Liverpool FC Forum

[Toffeehater]

Who the feck said excellent?

someone with rose tinted glasses 

Or it could be peewee being sarcarstic 

   my vote went on poor, only because very poor was not an option

[Number 9]

Average and in all honesty a bit dissapointing not to win anything.

Never mind away games we lost the League at Anfield this time out.Its essential that we regain or home form next season or we can forget about winning the League.In fact if it does not approve we can be sure of 4th at best.
We improved after Xmas but it was too late by then.

Its up to the manager now,he needs to forget about signing squad players and concentrate on bringing quality in or we have no hope of competing for the title.
Also less rotation is a must.Surely Rafa can see now that by playing a more settled side we reap the benefits.The contrast in results from Feb to season end as opposed to our inconsistancy in the first half of the season should be an alarm bell to Rafas brain.......i hope!

[Judge]

Who the feck said excellent?

me, i said it, we were fucking fantastic. loved all the rotation, and numerous draws, where we lost points to numpties.

furthermore, i want kuyts kids as i love him to bits. best player in the world, imo. god i wish i was a women, id do him big time.

anyway, whats your point thingy?

you never know about some folk

   

[zarababe]

score of 1-5 and then we get these categories?

3 for me - good CL run, 11 pints behind eventual winners of league, and improvement, secured CL birth with room to spare..

For me this season will be the one to really judge the boss - more improvements to squad and players maturing in to roles, dead wood out completely.. This year is the one to see whther Benitez can do it in the league. Roll on 2008/09

[Big Niall]

Never featured in the title race, never mind win it.

Very poor.

[SupitsJonF]

I didn't feel too bad about the season, until i read this. Now I really want any silverware, just to make our tally harder to catch, lets make that cun.t coach until he dies by winning from now on.  Really me off, but I should of known it was coming anyways:


EPL Extra Time: Fergie not going out on top (yet)
By Ian Edwards, Special to Yahoo! Sports
8 hours, 44 minutes ago

Ten English Premier League titles in the bag, a UEFA Champions League trophy already tucked away and another one just waiting to be grabbed in Moscow on May 21.

If Sir Alex Ferguson ever wanted the perfect moment to walk away from Manchester United, it might just arrive next week if he looks out across Red Square with a second European Cup in his grasp after delivering a second knockout blow in the space of 10 days to Avram Grant and Chelsea.

Don’t bet on his farewell happening, though. The Godfather of Old Trafford ain’t planning on walking away from his empire any time soon.

“Retire? That wife of mine just bullies me, so she’d throw me out of the door at seven o’clock in the morning!” Ferguson insisted after seeing his team win the Premiership at Wigan Athletic on Sunday. “So that’s a definite no. Oh no, I dare not risk the wrath of that lass. She’s quite a formidable person!

“I am proud to have survived for so long, but it is easier for me than the rest because I am at such a great club. How would I be without this? Please tell me.”


He might be 66 years old and have more miles on the clock than he cares to remember, but the only statistic that matters to Ferguson is cups in the cabinet. The latest EPL title is trophy number 27 since he arrived at United in 1986.

Within him is a burning desire to make it 28 in Moscow and there will be no stopping him there. Not when he can equal Liverpool’s English record of 18 domestic titles next season.

When Ferguson won the Champions League in 1999, he marched into the postmatch news conference an hour later to toast the success of his team before betraying the real driving force in the manager and his team.

“My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment,” he said. “My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their (expletive) perch. And you can print that.”

Overhauling Liverpool was, is and will forever be Ferguson’s prime objective at Old Trafford. If he adds the Champions League crown to the Premier League title this season, the feat will only take him closer to achieving his No. 1 goal.

But with EPL title No. 10 wrapped up, United’s eyes now turn to Moscow. Ferguson admitted that success in England can propel his team to ultimate glory in the Russian capital.

“We are bouncing into the Champions League final,” he said. “If we had lost the title at Wigan, it would have been difficult because when we lost the title at West Ham on the final day of the season in 1995, we went into the FA Cup final and we were dead.

“The team was flat the following Saturday and we lost 1-0. But we are not dead this time – we are alive.”

Where United feel buoyed and supremely confident, Chelsea knows that its season can now only be rescued by winning the Champions League.

At one point three months ago, the Blues were on for four trophies, but the Carling Cup final defeat against Tottenham was followed by an FA Cup humiliation at Barnsley. And while an amazing late surge to the Premiership title appeared to be in the cards, Chelsea just couldn’t close the gap on United to miss out on a third major honor.

Grant’s team had begun to promise so much, but will the big man – owner Roman Abramovich – put up with his manager beyond the summer if he fails to bring silverware to Stamford Bridge?


Jose Mourinho always put at least one trophy on the table at the end of every season and he was sacked. So the omens don’t look great for Grant – unless he returns from Moscow with the trophy that Abramovich prizes more than any other.

Mourinho’s Chelsea managed to deny United a domestic double last season when Didier Drogba’s goal in the FA Cup final won it for the Londoners. But with captain John Terry recovering from a dislocated elbow suffered in the 1-1 draw against Bolton and Drogba dealing with a knee injury, everything seems to be falling into place for United.

Fifty years since the Munich air disaster, 40 years since the club’s first European Cup and Ryan Giggs sure to break Bobby Charlton’s 758-game all-time United appearance record – which he equaled against Wigan – the omens seem to favor Ferguson’s men.

But even if United pulls it off to claim a third European Cup, it will only be the launching pad for more success. The last thing that it will signal will be the end for the manager.

Ferguson has plenty more glory in his sights.Article

[Owzat]

For those commenting on being 'harder to beat' as progress, well yes IF we were turning defeats into draws, BUT we're also turning wins into draws as well. And what does not losing mean? Doesn't mean nuffin, the mancs lost more league games than us and still finished ELEVEN points ahead of us. You win games you win trophies, you don't lose games and you've a meaningless record that is unlikely to win jacksheet.

Premiership Wins Under Rafa

2004/5 : 17
2005/6 : 25
2006/7 : 20
2007/8 : 21

So only one more win than last season and four short of our best season. We drew 1/3 of our league games, the mancs won 2/3 of their's. They got winners medals, we get people on here suggesting we're making progress - go figure.

Cup Competition Wins Under Rafa

2004/5 : 12
2005/6 : 15
2006/7 : 12
2007/8 : 12

Funnily enough 2005/6 we played four extra CL qualifiers which pretty much makes up the difference. And only in 04/05 and 05/06 did we actually win a trophy so who was it who said second is nowhere?

So yes we lost two less games (overall) than in 2005/6, BUT we also won SEVEN less games and ended potless while the mancs close in on our titles count. And I may have mentioned a few times previously that we need to be winning 27 games in the league to win the title - well take a wild guess at how many the mancs won........................ While many talk about Champions 'only losing a few games', they expect them to win 70% (which is about 27 games)

[redsince2001]

3 or 4 top signings .......... my wishlist
right bac , left back ,a winger and a partner for el nino !
and we r a title winning team !

[Thingy]

[Owzat]

Here's a little bit of analysis, shows all too clearly where we are dropping too many points.

By league position

01-04 : P6 W0 D4 L2 PTS 4/18 (22.22%)
05-10 : P12 W7 D4 L1 PTS 25/36 (69.44%)
11-17 : P14 W11 D3 L0 PTS 36/42 (85.71%)
18-20 : P6 W3 D2 L1 PTS 11/18 (61.11%)

Way too many points dropped against relegated sides, too many draws against the top half sides (8/18 = 44.44%) Had we won all the games against the relegated sides we'd have been title contenders - and beating those sides isn't an unrealistic expectation.

And same stats for the mancs

01-04 : P6 W4 D1 L1 PTS 13/18 (72.22%)
05-10: P12 W7 D2 L3 PTS 23/36 (63.89%)
11-17 : P14 W11 D2 L1 PTS 35/42 (83.33%)
18-20 : P6 W5 D1 L0 PTS 16/18 (88.89%)

The biggest single difference is this :

Home

Liverpool : P19 W12 D6 L1 PTS 42 (73.68%)
Man Utd : P19 W17 D1 L1 PTS 52 (91.22%)

Helps them to have refs on their side at old toilet, but we dropped way too many points at home. So even though our record against mid-table sides is slightly better, they dropped most of those points away - losses to West Ham, Man City and Bolton away, their only home draw an early season disaster against Reading and they lost to Man City at home.



And we only managed six league doubles this season - bitters, Derby, Sunderland, Fulham, Bolton and Newcastle. This compared to TEN in 2005/06, we also picked up six more points at home by drawing three less games.

[Torres25]

Owzat OFF yeh u down-in-the-dumps stats lovin knodhead

[Kharhaz]

Owzat OFF yeh u down-in-the-dumps stats lovin knodhead

Bloody hell where did that come from?

[god_9]

2007/08 Season – The Verdict

On the back of Liverpool’s second Champions League final in three years, the club wasted little time in improving the current squad. With the arrivals of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Leiva and Ryan Babel along with plans for a new stadium the season ahead was showing real promise but did it deliver what was promised? We were promised this new stadium but a brick has still to be laid. We were promised that the Premiership would take priority but on more than one occasion this year it seemed as if the league was taking a back seat. Although records were broken individually the entire club failed to deliver enough for some fans. The owners made the back pages more than the players. Something, which isn’t commonly known with Liverpool Football Club.

The season did start on a positive though. An away win to Aston Villa who had been tipped to do well after their summer spending. A slightly controversial free kick was awarded to Liverpool, which Steven Gerrard hit home to give us our first three points of the season. An own goal by Martin Laursen was levelled by a Gareth Barry penalty before Gerrard’s goal. After winning in France against Toulouse in a Champions League qualifier the first real test of the season came for Liverpool. A home match with Chelsea. It was during this game that Liverpool’s new hero was born. Fernando Torres picked the ball up and glided past Tal Ben-Haim before sliding the ball past the oncoming keeper. Torres’ goal was overshadowed by the worst decision of the season when referee Rob Styles gave the visitors a penalty for nothing. Ended in a 1-1 draw but didn’t halt Liverpool’s start to the new season. They continued their good form into their next three games with wins over Sunderland, Toulouse and Derby, they also kept three clean sheets during these games and cemented Champions League football for the season with the win over the French side.

After going top of the league with the win over Derby an international broke the momentum Liverpool had gathered. On the return of club football Liverpool visited Portsmouth at Fratton Park with their two superstars, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres nursing injuries on the bench. Some fans began thinking this was the game that turned their season. A goalless draw was the result and the performance was as exciting as the result.  Liverpool’s assault on another Champions League final began the following game with Gerrard and Torres both starting the game. A point away at Porto seemed a good result at the time but again fans were disappointed with the performance that the reds put out. A third draw in a row, this time at home to Birmingham didn’t help fans regain belief, especially when they saw 23 million pound forward Fernando Torres sat on the bench again.

The start of the league cup however lifted spirits around the club. The league cup has always been an important competition to the club and it looked like Rafa Benitez realised this as he fielded a strong side away to Reading in the third round. A hat trick from the new number 9 hero secured a 4-2 victory of the royals. It didn’t help performances in the league though, but it looked like results were beginning to pick up again, starting with a scrappy 1-0 win over Wigan at the JJB Stadium. Europe then hit again and it was another shock to the Anfield crowd as they saw the reds go down 1-0 to Marseille, which was followed by another home draw in the league. Fernando Torres’ last minute header ensuring the reds remained unbeaten as they drew 2-2 with Tottenham.

The pressure was mounting on Rafa Benitez and he had to change things, but with the Merseyside derby approaching quickly he didn’t have much time to change anything. Fortunately he was helped out by referee Mark Clattenburg who turned down two clear shouts of penalties for Everton as well as allowing Dirk Kuyt to stay on the pitch after a double-footed challenge on Toffee’s captain Phil Neville. The biggest shock decision was, as usual, made by Benitez himself. He took off his captain Steven Gerrard and replaced him with Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva. The decision paid diffident though as it was Lucas who won the second penalty for Liverpool, which helped them, a 2-1 win over their city rivals.

Even with the victory over Everton firm in the memories of fans and players it didn’t help them against Beskitas in the Champions League. Another defeat left the reds with just one point from their opening three group games and forced Rafa Benitez’ hand in the upcoming three. Liverpool had to win them. But with games coming thick and fast, the lads didn’t have time to whinge over their Champions League form and had to get ready for a home game with Arsenal. This game also saw the return of Torres but he only completed the first half and was brought off for injury again. Arsenal dominated for much of the match yet the home side remained unbeaten in the league with yet another draw. The carling cup again came to Liverpool’s rescue and they progressed even further with a win over Championship outfit and FA Cup finalists Cardiff City. Moroccan Nabil El Zhar also made a name for himself in this game, getting on the score sheet in a 2-1 win.

November started with another league draw to Blackburn but then Liverpool kicked into life. Breaking the highest result in Champions League history with an 8-0 win over Beskitas and giving themselves a slight chance of qualification with three goals from Benayoun and a brace from both Crouch and Babel with skipper Steven Gerrard getting his name on the sheet as well. This was swiftly followed by two more clean sheets and two more victories over Fulham and Newcastle. The month ended with another Champions League game that the reds had to win. They demolished Porto without to many problems 4-1.

December looked like it was going to be a similar month to November after beating Bolton 4-0 but it was December that was the catalyst to much hatred towards the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. They had made their priorities very clear and very public. They had told Rafa Benitez that progression in the Champions League was a must and if he failed then he would be sacked and Jurgen Klinsmann, who’d already been spoken to by the owners, would be his replacement. This enforced Benitez to concede the league game to Reading. The reds were trailing 2-1 at the Madjeski when Torres was brought off and not long after the home side had gone 3-1 up Steven Gerrard was brought off. Jamie Carragher also ended the game on the bench. Many fans saw this as Benitez giving up on the league but he had no choice if he wished to keep his job.

It was this pressure that had suddenly been put on Benitez’ head which inspired 4,000 fans to make a stand by marching in his favour ahead of the very critical Champions League game with Marseille. Benitez picked as strong a side as he could and the lads made sure Rafa Benitez wouldn’t be sacked with a 4-0 win. They’d also made sure that they would be in the hat for the knock out stages.

Problems still surrounded the club and defeat to Man United at Anfield didn’t help Benitez’ position with his biggest critics within the Anfield crowd. A second defeat on the spin this time to Chelsea in the Carling Cup again put pressure on the manager. Fans began to think that Benitez had sacrificed two domestic competitions for one European competition. It wasn’t the case as we dominated United for large periods and looked likely to score against Chelsea before Crouch’s red card.

The Christmas period did bring some joy to the club though with a emphatic win over Portsmouth but the joy was short lived as the reds struggled to overcome bottom of the table Derby and it was only through a last minute winner by Gerrard which gave us the three points. 2007 ended with another goalless draw in a match we could have very easily won against Man City.

2008 started in very much the same fashion. Another draw with Wigan and another two points dropped at home. All domestic hope rested on the FA Cup now but after a 1-1 draw with Luton the pressure began to show even more. Along with these draws the permanent signing of Javier Mascherano was dragging on. Very much the same pattern as Liverpool went to the Riverside Stadium to play Middlesborough. A 1-1 draw and still no closer to getting Mascherano for good.

Results changed in the FA Cup curtsey of a Steven Gerrard hat trick as he led the reds to the fourth round after beating Luton 5-0 at Anfield. The league didn’t benefit though and another draw at Anfield followed. A last minute equaliser from Peter Crouch made sure of a point for Liverpool against Aston Villa. It was time for the FA Cup again and the reds defence, which included new Slovakian, centre half Martin Skrtel for the first time, conceded another two goals but this time it was embarrassingly to a non-league side in Havant and Waterlooville. Pressure mounted again on Benitez’ shoulders and defeat to West Ham at Upton Park didn’t help.

February showed signs of improvement with a win over Sunderland and a good draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but again the FA Cup caused a shock for Liverpool. This time they had pushed their luck to far and after plenty of missed chances they went out to Barnsley in one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history.

Any hopes of silverware firmly rested on the Champions League now but with the American owners falling out quickly before the first leg with Italian giants Inter Milan, all wasn’t well behind the scenes at Anfield. But just like they’ve done so many times they came through adversity with flying colours. A 2-0 win over the Serie A leaders wasn’t the only good thing to come out of this game. The new system of 4-2-3-1 was born with Mascherano and Lucas sitting in front of the back four with Kuyt (right) Gerrard (middle) and Babel (left) playing as an attacking three behind Torres.

The system was kept with pretty much the same players, which pleased many fans. They had blamed rotation for many of their mistakes this year but as the new system came into the way the club played so did three points. Middlesborough, Bolton, West Ham and Newcastle all fell victim to the 4-2-3-1 style of play and rekindled a slight chance of a league challenge after all. Those who felt the league may still be a chance had to wait as Europe was back on the agenda and another game where the reds were being called underdogs. It didn’t faze the lads though, as they comfortably beat Inter in the San Siro 1-0.

A fifth straight Premiership win, this time Reading, kept dreams of number 19 alive but a hammering to Man United at Old Trafford put a stop on any hope. The match with our northwest rivals was plagued with bad decisions by referee Steve Bennett who saw fit to send the permanently signed Javier Mascherano off for asking why Fernando Torres had been booked.

The following game was the return game with Everton in the Merseyside derby and it went to Liverpool again and the legend in the making Fernando Torres netted yet again. This then set up the triple-header with Arsenal but again ahead of a Champions League game troubles at the top came into the public eye. Gillett had been told he couldn’t sell his 50% share in the club to DIC by Tom Hicks. Fans again were outraged and wanted to see the back of both Americans. But the players and manager did the best they could and got a very respectable 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates. With the Premiership gone for another year, Benitez put all his efforts into the Champions League as any club would and his selection for the Arsenal game in the Premiership reflected this. Giving many of his squad players a game and also handing a debut to Damien Plessis, a holding midfielder who had flourished in the reserves. It was another draw for Liverpool, which didn’t help a full strength Arsenal side in their bid to challenge for the league. Back to Europe for the second leg of their quarterfinal but Benitez had a trick up his sleeve. He decided to ditch the 4-2-3-1 system and revert back to 4-4-2 with Peter Crouch partnering Torres up top and Steven Gerrard playing wide left. It looked like the plan had backfired when the reds put themselves under unneeded pressure by conceding early but it seemed to spur them on. Goals from Hyypia and Torres put the home side back in the driving seat but hearts were broken with ten minutes to go when Arsenal levelled again. Liverpool weren’t done by any stretch of the imagination though and of course went through thanks to a penalty by Steven Gerrard and a goal from Ryan Babel to set up another semi final with Chelsea.

Premiership selections began to change frequently but wins over Blackburn and Fulham put the reds in good form for the Anfield leg with Chelsea. Liverpool had done enough to go into the second leg with a lead because of Dirk Kuyt’s goal but a complete rush of blood to the head saw John Arne Riise head into his own goal with the last kick of the game and Liverpool were in serious trouble but players and fans alike kept upbeat about the prospect of another Champions League final.

A draw with Birmingham with a patched up side was the final game before the second leg and it was also the game which confirmed Champions League football next year as we’d cemented fourth. The Chelsea game was end to end and despite goals from Torres and Babel the reds still went out. Many fans questioned Benitez’ decision to take Torres off in extra time but it was later confirmed he had a hamstring problem.

The season fizzled out with victories over Man City and Spurs but with these games Fernando Torres broke the record for the most goals by a foreign lad in his first year, previously held by Ruud Van Nistelrooy and goalkeeper Jose Reina won the golden gloves for a third consecutive year with clean sheets in the final two games.

Overall the season was a disappointing both on and off the pitch for the team but for certain individuals it was a blinding season. None more so than Fernando Torres who scored in excess of 30 goals in his debut season. But with poor showings on a domestic front and a European Cup which was full of good fortune there’s a lot of fans unhappy with the season. Next year the fans would like to see a real challenge for the league and maybe two or three new world stars but those stars can only come if the main problem of the club is resolved and that problem is the owners. They need to sort it out at the top for the rest of the club to run smoothly and need to fund Rafa Benitez with the money so he can buy the right quality. 2008/09 will be a telling season for all involved with Liverpool Football Club.

(sorry for the lenght but it's the season as a whole with every match mentioned i think)

[bigmick]

^^^^ Bit long isn't it?   



















Nah looks good mate, I'll have a read and then come back.

[red37]

F**k me. Thats nearly as long as one of mine (old ones like)