Forget The Saga's, Have Some Lagers

Despite the curiously dualistic nature of the title of this thread (it being both clumsy and jingoistic) the message is simple.

I am a newcomer to internet forums, partly because of my age, partly because of previous work and partly because i am now mostly retired and have a little too much time on my hands. *

The outpourings of bile, angst, regurgitated bilge from the press and the reactions of forumites to these has left me not only astounded, confused and more than a little annoyed on occasion, but also saddened by the attitudes towards the club I have loved for very nearly fifty years.

It is a product of the internet age where every rumour and speculation is greeted with exclamations of delight, howls of derision, or in some cases, series of posts based on agendas, usually against the owners, and on occasions certain players.

In every other transfer window previous to this one, I have been content with official announcements from the club regarding players who have already signed. I never bought into the press speculation and sensationalism, mostly because the British press like nothing better than kicking someone when they are down.
We all know they do it, we all know they make things up to sell papers and justify their own existence, and yet many still buy into it.

My message is simple: we get who we get, and all the complaining in the world won't change that fact or the fact of our current status as a club that needs to be rebuilt after years of bad management at the senior level rather than the team manager level.
So until the madness is over, kick back have a few beers, enjoy the ride and look forwards to the future.
It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be quick, but we WILL get there.
In the meantime, let's do what we've always done: get behind the team, the manager and (dare I say) the owners, because we ALL want the same thing.

Now relax, breathe, get ready for tonight (and the rest of the season) and have that hope in your hearts, along with a few of whatever your particular poison is and ENJOY the football, the passion, the ups and downs and who knows, maybe some glory as well, that make us unique.

* Too much time on my hands = creative writing course that the mrs enrolled me on to get me out of the house and somewhere other than the golf club or the pub. 

The outpourings of bile, angst, regurgitated bilge from the press and the reactions of forumites to these has left me not only astounded, confused and more than a little annoyed on occasion, but also saddened by the attitudes towards the club I have loved for very nearly fifty years.

I read a Tweet from Guillem Balague a while back asking why Liverpool fans that he meets in pubs and outside football grounds are so vastly different to those on Twitter / forums.
The point being, don't lose faith in the fans of this club because of the vitriol that is posted on here. Whether you're on a football forum, computer games forum, car forum, whatever, hiding behind a screen and having a voice where they might otherwise have none brings out the worst in people and does not reflect their true personality.
I enjoy being a part of this forum and the discussions within it but I don't take any online forum or social media as an accurate reflection of the sentiments of most genuine fans and I'd urge you not to either. 

It would be interesting to know the age of some posters, it may possibly explain some of the posts on here.

I posted this on the general forum feedback thread:

This sounds kind of stupid, but this summer is damaging our reputation as supporters. Look at any Liverpool forums, not just this one, and it's so much whining, conspiracy theories, immaturity, jumps to conclusions, assumptions about the intents of the owners, straight-up denial of certain facts, paranoia and so on. A lot of unsubstantiated claims being exaggerated to suit one's agenda. It's embarrassing. If I weren't a Liverpool fan and I didn't love this club, I'd find this extremely humorous reading. 

It's more of a phenomenon of the Internet than anything, though. People are not so jumpy, whiny and conspiracy-theory driven in person, nor are they as brash, abusive or angry.

I read a Tweet from Guillem Balague a while back asking why Liverpool fans that he meets in pubs and outside football grounds are so vastly different to those on Twitter / forums.
The point being, don't lose faith in the fans of this club because of the vitriol that is posted on here. Whether you're on a football forum, computer games forum, car forum, whatever, hiding behind a screen and having a voice where they might otherwise have none brings out the worst in people and does not reflect their true personality.
I enjoy being a part of this forum and the discussions within it but I don't take any online forum or social media as an accurate reflection of the sentiments of most genuine fans and I'd urge you not to either.

I thought that was my point
Maybe I was too busy waxing lyrical instead of driving the point home.

And you're right about the forum as well, some great discussions! it's just the negative vibes surrounding transfers, the owners etc etc
I suppose it's a lot easier to be an anonymous forum poster rather than saying it to a crowd of reds in a pub and risk being slagged off or worse

I thought that was my point
Maybe I was too busy waxing lyrical instead of driving the point home.

Or maybe I was trying to read your post when at work and not concentrating properly as I fielded questions from colleagues incapable of independent thought 

Or maybe I was trying to read your post when at work and not concentrating properly as I fielded questions from colleagues incapable of independent thought 

 

Ironic really that as I posted this, a doom and gloom thread was being written at the same time

Ironic really that as I posted this, a doom and gloom thread was being written at the same time

Haha, yeah I noticed that! Great timing, Adryan 

Just see that now too, that is ironic. I thought this was a reaction to that one at first.

completely agree with you!! what I loved about this forum initially was that it felt like the wiser heads had 'control' of the 'pace' of the forum, things didn't get out of hand, the posting is mature and thought out and often reasonably lengthy. some forums just have one line responses from kids/teenagers/young adults that post there every day. this place has good debates that are enjoyable (and educational).

there is something about LFC fans though we live and breathe this club, we need to feel connected every day so we are one of the biggest forces online (absolutely proved with the H&G saga.. that we won!). anything about our club we will find and talk about, and of course the powers that be have exploited that. the basic jist of this thread is the best thing to remember, instead of worrying about what's not happening and what we don't like let's get behind what we have and support this great club! the more of us that are supporting rather than doomsday talking the better the energy will be, at anfield, among  us, everywhere!

Just see that now too, that is ironic. I thought this was a reaction to that one at first.

As I posted this and then looked in The Kop, I noticed the other thread, had a read and pissed meself laughing. It illustrated my point beautifully