I SAW Gareth Roberts a couple of weeks ago when the two of us where at the Radio City Tower to record a TAW show. He said to me that I hadn’t written anything for the site for a while, which was true. I told him it was because I didn’t feel I had anything to say, which wasn’t quite as true. Because the more I’ve thought about it the more I’ve realised it isn’t that I didn’t have anything to say, it’s just that I couldn’t be bothered saying it.
There’s been a cloud of pessimism around Liverpool Football Club for some time now. Not even pessimism, actually, just viciousness. Some of the things aimed at Brendan Rodgers and, to a lesser extent, Raheem Sterling over recent weeks and months have been vile. Depressingly so, actually. If you search the hashtag #LFC on Twitter and ask it to only show you tweets that have received 10 or more retweets, loads of them are full of snide.
Tweets like:
https://twitter.com/Scouse_Analysis/status/613107589992316928
and
The fact that Joe Allen has not once been linked with a move away worries me. Just simply not good enough for a club like Liverpool. #lfc
— The Anfield Chat (@TheAnfieldChat) June 21, 2015
People that claim to be Liverpool fans are seemingly desperate for Rodgers to fail or even for deals for good players to fall through just so they can say, “I told you so”; just so that they can be right. Positively-minded pieces don’t appeal to the masses, they want confirmation of their bias and their current feeling of misery towards the manager and those that run the club.
I’m not one to tell other people how they should support the club, but I do always find myself desperate to ask the question: What’s the point? Seriously, what’s the fucking point? What do you get out of wanting things to go wrong? There will be fans, genuine LFC fans, who want Liverpool to lose their first seven away games next season so that Rodgers is sacked and Klopp is brought in. I ask again, what’s the fucking point? Wouldn’t it be better if we won those seven games? Wouldn’t it be ace if for once in recent years we could all get behind the manager and spend the money we’d have to give him in compensation for firing him on another player like Firmino?
Of course their response would be that Rodgers doesn’t have what it takes to be Liverpool manager and they want him to fail for the good of the club. “He didn’t win a trophy in his first three years, he’s as bad as Hodgson!” they’ll cry. They’re wrong, of course, but arguing with them is like trying to convince a fool of something he’ll never be able to understand.
Even the rumours about Liverpool trying to sign Benteke are met with derision and disgust. I understand the view that he doesn’t seem like the right type of striker for a Brendan Rodgers Liverpool team, but why not wait and see what happens before throwing toys out of the pram? If you’re dead set against Benteke coming to the club, if you’re calling him every name under the sun before he’s even so much as had his balls groped by the club doctor, what chance has the lad got? He could come in and score 20 goals next season and you’d just be fuming about the ones he missed. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Peter Crouch was a “Rafa signing” before we got him, and it took the lad over 24 hours of playing time to put the ball into the back of the net, yet it all turned out alright in the end, didn’t it?
There’s a chance to put the last year to bed now, though. With the signing of Bobby Firmino from Hoffenheim it looks as thought the Liverpool hierarchy could have got their act together and decided to get the club going in the right direction. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if all of the fans could get on board with that too?
Firmino’s capture does several things. The obvious one is that it improves our playing squad heading into next season. But it also shows that FSG are willing to spend the big bucks to bring the right player to the club, splashing out a rumoured £29 million for him, plus another £3.5 million a year in wages over the course of his five-year contract. On top of that it dismisses the notion that good players won’t sign if Brendan Rodgers is the manager.
But the other thing it could do is give the fans a reason to cheer the fuck up. Just take a moment to go on YouTube and have a look at the compilation videos of his skills that Man United fans have kindly put together for us. Have a think about what he could do with Coutinho, Sturridge and Jordan Henderson buzzing around him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nmDgDL4t-4&feature=iv&src_vid=er-GdWLW5F4&annotation_id=annotation_304375333
Now take that smile you’ve got and remember how much fun it was at the end of the 2013-2014 season when people were lining the streets of Anfield to welcome to the team bus into the ground. Remember what it was like to not only watch but also sing about the “poetry in motion”. Being a football supporter isn’t a one-way street. It isn’t a matter of you turning up and being entertained and if you’re not then you can boo and complain. The clue’s in the title: you’re there to support. If you do that, if you cheer and sing and jump around and make a racket then the sky is the limit. Christ, we won a Champion’s League final from 3-0 down because the supporters inspired the players to victory. But you can’t just do it when United or Chelsea come to town. The players need you when it’s Stoke and Norwich, too.
The irony is, of course, that the people who agree with me don’t need to be told, and the ones that don’t will have loads of arguments as to why they’re right and I’m wrong. I don’t like telling people how to be football supporters, but I’ll tell you now: if you think you can convince me that wanting Rodgers to fail and Liverpool to lose is in any way a good think for the football club then you’re wrong. It isn’t a good thing, and you’ll never convince me it is.
If you’re one of those whinging bastards that loves to complain then why not decide to change your tune? Why not alter your mantra from “I told you I was right” to “thankfully I was wrong”? Christian Benteke seems like a bad fit to me, and I’d rather we looked elsewhere. But if we bring him in I’ll be the happiest lad in Anfield if he proves me wrong. I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong when I see him lift up the Premier League trophy.
Despite not winning the league in 25 years, Liverpool Football Club are still a big deal. It’s time for each and every fan to stop behaving small time and remember we’re the dog’s bollocks. If you think I’m wrong that’s fair enough. But I don’t want to know you. So tweet me all you want, write angry comments below this piece until the cows come home. I’ll just block you and ignore you. I’d like to reply, but I’m out on the lash singing about Bobby Firmino, Phil Coutinho and the boys from Brazil.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to say when Gareth asked me, it was that I couldn’t be bothered saying it. Well I can be bothered now. Fuck off out the way, misery guts: The Reds are coming up the hill, and by God they’re mustard.
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I remember a few years ago when Utd and Chelsea were fighting for the title, and we were playing Chelsea near the end of the season. I know some Liverpool fans, ‘proper’ fans the called themselves, who told me I should be supporting Chelsea that game cos if we beat Chelsea, utd would most likely win the league, equalling or beating our 18 record.
I can’t think of anything more depressing a d disgusting, to actively hope Liverpool Football Club lose a game of football.
I can’t remember who won the league that year, and I don’t care. If it’s not Liverpool, I’m not arsed who it is. I support Liverpool Football Club each and every time they play, and I will support the players and the manager, until the point they no longer are.
Great piece agree with everything u said, why would u want ur team to loose is beyond me. Last season was poor but for 3 months we were the best team in the league. If we can sign a goal scorer I honestly think we can go close if we can get off to a good start and get the conference going
That’s as spot on as it gets. I wrote somewhere “If we can fault Rodgers for tactical errors, the comittee for wrong transfers and the players for their errors, we can surely blame the supporters for the horrible atmosphere.” And I was talking about Anfield at the time, but these internetboards are ten times worse.
I wouldn’t bother rushing back to the typewriter if I was you…
If we win the next 7 games Rodgers is still going. Rumour has it he’s agreed to go in January 2016. Marsh and Pascoe know this but have signed a secrecy clause for a larger pay out.
And you can print that!
Where are these rumours from Maude? We’d all really appreciate if you disclosed how you know this. I can understand it’s sensitive info as your sources are clearly very highly placed within Liverpool FC but give us a clue even if you can’t name names. Although I don’t for one minute think you’re not credible, some will see your comment as the work of a crank who’s been reading too much David Icke. Don’t stay silent and back up that view, tell us where you’ve got that from.
Is true.
Big name manager is coming in Jan 16.
Rodgers is pissed off but also sees it as a chance to improve his stats as his CV is in tatters.
Also Klopp very keen on LFC but feeling not mutual. LFC don’t rate German league. LFC want proven Euro and EPL manager are are prepared to pay big money.
In fairness mate, I was more intrigued about how you know this rather than more of the same. I’m sure it’s all true but how do you? Marsh and Pascoe seems to be sacrificing a lot of money by going against the official secrets act to inform you of the plan.
How ridiculous
A few other things that aren’t happening:-
Rodgers is not getting the sack (unless results going forward merit it).
FSG are not about to sell to a Dubai consortium.
FSG are not about to sell to a Malaysian consortium.
Ian Ayre is not going to get sacked.
Ian Ayre is not about to join Standard Chartered.
Ian Ayre is not getting sidelined with Mike Gordon effectively becoming CEO.
Rodgers is not being demoted.
FSG are not imposing coaching changes to get Rodgers to leave.
maude you are talking out your arse.
And you can print that !
Ronan, LOL! You took the words right out of my mouth. Perfect response. Some of the things some of our fans say is beyond the absurd. All we can really do is laugh at it as pure comedy.
I know for a nailed in fact that’s complete bollocks.
If people are going to post comments then at least post the truth…
What happens to You’ll Never Walk Alone…?,
What happens if other managers also fail…?
LOL…as a Fan we should support the team and be positive to help our team relishing their potential and not being an asshole who keep saying “Change the manager, buy a right player, Change the Owner” except that, our manager or players betrayed us and kept wanting out from our team…
I enjoyed reading this and agree with many of the sentiments but you know its a difficult one to fully feel any real sense of frustration. Ultimately, whether its a tweet or a longer article like this its all just discussion on Liverpool. Just adds to the on-going discussion. Like every discussion you can choose whether to engage,leave or simply not engage. For me, Twitter does not reflect the ground. I fully understand the writers sense of frustration towards those who constantly moan and who are unsupportive but equally i have never felt any real anger or antipathy for those that do so. I suppose what i am saying is its always difficult to fully understand the reasons that a person supports a football club and how that manifests itself. Largely i take the view that thank goodness they are not family or work colleagues! Thanks.
As an exile scouse living in China may I applaud this article absolute spot on….the negativity on these sites is appalling
Even after signing Firmino when you would have thought everybody would have been happy there were the usual ignorant personal attacks on Rodgers, Ayres and FSG……there are people who prefer for this club to fail to get their own agenda….
These same whiners are the ones who wonder why players choose another club over Liverpool….particularly overseas players who have a choice of Europes great cities to play in eg Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Munich and hate to say this London….so why come to Liverpool where the ownership; manager and management is reviled and disrespected on every local site? Get a life and get behind the team…..
yes eat whatever shit is put in in front of you and be thankful for it…
Fucking brilliant piece!