Liverpool FC Forum

[Festy]

And if it's not this season, next year the title is definitely ours. I can't see it not happening.

Wonderful use of the double negative 

Why not just say you can see it happen?

Are you a fcuking grandpa or something. Other day you launched an attack on me just because you didn't find my comments funny. FFS stop launching direct attacks on people.

[Ciggy]

Lesson 1.  Rafa and the Yanks have stopped airing our dirty laundry in public it has been the most crucial part of us starting to play well.
It must never happen again even if we get new owners in it was killing us.

Lesson 2. Stop worrying about dross just play OUR game feck what others are going to do.

Lesson 3. For the first time since Rafa has been here we are playing some fantastic fabulous football and hopefully that will continue in the future.

Lesson 4. We where in the unknown because we have been out of the title race before Chrimbo, everyone was nervous that we would blow our chances. we wont do that in a hurry again.

Lesson 5. Welcome back BigMick

[Festy]

Lesson 1.  Rafa and the Yanks have stopped airing our dirty laundry in public it has been the most crucial part of us starting to play well.
It must never happen again even if we get new owners in it was killing us.

Lesson 2. Stop worrying about dross just play OUR game feck what others are going to do.

Lesson 3. For the first time since Rafa has been here we are playing some fantastic fabulous football and hopefully that will continue in the future.

Lesson 4. We where in the unknown because we have been out of the title race before Chrimbo, everyone was nervous that we would blow our chances. we wont do that in a hurry again.

Lesson 5. Welcome back BigMick

Lesson 6: Rotation is the root of all Evil. 

[Judge]

As the season has panned out, as our challenge has  meandered along, we've entered unchartered waters a few times. Some of the time we've handled it quite well, whereas on other occasions we've not unnaturally looked like we aren't sure whether to stick or twist, to raise or call. At times we've won despite not playing well which is the tried and trusted hallmark of a good team, while over the last six weeks or so we've been playing about as well as any Liverpool team over the last twenty years.

Our efforts may yet prove to be enough. Manchester United may indeed drop yet more points and we are close enough to capitalise if they do. Like the other two big four teams, they made it to the FA Cup semi final. They'll no doubt beat Everton and like Chelsea will have the final at the back of their minds. Also, like the same other two big four teams they reached the Champions League semi final, and it wouldn't be the biggest surprise in the World if they progressed in that as well. There will be many distractions for them, as there has been for Arsenal before and after they visit Anfield. We of course have no such complications, and the fact we only have a half dozen games to worry about should mean that we will be able to give a good account of ourselves over the remaining games. I reckon we'll be ready should they slip up, and will finish closer than many of us had predicted. For my part, for most of the season my guess has been second and eight points back, and it seems a certainty we'll be much closer than that.

So what if we don't quite do it (and indeed even if we do), what lessons have we learnt, what conclusions can we draw from the campaign? With the benefit of hindsight, did we get it always right, or were there areas where we could have possibly given ourselves a better chance? Is it concieveable that we could have been sitting pretty by now, with the Mancs hoping we fecked it up rather than the other way around? Is it even possible that we are better off being the chaser rather than the chased, better off not being under the closest of scrutiny as the Mancs will be over the next few games?

It may seem odd to be asking the question at this stage, but as you may or may not be aware I haven't been around these parts too much lately. If perish the thought we didn't beat Arsenal, then naturally any such questions would be buried under a tirade of insults. You'd be "happy the team lost", "not a real fan" and all that stuff. Asking the question now, while the team is flying and still in with a good chance should hopefully avoid some of that at least, though obviously not all.

So in essence that's the topic starter, that's the question. What lessons can we learn from our first genuine title challenge in years? Any? None? Some?

Needless to say I have a few theories of my own, I'll post em up in a bit.

welcome back me ole mucker 

good post, a bit long as usual, but i never thought you'd be away that long to write this one, unless your spelling is cack  , and your spell checker wasnt working 

[bigmick]

Lessons learned:
Support your team because they may just surprise you and then you will not seem like a negative grumpy feck    that has to hide out for a while because he painted himself into a corner (intended to be light-hearted but take it as you will )

Lessons learned:
"Fergie-Style", changing the team, the formation and/or the positions which the players play in with the frequency and to the degree which he does will never be successful in the English premier League"

I don't know about "painting myself into a corner" Kazza, that's certainly not why I gave the forum a miss for a bit (and in truth I doubt if I'll ever quite get back to the amount of time I put into the forum back in the good old days). As I explained to the one or two people who pm'd me, I gave the forum a miss because of me, not because of anyone else. It wasn't because of the mods or any resentment towards them, it wasn't because of any abuse I was getting off my fan club, it was because of me and the way I was becoming in real life. I'll be keeping a close eye on me, and any re-visitations to the way I was before and I'll be gone fairly sharpish. That said I think your point is made with fairly reasonable and light hearted intentions, as is my reply although it sounds a bit heavy.

As for "Fergie style" I made the point earlier that if you pick ridiculous football teams, you run the risk of losing football matches. That is by no means unique to us, I always said while we styling ourselves into dizzyness that it was a shame that everyone didn't do it as well to level up the playing field a bit. It's not the first time for them either. His insistence on "resting" their best player at the time last season almost cost them the title, it seems he hasn't learnt. Luckily though, it seems that we have which is excellent.

I should also say that a couple of people have been very nice about me coming back, and I appreciate the sentiments, thanks very much  . I did say that if I ever came back it would be with regret, but the truth is it isn't so far.

[bigmick]

I don't understand this whole point of the extremely favourable conditions. Beating Chelsea and Manchester away are our merits and period, it just shows we have a strong team.

The truth is that if Liverpool wins the league this year, Liverpool will win this league in the moment that this league has been stronger in the last two decades -- undebatable fact. So that fact destroys IMHO the notion of the favourable conditions (I know, in just one line, but still does), rather, I'd say that we'll win a league harder to win than in 2003, 1999, or 1995. Against all the odds, and against stronger teams economically.

I guess it's all a matter of how you look at things.

Well I don't know about destroying the thing in one line, although the one line does make it clear you disagree with the notion of favourable circumstances Sabre. That's cool though.

Just to briefly set out why I disagree with you about the league being the strongest it's been in the last two decades. I think it is because it lacks an outstanding team or bunch of teams. Mourinho's Chelsea, or Arsenals invincibles, or two or three of the Man Utd teams in the past dozen years or so would have won this league at a canter. Now that is as close to an undeniable fact as you're ever going to get, although I've no doubt people will deny it.

Now of course it's not our fault that Arsenal and Chelsea are shadows of the teams they have been in the last four or five seasons (although in both cases they are ominously looking ripe for a return to prominence) and equally if we won the title it doesn't diminish our achievement in winning it. Our objective is to get more points in the league THIS SEASON than anybody else. If we do that, we are wothy Champions. That said, I think it's a legitimate point to make that this season has afforded us not just a window of opportunity, but the front door and back door as well. Not only that, but we've kicked in all available entry points by winning Home and Away against our main rivals. My point is quite simply that we will not win Home and Away against both Chelsea and Man Utd again, nor will we see both Chelsea and Arsenal as weak as they have been this season anytime soon. those are/were fairly unique circumstances, and you're right that us winning those games proves we are a good team.

It would be a grave error IMHO to conclude that as the English teams have gone so well in the Champions League that they are necessarily strong in comparision to previous years. The English teams always go well in the Champions League these days, they will next season too.

[Ciggy]

Lessons to be learned from everyone, the fans, manager, owners, and the players.............

[Sabre]

It would be a grave error IMHO to conclude that as the English teams have gone so well in the Champions League that they are necessarily strong in comparision to previous years. The English teams always go well in the Champions League these days, they will next season too.

Perhaps it's an error but I think the Arsenal invincibles not dominating Europe and now the English team dominating Europe means something.

While in my holidays I saw the Sunderland-Manchester game, in which, besides hating Sunderland for defending worse than a Championship team, I could see Ferguson heavily rotating.

Of course when Ferguson rotates, he can use a certain Scholes, who has an age, but still is very good. He can use a certain Giggs, and he can sit down a certain Ronaldo. I'm not sure the English clubs had that depth 7 years ago. Perhaps their starting eleven was as good, or better, but the squad? I'm not so sure.

English teams in Europe are dominating, and it's because they're stronger.

If they draw games from now on, it's not because they're not strong, but because teams like Villa or Everton have more than decent sides.

If this league  keeps getting stronger, we won't see farces like the Sunderland farce I watched. Meaning, a team not dominating a league completely doesn't mean the team is weaker, but the league is stronger.

Retouching a previous comment you made on players that do not bump like Alonso has, I wasn't having Alonso only in mind. Take Fabio Aurelio. Perhaps we've waited too long, but it made sense to wait because the player has the quality. I was thinking in Agger too. I hope Rafa doesn't rotate the CB from season to season, I hope Rafa has learned the lesson and gives confidence to Agger. Because when the quality is there, and if the attitude is right, it's only a matter of time.

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[bigmick]

Well forums where everyone agrees with each other aren't that much fun mate so I thought I might spice it up a bit. Most days I was checking in to see what was going on, but it was getting to the point where I could barely drum up the enthusiasm to even do that TBH. I've been quiet for a month or so anyway, you didn't expect me to come back with a bunch of one liners now did you

[SundanceKid]

And if it's not this season, next year the title is definitely ours. I can't see it not happening.

Wonderful use of the double negative 

Why not just say you can see it happen? Personally I can see three ways it might not happen, they are Manure, the Chavs and the , but we have a damned good chance, better than we've had for years.

Because if I said 'I can see it happening' that would imply that I believe there is a chance we won't win it. The use of double negatives shows my 'arrogance' and ensures that we will win it.

[112-1077774096]

i like your essays mick 

[Judge]

you didn't expect me to come back with a bunch of one liners now did you

works for me

[LegBarnes]

Welcome back mick we have been lacking the post size for sometime now. 

[Festy]

And if it's not this season, next year the title is definitely ours. I can't see it not happening.

Wonderful use of the double negative 

Why not just say you can see it happen? Personally I can see three ways it might not happen, they are Manure, the Chavs and the , but we have a damned good chance, better than we've had for years.

Because if I said 'I can see it happening' that would imply that I believe there is a chance we won't win it. The use of double negatives shows my 'arrogance' and ensures that we will win it.

Don't worry about this muppet mate. He's always full of shitt, who only likes to comment on other members.