Liverpool FC Forum

by **7_Kewell** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:53 pm

are we any closer to winning the league than we were under Houllier? Just been thinking about how much Rafa has spent in the last 2 years (well over 60 million) and i don't honestly think we're any closer to winning the league. Don't get me wrong, i rate Rafa and think he'll work it out in the end...but are we any closer?

by **66-1112520797** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:00 pm

So which side of the fence are you on?

by **7_Kewell** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:04 pm

Bamaga man wrote:So which side of the fence are you on?

I'm in the 'no' side of the fence. We're still 2 or 3 players short and still having to settle for 4th place. Reina's comments are no different from what Houllier was spouting 3-4 years ago.

by **joko** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:04 pm

likelier, instead of closer

if his first year of managerial was decorated by some top european achievement, then rafa's regime must be likelier than houllier's to be getting to the EPL top

last season we were a better side, and this season -heaven knows, it hasn't even finished yet.

by **Ace Ventura** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:12 pm

No disrespect to you mate cos you are obviously a disallusioned fan, but if we had different fixtures do you think we would have lost as many games at this stage ?
We have already played the 3 other teams out of the usual top 4 away from home....as well as Bolton and Everton, which were always going to be games where points could be dropped.
The fixture list sh!t on Rafa, yes he has made mistakes with selections, but we have got the tough part out of the way...and we are in a similar position to this time last season regarding how many points we are behind the leaders.

I really think people are reading far too much into these deafeats, we lost most of the same games last season, but they were spread out over the season.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:12 pm

I'm with JOKO we're likelier than during the Houllier era to land the Premiership. Last season probably papered over the cracks in the eyes of those fans who EXPECTED us to be top of the table running away with the title. If I rememver correctly our points total for last season eclipsed that of Houlliers best achievement back in '02 and considering Rafa did this with a squad that is still very short of what he really wants I think as long as he's given the full backing of the board he will bring the title back.

by **66-1112520797** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:18 pm

Ace Ventura wrote:No disrespect to you mate cos you are obviously a disallusioned fan, but if we had different fixtures do you think we would have lost as many games at this stage ?
We have already played the 3 other teams out of the usual top 4 away from home....as well as Bolton and Everton, which were always going to be games where points could be dropped.
The fixture list sh!t on Rafa, yes he has made mistakes with selections, but we have got the tough part out of the way...and we are in a similar position to this time last season regarding how many points we are behind the leaders.

I really think people are reading far too much into these deafeats, we lost most of the same games last season, but they were spread out over the season.

I agree with that, but its hard to put things into perspective when we've lost all but one of our away games this season. The morale amongst the fans and players will probably be much lower than it was during any part of last seasons campaign, Also we've bolstered the squad up in the summer and the media hyped us up to at the begining of this season and we were touted as Chelseas closest rivals, and WE all believed that but at the moment its understandable people are doubting our credentials.

by **Rafa D** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:28 pm

get to

by **dawson99** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:41 pm

I think the post has a point. we have evolved as a team, but in the league we still arent good enough. Do you think other big teams say 'well, we always lose those FIVE'.

We still got a lot of work to do to catch up to the others.

by **Bad Bob** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:48 pm

Look at it the other way: the league is MUCH harder to win than it was in Houllier's day and we simply do not have the same resources as some of our principal competitors. With that in mind, Rafa has brought us an unbelievable level of success in a short time, on a relatively meagre budget. If Houllier were still in charge, with Chelsea buying world class each transfer window and the Mancs shelling out top dollar for the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo, we wouldn't even get a whiff of the title race and there's no chance we'd have brought Big Ears home to Anfield permanently in 2005. We'd probably be looking at UEFA Cup places each season and struggling to remember what a title challenge feels like. The fact that we're all gutted to be out of the running this season alone speaks volumes for how Rafa has raised expectations by raising our game. It's simply nonsense to imply that we've made no progress since the Houllier days.

by **dawson99** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:01 pm

60 million in 2 years and we are still saying we dont have the finances?

by **taff** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:06 pm

We have to accept that with the competition this is a long term slog. I reckon we will do it under Rafa.

Also, I have not given up this season and refuse to do so

by **7_Kewell** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:07 pm

Ace Ventura wrote:No disrespect to you mate cos you are obviously a disallusioned fan, but if we had different fixtures do you think we would have lost as many games at this stage ?
We have already played the 3 other teams out of the usual top 4 away from home....as well as Bolton and Everton, which were always going to be games where points could be dropped.
The fixture list sh!t on Rafa, yes he has made mistakes with selections, but we have got the tough part out of the way...and we are in a similar position to this time last season regarding how many points we are behind the leaders.

I really think people are reading far too much into these deafeats, we lost most of the same games last season, but they were spread out over the season.

Its not the fact we have lost points, its the way we have lost thats made me feel gutted. Arsenal and Man Utd played us off the park and to hear Reina talk about 4th place being our new priority is awful to hear.

Dont get me wrong, I still have faith in Rafa and believe hes the man to take us forward, but our league situation hasnt move on a great deal. We still have a dodgy keeper, we still need a right-winger and we are still struggling to score goals...and this is all after Rafa has spent 60+ million on the squad.

by **67-1161385641** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:08 pm

Ace Ventura wrote:No disrespect to you mate cos you are obviously a disallusioned fan, but if we had different fixtures do you think we would have lost as many games at this stage ?
We have already played the 3 other teams out of the usual top 4 away from home....as well as Bolton and Everton, which were always going to be games where points could be dropped.
The fixture list sh!t on Rafa, yes he has made mistakes with selections, but we have got the tough part out of the way...and we are in a similar position to this time last season regarding how many points we are behind the leaders.

I really think people are reading far too much into these deafeats, we lost most of the same games last season, but they were spread out over the season.

You raise some good points; we did get the shitty end of the stick with the fixture list we were given at the beginning of last season. I also agree that from those five fixtures we would drop some points, however if we want to challenge for the title and win it, we must beat Everton and Bolton away and we must scalp the top three both home and away. We are in a similar situation to last season, but we should have at least shown signs of improvements this season, but we haven't, if anything we look like the team that Rafa first took over in 2004.

I know we will get better under Benitez, I'm positive we will win the league under Rafa, but I don't think we are any closer to winning the league than we were under Houllier in his last two seasons. I hope I'm wrong, but atm it doesn't seem that way, I don't think it's wrong to make that assumption either, I also don't think it's wrong for 7_Kewell to ask this question.

If I'm honest I think we over achieved last season, which is probably why a lot of fans are unhappy with how this season has panned out so far, we will get better and I can appreciate the task Rafa has on his hands, but I don't think we are any closer to winning the league than we were under Rafa's previous two seasons and Houllier's last two seasons.

The closet we came to winning it was under Houllier in 2001/02, and before that was under Evans reign, but I think within the next few seasons we will challenge for the title.

What we have to remember is as well ACE is we cannot afford to slip up against the top three, we must start winning the tough matches if we are to win the league, the league as you know requires more points to win the league, we cannot win the league losing to the top three away and the likes of Everton and Bolton.

by **dawson99** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:08 pm

Dont get me wrong, i still think we can do it... but we arent really any closer than we were 2 years ago. we are still losing too many games and not scoring enough goals. We still rely too much on less players than other teams and we still dont relay our cup form to the league.

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2 and a half years on - And 60+ million spent

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