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Liverpool Echo

Sport

John Aldridge

FSG truth is clear despite Liverpool owners getting 'caught in a trap'

Liverpool FSG Newcastle (Organization) Tottenham UEFA Champions League Chelsea EPL Manchester City Southampton

If it’s the case that Fenway Sports Group is looking to sell Liverpool Football Club, then we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

You can’t knock them as owners, they’ve got us down the right track from when we were lower than a pig's belly. Let’s just wait and see what happens.

The European Super League was a no-goer anyway, they got caught in a trap with that one. Did it take the wind out of their sails? I don’t know.

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All I can say is that Liverpool were really low when they came into the club. They’ve done a really good job, winning the Champions League and the Premier League and getting the right manager in place with Jurgen Klopp.

They’ve got the foundations back in. Maybe with the likes of Newcastle, Manchester City and Chelsea, who is going to buy the club? Maybe someone from the Middle East? I don’t know.

We just want what is best for the club, and I’m sure they do too.

Beating Tottenham was vital to maintaining top four hopes

Liverpool started brilliantly against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday. They got the goal through Mohamed Salah and then got a 2-0 lead and everything looked rosy.

But then Liverpool lost control of the game in the second half, which is not like us. Tottenham had a few injuries, and thankfully they didn’t have Son Heung-Min available because it might have been a different result.

They dug in and we couldn’t keep a clean sheet, but got the three points which is the main thing given where Liverpool stand at the moment.

When you play against the top teams this season, more often than not, you’re going to need to get wins or draws and not get beaten. The way it's looking Manchester City and Arsenal are going to get a top four place, so then you’ve got Newcastle, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea and then Liverpool.

It’s going to be close. So winning the game was vital, and then Man United lost as well to Aston Villa. After the defeats against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, we got one back against Tottenham. Liverpool just need to not mess it up against Southampton.

Get through the Carabao Cup against Derby County in whatever way of form, because it’s important to stay in the cups with the title out of the way now.

So beat Southampton and regroup for when the season comes round again at Christmas time. Hopefully the players will be fit and ready to go, and we’ll have a strong squad to go into the second half of the season.

We’ll need the type of form that Liverpool have had over the last five years or so to maintain getting into the Champions League.

Liverpool must be wary of Newcastle surge

If you look at Newcastle who are third, they will go and spend big money in January, I’m pretty sure about that. For them to get top four is huge, even the Europa League as well.

So we need to make sure we don’t slip up, and the Champions League is massive which goes without saying.

To be fair to Newcastle, they haven’t gone out and spent big money apart from the £60m deal for Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad.

So it’s the start, for the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United and the other big clubs, of the Newcastle surge to become the next Man City.

But Eddie Howe has done it in a way which would really delight the management because they wouldn’t have expected to be where they are. So he’s done a really good job there to galvanise what he's got at the moment.

Liverpool can’t match Newcastle or Man City financially, but they can do it in other ways. But we can’t be left behind, they’ve got to recruit top players and we’ll have to see how it goes.

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