07 Sep 2015 18:55:55
Hi Eds and Reds

I've been a Liverpool supporter for a good 40 years and been privileged to have seen many top class players and some great teams. Arguably our best ever league side was from 1978-79 which broke records for number of points, goals scored, goals conceded etc. I recently saw some footage of a match from that season which was made up of the following midfield; Jimmy Case, Terry McDermott, Graeme Souness and Ray Kennedy. Drool. What is evident is that all of them could tackle and put themselves about, all of them contributed defensively and they all contributed to the attack. All of those 4 players scored brilliant goals for us and I think they would walk into any Liverpool side of today. We used to attack as a team and defend as a team, the midfield players were fundamental to this ethos and they were coached to cover for each other in different areas of the pitch. The modern way of coaching seems to think that you have to have a defensive midfielder, a deep lying playmaker, an attacking midfielder etc. Do you think the game has improved tactically from the era of our great side of the late 70s or do you think tactics have become too complex? The Liverpool of today is vastly inferior to the Liverpool that I grew up watching week in week out. I can't help but feel that if we had really good coaching we could go forwards by going back to the Liverpool way of old i.e. pass, move, create space, move the ball quickly, doing the basic fundamentals and doing them well. Shankly, Paisley and Fagan were not complicated in their thinking and methods; they just kept it simple, bought or nurtured good players and coached them to do the simple things well. I was hopeful that our current manager had a philosophy of playing that would be applied at every level of the club, but there doesn't seem much cohesion from one season to the next, with too many changes in personnel and tactics. If we could coach the first team squad and u21s to play the same way it would make the transition for our talented youngsters into the senior squad much easier, keep continuity in the squad and probably save a lot of money on expensive transfers. A new player would come into the first team because he is better than the player currently in that position, not because you have decided to change the way in which we play. It's not exactly rocket science. Do you think it's realistic to go back to how we used to do things, or is this just a bit naive and the Liverpool way of old is merely an outdated way of thinking?

{Ed001's Note - some is outdated, but the basics do apply.}

1.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 20:57:09
Jeffinho, Great Post in fact that good I read it a couple of times, you're old school like myself and have seen all the great Liverpool Teams, I first started going with me dad in 1963 stood on a stool at the back of the Annie road (aged 8)

Feel sorry for all our younger supporters who have never seen them lift the league or European cups , as I have said before the premier league has never been out of the cities of Manchester or London ( bar Blackburn 1995) and I can't see that ever altering unless we get a Billionaire and a Good Manager, in fact I think the next time we win the league I will be in Allerton Cemetry and there will be millions with me !!! as I said its going to YO-YO between LONDON and Manchester for many,many,many Decades to come.

MANY THANKS FOR A GREAT POST BROUGHT BACK MANY GREAT MEMORIES

2.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 21:28:43
didn't leeds win it?

3.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 22:25:49
The defensive midfielder is a trend in football

I remember the good old 4-4-2.

Memories.

4.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 22:33:53
I have seen every Liverpool side since the sixties. I would challenge your opinion regarding the 78-79 side being the best. Certainly they were probably the most clinical and efficient, but the best for sheer quality, swagger and entertainment has to be the Dalglish squad when he was player/manager and manager.

That truly was a magic red army.

5.) 08 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 23:21:09
Sounds like I'm in the same boat age wise ;-). Without weighing in about the best side (i'm internally conflicted on that matter lol), i'm with Red Lenin about entertainment value of the 87/88 side. Unbelievable.

The 78/79 side was though more of a physically stronger side, that could also grind out a result, even when the champagne football didn't happen. Especially away from Anfield.

6.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 07:03:49
Leeds was the last winners before the premier league