I still feel humbled to be part of Liverpool excellence – but I worry for one of my one-time clubs
Looking back on another of my former organizations, my impression is negative. The beginning is awful.
I don’t know the politics of Tranmere Rovers these days, Ian Dawes – I feel sad for any manager who gets fired – but it’s a results-driven business, and it is what it is.
What follows? They must immediately get back on track with whoever is brought in, attempt to restore the players’ faith, implement a system that will get them out of this disaster, and attempt to climb back up the standings.
There’s still a long way to go in the season, they just need to get those things right and I’m confident they can turn it around.
However, Tranmere have already been relegated from the Football League in the past, and they have no intention of repeating the process. This is the last thing you desire. It was a terrible experience that must never be repeated.
In addition, I’d like to revisit another memorable period of my career. I played and scored in front of the Kop in my penultimate match for Liverpool exactly 34 years ago tonight.
It was one of the most emotional evenings I’ve ever experienced. I grew up in Garston with the aspiration of one day playing for Liverpool and donning the No. 8 jersey made famous by Sir Roger Hunt.
I am extremely proud of myself and my family for having accomplished this.
That was the final day I knew I would play at Anfield as a Liverpool player, and the conclusion of the game was so emotive.
I knew the Kop adored me because I’d scored 63 goals in 104 games and was unable to score any more. The Kop adored me because I was a local boy, I adored the Kop, and I adored Liverpool.
I was pushed out the door, and there was nothing I could do about it; I was going to Real Sociedad, and it was the greatest 104 games of my life, as I was playing for the team I had always dreamed of playing for, and for which kids still fantasize of playing today.
You mourn football in general, as you grew up kicking a ball around as a child, but you miss playing for Liverpool in particular.
I missed playing football with that phenomenal team, despite the fact that management was satisfactory. I was merely humbled to be a part of such greatness with the athletes we had and the strategy we employed.
It would have been extraordinary if we had won two doubles simultaneously. We were pipped both times and we were out of Europe, but it was just such an unbelievable side to play football
I still feel humbled to be part of Liverpool excellence – but I worry for one of my one-time clubs