The Kopite View

There was always going to be a moment when Jürgen Klopp was asked about the Manchester City verdict.

After everything that happened during his Liverpool career, how could he not be?

Klopp spent years going head-to-head with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Liverpool finished second to City by a single point in both 2018/19 and 2021/22, despite collecting 97 and 92 points respectively.

So when the independent commission found City guilty of serious financial rule breaches, plenty of Liverpool supporters immediately started thinking about those seasons.

Klopp apparently isn’t.

Or at least, he isn’t sitting around waiting for someone to hand him another Premier League title.

Asked about the situation, Klopp was pretty relaxed about it.

“I can only wait and see. I have big respect for Pep Guardiola and City’s style of football; they played fantastic football and were a top-class opponent for us.”

That’s Klopp.

He could easily have taken the opportunity to talk about Liverpool being robbed of titles or start talking about what City might lose.

Instead, he basically said: I’ll wait and see.

And then he made his position even clearer.

“If any sanctions are handed out, I have nothing to do with it; I’ll wait and see. I’m far from preparing for a title or anything like that. I’m absolutely fine with what we’ve achieved in Liverpool.”

I actually love that.

Because whatever eventually happens with Manchester City, nobody can take away what Klopp and that Liverpool team achieved on the pitch.

They fought.

They pushed City harder than almost anybody else in Europe.

They won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup. They produced some ridiculous points totals and some of the best football I’ve ever seen Liverpool play.

Klopp doesn’t need somebody to rewrite the history books for him.

His Liverpool team was bloody brilliant.

And that’s exactly what he said.

“We fought hard on the pitch.”

That line probably sums up his attitude better than anything else.

Liverpool didn’t stroll through those seasons collecting 80 points and complaining about City.

They were relentless.

Ninety-seven points and still finished second.

Ninety-two points and still finished second.

That is why those title races are still talked about today.

Of course, there is now a completely separate process going on away from the football pitch. The independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches covering a nine-season period, while City have maintained their innocence and are expected to appeal. No sanctions have been decided yet.

So Klopp is right to say he will wait and see.

And I think that’s important.

It’s tempting for Liverpool supporters to start handing ourselves extra titles already, but that’s not how this works.

There are still legal processes to go through and City have the right to appeal the verdict.

If sanctions eventually affect previous seasons, then we’ll see what happens.

But I’m with Klopp on this one.

I’m not sitting here pretending Liverpool have suddenly won another couple of Premier League titles.

I’d rather remember what that team actually achieved.

Because I’ve got no doubt that Klopp’s Liverpool pushed City to levels they might never have reached without that rivalry.

Pep Guardiola has clearly had an enormous amount of respect for Klopp over the years and Klopp has always spoken highly of Guardiola as a coach, even while trying to beat him every season.

That’s what makes his comments about City’s football interesting.

He isn’t suddenly pretending that Manchester City weren’t an outstanding football team.

They were.

Liverpool had to be unbelievably good just to stay in the fight.

That doesn’t mean supporters shouldn’t be angry about the commission’s findings. It doesn’t mean the allegations and verdict don’t matter.

They obviously do.

But Klopp doesn’t seem interested in rewriting his own story.

And maybe that’s because he knows exactly what he achieved.

He doesn’t need somebody to tell him that Liverpool were good enough.

He was there.

He watched those players train every day. He stood on the touchline when Liverpool won those huge games. He saw them produce performances that will stay with supporters forever.

Whatever happens with Manchester City now, that doesn’t change the memories.

It doesn’t change Istanbul.

It doesn’t change Madrid.

It doesn’t change Liverpool winning the league with 99 points.

It doesn’t change the night we finally ended that 30-year wait for the Premier League title.

And it certainly doesn’t change the fact that Klopp’s Liverpool team fought for everything they got.

So if somebody eventually tells Jürgen Klopp that Liverpool have been awarded another title, I suspect he’ll probably just smile.

He’s already told us how he feels.

“I’m absolutely fine with what we’ve achieved in Liverpool.”

And you know what?

So am I.

Because that team didn’t need an asterisk to make me proud of them.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

This is one of those Liverpool injury updates that actually makes you feel a bit more positive.

According to L’Équipe, via Get French Football News, Hugo Ekitike is targeting a return to training with Liverpool in November, with the striker hoping to make his competitive comeback in December.

After everything he has been through, that would be brilliant news.

Ekitike ruptured his Achilles tendon back in April and has obviously had a long road ahead of him. Nobody should be rushing him back from an injury like that, but knowing he has November in his sights gives Liverpool supporters something to look forward to.

And, if I’m honest, I’ve missed watching him play.

Ekitike had become such an important player for Liverpool before the injury. He brought goals, movement and a bit of unpredictability to the attack.

Now Liverpool are missing him at a time when the forward line could really do with another option.

Alexander Isak is currently injured and Cody Gakpo is also out, so Andoni Iraola has had to juggle his attacking options.

That’s why Ekitike’s eventual return could be so important.

I’m not expecting him to come back in December and immediately be the same player he was before the injury. That would be completely unrealistic.

He’ll probably need time.

He’ll need minutes.

He’ll need to get his confidence back.

Most importantly, Liverpool need to make sure his Achilles is ready for the demands of Premier League football.

But once he’s properly fit, I think he could make a huge difference.

Ekitike has already shown what he can do.

He’s got pace, he’s good at running beyond defenders and he’s capable of finding the right positions in the box. He’s also still young enough to improve considerably.

And I think that’s something that sometimes gets forgotten.

Liverpool didn’t sign a finished product.

They signed a young striker with a lot of potential who was already showing signs of becoming a very good player.

Then this injury came along.

It’s frustrating for him and it’s frustrating for Liverpool, but neither of those things change his ability.

The report says Ekitike is hoping to return to training in November and play competitively in December. That’s a target rather than a definite date, so I’m not going to get carried away.

If he needs another few weeks, give him them.

I’d much rather see Ekitike return properly in January than rush him back in December and risk another setback.

We’ve got plenty of football still to play.

And if he can get himself right, the second half of the season could be really interesting.

Imagine having Ekitike, Isak and Gakpo all available again.

Add Barcola, Wirtz and the other attacking options into that and Iraola suddenly has a lot more to work with.

The Liverpool attack hasn’t clicked anywhere near as consistently as I’d hoped this season, but injuries haven’t exactly helped.

Getting Ekitike back could give Iraola another player who can change a game.

For now, though, I just want to see him get through the next few weeks without any problems.

November training. December comeback.

Those are the targets.

Hopefully everything goes to plan.

Because when Hugo Ekitike finally walks back onto that pitch in a Liverpool shirt, I think there will be a lot of us who realise just how much we’ve missed him.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

30 September 2023.

I still remember this one.

Liverpool went to Tottenham knowing a victory would take them top of the Premier League after Manchester City had lost earlier in the day.

Instead, we got one of the strangest and most frustrating games I can remember watching as a Liverpool supporter.

Looking back three years later, I honestly still struggle to believe how many things went against Liverpool that afternoon.

It wasn’t just one decision.

It was decision after decision.

And the worst of them was the one that should never have been allowed to happen.

Luis Díaz’s goal

Liverpool thought they had taken the lead when Luis Díaz raced through onto Mohamed Salah’s pass and finished brilliantly.

The flag went up for offside.

At first, you could accept that the officials had made a decision.

That’s what VAR was supposed to be there for.

Except VAR didn’t correct it.

Darren England checked the incident but mistakenly believed the on-field decision had been to award the goal. He therefore told referee Simon Hooper “check complete” without realising that the goal had actually been ruled out.

PGMOL later admitted that a “significant human error” had occurred and that Díaz’s goal should have been awarded.

That wasn’t an interpretation.

It wasn’t one of those handball decisions where supporters can argue about the laws for days.

Díaz was onside.

The goal should have counted.

And VAR failed to do the one thing it was there to do.

Then everything else happened

If that had been the only controversy, it would still have been an awful afternoon.

But it wasn’t.

Curtis Jones was sent off after a VAR review of his challenge on Yves Bissouma. The referee had initially shown him a yellow card before changing it to red after watching the incident again.

Liverpool were down to ten men.

Yet somehow they kept going.

Tottenham eventually took the lead through Son Heung-min, but Liverpool refused to collapse.

Cody Gakpo equalised in first-half stoppage time after a lovely move involving Virgil van Dijk.

And then came another huge blow.

Gakpo injured himself while scoring and had to be replaced at half-time.

Liverpool were already fighting against ten men, had lost one of their attacking players and had seen a perfectly good goal taken away from them.

But they kept fighting.

Then Jota was sent off

Diogo Jota had come on for Gakpo.

Within 90 seconds of each other, he received two yellow cards.

Liverpool were down to nine men.

At that point, surely there was no way they were going to get anything from the game.

Except they nearly did.

That’s what makes this match so remarkable.

Tottenham had the numerical advantage and piled pressure on Liverpool, but Alisson produced two brilliant saves to keep his team alive.

Liverpool defended.They ran.They blocked.They fought for every ball.

They were hanging on, but they were still hanging on.

And somehow the clock kept ticking.

Then came the final punch

Six minutes of stoppage time had been added.

Liverpool were almost there.

Then, with virtually the last kick of the game, Joel Matip turned a Pedro Porro cross into his own net.

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool.

I remember just sitting there thinking: How on earth has that happened?

Liverpool had gone from potentially going top of the league to losing a match they had every right to feel aggrieved about.

The Premier League’s own match report confirms the sequence: Jones sent off, Díaz’s goal wrongly disallowed, Jota dismissed and Matip’s own goal deciding the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The part I still find incredible

For me, the Díaz decision will always be the biggest talking point.

Not because Liverpool were guaranteed to win if the goal had stood.

We don’t know that.

Football doesn’t work like that.

But the goal should have been given.

That’s not my opinion. PGMOL said it themselves.

The later release of the VAR audio made the whole thing even more bizarre. It showed that the VAR had actually checked the offside but failed to understand that the on-field decision had been to disallow the goal. Once play restarted, the officials believed they could no longer intervene.

It’s difficult to imagine a more basic VAR communication failure.

And Liverpool paid the price.

Klopp was right about one thing

After the match, Jürgen Klopp said he had never been more proud of his team and described the circumstances as the most unfair he had experienced.

I completely understood that.Forget the result for a minute.Look at what Liverpool actually did.They lost Jones.They had a goal wrongly ruled out.

They conceded to Son.They lost Gakpo to injury.They lost Jota.They were down to nine men.

And they still almost walked away with a point.

That tells you something about that Liverpool team.

They weren’t perfect that afternoon, but the mentality was incredible.

And that’s probably why I still remember this match so clearly.

Three years later, the result is in the record books.

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool.

But anybody who watched it knows there was so much more to the story than the scoreline.

A legitimate Luis Díaz goal was wrongly ruled out.

PGMOL admitted significant human error.Two Liverpool players were sent off.Gakpo was injured.Alisson kept Liverpool alive.

Matip’s late own goal finally broke them.

It was one of those afternoons where you just wanted the final whistle to come.

And when it finally did, I was absolutely raging.

Three years on, I still am.

30 September 2023.

One of the strangest, most controversial and unforgettable afternoons of the Klopp era.

And for Liverpool supporters, one that is very difficult to forget.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

Sometimes opportunities in football arrive when you least expect them.

For Will Wright, one could be coming at exactly the right time.

Liverpool are dealing with injuries to Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, leaving Andoni Iraola with fewer options in attack. Isak has returned to Liverpool after picking up a thigh problem with Sweden, while Gakpo suffered an ankle injury during the Netherlands’ game against Serbia.

And suddenly, Will Wright has a chance to show Liverpool supporters what he can really do.

I don’t think he should be expected to replace Isak or Gakpo. That would be ridiculous pressure to put on an 18-year-old.

But if Iraola gives him an opportunity, I’d love to see Wright take it.

Wright has been knocking on the door

What makes this interesting is that Wright isn’t completely new to the first team.

Liverpool signed him from Salford City in August 2025 and he made his senior debut for Liverpool during pre-season shortly afterwards. He has since been involved in Premier League matchday squads and made further appearances during the summer under Iraola.

He’s also already shown that he isn’t frightened of stepping up.

During Liverpool’s pre-season tour, Wright played against Sunderland and Wrexham before featuring against Como. He has spoken about how much he learned from training alongside players such as Isak and Federico Chiesa.

Now he could get the opportunity to actually play alongside some of those players in a competitive match.

That’s a massive difference.

His goals are impossible to ignore

Wright has also been doing exactly what a young striker needs to do at academy level.

He’s scoring goals.

He has scored five times in four Premier League 2 appearances this season and was recently shortlisted for the PL2 Player of the Month award after scoring twice and assisting another in Liverpool’s 5-1 win over Brighton.

That’s the sort of form that makes you sit up and take notice.

Of course, Premier League 2 is not the Premier League.

Nobody should pretend it is.

But confidence matters for a young striker, and Wright certainly seems to have plenty of it at the moment.

I like what I’ve seen from him

I’ve been interested in Wright since seeing him get opportunities with the first team.

There is something quite refreshing about him.

He looks like a proper centre-forward rather than a winger being pushed into the middle. Liverpool’s academy staff have previously described him as a striker who likes a battle and will work defenders hard. Wright himself has said his long-term ambition is to become Liverpool’s No.9.

That’s a big ambition.

But why shouldn’t he have it?

Liverpool have spent huge money rebuilding their attack, yet one of the most exciting things about the squad is still seeing whether somebody from the academy can force his way into the picture.

Wright has already said that playing alongside the senior players showed him the level he needs to reach.

Now he gets the chance to show whether he’s getting closer to it.

Don’t expect miracles

I’d be careful with the expectations, though.

If Wright gets 20 minutes and doesn’t score, that doesn’t mean he’s not ready.

If he starts a game and struggles against experienced Premier League defenders, that doesn’t mean Liverpool have made a mistake by giving him an opportunity.

He’s 18.

This is about experience.

It’s about giving him a taste of proper first-team football and seeing how he responds.

Sometimes a young player only needs that first opportunity to realise that he belongs at the level.

And sometimes it takes several opportunities.

Either way, Liverpool won’t know until they give him one.

This is exactly what an academy is for

I actually think this is one of the more exciting parts of Liverpool’s current situation.

The club has been investing heavily in young players and building a pathway into the first team. Wright is one of those players who has already started walking down it.

Now injuries have opened the door a little wider.

Isak is one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

Gakpo has been in excellent form and had become an important part of Iraola’s attack before his injury.

Nobody is asking Will Wright to become either of them.

But if he’s given a chance, he can make his own case.

That’s all I want to see.

Let him train with the first team.

Let him get on the bench.

Give him some minutes if the opportunity is there.

And if he gets on the pitch, let him play his natural game.

Because five goals in four PL2 appearances tells us Wright is currently doing his bit.

Now we get to find out what he can do when the lights are a little brighter.

Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo’s injuries are obviously bad news for Liverpool. But for Will Wright, this could be the opportunity he’s been waiting for.

And I really hope he grabs it.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

Thierry Henry has given Liverpool supporters something worth thinking about when it comes to Bradley Barcola.

The former Arsenal and France striker has warned that it will take time for Barcola to settle at Liverpool following his huge move from Paris Saint-Germain.

And honestly, I think he’s right.

Barcola arrived at Anfield for an initial £106m, with the deal potentially rising to £123m, so nobody is going to pretend there isn’t pressure on him. He has also arrived with a huge reputation after winning the Champions League with PSG and representing France at the World Cup.

But there is a big difference between having a slow start and being a bad signing.

I think some people need to remember that.

Barcola hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to play football

Barcola is only 23 and has spent the majority of his senior career in France.

He has now moved from PSG to Liverpool, from Ligue 1 to the Premier League, and into a completely different tactical environment under Andoni Iraola.

That’s a lot of change.

He also isn’t walking into a Liverpool team that has everything perfectly settled around him. The attack is still being worked out, there have been injuries and Iraola is still learning exactly how to get the best out of his squad.

So I’m not going to judge Barcola too harshly because he hasn’t immediately started scoring every week.

We’ve already seen glimpses of what he can offer.

His pace is obvious. He wants to run at defenders, he can play on either side and he has the ability to carry the ball over distance. At PSG last season he scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 49 appearances.

Those qualities haven’t disappeared because he’s moved to England.

Henry’s warning makes sense

Henry knows better than most what it is like to move from France to the Premier League with enormous expectations.

And that’s probably why his comments caught my attention.

Barcola isn’t just adapting to English football. He’s also dealing with the price tag.

Every time he doesn’t score, somebody will mention the £123m.

Every time he misses a chance, somebody will ask whether Liverpool paid too much.

Every quiet performance will be compared with what he did at PSG.

That’s football now.

But Barcola cannot control the transfer fee.

Liverpool agreed to pay it because they believed he was worth it.

The player simply needs time to settle.

I still think there is a lot to come from him

For me, the most exciting thing is that we’ve already seen enough to know why Liverpool wanted him.

His performance against Atlético Madrid showed flashes of the player Liverpool thought they were buying, while he also created a promising opening alongside Florian Wirtz before the chance went wide. Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has also pointed to his match fitness as something that still needs to improve.

That’s important.

We’re talking about a player who is still getting used to his new surroundings and hasn’t yet reached full rhythm.

I would much rather give him time than start putting ridiculous pressure on him after a handful of appearances.

We’ve done this before.

Liverpool supporters have seen players need time before becoming important players for the club.

And sometimes the best thing you can do with an expensive new signing is simply let him play.

Iraola needs to find the right role for him too

There is another part of this which shouldn’t be ignored.

Barcola is predominantly a left winger, and that’s where he spent most of his Champions League minutes with PSG.

Liverpool have also got Cody Gakpo, who stayed at the club after Manchester City made an £80m offer, while Rio Ngumoha and Victor Muñoz provide further options in the wide areas.

So Iraola has to work out how all these players fit together.

That’s his job.

Barcola shouldn’t have to become a completely different footballer just because Liverpool have several talented attackers.

Get him comfortable.

Get him fit.

Give him minutes.

Then let’s see what happens.

Because I genuinely believe there is a frightening amount of ability there.

I’m not worried about Barcola yet

I’m certainly not going to sit here and tell you that Barcola has already been brilliant for Liverpool.

He hasn’t.

But I’m also not going to start questioning the signing after a few appearances.

The £123m price tag makes the scrutiny inevitable, but it shouldn’t change the way we judge the player.

Thierry Henry says it will take time for Barcola to settle. I think Liverpool supporters should listen to that.

We’ve got a young French winger who has just left one of Europe’s biggest clubs and moved into one of the most demanding leagues in the world.

Let him breathe.

Let him learn.

Let him get properly fit.

And most importantly, let him play.

Because I have a feeling that when Bradley Barcola finally settles into Liverpool, we might look back at these early months and wonder why we were worrying so much.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

There have been plenty of brilliant Liverpool performances over the years, but some are just a little bit sweeter than others.

Beating Everton at Goodison Park is always special.

Doing it 4-1 is even better.

Doing it with Ian Rush scoring a hat-trick while Liverpool lifted a trophy makes it one of those nights that deserves to be remembered.

On 30 September 1986, Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool travelled across Stanley Park for the second leg of the Screen Sport Super Cup final against Everton.

Liverpool had already won the first leg 3-1 at Anfield, but there was no chance of taking anything for granted.

Everton were a very good side themselves at the time.

Liverpool simply blew them away.

Rush was absolutely magnificent

It took only ten minutes for Rush to open the scoring.

John Wark found him and the Welshman did what he did so often during his Liverpool career — he found the net.

Seventeen minutes later, he did it again.

This time Jan Mølby provided the assist and Rush made it 2-0.

Liverpool were in complete control.

Steve Nicol added a third in the 62nd minute before Rush completed his hat-trick six minutes from time, again with Mølby involved.

Everton eventually got a consolation from Graeme Sharp’s penalty in the 88th minute, but by then the damage had been done.

Liverpool had won 4-1 at Goodison Park.

The aggregate score was 7-2.

And Rush had scored five of Liverpool’s seven goals across the two legs.

Imagine watching that Liverpool team

Looking at the Liverpool starting eleven from that night is enough to make you smile.

Bruce Grobbelaar was in goal.

Gary Gillespie, Jim Beglin, Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan and Alan Hansen were in the defence.

Then came John Wark, Steve Nicol, Ian Rush, Jan Mølby and Steve McMahon.

Kenny Dalglish was the manager.

That’s some Liverpool team.

And it wasn’t just the names. These were players who knew exactly what Liverpool meant and what was expected when they walked onto a football pitch.

They were serial winners.

That is something I always find myself thinking about when looking back at old Liverpool matches.

We talk so much about individual players now, but those great Liverpool sides had an incredible mentality running through them.

Goodison wasn’t exactly an easy place to go

There is another reason I love this match.

It wasn’t played in some meaningless pre-season friendly.

It was a Merseyside derby with silverware at stake.

Liverpool were already 3-1 ahead from the first leg, but Everton had every reason to believe they could make the second leg uncomfortable.

Instead, Liverpool went there and effectively settled the tie before half-time.

Two goals from Rush had Everton facing an enormous task after only 27 minutes.

Even Trevor Steven missing a penalty early in the second half couldn’t change the direction of the match.

Nicol made it 3-0.

Rush then completed his hat-trick.

Game over.

Trophy coming back to Anfield.

Rush was made for nights like this

Whenever I think about Ian Rush, this is exactly the sort of game that comes to mind.

He wasn’t the flashiest player.

He didn’t need to be.

Rush was about movement, timing and finishing. Give him the slightest opportunity and he could punish you.

Three goals at Goodison Park in a trophy final tells you pretty much everything.

And five goals across the two legs against Everton?

That’s ridiculous.

Liverpool’s official history is full of great goalscorers, but Rush’s numbers and his consistency put him in a different category.

He just kept scoring.

This is what Liverpool used to be about

I love looking back at games like this because they remind me of the standards Liverpool once set.

A big game.

A big opponent.

A trophy on the line.

Liverpool didn’t just scrape through.

They went to Goodison and won 4-1.

There was no hanging on.

No sitting back and hoping.

They took control of the match and made sure there was never really any doubt about where the trophy was going.

And that’s probably my favourite thing about this game.

Liverpool didn’t just beat Everton. They absolutely hammered them.

For younger Liverpool supporters, it’s easy to look at old results and see nothing more than a scoreline.

But imagine being a Liverpool fan in 1986.

Your team had just won the league and FA Cup double under Dalglish. You had players like Rush, Dalglish, Hansen, Lawrenson, Mølby and McMahon.

Then you watched them go to Goodison Park and destroy Everton in a cup final.

What a time to be a Liverpool supporter.

Thirty years later, the details might fade.

The feeling doesn’t.

30 September 1986: Everton 1-4 Liverpool.

Ian Rush hat-trick.

A trophy.

And another reminder of just how bloody good Liverpool were.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

There are some players you watch and you just know they have something different about them.

Florian Wirtz is one of those players.

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente was asked by German newspaper BILD if there was a German player he would like to have in his squad.

His answer was simple.

“Florian Wirtz! Incredible player.”

De la Fuente then added: “Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a Spanish passport. I really like the way he plays.”

I can understand exactly what he means.

Liverpool supporters have already seen flashes of what Wirtz can do, but I still think we are waiting to see the best of him in a red shirt.

And I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying that.

Wirtz is a special player. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Liverpool haven’t seen everything yet

When Liverpool spent so much money bringing Wirtz to Anfield, there was always going to be huge excitement around him.

He had already established himself as one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in European football at Bayer Leverkusen. His vision, close control, movement and ability to find space made him a nightmare for defenders.

But moving to the Premier League is different.

Wirtz has had to adapt to a new country, a new league, new teammates and a new manager in Andoni Iraola. Liverpool themselves are still trying to work out exactly what their best attacking structure looks like.

So I’m not going to write Wirtz off because we haven’t seen him dominate games every week.

Far from it.

I’m actually more interested in what happens when everything around him starts to click.

We’ve already seen moments where the quality is obvious. The touches, the little passes between defenders, the movement and the confidence to try something other players simply wouldn’t see.

The problem is that those moments haven’t always lasted for 90 minutes.

That’s where I think patience is needed.

De la Fuente clearly sees the talent

What I like about De la Fuente’s comments is that he wasn’t specifically asked about Liverpool or Wirtz’s current form.

He was simply asked which German player he would like to have.

He picked Wirtz.

That tells you something about how highly the player is regarded outside England.

And De la Fuente isn’t exactly short of talented footballers to choose from. Spain have an incredible group of players, yet when asked to name one German he would want, Wirtz immediately came to mind.

Calling him an “incredible player” is a pretty strong endorsement.

For Liverpool supporters, though, the important thing is what happens next.

We don’t need compliments from other managers to know Wirtz is talented. We need to see that talent consistently at Anfield.

I think we will.

I’m still backing him

I’ve criticised Wirtz when I haven’t thought he’s played well enough. I don’t think Liverpool supporters should pretend everything has been perfect simply because we paid a huge fee for him.

But there’s a massive difference between saying a player hasn’t reached his level yet and saying he isn’t good enough.

I’m firmly in the first camp.

We’re still waiting to see the best of Florian Wirtz.

And that’s actually quite exciting.

Because if Liverpool can get the best version of Wirtz playing alongside players like Bradley Barcola, Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and the rest of this attacking group, there is potentially a frightening amount of creativity in that team.

The frustrating part is that we haven’t seen it consistently yet.

Maybe that takes time.

Maybe Wirtz needs to become more comfortable with the demands of English football. Maybe Iraola still needs to find the best way to use him. Maybe Wirtz himself needs to become more aggressive and start demanding games rather than simply influencing them in flashes.

Whatever the reason, I’m not worried about the ability.

I’ve seen enough to know it’s there.

And when Spain’s manager is asked which German player he would love to have and immediately says Florian Wirtz, it is another reminder that Liverpool didn’t spend all that money on an ordinary footballer.

They signed a player with enormous ability.

Now we just need to see it all come together.

Because I genuinely believe the best of Florian Wirtz is still to come.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

I’ve always found Fenway Sports Group’s position on Manchester City’s financial situation quite interesting.

Liverpool’s owners have never pretended they can simply spend whatever they want to keep up with their biggest rivals. Their whole model has been built around sustainability, and for years there has been a feeling from the FSG hierarchy that Liverpool were not competing on a completely level playing field at the top of English football.

Now, after the independent commission’s findings into Manchester City, that argument looks very different.

Liverpool journalist James Pearce summed it up after the verdict, saying:

“The FSG hierarchy had long since made it clear that they felt there wasn’t a level playing field at the top of English football.”

He added that the scale of City’s offences provides vindication for FSG, who had argued for so long that the rules weren’t being properly respected or enforced.

I can understand why he says that.

FSG have always looked at things differently

There have been plenty of occasions when Liverpool supporters have wanted the club to spend more.

I certainly have.

When City were signing player after player and Manchester United, Chelsea and others were spending huge amounts, it was frustrating watching Liverpool operate within financial limits.

But FSG’s argument has always been that Liverpool need to be sustainable.

That has sometimes annoyed supporters, particularly when Liverpool have been competing against clubs with far greater spending power.

Yet the independent commission has now found that Manchester City breached Premier League financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18.

The Premier League says City used “sham” commercial arrangements which artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million.

The commission also found that City would have been in breach of Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a “very substantial amount” had the relevant agreements been properly reported.

Those are findings from an independent commission, rather than allegations simply being made by Liverpool or another rival club.

That is a huge difference.

It makes Liverpool’s approach easier to understand

One thing I think Liverpool supporters can sometimes forget is that FSG don’t control the rules.

They have to operate within them.

If another club is found to have created arrangements that allowed it to artificially increase revenues and reduce costs, that obviously raises questions about the competitive environment Liverpool were operating in.

And Liverpool were competing at an incredibly high level during this period.

Look at Klopp’s Liverpool.

97 points and second place.

92 points and second place.

Two Premier League title races decided by a single point.

Liverpool eventually won the league with 99 points, but there were seasons when even an extraordinary Liverpool team couldn’t quite get past City.

I’m not saying today’s findings automatically change those league tables.

They don’t.

City have the right to appeal, and the question of sanctions is still to be decided.

But it is impossible not to look back at those years and wonder what might have been.

This isn’t about Liverpool wanting special treatment

That’s an important point for me.

FSG haven’t been asking for Liverpool to receive an advantage.

They have been arguing that the rules should apply properly to everybody.

That’s a completely different thing.

If the Premier League has financial regulations, clubs have to follow them.

Otherwise, what’s the point?

And the independent commission has now found that City breached those rules on a huge scale and that three of four alleged breaches relating to cooperation with the Premier League investigation were upheld. The commission concluded that City had made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the investigation.

City strongly reject the findings and have said they intend to pursue the available appeal routes, arguing that the commission’s opinion contains material errors of law, principle and fact.

So this isn’t finished.

But the findings themselves are significant.

Maybe Liverpool’s way wasn’t so crazy after all

This is probably the bit that interests me most.

Liverpool have had plenty of criticism for not spending like Manchester City.

Fans have watched other clubs throw huge amounts of money at problems and wondered why Liverpool couldn’t do the same.

But Liverpool won the Premier League under Klopp.

They won the Champions League.

They reached multiple Champions League finals.

They pushed City to 97 and 92 points.

They built a squad capable of competing without simply throwing unlimited money at the problem.

And they’ve continued to operate with an eye on sustainability.

Maybe that’s why FSG have been so determined to make their argument about the rules.

They weren’t necessarily saying Liverpool should be allowed to spend more.

They were saying everyone should have to operate under the same rules.

And after the commission’s findings, I can understand why Pearce believes FSG have been vindicated.

Now the Premier League has to finish the job

This is where I think the next stage becomes fascinating.

The commission has delivered its findings.

City can appeal.

The sanction still has to be decided.

And that means we still don’t know what the ultimate consequences will be.

I’m not going to pretend we do.

But I do think the Premier League now has a responsibility to show that its financial rules actually mean something.

If a club is found to have seriously breached those rules, the punishment needs to reflect the seriousness of the findings.

Otherwise, supporters are entitled to ask why they should take the rules seriously.

For Liverpool, there is another part to this.

FSG have spent years being criticised for their approach to spending.

Maybe some supporters will never agree with their model, and that’s fair enough.

But when the owners of Liverpool have repeatedly argued that the competition at the very top hasn’t always been played on an equal financial footing, today’s findings certainly give that argument more weight.

And as a Liverpool supporter, I can’t help looking back at those Klopp years and wondering just how much more remarkable they were than we realised at the time.

Liverpool weren’t perfect.

They didn’t win everything.

But they kept competing.

They kept pushing.

And they did it while trying to operate within the rules.

Now we wait to see what happens next with Manchester City.

Because the verdict may have arrived, but the biggest consequences of this case are still to come.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

I’ve been thinking about Jürgen Klopp and his Liverpool team since the news about Manchester City broke.

Not because I think everything should suddenly be rewritten.

It shouldn’t.

But when you look back at what Liverpool achieved while competing against Manchester City, it is hard not to appreciate Klopp’s legacy even more.

An independent commission has found City guilty of serious financial rule breaches covering the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The Premier League says the commission found that City used “sham” commercial arrangements which artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900m. It also found three of four alleged breaches relating to the club’s cooperation with the Premier League investigation. City can appeal the findings, and the sanction has not yet been decided.

Those are incredibly serious findings.

And obviously Liverpool fans are going to look back at some of those title races and wonder what might have been.

I certainly have.

97 points and still second

The one that always comes back to me is 2018/19.

Liverpool got 97 points.

Ninety-seven.

They lost one league game all season and still didn’t win the title.

City got 98.

One point.

It was heartbreaking at the time. I remember thinking that surely a team couldn’t do much more than that and still finish second.

Then Liverpool came back the following season and won the league with 99 points.

That is one of the things I think gets forgotten when people talk about Klopp’s Liverpool.

They weren’t just a good team.

They were ridiculously good.

And they had to be.

Because City kept setting the bar higher.

Then came 2021/22 and we had another ridiculous title race.

Liverpool finished on 92 points.

City finished on 93.

Another one-point difference.

You can’t look at that and tell me Klopp’s team wasn’t good enough.

They were good enough to win the league in most seasons.

They just happened to be competing against a team that kept finding another point, another win and another way of getting over the line.

What do we do with that now?

This is where I think Liverpool supporters need to be sensible.

The commission’s findings are serious, but today’s decision doesn’t mean Liverpool are suddenly going to be handed titles from previous seasons.

We don’t know what the eventual sanctions will be.

We don’t know what happens after City’s appeal, if they choose to take it.

And we don’t know what the Premier League will ultimately decide about the historical consequences.

So I’m not going to sit here and tell you Liverpool should now have extra titles on their record.

That’s for the process to decide.

But I do think the findings change the way you look at that era.

For years Liverpool were trying to compete with City while the Premier League was investigating the club over its finances.

Now an independent commission has made its findings.

That’s a pretty significant difference from simply talking about allegations.

Klopp deserves enormous credit

What I find most impressive is what Klopp did with Liverpool anyway.

He didn’t have unlimited resources.

He didn’t need to spend £100m every time he wanted to improve the team.

He built a side.

Alisson.

Van Dijk.

Robertson.

Alexander-Arnold.

Fabinho.

Henderson.

Salah.

Mane.

Firmino.

And so many others who became part of one of the best Liverpool teams I’ve ever watched.

Then they went toe-to-toe with City year after year.

And when Liverpool lost that 2018/19 title by a single point, Klopp didn’t allow the players to feel sorry for themselves.

They went again.

That’s what I remember most.

Not the fact that City had 98 points.

I remember Liverpool getting 97.

Not the fact City got 93 in 2021/22.

I remember Liverpool getting 92 and still winning two cups that season.

That tells you something about Klopp.

I don’t want to rewrite Liverpool’s history

There is a temptation now to look back and say: Liverpool should have won this. Liverpool should have won that.

Maybe.

But I’d rather celebrate what that team actually achieved.

The Champions League.

The Premier League.

The FA Cup.

The League Cup.

The Club World Cup.

The 97-point season.

The 99-point title-winning season.

The 92-point season.

The comeback against Barcelona.

The 4-0 against them at Anfield.

Those moments belong to Liverpool supporters.

Nobody can take them away.

And if anything, knowing that Liverpool were competing at that level while City are now dealing with these findings makes Klopp’s achievements feel even more remarkable to me.

I’m not saying Liverpool should automatically be given anything.

I’m saying look at what Klopp managed to build.

He took Liverpool from a team trying to get back into the Champions League to a side that could go toe-to-toe with Manchester City for years.

And he did it with a group of players who were pushed to extraordinary levels.

The hardest part for City fans

There is another side to this that I don’t want to ignore.

I said this in my previous article and I’ll say it again: I feel sorry for Manchester City supporters.

They didn’t arrange sponsorship agreements.

They didn’t prepare financial accounts.

They didn’t decide how the club responded to the Premier League investigation.

They just supported their team.

Now they have to deal with the findings and whatever comes next.

That’s horrible for any supporter.

Rivalry is one thing. Laughing at your mates because your team has beaten theirs is football.

But supporters shouldn’t be blamed for what happens in the boardroom.

Whatever happens next, Klopp’s record stands

City have the right to appeal the commission’s findings and the sanction still has to be decided.

So this isn’t the end of the story.

But for Liverpool fans, I think it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate what we watched under Klopp.

We saw a Liverpool team collect 97 points and finish second.

We saw them lose a title by one point and come back with 99 points.

We saw them finish with 92 points and still lift two domestic cups.

We saw a manager build one of the greatest Liverpool sides of the modern era and keep finding ways to compete.

So yes, the findings against Manchester City are serious.

And if further sanctions eventually affect the history of those seasons, we can talk about that when the time comes.

For now, though, I don’t need a commission to tell me what Klopp’s Liverpool were.

They were bloody brilliant.

And looking back at those title races now, I appreciate that team more than ever.

Jamie (The Kopite View)

Well, this is the day Manchester City’s long-running Premier League financial case finally moved from allegations to findings.

And the details are extraordinary.

The Premier League has confirmed that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of the charges relating to serious breaches of the competition’s financial rules covering the nine-season period from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

The commission also upheld the majority of the charges concerning City’s failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.

There is an important distinction here.

This is not a sanction announcement.

The punishment will be dealt with separately, and Manchester City have the right to appeal the commission’s findings.

But the independent commission’s findings themselves are now public.

And some of what has been described is incredibly serious.

The £900m figure is staggering

According to the Premier League, the commission found that Manchester City used what it described as “sham” commercial arrangements with a number of sponsors.

The Premier League says these arrangements were used to artificially increase the club’s reported revenues and reduce its costs.

The commission found that some sponsorship payments were only partially funded by the commercial partners, with the remainder being provided by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, the company that owned the club.

There were also other arrangements involving funding from ADUG which, according to the findings, allowed City to record lower operating expenses than they had actually incurred.

The Premier League says the overall effect of these schemes was to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million during the affected period.

That’s not a small accounting discrepancy.

The commission concluded that City had failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League’s financial rules and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.

It also found that, had the agreements been reported accurately, Manchester City would have breached both sets of spending limits by a “very substantial amount”.

Those are findings from the independent commission, not allegations being repeated by a newspaper.

And that distinction matters.

Then there is the cooperation issue

Perhaps the other part of this case that Liverpool supporters will be watching closely is City’s conduct during the Premier League investigation.

The league said the independent commission found three of the four alleged breaches relating to City’s duty to cooperate and act in good faith.

The commission concluded that City had made what the Premier League described as “concerted efforts” to stop and frustrate its investigation.

Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, said the decision establishes the facts of what happened during the period and described it as the most significant disciplinary case in Premier League history.

But even the Premier League is stressing that there is still more to come.

The sanction has not been decided.

And City can appeal.

So anyone saying today that a particular punishment is definitely coming is getting ahead of the process.

Liverpool fans will naturally look at the bigger picture

This is where I think things get particularly interesting for Liverpool supporters.

Liverpool finished second behind Manchester City in the Premier League in 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2021/22, while also running City incredibly close during several other title races.

The two points dropped by Liverpool here. The one point there. The 97-point season that still wasn’t enough.

Fans have spent years wondering what these financial allegations could eventually mean for the Premier League’s history.

Now we have an independent commission finding serious breaches over nine seasons.

But we still don’t know what happens to the results and honours from those seasons.

That question remains part of the next stage.

And I think Liverpool supporters should be careful about jumping straight to claims that titles will automatically be handed over or removed.

That’s not what today’s announcement says.

What it does say is that the commission has found serious financial rule breaches and that the sanction will now be considered separately.

That’s already a massive development.

My personal view

I’ll be honest about where I stand on this.

If the independent commission has found that Manchester City deliberately circumvented Premier League financial rules on this scale, then I believe the punishment should be harsh.

Not because I’m a Liverpool supporter and not simply because City have been competing with Liverpool for trophies.

It’s because rules only mean something if there are serious consequences for breaking them.

The financial figures involved are enormous. The commission has found that City’s arrangements artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900m, while the club was also found to have breached its cooperation obligations during the Premier League investigation.

For me, that deserves a punishment that reflects the seriousness of the findings.

At the same time, though, I genuinely feel sorry for Manchester City supporters.

And I don’t say that lightly as a Liverpool fan.

No ordinary supporter decided how sponsorship agreements were structured. They didn’t prepare the accounts. They weren’t responsible for the club’s dealings with the Premier League.

They went to matches. They bought shirts. They travelled around the country supporting their team. They celebrated the goals and trophies just like every other football supporter.

Now they are having to deal with the feeling that the club they love has been labelled a cheat.

No supporter deserves that feeling.

You can believe Manchester City should be punished severely while also recognising that the supporters aren’t responsible for what happened behind the scenes.

That’s an important distinction for me.

Football is tribal and we all have our rivalries, but supporters shouldn’t be the target of the anger.

City will fight this

Manchester City have made their position very clear.

The club has the right to appeal the commission’s findings and has until Friday, October 2, to exercise that right.

So this story isn’t finished.

Far from it.

The independent commission has delivered its findings, but there is still an appeal process and a separate sanction stage to come.

And that means Liverpool fans, along with supporters of every other Premier League club, are going to have to wait a little longer before knowing the full consequences.

But today is different from all the years of rumours and speculation.

For years, we have heard about the 115 charges.

Now an independent commission has actually ruled on them.

And the findings are incredibly serious.

The Premier League says Manchester City breached its rules over a nine-season period, used financial arrangements that the commission deemed to be sham agreements, misstated its accounts and breached its duties of cooperation during the investigation.

What happens next could have enormous consequences for Manchester City and the Premier League.

I want to see a punishment that reflects the seriousness of what the commission has found.

But I also hope we don’t lose sight of the supporters caught in the middle of it.

Because whatever happens from here, they didn’t make these decisions.

They just supported their football club.

Jamie (The Kopite View)