EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Edwards and a multi-club model, Alonso’s Liverpool-esque moment & more!

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Join Neil Jones for his weekly column with EOTK Insider, exploring all the latest and greatest transfer and news stories around Liverpool Football Club

Today’s top stories:

• What Xabi Alonso accomplished recently screamed of a future Liverpool boss…
• Concerns around a multi-club ownership model…
• And further updates on the title race, Bayer Leverkusen, Michael Edwards and more!

Manchester United review

Similarly to the league game at the Emirates, you could look at the defeat as being a bit self-inflicted. The game was in their hands, wasn’t it? I know United had good chances and could have won it in the 90 minutes with Marcus Rashford’s big chance. Also, when you score four goals, you probably feel that you’ve earned your victory. That said, I do feel that if Liverpool had been closer to their real top level – especially in the final third – they would have won the game relatively comfortably. I think that will have been the frustration.

Virgil van Dijk posted on social media and said we’ve ‘only got ourselves to blame’, didn’t he? That was the feeling I took away from it really. I watched it in a very different setting to normal; I wasn’t in the press box, I wasn’t watching it at home on TV, I was out and about on a weekend away. I think everyone who was watching it around me pretty much took the same thing out of it: Liverpool missed their opportunity to kill that game off, certainly in the second-half.

Not necessarily through missing huge chances in front of goal, it was more failing to create huge chances with breakaway situations and failing to make the most of real big spaces on the pitch. Even in extra-time, you look at Manchester United ending up with Antony playing left-back and Bruno Fernandes playing alongside Harry Maguire at centre-back and you think that should really be ripe for the taking, shouldn’t it? They didn’t do it and paid the price later on with a breakaway goal against them.

I think I’ve come away from it not necessarily feeling it will be too damaging in the long-term or even the short-term, but once this season is over (and we don’t know yet how it will finish), I reckon they would look back at this game and think, ‘Ah, that’s one we really should have taken care of’. As it turns out, they would have been playing Coventry in the semi-final and having a big chance to go to another final. So, I think they will see it as an opportunity missed if not necessarily the biggest game to come in the next few weeks.

I think, maybe, the longer the game goes on tiredness can become a factor. I saw a statistic before the game that noted it was Liverpool’s 18th game of 2024 and Manchester United’s 12th! Obviously, that comes from success and being in Europe. Maybe that becomes a thing as you get to extra-time. Some of Jurgen Klopp’s comments on the matter were fair enough; he said that Liverpool didn’t really have the subs there this time and there were far too many players he probably needed to take off, plus he mentioned three afterwards that had picked up issues during the game. It was clear that Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson couldn’t have done 120 minutes or even 90 minutes perhaps.

I also look at that Sparta Prague game on Thursday and think there were a few players there who did a few minutes longer than I expected them to. Salah, for one, did a full 90 due to circumstances and I just think if you’re going to use fixtures and tiredness and fatigue as an excuse, you maybe paint yourself into a corner by going so strong in a game you’re already 5-1 up in. I still think Liverpool should have taken better care of the game, that’s the flip side of it really! Even allowing for these issues and excuses, if you like, or reasons for Liverpool’s failure – they still should have won and been in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

We’re two days on from the defeat. I think a lot of people are still disappointed and feeling very frustrated because it was at Old Trafford, it was a quarter-final, the draw subsequently, the idea of the quadruple… but I do think Liverpool have earned a bit of leeway to say, ‘That was just one of those games we should have won, didn’t win, move on!’ It’s just a shame it’s almost two weeks until they’re allowed to move on.

Title race

I look at the next three league games and – we all trust Liverpool at Anfield, don’t we? – find myself focusing on the next two against Brighton and Sheffield United, and then leading into Manchester United, and think there’s a chance for Liverpool to put themselves in a real, real strong position. I had a couple of messages off Liverpool fans who I always debrief games with. One of them felt the FA Cup result really gives United a belief now that they can really put the spanner in Liverpool’s season and kill them in two competitions. For me, however, my feeling about this Liverpool team is that it doesn’t make the same mistake twice; it learns from its mistakes, even within games an awful lot of times. You often see this after a bad first-half and Liverpool come out and correct themselves in the second-half. I have a lot of faith in Liverpool that they’ll go with some extra focus or determination to do what they didn’t do at Old Trafford the first time around.

United get a lot of praise and I don’t disagree with it – they did battle hard, some of the players performed really well and they’ve scored four against Liverpool, which isn’t easy to do! Ultimately, they came from behind and showed a lot of character, all of those things. However, they’re not a great side. Manchester United are not a side that you look at and think, ‘When they’re on it – we can’t cope with them’. They’re a side you look at, even when they play well, knowing you can beat them quite comfortably if you play properly. Liverpool know that, even United with the home crowd and their season on the line (even with certain players performing at their level), they had their chances to go and win that game and they should have taken advantage of them. So, for me, I view it more as an opportunity for Liverpool, and a big one, but I think there will be a lot of callbacks to this game when they go and visit United on April 7 to tell them not to let their hosts off the hook, to be more precise with the passing and put their foot on United’s throat. That’s what Liverpool didn’t do on Sunday and it cost them. If it was to cost them in the Premier League – and we are now at the stage where one defeat or draw could prove costly come the end of the season – at Old Trafford, that would be a really tough one to take for the fans, the players and the manager especially.

Michael Edwards’ return

I think when I saw the story reappear after the initial approach, which came just after Jurgen announced he was going to leave, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a bit strange’. It was sort of dismissed out of hand at the time and I thought they’ve just tried their hand and that’s that, game over. But when the story reappeared about how Liverpool were still hoping to convince Michael Edwards, I did think there was a good chance around this. Definitely, someone wanted this to happen, and usually when someone wants it to happen – it does. I think it’s a good move for Liverpool, it’s good news for the club. In a really difficult summer off the field, it’s a really positive development.

I spoke to a few people at the club last week and they were in agreement that there was the propensity for so much change to mean that a) you need a lot of time to readjust to new ways, people and processes, but also b) the possibility that some of those changes just don’t work and they’re not the right people or fit. I think with Michael Edwards at the helm, FSG have got someone they know they can trust. They know they can trust his judgement, his processes and his contacts. When Edwards says Richard Hughes is the best sporting director for the job – there’s also the story that emerged about Pedro Marques – when he says these are the guys Liverpool need, they can trust that. I think that’s important. The next step will be to trust his judgement and contacts with regards to a new manager. I think it makes it a lot easier to do it than having Mike Gordon take care of the task or having a new sporting director or new head of football coming from outside and having to learn the ropes of English football. I think it’s a lot easier to trust Liverpool’s position now with Michael Edwards at the helm.

Multi-club ownership model

I know that Liverpool have had relationships with clubs in the past. Not necessarily formalised, but certainly good terms; there are strong links with Portugal and I wouldn’t be at all amazed if that was where Liverpool planted their flag. I have to say I don’t like it and I don’t like the direction modern football is heading in with things like this. It does speak to the state of modern football that money is so prevalent in a handful of clubs and leagues. It almost feels like the rest are just subservient to that.

Nonetheless, there is the reality to consider that 1) every club does it, but 2) you would hope that Liverpool do it in a way that doesn’t steal the soul of the club in question by changing their badge, forcing them to play in red and renaming the club. You would hope it’s not that kind of takeover. You have to appreciate the supporters of that club are likely not wanting to be a feeder club for another side – even one of the biggest sides in world football. I do see the dilemma there and, personally, I fall on the idea that I don’t really like multi-club ownership and the whole concept of it, whilst unfortunately accepting that sometimes the devil needs to be danced with.

I can see the benefits for Liverpool clearly. Obviously, Michael Edwards also made it clear that this was the big sell for him to effectively hand over control of another club and, more widely, a stable of clubs. That said, I can see why if you were a traditionalist and a supporter of a club that was going to be taken over by FSG, you would, at the very least, have some concerns over the soul of your team and whether it was the right thing to happen. Listen, in modern football, there are a lot of things happening which I don’t like.

The European appeal of Xabi Alonso

I was at the Sparta Prague game on Thursday. You’re just sitting in the press box and every so often someone will shout up a result from the games being played. Marseille had a bit of a scare against Villarreal, Aston Villa were beating Ajax in the Conference League… and then someone shouted, ‘Leverkusen are 2-0 down against Qarabag!’. I just thought, ‘Oof! Really? Wow, okay!’ Qarabag were down to 10 men at the time and I think there must have been about 20 minutes to go. The Liverpool game was pretty much dead and buried by this point, so you’re not overly invested in what’s happening on the pitch. You’re watching the game, of course, but there’s no jeopardy there. I said to the person next to me, ‘Leverkusen will still win’. I don’t know where that came from, but that was my feeling at the time.

Maybe I didn’t think they would win in 90 minutes, but I thought they’d get through the tie. I was then just about to do my YouTube video at the end of the Liverpool game and was setting up in the row behind when someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know Leverkusen got a 97th-minute winner?’ I thought it was going to extra-time, but they told me they won it in extra-time. You sort of end up just shaking your head, but what also crossed my mind was, ‘That’s a bit of Liverpool, that!’

There must be people in Germany saying, ‘Oh, them again? What is it with this team? Why don’t they know when they’re beaten?’ I just think about Leverkusen’s fans and the thrills they must be getting. We associate German supporters with incredible support, the noise, the demonstrations, the activism and the atmosphere they create. We don’t necessarily think of the emotional ride we go on in that sense, and I just wonder what they must be experiencing this season with all the late goals. Wherever they go in Europe and Germany they must go in thinking they’ll win on the day. I just think that’s such a good preparation for the manager who wants to go and manage one of the biggest clubs in the world. That might be Bayern, that might be Liverpool, but I just think he’s ticking an awful lot of boxes for Liverpool at the moment. If you want to be a Liverpool manager, you’ve got to win a lot of games, you’ve got to win trophies, you’ve got to build a connection with supporters and you’ve got to create a team that fights and plays. He’s clearly created a team that can play and he’s clearly created a team that can fight!

It’s a guessing game at the moment, but I’d be far more in the camp that he leaves Leverkusen this summer. My least likely outcome would be that he stays with Leverkusen. I understand the appeal of taking the team into the Champions League and testing himself there, but I just look at Napoli this season… I know it’s a different manager, but there will have been a lot of people hoping to turn this into an era and prove themselves again. It’s very difficult if you’re not one of the established teams because what these outfits do when they don’t win is go and make themselves stronger in order to come back and grind you into the dirt so you don’t get a chance to laugh at them again.

I think Bayern will be strong again next term, and while Leverkusen might be better seeded in Europe if they become champions and their co-efficient improves, they would still get a tough Champions League draw. It would be difficult and there would be fresh pressures whilst juggling Champions League football and Bundesliga games. There’s also the extra respect from opposition teams, bearing in mind their success from the prior campaign, to factor in. If Alonso was to do it, I think it would underline his credentials that he is just a special, special manager. However, with the opportunities that are going to be available this summer, I think it’s too right here and right now for him, isn’t it? I think he’d need to take one of those opportunities – that’s my personal opinion! He might feel differently and, of course, he’s his own man. That said, I think he’d be taking a bigger risk staying at Leverkusen than he would by going to either one of Bayern or Liverpool. I think it would be a more natural decision for him to do one of those two.

The road to Dublin

When the draw was made on Sunday, some people were glad to have avoided Leverkusen. I actually think I wanted Liverpool to play them over two legs, especially to get Xabi Alonso back at Anfield and feel the love a little bit. I’m not sure he needs it, but perhaps just a reminder that this is a special place to come to. I’d have loved a semi-final second leg against Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool – it would have been unbelievable! Imagine coming there with the game in the balance! I wouldn’t say I was hoping for Leverkusen, but I wouldn’t have been upset if Liverpool got it. I think the draw has worked out quite well for Liverpool in all facets otherwise, but I wouldn’t have been disappointed to see Liverpool get Leverkusen in the quarters or semis.

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