Did Liverpool have a good season? [Poll added]

[prateik]

Would you say the same if United/Jose had the same season? Be honest.

I don't think we have the same objectives.
United, City and Chelsea are expected to challenge for the league every season. Liverpool are the underdogs.. Even the underdogs these days have plenty of money, but they are competing at a slightly lower level.

 

[stepic]

What kind of stupid question is this, of course they did

 

[BusbyMalone]

Its a hard hypothetical since you could argue that finishing 10th would be unrealistic for side that is good enough to make the CL final. Let's say they finished 5th or 6th. That would still be a good season if you incorporate positive attacking football, fan satisfaction, having a world class star and making the CL final.

Finishing 5th would be less embarrassing, i suppose. I do think an entertaining brand of football does alleviate the disappointment of not winning anything - or maybe not even getting into the top 4. Combine that with the fact that you just reached the final of the biggest cup competition in the world, and i could possibly see why you would say it’s been a good season…just. Definitely not great though.

Any season where you fail to meet the minimum requirements would always be a disappoint for me. There again, it’s useless arguing this point tbf ‘cause every fan will have their own opinion on what they deem a successful season. Some will elevate entertainment above trophies, and vice versa.

If this season has told us anything (from a United perspective), it’s that reaching your minimum requirements can seem positively anticlimactic.

 

[M Bison]

On paper, it was acceptable, they got top 4 which was surely the objective.

In reality, it was a very good season and if I was a scouser I’d be really looking forward to next season, 2 quality signings in Fabinho and Keita up to now and some top drawer stuff played last season which I’d be hoping they’d build on.

Would you take their season over ours?

 

[M Bison]

What kind of stupid question is this, of course they did

It’s not really a stupid question if you read the OP and the rationale for the question.

There’s lots of hype over the season they’ve had, they came 4th and got to the CL final. There’s lots of complaints on here from our fans and we finished higher in the league and got to the FA Cup final yet there’s not many saying we had a good season.

 

[Josep Dowling]

Whether they finished 4th or 10th, making the CL final alone would be a great season. They also have one of the best players in the world and are building on that with new players, so why on earth would Klopp even consider leaving.

Because it’s Real Madrid. The biggest club in the world right now, with the best player in the world right now

Whether they finished 4th or 10th, making the CL final alone would be a great season. They also have one of the best players in the world and are building on that with new players, so why on earth would Klopp even consider leaving.

I just disagree, if you don’t win the tournament it doesn’t mean anything. Did anyone regard losing the finals in 2009 and 2011 as a good achievement?

I would amazed if there any where near the final next season.

 

[BlueMoonOutcast]

The biggest thing they achieved this season was qualifying for the Champions League. It's a good season in that regard, better than Arsenal for example. Nothing else they did is worth remembering years from now.

 

[Raoul]

Because it’s Real Madrid. The biggest club in the world right now, with the best player in the world right now


I just disagree, if you don’t win the tournament it doesn’t mean anything. Did anyone regard losing the finals in 2009 and 2011 as a good achievement?

I would amazed if there any where near the final next season.

Making the final is a good achievement for most clubs. You don't get a trophy but you are regarded as the 2nd best team in Europe. And if you get there playing attractive football that makes the fans happy, then you would have a very difficult time convincing anyone that you haven't had a good season that can be further built on in the summer.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

 

[Rhyme Animal]

The biggest thing they achieved this season was qualifying for the Champions League. It's a good season in that regard, better than Arsenal for example. Nothing else they did is worth remembering years from now.

Come now, what Karius contributed to footballing folklore in that final will live on for many, many years.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

Good point.

 

[Raoul]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

On name recognition no. On performance yes.

 

[breakout67]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

They had an easy group and an easy way to the final. Very strange to call them the 2nd best team in Europe. Are Roma now a top 4 team in Europe?

It's a single cup run, which is meaningless unless you win it. If Liverpool get to the semi-finals consistently then they can be considered a top team in Europe.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

They played well in the CL but they aren't even the second best team in England. I don't think opposition managers in Europe next season will be quite so lax when playing them.

 

[Adisa]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

I don't get why that matters.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

I don't get why that matters.

Read the post I replied to.

 

[automaticflare]

Played well in spurts

Still have the same issues as last 10 years

Meh season. For them 6/10. Getting to champions league final a little sprinkle on top 7/10

But it also raises their expectations which I think is great because it makes the fall so much funnier

Keita and Fabinho good signings so far but I have real concern if that will shift the balance of their press and actually make them less effective in transition and on the counter

Also salah won’t reproduce what he did this season next season.

 

[Varun]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

Tbf, debates like these always come with caveats and rarely will you find consensus even with league standings, let alone cup results. Add to that the fact that CL winners and finalists are so often unsuccessful in their own leagues that season and its just another variable added to the mix.

Eventually, you either make these statements based on the CL positions or you don't, something @Raoul is doing. Its impossible to prove it right or wrong in an absolute sense.

Barca won the league convincingly over Real who won the CL. City walked to the league title in the league Pool sneaked 4th place in on the last day.

 

[bosnian_red]

Of course it was a good season for them, don't be ridiculous. Also yeah, they "secured the top 4 on the last day".... but they were in all seriousness, comfortable there for a while. They slacked off in the league at the last few weeks because they were focusing on the CL, and so all the attention was shifted. Was never actually in any doubt them making it though if we're being honest.
Getting to a CL final, securing top 4 and playing attacking football and improving as the season wares on... the only thing more you can ask is actually winning trophies, but it's not a bad season just because they don't. 2nd, 3rd or 4th really doesn't make any difference these days if none of them challenge for the title. Yeah they lost the CL final, but getting there is an achievement in itself.

Basically look at it this way. If you compare the standings of each club last summer and now, City's reputation has obviously gone up the most, but I'd say pretty clearly that Liverpool's is the only other big side who's reputation got enhanced. Spurs basically stayed the same, Arsenal and Chelsea went way down, while for us it's about the same last summer to this summer. Maybe a slight decline if anything after losing the FA cup final. Says it all IMO.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Tbf, debates like these always come with caveats and rarely will you find consensus even with league standings, let alone cup results. Add to that the fact that CL winners and finalists are so often unsuccessful in their own leagues that season and its just another variable added to the mix.

Eventually, you either make these statements based on the CL positions or you don't, something @Raoul is doing. Its impossible to prove it right or wrong in an absolute sense.

Barca won the league convincingly over Real who won the CL. City walked to the league title in the league Pool sneaked 4th place in on the last day.

All true, but I feel the league is the true indicator of a team's quality. You have to perform at a certain level for months and months, week in week out.

 

[automaticflare]

All true, but I feel the league is the true indicator of a team's quality. You have to perform at a certain level for months and months, week in week out.

Agreed

The league finds out the best team in that league for the season no doubt

Anyone can win a cup over 9 games knockout or whatever. That has been proven many times. That doesn’t make it a poor achievement either though.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Ideally, the winners of the CL should also win their domestic league. Like us.

 

[LoneStar]

I would say it was a good season for them. They made it to the CL final, and secured top 4. If they are able to retain their star players, and buy well this summer, they could be a very good team.

Off topic, but I think the next season will be very interesting. City, Liverpool and United strengthening. Arsenal and maybe Chelsea with new managers. Just hope it won't be here same like this season, where one team just runs off with the title.

 

[Varun]

All true, but I feel the league is the true indicator of a team's quality. You have to perform at a certain level for months and months, week in week out.

Yeah, I agree with that at a broad level but it becomes a bit of a grey area when teams are barely separated by a couple of points end of the season. Still, its definitely a better way to judge teams than cup runs.

 

[el3mel]

Any team that finished top 4 is considered to have a good season, if they win a trophy as well it becomes great.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Have to remember this is a club that has gone almost 30 years without the title, has won one league cup in the last 12 years and has won nothing in 6 years.

Their bar is set pretty low for what constitutes a good season.

 

[anant]

They had a good season, but that's only due to their CL performances. Next year, when they have a decent CL run (QF max), they would need to win some silverware to prove that they had a good season.
They have spent City and Utd level money now, and they can't hide saying that they cant compete with Manchester clubs due to their financial strength.
Let's be honest here their league performances were a tad disappointing in terms of results. They had Salah who scored 32 odd goals in the league, spent 75m on VVD, 40m on Ox and they finished a point below their last season's haul

 

[Bergman]

Everyone also seems to forget at the start of the season most people had us as probably 5th best team in the country personnel wise. Not to mention the early predictions of us struggling with and extra competition given our lack of depth.

 

[The Cat]

I don't understand why this is a thread. feck them.

 

[Dumbstar]

Does anyone regard Liverpool as the second best team in Europe?

If not Liverpool this season then who was second best in Europe?

 

[The Cat]

If not Liverpool this season then who was second best in Europe?

Do you not understand qualification and bracket draws?

 

[R'hllor]

some people are way to deep

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

If not Liverpool this season then who was second best in Europe?

Barcelona, who wiped the floor with Madrid in the league? Man City, who wiped the floor with Liverpool in the league?

Shit, we played you twice and you couldn't score a goal against us. And we're shite if you listen to some of our 'fans'.

 

[breakout67]

Barcelona, who wiped the floor with Madrid in the league? Man City, who wiped the floor with Liverpool in the league?

Shit, we played you twice and you couldn't score a goal against us. And we're shite if you listen to some of our 'fans'.

Roma are top 4 in Europe didn't you know?

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Roma are top 4 in Europe didn't you know?

Liverpool made it to the final and didn't play Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, PSG, etc. They played Sevilla twice and couldn't beat them (and everyone knows Sevilla suck ).

Second best team in Europe? Pffffttttttttt.

 

[Treble]

If not Liverpool this season then who was second best in Europe?

Serious?

 

[VBI]

Klopp did have a good season as a manager. Liverpool aren't expected to be 100% sure of a CL place, but they got one. No-one ever expected them to get all the way to the CL final, but they did. And they were considered in trouble when they sold Coutinho and had to wait half a season to get Van Dijk, but they managed to adapt and maintained their offensive power throughout the second half of the season. Klopp can take a lot of credit for these things. Whether Liverpool as a club had a great season after yet another year without a trophy is a different question.

 

[Random Task]

Liverpool are the second best team in Europe now?

This thread is ridiculous.

 

[Joe Cole Is Exhausted]

A lot of people seem to think that the only way a team can have a "good" season is to win a trophy. Ok, so one team--the league winner--is guaranteed to have a good season. Most years, an English team doesn't win the Champions League, so that one's out. Chelsea won the 2nd best trophy in England--the FA Cup--but just take my word for it, we did *not* have a good season. And everyone knows the Carling Cup or whatever it is now is a joke -- has very little to do with anything, really.

Which is to say: watching football in a way that likely only one team each year can have a "good" season is a pretty sad way to experience football. I'm inclined to say the season was good if the fans enjoyed the season. That's not even a charitable standard, necessarily: I'm sure Liverpool fans would point out plenty of recent seasons in which they didn't feel that way; certainly Chelsea fans would.

If that's too squishy a standard for you, how about: a team had a good season if it outperformed its ranking in the league by wage bill. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-club-pays-highest-11595611

That's one of the more stable predictors of league performance over time. Therefore, overachieving is an accomplishment.

 

[Decomposing In Paris]

History is not a great judge of a good season. Utd had one of their 'best' post-Ferguson seasons when they finished sixth and history will only show the trophies they won. But blimey it was an awful season to watch them/you.

Some things you can judge with stats, some things you can't. That's where one's own eyesight and common sense comes in. For us this season was fantastic. The whole season was not defined by it's final 90 minutes.

I didn't say you should define your who season on the last 90 minutes, nor did I say it's all about trophies. That said, Liverpool supporters aside, I don't believe they'll be remembered as a great team (no matter how entertaining), because they finished 4th in the league. A Champions League victory would have changed that, but they lost the final. That's not me lacking in common sense. Our season last year had two trophies, but as you pointed out, we finished 6th. It's an unfortunately harsh reality, but for instance you'll rarely hear about our great team of 2010/11, despite the fact that we won the league by 9 points. We lost the Champions League final to a great Spanish side... and that's history.