After Nottingham Forest recently brought up the topic of officials’ teams, a report revealed how personal allegiances affect each of the 20 main Premier League referees.

After Nott’m Forest were on the end of some incorrect refereeing decisions against Everton, they released an extraordinary statement saying they had “warned the PGMOL that the VAR,” Stuart Attwell, was “a Luton fan.”

For a multitude of reasons this didn’t go down well and, while the tone of Forest’s words were wrong in insinuating bias, they have a point about the general appointments of officials in the Premier League.

After the incident, the Telegraph released a report detailing who several of the 20 main Premier League referees support, as well as declaring which officials are prohibited from managing certain clubs.

From those selected by the newspaper, five aren’t allowed to officiate Liverpool matches due to allegiances to the Reds or their rivals.

Darren Bond, Jarred Gillett, Peter Bankes, Rob Jones and Michael Salisbury were the five named, three of whom come from Merseyside or nearby areas.

Just two of the 20 are originally from Manchester, Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh, but neither are forbidden from taking charge of Man City or Man United.

Taylor has long been down as an Altrincham supporter and Kavanagh is reportedly a fan of non-league Droylsden.

While it has long been questioned why referees from Manchester can take charge of clubs in their city and Liverpool, it is worth noting Mike Dean, a Tranmere fan, was from Merseyside and refereed teams from both cities, too.

Outside the North West, two referees can’t do Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday games, two can’t do Swindon matches and two can’t do Wigan fixtures.

Interestingly, though just a coincidence, none of the 20 referees to feature in the report are from England’s two biggest cities, London and Birmingham.

Forest haven’t backed down on the topic of Attwell’s appointment as the VAR for their match, later stating: “This was an issue we raised with PGMOL prior to the fixture because of the fear of the side show that would ensue if anything went wrong with officiating in the game.

“That fear has materialised, as the correctness of three important decisions against the club have been called into doubt.”

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Liverpool travel to West Ham low on confidence this weekend, but the Hammers aren’t exactly brimming with self-belief themselves currently.

The Reds lost 2-0 at Everton on Wednesday, effectively ending their Premier League title hopes with their 2023/24 season petering out depressingly.

Next up is the Saturday lunchtime trip to West Ham, with victory badly needed to stop the rot that has set in recently.

Ahead of the match, we spoke to West Ham podcaster and fan James Jones (@ByJames Jones) to get the lowdown on his team, David Moyes, the title race and much more.

How positive has this season been?

It started positively and with so much hope after winning the Europa Conference League, but since the turn of the year, it has gone backwards and has become very toxic.

West Ham have gone from being sixth in the Premier League and front-runners to secure a top-six finish, to slipping down to eighth and European qualification no longer in our hands.

That’s thanks to winning just four games in 2024 to this point.

We’ve failed to beat Sheffield United, Burnley, Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace in the league, and it’s cost us massively.

Is it the right time for Moyes to go?

Yes, I think it is, but the levels he’s taken us to over the last four years were beyond our wildest dreams.

We were deep in a relegation battle when he came back and, since then, we have reached three consecutive European quarter-finals, a Europa League semi-final and won silverware.

We’ve finished in the top seven of the Premier League twice. No one saw it coming.

But Moyes’ failure to build a squad capable of competing across multiple fronts, due to his preference of working with a smaller squad, is a key factor behind why it’s all gone wrong this year. The players are running out of steam.

On top of that, his tactics don’t always complement the talent we have in the squad, hence the silly dropped points against teams at the bottom of the league.

It’s often so negative, and while that had previously proved to be successful and was the foundation behind Moyes’ early success at the club, it’s no longer effective.

That’s evident in the fact we’ve conceded more goals than any one else in the Premier League outside the bottom three.

The feeling is it’s time for the club to move on with a manager who has fresh ideas, a more positive tactical approach and is willing to build a squad that can compete across an entire season, not just two-thirds of one.

Moyes will leave a legend, though. I’ll always love the man.

 

Who would you like to replace him?

There are so many names being thrown around already. I’ve always said someone like Graham Potter would be a good appointment.

The Chelsea job was arguably too big for him, but West Ham are the type of club and project where I think he could build on what he was doing at Brighton.

Aside from that, I quite like what Andoni Iraola is doing at Bournemouth with a relatively small budget.

They play a good brand of football and you would think with a crop of better players he could expand on that at West Ham.

Who have been West Ham’s best and worst players this season?

Jarrod Bowen has been superb and would most likely be everyone’s pick for our best player, but my man is Emerson Palmieri.

He literally doesn’t have a bad game and is so effective down the left, both defensively and going forward.

He goes under the radar a little because his goal and assist numbers are often low, but I’ve always said the sign of a good player is one you don’t notice on the pitch.

That’s Emerson.

His close friendship with Lucas Paqueta also means he and the Brazilian link-up really nicely.

Worst player? Hate to say it because I think everything’s worked against him since he arrived, but it’s Kalvin Phillips.

A loan signing we didn’t need, for starters, but also a player whose confidence needed a club where there was absolutely no pressure of expectation of hitting top levels.

West Ham was the complete opposite and he just hasn’t been able to recover what he had at Leeds and with England.

 

How do you assess Liverpool’s title hopes?

After that defeat to Everton, I think it’s going to be very difficult for Liverpool now.

Three points behind Arsenal and with Man City having two games in hand, it’s no longer in your hands.

It has to be four wins from four and hope Arsenal and City both drop points at least twice in their remaining games.

Who would you like to win the title?

Anyone but Arsenal. The thought of their gloating, cocky and self-entitled fans having any glory upsets me greatly.

It would also give me great pleasure in seeing Declan Rice win nothing after he spent years saying he “wanted to win it all” in his career, only to choose to sign for Arsenal.

They are a club that hasn’t and probably won’t win it all.

 

As for Saturday, where will the key battles take place?

I think it all depends on whether Bowen is fit or not AND if Paqueta turns up.

Paqueta is becoming very inconsistent, but on his day, he can unlock any defence in the world.

We need that on Saturday, and with Bowen’s pace in behind, we will be dangerous in attack.

My concern is in defence. We’re shipping goals for fun at the moment and Kurt Zouma can no longer run, which is a worry against a team with a fast attack like Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz could have a field day up against our defence if given the time and space on the ball.

 

If you could only have one Liverpool player at West Ham, who would it be?

I think I’ve said it before on this site and I’ll say it again: Diogo Jota. I just love him.

He scores all sorts of goals and can play pretty much anywhere in a front-three, or even a little deeper behind the attack.

It’s a shame that he’s having injury problems at the moment, but I have to say I’m pleased he won’t be playing on Saturday.

Finally, what’s your prediction?

Given Liverpool’s form, I think we have a chance of taking something this weekend.

But I’m aware that Jurgen Klopp will not want to see any more dropped points as he attempts to take the title race to the final weekend.

As long as Liverpool are still in the race, there’s still a chance, and that’s what West Ham are up against this weekend.

I’m going to remain positive and predict a 2-1 West Ham win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the other way round.

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Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has publicly confirmed his intention to become the new Liverpool FC manager, speaking on Thursday night.

The 45-year-old Dutchman, who has become the firm favourite to take over Jurgen Klopp after talks this week, was speaking ahead of his side’s Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles.

“It is no secret that I’d like to become new Liverpool manager, my decision is clear,” Slot told ESPN Netherlands.

“Feyenoord and Liverpool are in talks to negotiate, I’m waiting to see what will come out of it.

“I am waiting for the clubs to reach an agreement, I have every confidence in that [happening].”

"Geen geheim dat ik graag naar Liverpool wil" ?????????

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) April 25, 2024

Slot’s public words are quite surprising and certainly not common, but perhaps underline his confidence that an agreement will be made imminently.

Reports on Wednesday had suggested that Feyenoord had rejected Liverpool’s initial offer of compensation, said to be around £7.7 million.

But another report has since suggested that Slot could even be confirmed as the next Liverpool manager this week.

A fee €10 million (£8.6 million) is expected to be accepted by Feyenoord.

Who is Arne Slot?

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Arne Slot is the current manager of Feyenoord, and led the Dutch side to the Eredivisie title in 2023. Most recently, he led the Rotterdam club to the KNVB Cup (April 2024).

He predominantly plays a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is possession based and features high pressing.

He has spoken of his admiration for Pep Guardiola as a coach, previously saying: “Pep Guardiola gives me the ultimate joy in football.”

His charismatic personality is one that endears him to players, fans and media alike.

An attacking midfielder as a player, his career was spent entirely in the Netherland, with PEC Zwolle, NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam.

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With the news that Liverpool are on the verge of appointing Arne Slot as the club’s new manager, we spoke with Dutch football expert Arthur Renard to get the lowdown on the incoming boss.

Tell us about Slot’s style of play; we hear that he favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, is very possession based and quite a high pressing game. How similar is his style to Jurgen’s?

Yeah, there is definitely a similarity, I think especially in the the high pressing, there’s definitely a similarity with the current Liverpool [but] Jurgen may be is a little bit different. You could maybe say that that Jurgen is a bit more direct.

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Arne Slot likes to build and play a little bit more football through the whole pitch, whereas maybe Klopp you could argue, he’s maybe more direct.

What I like about Slot is that he likes to play his game and the pressing game wherever he plays and against anyone. So it doesn’t matter if he plays, let’s say Real Madrid away or whatever game, he plays his style. And that is something I think Liverpool fans will like a lot.

In your article for BBC Sport, you mention Pep Guardiola’s influence on Slot. Tell us about that.

He’s a big fan of Guardiola, so I would say his style even more towards Guardiola [than Klopp], although I guess with Guardiola and Klopp they’d both like their teams to have the ball to attack.

He’s a huge admirer of of Guardiola. He [Slot] said: “Pep Guardiola gives me the ultimate joy in football.

“There is no team in the world I would rather watch than Manchester City, followed by Napoli, Arsenal and Brighton.

“But City – and again it is not my intention to compare us with them – have a similar style of play to how we want to play with Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, wanting to apply pressure quickly.”

It could be, those Liverpool-Man City games if he gets appointed, that could be really interesting!

We’ve heard a lot about how he develops players and gets the most out of them, signing some gems at Feyenoord?

The striker, Santiago Gimenez, he came also for not that much money (€6m) and he has proved, especially in the title-winning season last year, he proved such an important player.

Slot’s managed to get some really good players on the cheap – and that must be music to the ears of the Liverpool owners.

There’s been quite a few players in the last few years and they’ve developed pretty well. He also has some young talents. There is one, Quilindschy Hartman, who actually made his debut for the Dutch national team as well (recently). If he is fit, I wouldn’t be surprised if he will play at the Euros. He’s a bit like Trent, a local guy, a wingback kind of player.

He [Slot] definitely has an eye for young talent and also has the kind of guts to give them a chance in the team. That’s something Liverpool and definitely its owners will like.

What about Slot’s personality and interactions with players and media?

He seems to get on really well with his players. You don’t really hear players being unhappy. He seems to have a very straightforward and relaxed approach.

There’s a clip of of of him at a team talk away at Ajax after the game, he’s he’s not really too emotional but but just kind of like (how) he is.

You can see he connects with his players but he still keeps some kind of like calm kind approach.

What about the concerns, the Premier League is a big step from Dutch football – as we’ve seen with Erik Ten Hag!

I think it’s a good point – and in the end of the day you never know whether somebody will be a success or not.

Personally I think to succeed Jurgen Klopp is just very tough regardless who you are. Even Xabi Alonso, who seems to be at the moment the, the top of the top, probably would find it difficult.

In terms of comparisons with Ten Hag it’s difficult to compare. But the budgets [available at Ajax vs. Feyenoord] I think the last two years Feyenoord of has spent around maybe 30 million on players where Ajax had an outlay of around 200 million and [Feyenoord] finished both seasons above Ajax.

An interesting quote is from Marco van Basten, who was talking in a Dutch TV talk show, and he said he is just sure he [Slot] can do it at Liverpool.

He said ‘he can go to Bayern Munich, Liverpool, you name it, you know, and he will do well’. And he says ‘players at Liverpool are even better.’ So it’s easier for them to kind of translate his message on the pitch.

I think he can manage that, if Van Basten says that, that obviously tells you something.

Taking the job from Klopp probably says something about Slot’s character, backing himself?

That definitely tells you something [and] probably it’s also a thing of you don’t get the Liverpool job offered every day! So that’s also a factor.

I think that’s a good thing about him, he’s not thinking too much in in dilemmas, in, in difficulties, in obstacles.

It is obviously a massive challenge to succeed someone like Klopp but he’s really positive; a really positive kind of person. He doesn’t really think in obstacles, but more in kind of like chances. And it’s a huge chance for him to to do well.

What’s your overall feeling, should Liverpool fans be optimistic?

I think that they should be definitely optimistic.

I like to look at what he’s done so far. Because even before Feyenoord, he was the manager of AZ Alkmaar and he was doing really well; they were actually first or second in the league when the season got suspended because of corona – and in Holland, for him, unfortunately, the season was cancelled.

Maybe he could have won the league that year [2020].

If you can do it at different clubs; Liverpool fans should be really kind of, enthusiastic, because why would he not do that at Liverpool?

I think there’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic.

A massive thanks to Arthur for his insight. You can follow Arthur on X @arthurrenard87.

Read Arthur’s article on BBC Sport: Slot – the ‘control freak’ inspired by Guardiola.

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Liverpool’s move for Arne Slot continued to develop at pace, while the Reds were linked with a highly-rated Bundesliga defender.

Liverpool have “strong interest” in Pacho

With Virgil van Dijk turning 33 in July, Ibrahima Konate injury-prone and Matip expected to leave, a new centre-back will needed at Liverpool this summer.

According to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, the Reds have “strong interest” in signing Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Willian Pacho at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old has already been linked with a switch to Liverpool this month and it looks as though he is a leading option to come in.

Pacho is a left-sided centre-back, which would not only add balance to the defence but also means he could be viewed as Van Dijk’s long-term heir.

4 things today: Slot moving fast & Van Djk fuming

• Arne Slot could be announced as Liverpool’s next manager this week, according to one report – this story has moved incredible quickly!

• “You can’t accept this” – Van Dijk claims Liverpool don’t deserve to win the league this season. He’s not wrong after that shambles on Wednesday night!

• The Reds skipper has also spoken positively about Slot, saying he “could be a Liverpool coach”. Have the Reds found their man?

• Time to sell Salah? Liverpool fans have had their say on the matter – what would you do?

Latest Liverpool FC News

• Crystal Palace want £60m for Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise this summer, should Liverpool plan to make an offer for either. Could Olise be an ideal replacement for Salah? (BBC Sport)

• Serie A rivals Roma and Lazio are set to fight it out for the signing of Matip when his contract expires – they look like ideal fits for the Liverpool defender (Football Italia)

Chat from elsewhere

• Man United are happy to sell Marcus Rashford in the summer, following a poor season. He has fallen off a cliff! (Mirror)

• Newcastle have made contact with Sporting CP defender and Liverpool target Ousmane Diomande over a big-money move – could the Reds be looking at Pacho instead? (A Bola)

Video of the day and match of the night

Arne Slot looks like the very strong favourite to be Liverpool’s next manager and he has admitted that he is a “huge admirer” of Man City boss Pep Guardiola…

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Match of the night is Brighton vs. Man City (8pm BST), but how much does that really affect Liverpool now?

At least the sun is shining for those on Merseyside, even if we’re keeping are heads down after the derby!

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Against Everton, we saw once again how wasteful Liverpool can be in front of goal, and these particular stats show how the pressure is getting to the players.

The Reds lost the Merseyside Derby 2-0, largely due to poor defending at set-pieces and being caught out by Everton early on.

Despite the two-goal defeat, Liverpool still created over two expected goals (xG), nearly double that of Everton.

In the first half, it was again the Reds’ finishing that let them down again – a consistent theme across the latter part of the season.

Liverpool’s inability to bury chances has flummoxed supporters, and it appears the pressure is getting to the forwards.

According to journalist Andrew Beasley‘s statistics, they have fallen well below the average when behind in games, but remain relatively standard when drawing or winning.

Opta say that non-penalty big chances are converted 39 percent of the time on average.

However, when Liverpool have been losing this season, they have only managed to convert three of 23 big chances, equating to 13 percent.

Spoke about this on a recent @DistanceCovered podcast.

Opta non-pen big chances are converted 39% of the time. When Liverpool have been losing this season, they've scored just three of 23, 13%.

They've been fine when drawing (39.1%) or ahead (40.8%). But not with more pressure. https://t.co/qLjPUOj5uR pic.twitter.com/MArZhg9JVC

— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) April 25, 2024

This trend doesn’t continue when Liverpool have been drawing or leading, at 39.1 percent or 40.8 percent respectively.

Quite clearly this shows Jurgen Klopp‘s side miss more big chances when they are behind in matches – not ideal for a team who have conceded first 15 times this season in the league.

In fact, since Klopp announced he was leaving, Liverpool have the third lowest shot conversion rate in the division, according to journalist Duncan Alexander.

The manager has repeatedly apportioned some blame on Liverpool’s loss to Man United in the FA Cup, in which they missed countless opportunities only getting knocked out.

After the Everton match, he said: “It’s long ago but I blame a little bit the [Man] United game for it.

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“[Having] that many chances and you play really good but you don’t get anything for it. That’s really bad. Since then, we create but we don’t score often enough and that doesn’t help.”

Whether the extra pressure to make Klopp’s farewell a special one has got to the players, we can’t say for definite.

However, we do know that strikers who don’t score goals when given the opportunity, likely won’t be favoured for very long under the new manager.

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It is rare that there is ever a single, all-encompassing explanation for the sort of sudden collapse that has effectively ended Liverpool’s season over the course of the last two weeks.

But when an entire squad appears to lose form simultaneously, it is surely fair to ask if it might be rooted in one factor.

How can it be that the very same players who snapped into challenges, bullied opponents, and were ruthless in front of goal early in the campaign now look so slow, weak, and blunt?

Well, in the Reds’ case, it is hard to look beyond a mid-season injury crisis whose consequences appear only to have been delayed, rather than avoided entirely.

Clearly, Liverpool now have several players who were forced to take on too much during periods in which their teammates were sidelined, and look exhausted as a result.

What’s more, those who have come back from fitness issues are struggling with a loss of rhythm and sharpness, meaning they are some way short of their best.

The ramifications are missed chances, lost duels, and performances like those seen against Atalanta and Everton, which have derailed any hopes of further trophies being secured.

Klopp’s role – the pressing problem

But if it sounds like pointing this out is to absolve key figures at Anfield of any blame, then that is not the case.

The fact is, it is starting to feel like injury crises such as those that have hampered this campaign have simply become a feature of the latter part of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, and that the German is not entirely innocent.

Although Liverpool’s problems last season were many in number, persistent fitness issues were among them, and the same can be said of the forgettable 2020/21 campaign.

So, that is three out of the last four years in which injuries have played a significant role, a record that surely can’t be pinned on simple bad luck.

Instead, you wonder if the famously physical approach favoured by Klopp is starting to take its toll, and if it is sustainable to continue in a similar vein once he departs.

Evidence of Liverpool’s favoured style can be seen in the fact that they have averaged three tackles per 90 minutes in their attacking third this season, the third highest in the Premier League behind Everton (3.09) and Tottenham (3.31).

And, given that all top teams now use pressing as an important tool, it is no surprise to see Arsenal (2.82) and Manchester City (2.66) are not too far behind in fifth and eighth place respectively.

However, the huge difference between the title rivals can be seen in the fact that the Reds also rank third for tackles in the middle third of the pitch (7.41), while Arsenal (6.5) are 12th, and City (5.91) way down in 18th.

Intensity = injury issues

Clearly, Klopp is instructing his players to try and win the ball back aggressively across a far larger area, and a look at the three sides’ injury records this term suggests that comes at a cost.

City are further aided by the fact they often rest on the ball as the most dominant team in terms of possession in the league, while Arsenal’s superior compactness appears to reduce the distances they have to cover in rest defence.

The end result is that Liverpool are contending with injury problems more regularly than any title-chasing team can deal with.

Yes, the Reds have had their fair share of unfortunate blows, such as Joel Matip’s ACL rupture, Diogo Jota’s knee injury at Brentford, and Thiago Alcantara’s troublesome hip.

But repeat muscle problems for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konate felt avoidable, and turned a potentially difficult period into a full-blown crisis.

And that this has happened so frequently in recent years throws up the question of whether Liverpool’s next coach should be quite so wedded to such an aggressive defensive setup.

In Arne Slot, Michael Edwards and co appear to have identified a continuity candidate whose pressing style makes him a good fit to take charge of a squad built in Klopp’s image.

But if the Dutchman is to thrive at Anfield, then being subtly different to his immensely successful predecessor in terms of how the press is implemented might be just as useful as any similarities between the two managers.

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admits they do not deserve to win the Premier League after the unacceptable way the players have allowed the season to end.

Just over a month ago they were chasing an unprecedented but unlikely quadruple but a week after exiting Europe their Premier League title hopes were left in tatters after losing 2-0 at Everton in the 244th Merseyside derby.

Already third favourites in the title race, defeat means Jurgen Klopp’s final season is likely to end with just the Carabao Cup and Van Dijk criticised the general lack of appetite to drag things back in their favour at Goodison Park.

“Games likes these, the bare minimum is fight. We were lacking that at so many moments in games,” said the Netherlands captain.

“If you play like we did, obviously even if we create two or three clear-cut chances again, you don’t deserve to win the league.

“It’s crunch time and we’ve not been good enough in the way we finished the chances off, in the way we defended together and also the fight. I think we have to show much more.

“But we have to look in the mirror and each and every one of us has to think like… ‘Listen, you can’t accept this. You can’t accept the way we let our season end’.”

Klopp’s side look like they have been running on empty for the last month while also lacking the clinical edge which has for so long been a trademark.

Despite creating a handful of chances which they failed to take in the first half they petered out after the break in similar fashion to last week’s Europa League win over Atalanta in Bergamo when they needed to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit but managed just one goal.

Liverpool have not been playing well for a couple of months and have pulled a few results out of the fire but they have uncharacteristically crumbled at the key time.

“Obviously it’s a mix of everything. You can’t put a finger on it,” added Van Dijk.

“It’s confidence, inexperience, challenges, maybe afraid to make mistakes in this part of the season. I don’t know.

“It’s a mix but it brings us to the situation where we can’t accept this.

“We have to stick together. We can’t have groups blaming each other because that’s not how it works. It’s a team thing and I don’t blame anyone.

“I blame us as a team, as a group. Everyone has to look in the mirror. We can’t let the season end like this.”

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