08 Sep 2017 13:42:23
There's a difference between being a realist and a contrarian. Never being pleased does not make you a realist ed025. We don't have xavi and iniesta in the middle. So what? Hundreds of teams have not had xavi and iniesta in the middle and still won trophies. There's no reason not to be excited for the season ahead. I think barring a sketchy decision by refs in the champions league, we have a small, but decent chance of going all the way there too.
Bottom line is, all true reds fans should be excited for the season ahead. I fail to see that excitement in any of Harry's posts. Could that be me being a realist ed025? 🤔.
{Ed025's Note - thats you being very optimistic to the point of delusion TJ, there is no reason why you cant win things of course with a little bit of luck which many teams in the past have proven, but lets not go down the road of everyone thinking liverpool fans are a joke again with their over inflated expectations, all im saying is keep it real my friend..
08 Sep 2017 15:04:15
The likes of Real Madrid and PSG would slaughter our defence unfortunately. However, id be optimistic against any of the other sides, except maybe United. Seem to be a bogey team for us recently, especially now that Jose is there.
08 Sep 2017 15:22:13
AC, i don't fear PSG at all. They are weak at the back and without Matuidi their midfield looks cumbersome and one paced. We'd concede I'm sure (i mean it is Mbappe, Neymar and Cavani! ) but i think at Anfield especially we'd put them to the sword and they'd struggle to get any grip on the game.
It is the solid teams with good tacticians that i worry about. Zidane, Mourinho, Simeone and Allegri all know how to take the sting out of a frightening attack. I worry if we can find an answer for that. They are all masters of the one off game.
Barcelona, PSG, Bayern, Dortmund etc? Nah. We'd just outscore them.
08 Sep 2017 15:26:39
Well if you don't have a Xavi and Iniesta stop comparing your team to them. Liverpool have an identity of their own and let's go by it. Barcelona plays completely different to Liverpool and if any team has had any resemblance it's Arsenal. Now that's for the record mate.
Regarding excitement and optimism. Wasn't me the only one who wanted us to challenge the title and you lot were happy taking the 4th place ever rolling trophy for GOOD? And I was told to behave a realistic last season lol!
Our team can't defend! If this is something your can't accept it then it's your problem not mine!
08 Sep 2017 16:01:08
Mks is right. again. It is the master tacticians we need to watch. Most people would agree that bayern Munich are on whole a better team than athletic madrid. However in pre season we hammered Munich away but drew with athletic. I fancy us against city as they will come out an play. Last year utd played us well and Jose got the draw he set up for. I reckon this year jose's ego will get the better of him and he will try to win from the start. Hendo will think "this is interesting" and mane will get a brace.
08 Sep 2017 16:03:38
The fact that we did come 4th proves that it was a realistic target. As for this "our team can't defend" theory. There were 4 teams who conceded less than Liverpool last year so it clearly isn't as bad as some make out, including myself at times. Granted, it could be improved upon but there were a hell of a lot of teams that wish they had or defensive record in the league last season, including Everton and their top defenders.
08 Sep 2017 15:14:55
well ed it is easy to be realistic about other team players. for example you are not realistic when you think Gylfi and Rooney are world class and can get into top team when reality is different. who would buy siggurdosn from top 4 clubs. United? Spurs? ah he already failed there. Chelsea? maybe as Conte likes hardworking midfielder but opted for other options. City? pep would never buy that sort of player. neither champions league club would buy him, maybe for 20mill max. and you said Can is bad player once . 22 years old german international midfielder wanted by Juventus and likely to be first eleven player. Keane for you would walk into Liverpool team. In Keane i see slow old fashion defender, definitely good player but can't play high line and you will see that over the season. karius is lemon and picford is future England number one? goal he conceded against Hajduk was his mistake and he will have problems with well placed higher shots as he is not tall. everyone sees thinghs differently. you think calwin and lookman are great talents, you will see what talent is when Vlasic plays for your club.
{Ed025's Note - and there lies the problem with liverpool supporters mandzo!, a lot of you are very disparaging about other teams players but think your own are incredible and can do no wrong, other teams supporters see you as delusional and quite frankly its hard to disagree mate, a lot of it is just banter and i get that as im the reigning world champion, but humility as a supporter is a fine trait..
08 Sep 2017 15:15:04
With all due respect Ed025, being realistic is what holds teams like Everton and Spurs back.
Sometimes you have to put you head on the block, or even take a financial risk to take the next step. To do that you have to be optimistic.
I believe, that if the Liverpool players believe they are good enough, they can make waves at the top of the league and against anyone in the Champions league. Across 2 legs, the only teams i would not be confident against are Real Madrid, Man United, Juventus and Athletico Madrid. I think we can sweep anyone else aside by steam rolling them at Anfield. Those 4 will be very hard to beat home or away though which is when we need our defence to stay tight. Therein lies my concerns!
Maybe that does make me an optimist, but maybe that is why Liverpool play for a win away to Hoffenheim, instead of playing not to lose away to Hadjuk Split 😉
Never underestimate that confidence can be as useful as it can be dangerous.
{Ed025's Note - you do speak a lot of sense MK and optimism can be a fine thing when spoken in moderation, when its rammed down peoples throats though it becomes bigheadedness and that is when other fans lose respect, when you hear "we are going to win this and that" and "this is our year" its taken with a pinch of salt now, i do like liverpool supporters but if they toned it down a bit with the unrealistic expectations then im sure others would too...but it would make it harder for me to tear you to shreds so carry on please.. :)
08 Sep 2017 16:37:21
It is simply tradition to say its our year.
08 Sep 2017 16:29:56
See for me Ed025, we now have a team good enough to win any league or cup competition in world football. However, there are at least 3 other teams in England who can say the same. Being good enough to win trophies doesn't mean you will. At the end of the day, we are only in 4 competitions and one bad day can cost you in 3 of them. In the league if we struggle to beat a certain type of team again we can drop enough points to become also-rans.
So I'm happy to honestly say we can beat anyone on our day and that if everything went right for us, we could win a trophy. However reality tells me that there are a lot of teams who think the same and we can't all win.
{Ed025's Note - thats right MK, liverpool have one of if not the best midfields and attacking options in the EPL, the defence lets them down somewhat i feel so there will always be a doubt for me mate..
08 Sep 2017 16:45:57
Liverpool are one of five teams In with a shout of winning the league. It is that simple. We have had a decent start to the season but let's remember our results include a 1.0 win to palace and a 3 3 draw with watford. I don't think fans other than liverpool fans are taking us as serious title contenders but if we get a result against city that will undoubtedly change.
Liverpool have reason to be optimistic and so do Everton. Everton optimism is born out of other teams failures (spurs arsenal) coupled with some good signings (siggurson was the stand out player outside the top six, let's be honest, he is a fantastic player)
Liverpool optimism is more genuine. Before Christmas we had arguably the best team in the league and depth really cost us. Coutinio was injured and mane missing for large portions of season. Well we have been blistering already WITHOUT cout's and we have another super quick winger in salah. We have a couple of decent fbs breaking through and have added quality in midfield. We are definitely contenders.
It is this group of players first year in ucl and I'm not expecting too much. Of course, we are in it so we can win it but it's very unlikely. We will have to break down teams, something we struggled with last year. If we get to quarter finals then that would be a decent showing. We HAVE to qualify for ucl next year or our season will be a failure. Top four and I'll be pleased, top three very pleased.
{Ed025's Note - thats a great post superred, very fair and balanced mate..
08 Sep 2017 16:56:14
Liverpool defence is 50% different to the one that struggled at times last season. Milner and Clyne, for w/ e reason have been replaced by TAA, gomez, Robertson and moreno. They have also had another summer to gel together. I expect them to be much better this season.
08 Sep 2017 17:45:15
Thing is I'm massively over optimistic about our players but it's rare that I have a pop at opponents unless it's light hearted.
{Ed025's Note - and thats fair enough ron..
08 Sep 2017 19:31:52
Cheers ed025, it is easy to get carried away as football fans should. At the beginning of a new season fans should be optimistic and it's great to see. Both liverpool and Everton have improved so of course there is great optimism. I think liverpool will start well and I hope we can mantain the high intensity right through to may. We didn't last year, yes we lost mane pc and Hendo for large parts of the latter half of the season but perhaps that is due to the intensity of lfc game in part. I'm guessing, in general, our levels will be better this year as players bodies get used to klopps style and also because we simply have more numbers.
To flip the coin I think we will see Everton come stronger in the second half of the season as it will take some time for all the new faces at the club to gel.
Realistically both clubs have got to be aiming at European football again next season. Anything less will be failure. More so of course for liverpool.
{Ed025's Note - it would be nice if we could get back to the 80,s superred when we were the best 2 teams in the land, with liverpool 2nd of course..
08 Sep 2017 19:47:54
I'm the opposite, I sometimes feel I'm over critical of our players, not other teams.
I reckon it's because I'm an old git - 46. Grew up watching our sides in the 80's, I find it hard to see the likes of United over take us in league titles.
On a brighter note, I found one of my first LFC scarfs in the loft! red and white checks one side, yellow and red the other.1982.Delighted!
I had the yellow away kit too 😎.
08 Sep 2017 20:47:47
Cool nick! Lol ed25!
08 Sep 2017 20:49:03
In all honesty I don't think beating city will convince people we're title contenders as beating the top sides is not our issue. When we stop struggling against the also rans then and only then will we be considered contenders. That said I'm really looking forward to the season ahead. YNWA.