The Liverpool Thread

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1551163977664708608

Takes me back to when we got Fjortoft's introduction on Sky inadvertently taken off the air way back when haha .....

Down at Swindon, where we literally crashed through a hedge straight into a live interview with what turned out be Swindon Town's new #9 .....

(Paraphrasing) .....

Sky fella, composing himself at the 'intrusion' ..... 'And what do you make of your new signing?'

'New what?' ..... Looking up at this gangly blonde giant ..... 'Size of him! You on stilts or am I in a hole .....'

Sky bloke ..... 'Jan Aage Fjortoft. Your new club record signing'

'Jan who? Behave lad ..... Seriously mate, who the F are yer?' .....

Cue the studio hastily cutting us off the air. Probably a funnier memory than I'm recounting it as. That, about a zillion roundabouts, and singing Shakin Stevens 'Green Door', to a ..... green door in Swindons main stand across from us in the ground, stick out from a thumping 5-0 away win.

Which all makes me feel old looking back on it haha.
 
Text that amused me-

I phoned Radio City up today, to enter their mystery prize competition.
The presenter answered and said, "Congratulations on being our first caller, all you need to do is answer the following question correctly, to win our Mystery Grand Star Prize"......
"That's Fantastic!" I called out in delight.
"Feel Confident?" The presenter asked, "It's a Geography Question."
"Well, I've got a degree in Geography from Oxford University," I proudly replied, "and I've taught Geography to A-level students for the last 20 years"
"Ok then, to win our grand prize of 2 x VIP tickets to a Everton FC game at Goodison Park and to meet the players after the game, what is the capital of France?

"Bradford", I replied 🤣
 
Perfect end to the 'open' training sessions to set everything up nicely for Saturday's big curtain raiser.

So, with the usual caveat of it just being a friendly kick-around with the result meaning precisely nothing/ just another extended training exercise (our third intense session of the day I believe) …..

Really enjoyable, intense 90 minute workout that. With RBS being 2 games into their actual season already, that one really began to feel like a proper game with some real physical challenges and high intensity from both sides for the full 90. Mentioned it the other day, but I really like how we keep going back to the well with these Red Bull clubs in pre-season. Salzburg is perfect for what's becoming a staple camp now under Jürgen. Keeping up great relationships, on and off the park, with a really well structured organisation like Red Bull has going on, with the top young talent they produce on a regular basis, really can't be understated.

Talking of, the young Slovenian Šeško looks really intriguing for the future. Way too soon for him to be leaving Austria yet. (You can see how raw he is compared to say Adeyemi who's just stepped up to the German Bundesliga in the next stage of his development.). But he certainly has all the traits to be a real exciting young player going forward. Took his goal well (which was a really good team goal BTW. Enjoyed that) but he flashed more than once aside from that. Be interesting to see where he is at this time next summer after another valuable season's learning experience in the Austrian Bundesliga at a really good football club for development.

As for ourselves, just one of them that's perfect in pre-season where we just couldn't quite find the back of the net. But pretty much everything else went as good as you could have wished. Everything at it's highest intensity and bang on point as it should be at this stage. The fun of pre-season. Watching the visible improvements not only in the games, but day-by-day now with the excellent stuff the club continues to roll out on training, Looked a little leggy first half after the mad exertions of this camp and the double session already today. Mentally as much as physically with a few defensive lapses. But when the 'Big Dawgs' arrived the last half hour, they left you purring with everything but the deserved hatful of goals.

Really liking the visible improvement in Darwins' overall game the more he gets top class coaching into him. Or more so, the more he has to keep up with his WC colleagues in the rondo's haha. Just like how Jota markedly looked far better in his all around game the longer last season went on, the Uruguayan's link-up/ hold-up play is noticeably improving by the game. He's going to be some all around #9 when he puts it all together.

Great touch from Klopp giving Naby the start in both Red Bull games against his former clubs. It was funny mooching round SM before the game and seeing folk reading mad things into the starting line-up. Another benefit of extended training session games. You can afford sentiment.

And all the kids did themselves no harm at all again as they have all summer. Good work lads. You've all grasped this invaluable experience with both hands and enhanced your reputations markedly.

But ultimately, as enjoyable as the past month or so has been, I'm now glad it's done and I can finally get back to a game and put the horrors of Paris behind me on Saturday tea-time. And yanno', I have a strong feeling my 42nd year of following these buggers all over may well be one of the most enjoyable and successful yet.

Three more sleeps to the first of 5 in 2022/23!

Up the Reds. FTT!!!!!
 
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Can't wait for the National meltdown tomorrow tea-time when we politely decline to sing about a deity who may or may not exist, saving a monarch that far removed from the average person it's untrue, who heads an establishment that has humongously **** all over her 'subjects' in even more spectacular fashion that normal.

Horrible bunch of ungrateful, unpatriotic, English hating ***** that we are! 🙄

Talking of, all the best to the England girls Sunday. Just about the only English National football team you could ever get behind.
 
FINALLY! ’Proper’ Liverpool football is back with the curtain raiser to the 2022/23 season. 🎉🎊🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🎊🎉

(Now for the heavy part if you’ll indulge me as I sleepily type in bed) …..

There was more than a few occasions after the trauma of Paris I didn’t honestly think I’d be at this point today. Waking up preparing to go the match. After the horrific events of May 28, I was seriously wanting absolutely nothing to do with football to the point I was honestly throwing around being done with the game. I can’t begin to tell you the psychological flashbacks from 3 decades earlier, that you learn to live with and never truly leave you and come crashing back at mad times in your life, often set off by the most innocuous of things, that were relived in glorious technicolour 2 short months back that sent myself and many fellow survivors into a very dark place. But talking really is the best medicine. And I’m exceptionally fortunate to have a great network of fellow survivors, who also happen to be some of the best friends you could ever wish to have, who have all been superb in helping each other over the horrific experience of the 2022 CL final that is, and always will be, a complete non-event never to be revisited for many of us in attendance.

But that was last season. And here we are again. My 42nd year following the Reds all over. Pretty much consistently since I broke out on my own in 1987. One day I shall grow up and join the ‘adult’ World of responsibility and ‘normalness’, and stop living on the edge financially and personally following this shared passion of ours home and abroad ….. One day.

Today isn’t that day.

So here we are again, Leicester bound, to hopefully see the mighty Reds claim the first silverware of the season. The first leg of the quintuple. 🤞🏻🤞🏻And in so doing, laying down a PROPER marker to the ONLY team remotely on our level again who we have to concern ourselves with over the next 9 months.

I’ve always loved the Charity Shield personally. It always used to be the clubs aim at the start of every season to be opening the following season in the CS curtain raiser. Because to do that, you would invariably have had a superbly successful season by winning one of the domestic big two. If that’s your season aim, you will never go far wrong.

A day out at Wembley (or ridiculously this year the King Power in F Leicester!🤬), in the late summer sun, with a trophy at stake, to welcome in the return of the football season ….. Who wouldn’t want that? 🤷🏼‍♂️

I won’t lie. I want this one BAD! Many won’t understandably share these sentiments, and I don’t see any way we don’t take 3 points from Fulham this time next week, but if you offered me a victory today or one next week, I’d take today hands down! I have 37 chances to rectify Fulham. I have only ONE chance today to not only win something that hasn’t been in our possession since 2006. But royally P City off into the bargain. Because, make NO mistake, this ____ is SERIOUS between our two clubs and both will be going all out to get one over the other today before our personal, two-way fight for the league resumes next weekend. Regardless of the public PR face, there’s absolutely NO way either manager doesn’t desperately want to win this one. Really intrigued to see what state City are in given they’ve only had 2 friendlies. Interesting approach.

Let’s hope that’s us as you just can’t beat the memories of the Reds picking up silverware. Whatever that silverware may be.

Buckle up tight folks for the next enthralling ride with Jürgen’s army.

From the King Power to the Ataturk, here we go again …..

Up the quintuple chasing Reds! FTT!!!!!
 
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