Of all the things that have gone wrong at Liverpool this season, one of the most significant could have been neglecting to include a clause in Jordon Ibe’s loan switch to Derby County that specified he wasn’t allowed to play in the FA Cup.
It may have been an oversight, or just an assumption that he wouldn’t be needed in the competition if he returned to Anfield.
Either way he was cup-tied when, in normal circumstances, he would have been a sure starter in the semi-final against Aston Villa.
The fact that his Wembley replacement, Lazar Markovic, was substituted at half-time tells you that Ibe was missed. Who knows, he could have changed the course of the game and Steven Gerrard would have had his birthday farewell final to look forward to.
Dundee United fans should be grateful that Stephen Thompson dotted the is and crossed the ts when Brian Graham’s season-long loan to St Johnstone was completed.
Because the big striker’s enforced absence against his parent club which has been the case in all of the Tayside derbies this term could be important.
Graham is Saints’ likeliest source of goals just now. Of their last seven scored, he has got four.
Michael O’Halloran’s goals have dried up, Steven MacLean hasn’t scored since he returned from injury, Chris Kane is yet to find the net and James McFadden is a fringe player.
Graham was on the bench on Saturday against Inverness Caledonian Thistle but, after coming up with another crucial strike that salvaged a point, if Tommy Wright was given the option, I’m pretty sure he would start him against United.
Even though he’s known about it all along, for Wright not to have his most prolific striker available to him for the biggest game of the season can only be a handicap.