Liverpool FC Forum

[account deleted by request]

You always want to play well and you always want to win games, but the big thing is to take as many points from as many matches as you possibly can. This season there has only been one game where we didn't take anything - away at Tottenham - so clearly the boys are doing their best.
 
You want to try and capitalise on any mistakes Chelsea make and, okay, we didn't do that in the way we would have wanted against West Ham, but we still picked up a point and it could prove to be a big point at the end of the season.
 
I know it has been said over the last couple of weeks that the fans are nervous and anxious and that it might be affecting the players, but I don't really go along with that way of thinking.
 
The top of the league is the best place to be, full stop. The players have to enjoy being where they are and get on with the job of staying there. If they keep winning games then nobody will overtake them, it's as simple as that.
 
What you don't want to be doing before games is thinking too much about the league table and league positions. You have to try and beat the opposition, you don't want to have to try and beat yourself as well.
 
The league table isn't an obstacle or a team to overcome and it shouldn't be in the players' minds when they take on Blackburn this weekend. You play against the opposition, not against the league table.
 
There is nobody above us at the moment and that is a fact to be enjoyed, not frightened of.
 
There's no reason for anxiety among the fans either in any way, shape or form. We have made great progress during 2008 and have got ourselves into a position where we can really challenge for the Premier League title for the first time in many years. That's not something to feel anxious about.
 
The players go onto the pitch before every game with every ambition to do as well as they possibly can, and the people go through the turnstiles wanting to support their team as well as they can. It's much easier when both factions are together. If it's not going right then you will get one or two groans - like against West Ham - but I'm sure those people went away for a pint with their mates after the game and said to themselves and others 'we're top of the league'.
 
It's great to see us looking down on everyone else and no matter what you might think about performances or players, don't lose sight of the fact that the boys have picked up more points than any other team this season and have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United along the way.
 
It's shaping up to be a really interesting title race, with all of the main contenders having suffered a few problems already this season.
 

Kenny on being top
The top of the league is the best place to be, full stop. The players have to enjoy being where they are and get on with the job of staying there. If they keep winning games then nobody will overtake them, it's as simple as that. What you don't want to be doing before games is thinking too much about the league table and league positions. You have to try and beat the opposition, you don't want to have to try and beat yourself as well.
Chelsea's away record is unblemished but, strangely, they have struggled for home points so far. Manchester United have played the 'big three' away from home and only picked up a point while Arsenal have done well against Chelsea and United but lost a number of games to other teams. It's hard to predict how results are going to go from week to week.
 
I mentioned in my column last month that fans have a habit of wanting to look four or five games into the future and try to predict what's going to happen. If football was that simple to predict it would be a dull game.
 
People would have been looking at the fixtures a couple of weeks ago and saying we've got to play Fulham and West Ham at home and Bolton away so that was going to be a certain nine points. And here we are sitting with just five points from those three games.
 
Who'd have thought we've have dropped four points at home in our last two league games? Who'd have thought the top five wouldn't be able to score a goal between them the previous weekend?
 
Football is full of surprises but it's how you recover and react to setbacks which is important and Liverpool have to be positive.
 
We have to get over the disappointment of not beating West Ham and go and take three points away from Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon. If we do that then we stay top of the table with another game having been played.
 
It won't be easy though because I'm sure Paul Ince will have them fired up for the match. They don't seem to have a lot of luck going for them at the moment and they're struggling for results, but I'm sure he can get them out of the trouble they find themselves in at the present time.
 
Incey has done brilliantly in his managerial career so far and it's good to see him being given a chance in the Premier League. He did fantastically well at Macclesfield when people probably thought he was mad to take the job. He rescued them by keeping them up and then went and did an equally good job at MK Dons. It's going to be tough for him at Blackburn - especially following in Mark Hughes' footsteps there - but I'm sure he has the credentials to do well. He just needs a bit of luck.
 
From a personal point of view it's always a special fixture when Liverpool go to Blackburn because I have very fond memories of my time at Ewood Park. The people of Blackburn are good people - I just wish both teams could win this weekend!
 
From a confidence and building a momentum point of view, it's important to get the victory on Saturday as it would put us in good shape as we head closer towards the Christmas programme of games.
 
Although we've had one or two setbacks so far, I've seen nothing to change my pre-season opinion that this is the best chance we've had to go close to winning - or to win - the Premier League title.
 
I said that three or four months ago and I stand by it today. I just thought at the start of the season that we looked really strong all through the team and as the season developed and we beat Manchester United and Chelsea, it only strengthened my belief that we can do it this year.
 
Chelsea have been inconsistent, United haven't been on fire and they've still got the World Club Championship match in Japan today which means they'll fall behind with fixtures, and Arsenal are struggling to put any kind of run together.
 
We're not losing many games, we're not conceding many goals and we're sat with more points than anybody else after 15 games. I just wish we could score a few more though because I have a feeling goal difference might prove to be very important this season and at this moment our tally is inferior to Chelsea's.
 
With that in mind, we could have done without Fernando Torres suffering another injury, but if we don't rush him back and if he can return fully fit and feeling fresh then he could have a terrific second half of the season for us.
 
There is still an awful lot to play for and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the boys can keep picking up the points and stay at the top of the table.
 
Believe me, it's the best place to be.

LFC T.V.


I agree with Kenny, I don't think being top in December puts any pressure on the players , and if they have acrophobia now god help them if we are still there come May. Enjoy being top, take each game as it comes and don't get carried away.

I think we have all seen too many points thrown away the past few weeks to take anything for granted, but if we can start scoring goals again we are still in with a chance. Every game is a big game now and we should enjoy itwhile we can, its much better than playing for a CL place, which is were we usually are by this time in the season.

[Alex G.]

I hope the players will react. As Rush said, we are going to see now who are the players with a winner mentality in the squad that can handle the pressure.

[tubby]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

[Emerald Red]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

I like your optimism. 

[allred]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

Every team has up home games or games they should have won, and they've done it more than us, does this mean there gona go down hill as well?

its nearly half way into the season and were sitting top of the league and we've managed to do that without our best striker and without playing great football.

listen to kenny and try and enjoy it

[LegBarnes]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

I like your optimism. 

Remember its all babels fault even tho he has hardly played !   

[LegBarnes]

I like to see kenny given another go at liverpool one day , I know we get into this time old thing of having a top proven manager over a club legand but really kenny is the nuts. 

[zarababe]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

sometimes I think we have more Mancsh'ites posting on here then Liverpool Supporters

Kenny has intervened to calm all - shameful that booing was - top and we have to defend it 

[Reg]

I like to see kenny given another go at liverpool one day , I know we get into this time old thing of having a top proven manager over a club legand but really kenny is the nuts. 

Dont be daft.

Kenny, Keegan, Keane - the 3 K´s dont have what it takes for the job.

[Sabre]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

We feared a bad start once again -- it didn't happen.

We feared November -- we're top of the table.

You fear a downfall a la Arsenal? -- our fears so far proved to be wrong.

[aCe']

our problem is always going to be too many draws preventing us from winning the fcker... we'r always reat at the back but lacking upfront and it has cost us yet and again... if we dont manage to do something about it then this season will be no different to all the other seasons we had under benitez...
until we start beating the smaller teams convincingly in the leaue the way ManUtd and Chelsea do, we will be winning fck all under benitez....

[Emerald Red]

our problem is always going to be too many draws preventing us from winning the fcker... we'r always reat at the back but lacking upfront and it has cost us yet and again... if we dont manage to do something about it then this season will be no different to all the other seasons we had under benitez...
until we start beating the smaller teams convincingly in the leaue the way ManUtd and Chelsea do, we will be winning fck all under benitez....

You mean like Chelsea did against Newcastle, and Arsenal and United did against Sunderland, Spurs, and Everton respectively?

As for the season being no different, it already is.

[Sabre]

King Kenny talked sense last year, King Kenny talks sense this year.

Nothing new under the sun.

[aCe']

our problem is always going to be too many draws preventing us from winning the fcker... we'r always reat at the back but lacking upfront and it has cost us yet and again... if we dont manage to do something about it then this season will be no different to all the other seasons we had under benitez...
until we start beating the smaller teams convincingly in the leaue the way ManUtd and Chelsea do, we will be winning fck all under benitez....

You mean like Chelsea did against Newcastle, and Arsenal and United did against Sunderland, Spurs, and Everton respectively?

As for the season being no different, it already is.

im talking about Chelsea and Manutd...
Chelsea dropped points against Newcastle and Tottenham... hardly small sides... Manutd dropped points against newcastle(H), EVerton (A), Villa (A).. all those dropped points for both sides being draws...

Hey if we had the set of fixtures ManUtd had so far we would have been nowhere near where we are now, hell we wouldnt have been anywhere near where they are now... We would all have been talking about 'an easier 2nd half of the season' with most of harder games being at home ...

ManUtd and Chelsea are yet to drop points against the likes of WestHam, Fulham and Stoke and the Villa and Tottenham sides that they drew we somehow ended up dropping points at too.. what hurt Chelsea and Manutd the most so far have been the losses to us and Arsenal and the fact that they drew when playing each other... had Chelsea or Manutd beat us when they played us they would have been top of the table now (manutd beating Fulham is a given)... If everything stays the same and we end up losing to either Manutd, Chelsea or even Arsenal, we drop to 3rd...

its too early to be saying oh hey look at us we'r topping the league because we'r better than you because quite simply a loss to Arsenal in the upcoming fixture would bring us back to 3rd pace... which would still flatter us given the performances we put out so far...

[taff]

I can only see us going downhill from here on. We have fecked up so many easy home games. Its the same story as always we just postponed it by a month or 2 this time.

What does Kenny know about winning the league