I’ve seen him close-up while working for Liverpool as a mentor and an ambassador. He is as honest as they come – which isn’t always the case in football management – so I know just what they’ll be hearing from him right now.
He knows more than anyone that they’re not playing well and he will be telling them that.
He may come across as funny and cuddly on the telly (which he is, believe me), but when harsh words need to be said, he’ll say them with perfect English expletives!
But I know this, too. He’ll be looking at the table, and saying to them, “We’re still the team to beat, even though we’ve been crap, so imagine the position we can be in, when we start playing well again”.
And that’s the point with Liverpool I’d make as the Premier League season hits its most important period and we reach the halfway stage – and we see who really are contenders and who are pretenders.
The truth is that since they drew at Everton they’ve not been good enough away – that astonishing win at Palace apart.
And, actually, they’ve not been consistent enough at home either.
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