Liverpool FC Forum

by **A.B.** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 9:42 pm

Ok so we were absolute garbage today which is hard to admit but let's keep in mind that we are under a new manager. New ideas,new tactics, new style of playing. I remember clearly reading that Benitez believes that we have 4-5 months before we get to where he wants us.

6 Wins, 5 Defeats, 2 Draws. It will be a long season [if Everton finish above us I will dig my own grave] and no need to lose hope and faith. However today there were only a small amount of our players who gave it their all, quite poor game but that's football.

I visited the LFC.tv main topic on their forum and quite few were saying that we will finish 6th and 8th at the end of the season along with that finishing 4th would be impossible..........but when we win we are expected to finish 3rd?.

The good thing is that Gerrard is back and Nunez will return next week so he will give us more options as far as attacking is concerned. [I hope he's good as Rafa says he is]. Our midfield should be our strength right now because of the lack of strikers we have. Today we failed to control the midfield and lost at the end.

We face Monaco in the Champions League and Arsenal[who couldn't beat West Bromich today so we can still get some points from them].

I have faith in Rafa and I'm sure that things will be different when we play Monaco.

Keep the faith,ynwa.

by **115-1073096938** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 10:20 pm

Wow.

Even "insert insult" are capable of posting sensibley once in a while.

Excellent post and well said.

by **JBG** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 10:25 pm

I honestly think that the next 7 days will shape our season.

Lose both matches and we could be facing elimination from the CL and will face an uphill struggle to qualify for the CL next year.

Draw both games and we'll retain the status quo, but win and we could see a huge turn around.

Its vital that we pick up some points in those games as another defeat (or worse, two defeats) next week could start a bad slide.

Both games are difficult, but if we pick ourselves up after today then we are capable of getting a result against Monaco, and believe it or not, Arsenal were booed off the pitch today and they could face more disappointment in mid week. I think they may be vulnerable at the moment, and we need to capitalise on that.

The main thing is that today's result must be seen as a watershed and the boss decides to say "enough is enough" and weed out certain problems in the side. We will have players coming back from injury and hopefully one or two new faces in January, but its vital that the players who are fit lay down a foundation for us to make a strong run after Christmas.

by **A.B.** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 10:54 pm

Even "insert insult" are capable of posting sensibley once in a while

Couldn't help but to have a go at me could you?

I honestly think that the next 7 days will shape our season.

Lose both matches and we could be facing elimination from the CL and will face an uphill struggle to qualify for the CL next year.

Draw both games and we'll retain the status quo, but win and we could see a huge turn around.

Its vital that we pick up some points in those games as another defeat (or worse, two defeats) next week could start a bad slide.

Both games are difficult, but if we pick ourselves up after today then we are capable of getting a result against Monaco, and believe it or not, Arsenal were booed off the pitch today and they could face more disappointment in mid week. I think they may be vulnerable at the moment, and we need to capitalise on that.

The main thing is that today's result must be seen as a watershed and the boss decides to say "enough is enough" and weed out certain problems in the side. We will have players coming back from injury and hopefully one or two new faces in January, but its vital that the players who are fit lay down a foundation for us to make a strong run after Christmas

Well said. There should be no pessamism at this point of time.

by **115-1073096938** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:02 pm

Couldn't help but to have a go at me could you?

Correct. Makes two of us.

I think they may be vulnerable at the moment, and we need to capitalise on that.

Do i have to remind you about last season?

Unfortunately its a bad time to play them. Maybe this time it could go in our favour, but its the sort of game they will raise there game for again. So it could also work against us like last season. Hopefully not though ay!!

by **JBG** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:29 pm

Of course Stu, it could go either way. Its possible that Arsenal could wipe the floor with us next week, particularly if they are coming off a bad result in Eindhoven.

However, our team needs to remain positive, and hope that Arsenal's Old Trafford hangover continues. They can go out and hammer someone else after they play us, but we need a good preformance against Arsenal next week.

by **mrcool2003** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:31 pm

january will shape the season, but im hoping between now and then we can hang in there near 4th

by **ivor_the_injun** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:54 am

Although improvements have been made in the way that the team plays this season over last, performances like today's are the kind of thing that will keep us in amongst the also-rans. Until we get the kind of consistency that means that we have enough about us to grind out wins when we're on an off-week, we're not going to do anything special in the Premiership.

Unfortunately, it's a vicious circle. To get the consistency, we need continuity in the squad for whenever injurys hit. To get hold of the strength in depth within the squad that will enable us to do this, we're going to need to earn money in the CL and by finishing high up in the Prem.

We've been horrendously unlucky in terms of injuries this season, and while we've got just about enough in the squad to soften the blow of losing Gerrard, we just aren't going to put teams away without a regular goalscorer stepping up to the plate. Yes, Owen's move came late in the summer and left little or no time to cover his absence, but from now, through the January window and onto the remainder of the season, there can be no such excuses. There is ample time to put things right, and if we don't finish in the top 4, in closer order with the top teams than last season, we can't realistically say that we're going anywhere worth going.

Yes, this is very much a season for growing and developing, but occasional performances alone aren't good enough - we need results. If we're losing to the Middlesbroughs, Birminghams and Boltons of this world, we need to rely on all the other contenders for the CL spots to be as sloppy as we are, and that's just not what we should be about. Arsenal fans are talking about themselves having a dreadful season for god's sake, and they're already 11 points ahead of us.

by **Dalglish** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:57 am

Don't include me in the "lets not lose hope yet thread", i'm here for the long haul

by **Dalglish** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:00 am

I don't understand your comment.............

"Yes, this is very much a season for growing and developing, but occasional performances alone aren't good enough - we need results."

So we can't grow and develop without winning ?

by **L-type** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:34 am

Oh no !! We are gonna finish 6th or 7th !!!!

by **mrcool2003** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:36 am

ivor_the_injun wrote:Although improvements have been made in the way that the team plays this season over last, performances like today's are the kind of thing that will keep us in amongst the also-rans. Until we get the kind of consistency that means that we have enough about us to grind out wins when we're on an off-week, we're not going to do anything special in the Premiership.

Unfortunately, it's a vicious circle. To get the consistency, we need continuity in the squad for whenever injurys hit. To get hold of the strength in depth within the squad that will enable us to do this, we're going to need to earn money in the CL and by finishing high up in the Prem.

We've been horrendously unlucky in terms of injuries this season, and while we've got just about enough in the squad to soften the blow of losing Gerrard, we just aren't going to put teams away without a regular goalscorer stepping up to the plate. Yes, Owen's move came late in the summer and left little or no time to cover his absence, but from now, through the January window and onto the remainder of the season, there can be no such excuses. There is ample time to put things right, and if we don't finish in the top 4, in closer order with the top teams than last season, we can't realistically say that we're going anywhere worth going.

Yes, this is very much a season for growing and developing, but occasional performances alone aren't good enough - we need results. If we're losing to the Middlesbroughs, Birminghams and Boltons of this world, we need to rely on all the other contenders for the CL spots to be as sloppy as we are, and that's just not what we should be about. Arsenal fans are talking about themselves having a dreadful season for god's sake, and they're already 11 points ahead of us.

to be fair, bolton and middlesborough would give any team a good match at home, its the birmingham at home which bothers me

but rb will get it right, hes probably frustated that he can't do what he wants, cause the players he has been left with aren't the best really,

i think kewell should go, traore, still not convinced hes what we need, biscan i would keep he sames a different player than under houllier

by **ivor_the_injun** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:36 am

Dalglish wrote:I don't understand your comment.............

"Yes, this is very much a season for growing and developing, but occasional performances alone aren't good enough - we need results."

So we can't grow and develop without winning ?

I could've worded that a bit more clearly to be honest.

I've been as encouraged as the next man by the way Rafa's got us playing, but for all of this, and the improvement that we've seen from so-so players, it's all a complete smokescreen unless the way we play translates into winning football.

The Man U sides of the 90s and the Arsenal of the last couple of seasons - they'd catch teams in their best form of the season and still come out with a win. We struggle all too often against teams that aren't even playing well themselves. A huge part of our growth and development will be to turn ourselves into the kind of team that can have a terrible day but still keep a good shape, and grind out enough half-chances to get the points.

Don't get me wrong, I think Benitez is doing a great job. However, the table doesn't lie, and the bottom line is that every club ahead of us in the table has been better than us over the course of the season so far. I don't think for one minute that Middlesbrough, Everton and Bolton will sustain it long enough to pose a threat for the 4th spot, but when we're lagging behind teams of that ilk, it does hammer it home all too clearly the fact that we may be looking at years and a lot of investment of money we don't currently have to close the gap.

by **Dalglish** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:59 am

I know what your saying but my viewpoint is that this season is largely irrelevant in terms of position in the table although I concede 4th is as important as last season.

However knee jerk reactions to the occasional poor performance doesn't help people see the big picture............

by **Dalglish** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 2:04 am

The reality is that we are a much more entertaining side, we have an atrocious injury list and need a CB.................Also Raffa has instiled BELIEF in this team and that may be a double sided coin in terms of fan reaction ........

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