Liverpool FC Forum

by **bigmick** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:43 pm

Agree with pretty much all of that Wools TBH. I personally don't usually find CF too annoying, he has pm'd me on occasions and seems a reasonable fella underneath it all. That was however, probably by his own admission his worst post to date and in terms of his reputation as a sensible poster on here, with many he may never recover.
I too have slight concerns over Reina and can't help asking the question AGAIN whether or not we wouldn't have been slightly better off looking a little closer to home for a keeper.

by **JBG** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:43 pm

Last season we went to Middlesboro, played terribly, and were well beaten.

This season we went to Middlesboro, played reasonably well, dominated the game and were unlucky not to win.

Last season we played Man UTD at home and lost. This season we probably shaded the game and got a draw.

Last season we went to Birmingham and played terribly. They bossed us all over the park and won easily. This season we shaded a terrible game and got a draw.

This is progress people. It might be small steps and it may not be pretty, but we are moving forwards. We lost something like 11 away games last year, and the priority this year must be, at the very minimum, to turn a few of those defeats into draws. Thats what we have been doing so far.

Cheer up, we are unbeaten while Arsenal have lost two and UTD one.

by **Woollyback** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:59 pm

I'm not on a downer about the season, just a bit frustrated. We have clearly come a long way in a year but still have a long way to go. The last 15 years as a 'pool fans have been driving me bananas - there have been spells where we have been able to score for fun (the Evans/Fowler era) but leaked like a sieve at the back, and then we've had the times when we have been rock solid at the back (Hyypia, Henchoz) but unable to score (Heskey, Baros et al) and only once when we finished runners up to Arsenal did we seem to have both qualities in any kind of harmony

by **JBG** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:08 pm

I believe that there could be a sting in the tail of this season yet. When I say that, I don't mean we are going to win the Premiership - Chelsea have practically won it already - but I think there is a real chance that we can achieve our season's ambition of breaking into the top three.

Arsenal and Man UTD are absolutely sh.itting themselves about Chelsea....the two clubs almost seem powerless to stop them. From what I can see, both sides are struggling to thread water at the moment, let alone bridge the gap to Chelsea. Ray Houghtan proposed a theory tonight that Arsene Wenger has basically conceded the title in the summer by selling Vieira, knowing that Arsenal were not good enough to catch Chelsea, and is using this season to rebuild.

Manchester United have lost Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Gabriel Heinze, three huge losses. Should Ruud Van Nistlerooy or Paul Scholes pick up an injury I feel that simply don't have the depth to maintain a consistent level. Barring disaster, I don't see a big gap between us and the other two at the end of the season, and that will have to stand for progress.

Lets worry about Chelsea and a title challenge next year or the year after. This season is all about getting consistency, tightening things up, losing less games and making progress. Thats good enough.

by **Woollyback** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:15 pm

JBG wrote:Lets worry about Chelsea and a title challenge next year or the year after. This season is all about getting consistency, tightening things up, losing less games and making progress. Thats good enough.

exactly, can't remember who said it the other day but we need to measure our progress this season against Arsenal & ManU, not Chelsea. I've no doubt we will be a hell of a lot closer to those 2 this season, perhaps even pushing one of them right to the wire for 3rd spot

by **lakes10** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:16 pm

some of you can not see what is right in front of you till its too late.

by **Woollyback** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:19 pm

behold Lakes: the eternal optimist

C'mon Lakes fella, just read JBG's comparison with last season and realise things are a lot better than you might think

by **JBG** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:22 pm

Woollyback wrote:
JBG wrote:Lets worry about Chelsea and a title challenge next year or the year after. This season is all about getting consistency, tightening things up, losing less games and making progress. Thats good enough.

exactly, can't remember who said it the other day but we need to measure our progress this season against Arsenal & ManU, not Chelsea. I've no doubt we will be a hell of a lot closer to those 2 this season, perhaps even pushing one of them right to the wire for 3rd spot

Yes.

The terrible reality is, Chelsea are in a league of their own. Their strength in depth is extraordinary, and they possess arguably the greatest manager in football today (even if he is a git). Arsenal and Man United have fallen even further behind Chelsea from last season, and they must surely now be in our sights. Progress has to be gradual, otherwise you'll get an Ispwich or (at the moment) Everton situation where a team collapses very quickly after a short and unexpected burst of success. Our aim over the next two seasons is to get to Arsenal and Man United's level. If we reach and better them, then the next step will be to try and match Chelsea. There's no point in trying to measure ourselves against Chelsea at this stage (although that does not mean we shouldn't try to beat them when we face them) when we finished something like 37 points behind them last year. Daft as this might sound, but in the current climate, reducing that gap to 25 points by the season end will amount to considerable progress (I know, I know, Shanks would turn in his grave and all that, but thats the reality).

by **lakes10** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:25 pm

I am am sorry that you lot do not like my views on how RB is doing in the Premiership but thats life, he is a great CL manager.
Ido not like the way he is making us play, i dont like the players that he has put in the team..apart from 2.
if we win the two games in hand we are still 8 points off the top....and that only after 7 games.

I know for a fact that i am not the onluy on to feel like this but it serams that i am the only one that has the guts to come out and say it on this forum....the rest of you sneek off and post on other forums under new names saying almost the same as me.

by **Woollyback** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:29 pm

it's true JBG, it looks like Chelsea will be even better this season than last so even if we still finish 37 points behind them again would mean we would probably have more points than last season so to reduce the deficit by a noticeable margin will be a worthy achievement

by **lakes10** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:34 pm

Woollyback wrote:it's true, it looks like Chelsea will be even better this season than last so even if we still finish 37 points behind them again would mean we would probably have more points than last season so to reduce the deficit by a noticeable margin will be a worthy achievement

we do need to get closer but what is more we need to start to look like a good team....and not a team that is happy to sit back till the last 10 mins of a game

by **JBG** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:36 pm

lakes10 wrote:I am am sorry that you lot do not like my views on how RB is doing in the Premiership but thats life, he is a great CL manager.
Ido not like the way he is making us play, i dont like the players that he has put in the team..apart from 2.
if we win the two games in hand we are still 8 points off the top....and that only after 7 games.

I know for a fact that i am not the onluy on to feel like this but it serams that i am the only one that has the guts to come out and say it on this forum....the rest of you sneek off and post on other forums under new names saying almost the same as me.

No, I disagree with that Lakes. I don't think anything can be achieved by fans throwing their toys out of the pram at this stage.

The reality is that the two teams who dominated the Premiership for ten years, Manchester United and Arsenal, are struggling to cope with the deus ex machina that is Roman Abramovich's Chelsea. They have come entirely out of left of field and have utterly and fundamentally changed the football landscape in England.

Rafa Benitez' brief is far harder and infinitely more complex than say, Gerrard Houllier's, when Houllier was appointed as manager. Houllier had a brilliant Man UTD and an excellent Arsenal team to deal with, whereas Benitez has both of those and a Chelsea team that are probably at least two levels higher than Man UTD and Arsenal.

Arsenal have a brilliant team and yet they are struggling desperately in Chelsea's slipstream.

There is no magic wand which will fix our league form overnight. Turning dreadful 0-2 away defeats in 2-2 all draws is substantial progress.

by **bring_back_biscan** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:43 pm

Turning dreadful 0-2 away defeats in 2-2 all draws is substantial progress.

Against that Birmingham team today???

by **JBG** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:44 pm

bring_back_biscan wrote:
Turning dreadful 0-2 away defeats in 2-2 all draws is substantial progress.

Against that Birmingham team today???

No, thats not the point. Last season the Birmingham team today would have beaten us.

by **bring_back_biscan** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:56 pm

Not that Brum team, they were poor today and yet they were 6mins away from beating us. That first half was as bad as anything we saw last season.

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