THERE’S a reason why we do this football thing.
There’s a reason why we cross miles, get colds, end up sunburnt, applaud and shout at regular interviews and celebrate or moan before crossing those same miles again for little reward. There has to be a reason for this nonsense.
Sometimes there is nothing other than the beige rolling of bland seasons. For the majority of clubs there’s nothing to shout about for years, decades even. So what makes those people do it? Why do we do it?
The answer is March 22, 2014. Well, it is for me anyway.
Cardiff City 3 Liverpool 6 will long live in my memory and, for once, it’s for football reasons rather than the accompanying silly stuff. See, away days are a collection of silly stuff that happen to you and your mates before and after the match. This was no exception. To start off, that day we were given a PDF printout, designed for away fans to tell us how to get to the ground — where’s nice to eat and drink and so on.
That’s a lovely idea, not really in keeping with the usual strict policing of fans. It views us as welcome guests rather than a necessary hindrance to the day’s events. The problem was that they chose to give us the pamphlets mere metres from the ground itself so it was pretty useless by the time we read it.
Another good thing about match day is bumping into your mates. I saw Martin Fitzgerald outside the ground and Rob Gutmann inside. I saw Gareth Roberts in his seat on the back row. It was like an Anfield Wrap orienteering game. Spot the contributor. Handshakes, slaps on the back. Nice.
Later that night we stopped off in a village somewhere for something to eat and encountered one of those unusual breed of waitresses who smile while giving you your food while somehow bollocking you at the same time. Not everyone can do that. Make you feel welcome and chastised in equal measure.
A good away day with my mates. One to remember.
And usually it ends there. You see your mates, you have a laugh, and you go home. But this was no ordinary game. This time the football exceeded the day out.
You don’t need me to tell you what happened. We went behind twice and won 6-3, but that’s a prosaic reading of something much more ethereal. When Cardiff scored their second goal my mate said: “We’ll need four here, you know.” Liverpool sneered at such cynicism and gave us six. But it wasn’t the goals. It’s what happened afterwards.
We left our seats and queued near the exit behind the very goal where Luis Suarez had completed his hat-trick minutes earlier. We were with people we didn’t know but sort of did know as we were all here united in the same cause and celebration. We bounced, we sang, we laughed, we hugged and we shouted at the sky. “We’re gonna win the league. We’re gonna win the league. And now you’re gonna believe us and now you’re gonna believe us and now you’re gonna beliiiiieeeeeeeve usssss …
(I’ve sang that hundreds of times since the last time we won the bloody thing but I’ve never quite believed it. I sang it at Fulham away in 2009 — this generation’s Wolves 1976 — but I was still worried. In Cardiff I believed it. That was a title-winning side. We were giving goal starts and still knocking in fives and sixes. Champions can do that.)
…WE’RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE.”
And that’s why we do it. That’s why we trawl through the sludge. That’s why we sit through 1-1 draws in the cold or take time off work and family to go to see the Reds, knowing full well that actual ecstasy is pretty unlikely. We do it because one day it might become ten to five on March 22, 2014. We do it for those moments. We do it for the joy.
A few weeks later I was sitting in a pub near Upton Park following Steven Gerrard 2 West Ham 1 (which is what it felt like to me). I was a broken man. I was shaking. This had gone from joy to panic — even to what psychologists call “the fear of success.” We won and I was still a wreck. We do it for this reason, too. We do it because there are times when it makes us feel alive AND because it scares the shit out of us.
But that’s gone. The last season and a bit have seen some awful football, terrible season-defining injuries and the re-emergence of Red v Red in the stands. At Goodison yesterday we sang the “Dalglish” song. My mate counted down five seconds before the usual follow up airing of “Brendan Rodgers”. None was forthcoming.
Irregardless of justification, I don’t like Liverpool sacking managers. That means Liverpool have failed.
You know where you were when managers were sacked. I was in my office when Rafa went before a period of expletive-heavy typing with my elbows to an equally angry forum, Hodgson’s departure saw me in my car, shouting with joy to nobody while Kenny ended with me alone in a pub, drinking. Drinking heavily. My own personal Brendan graveyard was just outside Warwick services on the M40. Different emotions for all of them. Rafa was fury, Hodgson joy, Kenny an intense sadness and…
And…
It’s hard to know how that felt. It’s been coming and the cowardice of the owners meant that the drowning man had to wade in the water for four months too long. Yes, cowardice. They could have ended this. They could have ended the pain of the club and the man who could no longer get Cardiff back thanks to a mixture of poor transfers, loss of good and great players, injuries, a bizarre transfer strategy and some plain old bad luck. The writing on the wall was Wembley. He wasn’t waving anymore. The owners watched.
I suspect the players did, too. On the way back to the car yesterday I took this photo. I still don’t know what it means.
Hold Nothing Back. Fair enough. It’s a bullshit term designed to sell something or other, but why have a pic of the lads looking disinterested? For me it sums up the situation perfectly. Lots of bluster but nothing underneath it. I doubt there was a similar scene in the dressing room in Cardiff. These lads just look lost or bored. Or both. They look like they’re waiting for change. Or a bus.
The owners have said that the sacking gives us a better chance of success on the pitch this season. Strange that they never considered that four months ago. Yes, they could have been lining up replacements but there’s been no announcement as yet and our next game is two weeks away with most of the players being away for much of that period.
The manner in which the news was greeted speaks volumes about the support. From open celebration through a sad shrug to fury and talk of spoilt impatience. I won’t be a hypocrite. I wanted him gone last season but celebration is over-doing it. If Liverpool are sacking managers Liverpool have failed and who the hell can celebrate that? Now we start at another Year Zero with underperforming players, a bedding-in period and further, dreaded “transition”.
If we’re back at the sludge and questioning why we do this thing before another high swings round, can we least look at ourselves and put our own house in order? Maybe do our bit to arrest the slide? We’re part of this club — the majority of it if anything, and we too have failed. For anyone at Goodison in our end yesterday it must have been a revelation. Shouting, singing and just generally giving voice to everything good about LFC and everything bad about the Blues. Players react to that. When James Milner came over to take his corner he looked at his feet but raised his hands in an attempt to raise the decibels. We did so. Yesterday, in that stand, was great.
Anfield, by contrast, is a cinema. Milner would need more than a gesture to change things there. Absolute silence. That has to stop. That has to change. We talk about the passion. We seldom show it in the ground.
But there’s a bigger problem and it’s us. I’ve no idea who the next man is but I’d like it if all of Liverpool supported him. Again, I won’t be a hypocrite. I was very critical of Brendan Rodgers in his first year. That sort of personality — the dossier, the soundbites etc — doesn’t sit well with me though it led to harrumphs rather than firing barbs at his private life and teeth.
I was also a little tired of being told to exercise patience by the very people who did the opposite in May 2012, but it wasn’t all out war on Brendan. I was still coming to terms with a hedge fund manager sacking Liverpool’s greatest player and my antipathy wasn’t directed at the new man. It was against a state of affairs where the football decisions were being made by the man who produced Mork and Mindy.
But, like Don Corleone before me, I’m prepared to forego any vengeance if we can just get back to those minutes in South Wales.
The interminable bickering from Rafa to Hodgson to Kenny to Brendan has made this club — or at least the sludge days of this club — pretty unbearable and I’m tired of the factions. For example, at half time at Arsenal I tweeted that it was the best we’d played in 15 months. Three people — Brendan hardliners all — told me I was a disgrace.
I was complimenting the manager for getting the tactics right against a better team — agreeing with their analysis about our strong start to the game, yet I was a disgrace. You can’t win. Even praise and surprise is factional. How ridiculous is that?
There’s seldom an agenda when the team performs. There was no agenda in Cardiff. The team is playing well when the crowd is loud and completely behind the idea of what we’re trying to achieve. James Milner shouldn’t have to raise his hands to conduct the volume. James Milner should be thinking, ‘They think we can do this and maybe they’re right.’
Can we just end the petty and vindictive squabbling now that we’re starting again? Can’t we call an end to the Mafioso brand of continual vengeance? Can we all just get back to Liverpool? Can we just draw a line and try to win the fucking league? Is that too much to ask?
I don’t like Liverpool sacking managers. Sackings means Liverpool have failed.
I don’t know what Brendan will do now but I know one thing. We’ll always have Cardiff and I’d like more of them please.
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Pic: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
Who wrote that headline, fucking Yoda?! Then a load of reheated stuff about what it means to be a fan, My Bestest Day Ever, why can’t we all just get along etc, etc. Short sentences. Like this. All the time. Can’t it stop?
Tired and emotional, nothing new here, move along…
A bit unfair on the lad. Judging from his photo so will not have experienced travelling to aways where we turned up, turned them over and fucked off. Having 3 put past us by relegation fodder isn’t great but given the shit we’d put up with since Rafa’s heyday it was fun of sorts.
To quote the bard “We that are young Shall never see so much”
I’m 46!
It’s not the point though. I knew the team was lopsided, it was obvious. It’s just that dancing round a stadium thinking we’ve won the league was quite nice and no one was really arsed about conceding when you’re in that frame of mind.
Oh, and Hemingway liked short sentences and he’s a bit of a hero of mine. So there.
Bit ironic that the first comments on your article about uniting as supporters are lads telling you to fuck off and doing just the opposite. This team may need a new manager, but more than anything it needs a good luck in the fucking mirror from the supporters.
Good to see you buying into the tone of the piece Softlad.
Give the bloke a break softintheheadlad. It takes a lot of effort to write a piece like that.
I wrote the headline, ‘Softlad’. Do you think your comment is better? Lashing a ‘fucking’ in early doors for the hard man points. A shite Star Wars reference. Bit of sarcasm that isn’t funny in the slightest then some kind of weird personal update that you should have saved for Facebook. I’d like shite like this in the comments section of this site to stop. It’s not adding anything is it? If you’re tired, go to ‘fucking’ bed. GR.
Agreed. There are plenty of other forums to read that kind of crap. It would be nice to keep it our of TAW.
Couldn’t agree more GR. The comments section on this site too often lets it down.
While I can appreciate your comment, you have to understand that writing like this is the most effective way to keep people’s attention – did you read the entire article? I’m guessing YES judging by your seething reply. And this article is what we call Anecdotal…I got that by the “Yoda” headline. Is it hard hitting journalism…not by a long shot. But was it a good article…in my opinion, it was heart-warmingly good and captured my emotions of the last 5.5 years.
Thanks for a great article, Karl. Time for us all to check the dictionary and understand our role, check our history and understand our way.
I was at Cardiff – flew over from Sweden for it – sat next to a NorthFace hardnose from Allerton and brought him round from cold disdain to arms-over-the-shoulders matery. Seeing LS in his breathtaking pomp, being part of that crowd, was electrifying; even in my Dreams I could hear it – We are Liverpool tra-la-la-la-la.
Let’s get that back.
Rodgers going has lifted the spirits of the LFC fans I know in the flesh to a man, and pissed off a ton of mancs, gooners, spuds and chavs. The air feels clear, the fart has dispersed. Fuck the faux sadness in the forums, and the pseudo fans (trolls from other clubs), and the Liverpool Way (TM), that disappeared with Joe Fagan handing over to Kenny.
I cannot recall this much hope after a manger getting the boot since Evans and “these people”, despite not actually having a manager.
The next move is down to FSG. So much talk of Klopp sounds like it’s already done. Anyone other than the mental jerry or Ancelotti is going to be a meltdown unlike no other.
Haha, it is genuinely exciting. It’s funny but there’s no better feeling than a new manager. I felt for Rodgers to the extent I almost wanted him to stay to prove himself. I felt a bit sad when he was sacked. Now that I’m over it, haha, I just can’t wait for the next few months. The buzz is gonna be right back. We’re gonna feel like kings having Klopp as our boss.
@robin crimes
Too right. I was relieved/saddened at the news of BR’s sack, but the prospect of a new manager is betwitchingly thrilling.
I am also sad because sacking a Liverpool manager can only be as a result of failure. However, 3:6 at Cardiff should have been 0:6. Crystal Palace should have been 0:3 and with even Big Sam Allardyce in charge the Chelsea game would have been 0:0. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I now see we came second in 13/14 because of Rodgers.
Hindsight is a great thing. And yes in the end we finished 2nd, not 1st. However, Rodgers was getting it right much more often than not in 2013/14… and to have even ridden that wave was a massive surprise and exhilarating too… the positive way we attacked got smashed into the ground by the media echo of the fan’s need to defend properly… In the process of trying to get the defence right and be a grown football team we lost all sense of that attacking adventure with no gain in solidity. Rodgers is largely to blame for that. I wish he’d stuck to his attacking guns and sodded solidity off. C’est la vie
How would big Sam stop Gerrard slipping over. Strange thinking..
We came second because we weren’t quite good enough to win it, we all got carried away on the great football we were playing. I am 53 and seen lots of glory years and I was convinced we were going to stuff Chekski that day, nothing was going to stop us. But hey shit happens and we know the rest. BR did the best he could but was not quite good enough. Let’s thank him for those memories, wish him all the best and move on, supporting the new boss the best we possibly can.
Never thought I would be this excited at the prospect but if it is Klopp,we are in for one helkuva ride and I can’t wait to sing my feckin head off.
(thanks for the great piece; brought back memories watching that match with my lad 11 then in official Reds pub in the desert)
Dear FSG,
Now that you have relieved BR from Liverpool FRANCHISE, somewhat decisively, the next logical step is to apppoint the next HEAD COACH with the following qualities:
~ align with value and tradition of this FRANCHISE
~ have the team play attacking and attractive SOCCER
~ does not need to TRADE so many new players yet again, so you dont need to sign many CHECKS yet again
~ ‘get instant response from existing ROSTER of players, so it may prevent potential many REVERSE scorelines
~ most important of all, a serial winner not just in cup PLAYOFFS, but consistently on the league.
Thank you.
^^^ What is this? It’s almost unreadable with the random Capitals and bizarre words. Are you Tom Werner in disguise?
hi Milz,
written in American vocabs so that FSG team can understand better. cheers
This sort of “letter to FSG” was kinda funny the first 9,789,482,749,283 times. It no longer is.
“Can we just end the petty and vindictive squabbling now that we’re starting again?”
Well said Karl!
Seconded!
For Brendan,
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Hi Melee,
a well written comment. impressive.
I just read the official statement released by BR via professional manager association. It was a class. It shows the man is a class, human with a character and a smart brain. he never once said bad abt us, he has tried his best. Well done BR. enjoy your holidays in Spain.
Class.
Teddy Roosevelt?
One of his best
Maybe the Refuseniks,castigated as twitter mobs by uber fan seizing the moral high ground had it right after all
Very nice piece Karl. Those refusing to give Rodgers credit for the good things he did or gloating at his sacking are just showing themselves up as the small people they are.
Sick of all the various bell ends that have felt the necessity to remark on Rodgers’ teeth or failed marriage etc…
And as for the folk quoting the 13/14 season being ‘all down to Suarez’ …what a bunch of cocks. Name me a title winning side or close runner up of late that haven’t had a couple of world class players at their disposal? Henry, Ronaldo, Drogba, Aguero, Hazard.. The list goes on. But for Rodgers it was all about being lucky to have someone like Suarez.
I believe we have possibly the worst home crowd in the premier lg these days. Even before this present era. Maybe that has an effect on form too?
We should all take responsibility for this shite.
let’s give credit where due:
in my opinion, most impressive changes BR had made to achieve the 13/14 results are~
~ moving SG to quarterback role
~ Flenno as left back
~ set up the team to suit Surez and Sturridge (Surez himself said that)
~ Stirling to the tip.of diamond (when everyone else would still use him.as an outright winger; or stay with Coutinho)
~ Coached Hendo to the player he is.
he might not have won anything with us, but i am certain he will.go.on as be a success somewhere.
Cox, idiots like you who got sucked in by Rodgers need to take responsibility. Was you 1 of the gullible fools singing the Rodgers song? Built a team like Shankly? Laughable.
The attacks on his teeth and marriage etc were an attack on his character and ability to manage Liverpool FC. A man who became more obsessed with his image because he had no substance. He’s talk of success was just like his teeth, all style and no substance. That’s why he’s never won anything. Unless you believe his talk of the Championship play off final being bigger than any Champion’s League final he may get to. Did he really get the Liverpool job for that, or was it getting Swansea to 11th in the league?
3 seasons of defensive failure. 1 season of having the best striker in Europe. 1 season of near success. You do the maths, without Suarez 2014 would gave ended exactly as 2015. How can you deny that was not down to Suarez. Luis knew the score, even Wenger looked a better option than Rodgers.
No need to get nasty, mate. Especially when you’re talking out of your second mouth. Without Suarez during the 10 match ban, we scored 19 goals and conceded 4 with a 7-2-1 record. In those 10 games, Sturridge scores 11.
With Sturridge in the side in 14/15 – no Suarez in sight – we go 12-2-4. Altogether, that’s a record of 19-4-5 for Rodgers when Sturridge is in the side, but Suarez is not. A 50% win ratio with Suarez, a 60% win ratio with Sturridge.
And that’s before you count the contributions of Gerrard, Sterling, Coutinho, and Henderson in 13/14. Who can call themselves a Liverpool supporter and downplay their role?
Give Rodgers a crack with Sanchez in the side – all other players exactly the same – and I don’t have a single doubt we would be looking to make it out of our Champions League group for the second year in a row. Under Rodgers.
They should have sacked Ian Ayre instead. Not that it would have fixed anything.
Now, where were we? Oh, yes. Three points off 4th. Four points off 2nd. YNWA, indeed.
Well said, Walt.
“The attacks on his teeth and marriage etc were an attack on his character and ability to manage Liverpool FC”
I get the first bit, but not the second, Mick. Perhaps you can explain how the teeth/marriage stuff has two-thirds of fuck all to do with Rodgers’ ability as a manager?
Actually, don’t bother.
Ask Mrs Benitez, Mrs Ferguson, Mrs Van Gaal how hard football managers have to work to be successful. 24/7. When the training ground is closed they spend their time watching future opponents play football, how the teams and players play, either dvds or going to games, planning the tactics for the upcoming individual battles on the pitch. They barely have time for their wives, not to mention numerous bits on the side. It’s all about character.
Just the one mouth, any need for you to be nasty? I can see why you would like someone like Rodgers who also constantly contradicts himself.
You’re not really trying to suggest that Sturridge is a better player than Suarez are you?
Where are we now? 10th place. 3 points off 4th after 8 games. Under Rodgers that would have been around 14 points after 38 games. Not good enough. That’s why he’s been sacked.
The 2013/14 season was an ‘exception’. BR had a hand in that exception; but it wasn’t a manifestation of “his way”. It was a deviation from it, in many respects.
The repeated attempts he made to ‘get back to his way’ had very little (if anything) to do with returning to, or attempting to replicate, the style, the way of playing of the 2013/14 season, especially its 2nd half.
The way we played in the 2nd half of the 2013/14 season (with a Deep-Lying Playmaker at the withdrawn tip of a 1-2 or diamond CM; and two 9.5 (between a #9 and a #10) players either by themselves or as part of a front-3; quick transitions, etc) was, and remains, qualitatively different than a typical BR approach.
I am glad we all enjoyed that exception-to-the-BR way (because it worked for so long, and almost worked to win us the elusive League). But I think we’re doing ourselves a disservice if we treat it as anything other than that.
What about the 2nd half of his first year? Once Sturridge and Coutinho come in, we are off flying. From the end of 2012, we finished the season 10-6-3 as we scored 42 goals and allowed just 17 goals. Put that with the following season and our record was 36-12-9 with 143 goals scored and 67 conceded.
In 14/15, when we had Sturridge we went 12-2-4 even with him never at full fitness, most of those games played during an 18 game run in which we lost just two.
Come April, we lose Sturridge, Sakho, and Lucas (who had formed a key partnership with Hendo). That’s the spine of the team right there. Gerrard gets a red card. Can does, too. Flanno’s comeback cut tragically short.
Who knows what could have been with a Sanchez or even a Bony, or even this year’s favorite rumour, Lacazette? I, for one, would have been curious to find out.
If nothing else, the fucking nets stay red!
I loved the madness of Suarez, who was never more audacious than under Rodgers. But more than that, I loved the sense of collective. The sum more than its parts. I loved the Steve Peters chimpery. It was all mental. I loved that we would concede a corner and we looked at it as an opportunity to score. I loved the through balls as a life philosophy.
It still fills me with regret that I never saw what Rodgers could do with Sanchez and Sturridge. I want to go back in time, alter history and bring back the mental Rodgers. It will be missed no matter what we achieve, and the times will be treasured.
Sanchez could have been the ideal/best replacement for Suarez.
But then again StevieG might not have been as effective in 14/15 due to aging legs. (even in 13/14, Villa beat us by putting a full time man marker on StevieG, )
A lot of what ifs…
just have to let go…i guess…and hope for the best future..
I think what did Stevie in was the lack of mobility and pace up front. He had no one to play it to and the position became very stagnant, as did the rest of the play around the pitch. As such, little twits like Downing were able to man mark him out of games.
If we had Sanchez, Gerrard would have had an ideal target – an almost perfect mix of Suarez and Sturridge.
I think it’s going to take a couple of days to let it go. Especially with the London media in full swing trying to belittle Rodgers and what he brought to the club.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he turns up at a mid-table side in Spain and transforms them into contenders. I wish him all the best and I hope his successor gets played a better hand by FSG.
no doubt BR will go on to be successful probably in Spain or Italy leagues.
Talking abt future now, it would be interesting to see how the new.manager pick his team, formation, and how he utilises Sturridge, Bentake, Ings and Origi. how he manage lack of wide players (apart fr Ibe) and so on.
It will be exciting to see who starts against Spurs in what formation.
The nastiness has been in the air a long time now … not sure how you change that overnight.
Cardiff 3-Liverpool 6! I can hardly remember that game.I remember some of the others that season though.Mainly about Suarez,Sturridge,Sterling,Gerrard and Coutinho.Some great football.
But I mainly remember running through Newsham Park on the last two miles from home after having set off at 10.30 a.m. because we couldn’t afford the bus fare.
Every step of the way pretending that we were Ian St.John or Roger Hunt or Peter Thompson and showing each other with every bit of debris that we could find how we would score the goals.And then every inch of the 5 or 6 miles back recreating those goals with anything that came to boot.(We all wore Addidas Predators or Nike Tiempo Legends in those days-only kidding-we wore pumps or school shoes and played real games in whatever we wore during the week).
But to coin a phrase,us “grey bearded historians” have seen some stuff over the years.We’ve been through some stuff too.
But I remember going to Wembley against Leeds.I remember other finals and away games I went to.I remember Istanbul,I remember going to our first away game in the First Division.I remember Manu and Spurs.
But I’m scratching my head here.Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6 ? I’m sure it happened.But I just don’t go to sleep dreaming about it!
You left out the first half against Arsenal this season. Greatest first half by a Liverpool side in living memory. Away. Without scoring, I mean.
We’ll always have that.
It just cracks me up that in the Comments section of a very well-written and passionate article that pleads “Can we just end the petty and vindictive squabbling now that we’re starting again? Can’t we call an end to the Mafioso brand of continual vengeance?” there is still more petty and snide squabbling and vengeance.
This is what we are now. The new normal. Every pocket carrying a sharpened knife. I don’t see any end of it in sight. Ross Dyer, a brilliant British football commentator who called many of the 2014 World Cup games and who sadly works mostly outside England, Tweeted after the official announcement about the removal of our manager that he just wanted to see Liverpool get back to what it used to be, a Club with an identity and values. The fans on social media have broadcast to the world the ugliness that lurks below the surface and that bubbles up every time the Club fails — and Karl is so right — this change represents a huge failure. Our reputation is relegated. It hurts terribly to think it, to say it and to hear it, but we are being laughed at, or worse — shrugged at, discounted. Venture out onto the Comments threads below mainstream press articles and it’s there to be seen by the world.
If we really love our Club we should come out swinging against that perception and against the people that brought it about. We should circle our wagons and marginalize those who perpetrate it. Saying it’s “my opinion and I have a right to it” simply isn’t on. The club has a collective identity. It’s just as much our collective responsibility to forge and maintain that identity as it is the manager’s and players’ job to do so on the pitch.
Well Elllie that’s your opinion and you have right to it.
If you interpreted my comment to mean that we should not have sacked the manager you’re dead wrong. I’m glad he’s out of the cauldron of vicious abuse and will have the financial security of a contract payoff to give him time to regroup before he comes back in some capacity to the game and career he’s passionate about. Britain needs young managers who are also men of integrity (as clearly evidenced by his farewell statement).
The failure lies in the fact that FSG embarked on a long-term strategy to bring back the past greatness of our revered Club by investing in youthful potential, nurturing it, and giving it the opportunity to grow together and hopefully succeed — in essence creating shooting stars rather than trying to lure them into a net made of money and hold them.
We came within 2 points of succeeding until ironically Steven Gerrard let José Mourinho ruffle his feathers and he lost his concentration. A split second brought down the house we had almost put the finishing touch on and were ready to move into. Then, a year later, when we had a good run going and looked reasonably headed for top four, his emotions overran him again and he threw a little tantrum when we most needed him to be composed.
There’s plenty of blame to hurl around at everyone if that’s how we want to live our lives. The point of my comment was to agree with Karl — if we want to be real winners we should really stop the sniping blame game. It has no winners and it never will do.
as a Pro Liverpool supporter (neither pro/against Rodgers and FSG), i will continue to support the club 100% as always whoever owner or manager is.
some of the fans, including myself on.occasion, may not be able to understand whay FSG is trying to do, and their policy may seem not sound at times.
iif we look at the big picture though, it is clear that FSG are doing their best to Re Create Competitive Advantage of the club with their step by step approach. Call it moneyball or whatever. But at least they are doing their best by consistently investing in players and facilities while further exploring revenue opportunities.
Some may point out net spend and wage bill to play blame game yet again (now that BR is no longer around to be the stress ball). But i strongly believe that FSG’s long term strategy, right leadership at the club, perfect manager, support from fans, will bring us to success soon.
Clearly evidenced by his Farewell Statement?
You’ve been watching too much QVC.
atement?
Great piece Karl.
2013/14 was special. Yes we believed. But it was nothing to do with Rodgers. We knew in Luis Suarez we were watching the best footballer we had ever seen in a red shirt, an absolute genius, who was a joy to behold. Rodgers just rode the wave, always talking about the team, like it was down to him and not Luis Suarez out scoring Rodgers defence failure.
Suarez wanted away from Rodgers twice.
I wonder would Suarez have given us more time if a top manager like Klopp or Ancellotti was appointed back in 2012.
Wanted away from Rodgers? How so? You are insinuating he wanted out for a personal reason against Brendan Rodgers – that was so clearly not the case.
Nice article and there’ll come a point where all – including softlad – will look back on that season and remember how good it felt. Best season since the 80s frankly.
As for moving forward and uniting as fans we can only hope. I must admit my dismay, embarassment and sheer dislike of how some fans have behaved in the last 10 months or so is going to take a long time to dissipate.
While it may be the right time to get rid (if you’re giving him summer and we’re only 2 points from 4th now then I’d say it’s a bit hasty personally but I’m not frothing about it) the blerts who were on his back last October/November will remain a stain on the club for me. If you can’t enjoy 13/14 and if you don’t think it gives the manager some leeway to turn it round, more than 3 months anyway, then go and support Chelsea.
I realise I’m probably not helping matters but that’s how I feel unfortunately and it’s gonna take a big sea change on the terraces and on social media before that’s gonna change.
Great piece, Karl. You nailed it.
Suarez wanted to leave Rodgers after just 1 season with him. Even Arsenal after 8 barron years looked more appealing.
Then he wanted to leave after season 2.
That was not a player who believed in his manager’s ability to deliver success.
But then again Suarez tells it differently.
Could it be that he didn’t believe in where the CLUB is going and he wanted to play in Spain?
On Rodgers:
“Liverpool developed me and I did well in the Premier League, scoring hat-tricks or getting winners, and that gives you the confidence to think you can be a game-changer when you go out on the pitch.”
“When Brendan was appointed, I was excited. I’d actually spoken to him when he was at Swansea in Spanish, which I thought was a good touch,” said Suarez.
“He was familiar with the Spanish way of playing, as he’d studied there.
“He was very clever and told me that Liverpool would play possession football, as it would suit me. He helped me with my runs, arriving in the area at the right time and coming in from wide — rather than just waiting in the middle — which benefited my confidence.
“We worked hard on finding ways I could isolate players and then try to beat them, man on man. That was the only way I could succeed in England. […] If you punt a long ball up towards me and one of these [Premier League] defenders, I am not going to win it.
“But the way Liverpool played, with the ball on the floor, and being released very fast to my feet, gave me a chance against the big guys. […] I wasn’t proven and I had to adapt to the Premier League, which Brendan knew. He knows all about English football and he educated me to become successful.”
On Barcelona:
‘Liverpool did all they could to get me to stay, but playing and living in Spain, where my wife’s family live, is a lifelong dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right.’
On Arsenal:
Guardiola, brother of Barca legend Pep, says the Blaugrana is “the club Suarez loves,” per Burrows. “The possibility of playing for a club like this comes around very rarely and you have to take advantage of it.”
In his book, Luis Suarez, My Story: Crossing the Line, Suarez thanked Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard for talking him out of moving to Arsenal, writing, “It would have been a big error that I would have made had it not been for Steven Gerrard.”
Suarez provided further details in the book.
“Gerrard had told me to play well for Liverpool, give it another year and it will be Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona coming for you and then you can go where you want, because you have the quality to play at any of those three clubs,” he said.”
If Suarez had left after 18 months would anyone have been that bothered? I mean really pig sick? He was good, sometimes very good indeed and with some glimpses of pure genius, but i dare anyone to say they saw the 13/14 vintage coming round the corner.
Is it any coincidence that Suarez from Jan 12-May12 bears no resemblance to the Suarez that left in May 2014? For me, Rodgers gains a lot of credit for nuturing Suarez into what he became.
I’ve really enjoyed this article and Neil’s about the West Ham game. In the history of Liverpool a win at Cardiff or beating West Ham won’t come close to some of the “I was there” games in the past but using these games has reminded me just how good 13/14 was. It’s easy to remember beating United away, Everton at home or putting 9 in total past Spurs but it’s those other wins, Southampton & Fulham away, Swansea at home, the games that aren’t currently being shown on sky sports news “how close” coverage, when you can really remember how good it was. In recent years we have had better season’s in terms of trophies, the highs of Istanbul help you forget Burnley in the cup, Southampton away.13/14 was great game, after great game, after great game. Even in defeat (Chelsea & City) you walked away proud.
But what i remember most, and how i interpreted the article (not sure it was meant this way), was how we all went on the journey together. I don’t believe the “It was all down to Suarez” debate. The manager yes. The players yes. The fans yes. We are Liverpool. It’s great remembering about how much we sang, how great the atmosphere before, during and after the game was, how teams were afraid of coming to Anfield, how we didn’t worry about falling behind. We never blamed any of our players for mistakes made. I don’t mean Gerrard but Toure at West Brom, Mignolet at City. We got behind them and pushed them on. It’s easily said now and we should have held on to beat Palace 3.0………but not there and then. Not at that moment. Our end was manic at Palace as we shouted “attack, attack, attack” as we wanted the 4th, 5th, 6th just keep scoring, “we will win the league.” For every part of me that hates the idea of Palace away now I still fondly remember that moment. We’ve lost that support recently, maybe we are all suffering the 13/14 hangover, but we need to remember the great parts of that season and repeat them. There was a banner towards the end of the season that summed that season up, “anything is possible for those who believe,” we need to believe again.
Great articles guys and from a personal level cheers for jogging a few happy memories.
Well done Mick. Let’s give all the credit of the 13/14 season to ONE person. Not the team and Manager. Sturridge, Couthino, Skrytel,Sterling, Gerrard Flannagan..even Mignolet were all just hod carrying players that didn’t contribute to the strongest title challenge in 25 years? You are precisely the sort of fan I despise. Mr Fucking Hind Sight. I personally thought Suarez screwed us. Of course he was an incredible player and the best in the league that year. But how many games did he miss for us due to bans over the 3 or so seasons? We supported him to the hill during the racial incident and biting episode. Have you ever wondered what our points total could have been if he hadn’t been one of the most petulant and temperamental player we’ve had, getting regularly banned for insane actions. Not denying he is absolutely world class and had a massive contribution whilst playing.
Keep beating off to the poster of him on your wall Mick.
Yeah Cardiff 6:3, that was the game for me as well, I live down here and went with my dad and 2 lads who were 11 & 14 at the time and the look of shear joy on their faces at the end will stay with me for a lifetime, and who doesn’t want to have some input into getting that back, it has to be a collective effort!!!