Positives from this season
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They've both been half-decent, so it adds up to 3
Ha ha. I think for his first season in English football and coming into a brand new midfield Dom has done well. Not as good as the other two but I feel like people expected too much after a strong start. Overall a very good first season imo.
I do agree that VVD was better this season, which was a plus, I think towards the end of the season he started to look tired though and he's going into another season a year older next year. I think with that in mind and the state of Konate (often injured, often looks sluggish and unfit), we need to invest badly in a centre half or two. Quansah has been great and will hopefully push on.
I also wouldn't be surprised if VVD forced a move this Summer, but we'll see.
I also wouldn't be surprised if VVD forced a move this Summer, but we'll see.
i don' t think vvd will force a move, but i can see levels dropping a little bit more. Then maybe in 2025 summer he might push for a move
1-Qualified for champions league,
2-Connor Bradley and Quansah
3- Irish Kevin doubled in transfer value
2-Connor Bradley and Quansah
3- Irish Kevin doubled in transfer value
I was having a sniff through the various 23/34 Seasons expectations threads - and were pretty much exactly where we hoped to be given last season and the midfield rebuild.
Comfortably in CL positions
In contention for title up to Easter
Won League Cup
Q/F of FA Cup
Q/F of Europa League
Greatly improved on last season, but not back to our absolute best.
The most disappointing thing has, apart from Klopp announcing he’s leaving, been the results against other Top 6 teams - only one win against Villa - that right there is what hurt us - we played well enough to beat Arsenal, City & Utd at home and Utd away - that right there is the difference between us winning and losing the league.
We’ve played shit, but also some wonderful stuff and we showed great resilience to come back from conceding time and time again.
It’s disappointing because up until the wheels came off against Utd in the Cup we were still on it.
Disappointing, but we’re probably where we actually should be th in relation to City & Arsenal.
Numerous players didn’t kick on after injuries, a couple flattered but ultimately failed to hit the consistent high quality we needed.
Vanilla with some sprinkles is how I’d describe the season.
Comfortably in CL positions
In contention for title up to Easter
Won League Cup
Q/F of FA Cup
Q/F of Europa League
Greatly improved on last season, but not back to our absolute best.
The most disappointing thing has, apart from Klopp announcing he’s leaving, been the results against other Top 6 teams - only one win against Villa - that right there is what hurt us - we played well enough to beat Arsenal, City & Utd at home and Utd away - that right there is the difference between us winning and losing the league.
We’ve played shit, but also some wonderful stuff and we showed great resilience to come back from conceding time and time again.
It’s disappointing because up until the wheels came off against Utd in the Cup we were still on it.
Disappointing, but we’re probably where we actually should be th in relation to City & Arsenal.
Numerous players didn’t kick on after injuries, a couple flattered but ultimately failed to hit the consistent high quality we needed.
Vanilla with some sprinkles is how I’d describe the season.
Let's - let's all build a camp fire and sing a song.
Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. . .
Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. . .
The league cup is definitely sprinkles. If the ice cream isn't that good, you do start to think about dressing it up. Of course, sprinkles are the worst of the few ways to customarily do that. But still, it's not very good ice cream anyway, and if you had the sort of forethought and taste to make or acquire good ice cream, you wouldn't be reaching for sprinkles at all. Besides, sprinkles go best with not very good ice cream. Imagine the very best ice cream you've ever eaten, and bluebell, don't participate in this thought experiment. If it was phenomenal ice cream you'd almost rather have nothing on it at all than fucking sprinkles.
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That was kind of why I chose vanilla ice cream and not something more flavoursome - it can be very good, but even if it’s the best you’ve ever tasted… it’s still vanilla and there’s always something you can do to enhance it.
Anyway, I agree the best ice cream does not need sprinkles… but the best ice cream ever will not be vanilla.
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Vanilla ice cream is the highest test of an ice cream though. If you go to an ice cream shop for the first time, picking vanilla will tell you everything you need to know. Vanilla has become synonymous with "plain and boring and normie" only because vanilla is so expensive that it usually fairly absent from vanilla.
Vanilla itself is a marvel. There are many things that give such pleasure when cooking. Deglazing crispy fats from a hot pan, listening to a crust crackle as it cools, feeling noodle dough relax 12 mins into kneading it. Splitting a vanilla pod in two and scraping out the bakery caviar? It's up there for me.
Chuck that in some browned butter and all of a sudden you're as vanilla as the missionary position. Sure, there's plenty more to explore, but you'll have time, after all, you're in love.
Yes - I know all that - the missus is the one that plays with vanilla - it's not one of my favourite flavour profiles.
I’m in to weird other things like perfecting roast or mashed potatoes.
I came home with 4 different types of potato to play with.
Perfecting roast potatoes is a perfectly noble goal already achieved by my mum.
I’ve experimented with duck fat, different oils, different roasting pans, different temperatures, parboiling, not boiling, scoring, floured/unfloured, oven, air fryer as well as different types of potato.
Can’t nail it consistently… well, that’s partly because I do it differently every time - the results end up like this season - ok, but not quite at the highest standard.
Anyway… I have to turn my floured, parboiled Gippsland Gold in their Tuscan herb infused olive oil & vegetable oil shallow bath in the cast iron skillet in the oven at 180.
I fucked up because they were supposed to go in for a max temp blast for 15 mins first (alongside the roast lamb), but I forgot to turn the pot on to parboil them.
That last one can probably be an analogy for one of Darwin’s misses.
Have you tried beef dripping? Wonderful stuff for roasties.
This man knows.
If memory serves me right we struggled to get decent spuds in Oz so you are up against it from the start.
AS @MomoWASright says, beef fat is great.
The best roast spuds I ever done were in chicken fat in the roasting tray of my first attempt at beer can chicken.
And they were aussie spuds
I tried to replicate them without success on numerous occasions since.
Positives, quite a few really.
Noone expected us to challenge but somehow a month ago we were favourites.
Kelleher looks good enough that we won't need to buy a replacement for Ali. All the kids are really promising. Endo is great. Mac improved as the season went on.
It mostly gets forgotten cos of the last couple of weeks but it was a really exciting season, despite millions of injuries and our front three not clicking at all.
Noone expected us to challenge but somehow a month ago we were favourites.
Kelleher looks good enough that we won't need to buy a replacement for Ali. All the kids are really promising. Endo is great. Mac improved as the season went on.
It mostly gets forgotten cos of the last couple of weeks but it was a really exciting season, despite millions of injuries and our front three not clicking at all.
Yep, it's not a title winning squad, third or fourth is about right. The issue is much aging players have typically been the big contributers. Salah, Robertson, VVD, etc. How the next regime move on from these three will be era defining. Alisson has plenty of time left at the top of his game. There is also more to come from Elliott, Trent, Mac Allister, Bradley, and Szobozslai m, but none of these players will sit in the spine of the team. For that we will need a world class CB, we will need a world class goal scorer, and a top class LB. This is to remain competing for title. Winning it will rely on Slott being proving himself a manager at the very top of the game.
For me there's enough reasons to suggest we're not in for some United style drop off, and Slott will have a squad that can stay within the top four. How we push on from there is anyone's guess, but FSG will prove the decision to go all out for Edwards was correct. It's safe to assume that any failures to compete will be more down to new coaching team than the what Edwards and his team are delivering. One has a track record of making better decisions even that Jurgen Klopp, an era defining, world class coach, whilst Slott and his team are completely unproven at this level.
I see enough optimism in this squad rn suggest that failing to stay in the top four would be unacceptable and that has to be benchmark. Anything below that and it's a slippery slope back down to the spice boy era.
For me there's enough reasons to suggest we're not in for some United style drop off, and Slott will have a squad that can stay within the top four. How we push on from there is anyone's guess, but FSG will prove the decision to go all out for Edwards was correct. It's safe to assume that any failures to compete will be more down to new coaching team than the what Edwards and his team are delivering. One has a track record of making better decisions even that Jurgen Klopp, an era defining, world class coach, whilst Slott and his team are completely unproven at this level.
I see enough optimism in this squad rn suggest that failing to stay in the top four would be unacceptable and that has to be benchmark. Anything below that and it's a slippery slope back down to the spice boy era.
Not sure if beef dripping has made its way here yet. 🤣
Just render down some beef fat.
That's what you need.
All changed these days.
I go to Farmers Markets a fair amount, so the selection of products, quality, etc is great.
You can actually get good sausages, bacon and sausage rolls now!!!! It’s a miracle.
It’s the supermarkets - all their stuff is shite.
Anyway, I got some King Edward’s and Maris, Piper along with some purple ones to play with.
The Gippsland Gold were good, good for roasties and I’d some mash made with Dutch Cream potatoes.
Very yummy.
I use Maris Pipers normally.
Get yourself some beef fat.
It's great for lots of things
Yeah, I’m going to my favourite butcher to get a Wagu scotch scotch fillet in the next week or so.
The potatoes are to make me hand cut chips.
I’m also heading to a supermarket that specialises in gourmet food because there’s a particular Aussie blue cheese I’m after and they’ll have tallow for sure, between the two of them.
Yum yum.
Just had Sunday lunch in West London. Now home for the match and watching Liverpool FC Live. Can’t go to the pub today. Too many tears.All changed these days.
I go to Farmers Markets a fair amount, so the selection of products, quality, etc is great.
You can actually get good sausages, bacon and sausage rolls now!!!! It’s a miracle.
It’s the supermarkets - all their stuff is shite.
Anyway, I got some King Edward’s and Maris, Piper along with some purple ones to play with.
The Gippsland Gold were good, good for roasties and I’d some mash made with Dutch Cream potatoes.
Very yummy.
The Boy. The arrival of The Fucking Boy. Mad to think Elliott is only 21. This last dozen games he’s put a lot of the side to shame.
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