Liverpool were ruthless on Sunday. Absolutely ruthless.
A ball through from the captain, a red card when their lad had little choice but to bring Sadio down once their keeper ‘A Reasonable Aga’ (©Adam Melia) legged it into No Man’s Land and then the systematic breaking down of Lampard’s men.
We didn’t even give them the solace of a penalty. Ruthless.
Liverpool were also ruthless in the week. First Thiago comes in followed by Jota. Statements all over the shop. The Champions have no interest in settling for one title only.
But what about the centre-back issue? There isn’t one. Fabinho steps in and puts the great Timo down his sock for safe keeping.
Two games, two wins. Salah and Mane on two or more goals each and Virgil should be there too but doing keepy ups on the six-yard line before scoring last week was deemed unsporting.
A happy week for us all then. Surely, we’re all smiling benignly at each other and affectionately ruffling each other’s hair.
Nice dream.
The transfer window brings them all out. Even the silly, benign stuff. Each innocuous post from the club answered with tons of ‘Announce Thiago’ replies, like they’re holding back the big news until there’s a groundswell of demands.
I can’t understand that, though I suppose their fervour and excitement is understandable.
It’s by no means as irritating as those savagely slating the club when there’s three weeks of the transfer window left and Dejan’s shirt is still empty. Both groups want announcements made but one comes with fury. I can’t be bothered with that. Not just now.
Of course, the biggest bone of contention will always be the owners. FSG discussion comes with torches and pitchforks.
I was once accused of writing PR for the owners by a lad because I didn’t write about Brendan Rodgers’ woeful team selection in Madrid in November 2014.
To be fair, he didn’t overegg his criticism or resort to hyperbole. He was fair and evenhanded. I can’t quote it verbatim, but I remember the line “you spat on Shankly’s grave when you let that go”. As long as we have a sense of proportion, that’s the main thing.
Oh, and I didn’t write about it because I wrote about the following game instead. FSG In…
The irony of that episode is that I’ve never shied away from my issues with Fenway. I’ve spilt shiploads of ink since they came in, haranguing them over their role in the Kenny/Dempsey/van Dijk/HiP leafleting and furlough fuck ups, but I’ve stopped shouting of late as the things I’ve always wanted – those trophy things – have started to stack up.
It seems a bit churlish to call them twats when we’re doing so well.
My years of snarling are based on a more societal perspective than a personal one. I can’t get on with celebrating venture capitalists. I just can’t. Suits have no place in my footballing world, though I’m not naïve enough to think that the club doesn’t need lads with ties, LinkedIn accounts and laptops to keep the ship sailing.
‘Yeah, but footy is a business these days.’
Yeah, I know. I get that, but celebrate them like I would Sadio? Nah. I’m the same with Michael Edwards. A nod, yes, but never an appreciation society.
My heroes are on the pitch, not across the breakfast tables in the palaces of the mighty. Necessary maybe, but hardly the main focus.
Not an admirer then, but nor am I totally on the side of the FSG Out lads. Oh, had we still been in the days of Moneyball celebration and seeing top four as the pinnacle of our accomplishments, I would have been in the trenches with you.
But trophies grant you leeway. They just do. There’s nowhere to go after trophies other than more trophies. Sure, you can talk about buying from a position of strength, securing the future and even leeching cash from their investment to spend on their other toys, but I like the bit where Jordan lifts silver things. I’m in it for that and that’s what we’ve been doing plenty of lately.
I still question everything the owners do. I haven’t been bought off with a bar of Dairy Milk. FSG should be scrutinised constantly simply because they’re people from outside Liverpool messing around with the most Liverpool thing in the world.
I crossed swords with Peter Moore on social media about the Scudamore money and would do so again, but moan when we’ve been League and European Champions up until recently? Sorry, but I’m too busy enjoying it.
This is the time we’ve always wanted. This makes all those limp seasons, the false dawns and falser promises all worthwhile. We’ve just won at probably the third hardest place to win in the country and it’s only the second game of the season. We’ve also just won the league.
As Paul Simon once said, ‘these are the days of miracle and wonder.’
This is why we do this.
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“I like the bit where Jordan lifts silver things”
This made me snort with laughter.
I get the point you’re making and it’s a valid one. But, if we’re going to go over old ground then it’s worth thinking about the past a little.
I go back to points I made in 2011, 2012, 2013 et al (and some of them made as a response to you) that apart from the nightmare of 2014/2015 Liverpool have been evolving year on year under FSG.
I don’t particularly want to defend them as I don’t care one way or the other but this should be a lesson to a certain genre of our fanbase (largely from Liverpool and largely supporters for many decades). Were FSG given a fair go in their early years? Being American and following H&G didn’t help them with certain sections of our supporters. Moneyball was ridiculed, sacking Kenny brought anger and the failure to replace Suarez was followed by the same furore.
With hindsight, one can see that in reality our managers have got progressively better, our finances have got progressively better and subsequently we can now sign the best players in the world.
The end result is we’re now the number one team in the world both on and off the pitch (and you can’t ignore the off if you’re concerned about the on). We can ridicule decisions of the past but they’ve been for a reason. We were in a bad place in 2010. It’s extremely difficult to go from there to being the top club in 2 years, 3 years etc. It took time but the plan worked.
I was very vocal against the FSG haters for years in the comments on these columns because I had the insight to see what was happening. In the end I realised it was a personality thing and didn’t hold back telling those people.
For example, I’ve told Joe Cousins, who has written at least one article on here, that his perception of FSG or Liverpool business is not based entirely on facts. It’s based on the point that he is naturally negative as a person. His latest one is ‘I’m muting Thiago because there’s no way we’ll sign him’.
Those that continue to be haters of FSG are just angry they were wrong in the past. Nothing else. They staked their reputation on it and in the end they wanted them to fail so they could say I told you I was right’. It reached absolute ridiculousness when we heard ‘they sold Sterling, Suarez, Coutinho etc like they drove them from the club. It’s quite embarrassing how our fans have behaved.
So, what’s my point? Well, maybe in the future we can see the bigger picture and not let our emotions make us all so angry. Appreciate miracles don’t happen overnight unless you want a sugar daddy to buy trophies. Most of all though, don’t worry about things that haven’t happened. We haven’t signed anyone, we could have challenged if we had (summer 19). We’re not signing anyone from a position of strength. They don’t have a clue etc. At least H&G managed a spade in the ground. Ps At no time under FSG have we been in a crisis like we were under H&G where the response was justified.
I agree that success should breed trust.
However, trust must be repaid by responsibility.
It is entirely appropriate for the supporters to ask questions.
However, the attribution of bad faith where so little evidence of that exists is I think churlish.
A mature relationship should result in mature communication between the supporters and the club.
Klopp talks to us like adults. We should not disappoint him.
FSG have delivered on their football plans, mistakes along the way have been made – £77 seats, remember – but right now we’re in a happy place and that’s to be enjoyed.
The mask has, of course, slipped, like with the £77 seats and will continue to slip with them in the future because they’re venture capitalists doing what VC does. These people are not our friends, and that should be remembered as well.
Both things are true.