OYB: Really? A Decade?

If you'll permit me a bit of self-indulgence...

Ten years ago, I started this site out of boredom and a lack of football writing on the internet. Well, ten years and two days ago. I'd like to plead extenuating circumstances as to why this is two days late, but it honestly seems fitting.

Ten years later, we've seen two seasons where Liverpool nearly won the title, and too many more seasons where Liverpool's disappointed us.

Ten years later, I've written 2041 posts, now 2042. Which is probably somewhere around a million words. And, for some reason, y'all read it. Some of it, at least.

So, in looking back, I'd like to highlight a few of my favorites.

The vast majority of links included below came in the last few years. Reading my early stuff is painful, especially in that first year when I had no clue what I wanted this blog to be. There were super short posts, Premier League predictions (which were spectacularly wrong), and actual things written about teams other than Liverpool. It's all quite embarrassing in retrospect. Which, I'm pretty sure, is what everyone always says about stuff they've written.

I'm unsurprisingly proudest of the infographics. I like to think they've gotten a bit better than the first. There are those on Liverpool's season-long goals scored and conceded, in-depth looks at individual players, and an animated chalkboard, among multiple others.

The match infographics have become the most prevalent, my preferred way of looking at a game in a bit more depth than is possible in a post-game write-up. Once again, I like to think they've gotten a bit better than the first.

But the most in-depth – both my favorites and the longest to make – have been about Liverpool's former captain, arguably Liverpool's best player. Steven Gerrard. The man who inspired the line which this website's named after. A career retrospective. His goals, all 186 of them. A timeline of his career with another Liverpool-born legend, Jamie Carragher.

Some of my other favorite stuff's come when working with others, especially the lot over at The Liverpool Offside. A long, long conversation with Ed about Rafa Benitez that came just a few months before he was fired. The 2010-11 Blog Carnival with them, Anfield Asylum, Paisley Gates, and a few other good folks, arguably the best thing to come out of that season (well, after sacking Hodgson and getting rid of Hicks and Gillett and signing Luis Suarez). The 2013 March Madness, where y'all voted on your favorite players from the Premier League era (spoiler: Steven Gerrard won).

And, while I can't take credit for much of this, three outstanding maps – where Liverpool players were born and Liverpool's European games – made by Eben Dennis of Chartophile and LFC Denver.

Ten years ago, there was a dearth of good football writing, whether about Liverpool or the sport in general. Now, there's a plethora. In addition to the above sites, there are This is Anfield, Anfield Index, The Anfield Wrap, The Tomkins Times, Bass Tuned to Red, and numerous others. We've all got our favorites, whether they write about Liverpool, or the Premier League, or international soccer, or analytics, or all of the above. I can't possibly list all the ones I read. I'm sure you read multiple sites that I should but don't know about.

Football writing is in an amazing place.

Long story short, it's been a wild ten years, and this ain't goodbye. My deepest thanks to all who've read, commented, shared, emailed, tweeted. To all who've gotten in touch in any way. It's what makes this worth doing.