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05 Jun 2020 14:38:16
With Werner now out of the picture I guess it is nailed on that we get Mbappe now. eh, Ed2? Simply can't see anything standing in the way. The whole Werner thing was a smokescreen. C'mon Ed2, bite! :)
{Ed002's Note - Another Chelsea reject? I doubt it.}
1.) 05 Jun 2020 20:16:26
Nope! Try again, OP.
10 Jun 2023 10:34:07
My friend went to school with a lad called Maaz Bari….
14 Sep 2022 11:04:37
Really good podcast on this KloppisTopp, if anyone's interested called 'Empire. ' Worth a listen, definitely educates me about a lot of things.
20 Apr 2021 16:54:05
Thanks Vermiculo - I'd just reference the second line of my 'missive' where I said 'at no point am I going to say i agree with the decision. ' But I think it's important to understand it.
20 Apr 2021 15:32:49
OK, so I'm going to be controversial here and play a bit of 'devil's advocate. '
I want to make it clear though - at no point am i going to say that i agree with this decision, nor that it is motivated by anything other than greed and I am also not going to disagree with the monumental impact this is going to have on the game and particularly the grass roots game, aspirations and dreams of the young or the fact that football is a game that should be accessible to everyone. I have a little boy who is obsessed (brainwashed!? ) with becoming the next mo Salah and who nloves Liverpool and plays eagerly several times a week and I think about the impact this might have on him. So please don't shoot me down personally - I am just going to set out the other side as i see it.
The question I have here is - what did we think was going to happen? The sickness of greed set in to the game many years ago - arguably with the creation of the EPL and the ridiculous sums being paid out for telvised rights. As soon as you start paying footballers the eye-watering sums they get paid each week, the slippery road to big bucks and billionaires is the only option available to you. The game was lost in this fashion a long time ago.
In the US, basketball went through a similar situation. they have a league there where teams are not 'relegated' and 'promoted' but have stable structure, championship and a hell of a lot of money floating around and people still watch it, like the games, fans turn out and they have an atractive and marketable product. It hasn't stopped kids shooting hoops, aspiring to be the next Michael Jordan or Steph Curry nor has ot taken money away from the college game which has itself become financially stellar in its own right. It's just different is all.
Fans across the world - whether we like it or not here in Blighty as rock solid Liverpool fans - want to see the 'big games'. There is excitement when Barcelona play Liverpool or Juventus play United or when Man City lose to PSG. And in a business sense it works - the money stays with the big teams who are encouraged to spend within the league where the best players are, but there is a filter down, knock-on effect for other clubs and the ESL will still offer a chance to them to be part of the big boys club. Shareholders are happy because there is the option of financial stability and there is no longer the risk of punitive financial action if the team doesn't do well - so a key risk variable for business sustainability is removed - therefore enhancing the protection for tyhe longevity of the club and less relaiance on debt going forward. It makes sense from a business/ financial perspective and we see that in the share price increase of some of the 'dirty dozen' today.
The problem is that it is a business decision and fans might stiull be clinging on to the belief that modern elite football is something other than a big business. But frankly, that notion is as dead as a famous parrot and has been for a long time. We've just been kidding ourselves that it is anything different.
Once the big sums, the big business and the 'brand product' became more important than the game (which happened a long time ago), the situation we are in now was always an inevitability and there is little merit in complaining about it now. Wouldn't you rather be part of an inevitable future as a pioneer, leading the pack with a strong negotiating hand for arguing for change in existing structures if it comes to that, than not being at the party at all?
That was a rhetorical question. I would rather be a fan of a club which respected its history, its origins, its fans, its staff and went through a process of consultation, agreement and formed a powerful consensus view which helped shape the landscape - ironically, we have created that for everyone else who have been so united in their criticism of our plans! - than be led by the natural evolution of capitalism and market forces. But this was seeded a hell of a long time ago and maybe we all need to wake up to the notion that this is just how big business works. And even we stopped being a local club for local folk way before this decision wwas made and are just a big business which views fans and even our history as a data-rich commodity.
It doesn't feel nice but that's what it is.
God, I've depressed myself. Bring back the days when we played 'Total Network Solutions. ' I was at that game. I think Stevie G scored a hatrick.
Good times.
06 Jun 2023 14:11:01
I'm very excited about Ally Mac - strong, insightful play, an eye for goal but plays unselfishly. Good signing I think.
I actually think we only need one more CM (Thuram/ Kone/ Kessie? ) and then we should actually get a decent right back who is happy to compete and challenge and cover for Trent which gives us an added dimension with Trent doing his drift thing into midfield. And I also think we need a decent CB, . left footed if possible. I'd be happy with that rather than three midfielders which I reckon would be overkill with Stefan coming back.
I know people go on about him being only 18yrs but Bellingham is only 19yrs. Clearly they are not at the same level but no reason why Baj can't do a job for us and develop well. - all the signs are there for a creative mid and energy all around. Tricky window to get right this one and will certainly indicate tactics over the next couple of years.
06 Feb 2023 10:48:50
Think he did, Longthing. He played against Cameroon didn't he? Perhaps you're thinking of Firmino who didn't go?
06 Feb 2023 10:00:21
Probably worth mentioning that Fab has had a pregnant wife, first baby, World Cup and little break after playing every possible game a professional footballer can play in Europe last season and very little break. It's no surprise that his form has dipped really. Who knows if Rebeca is giving him grief for not doing as many night feeds as he should! He has class. Form is temporary don't they say? The lad will come good again - may not help us much now but I think he'll be back. As for Thiago knockers who were singing his song and praising him as the greatest (remember the game agains Utd last year - he was incredible! ) - he's trudging through a mire of the brown stuff right now and still remains one of the best in the team. Us football fans are a fickle bunch. Yes, it's dreadful at the moment but there is a bigger picture. Investment needed - for sure. Support from owners - as always. Efficient planning and future proofing of the squad - absolutely and shouldered by the manager.
The good times will return - of that I have no doubt. Which is a nice place to be given that only a few years ago I had every doubt of that! Got to style this season out somehow. Play for the bug cup if we can. Give potential new signings (we all know who we want) a sense of why coming here would still be a fantastic move. And that reason - as is oft repeated by players who have played at Anfield - is us, the fans.
22 Nov 2021 09:07:29
I agree Andy - I too am greatly saddened by the sacking of Ole.
I have really enjoyed watching United this year! 😜😀.
20 Apr 2021 16:16:23
Dialogue is eaxclty what is required. I have absolutely no truck with UEFA or FIFA or whoever bleating on complaining about this when they are themselves guilty of not listening to what fans want, have been utterly hopeless and at best tokenistic while at worst disinterested in issues iof racism affecting the game, have done next to nothing with regard to human rights abuses, gay rights, respect or gender equality and have consistently demonstrated that at the top of the game they are making decisions in their own corrupt self-interest. Frankly, listening to a bunch of rich folk who have only shown enthusisam in making decisions which line their own pockets complaining about other rich folk who are essentially doing exactly the same thing is stupefying in its hypocrisy.
My 8-year old has better self-awareness than that. I'm increasingly of the mind that 8-year olds might make far better decisions when it comes to football than those who are running it.