New sporting director Richard Hughes was given a trip down memory lane at Liverpool’s autumn employee forum at Anfield.
Tuesday’s event, in the Main Stand’s Carlsberg Dugout sports bar, saw around 350 club staff from a wide range of departments come together for the afternoon.
To break the ice when Hughes took to the stage, the big screen showed footage of his winning goal against Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool for Portsmouth in an FA Cup fifth-round replay at Fratton Park in February 2004. The audience saw the funny side as Hughes joked that Liverpool were unfortunate, given how few goals (17) he scored in his 16-year career.
New head coach Arne Slot, who sat alongside the former Scotland international, was asked to analyse Hughes’ left-footed finish into the bottom corner before the relaxed pair answered questions on a range of subjects from staff members. Recording of the event was prohibited.
After such a promising start to a new era at Anfield, the mood was predictably upbeat.
The afternoon started with chief executive Billy Hogan and chief commercial officer Ben Latty talking about the flourishing business side of the club, before Liverpool FC Women managing director Russ Fraser and that team’s manager Matt Beard took their turn.
Then it was over to Hughes and Slot.
Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on Sunday, October 20 — Liverpool’s first match after the next international break — is viewed as a realistic comeback date for Harvey Elliott.
The attacking midfielder will be out for at least a month after a scan revealed he fractured a bone in his left foot during a training session with England Under-21s last week.
The timing could hardly have been worse for Elliott, who is wearing a protective boot but won’t require surgery. Having only made one brief substitute appearance in the three matches so far this season, he would have been given chances to shine by Slot during the club’s upcoming run of seven matches in three competitions in 22 days.
The 21-year-old’s absence opens the door for fellow youngsters Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni to feature when Slot starts to rotate his squad. Morton, also 21, stayed put as cover after Liverpool rejected a loan offer from German champions Bayer Leverkusen towards the end of the summer window, while 17-year-old Nyoni has made rapid strides forward since arriving from Leicester City last summer.
Caoimhin Kelleher’s sense of frustration was understandable when he spoke to the media in Dublin before his Republic of Ireland side’s Nations League game against Greece on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s 25-year-old backup goalkeeper made it clear during an interview with The Athletic in late May that he felt the time was right for him to emerge from Alisson’s shadow and become a No 1 somewhere this summer. However, a move failed to materialise and he remains at Anfield in the role of understudy.
“It’s not always in my hands,” Kelleher said, as he referenced Liverpool turning down bids for his services.
It’s certainly true that the club hierarchy didn’t want to lose him. As well as his heroics in February’s Carabao Cup final triumph, Kelleher played an important part in Jurgen Klopp’s side qualifying for the Champions League last season, with Alisson’s hamstring injury leading to the Irishman making 26 first-team appearances in all competitions.
Liverpool would have, reluctantly, done business at the right price, but the reality is the only club to firm up their interest were Nottingham Forest. Their opening bid, at the back end of the window, was £7million plus their backup goalkeeper Matt Turner. When that was instantly rejected, Forest returned with a marginally improved offer which was also rebuffed. For context, they had also seen a £15m offer for Kelleher rejected late in last season’s winter window.
Sanctioning Kelleher’s departure for a fee considerably below his market value would have made little sense, given the void that would have been created with Giorgi Mamardashvili being signed this summer but not arriving from Valencia until next pre-season.
Considering that Aaron Ramsdale went from Arsenal to Southampton last month in a £25million deal and relegated Burnley wanted more than £20m for James Trafford, Liverpool’s valuation of around £25m to £30m for Kelleher doesn’t seem excessive. It’s just a surprise there weren’t more serious suitors considering he proved during that impressive extended run in the side last season that he’s the best backup ’keeper around.
A parting of the ways appears inevitable next summer though, as Kelleher will be down to the final year of his contract.
Anfield will pay tribute to legendary former Liverpool captain Ron Yeats before Saturday’s Premier League game against Forest.
Ahead of kick-off, there will be a minute’s applause for the Scottish defender, who died last week at the age of 86. The Kop will also display a mosaic with ‘Rowdy 5′ — references to the affectionate nickname given to him by supporters and his shirt number.
Yeats’ family have been invited as special guests and his image will adorn the cover of the matchday programme.
Liverpool are benefiting from the knock-on effect of successfully hosting three nights during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Anfield in June and the exposure that provided.
Promoters for a wide range of successful global artists have contacted the club in recent months to register their interest in playing at the iconic stadium in summer 2025.
Plenty of discussions are ongoing but one date has already been nailed down, with Dua Lipa set to take to the stage on June 24 as part of her Radical Optimism Tour.
There’s been a bond between the singer and Liverpool supporters since she performed prior to the 2018 Champions League final meeting with Real Madrid in Kyiv, Ukraine. The club’s fans, players and staff adopted her hit song One Kiss, which has been part of the soundtrack to all their trophy celebrations since. She has described herself as “an honorary Liverpool supporter”.
There’s planning permission in place for Liverpool to host up to six concerts at Anfield each year. This year there were five, with Swift’s dates followed by Pink playing two nights later in June.
Rio Ngumoha has made a positive impression at Liverpool’s Kirkby training ground since his move from Chelsea was approved by the Premier League last week.
The 16-year-old attacker caught the eye with his close control and work ethic during Tuesday’s session alongside Federico Chiesa, Darwin Nunez, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones and a host of fellow youngsters. Wednesday was then a day off for Slot’s squad before the international contingent all reported back for duty yesterday (Thursday).
With no agreement between the clubs, the fee for Ngumoha is likely to be agreed by a tribunal.
He is set to make his debut for Liverpool Under-18s against their Blackburn Rovers counterparts on Saturday, but it would be little surprise if he’s soon fast-tracked to the under-21s. The UEFA Youth League campaign, which starts away against AC Milan on Tuesday afternoon before the respective first teams meet in the Champions League that night at San Siro, will also provide a platform for him to shine.
Slot’s individual development coach Aaron Briggs, who has replaced Vitor Matos as the key link between the academy and the first team, will have an important role to play in Nguhoma’s progress.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
