Well, well, well. Wild couple of days huh? Been a long time and have been reaching out to people I have come in contact with that share that same passion for LFC. I still see some familiar faces in here and hope everyone is doing well with everything going on. I am Bluff, or BCR for short, and I used to actually mod this forum as I would pull the UK late night duty (it would be afternoon, early evening for me). Below is something I wrote on my various social medias and thought I would share it here. Maybe you have a similar story, maybe yours started with that first game, growing up in the area, or like me, a completely random moment at a local sports shop in Gibraltar and seeing Macca flying down the wing in some ugly, cream colored jerseys. Liverpool have won the Premier League for the first time in 30 years. A thread. (long, grab a drink) I don't post a lot on social media and try to keep it at a minimum. It can be a hot spot at times and while you want to share life, there is a certain aspect of privacy that is still needed, especially as coach and director. However, I wanted to share a story that spans back to my childhood and culminates with an incredible moment. I believe it was the spring of 1998, Richard Bute takes our 85 Memphis FC team to Spain for a tournament. He always liked to do this with teams to show us what is really out there, what the game really looked like. American soccer was only just beginning to boom again off the back of the World Cup two year prior. I remember we had a trip to Gibraltar to play I believe their u15 NT or a very good local side, it was tight game on a really sandy turf field. Before the game we were doing the tourism thing and I remember coming into this soccer shop to try and get a cool new jersey, not knowing which to get. I saw this hideous cream colored jersey with a huge black neck ring. I noticed there was a ton of them so it must have been a favorite team. I catch a glimpse of the TV and the staff are watching this cream colored team playing. It was Liverpool and Mcmanaman was on fire in the game. Immediately I felt I had to buy this jersey and find out who that player was. He looked like me (slender, shaggy hair) but he made the game look effortless. I start to follow Liverpool through the youth years and find out a bit more about the history. It really began to pull me in knowing that it was once a great club and was trying to find it's way back. I learned the coach was Roy Evans, the 3-5-2, Robbie Fowler, Macca, the spice boys, a young Michael Owen, I was all about it. Then the writing was on the wall that the club needed to get into the modern game. It hired Gerard Houllier as a joint manager with Roy Evans but you could tell what the intention was. Houllier was meant to bring a new professionalism and modern ideas to the club. That he did and the treble in 2001 of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup certainly gave the feeling things were finally going to turn for the club. Players like a young Steven Gerrard, Heskey, Smicer, Berger. Then as it seemed would happen every time things looked up, the posts would move again. Poor signings after the 2002 world cup, the Arsenal team that was unbelievable and eventually Invincible, United continuing the dominance and the rise of Chelsea. It all seemed to fall apart, as well as Houllier becoming very ill. At this point, I am getting ready to head to college in 2003 and here we are again with the same issues, almost there, didn't quite make it. As a parting gift it seemed, the reds were able to obtain a champions league spot for the 04-05 season. In comes Rafa Benitez. I was unbelievably excited when I heard Rafa was coming in. I admired his Valencia side from a far as I enjoyed watching Pablo Aimar, Vicente, Baraja and Ayala. "The Machine" they were nicknamed for how they played and Rafa was able to break up the Barca - Real dominance. I thought at the least, tactically, this guy has done it, he was won those titles, been to those finals, he has connections with great players. The first two signings of course were two unknown Spanish players, Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso. Xabi Alonso would become my favorite player to this date and one who I just hold in such high high regard. Others were brought in but these two really made the difference in many ways. The 2004 season did not start as expected. It seemed getting used to the league was going to be rough and losing a very close league cup to Chelsea and the "special one" Mourinho, was hard to take. However, in the CL, something special was brewing, the ring of fire was being created. The theatrics against Olympiacos "WHAT A HIT SON", Defeating an incredible Juventus, the "ghost goal" against Chelsea and then the final against AC Milan. I remember I was playing for Memphis Express at that time and was in a pub with Ashley Charnock (local Liverpool lad who was a teammate at the time) watching the game. I don't think there was anyone else there and we could not believe what we had just seen. Only Liverpool, it seemed, could do something like that. Winning the CL, it really felt like this was finally it. Winning the FA cup the next year and bringing in a top top keeper in Pepe Reina, next was another CL final where unfortunately AC Milan got their revenge but we were able to bring more quality like Javier Mascherano, Momo Sissoko, Agger, Kuyt, etc. Then the big one in the kid, "el nino" Fernando Torres. It all looked right. 4th was being secured easily and the push was on. Until the cowboys came. Hicks and Gillette basically took the good work and crumbled it to the ground. You could see and sense the agitation Rafa had with the board, with players being missed out to make that next step to challenge. In 09, I thought I would finally get to see the reds pick up the trophy for the first time. The team was good, more balance to it but the draws were one too many. Only losing two times and still falling at the end to United (Macheda scoring the wonder goal against Villa still haunts me). Alonso was sold and the team began to fall apart. Eventually Rafa moves on and you can't help but think..... "Next year is our year". The long memed cliche. Hodgson comes in. Absolute mess. Mascherano leaves, Torres looks jaded and overused, 18th after 6 games.....No belief. Very quickly Hodgson was removed and the King, Kenny Dalglish returned. An immortal at the club, both as a player and manager, at the very least someone who absolutely in their heart cared about the club. At this time as well, Hicks and Gillette were finally selling the club and Fenway Sports Group (FSG and owners of the Red Sox) stepped in. Another American group, "here we go again". Dalglish was not the most tactical and had to deal with losing Torres in that window ( I couldn't believe it was to Chelsea, such a heartbreaker) and while money was wasted in Carroll, he brought in Luis Suarez, controversial but pure magic with his ability. Dalglish brings the club its first trophy in the league cup in over 6 years and also gets to an FA Cup final, which LFC lose. In comes Brendan Rodgers. An unknown but clear in his vision in how he wanted to play. Possession based, attacking soccer. Naive at times and what probably cost the title, you have to say bringing in Sturridge, Coutinho, allowing Sterling to get the needed first team minutes was shrewd and paid dividends. Once again, we get to 2014 and the reds are challenging again. The attacking dynamic of Sturridge, Suarez, Sterling, Coutinho and Gerrard would be on full force as the reds pushed for the title. City at home, Liverpool win I believe 3-2 and all cameras are on Gerrard, you can see it, he knows it, it is at his finger tips. The team gather around " WE DON'T LET THIS SLIP!!!!" Chelsea at home, 3 games to go. Gerrard famously slips to let Demba Ba in to scorer the winning goal. City now have the advantage again. Liverpool now need City to drop points. Next game, Crystal Palace, Liverpool need goals and lots of them. Fire off 3 goals in the first 20 minutes, this is going to be a drubbing. It goes pear shaped, Liverpool collapse, Palace tie the game 3-3 and Liverpool lose the league by 2 points. In comes Jurgen Klopp. Again I am excited as I know of his standards and by this time I am a full time coach and director. I get the game that bit more and understand the dynamics and how difficult this all is. In that season, Klopp takes the reds to a League Cup final and UEFA Cup final, losing both to City (again) and Sevilla respectively. But something was different. The attacking play was there, a little more direct but certainly there but the grit, the battle, the SOUL seemed to be coming back. It looked clear with the players being brought in, it wasn't to appease anyone, it was to the needs of the team. Areas that needed improvement were improved, FSG allowed Klopp to spend mega dollars to obtain these pieces. Fast forward to today. After the heartbreak of losing the CL final to Real, the club have been on a rampage. Barely losing by a point and losing only one game all season to City (showing just what an incredible season that was for City), Liverpool are crowned CL winners again for the 6th time. In comes this year and you can see the absolute resolve in the squad. No way were they letting anyone near them and from go, they were dominant. Super Cup champions, Club World Cup champions and now, with (currently) the biggest gap in the prem history, they are champions after 30 years. It is hard to believe that at just 13 years old this journey began and the roller coaster of my own life and watching LFC get so close and then fall so far away over and over. I always have felt that, so close, just not enough in my life, even though I have had plenty of successes and plenty of down moments. I wanted to write this as players in the US now a days have a lot more luxury with teams to support and follow. MLS is a better standard and players in Atlanta (where I am) love ATL United, they know the players, they go to games, they know the songs. Many have some European team that they follow but most follow from afar. However, I try to use these stories of mine with my support and addiction at times of LFC, the margins of success or defeat are so small. The ability and determination to get back up when the chips are down is a lost art in these days. The willingness to be accountable, knuckle down and work to your absolute maximum. Finally, the ability to put the we before the me. To do more for your fellow man and in the end, the reward is that much sweeter. To end, I will leave with two Quotes, one from the forefather Bill Shankly and one from our new man of the moment, Jurgen Klopp: "The socialism I believe in is everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards. It's the way I see football, the way I see life." - Bill Shankly "If you want special results, you have to feel special things and do special things together. You can speak about spirit, or you can live it." - Jurgen Klopp Sorry, one last thing..... EL CAMPEOOONNNNN, EL CAMPEEEEOOOONNNN
All is well, just dealing with COVID as everyone has been. We had to shut down our spring entirely and have only been back out on the fields for the past 3 weeks or so. It is the wild west out here at times but so glad to see Liverpool fully win the league and not have to hear any of that nonsense of asterisk or doesn't count because of an incomplete season BS. Had to create a new account as I totally forgot all my passwords and apparently the email that was tied to the old account I don't use haha. Been a long while since modding in here and waiting for some dumb ass to post something thinking everyone was asleep. Hope the celebration was a good one last night! I know it was for me.
It's nothing like it used to be on here, very little modding required nowadays. Getting lots of bitter mancs (not so much on here) coming out with the "you've only won one" whilst they're completely oblivious to the fact they've never won The Premier League (so named since 2016) themselves... can't have it both ways, it's either 20-19 or 1-0 PS... sent you a PM
I had to approve the thread, take it you had to do something beforehand? Bluff was an original but he ridiculously got a life and left...
That is a familiar name. Yes, it is long and yes Zan clearly didn't read it with his response time haha. All good, just my thoughts over the years. Decided to write it after I saw the B/R where the father is walking with his son, son gets older, dad ages, dad dies, son marries, has a kid in the time frame of the 30 years. Just had that huge reflective moment.
Didn't help we weren't great back then. Pretty sure that was when Hodgson came in, it was a **** show in here. Too easy for the trolls.
Thats a cracking read. I think you where one of the first people I spoke to on here, when I didnt really speak(those where the days, I here you cry). Good to here from you.
