This is the Blood Red podcast from the Liverpool Echo, giving you the inside track on all the big talking points from Anfield.

Very good afternoon and welcome to this Monday edition of the Blood Red podcast, partially coming to you from the Echo's offices in the heart of Liverpool City Centre. I'm Richard Garnett, back in the saddle

after two and a half weeks off and a little jaunt to the Far East. First day back and work today,

what a delight. I'm joined today via modern technology by Mark Jones, who is coming to me not from his attic, as I believe he was in last week, talking to Paul Gorse, but from another random room in his renovated house. Mark, how are you doing?

Yeah, I'm on the move. Yeah, it's good. I'm going to keep on, this is a theme. I'm going to keep on going in different rooms and seeing what people like. So yeah, I'm in, I'm kind of in the sort of dining room slash area in a minute. But it's just chaos, to be honest. There's just lots of things on the floor all around me. But I'm talking to you, Rich, and that's the most important thing. That's the most important thing. Is that a freshly plastered wall behind you? It is, yes. Yes, it is. I like that smooth.

Yeah, and those shelves there are quite new as well. So yeah, it's all, I mean, it's just a different place. I'm not going to recognise it soon. I'm not going to recognise it. It's like a modern version of Through the Kill, really. I don't know who's David Frost and who's Lloyd Grossman, but again, something for our middle age

viewers to ponder.

We're here to talk about Liverpool Football Conference. I don't know who's David Frost and who's Lloyd Grossman, but again, something for our middle age viewers to ponder.

We're here to talk about Liverpool Football Club who have won a football match.

They've beaten Fulham in the Premier League 2-0 on Saturday, which has cemented their position as fifth in the Premier League table, which was helped by Chelsea losing to Manchester City 3-0 on Sunday, opening up a four-point gap, which is rather helpful.

And Liverpool have also been helped by the confirmation that fifth place will be good enough to secure a Champions League position next season.

I mean, you can't fail to qualify for the Champions League these days, can you?

Mark, it used to just be the champions and now anyone can get in it.

Yeah, which, you know, as far as Liverpool are concerned, this season is a good thing because it looks

like they're probably going to need that, need those five places. I mean, tempting just to do

this podcast about Chelsea, to be honest, at least the first half of it, that they're an absolute

mess, aren't they? And it looks like things are really going wrong for a senior there.

And that result against City has, yeah, given Liverpool a cup order with, you know,

if you still think Liverpool can catch some of the teams above them.

Astonville only drew at Forest, didn't they?

United, they've got leads tonight.

So that's a derby game for them, a bit of a grudge match.

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