Liverpool FC Forum

by **bigmick** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:28 pm

After another round of matches,we find ourselves at the half way stage of surely a historically weak Premiership. What do we find?

Incredibly, the Mancs find themselves within two points of the top of the table, despite being not a patch on the team which won it last season, despite selling the World player of the year in the Summer, and despite having the whole back four other than Evra injured. It's amazing to me how they've done it, they aren't even a very good team never mind a great one, yet here we are with the distinct possibility they could overtake us in league title wins.

Despite comfortably being the best team in the division, Chelsea seem hellbent on giving it away. After a good start Ancellotti worries me, and it appears he's worrying the Chelsea players as well. Constantly mentioning how "tired" they are after "so many matches in quick succession" gives me overwhelming feelings of deja vu, and seems to be now filtering through to their players as inevitably it must. Previous managers of the same team would probably have talked about how the FA were "desperate for Chelsea not to win it" and were doing everything in their power to put obstacles in their way. Those same managers would have moaned that the football establishment was lined up against his team, but would have assured all and sundry that it made no difference, the best team wins the league and Chelsea are the best team. It worked for him anyway.

Arsenal are now within range too. Despite being powder puff down the centre of defence and despite having a goalkeeper who our own Leon could give a run for his money, they are right in the mix. They sold their best striker and best defender in the Summer, have their best striker still at the club inured for the whole season but still are right in with a shout.

Meanwhile we are long since out of it. Long since have we lowered our sights, looking for that top four slot. Our rivals aren't currently the Mancs, Chelsea and Arsenal, but are Villa, Tottenham and Man City. The more optimistic amongst us won't hear of the possibility of us finishing below Birmingham, Fulham, Stoke etc, but we are still in a four way dogfight for fourth spot. We could still conieveably finish in seventh spot, even if we do see off the challenge of mighty Birmingham and Fulham.

How did it ever come to this? How does a team which includes Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Javier Masherano and the like find itself in such a jam? Will we ever forgive if this Manc team, with all it's vulnerabilities wins the league? I know I couldn't, not in a million years.

by **lakes10** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:32 pm

I think the way its going Arsenal might just stop threm for us.

by **Sir Roger** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:10 pm

bigmick wrote:After another round of matches,we find ourselves at the half way stage of surely a historically weak Premiership. What do we find?

Incredibly, the Mancs find themselves within two points of the top of the table, despite being not a patch on the team which won it last season, despite selling the World player of the year in the Summer, and despite having the whole back four other than Evra injured. It's amazing to me how they've done it, they aren't even a very good team never mind a great one, yet here we are with the distinct possibility they could overtake us in league title wins.

Despite comfortably being the best team in the division, Chelsea seem hellbent on giving it away. After a good start Ancellotti worries me, and it appears he's worrying the Chelsea players as well. Constantly mentioning how "tired" they are after "so many matches in quick succession" gives me overwhelming feelings of deja vu, and seems to be now filtering through to their players as inevitably it must. Previous managers of the same team would probably have talked about how the FA were "desperate for Chelsea not to win it" and were doing everything in their power to put obstacles in their way. Those same managers would have moaned that the football establishment was lined up against his team, but would have assured all and sundry that it made no difference, the best team wins the league and Chelsea are the best team. It worked for him anyway.

Arsenal are now within range too. Despite being powder puff down the centre of defence and despite having a goalkeeper who our own Leon could give a run for his money, they are right in the mix. They sold their best striker and best defender in the Summer, have their best striker still at the club inured for the whole season but still are right in with a shout.

Meanwhile we are long since out of it. Long since have we lowered our sights, looking for that top four slot. Our rivals aren't currently the Mancs, Chelsea and Arsenal, but are Villa, Tottenham and Man City. The more optimistic amongst us won't hear of the possibility of us finishing below Birmingham, Fulham, Stoke etc, but we are still in a four way dogfight for fourth spot. We could still conieveably finish in seventh spot, even if we do see off the challenge of mighty Birmingham and Fulham.

How did it ever come to this? How does a team which includes Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Javier Masherano and the like find itself in such a jam? Will we ever forgive if this Manc team, with all it's vulnerabilities wins the league? I know I couldn't, not in a million years.

They have done it by beetroot gobs media referee campaign, tv favouritism, spin, luck and shi'thouse teams and managers rolling over.
We absolutely battered them at anfield. I watched it again before. We snuffed out Rooney and Giggs and Berbatov was substituted he was that bad. Their back four were like four strangers whod never played football before such was the mauling they got from our relentless attacking. And all without Gerrard
If ever theres a match to show how good we were and how bad weve become and how fortunes can change within months its that one.
Absolutely heartbreaking

by **dawson99** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:21 pm

They have done it by beetroot gobs media referee campaign, tv favouritism, spin, luck and shi'thouse teams and managers rolling over.

How bitter are you?
If they win it, theyve done because they not fukked up like we have. simple as. media referree campaign indeed LOL

by **sixbuster** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:27 pm

a nightmare it would be

by **dawson99** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:33 pm

sixbuster wrote:a nightmare it would be

Would it?

I think it'd be the kick up the ar$e we so severely need to finally stop living just on our history, and creating some history of our own

by **Ben Patrick** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:43 pm

Our shocking performances and the way we have rolled over in games does for me make it all the harder to swallow when you consider the overall standard of the opposition.

Fergie today stated its a harder league this year, you can see that by how many points the top four have dropped and how many games they have lost.
While i agree, Spurs City and Villa are stronger, i think its more to do with the top four going backwards.
United have lost 5 times and Chelsea 4 i think.
Aresnal look great at times but were overwhelmingly battered at home by Chelsea.

This should have been the season where we moved from a very close second to united and kicked on, putting pressure on the others to keep stride.

It started with a woeful pre-season where we started the season imo unfit and nowhere near ready.
Rafa over protecting the players imo - worrying too much about the season and not plotting a barnstorming start.
We had a difficult opener of that there is no doubt. But for me, you get the players ready for it and go to Spurs to win.
Win that and you set down a marker for the rest of the league.
Suddenly united and Chelsea sit up and think, sh!t these mean business this season.
But no, Rafa doesnt do short term and imo hasnt any clue about the positive effect a good start could have had. The word momentum needs spelling out to our manager.
We started poorly and got steadily worse.

The players should shoulder alot of the blame, but the manager this season has lost the plot imo.

by **bigmick** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:58 pm

dawson99 wrote:
sixbuster wrote:a nightmare it would be

Would it?

I think it'd be the kick up the ar$e we so severely need to finally stop living just on our history, and creating some history of our own

There may even be something in that Daws'. If you take out our (I think it's fair to say fractionally fortuitous) Champions League win for a second, we are well and truly into the sleeping giant category, if not comatosed. Further, if we are bought into the "base camp" theory which states that you need to be right up there in a given season in order to win it the following time around, it's hard to imagine us getting up anytime soon as well.

All that said though, feck me what a chance this time around. Any team which is half decent and can win 8 or 9 out of 10 would absolutely p!ss it. Chelsea aren't quite underachieving to the same extent as we are IMHO, but they are getting that way.

My current League table based on "outperformance" (ie, who is doing better or worse than it is reasonable to expect).

1. Birmingham (one point behind us).
2. Fulham (three behind us with a game in hand)
3. Villa (lost their best player last summer, five ahead of us)
3. Man Utd (ditto, are average and stacked up with injuries, ten points ahead of us)
5. Arsenal (sold their best striker and best defender. 8 points ahead of us with a game in hand).
6. Blackburn (12th and rubbish). Big Sam yeah :buttrock

7. Spurs (4 points ahead of us).
8. Burnley (doing well to be mid table)
9. Stoke (ditto)
10. Sunderland (bought well, should be a wee bit higher though)
11. Chelsea (in danger of spunking the league through average management)
12. Wolves (poor team doing well to be out of the zone, must surely go down. Buy Kevin Doyle if they do)
13. Man City (not particularly special to spend all that money and be where they are, two points ahead of us with a game in hand).
14. Wigan (doing well to be out of the relegation zone).
15. Everton (bad injuries and lost their best defender before a ball kicked).
16. Portsmouth (doing well to not be adrift given their situation).
17. West Ham (missing carlton Cole have done well to get out of the relegation zone).
18. Hull.
19. Bolton.
20. Liverpool bottom, an absolutely atrocious effort in the league from us this term, abysmal, horrific.

by **Reg** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:18 pm

They'd deserve it, we've only threatened to win the league once in the last 10 years so who's to blame? All credit to the Mancs if they beat our record to be honest, one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

by **Sir Roger** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:23 pm

dawson99 wrote:They have done it by beetroot gobs media referee campaign, tv favouritism, spin, luck and shi'thouse teams and managers rolling over.

How bitter are you?
If they win it, theyve done because they not fukked up like we have. simple as. media referree campaign indeed LOL

You didnt notice Fergusons media campaign then at the start of the season when he ranted and raved every week over refereeing decisions?

You dont reckon theres favouritism from virtually every ex player pundit towards them?

You didnt see wolves reserves play them last week?

What the fu'ck have you been doing since august???

by **Ben Patrick** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:27 pm

Sir Roger wrote:
dawson99 wrote:They have done it by beetroot gobs media referee campaign, tv favouritism, spin, luck and shi'thouse teams and managers rolling over.

How bitter are you?
If they win it, theyve done because they not fukked up like we have. simple as. media referree campaign indeed LOL

You didnt notice Fergusons media campaign then at the start of the season when he ranted and raved every week over refereeing decisions?

You dont reckon theres favouritism from virtually every ex player pundit towards them?

You didnt see wolves reserves play them last week?

What the fu'ck have you been doing since august???

Thats got naff all to do with why WE lost against Arsenal and Villa at home.
And Chelsea Sunderland, Spurs, Fulham and worst of all Portsmouth last week.

United have lost 5 times before xmas this season, we should have jumped all over that and left them a mountain to climb.
But we are 10 points further back, its a disgrace to be honest.

by **dawson99** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:27 pm

And we don't get the same luck? How often do our boys dive in the tackle or dive and get away with it?
All the 'big teams' get away with so much against the so called smaller teams its getting embarressing.

Stevie might as well carry a whistle the way hes been behaving lately...

by **NANNY RED** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:01 pm

the Italian , Tommo :laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wBtC4Tl5s

by **Ben Patrick** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:23 pm

NANNY RED wrote: the Italian , Tommo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wBtC4Tl5s

not biased one bit him

by **J*o*n*D*o*e** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:31 pm

would of been great to see him after the CL final 05

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