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What does LFC have to do to be great again??


Backhander
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Treating employees with a bit of respect would help. I was disgusted to read in The Times from Tony Barrett and hear personally at the Albion on Saturday from a staffer that Steve Clarke was sacked by a junior woman from HR with no further contact from any senior personnel from the Club, not even a thank you.

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Treating employees with a bit of respect would help. I was disgusted to read in The Times from Tony Barrett and hear personally at the Albion on Saturday from a staffer that Steve Clarke was sacked by a junior woman from HR with no further contact from any senior personnel from the Club, not even a thank you.

 

That type of stuff goes on at all the clubs though, I read the other day that the Coaches at West Brom have to eat with the general public, imagine having to Queue up for burgers with the rest of the crowd! Bang out of order if you ask me that.

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That type of stuff goes on at all the clubs though, I read the other day that the Coaches at West Brom have to eat with the general public, imagine having to Queue up for burgers with the rest of the crowd! Bang out of order if you ask me that.

 

I think it's common... BUT... it's a great example of putting the greatness back into Liverpool. Where the club isn't like many others and does things the 'right way'.

 

It's all well and good to have that mantra, but until the club actually starts living by it, it won't change.

 

I don't like to bring up the red half of Manchester, but the way they run their matchdays leaves City in their wake. We're getting better, but it's about professionalism and attention to detail. For me, dealing with layoffs and treating staff with the utmost class and respect is one more step on the way to restoring the mighty Liverpool.

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That type of stuff goes on at all the clubs though, I read the other day that the Coaches at West Brom have to eat with the general public, imagine having to Queue up for burgers with the rest of the crowd! Bang out of order if you ask me that.

 

Well I can personally confirm that two ate in the hospitality lounges as they were on our table!

 

I don't think that it is true that all clubs would have dealt with Clarke the same way. If they do, it is wrong.

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Was Steve Clarke not sitting with John Henry and Warner at a Baseball match when Kenny was sacked? Sorry but, other than Steve Clarke saying she was a junior there is no proof that this is a fact, I am sceptical to say the least.

 

Clarke was dismissed after kenny, not at the same time.

 

Barrett quoted it, I heard it from the Albion coaches who heard it from him, that's good enough for me.

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Clarke was dismissed after kenny, not at the same time.

 

Barrett quoted it, I heard it from the Albion coaches who heard it from him, that's good enough for me.

 

So it is still Steve Clarke's version then? Barrett quoted Steve Clarke and the Coaches heard if from Steve Clarke, so the weakness of the argument is still the same which is that it is Steve Clarke who is the only person to have provided that version.

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Why. Footballs gone this way, I'd say if any club had earned the right to compete for the best players it's us. I don't like the fact this is the way it is but it is. Gillet and hicks diminshed the squad so badly that alongside poor spending fucked us up the ass. I don't feel guilty or Somehow less of a fan for wanting us to be able to spend big and get back to where we belong.

I know what you mean, Bob - I'm just a sentimental old twerp. I despise what the Premiership (and the Champions League) have become. Football at the highest level now reminds me of Rat Race - just a load of bored, pointless billionaires finding something to spunk their money on in a willy-waving contest of their own. It's not an inspiring sight. And it has nothing to do with the game and the team I love.

 

True greatness would only come by sticking to Liverpool values and still coming out on top.

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All those of you saying we need a proven goalscorer may have a point in that it is glaringly obvious we need somebody who can consistently find the back of the net. I'm not going to dispute that. However, it has been an issue for us ever since the Premier League came into being, even though we've had players like Rush, Fowler, Owen and Torres in the side at some point over that time.

 

Consider this. In the 20 seasons of the Premier League to date, on only 3 occasions have we had a player score more than 20 goals in a league season. Fowler did it in both 1994/95 and 1995/96 by getting 25 and 28 respectively, and Torres got 24 in 2007/08. Owen, for all his reputation as a goalscorer, has never scored 20 or more league goals in his entire career!

 

Furthermore, in terms of league goals, we've generally only had one or two players hit double figures in the same season. In fact, our second top scorer has only averaged just over 10 league goals in a season.

 

The stats are boring and yet very revealing and my question is this - are we really a club in which a proper goalscorer can thrive? The evidence of the past 20 years suggests not, and it touches upon a few points I've made on different threads in the past.

 

We’ve signed too many players who are looking for a big payday. We’ve signed too many players who want to 'improve their game' (usually by some very arbitrary measure that’s neither quantifiable nor relevant to the actual matches). We never seem to sign players who just want goals goals goals, whether they themselves are the scorer or whether they like to provide the assists. We’ve also had far too many players and coaches who all-too-readily buy into the clichéd mantra that “there are no easy games”. Consequently, we’ve gone into far too many games expecting a tough game and that mentality has meant that these games have become far tougher than they need to be. If you keep telling yourself it’s going to be a hard slog, it will be a hard slog.

 

I want our coaches and players to be of the mindset that we want to bum the opposition silly every time we play. In most cases the scoreline won’t suggest a drubbing, but the mentality will ensure that the team is on the positive end of the scoreline way more often than not. An average player will look outstanding if both he and the team buy into that mindset.

 

Consistently playing for goals and wins will create consistent goalscorers. The fact we’ve not been consistent enough goes a long way to explaining why we’re seemingly desperate for a goalscorer. If we buy a goalscorer yet continue with supply-line players who shit themselves whenever they step onto the pitch, will the goalscorer be fed enough chances to make hay? How soon before the goalscorer gets fed up and decides to drop back to become more involved in the play, and start doing too much?

 

Somebody at the club needs to be aware of this and make a mantra out of it. The Liverpool Way is not about behaving with dignity and class. That is something a decent human being should be doing in life in general. On the pitch, the Liverpool Way should be about ruthlessly dismantling the opposition and making them fear facing the men in red.

 

Doing the above may not in itself make us great again. But the will ensure we are pretty fucking good at the very least.

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I know what you mean, Bob - I'm just a sentimental old twerp. I despise what the Premiership (and the Champions League) have become. Football at the highest level now reminds me of Rat Race - just a load of bored, pointless billionaires finding something to spunk their money on in a willy-waving contest of their own. It's not an inspiring sight. And it has nothing to do with the game and the team I love.

 

True greatness would only come by sticking to Liverpool values and still coming out on top.

 

It's always been skewed by financial power, it's just amplified more than ever before.

Liverpool were actually one of the 'elite' who quite fancied nabbing even more money as part of the ITV group (prior to SKY).

 

But still, you're absolutely right that CL and the Premiership have spoiled so much. I can't deny it's improved many things, but footballs become more a spectacle / entertainment than a genuine sporting challenge these days.

 

If fans of any top club are truly honest with themselves and put aside their rivalries... they'll accept that they've been outspending others in order to win. Be it from rich sugar daddy throwing money at it, to 1 million Chinese fans buying your branded merchandise in order to throw money at it - money's still calling the shots, or at least tilting the odds massively.

 

Are Oldham EVER going to be able to compete with United? unlikely. Small town, limited revenue opportunity etc. They might be so lucky as to have a season or two in the sun if they get lucky with a great manager and set of players, but in the long run, they can't compete.

 

I don't like that. I don't like it one bit. It's not a fair fight.

But are City and Liverpool happy to GENUINELY compete on an even footing with all other clubs? like hell they are. Liverpool will use their name, and their spending power, just as all other top clubs will. It just feels crap when you're on the receiving end of inequality.

 

I'm just really not sure what can be done about (that all clubs would accept).

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To be frank, I don't think we ever will reach the heights of a generation ago. We've certainly no right, or even reason, to believe that we will, anymore so than a number of once-great English and European clubs that have seen their ship sail.

 

The only thing, to my mind, that sets us apart from the other historically great clubs that could possibly help us move on is our still massive fanbase. On paper at least, it could draw players to us, as well as pay for them.

 

We could, conceivably, get incredibily lucky with a load of new cheapish signings that propel us forward. We might end up (or have already done...) hiring the next Shankly, a man with the vision, guile and determination to rebuild the club. Perhaps some as yet unknown of sugar daddy's going to put a billion into the club. It's all unlikely though, and not something that we should really expect to happen to us over any number of clubs.

 

 

 

Treating employees with a bit of respect would help. I was disgusted to read in The Times from Tony Barrett and hear personally at the Albion on Saturday from a staffer that Steve Clarke was sacked by a junior woman from HR with no further contact from any senior personnel from the Club, not even a thank you.

 

The club's always shat on its staff though, hasn't it, even at its greatest? The treatment of Shankly comes to mind, as does any number of incidents of players and staff getting fucked off that I can't quite remember the details of right now. what I do remember though is the general reaction among LFC fans to this news was that it was the hallmark of a successful, ruthless club.

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All those of you saying etc.

 

 

Trumo, that is about the most cogent assessment of our footballing shortcomings in the PL that I have read.

 

More recently I would add two further points. Firstly the absence of goals from non-forwards, and that is a coaching/ tactics issue. Secondly, a snobbishness about who is “good enough” to put the ball in the net for LFC. Dempsey , 17 last season, Yakubu, 17, Holt 15 are routinely ridiculed- yet scored more than anyone at our club, and if we had benefitted from their goals may have challenged for fourth spot.

 

I am not specifically advocating buying those players. I am saying that goal scorers do not need to cost £30m plus.

 

Newcastle brilliantly played the transfer market with Ba and Cisse, Levy at Spurs has bought Adebayor who also scored 17 goals last season and is paying him less than we are paying Suarez or Carroll because of the City subsidy – smart.

 

Thirteen players scored more than Luis last season- yet we triple his wages. Vanity over sanity. Now I am not questioning retaining Suarez, I am asking what we are rewarding at the club. RVP at £200k/ Shrek at £250k a week, fine- goals of 30 and 27 respectively. Will Luis want a new contract next season if he scores 12?

 

I am optimistic about Rodgers, but he is going to need to be bold and clear in his thinking to shake us out of some bad practise.

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Trumo, that is about the most cogent assessment of our footballing shortcomings in the PL that I have read.

 

It's not a new point on my part. I've said similar many times before. One of my blogs touches upon the same point. Also, in the Olympics thread over on the GF, I said something similar with regards to the Team GB cycling team and how their mentality was one of wanting to dominate the sport rather than follow the typically British role of underdog, where success requires a huge slice of luck along with the underdog performing over and above themselves, as well as the favourite having an off day. The cycling team basically said to the rest that we are the best, and to beat us, you'll need all those elements that sees an underdog win out come together on the day. It's a healthy level of arrogance, not complacency.

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Thirteen players scored more than Luis last season- yet we triple his wages. Vanity over sanity.

 

argh!

 

Vanit over sanity? If you can't see what Suarez brings to the table other than goals, I suggest you eat a few less prawn sandwiches and watch a bit more football when you are next in a corporate box!

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