Getting back into consistent writing is difficult, and as I work on more hardened projects, I thought it’d be beneficial to write about sport again, football specifically. Liverpool and Ireland are the teams I support, although I am also a follower of Bordeaux in Ligue 2, and a general watcher of the sport at all levels. To get back into the swing of things, here is what I thought of Liverpool’s ____ against Everton.
In the build-up to the game a lot of the talk around the game has been centered around the idea of the derby, with Liverpool ending their last game on a few rocky results, and Everton finally finding their feet in the league after a dire start. It did not help that Liverpool’s injuries have started to crop up again, with Everton’s beginning to return, as Andy Robertson picked up a shoulder injury whilst on Scotland duty, and who will be out for a significant period of time. That being said, Liverpool were still heavy favourites heading into the fixture.
The Back-Line
As mentioned, the loss of Andy Robertson cannot be understated, with him remaining to this day, the best in his position in the world, and with Tsimikas, his replacement for the time being, proving in recent months that he isn’t really up to the standard that Liverpool need consistently in the left-back position. In the first-half, it was proven time and time again that Tsimikas would look more in-place in an Everton-level squad than Liverpool’s, being lethargic on the ball and constantly misplacing his positioning and passes. It did not help that his left-hand side partner was Luis Diaz, who is definitely a fantastic player on his day, but has been caught in a bad run of form, compounded by his performance today as he struggled to get the better of any man he took on, and once again highlighted how poor his final decision making can be.
I think in terms of future games, the answer whilst Robertson remains injured should be Jota on the left, with Nunez down the middle, to solve the Diaz issue, with Gomez as the left sided centre-back in a back three, allowing Trent to be played even-more-so in that dynamic midfield role that worked so well toward the end of the 2022/2023 season.
The New-Look Midfield Debuts –
A lot of talk has been said in regard to Liverpool’s midfield over the last 18 months, and the response to that talk has been the complete overhaul of Liverpool’s midfield options. Mac Allister came in from Brighton and has since been utilised in an out-of-place defensive midfield role after the club failed to address the issues in that position, Szoboszlai has come in as the most advanced of the midfield options and has looked at home in this team instantly, and Gravenberch arrived on deadline day and has impressed in cameo appearances for the most-part.
Today against Everton was the first time that all three of these midfield options started a game together. Mac Allister continued to look out of place in the defensive role, having minimal effect on the game, whilst Szoboszlai looked an immense threat from the attacking position, coming close to scoring on several occasions, and Gravenberch was probably the most surprising of the lot, as he threw me shades of a prime Pogba, which, I understand it is still early days, but I make the comparison nonetheless as he strided with the ball, used his strength to shield, and had that gliding first-touch that Pogba once had to create space in tight areas. There is definitely more to come from Gravenberch in particular.
Refereeing Decisions –
Of course the biggest talking points from the game once again fall the way of the referee. Just to state, yes, Ashley Young deserved to be sent off for his two challenges, but at the same time, the decision to not keep Konate on the pitch, particularly after Young’s sending off, makes absolutely zero sense and stinks of favouritism in some form or another. If Young’s challenges were worth two yellows, then so were Konate’s, and Everton had been more than hard done by in that sense of the game.
Elsewhere, in terms of the penalty, on commentary for TNTSports, Ally McCoist made a good point in regard to the handball rule, that it needs to be altered to be solely penalised with the intention of handling the ball. However, under current ruling, it was a clear handball and a clear penalty.
Team Ratings – Liverpool
Alisson Becker – 6.5/10 – Had pretty much nothing to do all game thanks to Everton’s ten-man situation and lack of attacking prowess but still did his job correctly when needed and obtained his fourth Merseyside Derby clean sheet in a row, a record only ever achieved by former Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10 – Held the pace of the game well from midfield.
Ibrahima Konate – 8/10 – Yes, he and Virgil did not have much to do given Everton’s red card, but they still dominated aerially and on the ground.
Virgil van Dijk – 8/10 – Same points as Konate.
Kostas Tsimikas – 5/10 – Wasn’t abysmal, but even in favouring circumstances looked well off the standard to be a consistent starter in this Liverpool team.
Alexis Mac Allister – 5.5/10 – Looked out of the game in the defensive role once again, clearly not his best position.
Ryan Gravenberch – 7.5/10 – Before being substituted, I thought he gave visuals of a prime Pogba in the way he pushed forward with the ball when attacking and shielded with his body when defending, definitely more to come from this young man.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7/10 – Definitely looked more lively in the first-hand than in the second, that being said, once again looks ready made for the Premier League.
Mohamed Salah – 7/10 – Despite two goals, I thought Salah looked distant in this game today, rarely made an impact outside of the two goals.
Diogo Jota – 7/10 – Almost scored a few goals from incredible solo runs, and definitely should have got on the scoresheet today, would give him a run out on the left side of the attack in future games.
Luis Diaz – 4.5/10 – Put a shift in but his final decision making was so far off the mark.
Jordan Pickford – 7/10 – Definitely should have had more control of his box but made a few excellent saves.
Ashley Young – N/A – Thought he played well and made a crucial tackle before being sent off but cannot give him a rating given that he was sent off in the first-half.
James Tarkowski – 7.5/10 – Excellent defensive performance all round.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 8.5/10 – One of the best players on the pitch and went toe to toe with every player he came up against. Definitely one of the brightest prospects in the Premier League.
Vitaley Mykolenko – 6.5/10 – A decent performance.
Jack Harrison – 6/10 – There isn’t much to say about Everton’s attackers given the circumstances they were playing under.
Andre Onana – 8/10 – An immense defensive display and saved his team on several occasions.
Gana Gueye – 6.5/10 – Put a shift in.
Dwight McNeil – 6.5/10 – Came close to scoring despite the few chances he had, and caused issues where possible.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5.5/10 – Of course he is still getting up to speed, but he really should have done better with that headed chance he had in the opening seconds of the game.
In a season of complete chaos for football, Liverpool seem to have taken a complete nose-dive as a club both on and off the pitch. Owners who seemed like they were finally caring about the progress of the club last season, being outed as money-hungry sewer rats. Players getting injured to never-before-seen scales, and completely flopping in almost every single competition in comparison to the standards set in the previous two years, it really has been a dismal season in football. However, late revivals in the Premier League seemed to have papered over the cracks a little bit.
In this review, I’ll be going over how I felt the season went, my thoughts on it through every factor and competition they took part in, and how the club can improve for the 2021/22 season. Admittedly, I cannot remember much from before January, it has just been that kind of season.
Carabao Cup –
The Carabao Cup increasingly seems more and more like a competition that should have been done away with years ago. I do not think anybody really cares for it outside of Everton and Spurs fans. However, Liverpool’s Carabao Cup campaign started off with a comprehensive win against Lincoln in which the likes of Minamino and Jones shone to score seven goals. The following round against Arsenal produced a borefest in which Liverpool exited on penalties after misses from Origi and Wilson.
This competition did not highlight much for the season ahead, and usually I am fine with us exiting it early. However, it is quite odd how we never get far in any of the domestic competitions and I’d like to see Klopp at least have a chance of winning almost everything possible during his time at the club.
F.A Cup –
Liverpool had a chance to avenge the game in the last season where Aston Villa shamelessly battered our kids by having the gods grant us the gift of being able to batter their kids this year. However, it was far from a battering. Liverpool were drawing for large portions of the game after Louie Barry got a dream goal against almost our complete first-team. Despite a 1-4 win, it was hard-fought, and not pretty at times.
In the next round despite having chances, Manchester United went through after a 3-2 win thanks to Bruno Fernandes. This game felt typical of Liverpool at the time, with us going ahead feeling like it was only a matter of time until the entire team fell apart, and it did. I am not bothered much about the F.A Cup either, but it would have been nice to win and looking back now at a season with no trophies, it seems the F.A Cup would have been a great chance to at least come out of 2020/21 with something at the very least.
In the Champions League it was clear early-on that winning it without many of our key players would be difficult. The performances in the group were stellar, and barring baffling decisions to allow players such as Jota to play a meaningless final game, only to end up injured for months-on-end, it was a perfectly executed group qualification for once. In the knock-out rounds, class performances against Leipzig provided hope that despite shocking performances in the League, maybe a run in Europe wouldn’t be affected. Despite this, we were brought back down to Earth in the following round, being outclassed by Madrid and then despite a sturdy performance from Phillips in the second-leg, it wasn’t enough and we went out.
I could not complain about this, to get to the quarter finals with the defence we had, and despite Madrid being their weakest in over two-decades, it is still Real Madrid at the end of the day.
Premier League –
The Premier League is where the bread and butter of the season is, however this has easily been the worst in recent memory. COVID-19 made most the season be played behind closed doors, and that combined with an awful Liverpool team genuinely killed a lot of my love for the game.
There were long-term injuries all over the pitch for Liverpool, however it was none the more apparent than in defence. Not only did Liverpool have van Dijk out for the entire season, but Gomez and Matip too. Then, even the midfielders who were put in their place ended up injured for large portions also, that being Fabinho and Henderson. This Premier League season is obviously been marred by injuries that nobody could have prepared for, but even despite that, it doesn’t seem that injury recoveries will solve all the issues.
Mentality problems and performance dips have been apparent. Constant inabilities to take our chances, kill off games or even get motivated to continue fighting when we go behind highlight that Virgil and Gomez returning will not fix everything. There needs to be major refreshes in the squad.
However, despite all the negatives, somehow the club managed to finish third, and only 5 points off Manchester United in what was consistently spoken about as their best season in years. As well as this, 26 points out of our final 30 available, and also conceding less than second-place Manchester United too, despite having our entire defence ravaged by injuries for the entirety of the season. These are achievements that are quite difficult to believe, but they happened regardless and really are something to write home about.
Despite finishing third and qualifying for next season’s Champions Leagues, this is mainly due to Klopp, once again. If it was not for him and Salah in particular, this club would have finished bottom-half this season. After the issues with the European Super League, FSG cannot afford to hide behind Klopp’s brilliance this Summer. Huge investment is needed to challenge Manchester City again next season, however, I doubt that will happen.
Despite a lot of mistakes early-on in the season, Alisson set new standards for a goalkeeper towards the end of the season. Many of his mistakes and uneasy-natured errors could be down to the constantly changing back-line. Off the pitch he had to struggle with the sudden loss of his father, which left everybody devastated for the goalkeeper, but none more devastated than himself. As said earlier, he assured the fanbase that he is the perfect goalkeeper, scoring a winner against West Brom to essentially keep the Champions League qualification dream alive, and in doing so, created the most memorable moment of the season without a doubt.
Despite an incredible drop in quality in the first-half of the season both defensively and offensively, Trent finished the season as his old-self. His drop in offensive output could be down to the huge drop-off in quality from the attack, and also with the lack of reassurance in defence, he was required to stay-back more often than not. His second-half of the season was almost flawless though. He is still easily the best right-back on the planet at 22, and it would be shocking to see him not be selected to go to the Euros with England.
Nat Phillips is the true hero of this season. Having not lit the world alight during his time in the German second-tier last season, his Liverpool future obviously seemed completely foregone. Sudden injuries ensured that once Henderson and Fabinho returned to midfield, Nat was there to being an aerial force. Despite lacking in quality, nobody can question his determination to put himself at risk at every opportunity to try and earn us the points needed to achieve something this season. No matter what the future holds for Nat, his performances and moments this season have written him into history as a cult-hero of the club.
Despite playing most of the second-half of the season in midfield, Fabinho is mostly known for his defensive contributions this season. Filling in at defence, Fabinho on many occasions was absolutely flawless, proving himself to be world-class in two positions. However, his presence in defence were not enough to cover-up his lack of presence in midfield, which is pivotal. In the second-half of the season, all games where Fabinho played in midfield, Liverpool failed to lose. The fact he didn’t play in this position for a majority of the season is a key reason as to why we may have struggled in many situations, similarly to how Manchester City struggled last season when Fernandinho had to move into defence for Laporte.
The only player to play every single game of Premier League action this season at the club, barring 5 minutes. This is obviously to the detriment of Kostas Tsimikas, but Robertson, despite not offering so much offensively this season for similar reasons to Trent, has been an ever-present. His work-rate and defensive solidity once again highlighted that even when the team was struggling, he remained world-class and the best in his position in the world.
Thiago is a player that came with probably the most hype of all the signings in the Premier League last Summer. Had it not been for injuries, it seemed that he would have played a key part in a team that was going to easily run for the title again too. Getting man of the match on his debut despite only playing 45minutes, and getting man of the match against Everton before getting injured for several months, it was clear that he had the quality.
Thiago was never an assister or goal-scorer, which is a big reason why the agenda behind his ‘flopping’ gained so much traction. The truth is, Thiago performed similarly number-wise this season as he did in all his seasons at Bayern Munich. Being labelled the best midfielder in the world not even a year ago, and despite putting up similar numbers, he is now labelled an ‘underperforming flop’. It is a clear showing of the toxic mentality of social media in football today. Which is, it doesn’t matter how little you watch a player, it is only numbers that matter.
He had a lot of games where he struggled to make an influence, but also a lot of games where he looked head and shoulders above every single player on the pitch. Shockingly, he didn’t start in either game against Real Madrid, which is something I still cannot believe. It is clear that in a settled and fully-fit Liverpool team, Thiago would prove once again why he is easily one of, if not the best midfielders on the planet.
In his final season at the club, it was a standard Gini season. Despite the constant hate he gets for his style of play at the club, it is clear these are tactical moulds that he is fitted into by Jurgen. One of Klopp’s first signings, Wijnaldum has played more games than anybody else from the midfield and almost the entire team since he signed. This is down to his incredible reliability, fitness and just collosal mentality. Yes, he struggles at times to play a forward pass, but that is his role. He is a ball recyler.
Wijnaldum may not be regarded as a Liverpool legend by many, but when you put up performances he has in all the big moments of the last 5 years, I am not sure how you can argue that he isn’t. He epitomises what it meant to be a Klopp team at Liverpool, and will be incredibly difficult to replace. I wish him nothing but the best at PSG and hope that he realises how much his contribution will have been appreciated by fans like me over the last five years.
Jordan has once again proved his importance on and off the pitch. On the pitch, he once again proved his versatility playing many times at centre-half, whilst also continuing to prove his importance a the heart of midfield. His presence is continually missed as shown by how the form of the team dipped upon his injury.
Off the pitch he was a role model too. Standing for multiple major messages via social media, as well as organising and standing against the idea of the European Super League later in the season. He may not have been up for Player of the Year like in 2020, but he put in another memorable season in a red shirt nonetheless.
What can I actually say about Mo? To put it simple, without Mo, we’d have been in the bottom half of the table without a doubt. With both Mane and Firmino falling off a cliff this season, Mo didn’t just sail is to success, but he proved that at times, he really is too good for this club. If anybody ever had any doubt about who is the most important of the attackers before this season, then those doubts are certainly gone now.
In probably his worst season to-date, Firmino matched his numbers from last season in two less games. However, this doesn’t tell the full-story. Thanks to sudden bursts in form, in particular against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, Firmino’s numbers were inflated. Before scoring a brace against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Firmino had scored one in his previous twenty-three games. These stats combined with just performance dips that were hitting new-lows for Bobby show that his time should be coming to an end as a guaranteed starter sooner rather than later, he also didn’t exactly help himself when he was caught liking Richarlison’s pictures after Everton had beaten us at Anfield.
Sadio’s drop off a cliff was the most surprising of anybody in the squad, and yet it is still completely unknown as to why. Potentially the long-balls from Virgil being missing prevented a lot of his runs in-behind. It could also be the full-backs need to stay back due to a lack of quality at centre-back meant that Sadio was forced out wide more often this season, however Salah didn’t struggle in this same manner.
Sadio could bounce back, and he still finished the season in double-digits. However, his dismissing of Klopp at the end of the season for being dropped to the bench for a game showed a display of poor attitude, combined with odd posts on his instagram of a video celebrating Sarr’s goal against us in 19/20 that ended our hopes of an invincible season, it does seem that Sadio in general is making some poor choices.
Kelleher didn’t play enough games to warrant gaining a rating, however he definitely had a progressive season to be proud of. In moments where Alisson had become injured, or was on leave due to his father’s passing, Kelleher stood in. Some slippy performances in the cups were backed up by a strong performance against Wolves in particular. Binning Adrian and getting a new back-up keeper’ wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I also wouldn’t be against Kelleher keeping the second-choice spot.
I know I said Kelleher played too little games to warrant a rating, and Adrian played even less. However, in the games Adrian did play, he was so bad that I couldn’t not give him a rating. Adrian has to be one of the worst footballers to ever wear a Liverpool shirt in my opinion. The goalkeeping performance against Aston Villa in particular has to be one of the worst individual performances in Premier League history, shipping seven goals in a single game. It is no wonder that his spot as second-choice was almost instantly stripped from him. Upon his contract ending, he should be let go from the club and hopefully never spoken of again.
Neco, similarly to Kelleher, didn’t play enough games to warrant a rating. However, I think his last of progress in game-time, in a season where Trent spent large portions of it struggling, says a lot about how he can progress at this club, that being, at the moment, he cannot. I think a permanent move away or a loan to a Premier League/Championship side would do him the world of good in getting some consistent first-team football, to hopefully come back in a better position to actually challenge Trent.
Obviously Virgil didn’t play enough to warrant a rating. However, he should still be the talisman next season, regardless of how unclear it is in terms of his recovery from such a devastating injury.
Despite also not playing much, Gomez has seemed to warrant more question marks. Consistent injuries have hampered his entire Liverpool career, and although he is world-class when in-form, he does have his odd moments. It is clear the trust in the current array of defenders is not high, through the signing of Konate. I think for me, Gomez stays alongside Virgil for now, but I won’t be surprised when Konate eventually has his time to shine.
Another season of devastating injuries for Joel Matip seemingly has brought his Liverpool future into question. A world-class defender when fit, Matip isn’t getting any younger, and potentially selling him on to replace for a young Kabak would be my choice if the scenarios aligned. However, I would love for Matip to stay if he could ever manage to stay fit.
Rhys was playing in the 6th tier of English football last season, and yet produced some amazing performances for a player so young on such a high level so soon. He obviously had struggled in a lot of occasions, although showed promise. I don’t think he will be Liverpool material, but a loan for the upcoming season could help him mature further at a decent level.
Ozan, Ozan. Kabak has divided the fanbase. Having not played many games, probably due to his status being determined by the end of the season, rather than injury, it is unfair to give any true judgements of Kabak. Having struggled initially, Kabak eventually performed at a good level on a consistent basis and generally seemed like a good player for his age. £18million for a centre-back of his quality seems like a steal, however, knowing John Henry, getting another £18million out of him for another vital position that needs strengthening will be difficult. So, with Konate coming in, does it make sense to spend that £18million on Kabak? Not really. I wish we would, but realistically I do not think we will.
Regardless of what the future holds for Ozan, he did well. I am gutted for him, but this is football, and he will no doubt go on to sign for a good club if he doesn’t get signed by Liverpool.
Despite not getting many chances, I cannot help but feel like Naby Keita and Liverpool just will not work. When he played, he struggled to leave lasting impressions on games, but at the same time, how can a player be expected to hit his stride when injuries combine with a lack of trust and consistent starts from the manager. Naby Keita was consistently praised by Klopp throughout the season for his training performances, most notably prior to the game against Real Madrid. However, despite having been injured for weeks, Keita was hooked off in the first-half against Real Madrid ruthlessly, and wasn’t given another chance again really.
I am not saying Keita didn’t deserve to be taken off against Madrid, but in that first-leg, there was several players playing below the expected level, many of which didn’t have the excuse that Naby had of being out injured and having not started in weeks. Despite this, Naby was chosen to be the scapegoat and was hooked by Jurgen.
I think Naby can be a world-class player, but I worry that Klopp doesn’t trust him as much as he publicly says he does. I would be surprised if Keita was still a Liverpool player in 2022.
James Milner – 7/10 –
Milner struggled for game time too this season, but that is expected given his age. Despite this, during a time where the team struggled for performances, Milner came in and played to a level that was certainly on par with the peak performances of his career. During this time he showed how important he can still be to this team, and I for one am glad he still has a year remaining on his contract going into next season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is a player that has a lot of the same excuses as Keita. A combination of injuries and a lack of managerial trust has ensured that his place at Liverpool is more uncertain than not. I really cannot see Ox hitting the levels needed to play for Liverpool consistently, and I think I could see him moving on in 2022 also to a team like West Ham or something.
Jones broke into the first-team last season, and did great in his rare opportunities. He showed composure beyond his years. This season, he played a lot in the first-half of the season, and showed maturity going forward and defensively. Liverpool fans seem to have manufactured a forced agenda against Jones, stating he isn’t good enough. However, are we forgetting he is still only 20 years of age? I have no doubt that with Gini leaving, Jones will get even more chances in 2021/2022 and continue to show his progress as a player.
Having been linked with a close move away in January, and having been stated as being ‘for sale’ this Summer, Shaqiri’s Liverpool career really is an odd situation. Having never really played ‘bad’ when given the chance, and having been relied upon heavily in his first few months at the club, it is a wonder what went wrong behind the scenes for him to have earned his place in the basement.
Nonetheless, Shaqiri is a great player and always performed when given the chance. I think he will leave this Summer and hopefully he finds a great club where he can be valued more highly.
Diogo Jota – 8.5/10 –
I have to admit, I was not sure about the signing of Jota for such a high fee when he came in, but I was proved more than wrong. Jota started the season in form similar to that of Salah and Mane when they first joined. However, he picked up a lengthy injury in a meaningless game and we were left to pay for that decision as Firmino and Mane blanked for months on-end whilst the Portuguese forward was out injured. I have no doubt that Jota will continue to improve from next season onward, though.
Despite his heroics in the season where we won the Champions League, it seems that Origi retired from football since then. He rarely played, but whenever he did, he looked lethargic, heavy on the ball and had an absolutely awful touch of the ball. Far below the already low standards he seems to set. I would not be surprised if Origi was one of the first names out the door this Summer, despite everything he did in 18/19.
Sadly, I think the end could also be near for Takumi Minamino, to no fault of his own. Having rarely gotten any minutes, Minamino failed to make an impact at the club. Even when he did play and scored in a 7-0 win against Crystal Palace, he was immediately dropped for another few months afterwards, despite Firmino’s awful form. I had hoped that he would at least have the chance to play in front of a crowd at the club, but that now seems unlikely. I think had he been given more of a chance and had a better environment to settle in, rather than settling in a new country with new teammates during a global pandemic, things could have been very different for Taki at the club. Here’s hoping his fortunes can still turn around!
Jurgen Klopp – 7.5/10 –
Despite making a few odd decisions throughout the season, for the large part, to get a team with such ravenous injuries throughout the squad into the Champions League, is easily one of Jurgen’s best achievements throughout his time at the club. He also was one of the first along with James Milner to speak out against the European Super League. Always remember, if it wasn’t for him, we’d be in the bottom half of the league every season. We achieve success because of Jurgen, not FSG.
All in all, a season without a trophy is a failure of a season. However, given the unprecedented circumstances the team had faced, I think finishing third in the league is a sign of progress and quality in-depth. I am unsure whether we will return to our best as simply as some of our fans think we can, but with a Summer of rejuvenation, injury records being set straight and fans back in Anfield come August, who knows what we might achieve.
Football is dead, it has been for decades. However, this recent attempt to create a European Money League, I mean, ‘Super’ League has ultimately taken things too far. An attempt to completely disregard the entire history of our club has ultimately spelled the end for FSG at Liverpool, hopefully. I do not care what they have done for the club, I do not care what they have apologised for, all I care about is acknowledging all the warning signs that pointed towards these cowardice owners who have hidden behind the success of Klopp whilst secretly holding the same beliefs as all billionaire owners, a belief of greed.
Flying Kenny Dalglish to America to Sack Him –
A first warning sign of how little FSG have made an effort to understand the history and traditions of Liverpool, is their treatment of Kenny Dalglish. Dubbed ‘King’, Kenny Dalglish is arguably the greatest player and one of the greatest managers in the history of the club, yet despite winning a trophy and getting to another final in his first full-season in charge with an abysmal squad, he was sacked. Being sacked isn’t the issue though, Kenny was flown the whole way to Boston to hold talks with FSG, being left in the dark on the flight back to Liverpool, only to ultimately have had his time and effort wasted by being sacked not long after. This treatment of arguably the most iconic figure in the club’s history was the first straw in a line of many.
During the 15/16 season, as if the football wasn’t bad enough, once again FSG proved their timing to be impeccable with their decisions. Liverpool had announced that the usual ticket price, which was already at a ridiculous £59, had been raised to £77 for the following season. This sparked mass outrage amongst supporters and unlike many boycotts, this one had been followed-up on. In the 77th minute, as Liverpool led 2-1 against Sunderland, around 10,000 fans walked out of the stadium moments before Sunderland equalised. Chants of ‘Enough is enough, you greedy bastards, enough is enough’ rang around the stadium, with black flags being flown instead of the usual on The Kop.
FSG ultimately reversed their decision, backtracking as always, freezing ticket prices for the following season. However, this decision to keep the prices at a ridiculous £59 shouldn’t be praised, nor should it be ignored that had this protest not happened, the prices would have gladly kept rising.
Selling to Buy –
Now, there is nothing wrong with running a sustainable business model, however, in certain circumstances, FSG have taken that idea too far. Many times Klopp has hinted at the concept that decisions are out of his hands, even after everything he has not only done for the club, but for FSG by increasing the overall value of their asset. In 2011, the sale of Fernando Torres was the first, then in 2014 Luis Suarez, only to replace him with Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert was a sign of how little ambition FSG seemed to have to compete. More recently, the sale of Phillipe Coutinho, a player idolised by fans, was sold and ultimately this was covered up by the purchases of both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. However, had Coutinho not been sold, these players would never have been signed and would have had been allowed to join rival clubs.
FSG do not care about competing, they only ever signed players so long as an even more important player to the team was sold. As of Summer 2020, Liverpool’s net spend under Jurgen Klopp was £75million, for comparison, Manchester City’s was £300million. Without Klopp, this lack of significant investment in the team would have shown a long time ago, luckily for FSG, Klopp’s individual brilliance had allowed them to hide this fact.
Attempts to Trademark the Words ‘Liverbird’ and ‘Liverpool’ –
Once again showing how utterly deluded and out of touch with the club and city of Liverpool FSG were, in July of 2019 they had submitted an attempt to try and trademark the terms ‘Liverbird’ and ‘Liverpool’. I am sure I do not need to explain why this is as delusional as it is, but FSG tried it nonetheless.
Thankfully, the attempt was rejected by the Intellectual Property Office and FSG were left with egg on their face again. This should have been the third and final strike against not only the club this time, but the actual city of Liverpool and all its small and local independent retailers. However, as usual, Klopp managed to use his individual brilliance to buy FSG some time.
Furloughing Staff –
At a time where the world was experiencing unprecedented mental health problems due to having their lives torn apart by a pandemic, FSG thought it’d be a good idea to follow the pathetic model that the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal had formed, placing staff on Furlough. Despite spending millions on player wages, transfers, and being billionaires living a life of luxury themselves, FSG couldn’t resist the attempt to get a government cheque to try and safe a few pennys. This act once again highlighted how little the staff of Liverpool meant to FSG, and ultimately, how expendable they thought they were.
European Super League –
Here we are, the reason this whole thing is being written. John Henry may have made a swift attempt at apologising, but no longer can his empty apologies and backtracking attempts be forgiven. FSG attempted to openly disregard and throw away every single memory that any fan has had within this club for the last 100+ years. The iconic nights in the Champions League were to be forgotten, our first league win in over 30 years that only occurred last year, forgotten. Local fans were attempted to have been thrown under the bus in the hopes that the global market would bail FSG out.
I struggle for words when talking about this situation over the last few days, and ultimately, it isn’t just FSG that is corrupt, it is all of football, that includes the likes of BT Sport, Sky, UEFA and FIFA. However, FSG directly attacked the history of Liverpool FC and attempted to make all the memories I have had caring about this club utterly meaningless, so this hits more close to home.
John Henry has disregarded club legends like Kenny Dalglish, he has disregarded the wellbeing of fans, he has disregarded the well being of staff during a global pandemic, he has disregarded the history of the entire club through his inability to satisfy his greed whilst attempting to form this European Super League, and then the only people left who FSG hadn’t openly disregarded was Klopp, but of course, FSG couldn’t help themselves. They had left Klopp and the team hanging out to dry the night of a huge game, and despite everything Klopp has done for this club and in-turn FSG, their disgusting treatment to even allow him to be in the situation he was in on Monday, cannot be forgiven.
FSG need to go, and if they do not, they’ll realise they haven’t even begun to see the worse of what this fanbase will do to them. Just remember who is on your side here, isn’t billionaires in America who have zero interest in football and solely base all their time into maximising profits. It is the man who was left hung out to dry by these Americans, Klopp. It is the players who took a stand against the disgusting and disgraceful actions of these Americans, and ultimately, it is the fans, who no matter what, will always stick with this club through thick and thin, long after all these rats have left our club. You’ll Never Walk Alone.
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Nathan Brennan 