Liverpool Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread Summer 2014 - Mod Warning post #6893

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

But he's good going forward? in the middle third of the field.

smileyj1987 wrote: »

Henderson , Gerrard , Flanagan , wisdom , Sturrigde , Sterling . That's what I would consider who could play in the first team . You could name 2 reserve players or take ashley cole to add to the numbers .

Strongbow10 wrote: »

Ireland is a country with very few genuine hardcore supporters. Fair enough, there are big numbers who scour the net for Liverpool and Man Utd transfer news on a daily basis 365 days of the year, quantifying this as living and breathing the club from the comfort of their sofa, but they are missing out on a key component of the experience of being a fan.

There are many Liverpool/Man Utd fans or indeed fans of other UK clubs who travel over week in week out and this is admirable indeed, they are in attendance come rain or shine.

Pardon me if I sound like i'm on my high horse when saying all of this but I stand by it when I say it, we as a culture are consumers in the absolute extreme when it comes to sport. Loyalty, reaction to set backs, Long term vision (all paramount qualities of a "SUPPORTER") simply are not part of your average Irish fans make up.

I won't even mention the LOI for fear of opening a can of worms, you only need to look at our own international side. "best fans in the world" when theres an international tournament to go away and drink at. The vast majority of whom wont go and watch them in the aviva again because the outlook is bleak. This is the attitude of a consumer, not a supporter. And if you think this is ok, then you are accepting that its behaviour tantamount to switching over to a different tv show because the one you used to watch got a little boring.

Keeley wouldn't be the most articulate in fairness, but he wasn't far off the mark. The minority who speak up about this are passed off as being "bitter LOI fans".

Fair enough, undoubtedly i'll have it thrown at me- "who are you to tell me who i can and cannot support?"

All i'm saying is that theres a difference between being a fan who watches on TV and simply switches off and stops watching when its not to their liking, and a fan who experiences live football week in week out supporting his side (be it in Ireland or the UK) regardless of the results. And the fact that the former is the majority means that more often than not they see the rest as a bitter minority who stick their oar in and put them on a guilt trip when they are trying to enjoy the footy on their sofa.

I actually think it goes deeper though. The true test is if you had an Irish side in the EPL for example. Would Irish fans turn their back on them should they be relegated to the championship or if they were a relegation threatened outfit year in year out? You bet ya they would.

Knex. wrote: »

I've mentioned it many a time, but for me, football and Sport in general are a bizarre concept anyway. I certainly can't rationalise it, and not to the extent of, "You're from there. Support that team".

I feel a massive affinity towards Liverpool Football Club. I've invested countless hours of my life, both physically and emotionally, to almost every aspect of the Club. This investment leaves me feeling like I have a stake in the outcome. I care.

I can't say I have this for any Irish Team, both National and Club level, for any Sport. Not to the same degree, by any means.

I often watch England before I watch Ireland as I want to see how Gerrard, Sterling, Sturridge, and even Rooney et al play. Perhaps that is more consumerism in the manner you speak, but when it comes to Liverpool Football Club itself, its more than that.

If, in some odd hypothetical universe, Liverpool are playing Stoke in a regular season game, right as Ireland are playing in the World Cup. I'm watching Liverpool. Every time, every day. If I could be in Anfield, all the better.

I can't rationalise it and make myself feel the same connection towards Ireland, or Shamrock Rovers, or anyone else. Does that make me a moron?

Probably no more or less than any other reason.