Liverpool FC legend Ian Rush is in town and he apparently brought stereotypical English weather along with him. The 57-year-old Welshman, Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer, threw out the first pitch of last night’s Chicago crosstown series game, where the Cubs beat the White Sox 7-3, in gray, rainy and unseasonably cold conditions.
Rush likened the atmosphere of last night’s game to a local derby, did a public appearance at a local pizza chain, and made the media rounds in advance of Liverpool’s pre-season friendly versus Notre Dame on July 19. He also discussed Liverpool’s summer transfer window, off-season, expectations for next season and much more in a two part exclusive interview with The Sports Bank.
Really enjoyed my exclusive interviews with @LFC all-time leading scorer Ian Rush, and @BlackYellow legend Patrick Owomoyela this morning! Very much looking forward to the game @NDFootball Stadium next month! #BVB #BVB09 #YNWA #LFC #NotreDame https://t.co/JsxUQoWO0W pic.twitter.com/ImNIxhPeBI
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) June 20, 2019
Last summer, Liverpool had a transfer window that was among the best that any club has ever had anywhere. This summer, it’s been much quieter thus far, but you can’t stand pat. If you’re not always improving as a club, you’re in reality falling behind.
“You’re looking to improve all the time,” Rush told us by telephone this morning.
“We’ve got a great squad, but some people come and some go, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there were one or two more signings to be made.”
“At the end of the day we were quite lucky last season, we didn’t have too many injuries; it might not happen again this year, so we have to be aware of that, and we have standards to set and we have to make signings.”
The tabloid silly season has been kind of quiet on the Anfield front thus far, but they have linked to a few players, including the likes of Joao Felix, Ousmane Dembele and Bruno Fernandes.
Liverpool also needs to look at replacing back-up striker Daniel Sturridge and defender Alberto Moreno. Central Dejan Lovren could be on the move as well.
“He’s one of the more natural strikers that we’ve had,” Rush said of Sturridge.
“Yes, at striker, you can look at midfield as well, you can look at defense. We’re looking at all the situations where you can maybe not quite get in the team, but you need a squad. Manchester City has a squad- that’s why they won the league, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup.”
“Liverpool now, are looking to do something like what Manchester City have done.”
Rush accumulated 346 goals across all competitions at the Merseyside club. He scored a record 25 in the Merseyside derby against Everton alone. He holds the top spot on the Liverpool goal scoring chart by 60. There are no currently active Reds within the top ten.
More importantly, he was a part of that legendary Liverpool side which achieved the club’s most recent league title in 1990.
So is this finally THE YEAR?
“You can ask me that, but I have seen saying every year since 1990,” Rush responded with a laugh.
“Last year I was happy we got in the tour four. This year we’re in the top two. You’re always looking to better yourself, so hopefully we’re in a position to take over from Manchester City this year, but you never know.”
Liverpool are embarking on a three city preseason tour of the United States this summer, with two of the three matches being played in baseball venues: Boston’s Fenway Park vs. Sevilla July 21 and New Yorks’ Yankee Stadium vs. Sporting CP on July 24.
The other match, which kicks off the tour, will be played less than a two hour drive from Chicago, July 19th at Notre Dame Stadium, when the Reds take on Borussia Dortmund.
Go here for our exclusive with Vladimir Smicer, which covers the tour in more detail. And be sure to return next week for more with Ian Rush, as well as some great conversation with Patrick Owomoyela.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.