Blood Red: The Liverpool Fc Podcast

What a December it’s been so far for Liverpool.The most dramatic of Merseyside derby wins, a gritty comeback at Burnley, a four-goal thrashing of Bournemouth that took the Reds to the top of the Premier League, and then a terrific performance to beat Napoli and secure their place in the Champions League knock-out stages.What a time, then, to reintroduce the View from the Kop podcast to the Blood Red mix.Hosted by Paul Wheelock, and featuring Paul Philbin, Caoimhe O'Neill, Matt Addison and fellow debutant George Xanthis, an Australian Koppite who is based in America, the panel get stuck into the big talking points from Anfield.There is yet more praise for Virgil van Dijk after his towering display against Napoli but he is already up there with the very best Reds centre-backs? And, if not, what does he need to do?The Dutchman’s influence is only going to grow stronger now that Joel Matip has joined Joe Gomez on the sidelines and we ask should Jurgen Klopp enter the transfer market next month? And if not for a d

No surprise that the Blood Red team are in very high spirits after another famous Anfield night in Europe. Host Kristian Walsh is joined by James Pearce and Caoimhe O'Neill to reflect on the night the Reds showed the true measure of their maturity, with the much-maligned midfield being central to that. The team also discuss Virgil van Dijk's impact - and how Dries Mertens regretted THOSE comments about the atmosphere - as well as Mohamed Salah's lightbulb moment and the aura Alisson Becker brings. There is also a story about Martin Skrtel and the mixed zone which you won't want to miss - not to mention several plugs for one of Blood Red's favourite haunts on a night on the town. Sort of.Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top of the Premier League – and now through to the last 16 of the Champions League to boot.What a 10 days it has been for Liverpool.And to reflect on the 1-0 win over Napoli on Tuesday night that secured their place in the knockout stages of the competition they came so desperately close to winning last season, we get the view from the pressbox, the dugout and the stands in our Post-Game podcast.The podcast kicks-off with the verdict of our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce and continues with audio highlights from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp’s press conference.We then hand the show over to Liverpool supporters. Seven phone-in to give their views on yet another memorable night at Anfield while host Paul Wheelock also reads out comments left on our Blood Red podcast group page on Facebook, which you can join HERE. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League at the weekend after they swept aside Bournemouth to continue their unbeaten, record-breaking start.But now the Reds’ focus switches to the Champions League and their must-win final Group C game at home to Napoli.Jurgen Klopp’s team will guarantee their place in the knock-out stages by winning 1-0 or by two clear goals at Anfield this evening.And, given the club’s rich history on nights like these, you would not bet against them.But, as the main guest of this Preview podcast makes clear, Napoli are not going to be a pushover.They just need a point to qualify, and their 1-0 win over Liverpool in Naples in October kick-started a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions.So to get the inside track on Carlo Ancelotti’s side, and the state of play in Serie A, Paul Wheelock speaks to Italian football writer Chloe Beresford.You also hear from our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, who gives the reaction from last night’s press conferences involving Klopp and A

The hunter has become the hunted.Yes, Liverpool top the Premier League at long last after they brushed aside Bournemouth and Manchester City suffered their first defeat of the campaign.And in our first Blood Red podcast of the week, James Pearce joins Connor Dunn and host Joe Rimmer in reflecting on what hopefully could be a momentous weekend in the title race.James and Connor were both at the Vitality Stadium for the ECHO and they hail a number of Reds players while Joe picks out one who our Liverpool FC correspondent believes will be crucial, both on and off the field, as the club attempts to win its first league title since 1990.Jurgen Klopp’s ‘unpredictability’ is praised as is the options he now has at his disposal in the centre of the park given the emergence of Fabinho and Naby Keita.Talk then turns to Tuesday’s Champions League shoot-out at Anfield with Napoli and the tactical conundrum facing Reds boss Klopp.Joe Gomez’s new contract is discussed, with James making a claim that underlines just what a

Top of the league!Yes, the unbeaten and relentless Reds moved above Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League with a superb 4-0 victory at Bournemouth in the early Saturday kick-off.And they are staying there after City lost the late kick-off at Chelsea!Inspired by a magnificent hat-trick from top-scorer Mohamed Salah, who was back to his blistering best, Liverpool underlined their title credentials with one of their most impressive performances of what has been a record-breaking Premier League season so far.So, not for the first time in a campaign that promises so much, we have a very happy Post-Game podcast for you.It is a podcast that starts with the definitive verdict of our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce.You then hear the full audio from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp’s press conference.Before we get the thoughts of seven Liverpool fans who have phoned into the show – Simon Donnelly, Alex Watt, Nathan Davidson, Sam Planche, Owen Thomas, Matt Addison and Matt Whitty.Enjoy. For information rega

It's Friday, it's the Blood Red podcast, and we have an exclusive for you.Sadly, it's not Liverpool's next signing, but the revelation of James Pearce's middle name.Without giving the game away, it's nothing on the one bestowed upon Theo Squires, who joins our Liverpool FC correspondent and host Joe Rimmer in our final pod of the working week.The trio talk the win at Burnley, hailing the performance of Naby Keita but fretting over the injury sustained by Joe Gomez and the problems it could cause what has been a rock-solid defence.A big part of that has been the form of Alisson Becker, and after having some initial doubts, Joe has now joined James and Theo as a fully paid-up member of the Brazilian number one's fan club.Talk then turns to Saturday's dinnertime clash at Bournemouth and the title battle with Manchester City.Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Hooton takes a leaf out of Jurgen Klopp’s book for his latest Allez Les Rouges podcast.Just like the Liverpool boss against Burnley on Wednesday, Hooton has made sweeping changes to his line-up.But the guests coming into to replace his benched regulars aren’t half bad – Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman, Wigan Athletic first-team coach Anthony Barry and the ECHO’s Dan Kay.The big Reds start not by talking about the gritty win at Turf Moor, but about Sunday’s Merseyside derby. And how could they not?Where Divock Origi’s dramatic strike stands in the history of derby winners, Klopp’s reaction to it, and the performances of Alisson Becker and Fabinho are all discussed before talk turns to the January transfer window.Coleman, who continues to do a remarkable job at Accrington, would like to see Klopp make a statement of intent with not one, but two attacking midfield signigns. However, any new additions will have to go a long way to match the impact of last year’s New Year recruit, Virgil van Dijk, wh

The latest Blood Red podcast is another belter.Our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce sat down with former Reds defender John Arne Riise on Wednesday before the Burnley game.Riise was back in Liverpool to promote his brutally honest new autobiography, Running Man, and as well as talking about the book, he opens up on his seven-year spell at Anfield.But as the must-listen podcast reveals, the buccaneering left-back would never have signed for the Reds had it not been for a mobile phone that should have been on silent.Riise made a flying start to his Liverpool career and he talks his strikes in the European Super Cup and Merseyside derby and, of course, THAT free kick v Manchester United and THAT song.A big part of the podcast is dedicated to the club's incredible 2005 Champions League triumph, including the must-win group game v Olympiakos, the 'unreal' atmosphere at Anfield for the semi-final second leg v Chelsea, and of course the unforgettable final v AC Milan in Istanbul.Riise went on to win the FA Cu

In a Blood Red podcast special, former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore sits down with Joe Rimmer and Paul Gorst to talk through his career.The ex-Mali international made 141 appearances for the Reds, which included the Champions League triumph of 2005.Traore details what it was like arriving on Merseyside as an unproven teenager and tells us what he learned playing alongside defenders like Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia.Traore also revealed how he nearly wasn't part of the Reds' most famous European night - after strong interest from David Moyes' Everton! An infamous own goal at Burnley is touched on as Traore discusses how he went from his lowest Liverpool ebb to winning the Champions League just a few months later.A coach himself now with Seattle Sounders in the MLS, Traore tells us what he has learned working under revered Reds managers like Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier, and France's World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps.It's a must-listen. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.

Think of all the great sides Liverpool have had in their history.But not one has eenjoyed a start to a campaign as good as the one Jurgen Klopp's current crop are.Yes, despite a 12th win in 15 unbeaten Premier League matches, achieved in difficult conditions at Burnley on Wednesday evening, the Reds remain two points behind Manchester City.But City will know only too well by now that Liverpool are not going anywhere.They proved that again at Turf Moor, and to analyse what felt like a huge victory in what is swiftly developing into a two-horse race for the title, we get the thoughts of our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, as well as three Reds supporters who have phoned into the show.And sandwiched between that is Klopp's post-match press conference in full.Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now most of us would swap big wins for the dramatic way Liverpool settled the Merseyside derby every day of the week.But, if we’re being greedy, the one thing missing from Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season is a thumping victory.There was, of course, the 4-0 win over West Ham on the opening weekend. However, the Reds haven’t really taken anyone to the cleaners since then.But could that change at Turf Moor on Wednesday night?The main guest of our Preview podcast fears that could be the case.Chris Boden is the sports editor of the Burnley Express newspaper and has been covering the Clarets for a number of years.He watched on as Burnley defied the odds to qualify for the Europa League last season.But, for the first time in Sean Dyche’s reign, the wheels have come off, and they take on a buzzing Liverpool side on the back of seven league games without a victory.Chris explains what’s going wrong at the Clarets - and why he feels the Reds won't need a Ragnar Klavan-style late intervention this

In the latest Blood Red Podcast, Liverpool reporter and regular host Ian Doyle is joined by full-time Liverpool correspondent - both home and away - James Pearce and ECHO duo Kristian Walsh and Joe Rimmer to look back on a remarkable Merseyside derby, consider the impact of Fabinho and Alisson Becker, ponder Roberto Firmino's form, stick up for Jurgen Klopp and look ahead to Burnley.Includes Kristian achieving peak Kristian and James becoming very distracted. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wow, just wow.Liverpool won the Merseyside derby 1-0 at Anfield this afternoon thanks to a 96th-minute winner from the unlikeliest of heroes, Divock Origi.The super-sub's header settled the contest as the Reds extended their unbeaten record at home to their rivals Everton to 19 matches.Importantly, it ensured they closed to gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to two points.And, to reflect on what turned into an incredible afternoon of drama, we get the view from the pressbox, the dugout and the stands in our Post-Game podcast.The podcast kicks off with the verdict of our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce.You will then hear the full audio from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp's press conference.And we finish by handing the podcast over to eight ecstatic Liverpool supporters who phoned in to give their views on a memorable victory over the Blues.Enjoy! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - the Merseyside derby is still the big game for Liverpool and Everton supporters.And, with the 232nd meeting between the sides just hours away, we've produced a special preview podcast for both our Blood Red and Royal Blue listeners.Host Paul Wheelock speaks to Adam Jones, the ECHO's Everton FC reporter, and Paul Gorst, one of our football journalists, and who provides the Liverpool perspective.The mood in both camps, the importance of history, the pros and cons of throwing in new signings, and the players to watch out for are discussed by both Gorsty and Adam.They also reveal which player they'd like to make the move across Stanley Park - and sign for Liverpool from Everton, and vice versa - before giving their predictions.Enjoy - and we'll be back after the match with our Post-Game podcast. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two days before the Merseyside derby, illness and unavailability has ravaged the ECHO's sportsdesk. That means just Paul Wheelock was able to join Neil Fitzmaurice on the latest Poetry in Motion podcast - and even he is battling a severe case of man flu.But worry not, Fitzy is in fine form, and as anyone who read his tweets during and after the Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, he has a lot to get off his chest.It's not an over-reaction on his part to what was another disappointing European awayday - for some time he's wondered when Liverpool will begin to play with the same verve they did in the second half of last season.The Reds are undoubtedly now better in defence - the arrival of Alisson Becker and the rapid development of Joe Gomez, aligned with the influence of Virgil van Dijk, has made sure of that - but why are they struggling to fire truly in the final third?Is it tactics? Is it form? Is it the failing of existing players or the ones who came in during the summer?Fitzy and

In the latest Blood Red podcast, Liverpool reporter and regular host Ian Doyle is joined by full-time Liverpool correspondent - both home and away - James Pearce along with ECHO duo Joe Rimmer and Theo Squires to pick the bones out of the latest Champions League disappointment, assess what went wrong, debate the antics of Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain, ponder another famous Anfield European night and look ahead to the small matter of the Merseyside derby. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So it will all come down to Napoli at Anfield on December 11.Beat Carlo Ancelotti's side 1-0 or by two clear goals and Liverpool will definitely take their place in the Champions League knock-out stages.But they will have to improve on the performance they produced in the first half of their 2-1 defeat at Paris-Saint Germain.A James Milner penalty on the stroke of half-time gave the Reds a lifeline.But it was one they could not grasp as they suffered a third straight away defeat in the group stages of the Champions League for the first time.The Post-Game podcast kicks off, as ever, with the definitive match verdict from our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce.You will then hear the highlights from what was a very interesting Jurgen Klopp press conference.And the podcast rounds off with the thoughts of six Liverpool fans who have phoned into the show to have their say. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not long to go now, Reds.Liverpool are in Champions League action at the Parc des Princes tonight, taking on the superstars of Paris Saint-Germain.But going into what is a mouthwatering match between two of the best strikeforces in world football, it is PSG who are under the most pressure.And to explain why, Paul Wheelock picks up the phone to our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce, who is in the French capital to cover this evening’s game for the ECHO.James believes it has the making of an absolutely fascinating fixture.But he was also interested by the mood of the respective managers, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, at last night’s press conference.James, in particular, was taken by the comments Tuchel made about the Reds’ ‘team spirit’ and the comments made by Klopp on which side has more riding on the outcome of the match.Our man in the know at Anfield also talks the revitalised Mohamed Salah and Klopp’s possible line-up for an encounter that has all the makings of a classic.Enjoy the match – and we’

So who's ready for round two?Liverpool's thrilling and richly deserved 3-2 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in September kicked off the Champions League in style and remains one of the best matches of the season so far.But the return clash in the French capital on Wednesday night is an even bigger game given both teams' chances of qualifying for the knockout stages hang in the balance.So to preview the Parc de Princes encounter, and to get an update on the fitness of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and to discover what PSG learned from their Anfield reverse, Paul Wheelock speaks to French football expert Rich Allen.Rich, a writer and podcaster for Get French Football News and French Football Weekly, also gives us a fascinating insight into Ligue 1, what the Parisians' all-out domination means for the division, and why it consistently produces some of the best young players in Europe.One of which has been linked with Liverpool, and Rich gives us the lowdown on the player in question, and who just so happens to be a