THIS may turn into a bit of a rant. Not a calmly-delivered list of facts; a proper rant, which might send Rafa’s calmly-delivered FACTS cart-wheeling firmly back into 2009. Let’s see how long I can stay calm.
On the ITV commentary in Istanbul, as Liverpool walked out to face AC Milan, Clive Tyldesley described us as “the nation’s most romantic club”. With our famed footballing history — something for which we now allow ourselves to be mocked — and our awful tragedies, but with the name “Liverpool” still resonant at home and abroad, this was probably an apt description. A fifth European Cup that same night only added to the lustre.
We’ve spent most of the last 10 years morphing from the most romantic football club in England — and possibly the world — into the most obviously dysfunctional. Bill Shankly spoke of the ‘Holy Trinity’ of manager, players and supporter. Directors were only there “to sign the cheques”. Well, not any more. We can’t escape throwing the owners into the mix and at Anfield we now have a truly Unholy Foursome.
I’ll start with FSG. John Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon and by association, Ian Ayre. Who are these people? What do these hedge fund managers, baseball buffs, businessmen with a rudimentary knowledge of “soccer” and a command of stats and spreadsheets know of the game?
This week we’ve heard — granted, on the rumour mill — that Brendan Rodgers retains support in Liverpool but America want to get rid. Clarity of vision — sound!
Those charged with day-to-day Anfield affairs want to bide their time; the “visible when it suits” Ayre and the mute, invisible Gordon. So, apparent support from those on the ground while the absentee landlords sound out Carlo Ancelotti. Or do they; or is it Brendan Mark II the shape of Garry Monk?
Whoever is calling the shots, and let’s face it, we as supporters haven’t got a clue, would you trust this lot to make the right kind of appointment? The profile of manager we pursue is confused not just by a number of FSG requirements but Rodgers’ tenure as a whole. The FSG-favoured model of the bright young coach who develops younger players, one of whom for now still occupies the hot-seat, came within a whisker of doing something we hadn’t for 25 years.
If personality in the shape of Jurgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelotti’s experience and proven track record are recognised as contrasting ways forward, is either candidate prepared to work under a regime that offers the league’s fifth or sixth biggest transfer budget and the restraint of committee consensus on recruitment?
Are FSG even in this for the long haul? Other rumours circulating suggest Boston is readying the club for a sale, whether to Royal Families in Dubai or Qatar (take your pick) or Africa’s richest man, whoever he is. Leaving rumour aside, it can be argued that Liverpool Football Club has been up for sale from the moment FSG prised the club from the clutches of those brilliant former “custodians” Hicks and Gillett in the infamous Epic Swindle.
Since then, the value of their asset has been built-up through sponsorship deals aplenty but with overheads on the football side of the business (the wage bill) steadily reduced. The rising hulk of the new Main Stand with its scope for vastly increased corporate revenues, confused by some as proof of intended longevity, instead represents an extra incentive for potential suitors. In the absence of any clear, consistent communication with us, their customers, speculation will always be rife.
If the club ownership is something fans choose to overlook in favour of the state of affairs on the pitch, then naturally the focus is soon shifted towards the man in the dug-out. Liverpool FC has a history of destroying managers. Even Shankly retired early — worn out by the job, and in more recent times the exhausting task of managing the Reds has seen Kenny Dalglish (twice, but for contrasting reasons) become a pale shadow of his former self, Gerard Houllier nearly pay the ultimate price with his life, Rafael Benitez ravaged by internal affairs and latterly Rodgers pacing the kitchen in the small hours searching for solutions.
Their respective travails have manifested themselves in barmy decision-making from signing Jimmy Carter and Charlie Adam, to paranoia over every mention in the newspapers, to warring with all and sundry inside and outside the club, to persisting with Dejan Lovren.
Managing the Reds is the impossible job. Supporters cling to the notion that “We are Liverpool” and demand success; the yearning for a league title growing by the year. Those who follow Liverpool are acutely aware of the riches we’re up against elsewhere in the Premier League, but still they judge the man in charge by the standards of a bygone era. It is trophies or else.
In Rafa’s case — and for Brendan Rodgers — the expectations raised and dismay at coming so close in 2009 and 2014 have seen the modern fan turn nasty in the space of 12 months. If Rodgers hasn’t quite yet felt the full force of Anfield at its most cutting he soon will, unless there is a dramatic and prolonged upturn in results. Already the subject of an equal measure of valid football critique and horrendous personal abuse on social media, Rodgers is the very definition of a dead man walking. Should the inevitable axe fall, whether in the short to medium term, God help the next fella.
Despite riding first class on the Premier League gravy train, by comparison with the manager (and to an extent the owners), the players largely escape scot-free. There is no doubt that the burden of history is felt more acutely at Anfield than anywhere. The shirt weighs heavy. However, rather than embrace the club’s history, all but a few seem capable of living up to their reputation; powerless or reluctant to seize the opportunity to become an instant Kop hero.
I’m being unfair in singling him out, for he is far from alone, but take Lazar Markovic last season; the validation of £20m spunked on his transfer, pace and ability to burn, the chance to shine on one of football’s grandest stages and what do we get? We’re treated to a lad scared of his own shadow, seldom taking responsibility, always preferring the easy option of a square pass inside to taking on his man and generally shying away from the ball. Is it any wonder he’s now at Fenerbahce?
The other night — at the start of the penalties against Carlisle — I stared down from the Kop at 11 men in red shirts facing the Anfield Road End. And there they are in a line, with arms slung around shoulders, embracing and supporting each other as though it’s a shoot-out to decide the European Cup Final. Fuck off, lads; you’ve been playing too much FIFA. It’s the League Cup third frigging round and you’ve just spent two hours incapable of scoring with more than one of your 47 shots.
Regardless of the failings of ownership, players and manager, the club’s dysfunctionality is most acute among the #LFCFamily; those that make going to Anfield an increasingly bizarre experience. The playing of you’ll Never Walk Alone at the start of proceedings perhaps encapsulates the paradox that Liverpool’s fractured support has become. At the league games, the big rolling rendition of YNWA with scarves held aloft all around the ground and flags unfurled at the front of the Kop, precedes 90 minutes of near-silence punctuated only by obscure chants and occasional moans and groans. It’s a well-documented problem brought about by a lack of community in the ground.
Let’s face it; none of us get on. If there are 10 people standing in a block; what do we have in common? The younger fan with the booming voice who wants to stand up and get behind the team is falling out with the frail old man behind who wants to sit and see the game. The fella from the Home Counties in the bad trabs is getting evils from the local lad in the North Face. The football tourist who was at Old Trafford last week doesn’t care who wins but wants to capture it all on his iPad while the drunken fella on the stag do is photo-bombing his pictures. The old Scouse curmudgeon is swearing his arse off and annoying his more positive mate while simultaneously offending the guy from Chester who has brought his two daughters. Like most families, we’d prefer just to see each other once a year and even then it’s a strain.
Flippancy aside, it is hardly the right environment for a rip-roaring atmosphere that helps the team. I’m not even sure we all want to win.
On Wednesday, as is the often the case with the cup games in midweek, there was a younger and more local feel to the crowd and generally a more boisterous atmosphere. That of course is welcome but for me one thing annoyed me even more than the moronic reciprocal taunting of Carlisle fans with the “Who are yer?” chant inspired by Soccer A.M. Will whoever is starting and joining in with the cringe-worthy, bullying “Stand Up for the 96 Chants” please stop it. Hillsborough is not a brand. And, moreover it should never, ever be used as a rabble-rousing atmosphere generator.
Dysfunctionality is one thing; boorish, insensitive stupidity is another.
Up the Reds.
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Pic: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
Thank god some has finally said stop the “stand up for the 96 chant”, will probably get some abuse for it but well done, I whole heartedly agree
Some excellent stuff here Mike. The club is unrecognisable from the one I’ve actively supported for 50 years. I accept that change happens and not all for the better. However the way Liverpool FC and it’s history, traditions and culture, built up mostly by Scousers has been turned into ‘brand’ simply to make money for absentee landlords is nothing short of disgraceful. The ridiculous hyping up the naming of the team is in itself cringeworthy, but it clearly reflects that those running the club do not ‘get’ LFC. It is no use ranting though, we have to be aggressive in responding to all this. To me the only way to even get some of our identity back is to campaign for what is now called ‘safe standing’, despite
Hillsborough and the agony it still brings. Not only would it help reduce prices it would encourage a camaraderie that has been lost. The new stand is primarily for FSG’s corporate mates and they will pay the loan that FSG so gallently gave us to build it. The Kop has to be reclaimed for the supporters, primarily local and young.
Perhaps we have to be more vocal in our demands that LFC is not allowed to simply become just another club and “Who are ya?” a question that we ask ourselves.
The local and young can’t afford a ticket, the tickets go to 50 year olds from Milton Keynes and thier sons who are often called “Toby”.
Well you sound like a fun guy. Getting more local youngsters in is definitely a priority, but youth in general is key. Despite your sarcastic comment the geography really isn’t the biggest point though. In fact it’s more the locals (like the north face example in mike’s article) too focused on what someone else is wearing, or how they speak, that cause more problems.
An Irish fella wrote a comment on one of the pieces on here a couple of weeks back about his experiences as an oot supporter. It was a cracking read. And one I know (from first -hand accounts) lots of others can relate to. I’m local by the way and not part of the young crowd. I see Scouse lads on their phones, recording and facebooking. I’ve heard people who don’t sound local try and kick-off songs or chants and be sneered at. That’s just bollocks. it sometimes feels as though we need the exact right set of circumstances to have a decent atmosphere: We need to be winning; we need to have been on a good run; we need to not be surrounded by people who look different to ourselves or our idea of what a football supporter should look like; the weather must be conducive to singing; we need to be bevvied up.
I haven’t met any Tobys at Anfield as it happens, but if I do I might find out that he has a parent or grandparent from the city, which is something that I’ve found applies to lots of our non-local support. He might have a long history of match-going in his family. And if that’s not the case then it doesn’t automatically make someone less welcome in my book.
This all pisses me off because we have some really small-time attitudes showing themselves in our fan base these days. As I said I competely agree there should be a more youthful crowd, including locals of course. It’s not like scousers are too underrepresented in the ground though. It’s not the fault of someone else who’s managed to get themselves to the game if those locals that are there are mostly older and grumbly. Or too cool for school. Lots of that about. If different ticketing policies could be applied then where possible those of like intention could gravitate toward each other and singers could be by other singers etc. But while things are the way they are, the atmosphere will only be a hindrance to the team if people get more frothed-up about someone having a southern accent than by supporting the players on the pitch. Confidence is the biggest factor in success and performance and Anfield has become a hostile environment in many ways. That’s not going to inspire a young side to integrate particularly well is it.
So if Toby is next to me at Anfield on Saturday and he’s trying to support the team, while the fella with a more acceptably Scouse sounding name is busy screaming obscenities, I know who I’ll join in with. As Mike mentioned there were pockets that were alright against Carlisle – better than most league matches anyway – and the one noticeable factor was a more youthful energy. Lots of younger scousers than normal, but also lots of younger oots too.
Totally agree about the non locals started a song. Last Saturday the crowd was flat so I stood up and belted out ‘Brendan Rodgers Liverpool we’re on our way to glory… Should have seen the sneers I got. Must have been the accent.
Very strange that Robin. He’s at the height of popularity right now and we’re clearly on the way to glory…. And no one joined in?
You honestly thought people would join in with that song? Seriously? An unscientific poll of local fans i know and who go the match would say that 90% want him gone. No one is going to join in with a song praising him when he clearly doesnt deserve it.
I’ve always wondered why if all these “locals” are blaming the “non locals” about the poor atmosphere or the “wrong” chants, then why don’t these “local fans” not all start singing the songs or start the “right” chants to educate these “lesser” fans.
I’m quite confident the out of towners would be more than happy to follow their lead in the songs and chants. Surely that would unify the fans under one song/chant?
Or maybe it’s always easier to blame someone else?
I think that’s a fair enough point actually Michael. Although local or not, it’s a tough gig getting a song going at Anfield these days anyway. There are plenty who try though.
well well. i am from Asia Pacific, have been following Liverpool since i first started watching.football. Have not been to.Anfield yet, but will definitely make it within the next two years w my son.for sure.
Bought every new jersey come.out to wear while watching.the match in.pub or on tele. atrended every Reds matches in.HK, Malaysia, Singapore and Bangkok. Even attended England age group matches in malaysia many years back jist because i wanted to see young Owen, Murphey and Carra close up.
does this make me less of a Reds supporter than the lad who lives 5 steps away from.Anfield?
(not for me.to judge, i guess). we jist have to out grow from the small town club mentality i guess.
i often go to the official Reds pub in.Dubai whenever i am.not on biz trip, and rhe Bromamce among supporters of all age, size, and color are jist probably what Liverpoool represents. ~~~ A SUPER GLOBAL BRAND. (#respect #peace #love)
Well said. It was just that sort of parochial shite that drove me out of Liverpool in the 90s.
Surely that honour belongs to Newcastle? Despite us being a fuck up since Moores and Parry got control, at least we haven’t been relegated. We’ve merely transmogrified into Spurs mkII XR3i.
As to the crown against a div 4 side, the club couldn’t sell tickets, they were available on the day for 22 quid, presumably the cheaper ones already gone.
Haha, take a deep breath mate.
I’ve tried to stay positive but I’m sick of the whole unholy foursome now. It’s not fair to just blame the owners and manager. The players are fans are equally guilty. To quote Shankly ‘if a player doesn’t give his all I’d have him thrown in jail away from society because he’s a menace’. We miss Henderson. As for the fans, it’s odd because if we have a difference of opinion on an aspect of LFC we’re at each others throats. I do it myself. I’ve mentioned on here a few times that I had to leave a forum I was in with close mates because we were on the edge of coming to blows but then when we see each other outside of an LFC environment it’s all fine. I’m not sure how it’s come to this.
I’m starting to think that what we need more than anything is a strong man at the helm steering the ship. Neither Rodgers or Ayre have that attribute. We’re all like naughty kids in a kids home with no role model. We looked up to Neil but he’s proved himself a terrible role model for kids, haha.
P.s leave Chester out of this. What have we done? I’m glad you mentioned the stand up for the 96. The number of times I’ve cringed when we’ve made everyone stand.
I was listening to the brilliant Luke Kelly last night and one of the verses struck a chord with me. Let me leave it with ya mate. It won’t be like this forever.
Now the music’s gone but they carry on. For their spirit’s been bruised, never broken. They will not forget but their hearts are set on tomorrow and success once again. For what’s done is done and what’s won is won and what’s lost is lost and gone forever. We can only pray for a bright, brand new day for the club we loved so well.
Profitable though, nice donuts too.
Lovely article Mike, and couldn’t agree with it more.
a brand new dawn, i truly hope, starts this weekend match.
Go all out attack, 4~4~2 diamond.
~ Sturridge n Ings, full of movement
~ Coutinuo at the top of diamond
~ Milner and Allen/Can in the middle
~ Lucas/Rossiter
~Moreno n Clyne as FB
~ Sakho n Skertal
if they score 2, we will score 3 and win. if we.leak 3 goals, we will make sure to score 4 and win the match.
Go all out attacking brand of.football. 2013/14 Mk II (less Suarez)
It will be 3-5-2 again.
Migs, Skrtel, Can, Sakho, Clyne, Milner, Coutinho, Lucas, Moreno, Sturridge, Ings….most likely.
3~5~2 would be the most likely option since it is safer based on past season.and this season performance.
But 4~4~2 diamond is my wish list.
if one needs to fight and redeem the reputation, and reconnect with the fans, would he go with a insurance policy or with a brave All In risk taking??
I’m all behind the 4-4-2 diamond but it’s not gonna happen. In my opinion, playing the 4-4-2 diamond plays our best players in their best positions.
Really don’t think you will see the diamond until both Henderson and Benteke are back fit.
and that is only if Sturridge manages to not be injured at that point
Hendo, agreed fully. But movement wise, we may just play better with Sturridge and Ings/Orgri up front because their non stop movement and Coutinuo’s passing from behind the two will be at least bring us.closer to Surez era, less Surez of course.
When FSG first took over I thought they were naive owners with little to no knowledge on football and especially Liverpool FC but I believed they wanted success and by that I mean silverware. They seemed to spend a lot of time talking to a lot of people about LFC eager to learn. I believed, due to their inexperience in the footballing world, they would install proper, experienced footballing people in key positions at the club but apart from Kenny and perhaps Commolli they haven’t. Inexperience is rife throughout the club, from top to bottom. Who at any level in the top echelons at the club have any experience or know how about who to appoint to the key footballing positions at the club?? Who is advising them about whether to have a DoF, transfer committe or whatever?? Who is warning them off Benitez and Klopp and why??
I now believe they’re in it for the money. Our net spend hasn’t increased at all over the years they’ve been in charge. We always spend approx £20-25mil net even though our “commercial partners” have increased year on year. The TV money has increased too over this period while our wage bill has come down. Price of tickets have increased too.
Hate to say it but Gary Neville was right. We do not spend enough to challenge. I appreciate we’re not like City or Chelsea but the spending on the team has not increased despite income increasing.
They are very good at running a successful business. They just don’t know how to run a successful football club. For them success equals increased money, for us it’s silverware. Success on the pitch would mean increased money for them but they don’t want to put in the investment it takes to become a successful football club.
Fuck off with that bogus “net spend” argument. The club spends what it can REALISTICALLY afford to spend and to my knowledge FSG have yet to make a dime out of the club. All funds are immediately turned back to the club. Now is it spent on the RIGHT players? That’s the only question that matters, but reality is reality. Decades of benign neglect led us to this point, not developments over the last four years.
well, both of u, Michael and Aaron, are not wrong.
Net spend keeps track of the season by season cash in flow against outflow on players. yoi mentioned reducing wage bills as well. Increasing TV and commercial revenue and so on.
on the other side of the same coin, the investment in the stadium redevelopment. Not taking out one dime for the FSG pocket and so on.
this is like a chicken and egg issue, the debate could go.on and on.
BUT, I strongly believe that this can be a WIN~WIN scenario for FSG and Liverpool here. As the Owner/Investor, FSG definitely is not here for hobby or for the love of sports or as a charity. However, they are smart enough with track record to know that in order for the overall VALUATION of the club to keep increasing, they need to keep improving The Performance and Reputation of the on field performance, and thats the only way to extend the reach to wider fan base, increase matchday/commercial and TV revenue in the long run.
FSG definitely has a clear moneyball roadmap to achieve higher valuation. (not for.me to judge right or wrong) Why do u think the club is trying to buy young talents all over the world and loaning.out?
yes, they have not cash out one dollar (US vocab, again). But the VALUATION of Liverpool must have easily doubled at least (of not near triple) since FSG took over ~ that is roughly 25% annual return, at least, per annum. which is much higher than Stock and Bond investment for the past 4+ years·
Valuation and Win~Win, i hope, will take our beloved Reds to resounding Success.
(fyi,i have not had the privilege to look at the books of the club)
Aaron, where’s all the extra TV money and commercial partnership money going?? 5yrs ago (probably longer) our net spend was £20-25mil and it’s still £20-25mil now.
Michael, I don’t want to take sides in this. There’s no aspect of the club I’d keep, currently. Maybe the flags but that’s about it.
I’m just trying to answer your question ‘where has all the money gone’.
Firstly, FSG don’t take a wage from the club. Utd have huge debts yet their owners (who’s debt it is, and are the ones who benefit from the debt being paid off) take £16m a year now.
You mention our net spend was £25m 5 years ago and the same now. Well, 6 years ago it was a negative net spend and the same 5 years ago (not to be confused with FSG’s first 2 windows which despite £114m being spent was a net of around £35). Since 2011 it’s been between £20m and £40m but averages at £30m.
It’s been more up and down than steadily increasing with the tv money as you might have expected but if we look at the clubs profits up until the last accounting period, then we lost £50m a year for the first 2 years after 2011 and then in the third year finally recorded a profit of £1m. I’d expect the next accounts to show a bigger profit but we’re still in debt and it has to be paid. Debt is bad whatever and whoever you are.
Just making the point that no ones having us off here, mate. Ok, FSG want a lower debt because it’s better for potential buyers but they told us about this from day 1. Self sufficient and sustainable were their buzz words. I think we’re now at that point but with £80m debt. In a few years it’ll be paid off and the money being used to pay it off now will go back into the team.
wow. Robin, u are an insider arent you? probably typed out all the numbers while the club’s financial statements are.on screen? :) cheers
Point is there is no increasing money being spent on the football team. It has remained relatively constant. If they were really interested in making us a successful football team they have been investing more money into the TEAM.
Think back to Jan in the 13/14 season. If they truely wanted to us to be successful (silverware) would they haggle over a few million for a player the manger wanted to bring in to help us push on in the 2nd half of the season???
What they are doing is making us a successful business, not a successful football team.
That’s a good point mate. Initially they thought they could marry good business with revolutionary football ideas but it appears there’s only one sure fire route to success in football. Money.
One other thing that needs to be pointed out is their model was based around the idea that we’d be FFP compliant. FFP hasn’t been scrapped (yet) so they couldn’t actually spend much more.
I’m not convinced we lost Sanchez just over money. I’m convinced it played a big part but I doubt we sold our club to him very well and I think it’s clear he doesn’t see us in the same way we see us.
“Those who follow Liverpool are acutely aware of the riches we’re up against elsewhere in the Premier League, but still they judge the man in charge by the standards of a bygone era. It is trophies or else.”
Getting into Taff’s Tavern territory with that.
“If Rodgers hasn’t quite yet felt the full force of Anfield at its most cutting he soon will, unless there is a dramatic and prolonged upturn in results.”
Would that be unfair somehow?
That was boss, Mike. “Visible when it suits” Ayre is spot on. As is the ‘stand up for the 96’ point; glad I’m not alone in feeling really uncomfortable with it (happened twice the other night, I think).
Agree 100% re the 96 – it’s all about respect and not devaluing the ongoing fight for Justice –
“Everybody’s building big ships and boats,Some are building monuments,others are jotting down notes.
Everybody’s in despair,every girl and boy,
But when ? gets here,everybody gonna jump for joy”
Maybe this our lowest point,maybe things can only get better,maybe the darkest hour is just before dawn.
But it’s not quite the same as the Hicks and Gillet days.In those days we finished up standing side by side against a common enemy.Now we’re fighting and squabbling and pointing fingers in all directions.And we finish up arguing with each other. O.K. it’s good to have open debate but we can’t seem to decide who shot who here or anywhere else for that matter.
It’s now the players fault? Players don’t get to this level without being ultra competitive never mind proving their levels of capability and fitness.So we signed the wrong players? Maybe but that doesn’t make it their fault.They don’t do what Rodgers tells them? Well,whose fault is that?
And so it goes on; Ayre? The Transfer Committee? FSG? Gordon? Rodgers?
But if you put all these suspects on one of those white boards that you see in crime dramas I’m sure that all roads lead back to FSG.
The Players -> Who Decided New Players Were Needed? Who Sanctioned the Transfer? -> Who Negotiated the Transfer Fees? -> Who Identified the Targets?
Rodgers is an easy target and there’s no doubt he carries the can for some of it.But what about the rest? Where’s the common link? How can you point the finger at this player or that player or 4-4-2 or 4-3-2-1?
Some say the jury’s out at the moment.At this rate they’ll never get back in again with this lot to sort out.
And who leaked the story that Ancelotti has been approached? Our P.R. Department?Do we have a P.R. Department? Where’s the evidence?
Dysfunctional? Doesn’t cover the half of it!
“If the authorities knew about the problems and chose not to prevent them, then clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
‘The shirt weighs heavy’. As does the suit, Mike, as does the suit (or in Kenny’s case the tracky).
As much as I respect it’s an emotional piece, as members of a larger football community we do have a responsibility to not distort serious matters.
We cannot be the most dysfunctional club in England when, even without that much research, Blackpool FC is clearly a lot more dysfunctional. Even Newcastle in our division deserves a greater spotlight than us. They have often been reduced to a shopping billboard.
This is a good article but I think it truely misses the point. It’s not LFC that’s dysfunctional but football itself. The corporate LFC is a cog in that wheel. There are very few grounds now that generate an atmosphere if there is no success on the pitch. There are no successful clubs that don’t suffer the corporate fans and the hiked ticket prices and all English successful clubs seem to have owners that have little to do with the history of the club. Most clubs also don’t generate atmospheres even if successful, look at Man U and Chelsea. So is Liverpool any different.
Football is dysfunctional in that it is a sport that hooks into the very fabric of the culture of a city whilst attracting others from outside yet having a financial focus that demands profit even if not from traditional balancing of books. The fan on the ‘terraces’ support for one reason and that is to help the team succeed. Booing and anxiety is born directly from this desire and nothing else. Quiet crowds tend to be watching quiet football. This is especially true of Liverpool football club. I believe Liverpool somehow against all odds has retained its soul. That soul lies in the city and in the supporters only. Not In the owners, not in the players and not in the managers. They are certainly part of the cog. The supporters are not. They are there inspite of the wheel and the cog. The supporters might be desperate, they might be quiet, they might be bored, they might be sad but in Liverpool they are waiting. Waiting and waiting. Waiting for the football to wake up. Waiting for a time when the glory days will return. Anyone who thinks our history is a weapon against us doesn’t understand history. It is our only weapon for us. The refusal of Liverpool fans to accept anything else is what will inevitably and eventually mean that Liverpool football club will again be successful. Where else in England would the team coach be met with the South American style scenes we saw two years ago when we nearly won the prem. Which other fans would sing at 3-0 down in a European cup final. YNWA is the perfect song. LFC truely is a sleeping giant with its army of fans ready to march on Europe again. But all armies need to be fed, all armies need leaders. We hoped Brendon was that man. It now appears he wasn’t. But it just takes one man. Just one man to reignite this place that will erupt when the premiership eventually comes. We await that man. The army is quiet and at times turns on each other due to the boredom of waiting but don’t be fooled. It is like no other in this land. The time will come when it marches again as it did under Rafa and Kenny and Paisley and Shankly and when it does the country will realise that despite footballs dysfunctional future there is a heart that can’t be bought or sold and lies in the history of the fields of Anfield Road.
Brilliant Nevin. I made similar points in ge comments section of Mellisa’s piece. The problems are much bigger than the nan in the dug out sacking him makes people feel better but yo morrow we face the same restrictions.
Atmosphere?
Watch the supporters in the bundesliga going mad having a laugh while getting spanked by Bayern. We can’t even sing at nil nil in the fifth minute. Get behind your club.
I rest my case.
Atmosphere at Anfield is dreadful. Sing for fuck sake. When you try to start a song, people look at you gone off. Scousers mainly sneering at me because me and my accent are from Cardiff. Need a way of connecting all the singers. I would create an app but the wifi on the Kop is shite. We need a corner like those palace fans or perhaps we should identify ourselves by going topless. Now that I’m able to get to games we’re not the fans that made me want to support the club in the first place. Where’s the local lads with their wickedly sharp Scouse sense of humour, making up songs on the spot?? Oh hang on there’s some old fat fart sitting in their seat, tutting every time something doesn’t go our way. I give up, football has changed. I’d rather watch the games in my local pub, 4 hours from L4, because the atmosphere and camaraderie is far better.
Damon I understand what you’re saying, I really do.
The wickedly sharp Scouser still exists, believe me I work with plenty of match going reds (who sit alone mostly,or at best in a pair, and not with a group of friends) who are razor sharp but cannot express themselves at Anfield because the conditions don’t allow them to. This for me is just as depressing as if they’d disappeared for good.
A Palace corner (although well intentioned) would never occur I don’t think, the club don’t need it, simple as.
You know (and say) it’s unfair for you to single him out, and then you go ahead and slate Markovic in a most biased and not even-handed way.
Not cool.
Which part of the ground did the ‘stand up for the 96’ chants originate from? Sickens me that, that’s why I’ve stopped going the Hillsborough service, that’s turned into some sort of carnival at times and it disgusts me (but that’s for another debate).
Away from the whole Rodgers ‘will he stay, won’t he stay’ saga that’s engulfing the club, is there any possibility that word can be put out that these chants are simply
unacceptable for necessary reasons.
Supporters need educating, it’s not boss to ask who the other side are, and it’s certainly not boss to try and generate an atmosphere by using the darkest day in our club’s history as a starting point.
I agree with us being completely dysfunctional and run by amateurs, but I wouldn’t say the most dysfunctional (See Newcastle)
Headline’s a bit sensationalistic like the “worst team in 50 years” thing, but nonetheless the point was well made
Thank God there’s a game tomorrow !
The fact is we think we all own Liverpool and we don’t.
We support Liverpool.
Yes we all love the club, for differing personal reasons…..
But we have absolutely no control over what happens at the club.
This week I am hearing about dressing up as Klopp,not going the match to show FSG that Rodgers should be sacked and previously we have had Rodgers out airways flying over Anfield during a game.
All examples of fans trying to gain influence in decision making at the football club.
Should fans be doing this?
Is that the best way to support a football team?
Are we now in the age of the “I will show my support is better than anyone else’s by doing this that and the other”
I went to the West Ham game…. The atmosphere was dead.
This has been the case for the last few games I have attended.
Other supporters hold Anfield in high esteem and yet judging by my last few trips to the ground I can’t understand why.
The first game I went to was the 3-3 draw with Manchester United on a Tuesday night….
Maybe it’s nostalgia but the atmosphere at that game could not be described as dead… Well it was at 3-0 but then Clough grabbed the game and the fans and said “yes we can do this”.
Maybe that’s the answer…. The players should give the fans something to shout about.
I agree with this notion to a point and the frustration of fans does stem from the fact that we were watching football from the gods 2 years ago and now we are watching football from Woodison or Old Toilet ( Only joking my friends)
This does not excuse us from another fact….. WE AS SUPPORTERS ARE NOT DOING ANY SUPPORTING ESPECIALLY AT ANFIELD.
Does wanting the manager out mean that you can’t open your gob and sing your heart out for the team?
That is the impression I am getting.
I have made a conscious decision to not worry anymore about things I can’t control at Liverpool anymore.
What’s the point?
I don’t want to be a super fan, never liked fancy dress and I am scared of planes.
So I will just support the team in the best way I can which is to show up at the ground and sing my heart out.
If you are struggling to find your voice then have a few bevvies!!!
Mike, I also agree about the Hillsborough shout….
Thanks for the article.
For a moment look at the club from the owners point of view as an asset, which ultimately to some it is.
It’s in the owners interest to grow the value of the asset over time. For me it doesn’t really matter how long they are in it for but ultimately if they want to sell then they won’t wanting to be selling at a loss.
Therefore increasing the revenues of the club is ultimately in their interests both commercially,in the ground and on the pitch.
Commercially no doubt they’ve upped the anti on that front.
In the ground, This is where for me they’ve shaffted the fans. The growth of the main stand is a token gesture and for me they’re doing it on the cheap. Max out the revenues at the top end and ignoring the majority of the hardcore fanbase.
If you look at what CFC and Spurs are doing our approach is shithouse for me. At the very least they should of done the Anny Road and got the ground to as close to 60 as possible. This allows you then to do something with the fans that want to one sit together and two those that want to generate atmosphere.
On the pitch. I think there’s enough evidence out there to show that its basically wages that dictate league position. I don’t doubt that there will be the odd anomoly but if you look at wage league tables v actual league tables they tell a very similar story. If we don’t want to pay top whack then we’ll get what we pay which is 5-7th in the league.
Any infrastructure program is written off in FFP so theres no excuse for lack of funding for ground or training facilities. I’m sure that’s not lost on the board. If you don’t look after your own house it’ll fall to bits in 20 years. The same basic principles can be applied to the most expensive property in the country. I guess Man City’s new training ground is the new benchmark in the country.
FFP is now pretty much defunct. So unfortunately unless the owners want to dig deep then I would expect a sale once the main stand is complete.
Premier League Football is a joke really. Instead of the new TV money being used to reduce wages, reduce ticket prices, infrastructure programs across the board from transport links, new stadia, community programs, new training facilities etc it’ll go out the country in massive transfer fees and wages.
There is no collectiveness in the league as in say Germany where they take a holistic view on where the game sits in society as a whole, it’s every club for themselves.
It could be worse tho we could be Newcastle. Personally I’d have no problem with a Man City sized investment. I’m only on the planet for another 30 odd years (if I’m lucky) so the sooner the better please.