Ahhhh shit.
Bin that.
Poll closed and is now binding 
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Is anyone gnashing their teeth at Wardās exit???
I havenāt been impressed at all and donāt mind seeing a change there. There is also the possibility that Klopp could have an increased role on transfers which may /may not be a bad thing.
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Clearly yes. It may be less about Ward per se, but very definitely there is lots of angst about a situation in which a person of such importance in the org chart walks away so soon into his tenure and what that means/meant for our subsequent transfer planning.
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Pointless having a poll on here.
At worst it will lead to more hand wringing, at best it will give some a sense of āI told you soā.
Something definitely wrong at the club, thatās for certain.
Is it a discord between manager and owners?
Backroom staff problems?
Manager too stubborn or loyal?
Nobody really knows, but our shitty season so far has not been down to bad luck, of that Iām sure.
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Or a mixture of bad luck and a few bad decisions (with hindsight)
Tchouameni didnāt arrive. Melo is shit, Gakpo is shit.
heās no Mikey Edwards.
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Of course, the pay is really decent. However, like what other posters mentioned are the high profile departures and soon-to-be departures that should concern the supporters.
Edwards leaving after so long is understandable. But Julian Ward leaving after a year getting his promotion and spending years understudying Edwards? That is weird.
And our transfer strategy is weird as well. LFC was reported willing to spend a fuck load on Tchouameni in the summer of 2022 with Jude Bellingham as our summer 2023ās priority but ended up with a really last minute loan for Melo. Fast forward to Jan 2023, nothing has been done in the midfield despite supposingly setting aside a sum of money for Tchouameni (back then) and Bellingham since August 2022.
Then we heard news of Bellingham and Nunes as targets for summer 2023. I understand why are we willing to wait for Bellingham as Dortmund is chasing for a CL spot and we still have Keita to hold the fort for 60 minutes before Hendo comes in with his hoofball.
However, us waiting for Nunes doesnāt make sense given how our DM position is down to a talented kid who needs to be afforded the chances to make mistakes and a Fabinho that looks very very jaded ( I wouldnāt even add Hendo in as he is obviously more cooked than Fabinho in DM) while our CBs are down to having an error-prone Gomez and an inconsistent Matip. I wouldnāt even go deep into the CM issues as our most talented CMs are also the most brittle of them all and the rest just donāt have the energy or intelligence to press well. We are just one Naby Keita injury away to see Hendo struggling at RCM 2-3 times a week.
If we can set aside money for Tchouameni, surely we can do something for a reliable back up or partner to Bellingham if he comes or an alternative if he doesnāt comes or do something at DM so that Bajectic can make the mistakes that he will be making at other clubs.
So the people who are uphappy with the current direction of the club are now unhappy that Ward - the man who decides on the clubās direction - is leaving?
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Sounds like a similar arguement to the people on twitter saying FSGOUT when weāre up for saleā¦
Actually, the man who decides the overall direction is likely Billy Hogan, the CEO of LFC. Heās the appointed representative from FSG who has the power to open the chequebooks.
Ward is just the sporting director.
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A lack of an alternatives to Tchouameni only doesnt make sense if you think the market exists only to solve problems. That is how badly run clubs use the market, but not well run clubs.
Melo is explained as a last minute emergency move in response to a change in circumstances - all of a sudden finding ourselves 4 or so players short in midfield in the last days of the window and having to make a short term deal (one that are never ideal with great options) to mitigate it.
The thing that connects them is a seeming miscalculation over the suitability of the midfield options, but if you accept that smart people can make a mistake, and that this was theirs, then the other moves all make sense in that context.
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very well said.
To be fair both those points, club direction and Ward are not mutually exclusive. Thatās quite an overlap. Donāt think itās unreasonable either for supporters to hold certain reservations.
However, thereās always going to be emotion or differing views when it comes to football or just sport in general and how a team performs from one season to the next.
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So thatās what you wish for?
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Exactly. I donāt want us to engage in financial doping, and we donāt need to do that to compete, either. We have some room to work with, and refresh the squad as needed, while staying under the current guidelines.
If the current owners will not do that, then I think continuing to compete at the top gets that much more difficult.
So, you are berating Klopp rather than the owners, unless you believe that they impose him tactics and player choices, or interfere with his coaching?
Fair enough then, I misunderstood your previous posts. I thought that you want fsg to leave. Asking questions of them is of course understandable, we can all have our opinions, but should be aware that we know strictly nothing yet about what is going on.
Business as usual as far as the owners are concerned (just my opinion, I donāt pretend it to be fact). In regards to what happens on the pitch, itās a hell of a unusual season: injuries galore, physical fatigue due to the previous, incredibly taxing season, and a very short rest in the summer. Probably also a misjudgment of how the pre-season had to be prepared. Not from the owners, but from Klopp and his staff.
It could also be that due to the previous points, some players who were deemed in the summer as squad players or subs, have now to play a major role but arenāt yet good enough for that, compared to our usually sky-high standards (ie. Elliot, Carvalho, Bajcetic) or not fit enough anymore to last ninety minutes every match (Millie).
But for me, the major issue is that we have been battered with injuries, and an ensuing lack of form and confidence of the whole squad has taken place, even among the fit players (ie. Mo Salah).
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Iām not berating Klopp. Saying that, he has made some weird decisions this season. Iām not berating the owners either. I like that they run us self sufficiently. But they we make a lot more money than they pump in, imo.
All that said, it feels to me something has gone on, it doesnāt feel like any of the other seasons, I include our injury ravaged season of 20/21? In that.
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couple of thingsā¦ whatās weird about the decisions heās made?
Also, have you looked at the financial statements/summaries which are posted annually? because āIMOā doesnāt really work when it comes to accounting. Those are hard numbers. hereās the last set of books which were published (they come out once a year in the spring)
https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1499640070768320513
we show an operating loss of Ā£40mil last completed fiscal year. 2021/22 books arenāt published yet
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Weird decisions? Iāve got a list of them.
- Keeping injury prone players at the club too long, ie Ox, Naby,
- Allowing the midfield to grow too old
- Playing NuƱez wide left.
- Playing Harvey wide left.
- Playing Gapko in the middle instead of wide left.
- Our defending. Full backs continually standing off the oppositionās wide player, allowing them to recieve long crossfield passes, control the ball and run at the defenceā¦
Heās made more mistakes this season than in his previous 7 at the club.
As regards FSG, I said I like them running us fiscally, I believe however, we have more financial wiggle room. One years accounts are not a true picture of our financial situation. You seem to believe weāre skint. No probs.