16 Aug 2024 15:43:17
Don't get much time to post but do try to follow the site after so many years.
Despite the transfer disappointment for us, there seems to be a lot of genuine excitement for the new season. However, at what point do supporters get concerned that our league, despite appearing competitive has actually become not much different to France, Germany etc al?
16 Aug 2024 16:19:25
Not concerned at all. don't follow the other leagues closely enough to know really. City have won a lot of leagues but they’ve had to battle for the majority of them.
16 Aug 2024 16:24:33
Well Arteta's Arsenal became only the second team to get within 10 points of a title winning Man City in about 7 years, so maybe it's happened already?
Maybe the PL will throw the book at them, but I'm not holding my breath.
16 Aug 2024 18:10:50
The problem is City are the only team where not winning the league is considered a failure. Ourselves, Arsenal, United etc would this year and have in recent years passed 2nd off as a good season.
16 Aug 2024 18:56:08
Pressed send to early but . I actually think this has happened already. Ourselves, arsenal perhaps Chelsea quite a few seasons ago were the only ones close to city. is the Premier league almost now 1 team league? It just doesn't seem as great or competitive a league as we all think. or is Pep with a club like City almost impossible to beat?
16 Aug 2024 18:56:49
Who do you think you are OneKiss? Is it 1st or nothing for you?
How arrogant and entitled do you want to be?!
16 Aug 2024 19:54:15
BP, haven’t you heard? If you are measured in your assessment of LFC with nuance and perspective then, “You are happy with mediocrity or failure” which is weird.
Whereas in the 30 years we did not win the league I wonder how these same people kept their sanity intact? Cos I don’t hear all these people piping up with this nonsense about failure if the league wasn’t won until Klopp came. In fact, the only reason these people talk with all types of chest is cos Klopp won the lot.
16 Aug 2024 20:08:27
No one is expecting to win the league but you’re firmly in the mix. When he lost out to City, last day of the season no one was complaining, it was a hard fought campaign and we were pipped in the end. However, despite us being in the mix last season there were notable areas for development and fans asking to supplement the squad is not arrogant nor out of the question it’s common sense. I feel we’re a couple of players away from a serious challenge but apparently there are no players out there for us currently that can do that which I find absurd.
16 Aug 2024 20:30:14
I can’t argue with that Frode?.
16 Aug 2024 21:03:09
Oh I’m fully expecting that repost Oli. ‘Oh so you are happy with mediocrity’ etc etc.
We all want to win everything, of course we do. But those of us with a modicum of common sense and perspective know just how difficult that is. It’s always been difficult and it’s only getting more difficult.
You have probably 5 teams in the league who have a realistic chance of winning the league and we are one of them. From there you need to compete and have a bit of luck along the way.
As long as we are challenging that’s all we can ask for and we should thank our lucky stars that we support the team we do because we have a chance. All this bravado about 2nd place is the first loser is quite pathetic and immature.
16 Aug 2024 21:24:38
Frode, you are having the conversation that I’m not having so I will explain again. You say nobody expects us to win the title every season. Well, you’re wrong cos @OneKiss thinks so and trust me mate, he ain’t the only one. Also, At no point ever, have I said that signing players to improve the squad is bad or that fans asking for signings is a bad thing. In fact, I have never said that I’ll be fine if we signed nobody cos well, that’s just wrong, imo.
What I am saying is that many of the fans have a sense of entitlement disease that has engulfed many in the fan base was nowhere to be found on here (when I joined this site in 2012) where we didn’t have a pot to p. in after we finished the season 37 points behind City and Kenny got sacked. Suddenly after Klopp arrived and made us contenders and winners, the goal posts changed and suddenly, the self entitlement began to surface, forgetting where we had come from and most importantly thinking we were at City’s level whereas at no point where we ever at their level, imo. We had to outperform them massively to beat them to trophies and finals, something Arsenal is finding out in real time, as we speak.
Expectations can and should change of course but to the point of being arrogant and saying that winning the title is seen as failure esp with a club with our history in the PL? Sorry, that dawg won’t hunt. Sorry for the long response.
16 Aug 2024 23:56:49
The reverse could be said of you BP. Never question anything and you think we shouldn’t aim for top stop. Always happy to just doing enough.
I completely agree with the other posters we need a couple of signings to try to change us into real challenges. For a club like Liverpool it shouldn’t be too much to ask. Now is the time we can’t wait for the big players to leave.
16 Aug 2024 23:59:15
We are not Arsenal, Oli red. Grow a pair.
17 Aug 2024 00:33:00
Frode, the club is not going to sign a couple of players because you think that's what we need for a serious challenge.
Sorry, mate.
17 Aug 2024 00:56:08
I'm with you Oli.
However, I disagree on one part.
I won 2 consecutive titles without signing first-team players (bought a few 18s and 19s, but managed to loaned them out immediately after) in my FC24 career mode.
17 Aug 2024 03:41:47
Nothing wrong in what OneKiss said.
BP reaction is over the top like the name suggests.
More than City as club, the attitude of Pep the boss being obsessuve to win is coming through in what OneKiss said.
17 Aug 2024 05:30:40
For a lot of people, Mark, football is a game - a thing to be enjoyed. Not a source for totally negative, ultimately pointless criticism - face it Mark you are never going to own the club so your opinions are simply that.
People like to go to or watch the match to see their team play and to cheer them on. It’s not about worrying who the DoFs understudy is and does he stack up against the counterpart at City. It’s about enjoying the game, you should give it a try.
17 Aug 2024 06:55:27
I don't think it is quite there yet OP, from a competitiveness, fairness POV and other teams underperforming. Yes there is a clear dominant force right now, but let's not forget that they have been run very very close in several of their winning seasons, whereas PSG and BM rarely get properly challenged, and bad refereeing decisions have played a part in at least two of those league titles. There is a lot to be said about the extremely poor management of teams like Arsenal Chelsea and Utd during their period of dominance. Those teams are powerhouses financially and Should be challenging every year whereas in reality it only really the odd challenge from us City have had to fight against. Throw the likely cheating into the mix and no, I don't think in reality it's that bad just yet, despite how it may look on paper.
17 Aug 2024 08:16:11
While I agree that City is an absolute juggernaut at the moment, I think context is important.
From 1976-90 Liverpool won 10 out of 15 league titles. On top of that we came runners up 3 times in that same period.
From 1992-2003 Utd won 8 out of 11 league titles and came runners up 2 times. In the following seasons they kept dominating at the top.
Now City has won 6 out of the last 7. They don't at all compare with Bayern, who won 20 out of the last 30 league titles. They might be a bit closer to PSG who won 10 out of the last 12 titles. But then again, that also compares to Liverpool in the 70's and 80's. And Utd of the 90's. So while we can all agree that City are an absolute pain in the arse, and that the money involved does play a role in teams becomes absolute juggernauts, I think it's also fair to say that it's an ever occuring trend. And with the financial powers of the Premier League teams, some new juggernaut will submerge and become the new pain in the arse, the sooner the better if you ask me haha.
17 Aug 2024 09:49:28
I'm with you, Frode.
17 Aug 2024 10:01:20
Mark we should always aim for top spot no matter what. Our club has been built on that but to say if you don’t win everything it’s a failure is just ridiculous, entitled, childish nonsense.
I will question the hierarchy, manager, players when it needs questioning. At this point in time though we’ve tried to get in a player who’s already turned down a number of top European clubs and he ultimately turned us down too. Not one team in the league has signed a player that I would want us to sign. We are obviously still looking at other options and the window isn’t closed.
So what exactly needs questioning here?
Slot inherited a team that was largely put together over the last 2 seasons with the majority of the midfield being signed a year ago. In its first year, with a manager who admitted to the world that he was tired and not able to give it his all, that team led the league with 7 games to go.
I agree with posters when they say we need a couple of players. We do but that will always be the case. What’s important is that we sign the right players and the club are absolutely doing the right thing by relying on a team that, in its infancy showed it can compete at the top of the league, until we can find the right players to improve us.
It’s not rocket science Mark. It’s the immaturity of some fans that just want new players so they can say they won the window. It’s ridiculous and is no way to run a football club.
Just ask Chelsea fans if they are happy with the umpteen players they’ve signed. The soul is being ripped out of their club and they have an enormous squad filled with average players that were available at the time.
We have high end targets and we should wait until we can sign them, not make do with players that won’t improve us just because they were available.
17 Aug 2024 11:00:54
It’s not arrogance or entitlement ? it’s a fact. It plays a part into why City have been so dominant they’re the only ones who won’t accept not winning it anymore Players, owners, managers, supporters it’s 1st is 1st 2nd is nothing under Pep. Like United under Ferguson or Liverpool under Shankly/ Paisley. We came 3rd and haven’t done anything to bridge the gap. Other clubs in the league ourselves included need to demand more from themselves. The imaginary top 4 trophy has become all that matters for too many teams and it’s becoming a 1 team league because of that.
17 Aug 2024 12:11:51
Thanks Rigsby for the most pointless response of the season and we haven’t kicked off yet. I’m sure your moral high ground smells great up there. I’m sure Hughes and co patrol these pages looking for opinions.
Oli… you’re conflating fans wanting titles with entitlement. It’s nonsense, fans feel we should be up there and given our size that shouldn’t be an issue… there’s zero entitlement here.
17 Aug 2024 11:24:54
We were top with seven games to go ?? Still claiming that as some sort of achievement. We weren't top when it mattered.
17 Aug 2024 12:01:44
Klopp already disproved the "if you don't sign anyone you go backwards" narrative.
We won champs league and everyone said exactly that. Then we won the league signing just taking for almost nothing.
Coaching > purchasing.
17 Aug 2024 15:17:54
Fans want titles, do they, Frode?
Thanks for stating the obvious, mate ?.
But I thought we were talking about you wanting two new signings, not wanting titles and just lying about there not being players out there that can help a title challenge.
Zubimendi is at least one that shows there are players and the club is trying to bring them in.
17 Aug 2024 17:07:58
Carlo, you are exactly the type of immature, childish fan I’m taking about.
Rather than looking at what I’ve written and taking a positive from a new team, still with lots of growing to do challenging at the top of the league for over 30 games in a 38 game season, you would rather just say ‘we weren’t top when it mattered’.
It’s childish nonsense and shows a total lack of understanding about football. So because we haven’t signed anyone that means we can’t improve? We can’t be more consistent?
Stay out of the conversation if you can’t add any intelligent input.