Boom bust cycle

[6TimesaRed]

Where nearly at the bust stage..

Like the old days..

Just way after Christmas now..

🤣

That was dog turd last night. Right up there with some of the worst moments from last season..


All in for the league now..

Palace is this most important game of the season..

We are missing Trent fit and on his game.. it starting to show

We are missing the experience of the back line with out Alison...

Alison has leader mentality. Kelleher just hasn't, he is not vocal enough..

He made some poor decisions last night.

Security in the back line starts with the Keeper..

Robbo cameo on the left in the last few games is showing what we have been missing on the right.. we have stopped switching play with ease.. which has always been a trademark of our play..

We need a fit Ali, Trent and Jota...

Jota . Offers so much more with the that forward line when he is on his game.. He needs to start if fit..

Nunez need to go back to being an impact sub.. He continues to make
Poor decision after poor decisions for the easy chances in front of goal which continues to cost us, a 11% conversion rate of goals from shots is piss poor for a Top Level striker..

Jota on the other hand is one of the most gifted natural finishers in the squad..

 

[6TimesaRed]

Oh a special mention to Spirit of Shankly for dampening the atmosphere last night with the badly thought out and badly timed protest..

Silent Protest by coordinating not buying the Pies and shit you fucking numb nuts, if you want to make a statement..

A 2% price increase in the grand scheme of things in this climate is minimal given price freezes of recent seasons. and in comparison to the rest of the Premier League.. it didn't warrant that level of protest in that manner in such an important game..

You do not represent the majority of fans opinions, you Grade A Whoppers..

 

[tombrown]

Oh a special mention to Spirit of Shankly for dampening the atmosphere last night with the badly thought out and badly timed protest..

Silent Protest by coordinating not buying the Pies and shit you fucking numb nuts, if you want to make a statement..

A 2% price increase in the grand scheme of things in this climate is minimal given price freezes of recent seasons. and in comparison to the rest of the Premier League.. it didn't warrant that level of protest in that manner in such an important game..

You do not represent the majority of fans opinions, you Grade A Whoppers..

Bollocks

If the absence of a few flags was the cause of the team playing like that, then we are seriously doomed. And quit this "it only 2%" shite - its only 2% on a massively hyped price. I used to pay £2 on the gate to get in, in the late 80s - that would be £5.33 today (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), instead its over 10x that price - its not SOS boycotting flags for one match that will kill the atmosphere, its pricing people out of the game that does it.

 

[Beamrider]

I think we're missing the broader picture here. England is now third in the UEFA coefficient, meaning the PL wouldn't get a fifth place in the CL next year. We threw the game last night in the interests of making sure either Villa or Tottenham don't get ideas above their station. Plus we get more recovery time in the last few weeks of the season. Or we pull off another miracle and demoralise our opponents. It's win win however you look at it.

4D chess lads, 4D chess.

 

[6TimesaRed]

I've got no Issue with the argument against ticket prices.. they should imho be aligning to bundesliga pricing...

There is a time and a place for arguing any case... and this wasn't it..

Dickheadry of the highest order.. SoS are not entirely respected entity amongst fans, they think they are, by merely shouting the loudest..

There are more least disruptive ways to protest. Particulary in what is deemed a crucial part to the season..

This Game absolutely wasn't it..

Let be realistic though you ain't getting in anywhere for an elite level 'entertainment' for £5 anywhere in any sport, today. Ful Stop..

There are bigger entities at play nowadays.. with where the games profile is.. organisation, media, agents, staff and players wages, etc etc

It a completely unrealistic argument to make..

 

[The Nomad]

Bollocks

If the absence of a few flags was the cause of the team playing like that, then we are seriously doomed. And quit this "it only 2%" shite - its only 2% on a massively hyped price. I used to pay £2 on the gate to get in, in the late 80s - that would be £5.33 today (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), instead its over 10x that price - its not SOS boycotting flags for one match that will kill the atmosphere, its pricing people out of the game that does it.

You also had to piss in a bottle.. or worse.. for your £2

 

[localny]

A 1 pound increase. So let's go on strike. What a joke.

 

[Hansern]

What tickets cost in the 80s and 90s are sadly irrelevant for the the current discussion. Maybe this should be in a separate thread.

As much as its sucks that these prices are increased I can't get on board with the attitude from SOS etc for the 2 %.
Picking what looks like the last European home game for Klopp to have this protest was extremely poor judgement.
We all know how the Anfield crowd can suck the energy out of the opposition but yesterday it was as flat as I've ever heard it. It will obviously affect the players. No excuse for the performance, but it doesnt help when we're a goal or two down.

 

[davud graham]

So when is the right time for a protest then? The last time we protested against ticket price rises was a league game against Sunderland so do you think doing it against Crystal palace would have been better? Probably not. All the protest amounted to was not bringing and waving flags and banners to the game and even then it only really affects the kop. The team plays a part is inspiring the crowd as well you know as well as tackles, poor refereeing decisions and opposition antics. Sometimes all it needs is a spark to set the atmosphere off but last night there was no spark from anywhere on the pitch and this was reflected in the stands.
There were nearly 60,000 fans in last nights game and the kop is now the smallest stand in the ground but generates probably 80% of the songs, chants etc. It would be nice to see some of the other bigger stands pull their weight and help to generate the atmosphere and back the team but that's unlikely as more and more of these stands are full of day trippers and football tourists who are there to watch but not participate.
It's unfortunate that last nights protest (or lack of visual support by way of flags and banners) coincided with an abject performance from the team but causation is not correlation. There have been plenty of poor performances this season were the team ended up with a good result and the crowd helped enormously (last week vs Sheff Utd is the most recent I can think of). Also there's been great support at games where we haven't managed to win (Arsenal and City at home to name but two). Having a vociferous crowd really can help but last night it wouldn't have prevented Kelleher from making a mistake for the first goal or have helped any of the forwards not miss the chances they spurned so blaming last night in any way on the fans is complete bullshit.
The club promotes and indirectly profits from the renowned atmosphere that the fans can offer but their lack of cooperation with fan groups around not just implementing price increases but also consultation is noticeable by it's absence.

I'm not a member of spirit of shankly or any other fan group but I appreciate how much they and other organizations help to reign in the club or owners when they do things that are not in the interests of the fans or the club as a whole. Lets not forget that FSG are only owners of our club because the fans (and many of the fan groups) made it so difficult for Hicks and Gillete to operate the club that they had to sell it and if we had let FSG have their way we would now be in a European super league, have £70 normal matchday tickets and have furloughed club staff during the pandemic as well as plenty of other gaffes and errors of judgement they've made. Rant over and you can agree or not I couldn't give a fuck.

 

[Beamrider]

I think the thing that bothered me about the ticketing was hearing Klopp saying in a press conference that he hoped it wouldn't come between him and the supporters. You can lay the blame wherever you prefer (with the club for the increase or SOS et al for kicking-off) but it made me sad and angry that our absolute fucking legend of a manager should be made to feel that way in the last few months of his time with us. For the sake of £1 per game.

 

[Brizzle]

I think a meaningful protest is one that would show the club the power of fans to affect their income. I don't think FSG give a fuck that Anfield was quiet and lacked its usual European night atmosphere.

Ultimately people have a right to protest, but equally people have a right to say it was fucking pointless and achieved nothing positive for the cause, other then getting lots of people talking about it. Haven't seen a single response being "OMG are they really putting prices up 2%"

 

[6TimesaRed]

This ∆∆ There is no doubt in my mind... This was the response from most. SoS where getting slated on social media for their approach before the going to task with there protests. But SoS being the dicks they are. It fell on deaf ears.
It was beyond pointless.. Like that has already been said there are many ways to protest constructivly, that would hurt the owners far more than the shit show we experienced yesterday.


Everybody knows how important it is to have the fans on song on European game. It's called the 12th man for a fucking reason, you only have to look at the pandemic season to see how much not having the fans affected us SoS did everything to undermine that atmosphere..

Dickheadry of the highest proportions imho..

 

[MomoWASright]

Had we been playing Real in the European Cup they wouldn’t have pulled this bullshit. I’ll bet both bollocks on that.

Compared to 8 years ago, it’s barely risen. Yet the whole match experience has improved and what we are watching has improved immensely. Spastics of Shankly deserve the kicking they are getting for this.

 

[Farkmaster]

It is its own punishment. Boy who cried wolf applies, they lose any claim to moral authority when fsg inevitably actually do something fucked up that demands a response.

 

[tombrown]

If SOS is so unrepresentative of the fans, as people seem to suggest, how come them calling for a ban on flags resulted in no flags?

All the "sensible" (sic) people who belong to the secret group, that no one ever formed, that represents the majority of fans, would have just put two fingers up to SOS and turned up with more flags than ever.

I hate this tory line of "they don't represent everyone" its just reminiscent if the anti union rhetoric of Thatcher & co. SOS represent a far higher percentage of fans than any other fan union/group ... because there isn't another fucking fan union. If you feel so strongly about it, go and set up the football equivalent of the UDM and see how that works out.

Like David I am not a member of SOS, but I have a lot of respect for what they have achieved

 

[tombrown]

You also had to piss in a bottle.. or worse.. for your £2

I never did; I used the rolled up program and someones pocket, like most normal people back then.

 

[Brizzle]

There is also a dreaded angle that with the new PL rules on profitability, the club has less luxury to keep match day revenue flat.

I do think they should be targeting corporate tickets with raises and treat the majority of the crowd as part of the product.

 

[Farkmaster]

If SOS is so unrepresentative of the fans, as people seem to suggest, how come them calling for a ban on flags resulted in no flags?

All the "sensible" (sic) people who belong to the secret group, that no one ever formed, that represents the majority of fans, would have just put two fingers up to SOS and turned up with more flags than ever.

I hate this tory line of "they don't represent everyone" its just reminiscent if the anti union rhetoric of Thatcher & co. SOS represent a far higher percentage of fans than any other fan union/group ... because there isn't another fucking fan union. If you feel so strongly about it, go and set up the football equivalent of the UDM and see how that works out.

Like David I am not a member of SOS, but I have a lot of respect for what they have achieved

Just because they clearly can exercise power doesn't make them representative.

I don't think they could be representative of all supporters, no group could be, as supporters are an unbelievably diverse group. Their interests are rightly narrower than that.

I just don't think they've served their perceived interests in what they've done, or anyone's really.

I also don't think they had anything to do with our loss. That'd be those involved in the work slowdown on the pitch. Solidarity.

 

[Farkmaster]

There is also a dreaded angle that with the new PL rules on profitability, the club has less luxury to keep match day revenue flat.

I do think they should be targeting corporate tickets with raises and treat the majority of the crowd as part of the product.

They certainly do that in promotional material, video content etc. the kop needs royalties.

 

[localny]

So when is the right time for a protest then? The last time we protested against ticket price rises was a league game against Sunderland so do you think doing it against Crystal palace would have been better? Probably not. All the protest amounted to was not bringing and waving flags and banners to the game and even then it only really affects the kop. The team plays a part is inspiring the crowd as well you know as well as tackles, poor refereeing decisions and opposition antics. Sometimes all it needs is a spark to set the atmosphere off but last night there was no spark from anywhere on the pitch and this was reflected in the stands.
There were nearly 60,000 fans in last nights game and the kop is now the smallest stand in the ground but generates probably 80% of the songs, chants etc. It would be nice to see some of the other bigger stands pull their weight and help to generate the atmosphere and back the team but that's unlikely as more and more of these stands are full of day trippers and football tourists who are there to watch but not participate.
It's unfortunate that last nights protest (or lack of visual support by way of flags and banners) coincided with an abject performance from the team but causation is not correlation. There have been plenty of poor performances this season were the team ended up with a good result and the crowd helped enormously (last week vs Sheff Utd is the most recent I can think of). Also there's been great support at games where we haven't managed to win (Arsenal and City at home to name but two). Having a vociferous crowd really can help but last night it wouldn't have prevented Kelleher from making a mistake for the first goal or have helped any of the forwards not miss the chances they spurned so blaming last night in any way on the fans is complete bullshit.
The club promotes and indirectly profits from the renowned atmosphere that the fans can offer but their lack of cooperation with fan groups around not just implementing price increases but also consultation is noticeable by it's absence.

I'm not a member of spirit of shankly or any other fan group but I appreciate how much they and other organizations help to reign in the club or owners when they do things that are not in the interests of the fans or the club as a whole. Lets not forget that FSG are only owners of our club because the fans (and many of the fan groups) made it so difficult for Hicks and Gillete to operate the club that they had to sell it and if we had let FSG have their way we would now be in a European super league, have £70 normal matchday tickets and have furloughed club staff during the pandemic as well as plenty of other gaffes and errors of judgement they've made. Rant over and you can agree or not I couldn't give a fuck.

It's one pound. In an era of unprecedented inflation. It's a modest increase. It's not going to stop ANYONE from going to a game. Don't protest. You lose all credibility when you don't pick the battles right.

 

[davud graham]

It's one pound. In an era of unprecedented inflation. It's a modest increase. It's not going to stop ANYONE from going to a game. Don't protest. You lose all credibility when you don't pick the battles right.

That's quite an arrogant and dismisive viewpoint you have there. How can you possibly know how much extra anyone can afford and in an era of unprecedented inflation the extra cost is unwelcome and unnecessary. Basically the club don't need the money but the supporters might do. I also believe that peaceful and non disruptive protest (which is what this was) is perfectly acceptable. The fact that the crowd were more subdued may have more to do with the circumstances of the game rather than a lack of flags. The banners and flags add to the spectacle and atmosphere visually rather than aurally. I've never taken a flag or banner to the game but it doesn't stop me singing and chanting. Do you need a flag in order to back the team when you go to the match? Last point but surely the people protesting should decide when and how they protest and which battles they choose. And who have they lost credibility with?

 

[Whaddapie]

Respectfully Davud, if we're talking an increase of 1 pound per home league match, I don't think that pointing out that $19 quid, spread over a 10 month season is not a particularly significant increase, is either arrogant or dismissive... It's simply a statement of fact.

And I would think that most - certainly not all, but most - people who go to Anfield regularly would happily pay that little extra money next season, to see us remain competitive, at a time when we're competing against nation states and oligarchs.

Genuine question: At a time when everything in the world is increasing enormously in cost, do you really expect LFC to never raise their prices again?

 

[Fabio]

It's inflation. It'd be nice if the club could absorb it, but they won't. Should it be an expectation to? It's shite but I'm not protesting Tesco, virgin media, Vodafone, BP or any of the other cunts upping their prices. Because if I want their services, I have to fucking pay for it. Even the fucking dodgy streaming subscriptions are upping prices.

 

[davud graham]

Respectfully Davud, if we're talking an increase of 1 pound per home league match, I don't think that pointing out that $19 quid, spread over a 10 month season is not a particularly significant increase, is either arrogant or dismissive... It's simply a statement of fact.

And I would think that most - certainly not all, but most - people who go to Anfield regularly would happily pay that little extra money next season, to see us remain competitive, at a time when we're competing against nation states and oligarchs.

Genuine question: At a time when everything in the world is increasing enormously in cost, do you really expect LFC to never raise their prices again?

Personally I didnt like the presumption that the increase was trivial and not worth causing a fuss over which may be the case for some on this forum but not neccesarily for others. That was dismissive and it was cetainly arrogant telling me or anyone not to protest

The clubs latest report on revenue was £684 million. An extra 2 million is a drop in the ocean to them and for them to impose this without consultation with fan groups even through the club set up a fan consultation apparatus and then didn't bother to use it is concerning.
How is an extra 2 million going to help us compete with oil states and oligarchs? That doesn't make any sense.
I didn't say they should never raise prices again but twice in consecutive seasons is taking the piss.

 

[davud graham]

It's inflation. It'd be nice if the club could absorb it, but they won't. Should it be an expectation to? It's shite but I'm not protesting Tesco, virgin media, Vodafone, BP or any of the other cunts upping their prices. Because if I want their services, I have to fucking pay for it. Even the fucking dodgy streaming subscriptions are upping prices.

You can switch supermarkets, internet or mobile providers but you can't switch football clubs (unless your a fairweather fan which I'm sure none of us on here is).
In my opinion the club are testing the water to see how much fuss is made and how easily they can get away with it. They've shown in the past that when there's pushback from the fans they backtrack. It may not work but it's worth trying.

 

[Dreambeliever]

The fans who go every week and have done for decades but the club also has a right to still put the prices up. Inflation was what 7% last year. The reality is that football at the highest level is no longer a working class fans sport. Eventually the ground will be full of middle to upper class fans who can afford to go.

 

[localny]

That's quite an arrogant and dismissive viewpoint you have there. How can you possibly know how much extra anyone can afford and in an era of unprecedented inflation the extra cost is unwelcome and unnecessary. Basically the club don't need the money but the supporters might do. I also believe that peaceful and non disruptive protest (which is what this was) is perfectly acceptable. The fact that the crowd were more subdued may have more to do with the circumstances of the game rather than a lack of flags. The banners and flags add to the spectacle and atmosphere visually rather than aurally. I've never taken a flag or banner to the game but it doesn't stop me singing and chanting. Do you need a flag in order to back the team when you go to the match? Last point but surely the people protesting should decide when and how they protest and which battles they choose. And who have they lost credibility with?

It's a pound mate. If it was 10-20 pounds I'd be very understanding and your point would be valid. But it's one pound. Silly outrage.

Almost no-one is not going for the sake of a pound.

I think it's honestly one of the most ridiculous things to come out of a supporters group.

They've last a lot of respect from broader fans I'd argue. They undermined the team somewhat on Thursday too.

And FSG have been modest with increases for years. Plus they've had no CL this year. They're good owners.

Look across the park at the 777 crowd. Look at the last owners we had. Pick your battles.

Again, practically no-one is not going for the sake of one pound.

 

[dee]

I never did; I used the rolled up program and someones pocket, like most normal people back then.

As a young kid in the pen you didn't need a big red digital clock to know what the game time was (which obviously didn't exist then). It was how much piss you were standing in

 

[dee]

The fans who go every week and have done for decades but the club also has a right to still put the prices up. Inflation was what 7% last year. The reality is that football at the highest level is no longer a working class fans sport. Eventually the ground will be full of middle to upper class fans who can afford to go.

What's with this class thing? I grew up in the eighties and collars and class were still thing but thankfully dying out. Today it's all but gone, but regardless as to whether it's gone or not, trying to segregate the population into who can go to a match based on ... what? is really a bit disturbing

 

[Dreambeliever]

What's with this class thing? I grew up in the eighties and collars and class were still thing but thankfully dying out. Today it's all but gone, but regardless as to whether it's gone or not, trying to segregate the population into who can go to a match based on ... what? is really a bit disturbing

Based on affordability. It’s only a matter of time imo. Anyone can go to the match but the ability to afford it will become too much for many.

Not sure what exactly is disturbing about supply and demand.