The OFFICIAL Liverpool FC thread - we go again

[RedHand88]

Any of yis on irishkop.com? Haven't been able to get on in a week. Not sure if it is a me issue or website

Not just you, down across the board.

[johnnycool]

Iraola was very quick in getting himself a new Jacquet... 

I'll get my coat Jacquet and let myself out.

[laoislad]

Iraola was very quick in getting himself a new Jacquet... 

I'll get my coat Jacquet and let myself out.

Wasn't funny you can leave your coat...😉
Anyway wasn't a Iraola signing, he was signed last January.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Anyone else shouting at alisson to watch them hammys every time he comes charging out?! 😄

[laoislad]

Anyone else shouting at alisson to watch them hammys every time he comes charging out?! 😄

All ok he will be back in time for pre season now!
Only Mac Allister left now isn't it?

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Think so

Brentford be chuffed with hendo

[Armamike]

Couldn't make it up!

[dec]

Kevin Keegan dead

Liverpool's first game of next season is at Newcastle

[From the Bunker]

Kevin Keegan dead

Liverpool's first game of next season is at Newcastle

Often not acknowledged for his part in bringing Liverpool to the next level in the '70's. Liverpool began to win in Europe - The old UEFA Cup which was a really tough competition to win back then.
And he helped win our first European Cup.
His bravery in going to play in Germany and winning the Ballon D'or. Showed the way for some.

He was never forgiven by the Kop for leaving Anfield.

[seafoid]

Kevin Keegan tribute

https://x.com/JohnFogartyIrl/status/2079277482637770903/

[Tony Baloney]

Kevin Keegan tribute

https://x.com/JohnFogartyIrl/status/2079277482637770903/

Lovely stuff. Those videos would bring a tear to a stone. Some of the old photos are unbelievable. Different times.

[seafoid]

Kevin Keegan tribute

https://x.com/JohnFogartyIrl/status/2079277482637770903/

Lovely stuff. Those videos would bring a tear to a stone. Some of the old photos are unbelievable. Different times.

Kevin Keegan on Bill Shankly

https://x.com/SaulStaniforth/status/2079438873482899543/

Shankly was like Cruyff at Barcelona or Klopp. A legend

[Gabriel_Hurl]

A consortium of investors led by Amit Bhatia and backed by the Mittal family is in talks to buy a significant minority stake in Liverpool Football Club, in a deal that would value the English Premier League side at more than $6bn.

The investor group headed by Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel tycoon and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, has hired advisers to work on the offer and is in active talks with Liverpool's current US owners Fenway Sports Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

The football club was expected to be valued at more than $6bn in any transaction, three people said, one of the highest in football history. The attempted deal underlines the continued appeal of England's top-tier football clubs and the global reach of the Premier League.

 FSG confirmed the consortium's interest in a statement to the FT. "An investment consortium led, managed and represented by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club," it said.

Bhatia declined to comment.

People familiar with the talks stressed that no deal had yet been struck and there was no certainty an agreement would be reached.

[Capt Pat]

I like FSG controlling Liverpool. I don't really trust any new owners coming in.

[seafoid]

Phil Thompson
Kevin Keegan turned my beloved Liverpool into a global superpower
Bill Shankly's signing of forward, who has died aged 75, heralded a new era of success after seven years without winning a trophy


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Kevin Keegan with the European Cup in 1977
Kevin Keegan celebrates the first of Liverpool's six European Cup triumphs with the trophy after the 1977 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome Credit: Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Phil Thompson
Phil Thompson
Published 20 July 2026 10:38pm BST

Kevin Keegan was Liverpool's first global star, helping transform my beloved club into a superpower.

When judging the legacy of the most influential figures to pull on the famous red shirt, or indeed any jersey across English football, Kevin will forever warrant a chapter of his own.

My old club recently ran a poll naming our 100 greatest players. Naturally, it was an extensive list, but when Kevin finished No 14 my initial thought was: "I'm not sure who is voting, but they must all be too young to remember how big his impact was."

Some footballers are remembered for their brilliance; others shine because, along with their immense talent, they changed the course of a club's history.

Keegan and Phil Thompson playing together for England in 1979
Keegan and Phil Thompson playing together for England in 1979 Credit: Chris Smith/Popperfoto via Getty Images
For my generation, the modern Anfield as we know it begins with Ian St John, Ron Yeats and Roger Hunt – the pioneers who were so integral to Bill Shankly's first great side taking Liverpool from the old Second Division and making us champions.

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When those legends reached the end of their careers in the late 1960s, there was a lull. As I made my way as a teenage Anfield apprentice into the first team, many now forget that we went seven years without winning a trophy.

Shankly built a new team and needed a catalyst to bring it together. Kevin was that influential player. He possessed the extra stardust we needed to transform us from a promising side into winners of the title, FA Cup and Uefa Cup, and most memorably, European champions for the first time in 1977.

Keegan hugs Ray Clemence after winning the 1977 European Cup
Keegan celebrates with Ray Clemence after winning the 1977 European Cup Credit: Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images
Kevin was without doubt one of the most important signings in Liverpool's history. If he were still around, I am sure that Shankly would rank Kevin alongside St John and Yeats as critical to a new era of success.

My first memory of Kevin was when he joined in 1971. He turned up at Melwood in his brown Cortina with the engine revving at such a pelt, I asked him if it was souped-up with extra firepower.

"Nah, I've got a hole in the exhaust," he said, laughing at the idea. Within a few reserve games, we had a glimpse of his amazing character.

We were playing away at Southport and he was in midfield. At half-time it was 0-0 and he came into the dressing room fuming. "We're never going to score playing like this," he shouted.

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The reserve team manager at the time was Ronnie Moran, a legendary member of the Anfield boot room who no one dared take on. Ronnie turned to Kevin and shouted back: "If you think you can do better, why don't you play as a striker yourself, then?"

Kevin accepted the invitation and scored twice in the second half.

Shortly after, he famously demonstrated his class in our annual pre-season friendly fixture when the reserves played the first team. It was Kevin's last game for the second XI; his double earned him his Liverpool senior debut three days later, when he scored after 12 minutes against Nottingham Forest.

The rest is history. Shankly fell in love with Kevin. You could never find a manager and player in such synchronicity. The description of their relationship being like father and son is accurate.

Liverpool manager Bill Shankly (right) with Kevin Keegan (left) at Anfield
Bill Shankly had a special relationship with Keegan after signing him in 1971 Credit: PA/Alamy Stock Photo
Shankly was born to manage Liverpool, and Kevin was born to play for Shankly. He was everything he wanted in a player because he maximised all he had, epitomising his manager's values. He was a pocket dynamo who could leap like a gazelle.

In the modern world we talk about the high press and strikers defending from the front. Watch the old clips of Kevin in a Liverpool shirt. He was a pressing machine, torturing some of the greatest defenders of all time.

He established a "Liverpool way" for all the strikers who followed, not least Ian Rush who became famous for following Kevin's blueprint of being so much more than a goalscorer.

There were so many great individual performances to list between 1971 and 1977, when he was pivotal to us rising to the greatest heights. His 1974 FA Cup final performance against Newcastle United was typical of a player who always delivered when it most mattered.

Ian Callaghan and Keegan parade the FA Cup at Wembley after winning the 1974 final
Ian Callaghan and Keegan parade the FA Cup at Wembley after winning the 1974 final against Newcastle, with Keegan scoring twice Credit: Liverpool FC via Getty Images
He replicated it when Germany's Berti Vogts was run ragged in the 1977 European Cup final.

Ask Liverpool supporters about their favourite moment and many will mention Molineux in 1976, when we needed a point against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the last day of the season to win the title. Kevin's goal with 14 minutes to go kick-started a late flourish ending in a 3-1 win, sparking some of the greatest celebrations of any Liverpool title win.

Kevin's single-mindedness and determination were one of his greatest assets. As the fashions changed in the 1970s, another of Shankly's great backroom team, Reuben Bennett, kept telling Kevin to get his hair cut. He was having none of it.

He would rail against anyone telling him what to do if he didn't think it was going to help him, certainly off the park. Shanks would never go against Kevin because when it came to performance on the pitch, he was all in, always 100 per cent.

He was quick to recognise his value on and off the pitch, among the first players I knew to have an agent – Harry Swales – who secured the kind of commercial deals that are now so common. If George Best was the first footballer in Britain to maximise his celebrity status, Kevin was not far behind, although it never distracted him from his football.


The power of his Anfield legacy became even more obvious as the years passed. Liverpool's European success in the 1970s attracted huge support worldwide, and a generation of overseas supporters and future players always mentioned Kevin as their inspiration.

Norway's manager, Stale Solbakken, recently said that Kevin was his boyhood hero during the World Cup. That's the measure of an impact which, just like Best, transcended football. Kevin and I played together again for England at the 1982 World Cup, when we were unfortunate to go out unbeaten as he and Trevor Brooking were recovering from injury.

But above all this, as his former team-mate and friend, what I will most remember about Kevin is what a truly great guy he was. I will remember how he would never say no when asked for an autograph. I will remember how whenever he saw a group of young supporters, he would make time for them, understanding and appreciating how much he meant to them, and reminding them what they meant to him.

I will remember his sense of humour, and how much he enjoyed a laugh. And I will remember all those glorious nights we shared, winning trophies for the club we love.

It is incredible that the first game of the new Premier League season pitches Newcastle United against Liverpool, two clubs connecting Kevin. They have so much in common: the passion, the humour and a love of football which spoke Kevin's language.

There could be no more poignant and deserving tribute to one of English football's greats than both sets of fans standing side by side to appreciate the joy he brought to their lives, and pride he brought to their clubs and cities.