we're on a cusp

[David Hodgson]

......greatness or recurring shy@tness. That's how I see it. Scary but exciting. We could push on to a genuine challenge or we could finish 5th. What do we honestly think will happen next?

[usualsuspect]

......greatness or recurring shy@tness. That's how I see it. Scary but exciting. We could push on to a genuine challenge or we could finish 5th. What do we honestly think will happen next?

I think we'll hang on this season and finish 2nd or 3rd with Chavs taking it. the real challenge will seep in next season. I havent seen us showing this kinda resolve for years..

[Mike]

I think we'll hang on this season and finish 2nd or 3rd with Chavs taking it. the real challenge will seep in next season. I havent seen us showing this kinda resolve for years..

i hope to god the team don't think that way. weve been saying next season for years. its now or never.

[beejay]

i hope to god the team don't think that way. weve been saying next season for years. its now or never.

 

Wouldn't say never because if we keep Rafa we will win the title. no doubt about it to me, it's a matter of when not if.

 

But we could, just could do it this season after the start we have had and the fact that we have yet to hit anything like top form. Torres, Keane, Babel, Mascherano, Agger & to a lesser extent, Gerrard, have yet to reach peak form or fitness which is cause for optimism should they all start to perform as the season develops.

[Mike]

Wouldn't say never because if we keep Rafa we will win the title. no doubt about it to me, it's a matter of when not if.

But we could, just could do it this season after the start we have had and the fact that we have yet to hit anything like top form. Torres, Keane, Babel, Mascherano, Agger & to a lesser extent, Gerrard, have yet to reach peak form or fitness which is cause for optimism should they all start to perform as the season develops.

 

tomorrow never comes. this is our opportunity, you don't know what is round the corner.

we either go for it now or we never will. its that simple.

[fabfive]

You're right you just never know.

 

Fergie could retire and the Mancs implode, even dropping out of the top 4 and into the Eufa Cup.

 

Roman can get pissed off and quit spending so much money and the Chavs struggle.

 

Arsene can just play kids forever.

 

And Rafa just go from strength to strength.

[allawee]

Since Rafa took over, we have been great finishers (i.e. that last 3-4 months of the season).

 

There are 3 reasons why I am really hopeful and optimistic this year is our year:

 

1. As highlighted in a previous post, most of our stars and world class players (Torres, Masch, even Keane) have yet to hit top form and surely they will sooner or later

 

2. With Rafa we either have had bad start or faltered in September or October and this year we have kept the momentum going so far

 

3. The ability to take points of the other 3 teams namely Arsenal, Man U and Chelsea and this season we have shown that we can and we did

 

So I don't understand why there is still scepticims that our chances are not that good of winning the PL this year.

 

My only concern, and that Chelsea have been very very good and do not look like droping any points soon whether home or away.

 

I am not a statistics person, but I wonder with our start this season and our points tally, how far we would have been ahead of the second team compared to last season and the season before....and that in my opinion is the only concern...i.e. Chelsea are setting the bar so high....but I am sure they can't sustain that all season.

 

I belive this is our year and we will do it.

Edited November 10, 2008 by allawee

[Sion]

My only concern, and that Chelsea have been very very good and do not look like droping any points soon whether home or away.

 

That's why I don't think we'll win it

Trust our luck to probably have our best season in a long while, one/two season(s) too late

Edited November 10, 2008 by Sion

[beejay]

tomorrow never comes. this is our opportunity, you don't know what is round the corner.

we either go for it now or we never will. its that simple.

 

Of course we will go for it now, but we don't have the recent experience of being in the mix at the dog end of the season and that counts for a lot. The League is the toughest mental & physical challenge and Chelsea have to be big favourites but Liverpool have the history to fall back on and that has taken lesser teams than this one to major trophies.

[superledger]

......greatness or recurring shy@tness. That's how I see it. Scary but exciting. We could push on to a genuine challenge or we could finish 5th. What do we honestly think will happen next?

 

That's like saying it'll either rain or be dry tomorrow

 

Seriously though, I know what you mean. I think it's much about mentality now as it is about footballing ability.

[Mike]

That's like saying it'll either rain or be dry tomorrow

 

Seriously though, I know what you mean. I think it's much about mentality now as it is about footballing ability.

 

exactly right

[Bootle Buck]

I think head to head games against the top 4 will decide it this year. If we can beat Chelsea and Arsenal at home and get a point away to the a*** and Man Utd we could be in good shape.

[Mike]

I think head to head games against the top 4 will decide it this year. If we can beat Chelsea and Arsenal at home and get a point away to the a*** and Man Utd we could be in good shape.

 

i hope you are right but worry about the spurs stoke results.

[fyds]

i hope to god the team don't think that way. weve been saying next season for years. its now or never.

I don't think it's now or never - but I do think we're entering a new 'something' - I don't want to call it an era or phase as it (to me) doesn't show itself so easily. Mentally, we're a lot tougher all of a sudden - we seem to have more idea of what it is we want to do and what we might need to do to achieve it - there is just 'something' about this incarnation of the team that sits right in a way recent others - even last years - didn't quite attain.

 

We are now serious contenders - before now we were hopeful contenders. I don't do predictions so I won't say whether I think we'll win it or not - long way to go yet - but for the first time in a long time this year we most certainly can.

[fyds]

i hope you are right but worry about the spurs stoke results.

...despite which we're still level on points at the top and we've taken maximum points from the other top four teams we've played so far - whereas united have 1 from 6 and so do Chelsea. Don't forget too, but for a crap bit of reffing we would have beaten Stoke 1-0 with Gerrard's goal. Spurs was sods law - played well in the pissing rain but lost to an own goal and a feck up - it happens...all that matters is that it doesn't happen so often it effects the challenge - so far, one feck up in twelve is ok.

[Red]

It's hard one, but I'm waiting til chrimbo' to see where we are before making any assumptions.

[quibs]

Have my hopes up every year... But this year the team just showing more character and mentality.. Think for they actually believe that they can win it or atleast challenge till the end..

 

I will wait till after xmas and new years fixtures are down before we can say yes we gonna win it...

[Ramón Benítez Hernández]

tomorrow never comes. this is our opportunity, you don't know what is round the corner.

we either go for it now or we never will. its that simple.

 

 

Too right.

[Stevie H]

don't think it's quite as polarised as you make out DH, but there's a real possibility that if we don't win the league this season we may never. we're punching above our financial weight in competing with chelsea and the mancs, they can outspend us in a heartbeat and augment their squads in the january window which we can't do, and they have deeper squads to start with. arguably our two most important players, gerrard and carragher, can only go on performing at their peaks for another what, two, maybe three seasons? we're in pretty good shape so far this season and we're yet to really hit top form, so fingers crossed. we're going to need large slices of luck along the way particularly with injuries and we could also do with a few other teams looking at the way we beat chelsea at stamford bridge and replicating the fullback nullification tactic. we do look like we're playing with increased belief this season though, so what changed this summer i don't know. maybe sammy lee's impact is greater than many people think.

[David Hodgson]

don't think it's quite as polarised as you make out DH, but there's a real possibility that if we don't win the league this season we may never. we're punching above our financial weight in competing with chelsea and the mancs, they can outspend us in a heartbeat and augment their squads in the january window which we can't do, and they have deeper squads to start with. arguably our two most important players, gerrard and carragher, can only go on performing at their peaks for another what, two, maybe three seasons? we're in pretty good shape so far this season and we're yet to really hit top form, so fingers crossed. we're going to need large slices of luck along the way particularly with injuries and we could also do with a few other teams looking at the way we beat chelsea at stamford bridge and replicating the fullback nullification tactic. we do look like we're playing with increased belief this season though, so what changed this summer i don't know. maybe sammy lee's impact is greater than many people think.

 

My hunch is that we will push on significantly and get better as the season develops, or we will crash and burn, and fall away from the 'race' altogether . By about feb one of these scenarios will have developed IMO.

 

This is all about our mentality and whether we can build a fragile confidence into something truly strong.

[Stevie H]

My hunch is that we will push on significantly and get better as the season develops, or we will crash and burn, and fall away from the 'race' altogether . By about feb one of these scenarios will have developed IMO.

 

This is all about our mentality and whether we can build a fragile confidence into something truly strong.

crashing and burning could be dependent on two or three players going the full season uninjured. we've got through torres being out alright, but we couldn't afford to lose seven starting players for a spell like chelsea can.

 

fitness + mentality and belief + some large slices of luck and we might be in the mix. still think we're third favourites for the title and rightly so though.

[David Hodgson]

crashing and burning could be dependent on two or three players going the full season uninjured. we've got through torres being out alright, but we couldn't afford to lose seven starting players for a spell like chelsea can.

 

fitness + mentality and belief + some large slices of luck and we might be in the mix. still think we're third favourites for the title and rightly so though.

 

Absolutely, because we're serial 'false dawn' merchants, whilst the Mancs and Chelsea have proved relentlessly resilient.

 

If one wants to get optimistic, then I think we should look back to Feb this year for the 'birth' point of the new Liverpool. The mental strength we have shown this season was much in evidence in the latter part of last term. In particular in the Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea ties in the champions League, but also in the decisive way we wrapped up 4th place.

 

The argument about us being top now, without having had our better players needing to fire, is also grounds for positivity.

 

However, for me, the memory of Autumn 2002 is still too fresh, when we held our position at the top of the league into late November, but had done so without ever looking too convincing. When we were eventually 'found out' the collapse was spectacular.

 

In truth, i struggle to recall a match in which we've actually played well throughout, this season. Of course we've had our moments and had some amazing spells in games, but we've not been consistently dominant. In far too many games we have remained on the precipice of disaster for far too long into the match.

 

Still, it has to be re-iterated, that it's more fun to be harbouring these doubts from the top spot, than from our usual position at this time of year.

[Spike]

it's a f***ing tough league to win. That's for sure.

 

How the mancs and arsenal can be so close still baffles me.

[fred milne]

Since Rafa took over, we have been great finishers (i.e. that last 3-4 months of the season).

Yes but we've always already been out of title contention so didn't have to deal with the burden of expectation.

[Guest Ant]

Part of me believes you are right, there is no middle ground. We will either fail drastically again, or achieve something very special. Thats not to say I won't be chuffed with a title challenge, but It will be one or the other.

Anyway FWIW I am not convinced we will win the league, and as every result we pick up I refuse to get my hopes up at the fear of us cocking it up again.

Edited November 11, 2008 by Ant