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Liverpool FC - The Climb to a Superclub (1 Viewer)

Even understanding about half of this, it's still funny. It's supposed to be, right?
*chant heard by a much younger and drunker CM in the standing section of the Sudkurve at the old Olympiastadion in Munich, late 80's. I can't remember what I had for breakfast most days and still don't know the names of any of my wife's aunts or cousins, but for some reason have always remembered that stupid/funny chant.  Bayern beat Hamburg 1-0 on what my friend described as an "abstauben" goal - Jurgen Wegmann.

 
Place


Team


W


D


L


GF


GA


Points


GD


Games


1


Everton


5


2


0


17


4


17


13


7


2


Tottenham


4


2


1


13


4


14


9


7


3


Chelsea


4


2


1


13


6


14


7


7


4


West Brom


4


2


1


11


9


14


2


7


5


Manchester City


4


1


1


12


8


13


4


6


6


Manchester United


3


3


0


9


2


12


7


6


7


Swansea


4


0


3


11


13


12


-2


7


8


West Ham


3


2


2


9


8


11


1


7


9


Stoke


3


2


2


8


8


11


0


7


10


Arsenal


3


1


2


13


9


10


4


6


11


Watford


2


3


2


7


9


9


-2


7


12


Burnley


2


2


3


7


8


8


-1


7


13


Hull City


2


2


3


7


9


8


-2


7


14


Southampton


2


0


4


9


9


6


0


6


15


Liverpool


1


3


3


9


12


6


-3


7


16


Crystal Palace


2


0


5


4


11


6


-7


7


17


Sunderland


1


2


4


7


13


5


-6


7


18


Middlesbrough


0


4


3


2


6


4


-4


7


19


Leicester


1


1


5


3


13


4


-10


7


20


Bournemouth


0


2


5


10


20


2


-10


7





Table for the 2nd half of the season 
I know it's been three weeks since this was posted but wanted to point out that Koeman had Soton second in points earned during the second half of last season. What does he do differently after Christmas?

 
Just for @shader trying to stir up trouble with the Poch to Barcelona rumors


Barcelona's operation to sign Philippe Coutinho is underway


Coutinho would love to wear Barcelona colours and move to the Camp Nou...He understands at Liverpool it will be hard to fight for big titles 

p.s. the big font came with the article....
I waffle on Coutinho on a weekly basis.  In the end I obviously hope he stays.  But he is one of the streakiest players we have.  He goes ice cold for months on end.  Then he looks like a world class player for a month or two.

If Coutinho could be replaced with a player of a similar skill set to Mane, I think Liverpool would be fine. But I also think in 4 years he could be a top 10 player in the world.  He's only 24.

Bottom line, LIV needs CL this season.

All that being said, the Coutinho to Barca rumors happen every time he goes to Brazil.  He just signed a 150K contract extension to 2022 with NO buy-out clause, so LIV holds the cards.

 
You can also put me in the camp of not really minding too much if Coutinho is sold. Hopefully with the bounty he'll require, the team can reinvest in areas of need (defense > hi).

 
I wonder if Coutinho and Ozil are just kind of cursed to be 10s in an era that doesn't really value 10s.  Barcelona might be THE team where he'd fit in best, though I think Ozil might fit in even better in that Iniesta role. 

 
The pending bidding war for Mamadou Sakho reminds me of magic football auctions when a late round cut throat bidding war would break out on the 45th ranked WR and I'd think that was the funniest thing ever because of all the Millers I'd pounded down.

"Don't let him chump you down!"

"This isn't about Brandon LaFell, it's about your manhood."

 
I think Coutinho is a great player, but also a replaceable player.  I don't know if there's another Sadio Mane out there, but I have little doubt that you could get another winger with pace to play the left wing and score/assist goals. 

That being said, the thing about Coutinho is that if he finally puts it ALL together and stays consistent, he could be a true superstar.  He's still 24.  I hope he stays one more year, but I'm willing to bet that's dependent on the CL.

 
Sorry I am still mad and have to rant.  Where to start?  That was such a frustrating game.  I debated with some LIV fans online at halftime.  They claimed that the team was dominating, aside from the one dumb back-pass.  I didn't see it.  I saw the return of a lot of shakiness at the back.

Jamie Carragher hit the nail on the head during the broadcast.  This team just hasn't had a consistent CB pairing all year.  Either Matip is out, or Lovren is out.  They can't build any consistency when that keeps happening, and especially when you have a guy that doesn't remind anyone of Manuel Neuer in goal.

I'm incredibly frustrated with this team.  At times in sports, you accept that your team isn't good, and that's fine.  You move on, hope for a good off-season, and accept the poor season.  But Liverpool have basically dominated the top teams.  The fact that this team can't get it done consistently against other teams is so incredibly frustrating.  But the "teams park the bus" narrative is 100% wrong imo.  The narrative is really that teams kick it long and know that eventually LIV will screw up.

7 games left and I think LIV need 4 wins and 3 draws, or possibly even 5 wins and 2 draws.  Stoke, West Brom, CP, Watford, Southampton, West Ham, Middlesbrough.  Surely they can find 4 wins out of those games?

Positive point of view:  Currently in 3rd.  Just to tie, Arsenal and/or ManU have to win BOTH games in hand and then match LIV the rest of the way.  ManU have a nightmare schedule.  Arsenal have Leicester, Tott, ManU, Everton, Southampton.  After the Stoke game, LIV play 6 games in 6 weeks getting a full week of rest between each game.

Negative point of view:  Injuries to Henderson, Lallana and Mane completely alter the team.  The team has that monkey on it's back and didn't show signs of overcoming that vs Bournemouth.  West Brom, Stoke and Watford are not good matchups for LIV and are all road games.  They all like to kick it long and use their height.  Arsenal know how to get top 4 and have 3 relatively easy matchups in a row coming up.  If Arsenal win all 3, LIV will be under immense pressure playing against teams that know and can exploit their weakness.

I'm not confident at all.  Can't wait for a new defensive spine.  I just hope it happens because this team is painful to root for.

 
I don't sense that it's the strongest part of his game, but I don't think he's criminally bad.  Just by virtue of being 24 he can probably do as well as Iniesta. 
Always an underrated feature of Iniesta's game, so was just curious.  Feel like Ozil and Messi would get in each others way, particularly as Messi plays as a 10 more and more.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Shader, the delta between being a good team and being a Championship team is vast.  You're learning it the hard way.  It's probably  in any Arsenal fan's blood by now.  Poor Man U fans who were used to Fergie are probably having their minds blown by it.  You don't win championships in the games you play well.  You win championships in the games you don't play your best and still grind out 3 points.  The best managers are the ones whose teams consistently do that.

 
Always an underrated feature of Iniesta's game, so was just curious.  Feel like Ozil and Messi would get in each others way.
I think Ozil's supposed "passivity" serves him well there.  Ozil is content to find space where it comes.  If Messi wants to go between the lines, Ozil will try to get in behind.  If Messi want to stretch the defense or dribble at them, Ozil will happily drop.  I do think it would change the way MSN plays, but not in a bad way.  Having Messi be responsible for goals and be the primary playmaker is a lot to put on him. 

 
Sorry I am still mad and have to rant.  Where to start?  That was such a frustrating game.  I debated with some LIV fans online at halftime.  They claimed that the team was dominating, aside from the one dumb back-pass.  I didn't see it.  I saw the return of a lot of shakiness at the back.

Jamie Carragher hit the nail on the head during the broadcast.  This team just hasn't had a consistent CB pairing all year.  Either Matip is out, or Lovren is out.  They can't build any consistency when that keeps happening, and especially when you have a guy that doesn't remind anyone of Manuel Neuer in goal.

I'm incredibly frustrated with this team.  At times in sports, you accept that your team isn't good, and that's fine.  You move on, hope for a good off-season, and accept the poor season.  But Liverpool have basically dominated the top teams.  The fact that this team can't get it done consistently against other teams is so incredibly frustrating.  But the "teams park the bus" narrative is 100% wrong imo.  The narrative is really that teams kick it long and know that eventually LIV will screw up.

7 games left and I think LIV need 4 wins and 3 draws, or possibly even 5 wins and 2 draws.  Stoke, West Brom, CP, Watford, Southampton, West Ham, Middlesbrough.  Surely they can find 4 wins out of those games?

Positive point of view:  Currently in 3rd.  Just to tie, Arsenal and/or ManU have to win BOTH games in hand and then match LIV the rest of the way.  ManU have a nightmare schedule.  Arsenal have Leicester, Tott, ManU, Everton, Southampton.  After the Stoke game, LIV play 6 games in 6 weeks getting a full week of rest between each game.

Negative point of view:  Injuries to Henderson, Lallana and Mane completely alter the team.  The team has that monkey on it's back and didn't show signs of overcoming that vs Bournemouth.  West Brom, Stoke and Watford are not good matchups for LIV and are all road games.  They all like to kick it long and use their height.  Arsenal know how to get top 4 and have 3 relatively easy matchups in a row coming up.  If Arsenal win all 3, LIV will be under immense pressure playing against teams that know and can exploit their weakness.

I'm not confident at all.  Can't wait for a new defensive spine.  I just hope it happens because this team is painful to root for.
Roma 2.0

...deal with it.

By the way, regardless of other snide comments, I respect your passion, & your knowledge, of this great game. And no, you're not a "noob" anymore, not that it makes a difference...

 
Sorry I am still mad and have to rant.  Where to start?  That was such a frustrating game.  I debated with some LIV fans online at halftime.  They claimed that the team was dominating, aside from the one dumb back-pass.  I didn't see it.  I saw the return of a lot of shakiness at the back.

Jamie Carragher hit the nail on the head during the broadcast.  This team just hasn't had a consistent CB pairing all year.  Either Matip is out, or Lovren is out.  They can't build any consistency when that keeps happening, and especially when you have a guy that doesn't remind anyone of Manuel Neuer in goal.

I'm incredibly frustrated with this team.  At times in sports, you accept that your team isn't good, and that's fine.  You move on, hope for a good off-season, and accept the poor season.  But Liverpool have basically dominated the top teams.  The fact that this team can't get it done consistently against other teams is so incredibly frustrating.  But the "teams park the bus" narrative is 100% wrong imo.  The narrative is really that teams kick it long and know that eventually LIV will screw up.

7 games left and I think LIV need 4 wins and 3 draws, or possibly even 5 wins and 2 draws.  Stoke, West Brom, CP, Watford, Southampton, West Ham, Middlesbrough.  Surely they can find 4 wins out of those games?

Positive point of view:  Currently in 3rd.  Just to tie, Arsenal and/or ManU have to win BOTH games in hand and then match LIV the rest of the way.  ManU have a nightmare schedule.  Arsenal have Leicester, Tott, ManU, Everton, Southampton.  After the Stoke game, LIV play 6 games in 6 weeks getting a full week of rest between each game.

Negative point of view:  Injuries to Henderson, Lallana and Mane completely alter the team.  The team has that monkey on it's back and didn't show signs of overcoming that vs Bournemouth.  West Brom, Stoke and Watford are not good matchups for LIV and are all road games.  They all like to kick it long and use their height.  Arsenal know how to get top 4 and have 3 relatively easy matchups in a row coming up.  If Arsenal win all 3, LIV will be under immense pressure playing against teams that know and can exploit their weakness.

I'm not confident at all.  Can't wait for a new defensive spine.  I just hope it happens because this team is painful to root for.
Solid defense is as much or more of a team effort than scoring goals.  Getting a new CB or hoping for a more consistent pairing isn't going to fix Liverpool's defensive woes.

Who on that team actually commits to defending consistently?  Lovren, Matip, Can, maybe Henderson?  That's not going to cut it.

The solid defensive teams get consistent defensive effort from all over the field and have depth to cover injuries.

 
I also respect the passion with which shader has thrown himself into the game.  I'm still going to make fun of him, though, because it's a lot of fun. 
Better than the guy we had here a few years ago who switched to Liverpool when Newcastle got relegated, immediately started pretending YNWA was his life's soundtrack and then did nothing but insult other fans as "plastics" and "rent-boys" as though he'd been born into it.

 
Better than the guy we had here a few years ago who switched to Liverpool when Newcastle got relegated, immediately started pretending YNWA was his life's soundtrack and then did nothing but insult other fans as "plastics" and "rent-boys" as though he'd been born into it.
I switched from Newcastle to Arsenal officially when they got relegated (the year before Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands tore up the Championship).  I wasn't up to following a team in the Championship.  In fairness, though, I'm a crappy Arsenal fan too.  Probably should have picked a team based on a better criteria than "I like the beer."  

 
Solid defense is as much or more of a team effort than scoring goals.  Getting a new CB or hoping for a more consistent pairing isn't going to fix Liverpool's defensive woes.

Who on that team actually commits to defending consistently?  Lovren, Matip, Can, maybe Henderson?  That's not going to cut it.

The solid defensive teams get consistent defensive effort from all over the field and have depth to cover injuries.
I think there's another aspect as well.  Here's an article that really blew my mind:

https://tomkinstimes.com/2017/03/liverpools-fight-to-overcome-big-brutish-bastards-including-the-case-for-milner-can-and-lovren/

Man City and Liverpool are the two smallest teams in the EPL.  Liverpool are also the worst team in the EPL in contesting headers.

 
I switched from Newcastle to Arsenal officially when they got relegated (the year before Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands tore up the Championship).  I wasn't up to following a team in the Championship.  In fairness, though, I'm a crappy Arsenal fan too.  Probably should have picked a team based on a better criteria than "I like the beer."  
No better reason/criteria.

 
I switched from Newcastle to Arsenal officially when they got relegated (the year before Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands tore up the Championship).  I wasn't up to following a team in the Championship.  In fairness, though, I'm a crappy Arsenal fan too.  Probably should have picked a team based on a better criteria than "I like the beer."  
I think fandom is a tricky thing.  We all pick teams at some point and our love for them comes and goes..  I picked the Braves because they played on TBS when I was 8 and fell in love with baseball.  Now baseball bores me and I honestly don't care where they finish.  I picked Alabama because I was born there.  I picked the Charlotte Hornets as a teenager because I loved their teal colors and the Alonzo Mourning/Larry Johnson combo (what a combo that would have been if Johnson's back hadn't given out!)  I was a massive Hornets fan and now I can't even recall the movements of that franchise.  

LFC?  Yeah, I found them when I was 36 but in fairness, it's when I discovered soccer too.  I'm sure lifelong Liverpool fans think I'm not a "true fan", but yeah whatever.  I mean, I'm not trying to win any "best fan" competition!

Do I like the fact that the late Josh King 87' equalizer completely ruined my Wednesday?  Not especially.  I didn't ask for this.  I just somehow got sucked in.  And it all comes down to @The Gator convincing me to pick Liverpool during the 2014 World Cup because they scored a ton of goals, had an unbelievable young coach (who by the way has the Celtic reprising the Invincibles), and had the dynamite Suarez/Sturridge/Sterling trio.

 

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