Liverpool Thread: Road to thinking we might get top 4, only to feel stupid at the end of the season

by **Crimey** Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:52 pm

First topic message reminder :

Transfer ins:
Kolo Toure (free transfer from Manchester City)

Transfers out:
Danny Wilson (free to Hearts)
Jamie Carragher (free to Sky)
Peter Gulacsi (free to Salzburg)

by Guest Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:32 pm

Are you getting Konoplyanka? Really like him as a player, exciting to watch.

by Guest Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:39 pm

John wrote:Are you getting Konoplyanka? Really like him as a player, exciting to watch.

Only reason to buy him would be the Kop songs to the tune of "Una Paloma Blanca"

by **Crimey** Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:42 pm

Apparently he is the major player Rodgers is hoping to sign.

by nasisillmatic Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:55 pm

It don't get much better than last night. A massive game for both teams fighting for 4th, local rivals, and we destroyed them with ease.
Our closing down and counter attacking was the best I've seen all season.

I'm impressed with just how much Sterling has improved this season. He's becoming a vital member of the first team.

by **Crimey** Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:11 pm

Another big positive, that I haven't seen a lot of people talking about was Coutinho's return to form and playing well in a big game. He's lost quite a bit of form over the last few weeks and usually struggles to impose himself on the big games, but he was fantastic and Everton couldn't get hold of him, he's just so tricky and quick.

Gerrard bossed the game as well, but he is THE big game player so it's no surprise.

by mystiroakey Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:17 pm

You battered everton. Best performance to date that one.. and it wasn't just about Suraez. Big positives for Liverpool that game, showing you are more than a one man team

by Guest Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:27 pm

mystiroakey wrote:You battered everton. Best performance to date that one.. and it wasn't just about Suraez. Big positives for Liverpool that game, showing you are more than a one man team

Compared to the 5-0 stuffing of Spurs, I'd agree. Everton have been playing some decent football of late whereas Spurs were in a bit of a mess.

Spurs/City will give us a better idea of how far Spurs have come under Sherwood although I expect City to win it 2-1 or 3-1 if Spurs push for an equaliser and get caught on the counter

by nasisillmatic Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:58 pm

Crimey wrote:Another big positive, that I haven't seen a lot of people talking about was Coutinho's return to form and playing well in a big game. He's lost quite a bit of form over the last few weeks and usually struggles to impose himself on the big games, but he was fantastic and Everton couldn't get hold of him, he's just so tricky and quick.

Gerrard bossed the game as well, but he is THE big game player so it's no surprise.

Yes, was good to see Coutinho get back to his best. His match fitness seems to be improving as well.

by lfc91 Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:58 pm

All round great performance from the team, well done to them and BR. Thought the commentators comparison was a very good one, in that cissokho is on the same level of ability as a certain djimi traore! Cant wait for enrique to return, which will hopefully spell the end of cissohkos liverpool career!

As for transfers, still hoping we bring in at least one new face. But as has already been alluded too there is no point bringing in any old player just for the sake of it! However with the amount of times rodgers has mentioned the 'very, very hard work' going on behind the scenes, you would expect there is a whole host of potential targets that they have been looking at for a while.

by lfc91 Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:29 pm

Big thank you to kolo toure for throwing away 2 points, brutal display from him (not for the first time either). Joins ally cissohko on the list of players i never want to see in a liverpool shirt again.

Great chance to put some distance between the chasers and of course we bottle it.

by LivinginItaly Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:54 pm

Story of our season really, look dangerous going forward and shaky in defence. I am never confident unless we have at least a two goal cushion as our defence just is not good enough for a top four team.

by lfc91 Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:56 pm

Thing is if our players were fit we would be noticeably better in defence! Cisshoko and toure wouldnt even be in the squad, agger and enrique would be starting.

by Guest Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:42 pm

Someone check Toure's bank account and see there's been a large lump sum of cash deposited recently.

In fairness to him we had two massive brainfarts against City last season with Skyrtel and Reina gifting late goals so it's not as if Toure's the only one ever to do it. Carragher did it in the Europa league too.

Not exactly the sort of thing we need with Arsenal up next. Still, I'd rather get the c*ck-ups out of the way now that have them emerge at the weekend.

by lfc91 Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:04 pm

Team unchanged.(no choice really). Toure and cissohko both playing vs arsenal, this should be fun.

by shivfan Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:06 pm

It's a good thing Brendan Rogers didn't listen to those so-called "experts" on BBC Radio Five Live, who were calling on him to replace Raheem Sterling with Joe Allen....

by mystiroakey Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:09 pm

Brilliant brilliant brilliant.

notworthy

by TheCultOfPersonality Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:19 pm

Stunning performance by Liverpool.

Coutinho looks back to his best. Played some sublime balls. Notably the ones to Sturridge and Henderson. He was my man of the match.

Sterling was also excellent. Despite scoring two goals, he still needs to work on his finishing. But hes still young.

by **Crimey** Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:14 pm

Coutinho has looked fantastic playing centrally, I doubted him last year as to his ability to play in the middle as he tended to go anonymous when not given the space out wide but playing slightly deeper centrally has allowed him to flourish. He reminds me of Oscar.

Sterling is getting better and better, Rodgers has handled his development perfectly. He's clearly a much better player than he was this time last year and he's still improving, his passing and crossing is much better, his finishing is where he should work on next. His work rate is unbelievable at times, I remember last year he had one of the highest rates of winning the ball back in the team.

by lfc91 Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:19 pm

The great thing is that we still have argueably 3 of our starting defenders to come back.(although enrique/johnson will have a job on there hands displacing young flannagen!). Come march we should hopefully have our full squad available for the home straight. All in all im a very happy fan. Well done to BR and the team.

by **Kenny** Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:32 pm

Fantastic performance on saturday , some outstanding individual displays from Coutinho and Flanagan but the TEAM looked sharp and up for the game .

We need to have the same belief and desire on wednesday v Fulham or it is all for nothing beating Arsenal

by nasisillmatic Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:35 pm

shivfan wrote:It's a good thing Brendan Rogers didn't listen to those so-called "experts" on BBC Radio Five Live, who were calling on him to replace Raheem Sterling with Joe Allen....

Whoever was calling for that change has no clue. Sterling has been one of our best players for the last 10 games, and is key to the counter attack.

I think Johnson should be coming in at left back when he returns, Flanagan is thriving at the moment.

by Guest Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:27 pm

Man Utd v Arsenal on Wednesday may resemble the aftermath of a shipwreck with dazed and confused survivors wandering around desperate for someone ANYONE to tell them what to do next.

I know I shouldn't gloat but many's the time I've resisted at work (my boss is an Arsenal fan - unless they lose and then he supports Leeds) only to have it rammed down my throat when the teams slips up against "inferior opposistion"

Have to say I don't feel better for gloating but, knowing full well that pride goes before a fall, I don't feel any bloody worse either.

Absolutely brilliant performance at the weekend and to paraphrase boxing commentator Ian Darke when watching Marco Antonia Barrera dispatch an over-match British opponent Paul Lloyd (?) in brutal fashion, it was like throwing a baby into a threshing machine.

Belief, drive, desire, passion to the max and I have a feeling Suarez is going to make Fulham pay midweek.

by Bianconeri Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:46 pm

I think Liverpool are a shoe in for top 4. I honestly believe you will go close to the title.

My reasoning is, you are flying at home and will pick up the necessary points there. It is the away form that needs improving, but given your away fixtures, you have the "flat track bully", so that should improve as well.

by lfc91 Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:57 pm

Genuinely think fulham tomorrow night (if it actually goes ahead) is a massive game for us! Following up the performance on saturday with a win is vital, especially against the bottom placed team! Will show we have the mentality to cope with the pressure.

Clear for all to see that on our day we are as good as any other team in the league, just our consistency needs to improve. No more following up great wins with poor performances (such as villa after the everton game!).

by Guest Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:49 pm

I reckon Liverpool have a good chance for third. It will be Chelsea & Man City fighting it out for the title and I think it will be Arsenal and Liverpool fighting it out for the third place. Free scoring Man City with 68 goals are only five ahead of Liverpool who have scored 63 goals in the league. If Liverpool strengthen up at the back then they will be valid title challengers.

by lfc91 Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:26 pm

Nore Staat wrote:I reckon Liverpool have a good chance for third. It will be Chelsea & Man City fighting it out for the title and I think it will be Arsenal and Liverpool fighting it out for the third place. Free scoring Man City with 68 goals are only five ahead of Liverpool who have scored 63 goals in the league. If Liverpool strengthen up at the back then they will be valid title challengers.

Funny thing is that, after the summer transfer window i thought our defence was our strongest position! A combination of long term injuries (arguably an entire starting back 4 out injured atm) and poor defending in general, has led to it being viewed as comparatively weak!

by Guest Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:26 pm

Thought Sakho had a stinker when he first started but has looked more solid as he's played...only to get then get injured. Toure started well, dodged a few bullets and then dropped that howler only to play well against Arsenal (his ball to Sterling for the 5th was beautiful. Cissokho...where do we start...and then suddenly against Arsenal he looks like a pretty decent player. With Johnson, Enrique to come back and with Flanagan and Kelly playing well it does make me wonder how the defence have managed to slip up so badly at times. Wonder if Mignolet needs to marshall them a little bit more

by Guest Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:42 am

If Liverpool ensure they get themselves knocked out of the FA Cup away to Arsenal - then all their focus goes onto the Premier League. With Chelsea, Arsenal & Man City all cup tied (Europe + national cups) then Liverpool could focus on a Champions league place plus finishing as high as possible. Even Tottenham are Europa Cup tied.

Currently Liverpool are four points from Chelsea & three points from Arsenal with a better GD. Man City are 1 point ahead with a game extra to play.

If Liverpool do get into the Champions League - then they will have to start to develop a depth of squad that will cope with all the travelling and extra games at the highest of levels.

by mystiroakey Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:16 am

Some fight back.

You should be pleased by the potential banana skin missed. No team can keep that level up(first 20 v Arsenal). Its all about winning and grinding out results when you dont play great

But yes you have the problem that if you do manage top 4(you should)

that you cant let the CL stop you from reaching top 4 next year

by nasisillmatic Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:09 pm

Massive win last night. I know it was only Fulham, but after Saturday the pressure was on, and with Spurs winning, we needed to keep the 3 point gap.

We'd have lost that game a year ago.

The sooner Agger is back the better.

by Guest Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:21 pm

If we'd lost that game I'd have said we don't deserve 4th place but we showed the kind of grit and fortitude consistent with a top four team. Credit to Fulham who clearly haven't given up hope of avoiding the drop and it's to be hoped that the other teams in the bottom half of the table keep plugging away and tripping up a few rivals.

Like Rodgers says, we're still looking at the teams around us to drop points but can't rely on that happening. Our destiny is still in out own hands which is a good place to be because in the last few seasons it's been a case of hoping for a minor miracle just to get us into the Europa League.

Anyway, let's get our heads screwed on tight because I can't see Arsenal being poor for three games on the bounce

by lfc91 Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:39 pm

Great grit and determination shown by the team to get the 3 points! Just need agger/sahko both back, keep toure as far away from the team/squad as possible! At times its like he is on a one man mission to de-rail our season!

I like to think that come the start of march when we have our full squad back, that we could challenge in both the league and fa cup, but the league must be the priority! We have a weeks rest after the arsenal game though, so could afford to play the best 11.

by Guest Thu Feb 13, 2014 3:04 pm

The danger is thinking that Arsenal will have one eye on the Bayern game and not want to risk any injuries so we can just coast it.

We should play these games like they're OUR Champion's League matches

by FIFA Diva Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:54 pm

We've blown 4th now.

by Fernando Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:58 pm

DAVE667 wrote:The danger is thinking that Arsenal will have one eye on the Bayern game and not want to risk any injuries so we can just coast it.

We should play these games like they're OUR Champion's League matches

I will be surprised if the likes of Fabianksi/Vermaelen/Monreal/Jenkinson/Zelalem/Gnabry/Podolski don't get a run out on Sunday.

1 pt behind leaders & still in CL so far so can see them dropping the cup tbh

by Guest Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:06 pm

Fernando wrote:
DAVE667 wrote:The danger is thinking that Arsenal will have one eye on the Bayern game and not want to risk any injuries so we can just coast it.

We should play these games like they're OUR Champion's League matches
I will be surprised if the likes of Fabianksi/Vermaelen/Monreal/Jenkinson/Zelalem/Gnabry/Podolski don't get a run out on Sunday.

1 pt behind leaders & still in CL so far so can see them dropping the cup tbh

Seems to be the general belief amongst the press. However, I wouldn't want to bet my house on it being an easy afternoon just because they're resting a few bodies. More likely that Wenger will have them on the bench and if it's still tight after 70 minutes he might bring on the "big guns" to pinch the win. Surely Arsenal can't fancy a replay and certainly not at Anfield.

by lfc91 Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:31 pm

Think regardless of the team arsenal put out they may still be marginal favourites (based on our away form). Either way its a safe bet to assume that there will be goals!

by Guest Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:36 pm

lfc91 wrote:Think regardless of the team arsenal put out they may still be marginal favourites (based on our away form). Either way its a safe bet to assume that there will be goals!

I think they'll be far more defensively minded and look to steal it on the counter but if we can score first it might draw them out a little. I think another fast fifteen minutes at the start, see how they've set up and then re-assess the situation

by **Kenny** Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:01 pm

Even with a midweek champions league game coming up i expect Arsenal to field a strong team and be fully up for tomorrows game , they will be hurting after the humiliating league defeat and will want to settle a few scores imo .

I completely agree with Dave667 that we should look at our next league games as our champions league fixtures and be focused on getting the three points

by **Kenny** Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:54 pm

Shocking display from Webb , i would say complain to the FA but any such complaint would fall on deaf ears

by Guest Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:01 pm

Would also open to floodgates for the "sore losers" and/or "pathetic whingers" barbs that Mourinho would undoubtedly start levelling at us (whilst remaining hilariously blind to his own shortcomings in that area). Best for Rodgers to avoid any slanging matches.

Think most acknowledge that Arsenal were lucky and we were given a raw deal and whilst we can take some satisfaction from a decent performance, it's ultimately cold comfort as it won't change the result. Best to move on, focus on the league and see if we can secure a top four spot without leaving it to the last day and being reliant on someone else mucking it up.

Despite his ridiculous choice of headgear, it's nice to see Sturridge tweeting that he's got his mind right and that hopefully he's looking to atone to the mistakes. I'm hoping that Suarez can top off his excellent play by finally finding the back of the net after something of a barren spell.

by **Kenny** Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:09 pm

Do you think the fact we only have 12 games left now this season will work for us or against us ? I'm a little unsure as if we lose 2 or 3 of the next half dozen that would put a lot of pressure on us for the last 6

by Guest Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:27 pm

Then again, if we win the first six, the pressure might still be on us to get over the line. All depends how the other teams do but we can't afford to be thinking about what Spurs and Everton might be doing, we just have to concentrate on or results.

I think the two games (Villa and WBA) where we dropped points should serve as a wake up call to everyone that we can't take anything for granted for the rest of the season.

We have to keep it simple, play the percentage balls and look to keep the pressure on the opposition. If it looks like we've killed the game off...ASSUME NOTHING and still take it to them.

I'd dearly love us to be in a position where, with a few games to go, a top four finish is in the bag but that there's a fighting chance of actually winning the damn thing.

by nasisillmatic Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:51 pm

Can anyone else see us getting 4th and Man Utd winning the Champions League?

I'm having nightmares about it.

by Guest Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:10 pm

nasisillmatic wrote:Can anyone else see us getting 4th and Man Utd winning the Champions League?

I'm having nightmares about it.

If they do at least it will end the argument about the worst team to win the CL

by nasisillmatic Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:14 pm

Ha ha, I like it.

by mystiroakey Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:15 pm

man u are 20/1 to win the CL.

I will offer anyone 50/1

Liverpool will be in the CL next year.

by nasisillmatic Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:22 pm

Never say never in football. I'm sure Spurs thought Chelsea had no chance 2 years ago.

by mystiroakey Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:24 pm

Well I am happy to say never in this case.

if rooney and RVP were on song I would say there is a possibility.

but the reality is this is a world cup year and there is something about the english and dutch players that seem to start losing there form and fitness being that kicks off

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:12 pm

Plus Man U have got Carrick and Cleverly in the middle......enough said really.

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