Liverpool FC Forum

by **account deleted by request** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:48 pm

Igor Zidane wrote:Does anyone think we still have a shot at the title? or is that me being happy clappy again, i think i am , you never know tough do yer.

No mate , I think it will be another season where we look back and think "if only we had beaten ..... ".

Things are looking a lot brighter than they were just a short while ago though, so IF we finish the job in Milan, we may have a season to look back on with a smile rather than just frustration.

I think 3rd is the best we can realistically hope for, but fighting for third is better than I expected a few weeks ago. Especially if we progress in Europe and Rafa starts to rest players for those games.

Nothing wrong with being happy clappy mate, just don't put any money down

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:50 pm

Igor Zidane wrote:Does anyone think we still have a shot at the title? or is that me being happy clappy again, i think i am , you never know tough do yer.

Personally Igor, I think we can the league until it's mathamatically impossible. I know I've been one of the more vocal posters about our league form, certain players and manager. But I'm not affraid to praise people when they play well.

Our league form has picked up, thanks to a settled system (even if not players yet) and players refinding form (Alonso mainly).

Players who I've criticised mainly are Kuyt and Aurellio but both have scored during this little run and the point of football is to score one more than your opponent, so I'm happy with whoever scores for Liverpool.

The manager must take the MAJORITY of praise though. He's found something that works and at long last he's stuck with it. His method of resting players is paying off now as we're looking fresher than any other side. Of course it's the resting of players IMO why the league is 9 points away but those games have gone and can't do anything about them now.

Likewise, the five games we've won on the trot have now gone though, so we can't lick the team's :censored:

to much because this run is pointless come Inter. That's a new game that we have to treat with respect and not say "oh well it's one defeat, but at least we've been playing well of late". Fans, players and coaching staff alike can take heart from this run, but not live off it for the next few games. We have to keep it up. I'm not one who'll be saying "we've only played Bolton, Boro, West Ham and Newcastle" because Bolton and West Ham both beat United whereas Boro and Newcastle held Arsenal to draws, so it's still hard to beat sides and for that the lads deserve credit. Fair play to them, but they can't get to carried away with a little string of good results.

But I've waffled on here and went off your question...so yes I do think we have a shot at the league, but that's because it's not mathamatically impossible. I thought we had a shot at the league back in mid January when we were nearly 20 points behind, even if my posts back then were critical and negative, my heart always thinks we're in with a shout.

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:52 pm

Ciggy wrote:Hey Igor that Hicks son went the Jolly Miller last night with his entourage stupid b@stard wheres all our young hoody alpine hat wearing gun weilding rats when you need them hey

They were up and down the globe Cig, looking for Hicks and Gillett :laugh:

by **Dundalk** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:06 pm

If anyones watchin the TV stick on ESPN Classic now

by **NANNY RED** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:06 pm

god_bless_john_houlding wrote:
Ciggy wrote:Hey Igor that Hicks son went the Jolly Miller last night with his entourage stupid b@stard wheres all our young hoody alpine hat wearing gun weilding rats when you need them hey

They were up and down the globe Cig, looking for Hicks and Gillett

He should have visited one of the pubs in Netherley he would have got a nice welcome there :angry:

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:09 pm

NANNY RED wrote:
god_bless_john_houlding wrote:
Ciggy wrote:Hey Igor that Hicks son went the Jolly Miller last night with his entourage stupid b@stard wheres all our young hoody alpine hat wearing gun weilding rats when you need them hey

They were up and down the globe Cig, looking for Hicks and Gillett

He should have visited one of the pubs in Netherley he would have got a nice welcome there

They should have gone to goodison park, only place in Liverpool where they're loved by everyone in one place :laugh:

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:10 pm

Dundalk wrote:If anyones watchin the TV stick on ESPN Classic now

Mikey Owen's hattrick against the georides, but I can't watch that and the cricket. Plus L'pool-Newcastle is on footy first (sky sports 2) now as well...Trevor Francis doing the commentary :sleepy:

by **laza** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:12 pm

Havent seen the game yet as i have to work early today and couldnt stay up but well chuffed with result. Great to see the wheels moving again however as I dont agree with all doom and gloom when we have a loss. Im not going to get to overwhelmed by a home win against what is becoming an increasing sad state of affairs at Newcastle

Roll on inter

by **bigmick** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:13 pm

Firstly apology accepted ER, well said.

On Igor's point, no we can't win the title but we do have the opportunity to get a lot closer that many of us doomer and gloomers have been predicted. Stating the obvious here a little but how close exactly will really depend on two things. Firstly of course how we go away at Man Utd and the Arsenal. Now if we were to for instance win at one of those grounds, or perish the thought both then we really could get within shouting distance. We have some motivation in that we still need to get fourth, while those games and the bitters at home apart our run-in isn't too bad. Injuries wise we are holding up pretty well, and for whatever reason be it delayed gazelle or rotation reduction, we are running into a bit of form at the right time.

The other factor which is entirely beyond our control is fuirstly how Chelsea go (and they are looking a bit like a team which could unravel at the moment) and even more importantly, how close the race for the title between Man Utd and Arsenal becomes. If for instance Man Utd have it won with five games to go, it's reasonable to assume they won't get as many points in the last five games as they will should they need to gain maximum to win it (what has become known as the "LFC factor").

Since it's a discussion board I'll make a prediction to follow up all my previous ones. The best we could possibly do under the circumstances it seems to me is about an eight point deficit and third. This would be an interesting result, and a triumph based on where it looked like we might end up. It would lead to protracted debates throughout the Summer as to where we lost it (if indeed we did) and would undoubtedly see Rafa given another season at least. FWIW at this point I should say that given the players at his disposal, this is the absolute MINIMUM of where we should have been aiming at the seasons outset IMHO.

The worst we could realistically expect from here is around an 18 point deficit and fifth. This would obviously put the manager and his methodology under huge pressure, and IMHO deservedly so.

My prediction as to where we'll end up has fluctuated as the season has progressed, but currently I think we'll get the fourth spot OK and finish around 14 point sbehind the eventual winners. This will spark many debates about where it all went wrong (if indeed it did), but my suspicion is a sustained run in the Champions League will be enough to earn the manager a fifth season.

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:16 pm

Can someone wake Trevor Francis up on footy first, he's so depressing.

Just watched Torres' goal again...fantastic. Looked good at the game, looks even better with the angles sky are showing. Trevor Francis still though, he couldn't get excited if his life depended on it.

by **The Manhattan Project** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:20 pm

Have some sympathy for Trevor Francis.

It's hard to be happy when you have crayons stuck up both nostrils.

by **laza** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:28 pm

Bad Bob wrote:This is what is so frustrating about this place lately: we rack up another win, put in a very good performance and end up bickering and name-calling rather than discussing and celebrating. A big problem, IMO, are the unnecessary pre-emptive strikes that come out of both camps. We've seen it from the "happy-clappys" today, demanding to know where all the doom and gloomers are now. In the past it's been the "anti-Rafas" who post things along the lines of "cue all the In Rafa We Trusters and their excuses..."

Here's a thought folks: just post your views on the match--what you liked, what you didn't. Others will do the same. If views differ, we can discuss in a civilized fashion...hell, maybe even learn something. We don't all have to agree but let's try and at least get along. One easy way to do that is to wait for others to actually post something before you have a go at them. Simple right?

Its a nice sentiment Bob but unfortunately such is nature of any internet forum that you tend just to these polarized views.
Im sure the Chelsea and ManU forums at moment are probably looking a lot like ours was a couple of weeks ago

by **Emerald Red** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:36 pm

Igor Zidane wrote:Does anyone think we still have a shot at the title? or is that me being happy clappy again, i think i am , you never know though do yer.

I refuse to give into that temptation. Strangely enough, since we've ruled ourselves out of contention, some of the pressure may have been alleviated, so we are now quietly going about our business, though that's hardly a comforting thought, is it?

I've always maintained that if we get withing 6 points, then we've succeeded for this season, at least for my expectations. It would be hard now for all three teams above us to start dropping points in order to get to that goal at least. I'm still hoping.

by **nobybob** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:36 pm

The Manhattan Project wrote:Have some sympathy for Trevor Francis.

It's hard to be happy when you have crayons stuck up both nostrils.

by **ivor_the_injun** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:37 pm

Must say I've been paying so little attention to what's going on with the top 3 in points terms that I'm really pleasantly surprised to see that we're now within 10 points of top spot. Yes, we've now played more games, but it feels like all of the top 3 have been wobbling more in the league than we have in recent weeks, so with a prolonged run of form, maybe the table will actually make quite encouraging reading come season's end, in spite of everything. I think 3rd is a reasonable aim now, and if we can keep the distance from the top to below 10 points, that's a good effort after the nightmare few months we had around Christmas.

As for Newcastle, I think they're in big, big trouble now. They have the worst goal difference in the Prem other than Derby (-26!), and if the teams around them get something from their games in hand, suddenly they'll be teetering around the bottom 4. I've got a lot of time for Keegan, but I don't think he's cut out for the task in hand. They need ideas and organisation, and they're the two things he's never had as a manager.

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