Liverpool Plans for Melwood Training Ground Privacy Wall Approved by Council

Liverpool fans will no longer be able to peek in on the side's tactical sessions after the city council approved plans for a "privacy wall" at the club's Melwood training ground.

Helen Davies of the Liverpool Echo confirmed the committee's decision to allow Liverpool to install a "curtain of fine mesh" around one of the side's training pitches. The club fear "confidential team details leaking out before matches," a worry brought on by people filming sessions by standing on wheelie bins to get profitable vantage points.

The Liverpool Echo's club feed tweeted an image of this situation:

LFC Fans Corner added another:

The Reds have played some of the Premier League's most tactically intricate football under manager Brendan Rodgers. He is a keen strategist, someone who works avidly to identify news ways of getting the best out of the players at his disposal.

Jon Super/Associated Press

For example, Rodgers' decision to switch Liverpool from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-2-1 saw them go unbeaten (inside 90 minutes) for 23 matches from December, per Soccerway. That reignited the club's Champions League hopes and helped the side find an effective, fast-paced attacking flow once more.

Defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal acted as a bookend to that run, however, with Rodgers changing formation three times during the recent FA Cup semi-final loss to Aston Villa. Tony Barrett of The Times discussed the final attempt to overcome the 2-1 deficit:

While supporters are hardly going to provide information for rival clubs after watching their stars train, opposition scouts or members of the press could easily catch something pivotal.

At the council meeting, a spokesman for the club admitted that "most of the time the screen would remain open to allow for grass growth and reduce impact on residents," according to Davies.

One resident, Thomas Jones, objected to the plans because "fans don't have an area in the ground where they can watch the team train." He suggested a group of Japanese tourists were recently turned away for that reason, per Davies.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Perhaps regulated control could be asserted inside Melwood, allowing small groups to watch without cameras or recording equipment.

Open training sessions aren't particularly common in the English top flight, but LFC is so embedded within its community that it would make sense for fans to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse on the club's terms. For now, at the business end of the season, the team's privacy is perhaps all that matters.