Liverpool Football Club - It is time to end the 30 year wait

[Daryllim69]

On 3/13/2020 at 9:26 AM, Jamesc said:

Keep the EPL open for 2 more games and see how.

If Pool declared winner the jealous Utd fans will

say we won only because of Corona and we were lucky.

 

From what I read, Man U likely to support crowning of LFC even if the league is called off now. Reason is not related to LFC, but Man U sitting at fifth position may benefit from being granted a UCL spot due to Man City's suspension. 

 

[Silver_blade]

To void the league at this point is silly & I doubt many will support. Acceptable if the league has just started and are 5-6 matches into the new season. 

[Galantspeedz]

5 minutes ago, Silver_blade said:

To void the league at this point is silly & I doubt many will support. Acceptable if the league has just started and are 5-6 matches into the new season. 

depends who you asking as there are a few clubs with games in hand....

there are also clubs climbing out of relegation dogfight or fighting UCL spot due to being on form recently while others are losing form

only can say, there will be clubs impacted regardless of decision

[Fooblack]

1 hour ago, Silver_blade said:

To void the league at this point is silly & I doubt many will support. Acceptable if the league has just started and are 5-6 matches into the new season. 

also, there may be too many financial implications if they proceed too void the season given that there are price and TV money to be split.  Am sure that this is the least likely situation.  

While they can conclude the season as things stand down but this in itself will be heavily contested by various teams with many things to fight for.  but most if not all teams will concede that Pool would be champions regardless.  

The most likely path i think is that the season will be allowed to restart and complete due to the issue of the price money and financial implications.  All the other cup competitions, especially domestic cups may have to give way given they are least painful to suspend/called off, with lesser opposition to come from the teams remaining in the competition. There is every chance that Euros will be delayed for 1 year and I wont be totally surprised if UCL and Europa cups are also called off, give the issue of cross border travelling involved. 

 

[Fooblack]

Euros are postponed to next year, likewise Copa... This is to facilitate the conclusion of the respective domestic leagues around europe...  as expected, the key priortiy is to allow each league to finish up before end of june 

[Raymondism]

We are two wins from the league title... and out of all other competitions... its almost time to start thinking about renewing the squad... league title or not... the team's machine-like performance until winter break would have turned some heads... 

Looks like Karius, Lonergan, Clyne, Lovren, Lallana will be leaving for sure.

These might be sold:

Shaqiri - Sturridge no 2. Not preferred even when fit.

Origi - legend status but hardly get to play

Harry Wilson - dont see a future for him tbh

Rumoured to be targetted:

Mane - Real Madrid

Salah - was it also Real Madrid? 

Firminho - Bayern Munich?

Gini - read somewhere that he has not extended his contract

Adrian - going back to his home country

Who else do you think are leaving, thinking of leaving or will be let go?

 

[Akula]

EPL suspended till 30 April

[Mrmilktooth]

The season will be extended beyond June 1 so all can be completed. 

[Fooblack]

As expected, the league season can't conclude prematurely and it is largely due to commercial and economic reasons.  It looks like the season may well end around June if the games can resume by beginning of May. 

The more challenging questions which are still unanswered are the cup ties domestically and especially in europe. These requires more coordination and I suspect that as long as some countries continue to struggle with the outbreak, I do not think there cup ties will be be completed nor there is the option to carry forward indefinitely.  My speculation is that these games will be scrapped altogether..  and Pool will be allowed to defend its UCL title a second time... strange but it is the one of the more likely scenarios. 

[Atrecord]

sigh... sian one-half since the UCL exit...

but really, this is so unfair. waited 30 long years to wanna experience that triumphant feeling again, and it was soooooooo close...

but put it alongside the cruel face of the Covid-19 onslaught, everything must give way...

Looking at the way Italy - and maybe now the other European countries - is hit, i highly doubt their league will resume anytime soon. All the leagues traditionally end in Apr. No way with the way Covid is affecting lives there, will there only be a 2-month delay.

I'm bracing for a longer delay, and when it does resumes, probably a muted celebration - if at all they decide to resume (instead of cancelling/voiding this season)...

anti-climax end, compared to the rah-rah just in Jan... when we thought we'll sweep everything in sight...

but there's bigger thing in life than soccer...

[Fooblack]

in all respect, football isn't the most important thing now.  

my perspective is that as long as Pool ends this 30 year wait and get this monkey tag off its back, any shape or size of a title win won't be the main issue at.   

It will be great to lift the cup in a stadium full of supporters and that will live the players' memory forever. however, given the current situation, let's be thankful that the season can conclude in the first instance.  Some obviously biased teams were rooting for the season to be declared void, especially those in the bottom 3.   Not hard to see their vested interest but glad that some form of reasonableness has prevailed in allowing the natural completion of the season.  

 

[tmsan]

For once G.Neville saying something useful.. or was it Paul Parker saying these off Gary’s remarks?

players cannot say they are tired if forced to play more games, we work Everyday, not like only work 3times a week and then complain no form, need to rest, (training is working, same for all of us too)

league cup is necessary for the smaller clubs for their survival, premier clubs can quit upfront if they uninterested, no need call for scrap of league cup

 

https://asia.eurosport.com/football/premier-league/2019-2020/paul-parker-gary-neville-is-right-to-say-premier-league-stars-should-play-nine-days-in-a-row_sto7708709/story.shtml

[Daryllim69]

Please do not slam me if I were to say this.

Got a feeling that this might be Mane's last season with the Reds. He is currently at 100K per week which is significantly lower than that of Salah and Firminho. 

Heard that there was some contract nego going on after Salah and Firminho pledges their future with the Reds but no announcement since then and the latest I read, Mane is still at 100K per week. 

Not sure if it was Mane's refusal to sign or something else though.

It would be a great loss for the Reds if he choose to go. Of the Front Three, I rate him the highest, followed by Firminho and Salah respectively.  

[Fooblack]

all of Pool's front 3 are around 27 or 28 year old. As much as we will like to keep them for life, the reality is that there may be economical considerations to renew/refresh the squad at some point and plan for some form of transition.  

The decision on Mane won't be made easily. I dare say among the front 3, he will likely command the highest transfer fee so that makes the conversation less straight forward. If someone comes along and offers >150m... will it then not obligate a review of the fees in view of his age and the potential sum that can rejuvenate the squad.  

if we are concerned about top players leaving...  I will say 2 words - Coutinho and Klopp.

Coutinho's departure was greeted with scorn and not many approved the sale although it did funded VVD and Alisson. After 2 seasons, we hardly missed Coutinho and he is generally unsettled since his departure. It was clear that he could play like a real star, provided Klopp was the manager.  

Klopp's track record tells us that he was never a keen fan to tie himself down to any single star player..  Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus are all players groomed by Klopp in BVB.  Only Reus stayed on while Gotze returned after some years. Klopp has a superb track record in grooming attackers which is something we should never doubt. If Mane goes, I am sure that Klopp will have a plan to replace him already.   

Having said the above, I would say it is more likely than not that Mane will stay on cos I am skeptical that a club will come in to offer > 150m, especially in this economical condition. Pool will not be in a need to sell and Mane may not think that this summer would be best time to leave, given all the uncertainty affecting the UCL and domestic league competition for next season.  

[Mrmilktooth]

On 3/20/2020 at 4:42 PM, Fooblack said:

in all respect, football isn't the most important thing now.  

my perspective is that as long as Pool ends this 30 year wait and get this monkey tag off its back, any shape or size of a title win won't be the main issue at.   

It will be great to lift the cup in a stadium full of supporters and that will live the players' memory forever. however, given the current situation, let's be thankful that the season can conclude in the first instance.  Some obviously biased teams were rooting for the season to be declared void, especially those in the bottom 3.   Not hard to see their vested interest but glad that some form of reasonableness has prevailed in allowing the natural completion of the season.  

 

Those who say void all have vested interests. Namely their club is in a poor position currently. 
 

lol

 

if they don’t complete this season, all the PL teams have to repay huge chunk of tv money back to their sponsors so... it is inevitable that the season will finish... just matter of when. Perhaps next new season could be shortened as a result. 
 

I just read that Ligue 1 will be suspended until June end!!!!... that’s just wow. Means CL really have a problem as well as things ain’t look positive for Italy Serie A as well!!!.. 

god save the Queen!!! BPL please recover and restart soon. Ok!!!!!! 

[Atrecord]

No soccer news. No good news for humanity (in terms of virus subsiding)...

Here's some news of Kloop. Hopefully fill some void 😊

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51989229

 

Quote

Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool manager's journey from Black Forest to heroic status at Anfield

By Sam Sheringham

BBC World Service Sport

Jens Haas still remembers the first time he suspected his schoolmate Jurgen Klopp had the mind of a football manager.

They were 11 years old, being driven to play football for SV Glatten's youth team, listening to their beloved Stuttgart's latest Bundesliga match on the radio.

Young Jurgen began to analyse Stuttgart's tactics - and suggested a couple of substitutions to alter the course of the game. Moments later, the commentator confirmed that Klopp's suggested switches were being made.

Podcast: Klopp‘s journey - Black Forest hills to Anfield thrills

"I was amazed by his knowledge and understanding of the game," recalls Haas. "Sometimes I thought he was already a coach."

Klopp's school days in the Black Forest offer the first clues as to how he grew up to become the ultimate modern football manager.

He is revered at Mainz, where he went from player to head coach overnight and took the club into the Bundesliga for the first time; at Dortmund, where he toppled Bayern Munich; and now at Liverpool, with a sixth European Cup and a march towards a 19th league title before coronavirus intervened.

Equally at ease with players, fans, executives and journalists, this smiling, gesticulating, bear-hugging coach seems to embody these clubs whose supporters demand an emotional investment from the man in control of their dreams.

There's plenty more on Klopp's personality and methods to come as we speak to some of the key figures in his journey to Anfield. The story begins in Glatten, the idyllic Black Forest spa village where he spent his formative years.

We meet Haas opposite the bakery, beside a fountain that flows into the River Glatt from which the village takes its name. This is where Jurgen, Jens and their SV Glatten team-mates would gather before travelling to away matches.

A short stroll along the river's grassy banks, where the boys used to ride their bikes, takes you to Klopp's childhood home, a large white-fronted house where his mother still lives, opposite the shiny new town hall and less than a corner kick away from the primary school that Klopp and Jens attended.

It is here, among the hills of Swabia - a land of cuckoo clocks, traditional costumes and hearty foods in south-west Germany - that Klopp developed his sense of freedom, a far cry from the industry and intensity of Mainz, Dortmund or Liverpool.

"People here are very quiet and solid," says Haas. "They are cautious with money. They like to work and they judge people on what they do. 

"Swabian people take a little while to warm up, but once you are friends you are friends for life. It's a really good place to grow up. You have time for yourself and you can focus on what you want to do." 

Klopp has two older sisters who he says were like second mothers to him, but it was his father Norbert - a travelling salesman and former amateur goalkeeper - who encouraged him to take up sport.

"Norbert had a big influence on him, he shaped him," recalls Klopp's first coach Ulrich Rath, who founded the Glatten Under-11s team in 1972 so that his two sons Ingo and Harti could play for a team alongside Klopp and Jens.

"It's important to know that Norbert Klopp wasn't born here in Glatten. He's from Rhineland-Palatinate, close to Mainz. The people from that area celebrate carnival. In Glatten and in the Black Forest, we don't," he adds.

"Norbert was very active here in this club, first in football and then later in tennis. And Jurgen got his father's eloquence, enthusiasm and vigour.

"His mother is originally from Glatten, from a long-established family. The people from the Black Forest are quiet, laid-back people. They always had to work hard. They were always strong-willed. 

"When Jurgen is jumping up and down, I can see Norbert in him. But when he closes the door behind him at home, he finds peace and quiet and collects his strength. That's his mother."

Klopp was a midfielder and captain for SV Glatten's youth teams until he switched in his late teens to TuS Ergenzingen, a bigger team in a town 15 miles away. Rath describes him as a "bad loser" but a "natural leader".

"He was always right at the forefront and he spoke up when something was not right," says the 79-year-old Rath. "We had a good relationship. He was ambitious. And he would always tell his team-mates 'Let's go' and push them."

The pitch where Klopp used to play has tall pine trees along one touchline and a stream along the other, from which Haas remembers retrieving many a stray ball.

In 1981, matches moved across the village to a new sports club, where the yellow and black colours of the local team are an uncanny match for those of Borussia Dortmund. A photo of Klopp in his Dortmund prime, signed and dedicated to the people of his home town, sits proudly among the other trophies and memorabilia.

This was also the venue for a celebration to honour the village's most famous son when Klopp led Dortmund to the Bundesliga title in 2011.

As the cheering and chanting subsided, Klopp went on stage to make a speech before mingling with the people of his childhood home.

"It was amazing," says Haas, over a local wheat beer in Glatten's nearest thing to a sports bar, a smokey wooden den with TV screens where the local bikers' club have taken up residence for the afternoon.

"One minute he was the professional coach of Dortmund and then the next he was an old classmate. He was interested in the village, in who everyone was, and he spoke to people in the local dialect."

Rath rarely sees Klopp these days but becomes emotional when he recalls a surprise phone call from his former pupil on his 75th birthday.

"He congratulated me and wished me all the best," says Rath, choking back tears. "This is his home. And he has never forgotten that."

After leaving Glatten, Klopp played for several amateur clubs, including Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, while studying for a degree in sports science at the city's university. 

In 1990, at the age of 23, he moved 30 miles west to sign a semi-professional contract with second division team Mainz 05, under the watchful gaze of club captain Michael Schumacher.

"Klopp was a typical student at this time, in both looks and personality," laughs the 62-year-old, sitting in a corporate suite at Mainz's new 34,000-seater stadium, a gleaming symbol of the club's dramatic rise under Klopp's management.

"He was always wearing jeans and a T-shirt and was really easy-going with no stress."

Life on the pitch was to prove rather more traumatic for Klopp, who has always confessed to having second division legs but a first division brain.

"When he came to us he was a forward," adds Schumacher. "He was fast and good with his head but he struggled with the technical side of the game.

"It was hard for him. When they announced his name, the fans would whistle and boo. I remember after a game we were sitting in the hydro-massage pool and Klopp said to me 'What can I do? The coach always wants to bring me on.' He knew he wasn't the greatest player, but he did what he was told."

A switch to defence under the tutelage of influential coach Wolfgang Frank turned the 6ft 4in Klopp into a success at Mainz, where he played 325 games in a decade-long career. But it was the sudden decision to install him as manager that really brought out his strengths.

Mainz were facing relegation to the third tier of German football when president Harald Strutz made the bold call in February 2001. 

"The situation was that we'd gone through three managers in quick succession," says the affable Strutz as he looks out across the pitch at the creaking Bruchweg Stadium, Mainz's home during Klopp's time as player and coach which now serves as their training ground. 

"We had a very important game and we said if nobody is here to help the team, they have to do it themselves.

"Jurgen Klopp was full of passion, a normal man with a special personality. You could see in all the games that he was a leader. You could see the supporters were so impressed with his personality.

"We decided to make him the manager and that was such an explosion of emotion for all the people living in this city. And it started the greatest time for this club."

The impact was instant. Mainz beat Duisburg 1-0 in Klopp's first match and won six of their first seven games to pull clear of the relegation zone. Better was to follow.

In two successive seasons, the club challenged for promotion right up until the final day of the season, only to miss out in agonising circumstances both times. 

While lesser men might have cracked, it was the way Klopp galvanised the club and the city that so impressed Strutz.

As 15,000 fans gathered in front of the theatre in Mainz's main square, Klopp spoke from the heart.

"Everyone had tears in their eyes, but Jurgen got on the stage and told them we would come back stronger and try again. It was so impressive for all the people to see such strength. He always found the right words."

Tears turned to joy the following season when Mainz secured their first ever promotion to the Bundesliga.

"I can promise we had a beautiful evening," says Strutz. "Jurgen always tells me he has this image of me that he'll never forget. Standing in a pub at 3 o'clock in the morning looking so happy. Smiling, laughing, drinking."

Mainz spent three heady seasons in the Bundesliga, ample time for Klopp's tactical acumen and infectious charm to make an impression on one of the most powerful men in German football.

"When you had to play against Mainz, on the one side the players were not very good, but on the other side it was so difficult to beat them because they had a lot of spirit," says Hans-Joachim Watzke, the chief executive of Borussia Dortmund.

"For the general public he made a real impression during the World Cup in 2006 when he was an expert on TV. 

"For the Germans it was a new thing that this guy had such a high competence for analysis but also made it entertainment with a lot of charm. It was fantastic."

After more tears as he said farewell to the fans in Mainz's main square, Klopp joined Dortmund in 2008 and immediately formed a close bond with the club's impassioned 'Yellow Wall' of fans at their 80,000-capacity Westfalenstadoin.

Playing his trademark brand of "heavy metal" football while screaming and gesturing from the outer reaches of his technical area, Klopp turned a struggling Dortmund side into one of European football's most thrilling sights, storming to the Bundesliga title in 2011 and following it up with the league and cup double in 2012.

"He gave the team a new spirit," says Watzke. "He played another style of football to what we played before: aggressive, pressing with power and with his empathy on the side.

"The fans and the players loved him from the first moment. The whole city, the whole region was out of control."

Klopp's superstar status is encapsulated in helicopter camera footage of the culmination of Dortmund's title-winning parade in 2011. With the newly-penned 'Kloppo du Popstar' anthem blasting out from the speakers, Klopp emerges through a cloud of smoke, dances onto stage in aviator shades, boots a ball into the crowd and waves to every adoring face.

"He's one of the most famous men in Germany," says close friend Uli Graf, the writer and producer of 'Kloppo du Popstar', which reached number two in the German charts.

"But he doesn't want to be a pop star. He is a man of the people - the boy from the Black Forest who became a hero."

Graf describes holidaying with Jurgen Klopp as "the biggest fun you can have".

"You'll be laughing, joking, you can talk about politics, sports," he says. "He is a very intelligent and clever man, you don't have to fear what you say." 

A great football coach, a decent dancer and an ideal holiday companion. But Jurgen Klopp's talents don't end there. 

If ever a Borussia Dortmund sponsor was wavering about renewing their deal, they would receive a personal call from Klopp himself.

"Jurgen Klopp is a marketing man's dream," says Carsten Cramer, who was head of marketing during Klopp's seven years at the club and is now managing director.

"A person like him working for an emotional club like Borussia Dortmund was a perfect fit. He was able to give this club and its identity a human face.

"He is a weapon, a perfect all-rounder and he supported us in an awesome way. The sponsors were so touched that the manager of Dortmund was calling them that they all extended their deals."

Five years on from another tearful parting of the ways, Cramer and Watzke remain close friends with Klopp and were guests in Kiev and Madrid for both of Liverpool's Champions League finals under the German.

"If you work together with a person like Jurgen for seven years it would be a lie to say you don't miss him. He's an extraordinary person," says Cramer. 

"But to see how he gives hope and power not only to Liverpool Football Club but also to the city makes us very proud."

 

[Daryllim69]

On 3/23/2020 at 11:49 AM, Fooblack said:

all of Pool's front 3 are around 27 or 28 year old. As much as we will like to keep them for life, the reality is that there may be economical considerations to renew/refresh the squad at some point and plan for some form of transition.  

The decision on Mane won't be made easily. I dare say among the front 3, he will likely command the highest transfer fee so that makes the conversation less straight forward. If someone comes along and offers >150m... will it then not obligate a review of the fees in view of his age and the potential sum that can rejuvenate the squad.  

if we are concerned about top players leaving...  I will say 2 words - Coutinho and Klopp.

Coutinho's departure was greeted with scorn and not many approved the sale although it did funded VVD and Alisson. After 2 seasons, we hardly missed Coutinho and he is generally unsettled since his departure. It was clear that he could play like a real star, provided Klopp was the manager.  

Klopp's track record tells us that he was never a keen fan to tie himself down to any single star player..  Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus are all players groomed by Klopp in BVB.  Only Reus stayed on while Gotze returned after some years. Klopp has a superb track record in grooming attackers which is something we should never doubt. If Mane goes, I am sure that Klopp will have a plan to replace him already.   

Having said the above, I would say it is more likely than not that Mane will stay on cos I am skeptical that a club will come in to offer > 150m, especially in this economical condition. Pool will not be in a need to sell and Mane may not think that this summer would be best time to leave, given all the uncertainty affecting the UCL and domestic league competition for next season.  

I can agree with rejuvenating the squad and Klopp's ability to groom young attacking players. But looking at the football scene, there isn't much options to replace Mane. His speed, agility and strength all in one body is something that we hardly find in one player. I hope I'm wrong but it's going to take something big to replace him. 

 

[Jamesc]

6 hours ago, Mrmilktooth said:

Those who say void all have vested interests. Namely their club is in a poor position currently. 
 

lol

 

if they don’t complete this season, all the PL teams have to repay huge chunk of tv money back to their sponsors so... it is inevitable that the season will finish... just matter of when. Perhaps next new season could be shortened as a result. 
 

I just read that Ligue 1 will be suspended until June end!!!!... that’s just wow. Means CL really have a problem as well as things ain’t look positive for Italy Serie A as well!!!.. 

god save the Queen!!! BPL please recover and restart soon. Ok!!!!!! 

Must be West Ham.

And the Chosen One.