Thommo in China: Day two
Liverpool legend Phil Thompson is travelling with the squad to Asia as a Club Ambassador - and he'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest news from the Far East. Here's day two of his exclusive blog...
As expected I did manage to get some sleep last night and I actually got a good nine hours! In truth, I could have slept longer!
To be honest, I think the five bottles of beer I had with the guys helped a lot. It was great to sit and have a drink with Kenny, Rushie and the other lads in the hotel. It was enjoyable to reminisce about our days on tour and all the stupid stuff we used to get up to.
We must have spoken for three hours and everybody was just giggling and asking 'how did we get away with that?' That's just the way it was in those days. Looking at the plush surroundings we're in now, it's an incredible change.
After getting up I had breakfast with the lads and it was nice to be among the players. They had it a bit easier first thing because they were all in this absolutely magnificent swimming pool. It was really incredible. Then they went to the gym for a workout.
Once the morning was over it was time for the activities to start and I went with Ian Ayre, Ian Rush, Bruce Bundrant, from the commercial team, and Ian Cotton from the communications team to a Chinese banquet with members of the Chinese FA and the people who run the club we are playing tomorrow night. It was a nice gathering.
We sat around and they filled big glasses with a tiny bit of red wine. We started off at the beginning with the toast and everyone clicked glasses, but they kept coming around to do it. Even when someone came around to talk to me about my playing days we clicked glasses again. It was a new experience for me.
The food was very different to what we get as Chinese food back home, but I tried my best to embrace the culture and gave it a go. When in Guangzhou, do as the.....I'm not sure how that sentence finishes, but you get the drift.
Video: Kenny on stage in China
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After lunch the players all went off in different groups to commercial activities across the city. All the lads had their names on the board and so they knew exactly where they were going for the afternoon. As I said yesterday, the preparation has been meticulous.
I went with Christian Poulsen to Standard Chartered's offices to speak with the South Korean media. Obviously that game was cancelled, but they came along and asked us about the players - particularly Ji Sung Park at Manchester United. They asked why we thought there aren't more Asian players in England and I was quite honest and said that although they are talented, physically they are not at the required standard. It takes time to develop the strength needed to play in the Barclays Premier League.
I explained to them areas where I thought they needed to improve. They didn't take offence and were keen to listen.
Christian also spoke about the mindset and mentality you need to play in England. That was interesting for me to listen to.
They asked me what made Liverpool such a special club and it's always a question I like to hear. I said that we have been through a lot of glories but also some tragedies which have brought humility to our club.
I told them that if you put a Liverpool fan and a Manchester United fan in a room you could pick out the Liverpool fan, because there is that something about us. They were all nodding their heads at me.
After that we went into another room with 30 Standard Chartered employees where we signed everything they could get their hands on. That was a nice experience as well.
From there it was back to the hotel for a light buffet before the players went out training. It was great to hear the tales of all that had gone on during the day. Some players had gone to a shopping mall where Ian Rush had already acted as the warm-up act by playing games with some of the fans. He really made a point of getting them involved.
This shows the power of Liverpool FC. Rushie said there were about a thousand people there.
You have to feel this passion and this love for our football club. I know sometimes there's a debate in our city about fans who support the Reds from afar, but you have to realise that there are people out here who love Liverpool as much as those who live in L4. It takes coming here to realise that sometimes.
It has been an incredible second day and very enjoyable from everyone's point of view. It's match day tomorrow and we're all looking forward to watching our first outing of the summer.
