Football 2015/16

[thetime]

Can't see benteke getting to much game time in that Liverpool side.

[thetime]

Rafael will be gone soon then, nice pay off for a few months work.

[Wooderson]

Ronaldo leading a player revolt I hear. Super.

[The Nal]

6 hours ago, eFestivals said:

yep, it's been a terrible run of games, hasn't it?

 

This run of games hasn't been great at all. Liverpool were 4 points off 4th when BR got sacked, now theyre 6 points off. In 9th place. Was only two weeks ago Klopp was having a pop at the supporters for their shit support.

6 hours ago, eFestivals said:

 

I'm quite amused at all of the Klopp hype tho... I've even seen (Guardian comments) a shit load of Man Utd fans praising Liverpool to the high heavens, which I've never seen before in my whole life (tho I suspect the opposition might have had something to do with it).

Suspect that won't be the case if Liverpool keep playing like they did yesterday and start climbing the table. Relatively easy run up to XMas now.

That said, City were awful yesterday. Just shit. But torn apart at times.

2 hours ago, Wooderson said:

Ronaldo leading a player revolt I hear. Super.

Rafa won't last the season. Ronaldo may have realised that for all his goals hes only won the league once in 6 seasons. Players have the power there.

Edited November 22, 2015 by The Nal

[Wooderson]

Facts are LFC have all those tough aways over with now. Improve home form and this season gets interesting. City haven't shipped 4 at home in 12 years and 6 wouldn't have flattered LFC yesterday.

 

[thetime]

13 minutes ago, Wooderson said:

Facts are LFC have all those tough aways over with now. Improve home form and this season gets interesting. City haven't shipped 4 at home in 12 years and 6 wouldn't have flattered LFC yesterday.

 

Will be interesting how Liverpool play against the 'lesser' sides. There 2 good results were playing the high pressing game against Chelsea and City.

They would have to play totally different against teams who won't attack them.

Very impressive yesterday though.

Edited November 22, 2015 by thetime

[Wooderson]

19 minutes ago, thetime said:

Will be interesting how Liverpool play against the 'lesser' sides. There 2 good results were playing the high pressing game against Chelsea and City.

They would have to play totally different against teams who won't attack them.

Very impressive yesterday though.

Klopp will eventually spend north of 250m on his own players. That's when we'll see what he's capable of. 

[Wooderson]

West SHam.

[pink_triangle]

It looks like Harry Kane is the real deal in terms of a premiership goalscorer. Whether he is a Kevin Phillips or an Alan Shearer time will tell.  I certainly expect him to get an opportunity with one of the big boys next summer.

[Dan R]

22 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

It looks like Harry Kane is the real deal in terms of a premiership goalscorer. Whether he is a Kevin Phillips or an Alan Shearer time will tell.  I certainly expect him to get an opportunity with one of the big boys next summer.

I can imagine him staying at Spurs for a good few years, there we're opportunities for a big money move already and he seemed keen to stay put. Plus spurs are getting better and better at the moment with a more than decent shot at a champions league spot this year 

[thetime]

53 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

It looks like Harry Kane is the real deal in terms of a premiership goalscorer. Whether he is a Kevin Phillips or an Alan Shearer time will tell.  I certainly expect him to get an opportunity with one of the big boys next summer.

Other than his goals, his link play is outstanding.

[thetime]

28 minutes ago, Dan R said:

I can imagine him staying at Spurs for a good few years, there we're opportunities for a big money move already and he seemed keen to stay put. Plus spurs are getting better and better at the moment with a more than decent shot at a champions league spot this year 

Did anyone bid for him? Levy will get top dollar for him after the euros, Chelsea most likely.

[Dan R]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

Did anyone bid for him? Levy will get top dollar for him after the euros, Chelsea most likely.

I was under the impression he'd turned down interest from Man U, though they may not have submitted a bid. He said he was flattered but was already at a big club. He may just have been talking about speculation though.

[Gucci Piggy]

I'm sure someone from United confirmed they'd enquired/bid for him.

[eFestivals]

16 hours ago, The Nal said:

This run of games hasn't been great at all. Liverpool were 4 points off 4th when BR got sacked, now theyre 6 points off. In 9th place.

But those games haven't been the 'tough' ga,mes you said, and the pints collection has been decent. The points gap has grown, yes - as it would as the season progresses.

 

16 hours ago, The Nal said:

Was only two weeks ago Klopp was having a pop at the supporters for their shit support.

Suspect that won't be the case if Liverpool keep playing like they did yesterday and start climbing the table. Relatively easy run up to XMas now.

That said, City were awful yesterday. Just shit. But torn apart at times.

From now till the end of the year they've got easy games, and Leicester. They should be a few places higher up and fewer points from the top by the mid-season point.

Liverpool were great against City, and while City were bad that was because of how Liverpool got at them. City wouldn't have been bad without that.

But I'm not buying the Klopp hype just yet, as Rodgers got to show last season that he was as capable of turning them round by finding a way that suited no differently to how Klopp seems to have.

[ThomThomDrum]

No good picking up 3 points at the likes of the Etihad and Stamford Bridge if you are going to be inconsistent and drop points at home to Southampton and Crystal Palace. Klopp does seem to be instilling a belief amongst the players from what you hear from them but who the hell is going to say any negative just yet. If they can take that belief and turn it into consistent performances that emulate what they did against City then they can do some damage in the league this year. 

The positives for me to be taken are, as many have said on social media, the fact that Klopp can already say they did something LFC with Rodgers didnt (re away wins against the "big four") and they did it in spite of the injuries. 

[eFestivals]

1 minute ago, ThomThomDrum said:

No good picking up 3 points at the likes of the Etihad and Stamford Bridge if you are going to be inconsistent and drop points at home to Southampton and Crystal Palace. Klopp does seem to be instilling a belief amongst the players from what you hear from them but who the hell is going to say any negative just yet. If they can take that belief and turn it into consistent performances that emulate what they did against City then they can do some damage in the league this year. 

The positives for me to be taken are, as many have said on social media, the fact that Klopp can already say they did something LFC with Rodgers didnt (re away wins against the "big four") and they did it in spite of the injuries. 

while I agree that winning all matches would be better, no team does. Demolishing two of the better-regarded teams isn't something to be sniffed at.

If Klopp is all that's claimed for him the consistency will come - tho I'm not expecting a result next w/e, as Lucas is banned for too many yellows and he's been immense.

I'm very impressed by Coutinho's recent improvement, and of course Firmino is showing his worth now, tho I'd say they need something more creative in the middle of the park before they're a team able* to get the better of every team - which Henderson might provide (according to peeps who follow stats, he outperforms Milner by a fair bit on that score).

(* i said 'able', not 'will', just to be clear)

I've seen lots of peeps saying good things about Lallana after Saturday's match, but I'm still not getting him myself. He seems to float around without actually providing very much - tho I guess his movement helped create space for others.

[ThomThomDrum]

TBF to Lallana Im not his biggest fan at all but Saturday was probably the best performance of his I have noted in a Liverpool shirt. 

[The Nal]

1 hour ago, eFestivals said:

But those games haven't been the 'tough' ga,mes you said, and the pints collection has been decent.

They've just finished those tough games. 1 point vs Spurs, Everton and Southampton, lost to Palace and 2 great results against City and Chelsea. 9 points in the last 6 games. Same as West Brom, who've had a similarly tough run. Mid table form.

1 hour ago, eFestivals said:

But I'm not buying the Klopp hype just yet, as Rodgers got to show last season that he was as capable of turning them round by finding a way that suited no differently to how Klopp seems to have.

A few new players and he'll be in business. A lot of shit there at the moment. But the standard of the league is so bad Liverpool could easily waltz into the top 4 by Christmas with a half decent run.

[eFestivals]

9 minutes ago, The Nal said:

They've just finished those tough games. 1 point vs Spurs, Everton and Southampton, lost to Palace and 2 great results against City and Chelsea. 9 points in the last 6 games. Same as West Brom, who've had a similarly tough run. Mid table form.

A few new players and he'll be in business. A lot of shit there at the moment. But the standard of the league is so bad Liverpool could easily waltz into the top 4 by Christmas with a half decent run.

Nope, it's not mid-table form. it's more points from those games than last season, and with all of those teams (bar Chelsea) above Liverpool in the league (at the time of playing them if not today).

It's not stunning form and it's not top-4 form, but as just about everyone has said they're not a top-4 side.

Looking at the games coming up until the mid-season point and the state of the clubs above them (including the play-against-each-other matches to come from those till the mid-season point, which will see plenty of dropped points from those above them) they're looking good to be in 6th or 7th spot by that mid-season point (yes, that's a punt by me, but not an unreasonable one). It's not even impossibly-unrealistic to think they might just sneak into the top 4 by then (tho one of those teams will have to suffer a slump). Part of where they are right now is defo a consequence of how the fixtures have fallen for them this season so far.

And I'm not sure how many players might be needed, either (tho that depends where you're aiming for, of course). They've got a lot of decent players out at the mo and are down to bare bones.

I'd have few worries with saying they'd have finished 6th or 7th (perhaps 8th, as it's not only dependent on what Liverpool do) if Rodgers had stayed in charge. If Klopp is all that's been claimed for him then they really should be sniffing around the top-4 by the end of the season even if they don't quite make it in there in the end.

[pink_triangle]

9 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

Nope, it's not mid-table form. it's more points from those games than last season, and with all of those teams (bar Chelsea) above Liverpool in the league (at the time of playing them if not today).

It's not stunning form and it's not top-4 form, but as just about everyone has said they're not a top-4 side.

Looking at the games coming up until the mid-season point and the state of the clubs above them (including the play-against-each-other matches to come from those till the mid-season point, which will see plenty of dropped points from those above them) they're looking good to be in 6th or 7th spot by that mid-season point (yes, that's a punt by me, but not an unreasonable one). It's not even impossibly-unrealistic to think they might just sneak into the top 4 by then (tho one of those teams will have to suffer a slump). Part of where they are right now is defo a consequence of how the fixtures have fallen for them this season so far.

And I'm not sure how many players might be needed, either (tho that depends where you're aiming for, of course). They've got a lot of decent players out at the mo and are down to bare bones.

I'd have few worries with saying they'd have finished 6th or 7th (perhaps 8th, as it's not only dependent on what Liverpool do) if Rodgers had stayed in charge. If Klopp is all that's been claimed for him then they really should be sniffing around the top-4 by the end of the season even if they don't quite make it in there in the end.

To me it looks like a 3 way race for the championship.  4th place is really up for grabs with chelsea already 10 points behind (IM assuming leicester wil fall back into the pack) spurs. 

[eFestivals]

3 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

To me it looks like a 3 way race for the championship.  4th place is really up for grabs with chelsea already 10 points behind (IM assuming leicester wil fall back into the pack) spurs. 

I'm still confident that Arsenal will be top of the pile in May.

I'm less confident that Man Utd will be in the top 4 in May than I am that Arsenal will be top - tho I don't really expect Utd to drop out of there.

And I'd say that Spurs are more likely to be top 4 than Leicester, tho I'm not going to be too negative about Leicester as they keep on surprising us, cos Vardy scoring for ten games on the trot isn't merely fluke.

[thetime]

8 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

I'm still confident that Arsenal will be top of the pile in May.

 

Injuries starting to mount up for Arsenal, they will certainly miss coquelin.

[Gucci Piggy]

Leicester have had like one tough game all season and their next 6 fixtures are very tough. I'm gonna say Vardy will score no more than 2 in the next 6 games and they'll fall way back in the table.

4th place is definitely between Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea for me. Apparently Chelsea played well on Saturday and Hazard was immense, so if that form's here to stay it could be interesting. Spurs are doing very well at the moment, too, and Kane's back in some top form.

[eFestivals]

2 minutes ago, thetime said:

Injuries starting to mount up for Arsenal, they will certainly miss coquelin.

that's a big miss, tho a lot of their injured are back in the next few weeks so it's not all bad.