A Brief (and Slightly Belated) Introduction

Maybe a bit strange to do an introduction after we've already got one post up and running, but we figured that with Germany and Greece on tap for most of the day, we'd wait awhile until we did some sort of proper welcoming to our new digs. So with that result settled, and at risk of being a bit repetitive, we want to at least say some sort of hello as we get settled.

I've been doing this in some capacity for the Offside since the 2007-2008 season, most of the time as the lone contributor, but at times with a bit of help here and there. During the start of the 2010-2011 season I was fortunate enough to have Noel come aboard as a regular, and since that time we've operated as co-editors with the occasional contribution--mostly during the summer, which we're welcoming again this year--from those interested in providing guest posts. As I mentioned on the last post over at the old site that didn't make it through, we've really thrived on the strength of an active community, and now that we're at a site that's more accessible (READ: doesn't use Disqus), we're hoping that continues.

If you're brand new to us or the site in any format, we'd really encourage you to check out the "Archives" link above, which is neatly categorized by year and month. The "Sections" widget on the left side of the main page hasn't quite captured everything just yet, so the archives, particularly starting around September or October of 2010, provide a nice example of the type of approach we've taken in the past and will plan to continue. Strangely--and unfortunately--enough, we've really hit our stride as the club has slipped significantly, so we're looking forward to a season that's a bit more successful than what we're used to. Also, one without Charlie Adam or Stewart Downing.

One of the first things worth mentioning is that this is going to take some getting used to for us--different dashboard for us as editors and etc., but also a bunch of features that weren't at our disposal before. Noel's already utilized the FanShots link on the sidebar to the right on the main page, and we'd encourage you to play with that along with the FanPosts, geared more at longer content, as you please. Obviously there's some limitations on what can and can't be posted, and we'll moderate as necessary, but that's a great resource for community-generated discussion aside from what Noel or myself will be running with. There's some things we have no clue about yet, Fan Confidence Poll included, but we'll be learning as we go and working to provide an experience wholly different than what it's like watching Stewart Downing take on a defender.

As for how the time leading into the season will go, we're planning to continue with Euro coverage as our main sustenance for the next week, but once July 1st hits we're going to be all Liverpool, all the time. There'll likely be a bit of a lull despite the transfer window opening and preseason taking hold, which opens up to the possibility that we'll revisit some older posts--Tuesdays with Roy, tactical discussions, posts dealing with major events of the past few seasons--to pass a bit of the time. And, as I noted above, we'll welcome any guest posts to feature on the main page as well in addition to anything you contribute in a FanPost.

You can expect at least one bit of special coverage from the North American Tour, as I'll be headed to Boston for the friendly at Fenway against Roma, and there's a chance Noel might be taking one in as well. That'll be a great time for community content as well, given that I'd expect there'll be a few of you finding your way to Boston, Baltimore, and/or Toronto. Just know that if it's Boston, I've got first dibs on asking Lucas to be my adoptive father.

Lastly, and mostly because it came up in the comments of Noel's earlier post, our commenting policy is pretty straightforward, and only slightly more elaborate than the "Don't be an asshole" prompt you've already seen. We love discussion, we love disagreement, and we love trying--and mostly failing--at being funny. But we've got a short leash for comments that we feel are offensive in any way or don't contribute anything to discussion and will moderate as we see fit, although we're not exactly hoping to do much of it.

So that's us, and we'll be looking forward to getting to know you all in the coming weeks and months. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a recap of the results from Germany's track meet in Gdansk and a look at tomorrow's matchup between Spain and France.