Do we have to? Really? Again? And without Jürgen too? Plus, we can’t even sing ‘Fuck the Tories’ with as much gusto, as they’ve disappeared. Still, we’ve got some new chants, ‘Arne Slot la la la la la la’ (you sang the las didn’t you?) having been bequeathed to us by Jürgen. Three lines in, and already two mentions of ‘Jürgen’, you may have gathered I’m not dealing with this very well…
The pre-season and the new season has a very ‘shrug-of-the-shoulders’ feel to it, for me. That’s probably down to the sheer exhaustion from the last few seasons – and last season in particular – as well as the inevitable hangover from Jürgen’s (three) departure. That will no doubt change as we swing into action on Saturday, in hope more than in expectation of a decent season.
There are two things to address, I feel, as Saturday lunchtime beckons: what has happened in pre-season since Jürgen (four. ‘Stop the count, stop the count!’) left and what we can anticipate?
Well, at the end of the season (which was in March, in hindsight) sadness and also gratitude took over any disappointment. Wolves was great, in the sun, a farewell to someone none of us was ready to see go. The ‘handover’ (ugh!) went as well as could be expected, a welcome lull in output from the Club’s social media team helping to soften the blow. The distraction of the Euros also meant that there was no immediate overkill with Slot. (We’re not on first name terms. Yet.).
Once he did speak, he spoke well. He has struck all the right notes, avoiding any faux pas. Obviously it’s still a honeymoon period and tougher questions will be asked as the season goes on, but so far so good. He’s never going to have Jürgen’s larger-than-life presence – no-one does – but that’s not what any of us expect. He will benefit from goodwill at the outset and his first strides in the job will have done him no harm.
So much for Slot, what about the other ‘ins’ and ‘outs’? Sorry, the other outs. The squad has been trimmed quite a bit: Joel leaving was inevitable, although I still think he could have offered us something. Thiago won’t be missed – his contribution last season being the equivalent of the Grandpa Simpson gif. When Carvalho never got a look-in under Klopp, you felt it was never going to happen for him here. Clark leaving, especially given his promise of last season, is a surprise, but FSG probably think it’s good business. Another few have been moved on too, some permanently, some on loan.
Whatever side you come down on in the FSG debate, the lack of signings is gross negligence. Coming into a season – deep breath – where we are already down Klopp, where we are facing more and tougher games due to European Cup qualification, where we have greater guaranteed income due to the aforementioned European Cup and a fully complete stadium, where your captain who will be out of contract in six months has said he is hopeful of new signings, where everyone else in the League has strengthened, to not bring in anyone before a ball is kicked needs to be called out.
Klopp made these nerds look great, they’re making themselves look terrible. No-one realistically expects massive signings every season, that’s not the way we are run. But under FSG, the good and great has far outweighed the bad. Alisson, Virgil, Fabinho, Sadio, Mo, the list goes on. Sometimes, you have to go the extra mile, even if it doesn’t ‘fit’ the spreadsheet. Things may be rosy now with a fully-fit squad to start the season, but this could quickly change and our inaction this summer could then become very costly.
Of course, it’s bad enough not bringing anyone in, but how about, erm, keeping the world-class players who, y’know, actually play for us? If the Club doesn’t move fast, watch Trent’s head being turned over the next few weeks and months (then again, there are benefits to that, he might pick up his man on the back post if that happens…). As pre-seasons go – it has been one to forget, up there with the fiasco of last season.
So, what can we expect in the coming weeks and months? In terms of style, there’ll be plenty of changes in terms of formation. The 4-3-3 Red Arrows is now consigned to the history / memory books. Based on what we have seen and what Slot has said, there is going to be an attempt to add more ‘control’ to our play, which should see us keep the ball better. Despite changes in formation, the players are still largely the same – they scored 142 goals last season and there’s no reason to think we won’t be prolific again. Maybe that control will help us be tighter at the back, even though we had the third-best defence in the League, we still conceded in 28 of our 38 League games (and often first, which was the bane of our existence last season). That meant we were often chasing games, not conducive to control.
I expect the press to be pretty intense – if you want to control the game, you need the ball, but the heavy-metal football may not be seen which will be good for our heart rates and hopefully there will be less wear and tear on the players, too.
The step-up from Europa League to European Cup will make rotation more difficult: the Europa League and the other Cup competitions really allowed us to develop and rest players last season. The likes of Bradley and Quansah are pushing for starting places as the new season dawns upon us.
As a Club, you can only try to do better season-on-season. That would mean a Cup (or two) and second or better in the League. Stranger things have happened – but given the upheaval after eight unbelievable years – a couple of decent Cup runs and a top-four finish would do just fine. Up the Reds!
John Brennan
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.