RIP Paddy Barclay. One of the finest football writers around. I know he really liked LFC (Dundee was his pint of choice) and was privileged to have had a long, boozy lunch with him 12 or so years ago. As someone who knew him very well said, “He was an excellent fellow. And a beautiful writer.”
Too young when he left us. We had a couple of good fish an chip and Guinness nights. With the conversation getting better with each pint.
That’s interesting as he always struck me as anti-LFC on radio or TV but it’s good to be corrected by someone in the know.
As well as becoming a brighter and more erudite conversationist, I become more interesting to the opposite sex regardless of my age and a far better driver.
My dancing improves out of all recognition and there are times I wonder if they’ll put The Beatles back together just to incorporate my obvious talents.
Ah, the only way that could happen is for Ringo and Paul to leave us. But they’re both younger than me. I remember have a beer or two with them after a gig. They probably don’t.
Ruben Peeters and Jonathan Power aren’t too well known outside of football, but that could change over the next few months. Insiders are talking about how the deciding factor of this Premier League season might not be the star talents, or even tactics. It might be the elusive ability to fully deploy them when it matters. That will be down to sports science and performance staff, like Peeters and Power. The former is responsible for Liverpool’s physical performance. Power is the club’s director of medicine. Both have been integral to keeping Arne Slot’s squad healthy, which has been so crucial in keeping them clear at the top of the table. That’s how influential the intensity of the calendar has become. Little wonder people are starting to talk about those who can navigate it in the way they do modern recruitment gurus, and even set-piece specialists. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...-list-liverpool-arsenal-man-utd-b2699926.html
Dunno who Power is, but since Peeters left Feyenoord to join Arne, our injury list is insane. We even had to use unproven young ones in our CL match today against Milan.
So my wife went to bed a little early tonight, so I had control of the remote. Browsing some Roku Live channels and they were showing both the weekend game (NESN) and the PSG game (UEFA) and the 1994 Brazil / Italy WC. Then the endless other steaming options. Great time to be a footy fan.
https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.c...-for-25-26-preseason-ac-milan-hong-kong-japan Liverpool FC have announced details of their preseason tour for the 2025/2026 season. The Reds will be heading to Asia, playing against AC Milan in Hong Kong, China, before embarking on their first-ever summer visit to Japan. Liverpool will face Italian giants AC Milan on Saturday, July 26. The two teams, which have won a combined 13 European Cups, will also play their first football fixture at the newly opened Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong. Both teams will compete for the Standard Chartered Trophy. Full details of the subsequent Japan leg of the tour will be announced in due course. Details on ticket sales will follow in due course. Supporters can also register their interest here. Japan Airlines, the club’s official airline partner, will fly players and backroom staff to Asia. Liverpool last visited Asia in 2023, playing Leicester City and Bayern Munich in Singapore’s National Stadium. ------------ so Endo is staying then.
I'm not a fan of preseason tours. They just add miles of travel to the already absurd schedule top tier footballers are subjected to. Then fans get fleeced as well by exorbitant prices for tickets. I get why the club does it, but I don't like it.
Three members of Liverpool's title-winning squad have been nominated for the Premier League's player of the season award. Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Ryan Gravenberch lead the eight-player shortlist after helping the Reds to a 20th league title. Captain Van Dijk has played every game for Liverpool this season, helping the club record 14 clean sheets, while midfielder Gravenberch has only missed one match. Salah, meanwhile, has registered a league-high 46 goal contributions, including 28 goals. Nottingham Forest are the only other club with more than one nominee, with Morgan Gibbs-White included alongside Chris Wood, who is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign with 20 goals in 34 matches. Also nominated are Newcastle's Alexander Isak, who sits second in the scoring charts with 23 goals, and Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, who has 18 goals and seven assists to his name - the third-most goal contributions in the league. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice completes the list. Wolves manager Vitor Pereira is one of five names in the running for the Premier League manager of the year award. The club were 19th in the table when Pereira took charge in December but the Portuguese manager has led them to safety, winning 10 and drawing two of his 18 matches in charge. Wolves currently sit 14th. Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who delivered a league title in his first season at Anfield, is also nominated, as are Eddie Howe (Newcastle) and Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest). Both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest remain in the race for Champions League qualification with two matches remaining. Thomas Frank, whose Brentford side are on course for a highest-ever finish of eighth, rounds off the shortlist. A public vote, combined with votes from a panel of football experts, will determine the winners of both awards. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cdxven6zv4qo
if the awards don't go to Salah and slot, we just have to assume that the Middle East bought the vote just like they bought Trump