KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Catching Everton

Some people's expectations have been managed to perfection though. For some, finshing in the top half would be a decent season. For others, it's all about finishing above everton. I'm still stunned by how far we've fallen and how quickly it has happened, but "finishing above everton" should be somethingthat fulham aspire to...not Liverpool!

When you're as consistently inconsistent as we are, there's no such thing as an easy run in. The only thing we can be sure of is that we will definitely drop points where were expecting an easy victory. Sadly, the opposite doesn't really apply.

Good

said at the start of the season when some were predicting relegation etc etc , that liverpool will finish between 6th and 9th hopefully a bit of luck 6th most likely 7th .

Given that we started the season with one striker and a load of kids who we now know we can count on in the future, it's not been that bad.

We need to start a season well. Something we keep struggling to do year after year.

Will we catch Everton? Yes we will probably do it on our goal difference.

A lot of people have been saying that. My response is probably going to catch some flack, but what the hell. Our fans' expectations need to be managed a little bit. Fact of the matter is, we are not the elite team we once were. We are considered a big club mostly because of our history. Expecting Mourinho, Klop, Pep, or an "elite" manager to come in and turn us into the side we once were in one season is lunacy. Why would they come here? It's been 4 years since were in the CL, and we've sacked 3 managers since then, including that last man to win us the title and the last man to win us the CL. We aren't competitive and we aren't stable. And managing us is not a safe option.

After the waste of cash or the erroneous appointments from last two seasons (which were bad, I admit, but we can't do anything about it now), this season is about all we could or should really expect. We have a young, hungry new manager who has tried to instill a new way of playing to a very young, very thin squad. His efforts have borne fruit, but he's made mistakes. So have these young players we had to place our trust in. We couldn't attract the Hazards and the RVPs of the world this season. So we had to go with greener options (as we did with our manager), ones who had either fallen out of favor at big clubs, like Sturridge, Sahin, or Coutinho, or less proven options like Allen or Borini. We couldn't afford assured class, so we had to gamble. Key players like Lucas and Reina have struggled with fitness and form. We had to rely on teenagers like sterling, wisdom, and suso regularly.

There has We have improved our attack, which was dire last season, into one of the best in the league. Although we are second for clean sheets in the league, our young and thin team has also struggled with consistency, and made several defensive errors. We lost games we should have won. We blew leads. But we also have moved up in the league, and we play better football (not just more attractive but better) than we did last season, and we have had a much better run since the turn of the year. Things have improved.

Expecting top 4 this season, though we all (myself included) hope for it, would have been unrealistic. Arsenal, Spurs, and Chelsea have had more to offer players than we have currently, and they have more resources. We finished 8th last season. 8th. Moving up 4 places in the table doesn't just happen in a season, even with all the money in the world. Look at Chelsea. If we want to get back in Europe, it's going to be by baby steps, unless we get a sugar daddy. 1-2 places up in the table, an improved attack, and maturation of our young players is progress.

I think we'll get 6th this season 7th, worst case. If we keep Suarez, next season with a little investment, now that some of our players have matured and we have sorted out our attack, we can tighten up the defense and we might expect a 4/5th place finish. Maybe even a cup run. Baby steps. It won't happen right away, and it sure as hell won't happen if we keep sacking managers.

Good post red and I agree with it. But what I would add is we are told by the FSG fans on here that billions are going to come into the club by marketing to the Far East. Well all our rivals are doing the same and if we are having baby steps that's not much of a marketing tool. I cannott see how Liverpool can break out of this decline with major external investment. The story of growing us slowly is a [oops] by FSG we have no particular advantage other than our history. But many clubs have history and are in the lower divisions. Also making liverpool the most expensive club to follow is not going to help us retain and attract followers. Liverpool FC are on the edge and if we fail next two years we could fall much further and there won't be any way back.

Gotta give the bitters a bit of credit though, they've been a decent team this season.

I just hope we get the transfers right this summer - couple of quality first teamers please.

Yep, cracking post redordead13.

I don't think growing slowly is impossible. We have grown this season. Other clubs have competed with the big boys without spending insanely. Look at Newcastle last year or Everton this year. Both are much poorer than us. I agree that if we drop further we will make things more difficult, but Spurs have grown rather gradually, and they look a fine team. We are only a couple of pieces away from that too, especially if some of our promising young talent like Sturridge, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, and Suso continues to improve and mature. Will it happen? I don't know. Could it? Absolutely. Hope is what football fans live on, and we have a lot more to hope for than many of the teams below us.

As far as the far east goes, tons of them already watch us, and their culture is super dedicated. Asian culture really respects history. I may be able to tell you more about that next year (I'll be teaching in Thailand for a year).