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”The only certain things in life are death and taxes according to the comment attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Had he been around today he would have probably added refereeing incompetence and the fact that Preview Percy would make mention of it in his weekly discourse, which, this week, looks at that hotbed of integrity and probity that is Anfield...

Next up we traipse up the M6 to Merseyside where we will be hosted by Liverpool. Kick-off is at 2pm and the match will be broadcast by Sky should you have the relevant equipment to enable you receive said transmission. No engineering works to speak of ‘twixt here and there so just the usual “service” from Avanti West Coast to contend with.




So Liverpool then. Well they are going to “win” the league, taking as they are full advantage of Manchester City’s decision to have a year off and the fact that Arsenal’s title “challenge” has only ever been a figment of their imagination. They have also taken advantage of the strange love affair that PGMOL have had with them for the last 50 years. Not that that has stopped them moaning.

There was some irony in the outrage that was spouted following the admittedly X-rated tackle by Tarkowski in the derby match the other week, that irony deriving from the fact that, for once, the dirtiest team in the league were on the receiving end of the thuggery for once.

Fast forward a few days and normal service from PGMOL was resumed as Fulham overcame the non-awarding of three penalties and another non-red card for yet another Van Dijk elbow to come out as deserved winners at Craven Cottage. Even Keith “sod the laws of the game we’ll do what I say” Hackett has noticed Van Dijk’s liberal use of the joint the medical dictionaries refer to as the articulatio cubitai and referred to Van Dijk as a “serial offender”.

Mind you Hackett’s sudden “I have seen the light” moment is curiously-timed. I mean Liverpool getting favourable treatment from match officials is hardly a new thing is it, so it does make you wonder why he failed to spot this happening when he was refereeing all those years ago.

Or, more importantly, while he was in charge of PGMOL back in the day. It’s all very well highlighting the matter now when you’re not in a position to do anything about it but why were you so silent when you could have put a stop to it? Where has been PGMOL’s response? All these and other questions won’t be asked by a journalist near you any day soon.

Anyhow there’s little point in running through their current form as such, save to note that their League Cup defeat to Newcastle was celebrated well beyond the confines of Tyneside even if dear old Preview Alastair’s sad passing a few years back meant that he wasn’t around to see it. Much as the Liverpool support weren’t about to see their players pick up their medals.

They didn’t sign anyone during the window which is just as well as Daisy has taken the day off to go and watch her racehorse run. I wouldn’t say that the horses she has owned shares in the past have been useless as such but it has been noticed that every time she goes and watches one of them we here at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered are treated with lasagne for dinner.

On the injury front, they will be two absences according to the latest. Joe Gomez had an operation on his hamstring which will keep him out until May. It will also be another couple of weeks before Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit to rejoin the squad.




It is noticeable that a few weeks ago Liverpool supporters were clinging on to the myth that the hyphenated one was the “best full-back in the world”, something that is apparently no longer the case since it became public knowledge that he had opened talks with Real Madrid about a move this coming summer.

Enough of them – I think it’s time for the Wild and Wacky World Of Association Football. And our favourite source of all things humorous, Tottenham, are nailing the football comedy charts again. You see they have been claiming that someone with in the camp has been leaking secrets to the press.

It seems that player news ahead of their penultimate game in Europe at home to Eintracht Frankfurt was appearing all over the internet. “We've narrowed it down. I've got a fair idea where it's coming from. We will deal with it.” said Postecoglu, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it is not really much of a secret that they are not very good.

Postecoglu was also critical of the fans who were moaning that Brennan Johnson wasn’t given the opportunity to complete his hat-trick against Southampton when they were awarded a penalty late on last weekend. Spake Postecoglu: "The one slight against this club is that it hasn't been a winner. Well a winner's mentality in the last minute of a game is to score a goal.

"We scored a goal, and yet somehow in this ultimate universe in which everything Tottenham does is wrong, that's negative. We're in a position where even the good stuff we may do is turned into some sort of glass half full kind of rhetoric.". Which is quite a roundabout way of saying “Our season has been so bad we are now referring to beating Southampton with the aid of a penalty as “good stuff”.

And so to us. And, once more, we have an appalling decision from PGMOL’s finest to thank for the loss of two points. For the second time in two matches in charge of us Tim Robinson hallucinated something that didn’t happen and their equaliser came from the resulting free-kick.

Since this is becoming a regular occurrence with this official, one wonders whether anyone at PGMOL has suggested some sort of psychiatric evaluation for the hapless whistlesmith who keeps seeing stuff that’s not actually there. To paraphrase Jimmy Stewart’s classic line from 1950 classic movie Harvey: "I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years doctor and by becoming a PGMOL referee I’ve finally won out over it”.

Meanwhile late news from the Wild and Wacky World Of Non-Association Football has just arrived from over the pond where the NFL has dismissed three officials due to unacceptably poor performances. The trio have been sent back to run the rule over College 'Foot'ball and won’t be let anywhere near the top levels unless they show improvement.

If only we had an organisation over here that could do that for our substandard officials. Any chance, Howard?




It were an odd game. The first half was a bit turgid to be honest and poor as we were, one still felt that it was going to take something of a blunder for either team to score. And so it came to pass with Areola making a complete hash of a save for their first.

We did our usual thing of acting all shell-shocked and could have gone two down before the break. However we – and the game as a whole – improved in the second half. The introduction of what may be a fully fit Fullkrug gave our attack a focal point that had been missing up to his arrival.

Possibly for the first time since he joined he looked capable of causing problems, holding the ball up well and bringing others into play. Some header as well as we suddenly worked out how to take corners again. We also saw glimpses of Guilherme that hinted why some other clubs are prepared to pay large amounts of wonga for him.

Just the three in sick-bay at the time of writing. Michail Antonio has apparently (and wisely) elected to give the sports cars a miss for the foreseeable and is now pottering around in some form of people carrier. He’s out (obviously). As is Crysencio Summerville, whose suggested return to action seems to get pushed back every week. Early May is now the best estimate.

Aaron Cresswell is also facing a lengthy lay-off. And, in typical West Ham style, just as he starts to look useful, there is a doubt about over Niclas Fullkrug. The press conference mentioned an unspecified knock following his efforts last weekend. He has trained with the rest of the squad however and he will be included in the matchday 20 as log as there is no further adverse reaction.

So for the prediction, then. Seriously? Do you really think PGMOL are going to let them lose two on the trot? They kicked us all over the pitch at our place – remember how many games Bowen missed after they broke his foot – and Paqueta and Kudus also took a right battering.

I can see the same thing happening again unless PGMOL’s twit of the week somehow manages to grow some sort of backbone and suddenly discovers the meaning of the word honesty. Which is about as likely as Donald Trump coming up with a genuinely good idea.

So with heavy heart, the £2.50 that I was going to spend on a protective face-mask for Fullkrug should he be fit enough to face Van Dijk will instead be going on a 3-0 home win (though I might stick a few quid on an away win as well – on the grounds that the odds will be good). I’ll see you later, Mr Winstone.

Enjoy the game!




When Last We met At Anfield: Lost 5-1 League Cup September 2024

The draw was hilariously and blatantly rigged to ensure they would be at home. We had three clear and blatant shouts for penalties turned down and they scored with a goal that was visibly offside with the naked eye. Crucially, being a League Cup game VAR was switched off for the evening. Handy that.

Referee: Andy Madley

Was in charge for the above-mentioned League Cup match. Jeez, they really aren’t taking any chances are they.

Danger Man: Mo Salah

My original script for this simply read “cheat”. However, I am now in possession of further information so it now reads “Cheat with a new 2 year contract”.

Percy and Daisy’s Liverpool Fact Of The Week Type Thing

Liverpool are currently still sitting on a 30-point suspended penalty which will be activated if they ever get caught talking to anyone about a so-called super league. Still they didn’t get away scot-free – they still had to pay a massive £3.67m fine for their part in the fiasco. That taught them.


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