Topic: Chasing the Title

[SteveZissou]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/1LSewbS5eQI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/1LSewbS5eQI</a>

All of you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him. All of ya! I know you got him, I know you got him picked. But the man's in trouble. I'mma show you how great I am!

Indeed. I'm thinking of that legendary fight cos this title race without doubt is the ultimate one, we're talking Man City and Liverpool with the runners up probably getting around 92-95 points. It's not great because of City but because of us, cos we're up against a financially doped team (like Ivan Drago), so no matter what happens I'm proud of our team who's fighting fair. If we get 92-95 points and finish 2nd, I will still be super proud.

And indeed, the man's in trouble. Man City's in trouble. We can see it We can see their legs going and we haven't started dancin' yet!

[swoopy]

In 13/14, the weekend that decided the title saw Liverpool play at home to Chelsea, while City played away at Crystal Palace.

18/19, on 13th and 14th April, Liverpool play at home to Chelsea, while City play away at Crystal Palace.

A reversal of 13/14 would be fucking sensational.

Fernandinhio slipping over and giving the ball to Zaha to run through and bury a 90th minute winner would defiantly be worth a fist pump

[Chivasino]

Pretty sure that’s not right 

We’ve got Fulham next and their game in hand I think is near the end of April but pretty much every other matchweek they play before us

It was really annoying me when the commentator kept bringing this up during our game yesterday.

There are 8 games left. We play on Friday twice. There are two weekends (I think) when we play and City might not play a PL Game due to the FA Cup. Kick-off day and time for our Newcastle game has not been confirmed as yet.

So of the 8 games remaining we could play 5 of them before City play, if the above is all correct. Good chance it's not.

[royhendo]

I have to say, that game was a real eye opener for me. I spent the morning in the garden with the Andy Robertson/Tony Barrett interview with Gareth Roberts in my headphones, and felt Robertson's language was a worry - it sounded like a lot of rationalisation. "When we get there and we've tried hard, if we still haven't won it it'll be a shame but we'll have tried", over and over he said variants of that message. My feeling was they'd dealt with their little bout of grief ahead of events, and that against that backdrop, given the chance, they'd cave in to any excuse to let themselves blow it and blame the Gods and circumstances beyond their control for the loss.

Fast forward two hours to the game, and the wind/referee/Tarkowski conspire to pop the ball in the back of our net, and then the weather gets worse, and I'm thinking, "Here we go - here's our chance to cave in and say the referee was the problem and the world is against us".

And then fast forward a few minutes more and we carve them open and start looking like a serious football team again. To say that impressed me was an understatement. They upped it and won in spite of the opportunity to make it easier for themselves, take the pressure off, and make excuses. Instead of that they knuckled down and won it.

It's just one game but we're in this right till the last kick of the ball and it's a coin flip for me whether we win it. I think it's more about Man City's mentality than ours - a combination of that and form and the availability of a fully fit Gomez.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

Think they've won 17 of their last 18 in all comps. Surely that's unsustainable!!?  I'm fucking praying it is anyway.

They won 18 in a row in the league alone last season. Nothing is unsustainable when you consistently create more chances than the opposition and now have the officials gifting the crucial first goal in games.

[Sharado]

And then fast forward a few minutes more and we carve them open and start looking like a serious football team again.

No one lost their heads. Just doubled down on the focus and got the job done. That goes for players and fans alike. All in for the big finale round here.

[Hij]

I have to say, that game was a real eye opener for me. I spent the morning in the garden with the Andy Robertson/Tony Barrett interview with Gareth Roberts in my headphones, and felt Robertson's language was a worry - it sounded like a lot of rationalisation. "When we get there and we've tried hard, if we still haven't won it it'll be a shame but we'll have tried", over and over he said variants of that message. My feeling was they'd dealt with their little bout of grief ahead of events, and that against that backdrop, given the chance, they'd cave in to any excuse to let themselves blow it and blame the Gods and circumstances beyond their control for the loss.

Fast forward two hours to the game, and the wind/referee/Tarkowski conspire to pop the ball in the back of our net, and then the weather gets worse, and I'm thinking, "Here we go - here's our chance to cave in and say the referee was the problem and the world is against us".

And then fast forward a few minutes more and we carve them open and start looking like a serious football team again. To say that impressed me was an understatement. They upped it and won in spite of the opportunity to make it easier for themselves, take the pressure off, and make excuses. Instead of that they knuckled down and won it.

It's just one game but we're in this right till the last kick of the ball and it's a coin flip for me whether we win it. I think it's more about Man City's mentality than ours - a combination of that and form and the availability of a fully fit Gomez.

Completely agree Roy. I felt similar sentiments with regards to the Roberston podcast but I also wonder how much of that was my own rationalisation showing through also. In particular I just hope that it does indeed go down to the last day, whether we've got an outside chance and need Brighton to do us a favour, or even incredibly have a lead by that point. I've been holding onto travelling up north and being in Liverpool for the Wolves game on the last day. I'll sleep in my car if needs be, just can't be watching something of that potential magnitude at home or in a pub near me when it could be one of the best days of my life. Of course, things could go sour and it could be lost by then, or we do something mad like go 4 clear after Newcastle.

Quite an important week to come. I really hope that with the current field left in the Champions League that we can do the job on Wednesday night. The key at the moment is staying alive in the two competitions, so I would be overjoyed with a score draw and then a win on Sunday. Essentially not much will have changed, it'll still be City's advantage, but being top for the international break and into the Champions League quarter finals could well provide a the supporters and the club a lift going into the final straight. Let's hope it's so.

[Hij]

They won 18 in a row in the league alone last season. Nothing is unsustainable when you consistently create more chances than the opposition and now have the officials gifting the crucial first goal in games.

If they do that then they'll have gone 100 points and then 98 points. I mean that is quite incredible and to be honest, we could look at some of the draws we've had this season and think we could have got more points on the board in an attempt to be nearer, but I think anyone at the start of the season suggesting that we could achieve 99 points to win the league would have been having a laugh. I think a reasonable aim was to hit 90+. The further inroads we can make into above 90 the better.

I think I care so much because we haven't won one in my lifetime (at least while I've been sentient to football, I'm not sure the 1990 league title counts as I was 3). If we had won one in recent times, I wouldn't be quite so crazy and desperate for this one because actually we've got Klopp signed up for a few more seasons, the majority of the squad is youthful and ready to grow and we should be continuing to add quality to it. Even Ferguson's team didn't necessarily challenge every season. I'm confident that in the next 2-3 seasons we should have at least one, possibly two more title challenges.

[KingKolo]

They won 18 in a row in the league alone last season. Nothing is unsustainable when you consistently create more chances than the opposition and now have the officials gifting the crucial first goal in games.

They're not going 100% through April. No way.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

They're not going 100% through April. No way.

I don't think they will either, but I wouldn't be putting any money on it.

[Sharado]

They're not going 100% through April. No way.

I don't see both of us just winning every game between now and the end of the season. That's no where near dramatic enough for liverpool football club. Something outrageously good or fucking surreal-level bad has to happen to us.

[SlowRap]

I have to say, that game was a real eye opener for me. I spent the morning in the garden with the Andy Robertson/Tony Barrett interview with Gareth Roberts in my headphones, and felt Robertson's language was a worry - it sounded like a lot of rationalisation. "When we get there and we've tried hard, if we still haven't won it it'll be a shame but we'll have tried", over and over he said variants of that message. My feeling was they'd dealt with their little bout of grief ahead of events, and that against that backdrop, given the chance, they'd cave in to any excuse to let themselves blow it and blame the Gods and circumstances beyond their control for the loss.

Fast forward two hours to the game, and the wind/referee/Tarkowski conspire to pop the ball in the back of our net, and then the weather gets worse, and I'm thinking, "Here we go - here's our chance to cave in and say the referee was the problem and the world is against us".

And then fast forward a few minutes more and we carve them open and start looking like a serious football team again. To say that impressed me was an understatement. They upped it and won in spite of the opportunity to make it easier for themselves, take the pressure off, and make excuses. Instead of that they knuckled down and won it.

It's just one game but we're in this right till the last kick of the ball and it's a coin flip for me whether we win it. I think it's more about Man City's mentality than ours - a combination of that and form and the availability of a fully fit Gomez.

thought that interview missed a few opportunities to really ask insightful questions of Robbo, I thought he made a decent point of "City haven't gotten worse we just got better." On the game, retrospectively their early goal did us a favour and the manner of it really lit a fire in us. 

[Hij]

I don't see both of us just winning every game between now and the end of the season. That's no where near dramatic enough for liverpool football club. Something outrageously good or fucking surreal-level bad has to happen to us.

Well look no further than us losing to Chelsea at home if we want to think of worst case scenarios

[Sharado]

Well look no further than us losing to Chelsea at home if we want to think of worst case scenarios

Yep. Or Rafa's newcastle hammering us away or something. Real knife through the heart shit - it's what we do!

[Andar]

I have to say being the chaser does suit us far more. The language from the players and manager is far more bullish than it ever was with a 7 point lead.

Klopp with the 'Nobody gets rid of us', Robertson talking about how 'he looks forward to the chase and we can push them all the way'. We're the underdog in this battle, and it feels more appropriate we are chasing and talking along those lines. When we were leading, it was all like 'What is this? Where the hell are we?'

I mean of course let's not be silly, it would be great to be ahead right now but like Klopp said 'Who wants to be top in March?'. I firmly believe if we can continue chasing over the next month, and do not let it get greater than a one point deficit, we can then pounce once this run-in starts for City: Palace (a), Spurs (h), Utd (a), Burnley (a). Just keep it at one point. Even two points would leave me uncomfortable as a draw on their side and a win for ourselves, would have them leading on GD.

As far as the immediate fixtures are concerned, Fulham should take care of itself but Spurs is the tough one. They will be looking to bounce back considering the poor rut they're in. Absolute cup final in where Anfield needs to be at it's best. Win would actually work for us in a lot of ways, as they could find themselves in 5th and come the time they play City, they might really need the points. Potentially a tough one for City if Spurs backs are up against the wall.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

I have to say, that game was a real eye opener for me. I spent the morning in the garden with the Andy Robertson/Tony Barrett interview with Gareth Roberts in my headphones, and felt Robertson's language was a worry - it sounded like a lot of rationalisation. "When we get there and we've tried hard, if we still haven't won it it'll be a shame but we'll have tried", over and over he said variants of that message. My feeling was they'd dealt with their little bout of grief ahead of events, and that against that backdrop, given the chance, they'd cave in to any excuse to let themselves blow it and blame the Gods and circumstances beyond their control for the loss.

Fast forward two hours to the game, and the wind/referee/Tarkowski conspire to pop the ball in the back of our net, and then the weather gets worse, and I'm thinking, "Here we go - here's our chance to cave in and say the referee was the problem and the world is against us".

And then fast forward a few minutes more and we carve them open and start looking like a serious football team again. To say that impressed me was an understatement. They upped it and won in spite of the opportunity to make it easier for themselves, take the pressure off, and make excuses. Instead of that they knuckled down and won it.

It's just one game but we're in this right till the last kick of the ball and it's a coin flip for me whether we win it. I think it's more about Man City's mentality than ours - a combination of that and form and the availability of a fully fit Gomez.

Just listened to this know while I'm working and can see what you mean about Robbo, but then it may be Klopp managing the process rather than the outcome.
What I took from it was the call to arms from player, to club employee, to fan groups about the importance of a positive atmosphere in the stadium.
It was interesting to hear Tony Barrett with his journo experience talking about knowing exactly where negative stories come from and what they are designed to do. It's something I've gone on about in the past, but it is so important for our fans to keep a level head and not buy into these narratives.

[horne]

one thing of note....we feel our own pressure because we are totally focused on us

EVERY OTHER TEAM WE PLAY HAS ' THEIR ' OWN PRESSURE TOO

some of us forget that,well dont !

city fans ,arsenal,united and the spuds will be bricking it every game because they will be feeling their own pressures..champions league qualification is the biggy really because if you fail you dont moved forward next season
every team has the deadwood and the teams that qualify can offload and replace with better...thats massive

we and city are in a great position to attract better quality....thats a big pressure off..they say you need to finish second to finish first....not totally true as leicester proved but theres a lot in that...we are progressing under Klopp and anyone who tries to say otherwise doesnt matter,its bias....their view isnt important.

so all up whatever happens between now and the final whistle on the final day its been a fantastic season for us .

BUT

we can make it better...and you know what you have to do


dont chuck the toys out the pram,get behind the club....give ourselves the chance to prove the doubters wrong

Klopp and the boys deserve it !!

[horne]

lets not be scared to fail....lets really go for it

[gamble]

Been so obsessed with the title, but the champs league is wide open with Real Madrid and PSG out.

If we beat Bayern I don’t know what to prioritise. A real shot at making history, just need everyone in red to go out there and grab it

[Trendisnotdestiny]

Been so obsessed with the title, but the champs league is wide open with Real Madrid and PSG out.

If we beat Bayern I don’t know what to prioritise. A real shot at making history, just need everyone in red to go out there and grab it

One game at a time, mate.

[royhendo]

Just listened to this know while I'm working and can see what you mean about Robbo, but then it may be Klopp managing the process rather than the outcome.
What I took from it was the call to arms from player, to club employee, to fan groups about the importance of a positive atmosphere in the stadium.
It was interesting to hear Tony Barrett with his journo experience talking about knowing exactly where negative stories come from and what they are designed to do. It's something I've gone on about in the past, but it is so important for our fans to keep a level head and not buy into these narratives.

It was an excellent show I thought. The underlying bit that's keeping me sane is the ongoing focus on process and improvement - we've got scope to improve and an organisational set up with the right people in place to delivery that improvement... whereas our competitors - you can't always say that I don't think.

[Jack Barrels]

The two Manchester clubs drawn against each other please. Let them exhaust each other over two legs

My dream-scenario would involve them two getting drawn against each other with City going through in the spawniest of circumstances. United takes that fume into the PL-fixture at Old Trafford + the need to get all points to get 4th.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

It was an excellent show I thought. The underlying bit that's keeping me sane is the ongoing focus on process and improvement - we've got scope to improve and an organisational set up with the right people in place to delivery that improvement... whereas our competitors - you can't always say that I don't think.

I agree with all that. I'm struggling to think of a time when the club has been so well run at all levels, and as you say, focussed on improvement.
Think those criticising the show slightly missed the whole point of it, it wasn't about asking Robbo insightful questions, it was about a call to arms and how the fans can make a positive contribution. Robbo is not only accessible to the Wrap lads, he can also meaningfully articulate the role fans can play.

[Korbflechter]

we and city are in a great position to attract better quality....thats a big pressure off..they say you need to finish second to finish first....not totally true as leicester proved but theres a lot in that...

As Michael Jordan would always say, "you must learn to lose before you learn to win". I think we have done our research on that. Doesn't mean it's not gonna happen again this season, just need to make sure to draw the right conclusions and improve the squad and the players we already have. But that is even if we win it of course.

[CS111]

I wonder is there motivational stuff going on in the dressing room before games or does that get players wound up too much

[hesbighesred]

It was an excellent show I thought. The underlying bit that's keeping me sane is the ongoing focus on process and improvement - we've got scope to improve and an organisational set up with the right people in place to delivery that improvement... whereas our competitors - you can't always say that I don't think.

100% this.

[Byrnee]

Don't know about you all but it was doing my head in trying to keep track of the fixtures / dates / games v points etc. So I made this. Let me know anything that needs to be fixed otherwise I'll keep it updated through the end of the season. Cheers!

If there's an easy way to embed this as an image (its made in Drive) let me know!

[El Lobo]

My dream-scenario would involve them two getting drawn against each other with City going through in the spawniest of circumstances. United takes that fume into the PL-fixture at Old Trafford + the need to get all points to get 4th.

If we do get through, we’re getting one of the English teams. Just so you’re not shocked 

[Perham]

Don't know about you all but it was doing my head in trying to keep track of the fixtures / dates / games v points etc. So I made this. Let me know anything that needs to be fixed otherwise I'll keep it updated through the end of the season. Cheers!

If there's an easy way to embed this as an image (its made in Drive) let me know!

Cheers for that mate that's really useful to keep track of the fixtures

[Byrnee]

Cheers for that mate that's really useful to keep track of the fixtures

No worries, I was spending too long trying to figure out how many points ahead we can get if City progress through FA Cup etc, and when they play catch up game/s. If they get through and we keep winning that pressure won't half be on City. We could be 5 pts clear (albeit with them having 2 games in hand) before they play Spurs for example, and then they'll have a fixture pile-up too to contend with. I can't see where that (almost certainly) rearranged Cardiff game easily fits.

 

[Sharado]

No worries, I was spending too long trying to figure out how many points ahead we can get if City progress through FA Cup etc, and when they play catch up game/s. If they get through and we keep winning that pressure won't half be on City. We could be 5 pts clear (albeit with them having 2 games in hand) before they play Spurs for example, and then they'll have a fixture pile-up too to contend with. I can't see where that (almost certainly) rearranged Cardiff game easily fits.

Whilst looking at it is now likley to take up 85% of my working week, that PDF is really good/quite stressful to spend too much time looking at.

Am I right in saying city will potentially go into their palace away fixture 2 games behind us [assuming they get past swansea in the FA cup]? I cannot overstate how important wins for us in the 3 games that precede that day are if so.

[Firebird]

Don't know about you all but it was doing my head in trying to keep track of the fixtures / dates / games v points etc. So I made this. Let me know anything that needs to be fixed otherwise I'll keep it updated through the end of the season. Cheers!

If there's an easy way to embed this as an image (its made in Drive) let me know!

thanks mate, that's a phenomenal effort.  Really easy to follow

[Firebird]

that's some gap between the final league game and the CL final !!    IF we get there, not sure I like that amount of time between games

[Byrnee]

Whilst looking at it is now likley to take up 85% of my working week, that PDF is really good/quite stressful to spend too much time looking at.

Am I right in saying city will potentially go into their palace away fixture 2 games behind us [assuming they get past swansea in the FA cup]? I cannot overstate how important wins for us in the 3 games that precede that day are if so.

It looks that way to me, though they could presumably move the Cardiff game forward to the midweek between Sun 31st March and Fri 5th April, otherwise the only space I can see (presuming they reach the CL Semis) is somewhere between the CL SF 2nd Leg, and the Final day of the season. Which would mean a CL SF and two premier league fixtures in about 5/6 days.

[Sharado]

It looks that way to me, though they could presumably move the Cardiff game forward to the midweek between Sun 31st March and Fri 5th April, otherwise the only space I can see (presuming they reach the CL Semis) is somewhere between the CL SF 2nd Leg, and the Final day of the season. Which would mean a CL SF and two premier league fixtures in about 5/6 days.

yeah if they don't move it forward I can't see where else it can go really? It's a fucking hell of a pile up for them if they don't. Even with it it looks packed.

[Jm55]

that's some gap between the final league game and the CL final !!    IF we get there, not sure I like that amount of time between games

It’s the same as last season.

[Sharado]

It’s the same as last season.

It's a week longer isn't it? Thought it was 2 weeks last year this year it seems to be 3

[Byrnee]

Hopefully this works, for easy reference. I will update as we go!

Suggestions for changes to the structure welcome, I designed it yesterday and played with a few formats but basically this is all about a quick glance easily to tell where we could be and they could be after the next few rounds of fixtures.

Feel free to share download edit- all good. Cheers!

[Achilles Heel]

Whilst looking at it is now likley to take up 85% of my working week, that PDF is really good/quite stressful to spend too much time looking at.

Am I right in saying city will potentially go into their palace away fixture 2 games behind us [assuming they get past swansea in the FA cup]? I cannot overstate how important wins for us in the 3 games that precede that day are if so.

Assuming City get through to the FA Cup SF,  they want to bring forward the Cardiff home league game to the midweek beforehand because it the only blank midweek available that doesn't either clash with Champions League QF/SF weeks or the midweek scheduled PL game against United.

[Jm55]

It's a week longer isn't it? Thought it was 2 weeks last year this year it seems to be 3

Sorry yes you’re correct, I thought it was 3 for some reason!