ESPN commentator Ian Darke has posted a follow-up after being slammed by Liverpool supporters for his comments about Trent Alexander-Arnold earlier in the week. The 71-year-old - once part of Sky’s “Big Four” of football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry, and Rob Hawthorne - came under fire for suggesting the defender deserved a warm reception at Anfield.
But Darke’s hopes that Trent’s return to his boyhood club would be greeted with applause and fanfare fell flat (see his initial post below). Instead, Reds supporters booed his substitution and whistled his every touch, confirming fears that he had become the villain on Merseyside during Arne Slot’s side’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid. It added salt to the wound for the right-back, who left upon the expiry of his contract in the summer despite once speaking passionately about his dream of captaining Liverpool and following in Steven Gerrard’s footsteps as a local hero.
Over the summer, the transfer saga was the talk of the town - on the lips of anyone remotely interested in football. While outside voices praised Trent’s record of 27 goals and 98 assists in 384 appearances as a reason to believe he deserves legendary status, along with a Champions League and two Premier League titles, many on Merseyside saw things differently. For them, only those that follow the club’s principles and roots have the right to pass fair judgment on how all the drama should be perceived.
Trent Alexander-Arnold in action for Real Madrid
Nearly ten months on from the first whispers of Trent wanting to leave his beloved boyhood club for the very team that so often denied the Reds their greatest glories - but now finds itself struggling to keep pace with Slot’s winning machine - those outside the Liverpool bubble are still trying to tell the Anfield faithful how they should feel.
It’s a bold move, attempting to lecture one of the most emotional and passionate fanbases in world football on how to perceive the departure of a club legend in the making - but Darke has doubled down on his comments, despite countless supporters trying to drill into him why those on Merseyside feel the way they feel. He wrote (see his second post below):
"Bombarded with insults from Liverpool fans for suggesting that Trent AA should been treated with more class on Tuesday. Accused of being a ‘ dinosaur’. Perhaps the world was a better place when populated by dinosaurs rather than trolls."
"Please don’t tell fans how to react," one reply to Darke's initial post read, "we don’t need TV commentators moonlighting as emotional Police telling us fans how to feel." Elsewhere, a second remarked: "You don't understand Liverpool fans," while a third wrote:
"Stop telling people HOW to feel and HOW to act! Everyone has the right to have their OWN opinion!"
One of the main reasons Liverpool fans were so upset by the Trent saga was the feeling that he left through the back door - never fully honest about where his future lay and ultimately departing without helping the club recoup any funds, unlike Philippe Coutinho, who brought in £142 million with his move to Barcelona in 2018.
Supporters also struggle to understand why someone in the prime of his career would want to leave the club he grew up supporting just as they’re in the form of their lives - enjoying their best years since the golden eras of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. They can’t help but wonder how a local lad, who likely grew up hearing tales of those legendary sides, could turn his back when history seemed ready to repeat itself.
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Both parties, however, may have missed each other a little in recent months. Prior to Conor Bradley’s masterclass on Tuesday night - when he locked up Vinicius Junior on the left wing, having done the same to Kylian Mbappe last season - Slot seemed unsure who to start at right-back in Trent’s absence. Sub-par performances from both Jeremie Frimpong and Bradley earlier in the campaign even saw Dominik Szoboszlai tried as a makeshift option in that role.
Gary Lineker also suggested that Mohamed Salah’s dip in form could be a consequence of Trent’s departure. But while Trent was often the star of the show at Anfield, he now finds himself third choice at the Bernabeu, behind both Dani Carvajal and Federico Valverde. As things stand, he looks set to miss out on an England call-up at the worst possible time - with next summer’s World Cup on the horizon - putting a dent in his long-term ambition of winning the Ballon d’Or.