Week gone by:

Norwich - seems a while ago. Lots of bright spots - Taki and Divock

Brentford:

• Lots of reactions. Some heads lost on social media
• Klopp’s record against teams he plays twice….
• The defence, the midfield, the ability to deal with the long ball.
• Spurned chances?
• Liverpool conceded and Arlo White on NBC is describing Liverpool as shell shocked. Equalize within 5 minutes - pretty sure that’s not the definition of shell-shocked.

Week ahead:

• Porto - team selection, expectations - 5-0 and 4-1 in our last 2 visits. Feels like a much tougher test this time.
• Man City - biggest game in a long time, it has meaning and it will have crowds. We share hopes and expectations, acknowledging that City looked good at Chelsea….

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 8 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them.  

This week we are joined by Sean Costello - who recently joined the Delaware supporters group.  We talk Sean’s LFC story and then review the week just gone. 

Sean: 

• How did you become a Liverpool fan?
• Favorite LFC memories
• experience of the Delaware supporters club?

Week gone by: 

• James Milner - cameo vs. Milan and the gnarly performance vs. Palace
• Champions League is back! I
• Rating the Palace performance - less than 72 hours later.
• Only goals from corners, only by African internationals - a return to our set piece dominance
• The value of our system over signing big name stars

Week ahead: 

• Norwich - how much do we care about Pep's trophy?
• Brentford away - 5.30 kick off, could require us to be up for this one..

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Week Seven - September 13, 2021 Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 7 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Liverpool supporters in Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them. This week on Season 3 Episode 7, we are joined by Nick Coughlin - former leading light in the OLSC DC. We haven’t had the chance to talk to many guests yet in this series - really looked forward to it.

We talk Nick’s LFC story and the Supporters Club in DC.

Yesterday’s match vs Leeds - over-shadowed by the Harvey Elliott injury, but quietly a really fine performance:

• Salah, Mane and Jota…
• The midfield
• The back 5 - ‘your just a shit Kyle Walker’ - these guys really know their football
  • Joel Matip - now that he’s obviously in the top 5 center backs in the league, how can we get the NBC commentary team to say his name properly?
• Ox’s performance:()

Looking ahead -

• Champions League is back:
  • quite what to make of Milan?
  • Tough group on paper - Atletico vs. Porto
  • Rotation or no?
• Looking ahead on the refereeing front - how many more players will get injured?
  • Paul Tomkins piece on the standard of refereeing
• The Reds have got no money but we’re going to win the league.

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible and we swerve any references to the publicity hound now in Manchester..

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 6 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them. Where did you watch the game? Daz, Sean and Paul share their very different matchday watching experience.

Recorded August 30th after Chelsea came to Anfield and prevented us from making it 3 wins in 3:

• ‘When you employ Burnley tactics with better players, this can happen’ - time wasting and more
• Tactics from Liverpool - what worked, what didn’t?
• If the sending off happens with 15 to 20 minutes to go in the first half, what happens?
• Taylor gave 13 fouls to Chelsea and 4 to Liverpool (none in the second half)  BTW Chelsea twitter hates Anthony Taylor
• Lot of long shots in the second half - purposeful or no?
• Can I just complain about the bias that says Azpliacueta is being clever (when falling to the ground holding his face), and others being described as cheating?
• Chelsea - how dangerous are they?

Michael Edwards is leaving - what does this mean?

Transfers - less than 24 hours left - Sean?

Other stuff:

• Burnley - Bamford and his ‘Ju jitsu’ comment
• Ronaldo makes United stronger title contenders? Really?

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 5 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and friends of Delaware. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform, we are available on ALL of them.

It's August 22nd, the Reds won comfortably over Burnley against the backdrop of a full Anfield. Another top Reds performance this Saturday with the early kickoff. A great way to start the weekend.

• Another goal for Jota
• More great performances from Kostas, Alisson
• Mane gets going with a beautiful team goal - helping us forget that his 20-21 season ever happened
• Thoughts on the midfield?

Contrarian’s corner

• Not a top performance according to Tim Howard and Robbie Mustoe in their half time 'analysis' on NBC
• we touch on Burnley’s tactics and the interesting perspective of Sean Dyche
• Mo Salah goals still get ruled out by VAR - I thought they were dropping the lines?

Across the League:

• Chelsea look strong, Arsenal do not.
• Refereeing - seems to be widely different interpretations of what's a yellow card now

Coming up - the blue team from West London:

• This looks like a tricky one coming up next weekend
• We talk match predictions, and who will start in our midfield

Quick Round:

• Shaq is out the door to Lyon! A fond farewell to a true pro. Will Nat Phillips be next?
• Terry McDermott has dementia - the scorer of Liverpool’s first goal in a European Cup final
• Will there be any incomings in the final week of transfers?
• Andrew Devine - 97th Hillsborough victim was honored at Anfield yesterday.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 4 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and their friends. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform. Joined by Daz and Haitham to look back and then ahead at Saturday's kick off. Sean is taking a break this week.

The show gets on the road - some things we discuss:

• Reds get warmed up at Carrow Road - a comfortable win
• Tsimikas starts, the ‘greedy one season wonder’ has a goal and 2 assists, and then there's VVD (and Joel)
• Keita and Chamberlain in the same teams seemed to concern some people

Across the League - Crowds and pressing are both back, and are there now less rewards for falling over?

Coming up - a 12.30 kick off against Burnley:

• Would have been hard to get the crowd roused in normal circumstances - this might be different
• They’ve taken points from Anfield in the last 2 crowdless visits
• They lost to Brighton, but seemingly had chances to win

Some things that caught our eye this week:

• Someone finally calls out Souness about his motives for consistently criticizing Pogba
• We don't need homophobic chants from Liverpool supporters
• Sorry Sean, we are not signing Saul (says James Pearce)

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible - so no Fabrizio Romano I’m afraid.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 3 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and their friends. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform.

Today Paul and Sean welcome Daz and for the first time, Mark from the Delaware Supporters Club.

Pre-season draws to a close - we explore what we learned and what expectations it’s raised:

• Harvey Elliott, Naby lad!, and VVD
• Klopp’s demeanor and transfer comment
• Possible first 11 against Norwich
• 2 different teams that produced good performances in the final games

Chance to reflect on hopes and expectations for the new season:

• Before the first international break - 3 games (Norwich, Burnley and Chelsea)
• We face Man City home in October - a chance to relive 2019?
• Will 90 points win it?
• Injuries and crowds will play a part but I think we have a confidence that we'll be in with a shout in May

Last word on the pre-season review:

• Some outlandish predictions - what do you think?

Quick round - with some things that caught your eye this week:

• Descends into laughter - a good time was had by all

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter @firststatekopites - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible - so no Fabrizio Romano I’m afraid.

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s episode 2 of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and their friends. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform.

Pre-season week 2:

• Hertha Berlin defeat the Reds 4-3, despite the loss, many things to get excited about, and VVD is back, along with ’Joey’
• More on losing the transfer window - how concerned are you about our free spending rivals? Our starting 11 is quite amazing.....
• Are we FSG apologists?

We close the episode with some things that caught our eye this week

• RIP Andrew Devine. Justice for the 97 - and it's clear that the real number of unlawfully killed is much greater

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast. It’s the first episode of season 3 - a podcast for Liverpool supporters in Delaware and their friends. Thanks for listening on your preferred platform

Review the summer - we reflect on

• The Euros, English fans, and the robust Copa America,
• Player sales - Grujic, Taiwo, and now Wilson

Pre-season and our latest thoughts:

• Konate has played 75 minutes so far and looked good, same as Naby Keita
• Ox played in the false 9 role - neds a bit of work we think
• Elliott and Tsimikas playing with the grown ups - interesting
• Contracts are running down - James Pearce has said that Liverpool are unlikely to renew all the front 3 past 2023
• For the 4th season running Liverpool have lost the transfer window… Yawn…
• But overall, we are excited for the season to start, with plenty of amazing center backs to choose from

We close the episode with some things that caught your eye this week

Thanks to all our guests - if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend. Follow us on Twitter - we only tweet and re-tweet from sources we think are credible - so no, no Mbappe retweets

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It’s the latest edition of the First State Kopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube. Shout out to Kate from Venmore St who joined us a good crowd at Rooney’s today - May 23rd, 2021.

This is a special edition to mark the end of the 2020-21 season. Liverpool finished 3rd despite the worst defense of a title ever (thanks Roy Keane). We’ve invited back some of our favorite guests through our second season of First State Kopites:

Daz from Baltimore, Haitham from Chicago, Lingerr from San Fransisco, Enrique from Delaware

We talked about:

• Low point of the season - Covid, no fans, injuries, and VAR
• What we want to cherish from this season - Alisson Becker's goal, getting back into the Champions League and Nat Phillips

We also touched on the new kit, the ESL, Gini Wijnaldum and Mo Salah's goals

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It’s the latest edition of the First State Kopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube.

Recording May 16th, 2021, this week we have a Delaware Valley flavor to the podcast - joined by Lou from Philadelphia. Going to spend some time talking about the Philadelphia supporters club and then branch out into this week’s games and take a view of what we think is going to happen this season.

First  up, noticeable crowd at Catherine Rooney’s today - joined by Kieran Hardy aka the Liverpool Suit who is fund raising for Sean Cox. Donations can be made at - https://www.gofundme.com/f/running-a-marathon-for-sean-cox?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer.

Welcome to Lou from Philadelphia:

• What is the story of the Philadelphia supporters club?
• Favorite Reds memory

This week for the Reds:

• Great win at The Theater of Dreams (barff)
• And today, when it seem that the annoying Big Sam had got one over on us, up steps that obvious target from a corner - Alisson Becker

Looking ahead:

• Top 4 still a possibility, but you just don't feel like it will be straightforward

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It’s the latest edition of the First State Kopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube.  Recording May 9th, 2021, Paul is joined by virtual pod regulars Haitham from Chicago and Daz from Baltimore. Recorded Mother’s Day, when Sean was being a model father by celebrating Mother’s Day with his wife and kids.  

This week: 

• Play as badly as we have in a while and suddenly we win one that we probably shouldn’t (hasn’t happened often this season)
• Thiago, door is closed, we have a small window - is it a mistake to be sucked back into the hope?
• Who gave you hope on Saturday? Phillips. Ali?

Big picture - hopes and expectations about the future: 

• The rest of the season - 4 games, and what do we expect from next season
• Big anniversaries last week - 1974 2nd FA Cup win, Barca 2019
• The future of football - Gary Neville backlash?

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It’s the latest edition of the First State Kopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube. Recorded May 4th, 2021 - 47 years since the Reds beat Newcastle United to win their 2nd FA Cup.

Tim has rejoined Sean and Paul as we turn our attention to some developments in Germany -

We chat about the non-happening United game and the fan protest about the Glazers:

• Many column inches, most of them seemingly quite favorable towards the protests - some seem to be specifically excusing the behaviors as justified.
• We discuss calls for solidarity among football fans, Gary Neville (again), and how much anti-American feeling is out there?

Looking to the Bundesliga:

• The impact of Bayern and the seeming lack of competitiveness
• Changes at RB Leipzig…. Nagelsmann, Jessie Marsh, Upamecano and potentially Ibrahima Konate to Anfield?
• Tim helps us navigate the 50+1 ownership rules - we note that despite this, 30% of recent revenue growth in the league has gone to Dortmund and Bayern.

Elsewhere in LIverpool related news -

• FA Youth Cup - James Balagizi, Billy Koumetio and the Polish Messi - Matuesz Musialowski
• Jurgen - Red Sox cap - how much do we want to read into that?
• Harry Wilson hat trick for Cardiff this weekend… what does the future hold?

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Here's the latest edition of the #FirstStateKopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube

This week, we are joined by Daz and Enrique. Recording this after the Newcastle game on April 24th, 2021. Newcastle game - Our finishing - ARRRGGGGHHH Player review - standouts, needs a break

Super League:

o Now that we’ve saved football, how can we really fix it?

o How many teams actually try to win?

o The reality of the skew of haves and have nots

o Nostalgia for a time when ‘anyone’ could win the league.

o The bloated champions league - thanks UEFA How many of the teams protesting the Super League would have signed up if asked?

How many agendas have been on show this last week - Sky Sports, Arsenal fans, Pep and competiion How much hypocrisy has been spouted in the last 7 days? Fan ownership, what does good ownership look like? What qualifies as good owners?

Perez - ‘Maybe we could have done better communications” ya think?

Where is the room for good ideas in the world of social media? This collective seems to be fighting to save a current model (which has morphed over 30 years) which is heavily skewed towards clubs owned by very rich people. Hysteria about the league pyramid - reality is City would won it 4 times in a row if our magnificent team hadn’t been so brilliant last year

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Welcome to the #FirstStateKopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or on YouTube  

Welcome to the latest edition. We are joined by Haitham and Justin. Recording this after the Leeds United game on April 19th, 2021.  In a week, where on the field the Reds served up a decent performance last Wednesday night, which wasn’t enough to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and after the draw at Leeds United today we have just 6 matches left to finish in the Top 4. It is probably off the field that is currently grabbing most of the headlines - so yes we devote some time to the European Super League.  

In the review of the games, we assess where Liverpool are right now. Whose stock is rising and is there anyone who is going backwards?  Then onto the big news of yesterday’s announcement of the European Super League - we try to understand what’s going on and assess the outcry it has generated. And share our own views of the proposals (as far as we understand them).  

It was also the 32nd anniversary of the Hillsborough last week, and the news broke that the families have decided to shut down the family support group.

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Recorded April 11th, 2020, we welcome Timucin Uras from American Scouser, which is a website for Liverpool fans across North America - they also have a podcast which we'd recommend. We talk about the origin of American Scouser and its future plans - www.americanscouser.com. If you are interested in contributing to American Scouser, please get in touch with Timucin.  

We also do some reflection on the 3 games that we’ve played since the last episode - mixed bag for sure. o   Arsenal - does this performance get devalued in the light of the Madrid match? o    Madrid - to what extent has the first half cost us? We talk about Madrid's tactics o    2-1 over Villa, how much of a psychological victory was this? o    3 goals in 3 for Mo, Jota - last 2 performances, reverting to mean?  

And we finish with our hopes and expectations for the return game with Real at Anfield.

FirstStateKopites

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Welcome to the First State Kopites podcast - a podcast for Liverpool fans in Delaware and friends of Liverpool fans in Delaware. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or YouTube. Please like us on Apple Podcasts if you like the show - it helps promote the show. 

This episode was recorded April 1, 2021, and it is the first annual celebration of the podcast. Welcome back to the original cast - Charlie, Tim and Sean  We are reviewing some big themes from the year: 

If ever we needed regular reminders of how magnificent this teamed this coach is, this coach , how special the club and the fans, we've had them through the year of #FirstStateKopites podcast. Here we are reminded of supporters from across the US and other parts of the world, and some of the wonderful people who have written about the team, the City and its history.  There's also some fantastic reflections on the pandemic and as football supporters what did we learn from the experience.

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FirstStateKopites podcast is for Liverpool supporters associated with Delaware - either by place or through the people you know.

Recorded March 24th, 2021 in the middle of a 19 day break for the Reds. Daz joins Sean and Paul to offer a perspective on recent games, the upcoming Real Madrid clash and the ongoing work of the Tomkins Times that is highlighting some remarkable biases in the decision making of Premier League referees. 

We touch on the echo chamber of TV commentary and punditry that seems only interested in normalizing the decision making of the officials and perpetuating the illusion that lockdown football is the same as football with crowds.

OLSC302

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The formerly named LFC Delaware podcast is now #FirstStateKopites​ - we welcome back Roddy McOwan from Las Vegas from S2 Ep 4.  

This week we remember Ian St John who passed away this week, King Kenny who was 70 this week, and Steven Gerrard and Rangers Scottish Premier League title (and the implications for the Reds).  

Finally, we look at how we should be processing the current Scotland team captain and his team's performance. Lots of great perspective on how we should look at this - let's take a serious look when Anfield is full is the conclusion.  

YNWA​ #TellUsNever​ #OLSC302​ #OLSCFamily​

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We begin with a quick review - RIP Alisson Becker's Dad, for referees in the EPL another bad weekend, and the Reds get a win

Big pivot... Justin, Haitham, Daz, Sean and Paul talk about the ideal trip to Liverpool when, ideally in 2022, we get the chance to visit Anfield and watch Liverpool. Which game, when to visit, match going rituals and other fun things to do in the City.

FirstStateKopites #OLSC302

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February 21st, 2021, with Liverpool on a poor run in the Premier League, we go back to the 2019-20 season to look at what was so great about the Champions, and to put in context everything that has happened this season.

Andrew Beasley, contributor to the Liverpool Echo and the Tompkins Times, and author of 'From 18 to 19', joins Sean and Paul to reflect on some real insights from the book, and to help us understand what has happened this season. He also appeared on Episode 20 in season 1.

The book is available on Amazon - https://smile.amazon.com/18-19-Numbers-Behind-Liverpools/dp/B08KWSBBYY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=andrew+beasley+from+18+to+19&qid=1613942431&sr=8-1

FirstStateKopites #OLSCFamily

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It's February 13th, Liverpool played really well for 75 minutes at Leicester today and then all sorts of unfavorable things happened to the Champions. We are excited to have original podcasters Charlie and Tim join us again with Daz and Paul to help us come to terms with the Reds recent form, reviewing the Leicester game, and the a deeper dive into what's going with the Reds. How are we to assess what's more farcical, the referees or the injuries, asks Charlie. 

Tim helps us understand what we might face against RB Leipzig on Tuesday and then early in March. He thinks the games might be really close, Charlie predicts 5-3. Excited to review the game with the boys.

Before we meet again, come on you mighty Reds!

YNWA #FirstStateKopites #itsgoodtobefirst

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FirstStateKopites on February 7th, 2021 after the Reds have lost 2 games at home in a week. This was unimaginable 6 months ago, but the setbacks have gradually started to have their impact - the injuries (no VVD for 26 games now), the absence of fans and the weird decisions that have characterized 2020-21.

We look ahead hoping that the week ahead will allow for some reflection and some work on tactics and new center backs - Haitham, Ryan, Sean and Paul are hoping for Champions League qualification and maybe some Champions League glory.  

OLSC302 #ItsGoodToBeFirst

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It's the first of February and on the back of 2 big wins in the capital, the Mighty Liverpool appear to be flying again. #FirstStateKopites has Daz, Sean and Paul having a lovely chat about the Reds and what's gone so well.  

We talk about what was so enjoyable about the Liverpool performances and goals in the games against Spurs and West Ham United. Trent and Bobby were awesome at Spurs, and Nat Phillips and Mo Salah were excellent against West Ham, and overall there were 2 really good team performances against the team that were in 5th place when we played them. Oh and then there was that fantastic counter attack goal....

The show closes with a discussion on new signings Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak. Interesting debate about where and when they will get their debut give the big month we have coming up - City, Leicester, Leipzig, and Everton, after this week's game against Brighton.  

ynwa #OLSC302 #itsgoodtobefirst #tellusnever

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January 24th 2020 Enrique from OLSC Delaware plus Sean and Paul talk over the game at Old Trafford. There were definitely bright spots, just need that to translate into form in the weeks and months ahead.  

Looking for themes: 

• Our xG suggests that we should have scored 6.6 goals in the last 4 games, when actual goals has been zero. Can we get back to exceeding xG?
• The low block has been a challenge, although many factors seem to have made the low block harder - teams are not trying as hard to press us, they are chewing up the clock on stoppages in play, and the absence of a crowd has made that easier (why are the TV companies panning away from the play so readily when our opponents have a throw in? They know that have at least 20 seconds to fill....
• The issue of another genre half has polarized opinion amongst fans - Sean and Enrique make the case for bringing in an experienced center back for under $25 million pounds. Paul is looking forward to the transfer window closing.  For the coming week, come on your reds!

FirstStateKopites #ItsGoodToBeFirst #OLSC302 #USAKop

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It's January 17th, 2020, Liverpool drew 0-0 with Man Utd earlier today.   We talk about Justin's support for the Reds and the first supporters club in North America. He's on the LFC NY board and he's a contributor to Anfield Index. We talk about the supporters club and what they've been doing during the pandemic. Shout out for Food Bank donations as we celebrate Martin Luther King and the day of service.  

We talk about today's performance, and where there was room for improvement. Another of those games where we have most of the ball and somehow get called for more than twice a many fouls as the opposition.   

FirstStateKopites #LFCNY #USAKop #itsgoodtobefirst

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Recorded January 10th, 2021, after Liverpool got back to winning ways against Aston Villa's youth team. We look at what's been happening with the Champions and seek out some solutions going forward.  

Ben, Sean, Daz and Haitham help Paul figure out how significant some of this season's refereeing fails have been for the Reds - taking in the recent Michael Oliver comments where he confirms that Jordan Pickford should have been sent off in the Merseyside Derby.  

Quick take on the season continuing in the light of the rise in Covid cases, before circling back to our hopes and expectations in the Man United game next weekend.  

FirstStateKopites #YNWA #OLSCFamily #itsgoodtobefirst

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Recorded January 3rd, 2021, joined by Lingerr, Haitham and Daz. On the day when we lost Gerry Marsden, singer of the club's anthem - RIP Gerry.

We touch on the last game of the year, and of some the reaction on social media. Although it was hard not to reference the cameo from Thiago.

We detour into penalties and question whether VAR is actually the handicapping system that the Premier League are using to keep the race tight this year, and therefore maintain a level of interest. How do Leicester have 10 penalties and we only have 5? We'd like to propose that teams that have hippity-hoppity penalty takers are denied any penalties..

Champions of England was clearly a highlight of 2020, albeit one celebrated without fans. Hendo, Robbo and Keita all get a mention - you'll have to listen to hear the conclusions.

We have an interesting chat about Twitter, the Leeds Utd Twitter account and wonder whether the absence of social interaction is driving so much that's extreme on the platform. Either way no space for misogyny or racism.

Finish with some thoughts about aspirations for 2021 - let's get back to being the best team in the world, shall we? I think we all had a good time recording this one, hope you enjoy it too! #FirstStateKopites #OLSCFamily #YNWA #itsgoodtobefirst

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FirstStateKopites end of year edition. Haitham and Daz join Paul to reflect on the highs and lows from Palace to West Brom. Rollercoaster sounds such a cliche, so we will say that the Palace second half created an illusion of 'we're back', West Brom was like a 3 act play where we went from that back to the worst of the Fulham self-doubt.

Anxiety in the stadium, VAR MIA, Mane being wrestled for 90 minutes and the impact of the Matip injury are all mitigating factors. Still, as much as we can talk about this as exciting and a throwback season with so many in contention, we really wanted to see daylight at the top don't we?  

We finish by chatting about what happens next - Covid cases are rising. Wouldn't it have been great if the Premier League had a plan, but in their haste to make the season seem normal (when it's obviously not) they've left themselves with limited room for maneuver.  

In all the upcoming games we manage to play - come on you Mighty Reds!  

Wishing you a happy 2021 everyone. 

YNWA #ItsGoodToBeFirst #OLSC302

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Recorded on December 20th, 2020 after Liverpool beat Crystal Palace by 7 (seven) goals to nil. 

Sean and Paul are joined by Wes Young, son of a former professional footballer and huge Red. Wes talks about his Liverpool journey, the difficult 90s, the joy of the Houllier years and the absolute ecstasy of the Klopp years.   Wes shares his Club World Cup Final experience, the joy of being at Anfield, and how much of a miss that is right now.  

The Palace game - great performances and goals all over the place - not enough time to acknowledge every positive. Not everyone got a name check because 7 different players had an assist. We've gone from a poor performance at Fulham to rediscovering the heights in a week and we are 4 points clear!  

And we didn't even talk about 'the best team', VAR and not too much on injuries.  

The Reds are on a roll - great time to be following these boys. 

FirstStateKopites #ItsGoodToBeFirst #TellUsNever #OLSCFamily #USAKop

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Recorded December 17th, 2020. Special edition  to review the victory over Tottenham Hotspur and all that its entails (VAR, Harry Kane and our magnificent academy players), and marking the passing of Gerard Houllier, a card carrying member of the magnificent 7 of Liverpool managers from Shankly to Klopp.  We reference the many tributes to Gerard Houllier.  From Jessie Marsh to the players who loved him, and finally read the Simon Hughes piece in the Athletic, if you need  complete view of his contribution to our club - trophies, mentality and fitness.  

On to last night - so many heroes for the Reds - special shout out to Curtis (check out Barney Ronay's piece in the Guardian) and Rhys. From Trent's nutmeg to Bobby's 60 yard run, it's a great time to be a Liverpool fan. Inspired by some antics from Spurs, we delve into the 'best team lost' commentary - if I was Jose, I'd be very keen to gloss over the 24% possession stat. We propose a reason why Harry Kane missed a close range header - no, it wasn't concussion.  

More on VAR and the lack of consistency in officiating (yes you referee from a city 35 miles away). We conclude with a celebration of our FIFA awards and look ahead to Liverpool getting the away game nonsense stat out of the way. Haitham helps us understand why City are not the team they once were.....  #FirstStateKopites #ItsGoodToBeFirst #TellUsNever

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Recorded December 13, 2020. Good friends of the #FirstStateKopites podcast, Hatitham, Ben and Daz join Sean and Paul to recap the week of 1--1 draws with Mijdttland and Fulham. As you might expect, lots of chatter about team selection, injuries and fitness levels. 

We will be working on a special edition 'Positivity of Ben' episode before the end of the season. In the interim, Ben brings us back to the reality that the Reds are still top of the league, and they have some great players coming back soon. And that Curtis Jones is now officially one of this collection of great players - so close to being an absolute hero today at Fulham. Taki and Neco get an honorable mention from today as well. 

Big week coming up - total focus on the Premier League - 2 wins vs. Spurs and Palace would make a big difference in how we approach the Festive Fixtures. Conclude with the thought that the 2000 Scousers on Wednesday might be sufficiently lubricated to make it a loud and beautiful evening. #TellUsNever #OLSC302 #ItsGoodToBeFirst #OLSCFamily

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Recorded December 7th, 2020, the day after Liverpool beat Wolverhampton Wanderers by 4 goals to nil to stay level on points with Spurs at the top of the Premier League. Today Sean and Paul are joined by Craig Hannan. A wide ranging discussion of what's going on at the Anfield Wrap, and as head of marketing at TAW, Craig is well positioned to talk about Liverpool's brand and the influence that Jurgen Klopp has had on the brand.

Of course we talk about this team and the performance against Wolves. Trent's sublime pass, Gini looking like he was playing for Netherlands, and the boy Kelleher done good. The team looked like it came straight from vintage 2019-20 to play this one.  We finish by talking about what happens going forward - with some players returning and Europe effectively managed until February. The Spurs game looms large on the near future. Craig forecasts that this Premier League will go down to the wire.

The most significant thing about the weekend may have been the return of fans - especially the 1500 that were on the Kop. The marvelous reaction to the players taking a knee. And we learned that we'd been sharing Craig's photo this weekend - the message that talked about leaving racism where it belongs - in the past.

FirstStateKopites #TheAnfieldWrap #ItsGoodToBeFirst #TellUsNever

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Recorded November 29th, after Liverpool's 1-1 draw at Brighton. Earlier in the week, we had a very rare home defeat against Atalanta. Upcoming we have Ajax and Wolves (the latter coming after an almost luxurious 5 days between games).

Sean and Paul are joined this week by Daz and Haitham to discuss the performances and what we can read into them. Of course we talk about some of the other headline grabbing stuff - how Jurgen Klopp's comments seem to have been misread, and the limited consideration given to the sports science behind the injuries affecting all of the teams who have been playing twice a week since the Champions League restarted - especially from ex-players who played the game in a different era.

And of course VAR officiating gets an another unfortunate mention. We also talk about the value of shoe throwing.

The injury situation seems to get worse by the game - at this point more players are going down than are returning. A result against Ajax would at least allow Klopp to field a weaker team against Mjitlland the following week, although it will be limited by injuries and the players who were named to the Champions League squad (e.g. Nat Phillips isn't named in that squad).

FirstStateKopites #ItsGoodToBeFirst #OLSCFamily #OLSC302

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Recorded November 23rd, 2020 after Liverpool has beaten Leicester City by 3-0 in a classic performance to break the club record for games undefeated at Anfield - now stands at 64.  

We are delighted to have Alisha and Nader join us to talk about the exciting news that The Anfield Shop has become the first North American commercial partner for LFC. Well done #TheAnfieldShop.  

We talk about the great take aways from the victory over Leicester. Going into the game the narrative was about the deleted Liverpool team - without as a minimum a striker, a midfielder and a defender that are in the conversation for being the best player in the world in their position. No matter, the Reds exhibited the #NeverGiveUp mentality and produced a wonderful team performance - James Milner, Joel Matip, Diogo Jota, Bobby Firmino, Andy Robertson, Naby Keita and Curtis Jones all get a mention. Although to be clear, Fabinho, Mane, Wijnaldum and Allison all made contributions too.  

We chat about the upcoming fixtures, and won't have to find out how wrong we've been this time about team selections. We are thinking Salah definitely plays against Atalanta.  

Finishing off with the usual one thing you noticed - the potential for crowds back in stadiums and Klopp interview for Sky about the schedule being edited for the UK audience..  

FirstStateKopites #ItsGoodToBeFirst #OLSC302 #OLSCFamily

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Recorded November 15th, 2020 - we originally had no plans to record because it was the international break and what could possibly happen... Paul is joined by Haitham, Ben and Daz to pick through the impact of Covid-19, the internationals and the seemingly never ending news about injuries. 

We begin with some great reflections on Ray Clemence who passed today - one of the players that took us to the heights of European greatness. RIP.

Lots of perspectives on internationals - ranging from irrelevance to how much some of this games might matter to some of the players (e.g. Andrew Robertson). Not wanting to jinx anything, we won't mention any other players here, but we wouldn't be surprised if we see more injuries the way this season is shaping up.  

Turns out that we had a lot of fun with the bad news and somehow we detour into penalties, Ramos misses and a failed panenka that resulted in a wonderful Leicester supporter song - 'Totally shit from the start'.   Roll on Sunday, optimism abounds. Let's go Reds.  

FirsStateKopites #OLSC302 #OLSCFamily

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Recorded November 15th, 2020 Sean and Paul are joined this week by Imani Williams - occasional contributor to The Anfield Wrap and many other LFC podcasts. OLSC Austin is her supporters club - we loved the idea of a singing section at the pub. Imani has been a Liverpool fan since high school, and she shares her experience of a great European night in Madrid (no, not that one).   

he Flat Iron gets a name check, as does Hat Scarf or a Badge #HSOAB 

We touch on the current crisis that the Mighty Reds face in the short and medium term. Imani encourages us to get behind Gareth Roberts' message -  'Just Win'  

We close with a conversation about the potential of the current US Men's national team. Imani is a leading light in the American Outlaws and is very optimistic about the team's future. Look out for their watch parties while we are not able to crowd into stadiums.  

FirstStateKopites #AmericanOutlaws #OLSC302 #OLSCFamily

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This week - November 8th, 2020, we have special guest Haitham from Chicago, Daz from Baltimore and our own Enrique Jackson. Great opportunity to talk at length about the City game. The importance of Allison, the effectiveness of Joel Matip, and the roles of Gini, Bobby and Diogo Jota in this performance and beyond. Some conversation about the formation, was it 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 or some combination in between?  

We detour into some more bizarre VAR based refereeing decisions.  

Then we get to the excitement of seeing Thiago and Fabinho return after the international break. And what's the right call for lining up against Leicester, Atalanta and Brighton when we return? Hoping as few international games to happen in the break so that some players get a chance to recover.  We finish with some great shout outs to Liverpool Women, Atalanta, Marcus Rashford, and Harvey Elliott.  

YNWA #OLSCFamily #TellUsNever #ItsGood2BeFirst #TellUsNever #OLSC302

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Recorded after Liverpool beat West Ham at Anfield to equal the 63 game unbeaten record of the 1979-81 vintage - Klopp's teams have lost 4 games in 5 years at Anfield - It is officially a Fortress!

This week Sean and Paul are joined by Lingerr from San Francisco, Ben from Des Moines and Daz from Baltimore. We talk about where you can see the game in our respective cities - Keyzar Pub San Fran - Key Brewing Baltimore - Royal Mile - Des Moines. Ben also shared a great cause that they are supporting - Genesis Youth - you can find more on olscdelaware.org

For a team that is top of the league, and has maximum points in their Champions League group, they sure seem to be attracting some negativity. We talk extensively about recent performances and the incredible mentality of this team that has now won 12 games at home in a row, when they've been 1-0 down. Given our injury situation, Ben argues that we are better than FIFA career mode.

Many shoutouts this week - Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams, Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri to name a few. Challenging week upcoming but our mentality gives us confidence that we can be successful. And big shoutout to Marcus Rashford from our arch rivals - I think most Liverpool supporters can get on board with the idea that childhood hunger shouldn't be happening.

We also have a really interesting conversation about what official shirts it's OK for fans in North America work - colors, retro kits, numbers, patches - we learned a lot...

One last thing detours into a - you have to Vote. If you live in the USA, it's a civic duty, not just this year but every time that an election tales place #getoutthevote - it's what allows us the freedoms that we have (including the ability to watch football).

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FirstStateKopites has a new format with guests Daz, from OLSC Baltimore and Ben for OLSC Des Moines. Although we should say, these are our own opinions - not those of Liverpool FC..

This week, we cover the last 8 days and look ahead another 7 days - some highlights...

• Ben offers the optimistic perspective on VVD being out for months - we can buy in to that.
• Daz offers the upside of Alisson Becker being in goal - essentially, he's not a Labrador puppy
• Ancelotti's comment that 'to lose a player like Digne for three games is not fair' got a bit of a reaction from the team today. Does that mean losing your best defender for 6 months is fair?
• We talked a lot about 4-2-3-1 and the challenges of that formation first time around, and the potential it offers in the future with Thiago, Matip and Keita available.
• It will be different going forward without VVD, need to win more second balls if we don't win the same number of open headers.
• Two wins in the next week would set us up perfectly for the Atalanta UCL game and then Man City away.

Big thank you to Tim and Charlie for helping us develop the podcast to where it got to today. Hope to see them on future episodes. Going forward we will definitely be lacking on several perspectives - Bundesliga, being in Madrid and the view from south east pennsylvania - #YNWA.

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While we are members of the Official Liverpool Supporters Club of Delaware, this is an independent view of our great club and how fans experience this great team.

Today, Chris Perkins - author of 'Let's Talk About Six' joins us to talk about the book and many other facets of supporting this great club. The book is one of our recommendations. We talk about his first experiences of seeing the Reds - Kenny, John Barnes, they are part of the Mighty Reds narrative. Fast forward to Barcelona at home in 2019, we don't get tired of hearing this story... sounds like many people in the ground missed the 'Corner Taken Quickly'. We talk about 2019-20 and the way we all processed the season and what moments we were able to remember.

Chris suggested the 2019-20 was an anticlimax with the absence of fans and watching us win the league in absentia. I think we were able to balance the conversation and realize that many of the previous league winning triumphs didn't necessarily have a high point, it was more often than not about a moment or a series of moments. In this season, the Mo Salah goal to close out the Man United home game was at least on of those moments in 2019-20. It's unbelievable that we are able to connect to people around the world (mostly Liverpool) that share our passion and we are able to have such great conversations. #YNWA #OLSC302 #LetsTalkAboutSix

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We welcome Richie from https://www.kopiteklobber.com and Damian Kavanagh, #TheAnfieldWrap contributor. Lots of content in this one. Richie and Damian, survivors of Hillsborough, talk to us about the last 32 years, the trauma of the event and the trauma of the truth being suppressed for 23 years. Damian talks about the achievement of truth in his lifetime being a huge victory. We talk about the uniqueness of the City of Liverpool and the lack of identification with England that has a long history, but has been exacerbated by Hillsborough.

We recommend Phil Scraton's 'The Truth' and Kevin Sampson's 'Hillsborough Voices' as a way to learn more - see links at at the bottom of this.

We also talked about Richie and Damian's early memories of watching the Reds - check out David Fairclough's goal against Everton in 1976. And we round it out with a short reflection of the best Liverpool team ever - listen on to discover which Liverpool 11 that is.

https://www.amazon.com/Hillsborough-Truth-Phil-Scraton/dp/1910948012/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/138-2676148-9080840?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1910948012&pd_rd_r=4e685130-8bd2-4d5f-9200-89e6470fc66b&pd_rd_w=vz8wY&pd_rd_wg=o8RFH&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=FJMDVPTWHZWT750S33KM&psc=1&refRID=FJMDVPTWHZWT750S33KM

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0091955629/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Recorded October 7th, 2020, Tim, Charlie and Paul are joined by Roddy from Las Vegas and Haitham from Chicago Supporters Club to dissect the Reds disappointing loss at Villa. If you are in need of some positive vibes after that difficult experience, I think you can find them here. We look ahead to the Derby against Everton. I think we all believe that there will be a reaction, not to mention the presence of Hendo, Thiago and Sadio Mane.

We touch on the refereeing performance of Martin Atkinson, and reference the excellent piece by Paul Tomkins in the Tomkins Times that breaks down the statistical anomalies of Atkinson's refereeing in Liverpool games. 1 penalty awarded in the last 23 matches. We suggest you check it out - https://tomkinstimes.com/2020/10/martin-atkinsons-bias-against-liverpool-its-in-the-stats-and-anecdotes/ 

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So in this really fun episode, we talk to another Supporters Club leader. This time it's Roddy McOwan of the Las Vegas branch.  He shares his journey from Edinburgh, Scotland to Las Vegas via Liverpool. We detour into fast food, and reference the time when the Kop was sponsored by McDonalds. He shares the things that made him fall in love with our great club (Kevin Keegan and cross bars are part of the story). We go on to talk about the creation and growth of the Supporters Club - from a couple of folks watching the game together to Official status and hundreds of people watching the game together. We finish with the audio from the OLSC #ThisMeansMoreChallenge weekend - you can find the video at https://youtu.be/M5Oy5Q2Tj2I

Haitham Gasim, our friend from the Chicago Supporters Club also joins us, and contributes to the merriment! 

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FirstStateKopites bring you this weeks podcast on #InternationalPodcastDay.

We share our excitement about the Jota signing, the wonderful wins at Chelsea and Lincoln and at home to Arsenal.  Hard to disagree with #TheAnfieldWrap that this is one of the best performances in the Klopp era - and that is remarkable given how many great performances this team have given.  The lazy punditry that called any aspect of this sloppy at best misunderstands how the Reds play with a high press and a high line and a value of 'our identity is intensity'. So many great performances hard to ignore anyone, but Mane was especially driven in the Arsenal game. 

9 points from 9 - not saying we are going to get 90+ points, but beating 2 of the 'big 6' in your first 3 games suggests they are committed to the same pace again.

Next up is Villa and Ross Barkley again. Villa have a 100% record but they haven't faced a team with any points yet. Sunday might be quite different.

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Recorded September 27th, 2020. We are delighted to have Peter Hooton on the podcast. The chat ranges from Bill Shankly to Sadio Mane and from Joe Strummer of the Clash to Eric Cantona. We name check Wade Smith, Geoff Twentyman (an important figure in Liverpool's successful history) and Big Audio Dynamite. Of course we mention his band, the Farm.

Peter is the author of 'The Boot Room Boys' - based around a series of rare photos of the boot room and the wider Liverpool FC story. This includes the Paisley/Emlyn Hughes photo that was used for the Paisley statue now outside Anfield. Emlyn also shows up in Peter's best Liverpool 11. He offers some insight into how Liverpool fell off their perch (maybe earlier than is generally acknowledged.  The rediscovery of Northern Soul is partly responsible for our resurgence.

He also talks about Spirit of Shankly and the challenging Hicks and Gillette years. And shares insights around Paul Rice that were new to us.

Along the way we get to reference 3/4 time and the bizarre UK licensing laws that sustained through the 70s and 80s.

LoveSeeNoColor #YNWA #WadeSmithLiverpool #TheFarm #TheBootRoomBoys

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Check out the new logo, and subscribe to #FirstStateReds podcast if you haven't already.  

Charlie, Sean, Tim and Paul welcome our good friend Daz from OLSC Baltimore.   On this week's edition we talk Thiago Alcantra, who finally signs for the Mighty Reds for a mere 5GBP a year. It appears that we actually have a player who could be an upgrade on this magnificent team. In the course of the conversation, he appeared to get better and better, demonstrating how good Liverpool are right now at improving players.   Tim is the dissenting voice, as a follower of RB Leipzig, it will take him a little time to order a replica kit with #6 on the back.  

We spend a little time examining the Leeds result. Some concerns about the performance levels of a few players - still seemingly stuck in the project restart mode. In contrast there is Mo Salah, focused and firing - he seems to have decide to show everyone how wrong they were not to have him as a fixture in the PFA team of the year - he's definitely got votes coming his way from Leeds Utd Players after that performance.  

Few words on our aspirations for the Chelsea game at the weekend - come on boys, let's show them who the champions are.

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Tim, Charlie and Paul are joined by Talia to about Talia's Liverpool story. 

First up we celebrate the holiday weekend and #ThisMeansMoreChallenge​ organized by #LFCFoundation​. Talia provided the wonderful music to accompany the collage of photos.  We talk Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, the leadership example of James Milner and our welcoming Supporters Club here in Delaware.  After Paul forgets to ask, Tim asks the really important questions about Talia's music and how she put the music together for this video. The Bigger cause we were supporting #FoodBankofDelaware​, and the activities that happened this weekend.

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This week we hear from Keith Salmon, scouser, author, father and Kop Season ticket holder. 

His Liverpool story has taken him from an empty Anfield watching reserve team games, to watching the best team in the world. Many tragedies and life experiences along the way - Istanbul, Heysel, Hillsborough.    He leaves us with a serious message about the importance of getting professional help deal with tragedy and grief. #YNWA #FirstStateKopites

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We are excited to have Cathy Long join us this week - August 23rd, 2020. 

She's a scouser, season ticket holder, activist and innovator around fan experience. We especially loved her European Cup Final experience from Madrid in 2019. Thank you for joining us! #YNWA You may recognize her as a regular contributor to @TheAnfield Wrap.  She also appeared on the NBC Sports show 'In the shadow of the Kop' https://youtu.be/nHx0V8cSTto

FirstStateKopites

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Can't find the notes for this episode, but Jason was a great guest.  Charlie, Tim, Sean and Paul have fun conversation covering a bunch of important pre-season topics.

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We've been champions for a few weeks now, and it still feels great!   

This week's guest is Nabs who is following up his appearances with LFCTV and @TheAnfieldWrap by joining the LFC Delaware crew for a conversation about his history of supporting the Mighty Reds.  He has some compelling stories about becoming a supporter, his trip to Istanbul and creating multiple supporters clubs along the way. 

All very compelling, we hope you enjoy this week's edition.  #YNWA #OLSCFamily

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our first August 2020 edition drops. Michael Crump form LFC Atlanta joins us to reflect on the rise of the Mighty Reds over the last five years, the genius of Gini, and how frequently the Barcelona nights have happened and are likely to happen in the future. 

Michael shares his own "Corner Taken Quickly' story #CornerTakenQuickly There's no doubt that @LFCAtlanta #LFCATL is a supporters club with a more professional video game than we have.

FirstStateKopites

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From July 25th, 2020 - where do we begin?  Delighted to have Lingerr from OLSC San Francisco to talk all things Liverpool. One side benefit of the lockdown has been the gift of connecting with Reds around the globe.  We start with a really important conversation about #BlackLivesMatter and branch out into the leadership levels of this team. We celebrate the moments in the last year when we knew that the Championship was ours. And we look forward to the parade and the celebration to which we are entitled. #OLSC302 #tellusnever #FirstStateKopites

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Recorded July 18th, 2020 before the 2019-20 season had completed

In this week's edition of the LFC Delaware podcast we are joined by freelance writer Andrew Beasley, of the Twitter Handle @BassTunedTo Red.  We talk about the increasing use of data to drive decisions over the last 10 years - where in 2011 a list of of the players with most chances created in a season was a great guide as to who Liverpool would sign (Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, and Jordan Henderson) to the sophistication of the Michael Edwards team of PhDs.   We talk about how Andrew took his passion for understanding the underlying numbers to a career as a writer and frequent contributor to the Liverpool Echo and Tomkins Times.  We discover who would be the surprising choices to fill in for Bobby Firmino - based on pressing data. 

And we seek to understand the Reds recent results in the context of this magnificent season (spoiler alert, the underlying numbers aren't that different). And we talk about next season - no team has achieved 90+ points for 3 years in a row.  

Comment, like, subscribe ....  we hope you are enjoying the podcasts!

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Recorded July 12th, 2020

In this week's episode - we talk about why we are the best team in the world and why City should be worried going forward. It's all about about managing the spaces better than anyone else..... And if someone you know is talking about pass completion, you should stop following them now. We are now focused on xG chain. Turns out the Reds have moved beyond Money Ball and are now focused on Swarm Technology.

Short version - Naby Keita and Mo Salah are at a level that isn't matched by most current players, Firmino isn't hitting the heights in terms of absolute numbers, but even the worst version of Bobby is critical to this team. If you need more excellent Simon insight, you should sign up for https://anfieldindex.com. #YNWA #OLSCFamily

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This episode comes as some Social Media followers have decided that Liverpool have conceded next season's League title, just a week after winning this season's competition. Need some calm in this madness, we have it here.  Ben talk about how he became a Liverpool fan, the Des Moines Supporters Club and what a great city Liverpool is to visit.  

We look ahead at the Villa game - Charlie reminds us that they celebrated like crazy beating our under 18 team in December.  Time for some payback?  

Enjoy #YNWA #OLSCFamily

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Today we are joined by Sean Rogers, regular contributor to the Anfield Wrap's Review show.  As usual it's Tim, Charlie, Paul and Sean.  This time the Sean in question is a season ticket holder at Anfield, an experienced coach and is able to share some deep insights into our team and our strategy. We cover the spectrum from Roy Hodgson to Jurgen Klopp, with Benitez, Houllier and David Moyes getting a name check - we touch on the Magic Dust that some coaches have. We talk about the journey of the last 30 years, this current team's special ability, and what might happen next in the advent of the Nike deal.   If you need insights into our team and what happens next, you've come to the right podcast.  

And did anyone mention, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS  

even Steve Peters get's a name check - https://youtu.be/buN1Mju7rjM

firststatekopites

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This week's edition features Kerry, one of the founders of the Orlando Liverpool Supporters club. We hear her Liverpool story, involving Jurgen and Mo and a lot of air miles - some envy on our part about her interactions with these two.

And of course, we reflect on the Mighty Reds league title. #19 - what it means, what it felt like in the moment and what it might mean in the future. The genius of Klopp and the magnificence of this team.

YNWA

http://kerrysomewhere.com to find Kerry's blogs and photos

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It's been 100 days since football stopped. We reflect on the Mighty Reds being back in action.  To read some  of the naysayers it feels like they have fallen off a cliff. While they might not be flying right now, we know what they are capable of.  Keita and Minamino potentially show signs of what's to come.  And Charlie reminds us that 3 more draws will be enough to win the league.  

Come on You Mighty Reds!

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June 14th, we are joined by Neil Atkinson and Craig Hannan of The Anfield Wrap to talk about TAW - it's evolution, its vision and the creativity that the pandemic has spurred - and of course we touch on the return of the Mighty Reds and the joy we've already experienced watching Liverpool Football Club this season.

Vote for The Anfield Wrap in this year's British podcast awards here - https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/...

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This is from June 6th 2020. This is our first meeting with Haitham Gasim from OLSC Chicago, who now seems like an old friend after all we've experienced together. Real insights from Haitham, helping us to understand more about #BlackLivesMatter. This was such a great episode with the serious subject matter and the fun we were able to have talking football.  Here's the way it was introduced at the time:

• 'So many things happening... Premier League will restart in 11 days and the Mighty Reds will be back in 15 days.  Today we reflect on important things like race, diversity and inclusion , and the beautiful gesture of our team last week. And then we talk the most important of the least important things - Premier League restart, Stevie G is 40, and transfers..'

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Sean, Charlie, Sean and Paul record this on May 30th 2020.  Lots to reminisce about......

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Recorded May 29th, 2020 - In this edition we chat with Simon Hughes of the Athletic, author of a number of Football books including 'Allez, Allez, Allez' and 'Ring Of Fire'.  And most recently he's written ' There She Goes' about the city of Liverpool between 1979 and 1993. 

Fascinating insights from one of our favorite writers. He talks about his earliest memories, the part he played in the arrival of Jurgen Klopp, for which we will forever be grateful.

NOTE - this podcast predates the use of the First State Kopites name

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Joined by Roy Yates, President of the Florida Supporters Club. Some wonderful conversation about his trailblazing efforts to spread the love of Liverpool across the US, his connections with many great players from LFC past, and reminiscing about the 43rd anniversary of the Reds first European Cup win, and the 15th anniversary of Istanbul - both of which took place on May 25th.  

ReachOutToARed​ #YNWA​ #LFCDE​.

Some bandwidth issues early in the recording - stick with it, there's a shirt on offer if you do...

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Members of OLSC Delaware - Tim, Charlie, Sean, Paul and Sam - meeting to talk Liverpool FC past and present, and how are we coping with the current emergency.  #YNWA #firststatekopites