Liverpool 2020-21

[christinaa]

Good teams win the League and great teams retain it. Manchester United did the DOUBLE, the DOUBLE DOUBLE, the TREBLE and THREE IN A ROW. And they (the 'Pool) said they're the greatest ever!

They are just another Blackburn or Leicester.

 

[Judas]

There's much less pity for them because Klopp is showing himself to be an excuse spewing arse.

 

[Lay]

Salah and Mane look a bit ordinary this season. Still good but nowhere near their best.

 

[chicha14]

Keane let them have it post match, bad champions and Klopp is full of excuses

 

[hubbuh]

Bad champions is perfect.

 

[christinaa]

Keane let them have it post match, bad champions and Klopp is full of excuses

Agree -

Keane won seven league titles in 10 seasons!
Four of them were retentions.
He knows what he's talking about.

 

[Chabon]

I remember us having a few rocky results back in 09-10 when we had to play Carrick and Fletcher at centre back over a period.

Coming off the back of three title wins in a row built around Rio and Vidic, in 09/10 most used CB pairing was Brown-Evans. Our five first team CBs all missed huge chunks of the season. As a result Carrick, Fletcher, Evra, Gary Neville, and Richie De Laet all got games at CB.

We still conceded fewer goals that year than Liverpool have already let in this season. Not having a proper squad isn't bad luck, it's bad planning.

 

[Dumbstar]

Top 4? You are only 6 points off the top with a game in hand.

Yeah we're only 6 points off though. It's only just halfway too.

It's the squad health really. Mentally, and obviously physically, we are broken. You'll understand the physical side where you had to play Fernandinho at CB a whole season thus denying your midfield one of the best defensive CMs at the time.

I'm just hoping we have enough juice for another CL trophy which is less demanding with what we have. City are not dropping any points in the next four games and we will be. So by the time we meet it will be the dreaded 7-10 points difference in February. Too much, too late.

Got these comments from our discussion earlier last month in a match thread. 7-10 points I said.

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

Good teams win the League and great teams retain it. Manchester United did the DOUBLE, the DOUBLE DOUBLE, the TREBLE and THREE IN A ROW. And they (the 'Pool) said they're the greatest ever!

They are just another Blackburn or Leicester.

Fergie did 3 in a row twice!

 

[Chief123]

Awful title defence. All the players have retired after 30 years of hard work. They’ll struggle for top 4 now. Relegation next season.

 

[No Spring Chicken]

The next two games are just huge for them. Leicester away and then Everton at home. After beating Spurs and West Ham you're thinking they're right back on track. But then they lose to Brighton and fall apart to City - so now what?

I fancy them to beat Leicester this weekend. In a funny sort of way they might find the monkey is off their back now they've lost to City. They were already out of the title race in truth, but they were sort of stuck between not wanting to sound defeatist by admitting its gone and not wanting to talk up what was already a fairly unlikely turnaround. Now that its definitely gone, some pressure will be off. Top 4 is their aim, and when you look at the teams they have to get past, they should do it comfortably. They beat West Ham and Spurs easily enough, and while Leicester are a better team than those two, they also give you space to work in.

The more interesting game is Everton. Normally Everton at Anfield is just about the most predictable result in the league. 20 years since Everton won there I think, and the more fancied they are, the more they seem to flop. But you have to think that Everton have a chance to put that right this time. As they showed against us, they have some fight in them, even if they're not actually that amazing a team. I can see Ancelotti getting them to perform instead of freeze for a change.

 

[Klopper76]

The next two games are just huge for them. Leicester away and then Everton at home. After beating Spurs and West Ham you're thinking they're right back on track. But then they lose to Brighton and fall apart to City - so now what?

I fancy them to beat Leicester this weekend. In a funny sort of way they might find the monkey is off their back now they've lost to City. They were already out of the title race in truth, but they were sort of stuck between not wanting to sound defeatist by admitting its gone and not wanting to talk up what was already a fairly unlikely turnaround. Now that its definitely gone, some pressure will be off. Top 4 is their aim, and when you look at the teams they have to get past, they should do it comfortably. They beat West Ham and Spurs easily enough, and while Leicester are a better team than those two, they also give you space to work in.

The more interesting game is Everton. Normally Everton at Anfield is just about the most predictable result in the league. 20 years since Everton won there I think, and the more fancied they are, the more they seem to flop. But you have to think that Everton have a chance to put that right this time. As they showed against us, they have some fight in them, even if they're not actually that amazing a team. I can see Ancelotti getting them to perform instead of freeze for a change.

I agree that we'll probably beat Leicester and Everton is the more challenging fixture. We always seem to beat Leicester under Rodgers. Considering how many Anfield records are being broken right now, it only seems right that Everton finally beat us after 21/22 years at Anfield.

I do think (and hope) that Jota will make a difference though. He's due back soon and we're desperate for something different up top. We also need to move one of Henderson or Fabinho back into midfield because this is the worst our midfield has looked in a few years now. The longer we go with Thiago in the team, the more I think he isn't suited to our playing style but I like to give players time and he's been out injured a lot.

I am starting to worry about the top four now.

 

[Dumbstar]

I agree that we'll probably beat Leicester and Everton is the more challenging fixture. We always seem to beat Leicester under Rodgers. Considering how many Anfield records are being broken right now, it only seems right that Everton finally beat us after 21/22 years at Anfield.

I do think (and hope) that Jota will make a difference though. He's due back soon and we're desperate for something different up top. We also need to move one of Henderson or Fabinho back into midfield because this is the worst our midfield has looked in a few years now. The longer we go with Thiago in the team, the more I think he isn't suited to our playing style but I like to give players time and he's been out injured a lot.

I am starting to worry about the top four now.

As has been discussed in Pool forums, now's the time to say feck it and put both Davies and Kabak in as a partnership. They'll feck up once or twice but it's not as though we're not throwing points away for fun anyway. They'll come good.

More importantly, some senior leadership will be thrust back in to midfield next to Thiago. Hopefully that can fuel the frontline back into some kind of action.

As for top four it's helping that nearly everyone else except the league leaders is shit. Just like last season.

 

[VidaRed]

They are the only club affected by all those things therefore yeah i feel sorry for them

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[arthurka]

They are the only club affected by all those things therefore yeah i feel sorry for them

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Is this shit for real?
Come on.

 

[padr81]

Got these comments from our discussion earlier last month in a match thread. 7-10 points I said.

Good call sir.

 

[Josh 76]

I agree that we'll probably beat Leicester and Everton is the more challenging fixture. We always seem to beat Leicester under Rodgers. Considering how many Anfield records are being broken right now, it only seems right that Everton finally beat us after 21/22 years at Anfield.

I do think (and hope) that Jota will make a difference though. He's due back soon and we're desperate for something different up top. We also need to move one of Henderson or Fabinho back into midfield because this is the worst our midfield has looked in a few years now. The longer we go with Thiago in the team, the more I think he isn't suited to our playing style but I like to give players time and he's been out injured a lot.

I am starting to worry about the top four now.

I was thinking Everton might fancy it at Anfield as you play in the CL a few days before that fixture. Then I just seem Everton play City the same day. So that should hand the advantage back to Liverpool.

 

[Aidan Azar]

"We've got more songs than anybody"

Spoiler: Liverpool fan on Talksport

 

[thegregster]

More songs.

 

[romufc]

They are the only club affected by all those things therefore yeah i feel sorry for them

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Its quite funny how Liverpool are the worst affected.

Every player had 4 months off, Liverpool came back after the pandemic and didn't have to play at the same intensity. Last game end of July. Middle September is when the season started.

During the season they were lucky with the fixtures and had a 8-10 day break, out of the league cup and FA cup early so no extra fixtures.

Qualified in the CL with game to spare and still played first teamers.

One of the only clubs to have fans allowed this season.

 

[Snuffkin]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

 

[No Spring Chicken]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

They have the second best home record in the league. In fact, only 2 teams have a higher % of their points from home games. Interestingly, only 8 teams have better home records than away records. For comparison, by the end of last season, 19 out of 20 teams had better home records than away records. So lots of teams affected. If anything, Liverpool so far are handling it better than most.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

the same for every club, probably bar City.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

People keep saying they've been phenomenal fo 3-4 years and hence a drop off was expected. Where does this come from? They finished 4th in 17-18, 2nd in 18-19 and 1st in 19-20. That's just two seasons of hitting truly high levels week in week out, and one of being champions. Not getting this line of thought tbh.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

As do all teams.When we were at our best, teams had a psychological issue with the fear factor of playing us at home. Games were effectively won the moment we scored first.

 

[Shark]

People keep saying they've been phenomenal fo 3-4 years and hence a drop off was expected. Where does this come from? They finished 4th in 17-18, 2nd in 18-19 and 1st in 19-20. That's just two seasons of hitting truly high levels week in week out, and one of being champions. Not getting this line of thought tbh.

They also won the Champions League.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They also won the Champions League.

It was unrelated to their performance levels in the PL and within those two seasons anyway. So this 3-4 years comes from where? Losing a CL to Real Madrid?

 

[SuperiorXI]

People keep saying they've been phenomenal fo 3-4 years and hence a drop off was expected. Where does this come from? They finished 4th in 17-18, 2nd in 18-19 and 1st in 19-20. That's just two seasons of hitting truly high levels week in week out, and one of being champions. Not getting this line of thought tbh.

Their performances have been

They would have easily won more if not for City

 

[No Spring Chicken]

People keep saying they've been phenomenal fo 3-4 years and hence a drop off was expected. Where does this come from? They finished 4th in 17-18, 2nd in 18-19 and 1st in 19-20. That's just two seasons of hitting truly high levels week in week out, and one of being champions. Not getting this line of thought tbh.

Historically, the third year is what separates the good from the great. Lots of teams retain the title, but since the 2nd world war only Liverpool in the 80s and ourselves under Fergie (twice) have done 3 in a row. Liverpool have been at that high level for two seasons already, even if they only actually bagged 1 title during that time due to City's excellence.

 

[romufc]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

Why do people make it as if Liverpool is the best atmosphere in the PL?

They are not the only club without fans, infact they are one of the lucky ones to actually have fans this season.

If you go to a PL game at Anfield, yes they have the anthem at the start but its no where near the same atmosphere as a CL night. Anfield atmosphere is a myth.

Do fans actually believe Liverpool not being able to score goals will be helped by atmosphere? Instead there will be moans and groans not pushing the team on.

 

[romufc]

They would have easily won more if not for City

And we would have won another league title if it weren't for the game v City we lost 6-1.

The problem is City exist so its actually pointless saying if not for City?

 

[roonster09]

They do miss their fans. Whether we like it or not,and rightly or wrongly they are an extra man

It's same for every club.

 

[Josh 76]

It was unrelated to their performance levels in the PL and within those two seasons anyway. So this 3-4 years comes from where? Losing a CL to Real Madrid?

That CL final defeat to Madrid has somehow made that season look into something it wasn't. They actually made it into the top 4 in the last couple of games.

They have basically had 2 great seasons.

 

[SuperiorXI]

And we would have won another league title if it weren't for the game v City we lost 6-1.

The problem is City exist so its actually pointless saying if not for City?

Someone asked why were people going on like Liverpool have been phenomenal for 3/4 years... it's because they have been.

 

[RobinLFC]

That CL final defeat to Madrid has somehow made that season look into something it wasn't. They actually made it into the top 4 in the last couple of games.

They have basically had 2 great seasons.

So the same amount as City 17-19 before their performance level dropped last season and everyone agreed that they needed to rebuild. Except that they apparently didn't. Just as with City back then everyone couldn't wait to officially declare this the end of an era at Liverpool (unsurprisingly given that this is a Utd forum), but we'll have to wait until next year to see how we respond.

Let's also not forget that we were top of the league just 5 or 6 weeks ago. All was good in the beginning of the season, this is our first bad period in basically three years.

 

[romufc]

You asked why were people going on like Liverpool have been phenomenal for 3/4 years... it's because they have been.

Yes, they are a good team but they have won 2 trophies in 4 years for being phenomenal? City have been 2 titles, League cups, FA cups as well.

 

[SuperiorXI]

Yes, they are a good team but they have won 2 trophies in 4 years for being phenomenal? City have been 2 titles, League cups, FA cups as well.

Not just solely based on their honours, their general play too.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Their performances have been

They would have easily won more if not for City

Yes they would have magically gone from 4th to 1st in the absence of City tin 2017-18.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Someone asked why were people going on like Liverpool have been phenomenal for 3/4 years... it's because they have been.

What was phenomenal about 17-18 and 20-21? Please expand on your imagination.

 

[SuperiorXI]

What was phenomenal about 17-18 and 20-21? Please expand on your imagination.

Where did I say they were phenomenal in one specific year? I'm generalising over a 3-4 year period... 'phenomenal' may be going a tad overboard but they have been at the very least 'very very good'.