"The relationship between supporters and players is always key"
As we approach a new season the above words are music to my ears, Brendan knows the importance of having the supporters on your side right from the first kick-off, and knows that he has a positive feel around the KP again after the Puel era that most of us knew would only end one way.
What a breath of fresh air to have passion, humour, intensity, connection with the supporters, players wanting to play for the manager etc.......
A year ago the majority of us were looking ahead to football as dull as dishwater while being told by the Sand Goblin that "don't worry Puel has got this" plus we were bracing ourselves for a £65 million bid from Utd!!!!
Well at least one thing has changed in 12 months.
So where are we at with our expectations as we get ready for next weekend?
Consolidation?
Just enjoying good football on the pitch and its irrelevant where we finish in the table?
Give Brendan a full season and a couple of transfer windows to build a squad that he wants?
We are a fecking good side and on our day we can beat anybody so lets push for the Top 6?
Personally I have a very oddly weird feeling as we approach the new season, I am not sure if its Wind, Kidney Stones, Last nights curry or a combination of excitement and optimism for this season.
The capture of Tielmans was one that we all hoped for but didn't think we would pull off, how crucial could he be with Maddison and Vardy having a full pre-season to hit the ground running.
I can see Wilf being back to his beastly self this season and being the anchor to let our attacking talent shine through and I am sure that Brendan will play to our strengths which we were all crying out for last season under Inspector Clueless......
Which leaves the Harry conundrum. I have kept my own counsel on this while reading the views of many opposition supporters and some on here (BS being extremely vocal). In my opinion he IS worth £80-£90 million, his game has improved since joining us, he is an England International and is one of the few CB's that tries to play out with the ball (which the Top 6 are looking for), he has 4 years of his contract left and he is a vital singular part in our team jigsaw. So to LCFC his value is as discussed..... whatever the rights and wrongs of transfer fees etc that is the going rate for a defender taking all of the above into account.
Will we be weaker without him? Yes of course we will
Will he leave in the next 8 days? Yes I think that he probably will, if Utd get a swap deal with Lukaku and Dybala then I am sure Ed will ok the cash purchase of OGS main target this summer.
If Harry starts the game against Wolves then I would hope that the rest of our supporters will be behind him 100% and do as BR asks and connect with the players as we are all part of the LCFC team and family.
Finally a good insight into how things are behind closed doors is the interview with Andy King as referenced on here in another article. Brendan has bought back the team ethos and the feeling of enjoyment to the whole squad.
I for one cannot wait.
UTF
"Together, we will be stronger"
posted on 1/8/19
I’m sure I could hear the Dambusters March playing somewhere in the background when I read this article.
Hopefully the optimism is well founded.
posted on 1/8/19
Nice article DUTAC.
For me I actually think this season is going to be harder than some think. I believe that whilst Rodgers has got a lot right, results may not come immediately on the pitch.
Our aim should be top 6 no doubt, but I would be happy with a top half finish and progress from the team to be moving towards Rodgers vision.
The thing with Rodgers is his style and football is very predictable. The question will come early - do we have the quality to unlock teams even when they know how we play?
That will be interesting for me, but I share your positive optimism and I’m looking forward to the season. I certainly didn’t look forward to it under Puel!
posted on 1/8/19
comment by Jobyfox (U4183)
posted 1 hour, 16 minutes ago
I’m sure I could hear the Dambusters March playing somewhere in the background when I read this article.
Hopefully the optimism is well founded.
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We will play them on the beaches....... in a mix of Winston Churchill and Brendan Rodgers!!!!!
posted on 1/8/19
With the capture of Tielemans, it's clearly been a good transfer window so far. Perez looks to be the mould of player that we're looking for as well, in terms of pressing from the front and working hard.
How it ends is still up for question. If we're serious about pressing the top 6 this season then I feel more and more that selling Maguire and not replacing him would be a mistake. Benkovic is being eased back in slowly, Amartey similarly, and I can't bring myself to trust Soyuncu as an option. I understand there are rumours that an £80m bid has been tabled for Maguire now. If so, and depending on what has been discussed and agreed with Maguire behind the scenes, I would still reject and hold out for £90m. Crazy? Maybe. But this season has the potential to be an important one for the progression of our club and to succeed we need a whole team that's ready to make the step forward. Going into the season with an identifiable weakness at centre half could be very costly in a world of small gains.