Welcome to Issue 315 of Red All Over The Land.
We follow swiftly on from Issue 314, the Diogo Jota Tribute Issue and do a bit of catching up before Issue 316 comes out in time for the derby. By then we’ll know the players we have with us until at least January.
Due to time scales, deadlines and the final Bank Holiday until the winter I had to get this issue off to the printers a bit sharpish. So, if you’re wondering where the Newcastle game is, you’ll have to wait until the next issue. One thing for certain, by that time the whole sorry mess about whether we have signed Alexander Isak or not will be obvious. I’ve not heard Arne Slot, or anyone else from within the hallowed walls of Anfield talking about the player but Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has made enough references to fill a thousand reams of newsprint and about the same number of hours on the likes of Sky and suchlike. I don’t know or care about the thoughts of Eddie Howe but maybe he was trying to stoke the flames ahead of the game. If nothing else, I’m sure he succeeded, not that it would have been necessary because Howe has often made clear his feelings and disrespect of Liverpool. The same goes for his sidekick Jason Tindall. Personally, until a player signs for Liverpool and poses in a new Adidas shirt then he’s not a Liverpool player. In Issue 316 the transfer window and our start to the season will be covered.
One thing I don’t think has been touched on in the build up to, and the start of, the new season is the fact that because of the Diogo Jota situation I think our players could have missed up to ten days of pre-season training with other matters obviously taking priority. There were three players who’d been signed and under normal circumstances they would have been integrated into the set up but obviously that wasn’t how it would be. I also think that Liverpool were getting their transfer business done at pace but then things stopped. I now hope that after getting the Bournemouth game out of the way a sense of normality has returned.
So how do I view the new season? I think the other teams that finished in the top six have improved their squads, as have we. Taking my usual seat in the negative corner I don’t know if we are good enough to retain the title, but I think we’re good enough to be competitive. A top four finish is what the club should be budgeting for, that and a trophy of some description. Arne wasn’t under pressure last season, but he will be this time around simply because we’re defending Champions and FSG have invested heavily in the side, not just for this campaign but campaigns to come. There’s some exciting talent around the club, such as Trey Nyomi and Rio Ngumoha and they are not alone. When we won the title in 19/20 the club didn’t invest, and it showed. This time the club has and with players such as Florian Wirtz, Jerimie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike having their best years ahead of them the future surely looks better than it has done for many a year. The anti-FSG guns should be silent now. It’s now up to those on the playing front to show their true worth.
JJP We dream again and we never dream alone.