RaoulD

I am not sure whether it was the police or the local stewards that were letting people in. I suspect it was both as it probably happens regularly but not on the same scale. Many of the stewards probably live locally and were happy to let their mates in. The other problem might have been the closure of the RER B station since the walk from that station to the ground is much easier to cordon off and you don't have to use public streets as much compared to the approach from the nearest RER D station. I think the plan was to try and ring fence the stadium by allowing only those with tickets to approach the outer gates and turnstiles but it was doomed to failure because they did not secure all the alternative means of access to the ground. They also did not react quick enough when it became apparent that the outer checkpoints were failing and were merely aggravating the problem by causing a crowd to build up in a confined area.

The Paris most people see is like the London most people see. You do not normally visit St Denis in the same way that you do not normally visit the high crime boroughs in London. The French have never really taken the initiative in tackling the problem of discrimination within society unlike in the UK and their problems are much more deep-rooted as a result. Parisians are also notoriously rude to anyone who they perceive is not from Paris and this usually means that you are stereotyped as a foreigner unless you are white and speak French (with a Parisian accent). I learnt more about Paris visiting my son when he spent a year there than I did on the countless other trips and from friends who live there.

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This is the one thing that the French authorities do not want to admit to, namely that people who caused the problems were French or largely French nationals. The stadium is located within one of the poorest areas of France where the violent crime rate is one of the highest if not the highest in Europe. The majority of the residents in St Denis were born in France but because their parents or grand-parents might have originated from North Africa or French overseas territories, they are falsely labelled immigrants by the right-wing press and politicians. It is as offensive as calling anyone born in Britain whose parents or grandparents came to Britain from overseas an immigrant. France has had difficulty in assimilating its population since the 1950s which in turn fuels the support for the right-wing and racist views of many of their politicians. However, whilst the French locals might have caused trouble at the game, it was the failure of the French police to prevent them from doing so that was the rot cause of the problems. It is not rocket science to work out that if the policing breaks down, anarchy ensues. It was also not the "locals" who decided to kettle the fans into congested areas or who shut the gates and tear gassed and pepper sprayed those queuing to get in. It was not the "locals" who failed to assist those fans with genuine tickets which were wrongly being refused at the turnstiles. Blaming the "locals" for the problem is therefore no better than blaming us.

I think we did speak to him but once it became clear that his motivation was money we pulled out. He was available and I would have expected us to enquire. It would only have happened if either we met his wage demands or he was willing to fit within our wage structure because he wanted to play for us and/or Klopp. The advantage Real had was Zidane but when he left the only real attraction over remaining at PSG was probably money. When PSG matched Real's offer and effectively gave Mbappe a say in the manager, the desire to join Madrid went. I expect Zidane will now become PSG manager in the Summer.

He signed a new contract last summer so will cost a fortune to prise him from Spurs and as they qualified for the Champions League it would be hard for him to justify wanting to leave (assuming that his contract gave him the option).

I think he intended to announce he was leaving if we had won the Champions League and this was the "special" announcement that he had planned. However, it also probably needed Bayern to actually agree a fee with us and whilst that may or may not have been done, it might also be because we are looking to tie up a replacement before the move is announced. We obviously would want to secure the replacement before it becomes widely known we are looking since the price then gets hiked upwards. Some of the names being touted may therefore be a smokescreen for what is currently going on behind the scenes in the same way that Fab was recruited without our interest becoming widely known.

Their fan park was within walking distance of the ground and they were able to get to the gates without having to follow a narrow accessway which the police could block. This meant that the numbers in the crowd waiting at the gates was small and gave the locals less opportunity to get amongst them. It would not surprise me that the french police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse groups of gangs congregating at the Real Madrid gates only for the same lot to then try and mingle with the much larger Liverpool crowd that were being held outside the ground. If you saw the way that they handled the Gilet Jaune protests (which I did as my son was at Uni in Paris at the time) you wouldn't have been surprised at what happened or the police response. The problem is that on this occasion the police took it out on the innocents i.e. the Liverpool fans, who happened to get caught in the cross fire. UEFA might not have been fully aware of the nature of the problem but Macron and his cronies certainly were which is why the PR machine swung into action blaming the fans when the inevitable happened.

The French Government and politicians have their own reasons for shifting the blame onto the fans given that they have the Olympics in Paris in 2024 and can expect the same problems at the Stade de France then. They are well aware of the pickpockets and gangs that operate throughout Paris and which are likely to deter people from going to the games if, as appears to be the case, the majority of the trouble was caused by the locals rather than a foreign group. UEFA on the other hand need to come out and correct the false narrative that they endorsed on the night if they expect to maintain credibility with fans and journalists alike. There statements to date are no different to the Sun's "Truth" and whilst the damage has been done, they could at least adopt Kenny's advice and state "We Lied" as a start. They won't do it as it will embarrass the French government but I would like to see the club taking a tough line with UEFA over this and if this means withdrawing from next years Champions League in protest, I would support it.

I quite liked the look of Ivan Toney but Nunez also looked good when he played against us

I know how you feel and watching what happened on Saturday night reminded me of why I stopped going to European games. I was in Rome in 1984 and was fortunate to be there with some Italian friends in Rome who as Lazio fans knew the stadium and what was likely to happen at the end. I had gone to all of the away games that season apart from the away against Odense and never had any issues. Needless to say, there were plenty of incidents after the game in Rome but I avoided them all. I was at Heysel the following year though and nothing more needs to be said other than that game put me off going to games until I relented at the back end of the following season. My brother in law offered me the chance to go to Madrid in 2019 but I could not make it due to work commitments. I am not sure whether I would have gone anyway.

I think this was always on the cards because of his age, the fact that he is not tied to Liverpool or the UK by family connections and the fact the club are hardly likely to offer him more than a couple of years extension to his existing contract given their policy in recent years. This was what caused Gini to leave and I suspect it is also the length of the extension that is the main issue with Salah. Players of Mane's calibre know that there are clubs out there who will offer them a 4-5 year contract on wages which are on par or greater than they will earn with us. Their agents know that this is the point where your chances of securing one last long-term contract are highest since if you run down your contract and become a free agent without a deal in place, the chances are that other clubs will not take the risk on a long term contract that they might have been prepared to take if they had to entice you away. In theory there is no reason why Mane, like Salah, cannot continue to play at a top level into their mid-thirties but no matter how fit you are there are certain things associated with age that will impact upon your availability. Firstly, and probably the most significant, is your recovery time. As an ex-elite athlete who returned to the sport in later life, I know that you cannot train at the same intensity and frequency or compete as frequently as you did when you were younger. No matter how old you are you need to give the muscles time to recover and for the lactic acid to disperse and it simply takes longer the older you get. Secondly, the wear and tear on your body begins to take its toll and joint and muscle flexibility declines so you are more prone to niggling injuries. Lastly, your lactic tolerance level declines as a consequence of being unable to do the same level of high intensity work in training necessary to maintain it and therefore your endurance and performance levels will drop more suddenly and faster than when younger. We have seen it before with Keegan, Rush, Fowler, Torres, Suarez and Coutinho but are still looking at what might be regarded as one our finest ever teams.

The only real issues I have with Jota are that he seems to weaken the forward press and sometimes seems to be on a different wavelength to the rest of the team with the result that he either hangs onto the ball a fraction too long or rushes a pass which results in a loss of possession and a potential counter-attack. There can be no disputing that he has a great finishing ability particularly with his head but he needs to be running onto the ball rather than having it played to his feet most of the time, Probably not best suited to games against opposition that sit deep in numbers and try to counter as he tends to get isolated. I think we should have brought Bobby on instead of him for Diaz last night and reverted to the original front three against a very experienced Madrid side since Bobby is better at holding the ball and laying it off to Salah/Mane but realistically we needed to score in the first half last night and our failure to do so is the main reason why we lost.

Of course it should be given to the manager of the team that: 1. Rested half his team for an FA Cup semi and lost. 2. Lost a European Cup semi which they were winning on aggregate by two goals with just minutes left. 3. Nearly lost a league title that they had effectively won in January. Once might be unlucky, twice smacks of carelessness but three times??

We haven't lost to City or Chelsea this season whereas Madrid have lost to both. With the exception of the first half of the game at Chelsea, Madrid have left it late and needed extra time before getting through. This is not as strong a Madrid side as the one we faced in 2018 whereas we are considerably stronger (even with injuries) than then. We have already played 2 finals this season that went to extra time and penalties and won both. By contrast, many of Madrid's key players are now in their thirties and may not last the distance if they have to withstand our high intensity game from the outset. I think most will regard us as favourites but we need to start like we did against City in the FA Cup Semi.

This for me is how I feel at the moment. Back in January we had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that it was yet another City title. To take it to the last game and the outcome in doubt until 15 mins from the end is little short of a miracle. Lets be realistic, we are up against it and have been ever since Chelsea started buying titles although United started the trend. One title against the odds is magnificent. The fact that we came close to two is something that means more to me than winning when the playing field was more level. 92 points is deserving of a title, the fact that it does not result in a title just shows how football is at the moment. I have seen many Liverpool teams in my lifetime and nothing has given me greater pleasure than this team. I hope we prevail in Paris but really that is just being greedy and wanting the golden sky. I would rather have hope than expectation and this season we have had both.

I don't think anyone will enjoy Sunday if City win the league especially as we have come so close to winning it but at least there is still hope and unlike in 2019 I won't feel that we have lost the title if City beat Villa. In 2019 it was City who were behind in January in 2019 and it was the fact that destiny had largely been in our hands even after losing to them that made the loss of the title in 2019 really hurt in the same way that the loss of the title in 2014 to them hurt. It will still hurt this time around but I think I will get over it far quicker and certainly far quicker than City fans will if we snatch the title on the last day. I can still remember how it felt when Michael Thomas scored in 1989 and sincerely wish that City fans feel the same on Sunday evening.

The trophy is likely to be in Manchester in preparation for the most likely outcome on Sunday. If Stevie's Villa get a result at City and we beat Wolves, Stevie can pick up the trophy for us and bring it with him for the presentation. They may even allow him to hand it to Jordan as it would make great television.

Realistically if we are going to win the league now we only need to get 3 points tonight and hope Villa can get something at City on Sunday. Goal difference is meaningless now apart from the unlikely event that City lose to Villa and we draw with Wolves. Defensively we are strong (and stronger than last season) but there is not much pace up front so we might struggle if they sit back in numbers. We might need to unleash Diaz in the second half but I think this is Jurgen taking a calculated risk that he can get a result tonight with this team and save the cavalry for Sunday if necessary.

Dear Boris (and anyone else who seems to have difficulty understanding democracy and free speech), I suggest that before you express any view on the majority of Liverpool Fans who made their feelings known in an entirely peaceful manner at the FA Cup Final on Saturday you listen to the advice of Mr Jurgen Klopp (who for your information is a German with far greater experience of having his national anthem booed by those who are now complaining about it) and understand the reasons for it. Firstly, a bit of history - the "anthem" itself. It is a work of 18th Century political propaganda sung by loyalists to a foreign but protestant king whose claim to the throne through his father was opposed by your own party's predecessors until they in turn were excluded from Parliament. Given its origin, I am surprised that you cannot understand why historically many have found the tune objectionable including myself. My ancestors both fought and died at Culloden and those that survived endured the decades of persecution that then followed because they did not agree with the sentiment expressed in this so called national anthem and I intend to maintain the family tradition over any direction from a relative newcomer. Secondly, and also a bit more history for you. 75% of the people of Liverpool have Irish ancestry and 800 years of persecution of the Irish by the English tends to dampen the enthusiasm for an anthem that has now become symbolic of England. Did it occur to you that there is no similar problem with the Flower of Scotland or Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau? Thirdly, contrary to popular belief, Liverpool fans do respect the traditions of the FA Cup and ensured that the tradition of booing the national anthem and drowning it out with the singing of our own clubs' more inclusive and politically correct anthem was maintained. It is a tradition that to my own knowledge has existed since at least the 1980s. Perhaps if you took the trouble to learn the words to our anthem you will understand how inappropriate and out-dated the so-called national anthem is. Fourth, it may have escaped your attention but you are Prime Minister of Her Majesty's Government and that one of your predecessors did some rather unpleasant things to the people and city of Liverpool in Her Majesty's name for which the people of Liverpool have still not forgiven either her or Her Majesty. Come to think of it, you personally participated in this behaviour branding us all as victims so it is hardly surprising that your current role as Her Majesty's representative reflects badly on her and members of her extended family. Perhaps Her Majesty might be well advised to find someone else to represent her if she takes offence at our discontent? Fifth, there are 97 souls in heaven who should not be there and whose families have been subjected to decades of grief torment and anguish that has been aggravated by the actions and inaction of yourself and other servants or agents of Her Majesty together with the very same people who organised the junket on Saturday. Given the history, a little booing was a model of self-restraint in the circumstances. Sixth, it may come as a surprise to you that not everyone is in favour of a monarchy and believes that the United Kingdom should do more to become a classless society. Is it any surprise that they might object to singing a song in support of the polar opposite? Lastly, the last time I checked we lived in a free and democratic society. As a Classics scholar you will no doubt understand the meaning of dêmos and krátos. Well on Saturday you had a demonstration of the force of the common people. I am sorry you felt it was a shame that people chose to exercise this right but I can assure you that we are not really bothered by the difference in opinion between us.

With the small matter of depriving Grealish of a winners medal as the icing on the cake.

I agree especially after scoring the winner at Chelsea but coming on as a sub against Derby in 1990 when we got the trophy was not too bad.

I think it is most likely to be about the length of the contract. FSG are reluctant to give 4-5 year contracts to players over the age of 30 because of the risk that performance levels will drop due to age and they are then stuck with a player on high wages who is not a first team regular. Salah on the other hand is probably now looking to see out his playing days at Liverpool (or at least what is left of his prime) and is therefore holding out for a 4-5 year contract.

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No doubt, but it did not affect our performances until that last game.