How Hungry Are Liverpool?
The Champions League final in Madrid was an incredible night and was certainly the best way to cap off a fantastic 2018/19 season. I was on the streets of Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of others the following day to witness Jürgen Klopp and his team parade the famous trophy and bask in the glory they’d earned. After the heartbreak of the previous year’s final in Kyiv, and after just falling short in the Premier League title race despite racking …
100 Years of Bob Paisley and the Danger of Comparisons
Before the home win at Crystal Palace—a game which saw Red hearts beat all the faster for the first time in a while—the ground paid tribute to Bob Paisley, who was born 100 years ago this week. At half-time, Anfield witnessed a cavalcade of his best players such as Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Jimmy Case, Phil Neal and, greatest of all, Ian Callaghan, come on to the pitch to rightly praise the soft-spoken Geordie.
I’ve no doubt that such a …
The Positive Realism Of Jürgen Klopp
In the tragi-comic dystopia that passes for the 21st century, maintaining a world-view that is both realistic and positive is quite the mental and emotional workout. The gloomier types amongst us often claim realism for themselves and, quite understandably, given the hellish state of the planet, they insist that positivity is the preserve of the naive.
However, since it was just an adolescent column with a dream of the big-time, Latest News has always tried to keep the two plates …
Henderson Saying The Right Things
There has always been a tradition around Anfield and environs of club leaders saying the right thing at the right time. You can trace it back to that most articulate and circumspect of gents, Bill Shankly. The Scot was famously loquacious but there was never a word out of place. Every phrase was measured before being delivered in that wistful but authoritative Glenbuck burr.
In a time before media saturation, the man who started the most glorious era in the …
Where is the praise for Liverpool's transfer committee?
In English football there has always been an aversion to ‘the continental model’ of football management. The likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Bill Shankley were such enduring individuals at their clubs that the successes of their teams have been attributed to the all powerful men that ruled them. The great managers of English football dominated every facet of their club, and so, unsurprisingly, the attitude in this country has been sympathetic towards managers who want utter control of their clubs, …
Liverpool FC: The Force Must Be Strong
When the late, great Bill Shankly first rocked up to Anfield in October 1959, it could be argued that the ground resembled Dagobah. The iconic Scotsman immediately set about transforming the club and captured the imagination of everyone involved. His charismatic persona inspired and transcended beyond those on the pitch and into the stands at Anfield. The fans became followers, Liverpool became a religion and Bill Shankly was at the head of it all; he was Yoda, offering wisdom and …
RIP Gerry Byrne
Sad news this weekend following the death of ex-Liverpool and England full-back Gerry Byrne. This article looks at the player and the man, and hopefully reads as a glowing tribute to the player nicknamed "Crunch".
Gerry Byrne was a right footed player, who played his whole career as a left back, he was an aggressive player who did not shirk any challenge. Even though Byrne had a reputation and rightly so as a tough defender in his whole career he …
Auf geht's Liverpool!
For those of you who are unaware, I spent many of my formative years in Germany, growing up with the British Army, where I was lovingly known as a ‘Pad Brat’. It was during my time there that I formed a soft spot for two Bundesliga clubs: Hamburger SV and Borussia Dortmund.
The interest with Hamburg came from them being the opponents for the first time I ever went to a Liverpool match. It was a pre-season friendly in 1986 …
Retiring Your Support for Liverpool
There is an elephant in the room for many common and garden match-going Liverpool supporters.
Where is your ‘line in the sand’ when it comes to following the Reds in a physical and on a geographical basis? How do you envisage life after Anfield?
Bill Shankly hated the word ‘retirement’. It sounds so, well, so final doesn’t it? I’m with Bill.
Shankly described handing in his resignation as Liverpool manager as akin to walking to the electric chair. I think …
You Will Not Be Allowed To Win | Liverpool's 1st European Campaign
Part Two: ‘You will not be allowed to win…’ - The first part of the series available here: Part 1
In Liverpool’s first season in European competition, they had surprised a lot of people. English pundits and reporters who didn’t think they were up to it, foreign reporters and pundits who had never heard of them and experienced European clubs who thought they knew better. They had made a lot of friends along the way with the quality of their …