WHY LIVERPOOL?
As one of the newest correspondents to join the Planet FPL Podcast team my first assignment was to let everyone know a little about myself and what Liverpool FC means to me.
Growing up in a small town in the North West of England I have loved Football since I can remember. Having played football from about the age of 4 until my late twenties it has always been my passion. Surprisingly maybe to some but most people I grew up with didn’t support Blackburn, Burnley or Preston (the local teams). These Clubs at the time were in the lower divisions of English Football, which led to the majority of my generation opting for Liverpool or Man United.
So why did I choose Liverpool over our fierce rivals across the M62? My parents divorced when I was young and my stepdad was a passionate Liverpool supporter. He used to travel the country and Europe in his red van to watch his beloved side. Choosing Liverpool for me was obviously a no-brainer as he had such a huge influence on my life and taught me the history of the club and showed me the passion of what it is like to support such a club. We would often go to matches or listen on the radio and we never missed a televised match.
I have to admit though, with great shame, that every Sunday for about 3 hours I claimed to support Man Utd due to endless physical torture from my Uncle who is a United fan.
My first real memory of watching a game on TV was the 1985 FA Cup final when Norman Whiteside curled the ball around Southall for a 1-0 victory to United. At the time I didn’t realize the irony my first lasting memory of Football came when I was watching my teams’ biggest rivals. From that day on I was hooked.
Fortunately I am old enough to remember the good days when Liverpool dominated in the late 70s and particularly the 80s (born in 1976), which made growing up and school life a lot easier as the majority of friends were United fans.
Conversely that also means I have lived through the anguish and suffering of 29 years without winning a league title. This was only made worse as my University years were spent living with 3 United fans, who at the time had taken over the mantle of dominating domestic football. Watching the European Cup final in 1999 was and still is one of the most painful sporting experiences I have suffered.
I’ve had my favourites throughout the years, with the likes of Molby, McMahon, Barnes, Fowler, McManaman and Gerrard to name a few but I’ve never been truly happy with a season’s performance from Liverpool since their last title win in 1989-90. That is until Klopp arrived. I LOVE this man.
I would never have believed back then, that now in 2019 that would be our last domestic title. Yes we have since won FA Cups, League Cups, a UEFA Cup and obviously the epic Champions League victory in Istanbul but I am desperate to see Liverpool as Premier League Champions.
There have been matches that have brought me to tears and performances that have made me proud but the support of this club is what touches me the most. Through the bad times (and yes there have been many in my lifetime) the supporters on the whole have stuck by the club, managers and players.
My optimism in Liverpool actually becoming champions is at a all time high and I believe that the current style of play and culture instilled by Klopp coupled with the squad he has assembled is the best since the mid 80s and if the improvement continues and we get a little bit of lady luck then I feel a Premier League title is not too far away.
That being said there is a ‘quite’ important match for us on Saturday. This in my opinion is such a massive game and is a MUST WIN. Not because I want us to be European Champions but I think Klopp and some of the longer serving players need to ‘shake this monkey off their backs’ and win a trophy. I think the progression of Liverpool FC to actually go on to the next level and win a title hinges a lot on winning this match. Not only for momentum and losing the Stigma of ‘almost men’ but more importantly not losing. I worry how the squad will be affected psychologically if Liverpool again come up short and lose the final. That would mean that they would have had three European Final defeats in the last 4 seasons coupled with a long campaign which saw us finish 2nd in the Premier League after only one defeat all season.
I will confidently predict that if we beat Spurs on Saturday then next season WILL DEFINITELY BE OUR YEAR. Bet you’ve never heard that before!
Now That I have told you my life story and why I am a Liverpool Fan I can promise you all that I am very much an unbiased fan and my opinions will show that over the coming months.
Finally, when I was offered the role of being the @Planet FPL correspondent for Liverpool I set myself two goals. Firstly I want to try and offer a deep insight into the current Liverpool team and try to help the FPL Twitter Community with my knowledge of football and FPL. I understand it is a difficult role as they are such a widely supported club with lots of media exposure and the majority of knowledgeable managers out there are already clued up on them. Secondly and more importantly to me is to show the FPL Twitter Community that not all Liverpool fans are delusional, poor losers and whatever other label they are given. I feel embarrassed at times with some of the things I hear or read about what Liverpool fans have said and I plan to show you all that Liverpool are a fantastic club and the majority of the fan base are very much like me. Anyway, did we get a trophy for finishing second this season?
I am really excited about the work I will contribute to you over the coming months and the 19/20 season. I will converse with anybody who wants to, so feel free to tweet/DM me and I promise I will respond with my impartial opinion.