Why this picture was worth more than a thousand words | OneFootball

A few days before the League Cup final, a Liverpool supporting mate at the bowling club told me he thought his team would exploit a weakness in our defence.

I was reminded of that cosy little chat by an article on The Mag this morning, reporting Dan Burn’s comments on the team’s ambitions for the coming season.

The Big Man from Blyth’s words were good, very good, but actions speak louder.

The picture (see below) accompanying the quotes perfectly captures one of the greatest moments in the history of Newcastle United.

Let’s take a deep dive (as trendy media types like to say) into the story behind that image.

On the far left, appropriately enough, is Harvey Barnes. To describe his United career as stop-start would be an understatement. He scores goals, he makes goals, but a total of 54 Premier League appearances in two full seasons is not exactly what the fans expected. Especially when 30 of those games were as a sub.

As well as being hindered by injuries, Barnes has had to compete against Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and others for a regular berth in Eddie Howe’s team.

Gordon’s red card and subsequent three-match ban opened the door for Barnes, who was excellent at Wembley. His performance that day was a triumph of skill and determination over adversity.

Next to our wide man in the photo is Alexis Mac Allister. He’s a World Cup winner, though he looked sluggish, flat-footed and outpowered by our stellar midfield on March 16. He concedes a lot of free-kicks and commits even more fouls. True to form, he did both against us, to little effect.

Head and shoulders above Mac Allister is the man he was told to mark. No, I still cannot quite believe it. The Argentinian is about 5ft 9in and has never been noted for his aerial prowess. Big Dan Burn is about 6ft 6in. He is no Wyn Davies (Brighton fans who watched him down here in Sussex say they were never sure where the ball would go once it collided with Burn’s bonce) but that header just before half-time was absolute perfection.

It had everything: speed, accuracy, desire, timing. As George Gershwin wrote in I Got Rhythm, “who could ask for anything more?”

Standing in the technical area as the ball flies like a cannonball into the corner of Liverpool’s net is their Dutch manager, Arne Slot. He is as motionless as Mac Allister. Penny (Lane) for your thoughts, Mr Slot.

Behind the manager of the season are the supporters. On the left of the photograph, all eyes on the prize, the Toon Army hordes are about to erupt. On the right, quite a few empty seats. Well, the first half is nearly over and those fans who allegedly know Wembley as Anfield South, such is their wit and their familiarity with the national stadium, are perhaps seeking a bit of liquid refreshment. Or perhaps they had decided not to bother attending yet another cup final.

Watching BDB leap like a demented giraffe is my nomination for United’s player of the season.

Is Sandro Tonali the best central midfielder in the Premier League?

Before he returned from that 10-month ban, I wrote a piece for TheMag on our Italian stallion. Perhaps I was indulging in a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy when I said his return could be as important as Cantona’s rebirth after the kung-fu suspension. Tonali had shown enough in the 2023-24 season, before the pizza hit his face, to convince me Howe had signed a gem.

Tonali’s absence almost certainly denied United a second consecutive campaign in the Champions League. He strikes me as an intelligent bloke who would have been well aware how much his actions had cost himself and his team.

His efforts last season will take some topping but I reckon he has not yet reached his peak. For a player who has no apparent weakness on the field of play, that’s a thought to cherish.

Back to that photo. On the right is Liverpool’s No78, Jarell Quansah. He was on March 16, anyway. Bayer Leverkusen bought him for £30m four weeks ago.

Quansah is 6ft 3in. He might as well be 7ft 3in, he isn’t getting anywhere near the Man from Blyth when it counts. Slot played him at right-back in the cup final, with Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk the centre-backs. We were knocking on the door from corners and free-kicks more than once before Burn struck. Each time, Konate and Van Dijk stayed in or around their six-yard box. Here’s a little advice for the manager of the season: don’t give BDB the freedom of the penalty area. He might just make you pay.

The final player in the photo is Mo Salah, who has a horrible habit of running us ragged and scoring for fun (whatever that cliche means). In the Premier League game at St James’ Park last season, he would have secured all three points for Liverpool if Fabian Schar had not scored a wonderful last-gasp leveller.

He was undoubtedly his team’s best player last season. Not at Wembley, he isn’t. With all due respect to a top, top forward, he should not even be visible. Tino Livramento, playing out of position at left-back, has the Egyptian in his pocket for almost the entire match.

When we are going for the jugular in the second half, who is bursting clear down our left flank and sending a perfect cross to the back post with his so-called weaker foot? You don’t need to answer. We all know. Murphy outjumps his marker and Alexander Isak does the rest. Van Dijk turns away, head in hands.

That’s another unforgettable set of images, frozen in time. Did Salah track Tino’s run? No, he didn’t. That’s not his game.

Perhaps you are wondering who my Liverpool-supporting friend named as the weakness in our defence. Have you already guessed? Without wishing to misquote him, I believe the phrase used was: “He always gives you a chance…”