It's a bit of an unexpected grab-bag today, with plenty of newsworthy tidbits but not a whole lot to really sink our teeth into, so we've got a few highlights to hit before getting to the video that might normally round out a lazy Sunday here on the Liverpool Offside:
* The third round is done, the fourth round is drawn, and because it simply had to happen it means that Liverpool will host Manchester United in the FA Cup on either January 28th or 29th. It's set to be the penultimate match of Luis Suarez' eight-game ban, which should add some fun (or bile) to proceedings. But at least it's at home. And at least it's not City for the 375th time (meet the new Chelsea, same as the old Chelsea) after the blue half of Manchester found themselves dumped from the cup by their local rivals today in a match that saw Vincent Kompany receive a red card that will rule him out against Liverpool on Wednesday in the League Cup.
* With not a day seeming to go by without a new piece of news for Liverpool fans to shake their heads sadly over, today's unfortunate incident involves Stewart Downing being arrested on suspicion of assault. Reports have him becoming involved in an altercation with an ex-girlfriend while out drinking on Saturday night. At the moment, the only news is that both Downing and the woman were arrested, which leaves things far less clear cut than they might otherwise be and gives a sliver of room for Downing to be something other than the clear villain of this latest slice of Liverpool-related drama. Regardless of what police eventually determine to be the specifics of the case, however, it would at best seem the absolute worst time for Downing to allow himself to get into such a situation.
* Today marks the 15th anniversary of Jamie Carragher's debut for Liverpool, and while we may not have always been entirely kind to the Jamie Carragher who in recent seasons looked to hang on to his starting role by any means necessary at a time when he likely should have been following in the footsteps of Sami Hyypia, he undoubtedly deserves to go down as a Liverpool legend. It can be hard to let go sometimes, and for him perhaps it has been harder than most, but that cannot take away the decade or so where he was the foundation of Liverpool's defence and the man at the heart of European and domestic glories. So take a moment, if you can, to remember back to the countless last-ditch, goal saving tackles, the all-action defending, and some of the glorious games he played a pivotal role in over the years, because it's that which he deserves to be remembered for.
* And lastly, John Barnes spoke to Sky today about race, racism in football, Tom Adeyemi, and Saurezgate. As far as reactions go to the whole current mess it's hard to top, especially when it comes to what's been seen by the general population on major English media outlets, so give it a watch and try to enjoy the last few hours of the weekend—unless you live in Australia (aka. the Future), in which case welcome to Monday, and I'm sorry.