Liverpool FC Forum

[JC_81]

He has had two good games against United and Chelsea where he has really stood out, he has faded the last few weeks maybe its just me?

Just you I think.  Sorry Ciggy!

[Scottbot]

I'm zippadee dooodaaa zipppadee day everytime I look at the table. I actually stick the thing up on the BBC sport website most days and sit there with a semi staring 

I can't believe everyone else isn't doing the same, sept you of course Ciggs! that would be a worry! 

[JC_81]

I actually stick the thing up on the BBC sport website most days and sit there with a semi staring 

If you're gonna do that there's plenty of prettier things on the internet mate

[Scottbot]

I actually stick the thing up on the BBC sport website most days and sit there with a semi staring 

If you're gonna do that there's plenty of prettier things on the internet mate

Aye lad, but not till the mrs has gone to bed!

Still, you have to wonder. Given the choice, would half the posters on this board rather:

a) Stare at league table and think to self 'fookin hell, look! we're joint top! how did that appen? Quality, dead chuffed me.

or

b) Where's the arrows? I just got meself a new 'Robbie Keane' Dartboard. Wanna play!?

[Sabre]

If someone says that our performances are not being that great when Liverpool are first of the table...

well, that someone is right. It's a good thread opener and precisely when we're on top of the table we could discuss more calmly about the bad aspects -- just as we have to look the bright side sometimes in bad times.

We all would agree that today we didn't play particularly a good game, we could say the same about the Stoke game, but it worried me more the game of Stoke than today's game. I think our players were not that motivated today, because, as much as they love the badge, they know they were qualified, and most of them if not all of them probably would be thinking more in the West Ham game, it's most human. It happens to us, it happens to them.

I have never seen any league champion with no bad games, so this up and downs do not concern me much, not even Barcelona at their best years back made a beautiful football every fúcking game. Sometimes they were average but got the points, and sometimes they were pathetic and even lost!

So, the game has been not very superior at all compared to other years.

The relevant thing for me is that this season, we're responding well when we're being put under  pressure. This season we have been consistent against Everton and Chelsea away. And we didn't fail against Manchester United. So once, it can be luck, but three important games with result, then there's something important.

We seem to believe a bit more in our possibilities, I'm of the school of thought that if you're on top of the table you always have that extra fuel. The teams that play against you fear you more, they decide to consider a draw at Anfield good in min 55 rather than in min 65, you have more belief in what you do... football is a state of mind and we seem to have the winning mind, which is more important than making beautiful football.

Another good side is that players, who also have up and downs, have been pretty consistent according to what you expect of them. You could say that Alonso, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Riera, Gerrard, Mascherano (even if he's not being that spectacular he's been very useful for the team!), Kuyt... all of them are doing good seasons. You can't say the any of the regular players of the team had a big bad form so far.

So, as always, there are things to improve, but in the relevant things I've see the team strong and I have more trust on this team than ever.

[Sarge]

The only "thing" that I worry most based on the whole winning-but-playing-badly kind of situation is that

-Co-leaders by Christmas, 4th place by April-

for reasons:

1. We do not have quality squad depth
2. We do not have enough quality players

But then again it's the mother luck. If we could win the Champions league with the likes of traore, biscan, josemi, cisse, etc.. then WHY NOT?

[Quadrophenia]

Kuyt, our top scorer.

Based on this alone you're not worth responding to in future.

Steven Gerrard has eight goals this season compared to Mr Kuyt's seven. But if you think seven is more than eight, you go ahead. I on the other hand would rather discuss Liverpool with people who know their stuff which basing it on this statement rules you out.

[LFC2007]

V. poor
Poor/Mediocre
Poor
V. poor
Mediocre, unambitious
Excellent
Mixed
Thwarted - lack of cutting edge.
Excellent
Comfortable
Mixed - comeback
Mixed - comeback
Mixed
Top class
Laboured
Freak loss
Mixed
Comfortable
V poor
Mixed
Thwarted - lack of cutting edge
Mixed/poor


That's roughly how I'd sum up our performances in a word or two*.

Performance wise I think you'd find Chelsea would be slightly more consistent in their ability to sustain a patch of good form, but we know we don't have the attacking flair they have, and that would go a fair way to explaining why they're considered to have performed better. We've been more economical, and that's without Torres for long spells, so we can't have too many complaints.

*Disclaimer - According to what I'd expect to see from a title winning side.

[Scottbot]

Kuyt, our top scorer.

Based on this alone you're not worth responding to in future.

Steven Gerrard has eight goals this season compared to Mr Kuyt's seven. But if you think seven is more than eight, you go ahead. I on the other hand would rather discuss Liverpool with people who know their stuff which basing it on this statement rules you out.

Get over yourself pal, so he was our (joint) top scorer until this evenings' game. If you would rather discuss football then why don't you simply respond to my previous post (which was about football last I looked) instead of nit-picking. My previous point still stands, Kuyt has played well this season regardless of whether he is the club's top scorer, joint top scorer or 2nd top scorer. It takes more than 5 players doing their job to put you top of the league a third of the way in and Riera is a quality player.

[Scottbot]

so we can't have too many complaints.

They will find a way

[ruskiy playmaker]

Some complete fu.cking overreactions on here as usual

I don't hear anyone saying Chelsea are having a poor season/struggling to break teams down at home/can't win the league.

The fact is we have matched them so far in the league, have a better home record than them (they have drawn 3 and lost 1 at Stamford Bridge already in the league there, and lost to Burnley) and deservedly beat them and United this season already.  Yet because Scolari has them playing a slightly more open style of football they seem beyond criticism.

United are 8 points behind, albeit with a game in hand, and still have the distraction of going to Japan.  They've only played well this season when Ronaldo's been in the team - yet we get slagged off for depending too much on Gerrard/Torres/both (depending on what mood the media/pundits are in).  We've only beaten Chelsea and United without having both of them on the park though.

Last season, or any season under Rafa for that matter, we'd have killed to be in this position with a third of the season gone.  Some people have short memories.

Spot on, people are complaining about us, but they fail to see that the rest of the top 3 are suffering from bad form as well.   I wonder what they would say right now about Rafa if we were Arsenal?

[DanAn]

I look at our performances differently. I'd say we have been in exceptional form when it comes to controlling games, can't think of a game where we haven't been the better team and our defence has been rock solid all season.  However were we have been poor is when it comes to capitalising on our chances.

For me we have four main issues;
1. Keane's missing too many chances
2. Torres suffering injuries
3. Subs woeful
4. No threat at corners

The first two are obvious and probably aren't worth discussing. Hopefully with time keane can settle and get his eye in and Torres can overcome injuries. Certainly that will go a long way toward success at CL and may even be enough for us to fight for the league title.

However more likely IMO if we want to win the league we probably need to address the last two problems in january.

I can only think of two performances by subs that have had a significant impact on a game (Babel against Manure and Alonso against Spurs). Is Babel's one goal the only player to come off the bench and score for us? That's 20+ games!

The only player that has looked dangerous from corners for us this season is Hyppia. We need a genuine threat from corners who regualry plays for us. Right now we are getting nothing from corners.

Clearly sitting only behind Chelsea on GD and having qualifyied in our CL group this early highlights we are doing a lot right.

[Toffeehater]

If someone says that our performances are not being that great when Liverpool are first of the table...

well, that someone is right. It's a good thread opener and precisely when we're on top of the table we could discuss more calmly about the bad aspects -- just as we have to look the bright side sometimes in bad times.

We all would agree that today we didn't play particularly a good game, we could say the same about the Stoke game, but it worried me more the game of Stoke than today's game. I think our players were not that motivated today, because, as much as they love the badge, they know they were qualified, and most of them if not all of them probably would be thinking more in the West Ham game, it's most human. It happens to us, it happens to them.

I have never seen any league champion with no bad games, so this up and downs do not concern me much, not even Barcelona at their best years back made a beautiful football every fúcking game. Sometimes they were average but got the points, and sometimes they were pathetic and even lost!

So, the game has been not very superior at all compared to other years.

The relevant thing for me is that this season, we're responding well when we're being put under  pressure. This season we have been consistent against Everton and Chelsea away. And we didn't fail against Manchester United. So once, it can be luck, but three important games with result, then there's something important.

We seem to believe a bit more in our possibilities, I'm of the school of thought that if you're on top of the table you always have that extra fuel. The teams that play against you fear you more, they decide to consider a draw at Anfield good in min 55 rather than in min 65, you have more belief in what you do... football is a state of mind and we seem to have the winning mind, which is more important than making beautiful football.

Another good side is that players, who also have up and downs, have been pretty consistent according to what you expect of them. You could say that Alonso, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Riera, Gerrard, Mascherano (even if he's not being that spectacular he's been very useful for the team!), Kuyt... all of them are doing good seasons. You can't say the any of the regular players of the team had a big bad form so far.

So, as always, there are things to improve, but in the relevant things I've see the team strong and I have more trust on this team than ever.

Spot on

[Owzat]

People say thats the sign of champions not playing well but getting results, games we should have won this season, Stoke, Spurs, Fulham, Athletico away, should have won them all because because we didnt put our chances away.

Any team can win a game having not played well. But it is one of those clichés that people come out with that holds true in certain contexts.

The "You win nothing with kids" myth - Alan Hansen was right, what team made up ENTIRELY of kids has won anything? None. It was twisted because the mancs had a few young stars in their side, the fact that the backbone was bought, experienced and very good never fitted well with knocking Hansen

"It's the sign of champions, not playing well but winning" - it is true, but in the context that the side plays well in most other games not that they never play well. We've come from behind in five games I think it still is, won five games 1-0, but how many have we won convincingly?


On the flip side, regards highlighting other games which we haven't won, but should have. Same goes for the mancs and Chelsea. Should Chelsea have drawn 0-0 at home to Newcastle? Or the mancs for that matter? Or should the mancs have drawn away to the bitters given their laughable home form? (14 points behind us after 14 games!) And didn't Chelsea draw away to Cluj?

I am disappointed with more of our performances than with the results, but people will often point to the results and our league position. The problem is, yes we are second/joint top, but if we carry on playing like this will we stay there? It's no good thinking or saying "everything is wonderful, just look at the table", everything is far from perfect and despite a good start to the season we're still behind on GD - and that may have been our peak period.

The mancs have been far from impressive in some games, but they are still dangerously close. We need to start playing better, we need Torres to return to last season's goalscoring form, that for me is a key difference. Some players have performed, others haven't. What we needed was to add players to the squad in the summer, which we did, but also for the players from last season to get somewhere near or better than their performances from last season. How many have?

[dame]

agree with Sabre post above.

Sure we lacking motivation in the Marseille match. We are five pts ahead of OM and PSV before the match. In fact we can afford to draw the match last nite. Then we are up 1-0 in the 23rd minutes w/o much sweat. The longer OM cannot find the equaliser, the more relax the players.

As I post in the match thread, we just sit back and save for the coming weekend. That's why OM is in control in 2H.

Hopefully we beat West Ham this weeked and Chelse and MU slip. Then we can top the table and start to build the winning momentum from there.