Liverpool FC Forum

[big al]

Some of you may have already read this but I put it here because I hope most people will agree with my veiws.

I used to watch a lot of football but in the last few years I have concentrated all my focus purely on liverpool and the opponents they meet.

This has had the effect of making me look at the premiership with blinkers on and except for the current top three, Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea I have had no real assessment of the other teams.  What I mean is I have'nt been watching how teams like Blackburn for instances stack up against Charlton for example.   

In the last few months however that has changed I've been watching every TV game and have seen a few live games too.  This has changed my whole perspective of Liverpool's status in the premiership. 

Many of the other premiership sides are actually quite good teams but there is definetly a league within a league in the premiership.  There are the top three already mentioned.  They are way out in front of any other team, its like men and boys stuff there.

Then there's a group of pretenders Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Charlton, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Man city, Spurs and Portsmouth.  Some of these teams have already damaged Liverpools title hopes.

Behind this lot come the also rans, the relegation teams. Now some of the pretenders could end up fighting it out with these teams but on paper they should'nt.

Anyway look at the pretenders, its a mini league on its own.  Objectivelyask yourself this, is any of the good enough to trouble the top three?  No they're not on that class not even Liverpool. 

Gasps from you I'm sure

But realistically Liverpool would be doing well to win a division of pretenders only.  That's why so many people are settling for fourth place because all the pretenders could finish above our current team, which would mean liverpool being in 13 place. 

We have played 13 games won 5 lost 5 drawn 3.  Everyone of the top three have beat us two of them at Anfield. Liverpool are pretenders there are no two ways about it.  The other pretenders don't fear us infact two of them have beat us and three of then have drawn with us. 

This is the current state of the team.  Simply not good enough to win the Premiership. 

Houlier thought he was close to breaking into the elite group.  He thought that he'd be there long before Chelsea. 

Yes Abrahamovic's money has propelled Chelsea to the possibility of winning the title. 

But Houlier had a chance of doing this too.  He's spend as much as chelsea.  Difference is they bought a lot of British based talent and are trying to conquer the premiership from within not without.

Houlier is trying to do what Chelsea also tried several years ago and failed. 

Remember the great players they bought Zola etc. This did not work.  So Raneri changed tack and realised the basis of Being in the elite of british footbal is in bringing English or home based players through. Also adding proven British based players and bringing truly World class players in to the team.

Think about this way of working

Ferggie done it
Wenger done it
Raneri done it

What did Houlier do?

1. Let local players leave!  Fowler, Thompson etc
2. Gambled on buying young foreign unproven players (I'm not talking about pongolle or le Tallec) Traore, Vignal, Diouf, etc
3. Bought unproven foreign players who he egotisically thought he could develop.
4. Let experienced players leave

Truth is Roy Evans was beginning to come through a rebuilding programme and had started to show potential.  He had schooled a lot of the young players that are now the back bone of Houliers team. Ie Owen, Gerrard without these two Liverpool would not even be pretenders. 

I could go on and on about the failures of Houlier but I would be only making myself a lot angrier. 

Ask yourself these questions, 

Is Liverpool progressing each year within the premiership?
Are we in the elite of British football?
Are we consistantly winning against so called weaker teams?
Do other clubs fear playing against us particularily at Anfield?
Have we loads of young home based talent breaking through into the team?
Can Houlier analyse a game and act appropriately taking advantage of other teams weakness?
Doe's he instill loyalty in his players?
Is watching Liverpool enjoyable?

The big question
Do you as a Liverpool fan expect to beat everybody or do you fear other teams?

The elite and the pretenders don't fear us.  Once every club team in the world did.

[THEBARON]

A  great call from big al , it's depressing and sad to read but it is 100 % true. We are not making knee jerk responses on the phone in's here ( Barry from Bushey , Malcolm from Milton Keynes  ) rather we  are
reacting to a long term problem that will not go away. In the last year our league form has been p#ss poor and if that continues you are looking at a relegation dogfight not champions league qualification. After spending  millions on players and an academy we deserve and expect much more than that. If the board do not act soon then our results will continue to be cr#p and we will be a poor mid table team. We will not attract decent new players and our best players will depart.
Please leave Monsieur. You gave it your best , gave us some great memories and risked your health in doing so , but enough is enough.

[big al]

I expected more veiws on this post even from those who disagree with me!

[redandblue]

Well, big al, you won't get anyone disagreeing with you because your points are spot on. The gap between the top three and the rest is alarming..........and we are in the 'rest' category. On their day, teams like Man City, Birmingham, Blackburn, Leicester, Everton, Southampton, Charlton, Fulham will all take points from us.

Do you remember the '80s when we used to win important trophies like the Championship and European Cups. We used to beat the really mediocre teams home and away. We were so good that we could win 1-0 away, get an early goal, dominate from defence, and conserve our energy for European matches. We rarely dropped points against poor teams. Then it didn't really matter when we dropped points to Manure, because the matches against us were THEIR big games of the season, which is why they (as a poor team) did well against us.

Now, we can't beat the teams above us and we are easy pickings for mid table teams.

Last season, we played 8 matches against the four teams who finished above us. We won 1, drew 3 lost 4. If we add the matches played against the big three this year, it reads, played 11, won 1, drawn 3, lost 7. Yes, lost SEVEN.

Statistics don't lie. We are awful. No wonder Owen will leave. He wants to play for a good team.