HOW was your break? Did you have one? Go anywhere nice?
There are people who can’t have footballing holidays. For them there’s no respite once the final ball of the season has been kicked or, in our case, the trophy has been lifted to an expectant crowd one more time before it’s polished and put in a cabinet with the others.
They look at the blank month of June with dread. No football, no Liverpool, no European Champions. The loneliness of the European Cup final to Prenton Park, Tranmere.
I’m the opposite. No footy, no TV and no interest in anything other than releasing the pressure valve inside my mind which had become dangerously overloaded from March to May when every single game was a must win, when every ball was a Liverpool must win ball. When even joy hurt. Something had to give.
But then the fixtures are announced, the friendlies start, tickets are collected (if you’re lucky enough) and calendars are blocked out from mid-August to next summer. Then the psychological body armour comes out again.
That armour’s useless, by the way. They’ll still leave us wrecks even though they’re great.
Then there’s the expectation. As a new season looms we each sit down and work out what we want from the next nine months. Mine will never change. The league championship comes first and always will. After that it’s the European Cup and maybe an increased points total. This has to be our year. Has to be. No messing about. No runners.
But it’s different this summer.
For too long Liverpool have ended May with a shrug. Of course, getting to Kyiv was an enormous fillip, but even that felt flat given what happened in that penalty area.
There’s always a sense of regret when a campaign ends. If we’d only managed to ABC we might have XYZed and now we can’t. A missed opportunity. Still, there’s always next time and that deficit can be added onto a target for the coming season.
So much different this time. So much has changed.
For a start, Liverpool have changed their name. We’re no longer called Liverpool FC — at least not for the next season.
Friday August 9, The European Champions v Norwich City.
Such beautiful words. I might stare at them for the next couple of hours. They feel like the hot towel that comes after a curry. Soothing, welcoming and just what we needed right now.
That trophy takes the edge off the stress. Finally the seven-year itch has been scratched and we’ve delivered silverware. The biggest one too. The European Champions. Suddenly everything is right with the world.
Alright, we didn’t win the league, but if you’re upset at 97 points then you’re bloody hard to please. Fair enough when we were posting mid-60s in the final column, but last year we went from 76pts to 97pts and were only beaten by a freak side who have casually knocked up 198pts in two terms. We didn’t exactly fall off the pace.
Anyhow, the summer has been pleasant. Just living in the afterglow of Divock and the greatest shinned pass in the history of the club.
I’m relaxed, but that doesn’t mean the club should be. Jürgen Klopp has new problems now and the main one is this…
What do you do next?
What do you do after the European Cup and the greatest points total in our illustrious history?
Mozart has left the orchestra pit and the crowd want something just as good as a follow up. But where do you go after Mozart? Anything less would be met with frowns. The crowd are stomping their feet, ready for an encore, but Wolfgang is in a cab with his wig off.
A runners-up place with 80 pts would be acceptable to many in some quarters and though it would be far from disastrous it would feel like a shame after Madrid.
OK, if Mozart isn’t your thing then add your own. The Beatles, Swift, Shakespeare, Baby Shark — whatever floats your boat — but Jürgen’s problem is the follow-up album.
The next season should always be about improvement, but can we seriously improve on the madness of 2018-19? Not unless we go to three figures in the league and they give us an extra European Cup in the Ataturk next May for being great.
How do we pitch expectation now? Nice problem to have, isn’t it?
At time of writing it looks like we’ll have to do it with the same cast minus Mignolet, Sturridge and Moreno. Depending on your stance we should have either bought big from our lofty position or not spent money for the sake of it if our first-choice targets are unavailable, but it’s certainly a risky strategy to adopt.
Yes, there’s the return of Chamberlain, the step up from Keita and the emergence of Brewster to take into account, but it’s not the same as “I wonder what the new lad will look like” as the opening day approaches.
I’d like to think that the people responsible for these things are locked away in a bunker under the Anfield turf with signed contracts ready to be photocopied and thrown at journalists on deadline day. Maybe Jordi Alba and Robert Lewandowski are held in protective pods safe from the ITKs.
After all, if your only job is to buy players, you can hardly have a month off in June, can you? Can you? Time will tell.
So, it starts again on Friday. The Champions of Europe face the Championship Champions. They should put that on the programme.
Operation 98 points starts now. The rest has been welcome, but it’s back to business. And stress. And worry. And laughter lines. And Liverpool joy. Even the painful bits.
Here we go again.
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Expectations?
I am confident in saying that 99 % of Liverpool fans all around the globe want to win the League this year. I frankly am not satisfied if we win the League Cup, FA Cup but miss out on the League again, 31 years waiting.
Even if we should defend our CL title, which would be a great feat, it would still not be like winning the holy grail. The League is the priority. This sqaud needs to win this League. Champions of England, that is the expectation. Nothing less.
Have to say that I want the League, but I’m not sleeping on the Cups. Desperately wish we had signed one or two key players, but I’m placing my trust in the process here; the transfer team have delivered in successive years and windows here, and I’m not ready to second guess them just yet.
I’d be ecstatic if we defend our CL trophy :)
Me too J! Doesn’t seem that long ago finishing in the Top 4 seemed like a distant dream.
Winning the fucking thing. Still pinching myself.
Can’t wait to welcome our heroes back to Anfield tomorrow night. Lot of water under the bridge since Wolves!
I want the league, no doubt. But this article asks a great question. Where do we go from here? Klopps built a team, I have to say by wheeling and dealing BTW, certainly not backed by the ownership. His genius has propelled Liverpool to the first stage with a meaningful trophy. His net spend has been ridiculous.
The trick now is staying there.
And for me, if you are asking me right now, a day before the window shuts – well we certainly haven’t acted in a manner that says we want to stay at the pinnacle. In fact I’d go as far to say we’ve given the tortoises time to catch up the Rabbit.
We could have put a marker down. We could have cleared the deadwood and brought in some competition to keep players fresh and fit and on their toes. But what did we get? We got a car analogy from the boss.
However, if that car breaks down what do you do in the meantime? Klopp has a track record for complaining about fixture pile up and fatigue. And whilst its admirable that he likes to do things differently, come December when all those games start kicking in and if we get a few knocks he’s going to be the first one to open his mouth.
So what am I trying to say? Have we missed a golden opportunity again? Have we done the incredible and for the umpteenth time, dropped the ball when we had it in our hands? Time will tell.
But one things for sure I am really disappointed in the aftermath of Madrid and the spiel that was coming out of the Club before the final about investing for the league. It’s just not good enough for a Club the size and stature and financial muscle of Liverpool Football Club.
I hope come May we arn’t back to where we used to be – wondering what if?
It is a great question and the one we are all asking. Why not have the likes of Insigne, Dybala, Zaha etc warming the bench. We’ve got the money, the pulling power like never before. Make us all feel better. Show off a bit like pools winners buying a Ferrari.
I don’t get the impression that this is anything other than Klopp’s decision 100%. We are all wondered who the fuck was Andy Robertson. Who thought Mane would be the player he has become. He fast tracked Trent and clearly saw something. Milner looked a spent force. Even Salah had question marks. To name a few.
Will we be talking about the renaissance of Lallana in 9 months time. Origi, Brewster. Klopp believes in them. Keita, Ox will be like new signings.
we ask the questions but he sees things even the most ‘knowledgeable’ supporter can’t even get close to seeing. He is perhaps more targeted in the market than any top level manager in the world. It’s worked. He’s got the ‘never won anything’ off his back in the greatest possible way. We all have. Let’s make that work for us.
There can’t be any doubters left out there these days.
But Klopp will know as well as anyone if we don’t kick on, you can turn believers back into doubters!
Hi ADMX, I like Paul G’s comments on all this and feel the same. We also have some interesting kids coming through the ranks, who I assume will get to play in the cups.
For me, I feel we are probably 12 months ahead of schedule in everything. When you think in the last 2 seasons we got to the CL Final with a 40-1 team and may have won it if it wasn’t for crap officiating and a concussed goalie, to then go one better the following season in the CL and also nearly win the PL (if it wasn’t for crap decisions at the Eithad from a Manc ref)…
So this all in mind, we lost no one of note since then and we now have bedded in our signings; with this all in mind, how come you don’t feel all positive and excited???
As for the players you mentioned as bench warmers, do you think they would be happy being just this???
It seems we have earmarked investment into retaining our best players on improved long contracts and we are building a brand new training complex, plus there’s meaningful conversations now being had about redeveloping the Annie Road.
These are happy times and ones to rejoice. :)