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This opportunity or 4th place in the bag? - What would you take?
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:14 pmby Scottbot
As i said in another post It's like a blo.ody morgue in here today. It looks like we'll finish 5th instead of 4th and it's doom, gloom and the end of the world.
This time last year we were all dreading another season with Ged at the helm, fans were more intersted in the hotdog stand or falling asleep at anfield (which wasn't even full half the time!), the football had been dreadful all season long, we never came close to the performances we have seen against Arsenal, Olympiacos, Bayer and those two wonderful nights against Juve and we were literally a one-man team in Steven Gerrard. The only thing LFC fans were interested in talking about was how badly derailed Houlliers' revolution had become and who (if theb balls grew the balls to sack him) would be the replacement.
Okay so 4th place is gone - Screw the league! We're in a EUROPEAN CUP SEMI-FINAL on Wednesday agaisnt the new champs of England. I wouldn't swap this opportunity for a guaranteed 4th place.
How many of you would that Semi-Final for the knowledge we would definately be in next years Champions League?
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:18 pmby Cool Hand Luke
Long term progress - 4th place
Flash in the pan sucess (if you can call it success) - Semi Final
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:22 pmby Scottbot
Cool Hand Luke wrote:Flash in the pan sucess (if you can call it success) - Semi Final
So getting to the semi-final of the European Cup doesn't constitute success? Give me strength.....and if we win this flash in the pan semi-final. Can we call that success?
Lost for words
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:28 pmby Alanay
We are in difficult situation. All the sudden it looks like beating Chelsea in the semi final is easier than getting the 4th place.....
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:28 pmby Cool Hand Luke
Sorry mate. I just think that we need something tangible at the end of the season in order to call it a success.
Don’t forget that are overriding objective was to secure Champions League football for next season. Now if we win the Champions League that will be a different matter, because we would have secured Champions League football for next season.
If we were to finish 5th and get knocked out by Chelsea in the semi-finals, meaning that next season instead of playing Juventus, Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid, we would probably have to travel to Bulgaria to face the team that finished second or third, then maybe you would change your tune.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:31 pmby The_Rock
we have to remember what happened to leeds....we always have to think of long-term success. We can afford not qualifying for champions league next season..... But thats it. We can't afford not to qualify after that.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:40 pmby Cool Hand Luke
The_Rock wrote:we have to remember what happened to leeds....we always have to think of long-term success. We can afford not qualifying for champions league next season..... But thats it.
Exactly.
The best way to achieve long term success is to be amongst the elite, cash is important but so is prestige.
The board have set a minimum objective of achieving Champions League football every season, there is reason for this, they didn’t just think if it one day.
Off course everyone would like to have a chance to go to the final and maybe even win it, but the fact is, it is only a chance.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:04 pmby L-type
I'm definitely pleased with our progress, and honestly even if we dont win it all I won't be too sad, as getting 4th place isn't a "tangible" result as someone made it out to be. I pulled this quote from Paul tomkins...
Even if Chelsea win through to the final, and the Reds finish 6th in the league, it will not mean this season has been a total failure. It will have been an education. A university student will put in a lot of hard work in the first year, but it is not in the first year that he or she earns the qualification. In order to get to the second and third years, a student has to go through those difficult initial first terms. This season will only be a failure if the club, as a whole, does not learn its lessons, or fails to implement the newly garnered knowledge in the future.
and because basically because this guy is a genious whatever he says is right, and any dissenting opinions are wrong 
Just remember that this season we have been plagued by referees, injures, and Everton actually putting a few results together. This year was always gonna be a step backwards, but in the long run it's the best choice. And what the hell, if we win the champions league then we'd be ahead of the game.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:18 pmby Cool Hand Luke
The question was whether people would swap the semi final place with a guaranteed 4th spot, considering that we are unlikely to get that now.
I've said it before, our goal at the begging of the season was to achieve Champions League football for next season.
If we don’t do it, I wouldn’t say it was a complete failure, but we would have failed in our main objective. But Rafa would still have learned a lot and that is very important too.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:40 pmby bigmick
The head says 4th place as it means we would sign better players etc etc. The heart though says the Champions League semi-final. Opportunities such as this come once in a generation for all but the very biggest clubs. Let's be honest, we're not in the top four or five teams in Europe, which makes it all the better an achievement.
If we were to win it, it would be unbelieveably annoying for Chelsea, Arsenal and particularly ManUre as despite having good teams for a number of years, they have had no success in the competition (apart from an extremely fortuotous win for ManUre)
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:19 pmby JC_81
Personally i would prefer champ lge semi to 4th
Rafa's 1st season and its been a transitional one so we were always gonna be inconsistent in the league. I think this is better than i expected to do this season to be honest.
I think that the good displays in europe this season will do more for attracting quality players than scraping into the competition next year via 4th would have done.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:14 pmby Honolulu Bob
I'd sooner be in the semi's of the champions league for the 1st time in 20 years than settle for 4th and not be.
The money made this year by getting this far will probably offset a fair amount of any revenue lost if we're not in it next year and
what's the point of being in it if you aren't going to give your all to win the bloody thing!
Sod 4th place, i'd sooner be in the last 4 of the most prestigious club competition in the world anyday even if we get knocked out by Chelsea.
Anyway, nicking the bitters place when we win it is gonna make it even sweeter! 
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:23 pmby jonnymac1979
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:35 pmby KennyisGod....still
Strange innit....all season long its been one injury after another, players out for two/three months and all that. Well, to finish 5th and maybe win the CL on the strength of 3 possible draws aint a disaster is it? I for one dont understand our away performances to be honest, cuz in europe they have - on the whole - been damn good, yet in the PL we cudnt win a raffle away. Admittedly, Satdys game werent exactly football of the highest quality, and we have got a lot of players not used to trench warfare that can be a relegation dogfight in the PL, but I swear if Rafa cud nail the away performances we'd be up with Chelsea and the scum. Without checkin is it 10 or 11 games away now we've lost? Thats like 30 points, against alot of mediocre opposition, yet we can hold Juve, beat Bayer and reach the semis based on damn good performances.
Gimme the choice now of 4th or the semis I'd take the semis, purely because I feel Rafa can cure this problem for next season and we can progress from there, but there aint no guarantee of a semi spot next year. I'd love to have been in that dressin room satdy tho, cuz I think the gaffer was fumin at Palace's tactics!!
Ah well, if 4th has gone then its gone, its still been a season of transition from GH to RB and that was never gonna be easy, so i aint gonna cry over it. Lets see what wensdy brings, maybe an away goal cuz they are leakin 'em at the minute and go from there. Rafa's done well, most of the team have done well if not quite well enough, but thats for the future. Right now anyone with any football sense can see we're in a far better position to start next season than we did this one - with or without SG.
Posted:
Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:38 pmby yckatbjywtbiastkamb
european cup semi final for me, okay we missed out on fourth but we`ll have a good chance at winning the uefa cup and if rafa can keep our best players and add one or two it will be just a blip. its not the not having champions league footy for one season that bothers me its if the likes of gerrard see it as an excuse to jump ship.
european cup semi finals win or lose are all part of a clubs history. it takes me back to the old days.