Liverpool FC Forum

by **ivor_the_injun** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:55 am

It really is frightening to think that we've lost over a third of the games we'll play in the Prem this season.

Newcastle, who have had an appalling season, have lost the same number and are in 13th position. That's seventh from bottom, and only 8 points above relegation.

Southampton - rooted at the foot of the table - have lost only four more games than us.

West Brom - second from bottom - have lost only TWO more than us.

Indeed, the teams in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th have all lost fewer games than we have this term.

I know that it's a fine line between success and defeat and yada-yada-yada, but I have to say I'm stunned with those numbers. We've been turned over by some absolutely pony teams this year, and until we drop that habit, we can forget about the league title for a good long while. Palace, Birmingham, Southampton, Man City...all and more have taken 3 points from us this term, and that's just not good enough. Yes, it's a transitional season, but even with new blood in we're still clearly as vulnerable in the league as we were at the lowest points of Houllier and Souness's reigns.

Obviously Arsenal went unbeaten last year, and this year Chelsea have so far lost only once. We are a long, long way from that kind of consistency, and I think it's going to be many a summer faffing around in the transfer market and tinkering with the squad before we get anywhere close to it.

I know that stats only tell half the story, but we have to get our heads round the fact that 4 or 5 genuinely excellent performances are not enough to get you anywhere in this game. I'm worried that I'm becoming surprised by our good performances more than I'm being surprised by us being totally underwhelming.

Now I like Benitez, and I've been encouraged by the flashes we've shown at times, but unless we can pull the Champion's League title out of the fire we're only a month away from the post mortems on this season being utterly, utterly savage. Let's be absolutely honest - the occasional promising performance, 5th in the league and nothing in the cabinet is not progress, and Rafa was not brought in to deliver us UEFA Cup football.

Big month, people. Big, big month...

by **A.B.** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:03 am

Lost 13 but won 16, whilst there are teams that have lost less they haven't won as nearly as much as we have.

Away form is poor but with statistics you can make things look more than what they are.

by **Alonso_Rulz** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:21 am

u just have to see how many games we won at home.. including the champions league...
no matter wat happens, even if we lost in champions league and still in 5 th or even 6th ..
but be disheartened.. we fans know how much potential rafa and the present team has... adding some more quality buys (which rafa is realli gd at) than we will be able to fulfil our potential..
we have waited for so long.. why not just wait for some more years... at least ... in this reign , the is HOPE!! (apart for 80's 90's)that we can win everything...

by **ivor_the_injun** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:30 am

I'm not a huge stats fan, but it doesn't take a genius to realise that we have lost probably at least four times as many games as the top 3 would accept. We've obviously lost 13 as many as Chelsea, which is pretty frightening when you think that they're going to have the pick of the transfer market again.

For us, it's still not entirely clear how much money apart from that generated from sales will be available to us in summer. Or exactly how we're going to attract top players if we fail to get 4th or win the CL outright so that we at least have the carrot of Champion's League football to dangle in front of them.

Liverpool won 16 lost 13
Man U won 20 lost 4

And they're only 3rd, for god's sake. F**king hell I'm depressed...

by **haps** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:29 am

Yeah, I usually try to stay cheery and not kick out knee-jerk reactions to another bad Saturday but ... Palace on Saturday really knocked the stuffing out of me. I do see the improvements in the team and the style and particularly in certain individuals and I know it takes time to get these things right but ten league defeats away from home speaks more to me of a problem in the team's psyche/confidence when travelling away. A very serious f*****g problem! I don't care who comes along and slags me off or accuses me of being negative cos I've been with this team through alot of thick (70's and 80's) and a massive chunk of thin (ever since bar a couple of seasons) and some of the people who chuck their opinions around in here don't know their ****** from their spanish archer and have probably never been to a game anyway (but pretend they have). To me, winning the league is what it's all about. I thought we'd at least see some improvement on last year but we look set to finish over 30 points behind Chelsea and closer to the bottom than the top. 4th place is gone now. It's gone to Everton, that blueshite bunch of sunday league kick and rush merchants with their f*****g psychotic "talisman", Duncan Disorderly. That breaks my heart. One more win should do it for them. Does anyone see us beating Arsenal? Yeah, right. The mancscum did us no favours of course but over the season, we have to accept that Everton, with all their Sh*te brand of football and cobbled together team, have beaten us. The table doesn't lie (and all all ******). 5th or even 6th means UEFA cup and that's rubbish. What big players are going to come here for the UEFA cup? Players these days are mostly greedy b******s who want the most money and exposure they can get. Hands up who paid more than a passing bit of attention to the UEFA Cup this year since we arrived back with the big boys? Our goal is to win the Premiership for the first time. We are years away from that. Years. I like Rafa and I don't blame him but I do think he's working with some very average players at Liverpool. It doesn't really matter that Traore, Biscan, Nunez etc have had better games under Rafa this season. They still are NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!!!! Pellegrino .... OK rant over. Sorry if this just pisses some people off but I needed to. If I spill my frustration around my girlfriend she gets the hump and won't give me sex.

by **stmichael** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:33 am

we have taken less points away from home than any other team in the top 10 this season. that is nothing short of a disgrace.

by **Starbridge42** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:34 am

Especially when you consider our away record under Houllier was at least acceptable

by **1234ram** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:41 am

are away form has been rubblish if iit had been as good as our home form then e would have easily made it into the top 3 maybe even 2place

by **hawkmoon269** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:09 pm

Realistically, I think it will take another season of pretty much of the same thing, until we have a balanced squad. There will be a lot of player movement in and out over the break, so they will take time to settle / adjust to the other team members ways. Even the following year will see more new players coming in. So I think we all have to be patient.

by **2520years** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:35 pm

Rafa will learn for next season, he's an intelligent man.
Lesson 1) The teams at the bottom of the Premier League are much harder to beat than those in La Liga. He won't put out such weak teams next season anyway because he'll have strengthened the squad and the youngsters will be a season older.
Lesson 2) You need to take the initaitive and create chances away from home. Top teams aim to dominate, they don't sit back and play for a 1-0.
Lesson 3, 4 and 5) I don't know! I'm no expert!

by **Big Niall** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:12 pm

What was going on in Rafa's head?

he'd be an idiot to think Palace would roll over - I can't imagine he thought that.

Did he give up on 4th spot, seems foolish as chances are that we won't win CL (we MIGHT win it but probably won't)

Did he think the under strength team would win - I think the regular players out there sensed that the manager wasn't dedicated to this game.

I watched the whole 90 minutes and it was shambles all the way. an absolutely disgraceful performance, Ray HOughton was lost for words I couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying.

Too many players deserve to be singled out as being unacceptable.

UEFA cup is rubbish, no money in the summer.

by **hawkmoon269** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:23 pm

Agreed Niall - complete shambles of a performance. However, saying that, I still think that the team fielded should have been able to win the match. They showed a complete lack of bottle, fight, committment - whatever you want to call it. And Steve Gerrard couldn't raise the tempo/attitude of the players.

I hate to say it, but we need a Keane type player as a captain.

by **A.B.** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:28 pm

Especially when you consider our away record under Houllier was at least acceptable

And our home form was a joke, this year it's the other way around.

by **siti_zaiton1982** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:50 am

makes me wonder how we've could lost 13 league games ??unbelivable.n its sickening enuff to know tat we've lost against the teams tat we've won several times last seasons.

its up to the team to show wat they are capable of for the 3 remaining matches.

by **A.B.** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:32 pm

no money in the summer

What are you talking about? The fact that we're so far in the CL has given us plenty of money [reports say its 12 million but when it comes down to everything, it's quite more than that], possible sales of players in the summer should give us money and it's expected that the chairman will put money on the table for Rafa out of his own pockets.

We got enough money to buy the players we want.

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13 defeats - Same as the team in 13th

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