This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network.

It is the Anfield Rap, except for it isn't the Anfield rap.

The Anfield rap's coming in a minute.

I'm Neil Atkinson, this is John Givens Johns with me.

We recorded the Anfield rap around Sunday lunchtime and then obviously since then the news has broken that Virgil band, he's going to need surgery and maybe out for a lengthy period that might take up the rest of the season.

John, it's a massive blow. Let's just be crystal clear about John. It's a massive blow.

Let's just be crystal clear about that.

It's a massive blow to any side's ambitions.

Yeah, it will, Biggie's, you know, he's our best player.

I think, you know, we've got lots of them we're very we're very lucky but if you look at the guys who've been at the top of the PFA awards you know the guys who are seeing from the league as as the lead in lights you know he is ours and you know if anyone at the

top was to lose the best player for what effectively looks like a season it would be a

huge blow to what they would what they were trying to do and it's obviously compounded by the fact that it's probably a

paid an area of the pitch where we could least do with losing someone. You know, the

midfield options, you know, we are pretty strong at the moment even the

forward guys you know we look to have a couple more options there and there's and

there's others who can you know you could take the sorts of strain if you're like there Jill is our best

and he's our leader there and and we were already I think if you were saying

or we might be a little bit short then obviously obviously they've been using for me, you know, you know,

and now it just looks really, really tough for those guys who have who have issues

themselves obviously to play all these games.

Well, that's my biggest concern really honestly is the you know obviously Virgil Van Dyke is a terrific

footballer but for me it's an opportunity in a sense for Madam

...