Enjoyably relaxed end to pre-season that if you took it for exactly what it was always going to be the day after the big curtain raiser against City. No need to preface this with the usual 'just being a friendly kick-around with the result meaning precisely nothing/ just another extended training exercise et al' when an ostensibly 21's team full of inexperienced teenagers down to senior injuries.
A very useful development exercise with a good mix of positives and valuable teaching aids among the early mistakes. The fact their heads never dropped and they kept on playing and working to control the second half against a very experienced Strasbourg side is testament to the culture Jürgen and his staff have worked so hard to install at every level of the football club these past approaching 7 years. And that was vocally greatly appreciated by the crowd who stuck with them throughout to make the full Anfield experience a memorable and invaluable one. And it was great to see so many kids getting the chance they normally never would to experience watching L'pool in person at Anfield. Along with our French visitors ending their perfect weekend in Liverpool with a noisy night out watching a win at one of footballs great rounds.
Pretty much what a late pre-season is all about that ticked all the boxes it was intended to.
Which has been this uniquely shortened, but hugely beneficial pre-season as a whole to set everything up perfectly to properly attack the first block of 16 games and try put as many points on the board and get as big a lead as possible before the mid-season rest with the scandalous World Cup. Which I think will be the best way to approach this year. Put everything in to this first block of games unto November. Then see where you are and assess what you have for the second half of the year when you get back at it at the end of the year. Bar the frustrating Jota injury and one or two others, things couldn't have gone much better in our prep. Both on and off the park to set things up tp go again and attack everything that's on offer.
We are more than ready.
I hope for their sake, the rest of the league, or City as pertains to ourselves, are too.
UTR! FTT!!!!!
*BTW, massive congratulations to the England girls. I'd be lying to say I watched any of the tournament, but if there is ever one England National team you can get behind and be happy for, it's the girls. Marvellous, ground breaking achievement.
