Podcast: The 2024/25 Season Preview Episode

Something weird is happening at 1 hour 15

3 hours ago, Doc Pheezin said:

Something weird is happening at 1 hour 15

Yeah it’s got everyone  talking over each other. 

Editing issues!

I got that too! I thought my headphones had a problem!

Sound still in preseason mode!

Fucks sake!

I'll fix it this morning, thanks for letting me know.

 Loud Noises

The audio tracks are out of sync so I stopped listening sorry
 

Fixed it now. If you have it in your feed, delete in and then download the new one, which will be up in a couple of minutes.

Love these pods 

9 hours ago, Riley Greenleaf said:

Love these pods 

I do too.  This one made me more optimistic than I actually want to be.  If I let myself, I'd be fuming and really pessimistic about what's happened in the past month.

Now I'm just moderately unhappy.

It's the same most summers. I always feel positive about the football side of it, but all the other shit just wears you down every year and summers are too stressful. It's always a relief when the footy actually starts.

Soothing. Like listening to late night love in the 90s with Graham Torrington 

Big win predictions. Usually ends up in a frustrating game. 

I'm looking forward to the team and slots version of Liverpool, see how it shapes up. I  really hope in Slots press conference that Hughes is there. If Slot is the head coach then while the window is open he shouldn't have to deal with transfers or contract questions, the club were quite clear that he is "head coach". 

3 hours ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

Big win predictions. Usually ends up in a frustrating game. 

 

I'm looking forward to the team and slots version of Liverpool, see how it shapes up. I  really hope in Slots press conference that Hughes is there. If Slot is the head coach then while the window is open he shouldn't have to deal with transfers or contract questions, the club were quite clear that he is "head coach". 

That's a really good point. Slot should not have to answer any questions on that stuff, but if he's the one up there the reporters have to ask as you can't just ignore the issue. Klopp mentioned a few times that in Germany the Sporting Director did a press conference every week where he would be asked about that stuff. 

If they want to be smart arses and change the manager's title, then yeah he shouldn't have to deal with any of this nonsense.

Completely agree with Dave's point about selling the youngsters.  If we want to attract the best kids in the country in the future we need to be seen to be as a club that will give kids a chance in the first team and we are seen as a club that actively encourages a pathway for talented youngsters.  Its not a good look to recruit kids only to flog them for a quick buck just because they are seen more beneficial on the financial records.

The league cup final was probably the best advert the club could make to showcase the opportunities at the club.  To then sell off some of these players isn't a great look.  

I also absolutely hate the way Chelsea have exploited the youth market over the years.  Massive recruitment from across Europe, farming them out on loan here, there & everywhere to try and gain a profit.  They've sold quite a few very good young English players too and Gallagher looks to be the next one out the door.  

Welcome back lads, good pod as usual. 

It got me thinking we don't really need a new number 6 with the system Slot plays, we need 2 of them.

21 hours ago, George Costanza said:

Completely agree with Dave's point about selling the youngsters.  If we want to attract the best kids in the country in the future we need to be seen to be as a club that will give kids a chance in the first team and we are seen as a club that actively encourages a pathway for talented youngsters.  Its not a good look to recruit kids only to flog them for a quick buck just because they are seen more beneficial on the financial records.

 

The league cup final was probably the best advert the club could make to showcase the opportunities at the club.  To then sell off some of these players isn't a great look.  

 

I also absolutely hate the way Chelsea have exploited the youth market over the years.  Massive recruitment from across Europe, farming them out on loan here, there & everywhere to try and gain a profit.  They've sold quite a few very good young English players too and Gallagher looks to be the next one out the door.  

I don’t think that’s what we’re doing though. Judicious sales have to be part of the plan or else we can’t generate the money for purchases. It’s been a fundamental element of our transfer success for the entire FSG period. So far we’ve not sold any young players and are apparently open to selling only two. That’s hardly flogging the kids for a fast buck.
 

On those players, I haven’t seen anything from Doak to make me think he’s Liverpool quality. He’s too small and has no end product, so far. You could argue that’s the reason to keep him so we can see how he turns out, but that might be offset by a good price now that the club feels we might not get in future. 
 

As for Clarke, I’m not sure where he fits in the squad now, never mind the team. He’s worth decent money and moving him on might open up opportunities for a potentially even better player in Trey Nyoni. 
 

If we turn into Chelsea, I’ll be as critical as anyone. But that’s not what we’re seeing in my view. And as long as we mitigate the risks of misjudging a player’s development by inserting buy-back and sell-on clauses, then we’re covered every which way.
 

Finally, it’s conceivable that some players need the jeopardy of a permanent move to accelerate their development. The comfort of a loan might not be the spur some of them need in order to progress.

Don't get it, so what we are / were doing with Van den Berg is preferable to what we are doing with Clark?

If, which is fairly obvious, it is estimated he does not have immediate future here, why would sending him out on loans to club or clubs which may not play him or develop him if he does not hit it off right away because he is just on loan there be preferable to him being sold to the club with a manager who knows him. And if he actually becomes a player we would want  back, there is a rather straightforward way of bringing him back? If he goes out on loan(s) and doesn't make it, he would have to be released.

And how is that seen as not giving the youngsters a chance? Every year a couple or several more will hopefully come through the ranks. How easy is to find suitable loan placements for all of them?

My understanding of what Dave was saying on the pod is that he fears that we are simply commodifying our Academy. However, I see absolutely no evidence for that whatsoever. I think it’s Dave‘s understandable scepticism at the rise of the nerds at the club affecting his view of things currently. Once the window’s closed and we’re playing good stuff under Slot, he’ll settle down.

Basically, hearing that The Real Thing track in the restaurant has spun him out.

I think people are reading too much into this. These potential sales are not exclusively on the nerds. The players themselves will have huge input into their futures. Every squad will have Nat Phillips/Adrian types that are happy to be comfortable, but there will always be the polar opposite too. Doak and Clark strike me as confrontational types, I suspect they already think they should be in the first team and aren't hanging about. Fair play to them.

One point I wanted to make on the pod, but which slipped my mind is that there is a downside to Edwards hiring all his old mates. Complete consensus in any leadership team is to be avoided. The last thing Liverpool need is an echo chamber at the top where everyone is telling each other that they’re right. When you read about the triumvirate that delivered our greatest successes of the last decade, the thing that stands out to me is the occasional professional tensions between Klopp, Edwards and Gordon. Are all these nerds holding each other to account or are they just patting each other on the back and saying, “Good process, boys“?

Enjoyed that fellas, thanks! Except for Paul describing the view of FSG being penny-pinchers as childish, especially after listing all the ways that could point to their penny-pinching. Ironically that came across a bit fingers in ears that did Paul!

2 hours ago, Paul said:

My understanding of what Dave was saying on the pod is that he fears that we are simply commodifying our Academy. However, I see absolutely no evidence for that whatsoever. I think it’s Dave‘s understandable scepticism at the rise of the nerds at the club affecting his view of things currently. Once the window’s closed and we’re playing good stuff under Slot, he’ll settle down.

 

Basically, hearing that The Real Thing track in the restaurant has spun him out.

I'd say Dave's sentiment and instincts are not misplaced here, I fear we will be "commodifying" the shit out of academy in the future, especially with the new concept of multiple club ownership (which I would ban as it will cause a lot of bad blood and increase football inequality). Hopefully we can at least do it more sensibly and responsibly than Chelsea in the past and present and not piss too many Salahs and De Bruynes away.

Dave's argument and examples may for me be misplaced though, I think selling with sell-on and first refusal clauses may be better option than loans for players who are not seen as immediate potential, because good loan placements are not that easy, a lot can go wrong and obstruct the development of the player. We don't seem to think they will turn Clark into a 40 million midfielder, but in case they do, we will have to pay half that to get him back if he turns out to be the real deal and we need him.

Hadn’t heard that story about David Thompson’s mum before.

Fair play to her.