Liverpool FC Forum

[bigmick]

I was thinking earlier about where we are in respect of how we expected to be last season. Something Emerald Red said got my brain working (which isn't easy this early when I've been up half the night). He said essentially that we never realistically were going to win the league and where we are represents progression and a good effort (sorry if I've paraphrased you incorrect ER, please correct me if I have). Anyway, I agree in the sense that if you'd said to most people last season that we were going to have a title challenge, and be second with a third of the season to, they'd have taken it all day long.

That said though, how do people assess it if you go a bit deeper, and how do they think we'll finish up?

Firstly you need to look at where we are. We are seven points behind the Mancs with 12 games to go. One of those games is at Old Trafford which gives us hope, but equally there is the possibility that we could lose there. If we do, we'd be 10 points behind them with 11 other matches to play. Now, we finished 11 points behind them last season I think, so we'd have to match their results in terms of points gathering in order to see "progression". There is a good chance we'd do that, as once they've won the title they'll probably put their feet up a bit and we'll close in over the last few games. It's still a legitimate question though, how do you think we are going to finish up, and will it represent progression?

The other thing to consider of course while people are being all pessimistic, is it could be a whole lot worse. It could be much much worse when you look at it seriously. How many times this season have we found a goal (or two in some cases) in the dying seconds to win matches, or at the very least to draw them? I can think right now off the top of my head of Middlesboro at Home (1-0 down with seconds left, won 2-1), Man City Away (two late goals to win 3-2), Chelsea at Home (two goals in last three minutes to win 2-0) Pompey last week (2-1 down with three minutes left, won 3-2) etc etc etc. Just imagine for a second where we'd have been without those unbelieveably dramatic late winners.

My answer to my own question is that as of now I think we'll be third, 9 points off the top.

[heimdall]

4th 14 points off, Chelsea and Villa ahead of us.

[THEBARON]

Fair comment - how do you think we will do in the Champions League ?

[bigmick]

Fair comment - how do you think we will do in the Champions League ?

Well I think we'll go well TB to be honest. I certainly think we'll get past madrid OK, and nobody in the whole competition will fancy drawingn us that's for sure. It always starts getting s bit tricky once you get to the last 8 (that's where the competition starts really) and from there you need to win 3 ties. I think the semi's this season will once again be three English teams and someone else, probably Barca. I think we'll be one of the English teams.

[THEBARON]

Yes I agree - Real Madrid are beatable - more so given the fact that the away game is 1st and we have an excellent record under Rafa against Spanish teams away.
Don't think we will win it - but the semis.

[lakes10]

3rd, 12 points off of 1st, Spurs could beat us aswell as Man u.

But with a new manager in place 2nd 4 points off of 1st, (teams always do a bit better when a new manager first takes over)

[lakes10]

CL midweek is no problem, we will win, Rafa is the best CL manager there is.

[account deleted by request]

4th 14 points off, Chelsea and Villa ahead of us.

  ever the optimist 

I think we will finish second on 82 points (equaling our record haul) with the mancs on about 88 points having taken their foot off the gas.

I see little if any progression this season if I am honest. I think we were gifted a few points early in the season (red cards etc) and with Arsenal and Chelsea blowing up we had a great chance to take the title without ever having to be exceptional.

The fact that we didn't take advantage says a lot about how distinctly average we have actually been in most games this season.  I thought we played well against the mancs, Chelsea and Everton away. We also took good advantage of the problems at Newcastle and Bolton, but apart from those games we have either struggled until someone got sent off or played very average for most of the game.

Our summer transfers were a disaster with Reira being arguably the only minor success.

Off the field it has been a complete shambles...... a disgrace in fact. Without trying to apportion blame, they should ALL hang their heads, as they have consistantly taken the focus away from the team and what we were attempting to achieve.

I didn't think before the season started that we could win the league under Rafa, for a short period of time I thought that circumstances and fortuatous results meant that we could. Sadly reality hit home hard with the draws and lack of genuine ambition to win games rather than not lose games, and we threw away the best chance we could have wished for.

Lets hope Rafa can pull some coals out of the fire and win us the CL because thats all we have left now, and to be fair it would be a great consolation prize.

[sgs]

The only true answer at this stage is that nobody knows. The rest is speculation, be it optimistic or pessimistic. We will only know at the end of the season!

I refuse to join the chorus of those coronating Manu. The one constant fact about the game is and will always be this- you never know!

The only part of this whole thing that really upsets me is the uncertainty about ownership and the -ive impact of it.

[bigmick]

The only true answer at this stage is that nobody knows. The rest is speculation, be it optimistic or pessimistic. We will only know at the end of the season!

That's the point of the thread, hence the "how do you think we'll finish up" bit. Of course it's "speculation", and of course "none of us know".

Anyway, opinions are by no means compulsary so fair enough.

[puroresu]

2nd but at least 7 points off Man Utd.  CL we could reach the Final depending who we draw if we beat Madrid.  If we get Barca then were out.

A side that has only lost once should be top of the league.  It's crazy to see how many points we drop without getting beat.

[Effes]

If Hiddink gets Chelsea to improve then we could finish 3rd.

Agree with s@int, we'll probably end up on about 82 points.

Apparently we shouldn't expect to win the league.
How times have changed.

[account deleted by request]

I also think there is a problem somewhere when players that lose form or confidence never (or hardly ever) get it back. I can't remember a time when players have lost confidence and slowly but surely been edged out in the way they have under Rafa.

[sgs]

The only true answer at this stage is that nobody knows. The rest is speculation, be it optimistic or pessimistic. We will only know at the end of the season!

That's the point of the thread, hence the "how do you think we'll finish up" bit. Of course it's "speculation", and of course "none of us know".

Anyway, opinions are by no means compulsary so fair enough.

Except that in asking the question you seem to foreclose completely the possibility of us winning it...

You may well be right, but u just never know! For instance, losses in the CL often impact a team negatively, and no one can dispute Mourinho's inter is a formidable opponent, esp without ur 1st and maybe 2nd choice CB...

[Scottbot]

It's a hard one to call and if the players are as depressed as I feel now we will be limping over the finish line on one leg

Clearly the players (and the manager) haven't done so well with the pressure that comes with being in a title race at the business end of the season, which is fair enough considering it's the first time most of them been in this position. Maybe we will play with a bit of freedom now that the race is all but over but with the focus now back on familiar ground for this time of the season (Europe) I would not be surprised if a resurgent Chelsea pipped us to 2nd spot down the stretch. Someone posted on here that the top 3 spots all got you automatic qualification to the champions league this season but i'm pretty sure it's still the top 2.

As for today, I only listened to the game but it was bitterly disappointing. With two weeks rest under their belts and with City playing on Thursday I honestly thought we were gonna blow them out of the water today but it wasn't to be.

Depressed and hungover.......need to find myself a rock to hide under and MOTD2 can kiss my along with the manc who have been texting me all afternoon. 18 each, can you believe that