The Liverpool Thread

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Funny weekend that that summed up the season perfectly. It promised everything but faded out in to a disappointingly flat ending.

Hard to convey to anyone not fully immersed in an inter-City Scouse rivalry just why you’d travel 4 hours and 200 odd miles, to then have little to no interest in your teams final game of the season with most everyones interest in r end fully focused on the game taking place back home.

But that was pretty much how the Southampton game yesterday went. If the away end looked half empty in the second half, that was because most never came back up after half-time as they had the Everton match on the screens under the stand!

I stayed in view of the pitch for what its worth the full 90. I wanted to give Bobby and Milner the send off they deserved. Which we did in style. Boss to have Milner’s name belted out after the great banner in front of us. But my focus was on my moby and updates from Goodison and Leicester …..

Sadly, that just wasn’t to be as the Ev stayed up, yet again, by the skin of their teeth. Turning what would have been the biggest L’pool party imaginable pretty darn flat. Which wasn’t helped by Southampton being a really poor place for a night out so last night was like the season as a whole. Pretty ’meh.’

With Bournemouth failing to save our season, and the Southampton game having no meaning to even begin to analyse something so laid back that nobody was remotely bothered about, there’s little mote to add on the football this weekend. And any thoughts on this grim season, that at least gained serious momentum for next year as it turned after Christmas, cab come later.

So a few end of season awards we concurred on the drive home today-

Best away of the Season-
This was limited as we’ve been garbage for most all of it away from Anfield. There were some great shouts of the Charity Shield opener. And Rangers and Ajax in Europe. (The latter of which is in my top 5 all time Euro aways. Belter, mad funny trip of absolute carnage as you can imagine being Amsterdam.).

But the unanimous winner, for the second straight year, was Brentford. Brilliant location in West London. Brilliant supporters who are the most welcoming and friendliest in the league. Non of the usual ‘Home fans only’ garbage in the boozers around there. Brilliant choice of top notch pubs and places to eat. Just a brilliant all around day if you didn’t let the result spoil it. Which you rarely do when you’ve a long trip home.

Best away atmosphere of the season-
Europe- Rangers. Maybe it was the Rangers fans being A1 dcks and making it very moody. Maybe it was being stuck in the corner which always seems to bring out the best in us. But that was a proper pride night of outstanding vocal. With the team responding to hand Rangers their heaviest ever defeat at both Ibrox Park and in Europe.
League- Leicester. The 15 minute solid Bobby serenade topped off a 90 minute song after song after song of outstanding vocal that drowned out the low life Tory replies from a horrible fanbase nobody is sorry to see the back of.
With a shout out to Leicester again. In the Charity Shield. That was a very messy, utterly brilliant way to start the season celebrating the CS like we’d just won the league haha! Tell anyone there, including the thoroughly P off City fans and team, who gave it everything, that one didn’t matter.

Best away bevvy/ scran of the season-
See above. Brentford. We were already having a brilliant meal, in a great old pub on the banks of the Thames overlooking a cricket pitch of all places, when one of the Belgium lads tipped unexpectedly, decided wine, and copious amounts of, was needed. And messy, but hilarious, carnage ensued that involved a dance with a female police officer among other surreal events. 🤦‍♂️🤣

Best European Trip-
Ajax- Our entire end has never been as relaxed and high haha. Three days of absolute bedlam. Amsterdam. Enough said! 🤣

Best game of the Season-
Handing Utd their biggest and most embarrassing ever defeat. Don’t think we played that great either. Or that the ground was bouncing louder than other Anfield games. But Utd. 7-0. Ultimate humiliation for your greatest rivals who now can’t say jack to you about anything. Doesn’t get much better than that! 😎

I shall spare some great friends and reds embarrassment from naming the drunkenest ‘display’ of the season/ worst ‘did yer Ma dress you?’ clobber/ most wool thing of the year et al awards.

Devoed the Ev stayed up. 🤬

Made up to lose a long trip in Southampton. A gang of bad Tory meffs in Leicester. And a horrible gang of lads in Leeds. (Although credit where credits due. They behaved this year at Elland Road and didn’t mock poverty or tragedy once. Baby steps …..)

Luton finally back is a proper pain but they should only last a season. Made ip with Burnley and Sheff Utd. Close, boss trips.

Glad to get home early this avvy. It’s been a long an wearisome season off the back of the horrors of Paris. And I’m not talking about the grim football for most of it, glad its over and we can fully rest ip finally and recharge.

Ready to do it all again in August across Europe with our team.

And lest we forget, for the 38th year-

Liverpool ricorda. Dio riposi.🙏🏻❤
 
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Looks like he won a half-time competition for the gig which is amusing me .
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1663911046388621312

I have little to no interest in the woman's team. The only player name I know is the local girl Missy Bo Kearns. And that's only down to her being Curtis' mate. And Matt Beard the manager. Like most lads, the woman's game just has zero interest to me.

But coming from a football mad City where I've grown up with the majority of females having an interest in the game, supporting a club who had a large demographic of female supporters going the match before many other clubs and LONG before Italia 90, and then the PL, dragged football kicking and screaming into a new, fashionable age and made it a friendly, attractive, all inclusive place to go for all genders and ethnicities; I've always been a big advocate of the woman's game finding it's own path and growing. So young girls can not only have their own heroes they can emulate on the pitch, but actually see a viable career path in the game like we always dreamed of in the men's professional game.

You don't need to like something to appreciate just what it brings to others and how important it can be in enriching peoples lives.

So it's always really irked me that Liverpool 'claim' to have a woman's team. Using the girls in all their promotional packages as being part of the L'pool family. Together as one. Whilst simultaneously ostracising them over the water to play and train. And putting the bare minimum in investment into the team. You can't promote yourself as an all inclusive football club. And then NOT include the woman's team who represent you! L'pool have failed the girls badly for long enough now and the clubs attitude toward them has been to our detriment and shame.

Credit where credit is now due to Liverpool. This is a massive step in the right direction to writing those wrongs and finally fully embracing the woman's team into the all inclusive football club we pertain to be. Super smart move from L'pool from every aspect. With the added bonus to the community of the kids still being there from Jamie and Robbie's Academy set-up.

The girls being one of the very few WSL teams to have their own dedicated training facility is superb to see in itself.

For that facility to be Melwood, bringing the arl' place and all the ridiculous memories it holds in our storied history back into the fold, is the perfect way for the football club to hopefully start taking one of the teams that represents them Nationally far more seriously.
 
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Surely we can test Chelseas resolve and nab Colwill off their hands. We need a left sided CB and a CB in general IMO. Take advantage of Boehly stupidness and nab him.
 
Last few years it seems that refs are being instructed to avoid giving reds on these big games and the players can smell it, so you end up with a freakshow game like this, basically everybody on both teams is on a yellow and they keep playing dirty anyway.
 
Bujakaa92 said:
www.liverpoolfc.com

Jorg Schmadtke appointed new Liverpool FC sporting director - Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC can confirm Jorg Schmadtke has been appointed as the club's new sporting director.
www.liverpoolfc.com www.liverpoolfc.com
Click to expand...

Like most Reds, I’d never heard of Jorg Schmadtke before it became apparent that he was set to be our next Sporting Director. Side note- Been proper amusing reading a whole host of folk losing their collective **** over a fella’ 99% of L’pool fans had NEVER so much heard of until a few months back. Let alone knew anything about. 🙄🤦‍♂️

But then I’d never heard of Michael Edwards either before we headhunted him from Tottenham and that didn’t turn out too bad did it?

So I’ve been really intrigued to discover all I could find from the German side on our new SD. And everything points to this being the picture perfect appointment for the interim. With an ideal ’try before we buy’ scenario with Jorg being coaxed out of a 5-month retirement, on a 3 month short term deal, with an option to either extend him. Or bide our time waiting on someone else. For a club that loves to transition, that’s the perfect ‘having your cake and eating it’ situation.

So who is the 59-year-old Dusseldorf native who is now embarking on the biggest job in his career after he retired?

By all accounts, he’s a very no-nonsense, straight forward guy who’s the ideal character to close all the deals quickly we’ve already done all the groundwork on. He gets **** done with minimal fuss. Someone who’s very self confident in his judgement and doesn’t waver. Which fits perfectly into our tried and trusted collaborative, committee system where the collective challenge each other and debate for signings. Without one person having the most input in the final decision. Someone who leans toward being very data driven. But who’s open to new ideas and who likes to dig below the surface into the full background and character of players. A really nice balance to merge the data and recruitment teams perfectly. His relationship with Jurgen is just an added bonus to someone who ticks all the boxes to fit seamlessly into our structure. And its the structure of our time proven analytical system that underpins EVERYTHING! For all Mickey Edwards plaudits, he was just the instiller and then figurehead of the data driven, collaborative model that relies totally on the sum of its parts and not one man alone.

Provided Jorg has fully bought in to the way we operate, and they wouldn’t have hired him if he hasn’t, then this should be a seamless takeover from Julian Ward after the next 2/3 weeks alongside the outgoing incumbent in the SD chair. To ensure we get business done early and swiftly. The ‘closers’ main remit right now.

Literally NOTHING has changed here. The proven transfer formula remains in place with many of the key components still there. We’ve just had a few personnel tweaks within our infer structure. For all the (mad) grief Fenway get, Liverpool ALWAYS have a plan to transition to better than they were before ….. Dr Graham moves on ….. Whilst heads fall off all over, they transition seamlessly with an internal promotion with Speirmann, another analytical maths wizard at the top of his game ….. Ward decides to leave, a mere year after Edwards, and whilst folk are cliff jumping all over, they bide their time and appoint Schmadtke. Who looks the perfect fit to ’Get S DONE!!!!!’

All with no change in the process of sticking to our tried and proven successful model. That already has all the targets ready to go. Just a slight change in personnel that they had always planned for.

The proof will be in the pudding this window whether the German praise of our new GM Jorg proves that plan to be another mightily successful one or not.

I like his chances.
 
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Just wanted to ask your opinion on the system we ended the season with Scouse? Personally, not a big fan of it as it overcomplicated things for me. I don't think it's viable long-term over an entire season and it is so essential to Trent staying fit over an entire season. Not to mention the defensive frailites it causes and how clueless the defense looks when out of positon. Still believe the 4-3-3 is still the best option we have. If you're gonna move Trent into midfield do it properly IMO and not this half-assed inverted role.
 
Served its purpose mate and allowed us, along with finally having everyone fit for the last third of the year, to compensate in midfield. Mad how Trent still finished with the most assists for aFB in the PL last season when he was abysmal for the majority of it.

Just gives us another option going forward. Lot for Jurgen to work out this summer like WTF Diaz’s role is?Superb talent. But he’s nota a wide forward/ winger without a few tweaks.

But thats what pre-seasons for and unlike last year, now we get a proper break and a proper training canp.
 
Not normally too arsed about transfer nonsense but £43.5 million for a PL proven player who not only won the WC this season, but was the best player on a team that had one of the GOAT playing on it, is absolutely blowing my mind.

That's beyond obscene.

And people seriously nark about our business model and the self-sufficient way we conduct ourselves. NO other club is getting that absurdly ridiculous value so swiftly.
 
Head. Kettled! 👀👀

https://twitter.com/x/status/1666387311326633985

And folk ’STILL’ will tell you our transfer operation isn’t World class and industry leading. 🤦‍♂️ Why there’s been absolutely ZERO need to panic with the change in key personnel in Edwards, then Ward, and Dr Graham moving on. The system is time proven and relies on the collaborative sum of its parts. And not just one individual figure. (Which is also why, when anyone slates the owners, they are by association slating Jurgen and everyone else involved in our unique, collaborative way of working. Each has an equal say in the process. They just bring different views and skill sets to the table. Just if the on-line mouths add Klopp into their ira their whole persona and argument falls to bits.).

Outstanding research and relationship formed with Brighton to know there was an agreement in his contract that he could be had this low for the right calibre of club. Presumably all Julian Wards work to that end over the past good few months.

£35 million as a base transfer fee before add-ons is just jaw dropping for the best player on a World Cup winning team. Absolutely blowing my mind this. Outrageous robbery and a stupendous start to the summer.
 
I mean, he did have a release clause, which makes things a lot easier. Nonethelesd, great piece of business.
 
Yes, because Liverpool transfer operation managed to insert release clause to his contract. Well played undermining Brighton :cool:
 
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