Topic: European Cup Final 1/6/19. LFC v THFC

[Always_A_Red]

That's what I did last year. It made dealing with the loss much easier.

But made the next morning so much worse 

[TepidT2O]

I’m trying to put this out of my mind for a while.  It’s still so far away.

[Skidder.]

You can't ignore the form.

We've lost 3 matches since Jan 2019. City and Wolves away start of Jan and Barca away.

Spurs have lost 12.

Ought be confident.

Yeah you can. It's a cup final and on neutral soil... Big break before the game and a lot of time to think.

Has the hallmarks of a great match.

We'll win of course, but they'll have a good go and they're in the final, they deserve their place as much as we do.

But I genuinely think folk are going down the wrong route in trying to go off form.

[kesey]

But made the next morning so much worse 

I stayed on it. I remember getting to Lviv at about 6am on the Monday morning and had a 4 hour wait for my train. I couldnt take the currency out of Ukraine so started on the vodkas. I think until I got home on the Thursday if I wasnt sleeping I was drinking . Deffo paid for it when I got home though.

[The G in Gerrard]

If everyone is fit for the game who starts in midfield?

It'll probably be Fabinho, Henderson and Gini?

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Yeah you can. It's a cup final and on neutral soil... Big break before the game and a lot of time to think.

Has the hallmarks of a great match.

We'll win of course, but they'll have a good go and they're in the final, they deserve their place as much as we do.

But I genuinely think folk are going down the wrong route in trying to go off form.

Lets just say that if we had the same form they do, I wouldn't be worried about it because its a cup final.

Anything can happen, hopefully it goes our way in every way possible

[MBL?]

I’m trying to put this out of my mind for a while.  It’s still so far away.

Good luck with that.

[johnny74]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times. If I understood that and then saw that he understood it and had made the necessary adjustments then I'd be more confident. He hinted that the CL defeat caused him to change tactics. Is that right?

Before the Europa we won that mad tie against Dortmund. And on the way to the CL we won that mad tie against Roma. On this run we've gone one better and had an insane turnaround against Barca. On route we've definitely won games more cautiously. You can see the difference. So in a way something has changed. But we're still very much gung-ho. And it seems to me that gung-ho doesn't win games on neutral turf when the other team is playing it tight.

I also wonder if Klopp knows how to play on a neutral ground. Do you counter attack or do you play like the home side? Is this part of the problem?

Spurs are the ones that seem to have changed the most. They've gone from bottlers to the exact opposite. Man City and Ajax come backs.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us. I don't know. But anyone quoting recent form or league position imo is completely barking up the wrong tree.

[na fir dearg]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times. If I understood that and then saw that he understood it and had made the necessary adjustments then I'd be more confident. He hinted that the CL defeat caused him to change tactics. Is that right?

Before the Europa we won that mad tie against Dortmund. And on the way to the CL we won that mad tie against Roma. On this run we've gone one better and had an insane turnaround against Barca. On route we've definitely won games more cautiously. You can see the difference. So in a way something has changed. But we're still very much gung-ho. And it seems to me that gung-ho doesn't win games on neutral turf when the other team is playing it tight.

I also wonder if Klopp knows how to play on a neutral ground. Do you counter attack or do you play like the home side? Is this part of the problem?

Spurs are the ones that seem to have changed the most. They've gone from bottlers to the exact opposite. Man City and Ajax come backs.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us. I don't know. But anyone quoting recent form or league position imo is completely barking up the wrong tree.

 

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Good luck with that.

Once the excitement of getting there wore off,this thread aside I've honestly not given it a second thought.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times. If I understood that and then saw that he understood it and had made the necessary adjustments then I'd be more confident. He hinted that the CL defeat caused him to change tactics. Is that right?

Before the Europa we won that mad tie against Dortmund. And on the way to the CL we won that mad tie against Roma. On this run we've gone one better and had an insane turnaround against Barca. On route we've definitely won games more cautiously. You can see the difference. So in a way something has changed. But we're still very much gung-ho. And it seems to me that gung-ho doesn't win games on neutral turf when the other team is playing it tight.

I also wonder if Klopp knows how to play on a neutral ground. Do you counter attack or do you play like the home side? Is this part of the problem?

Spurs are the ones that seem to have changed the most. They've gone from bottlers to the exact opposite. Man City and Ajax come backs.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us. I don't know. But anyone quoting recent form or league position imo is completely barking up the wrong tree.

You've posted some crap in that post Jonny but the bolded part takes the fucking biscuit.

[Red Beret]

This thread is starting to remind me of the discussion on holistic therapies in the political thread, where the evidence in our favour runs into something that defies analysis. Will Spurs be relying on the placebo effect to win through?

[TepidT2O]

This thread is starting to remind me of the discussion on holistic therapies in the political thread, where the evidence in our favour runs into something that defies analysis. Will Spurs be relying on the placebo effect to win through?

With Kane’s dry mouth you’d need a fuck load of water to wash it down.

[Peabee]

With Kane’s dry mouth you’d need a fuck load of water to wash it down.

If I was him, I’d spend some of my fortune on speech therapy. I’m sure he’s not as stupid as he sounds.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times.

Prehistoric times? His last cup triumph was against Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal in 2012, Dortmund beat Bayern 5-2. [He also won the equivelant of the Community Shield in 2013 and 2014]

It would help if you look at the context of the sides he was up against in the finals that he lost, he was only favorites in one of them [against Wolfsburg in his last year at the club]

2013 CL Final lost Bayern 2-1
2014 DFB Pokal lost to Bayern in extra time 2-0
2015 DFB Pokal lost to Wolfsburg 3-1
2016 League Cup , lost to Man City on penalties
2016 Europa League, lost to Sevilla 3-1
2018 CL Final, lost to Real Madrid 3-1

Out of those as I said, he was the underdog with an inferior side 5 out of the 6 occasions. We all know what happened last year in the final and it had fuck all to do with Klopp not being good enough as a manager in said final.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us.

Yes clearly because they've been in numerous finals under Pochettino and have been winning them all.

Hopefully you're on a wind up

[Peabee]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times. If I understood that and then saw that he understood it and had made the necessary adjustments then I'd be more confident. He hinted that the CL defeat caused him to change tactics. Is that right?

Before the Europa we won that mad tie against Dortmund. And on the way to the CL we won that mad tie against Roma. On this run we've gone one better and had an insane turnaround against Barca. On route we've definitely won games more cautiously. You can see the difference. So in a way something has changed. But we're still very much gung-ho. And it seems to me that gung-ho doesn't win games on neutral turf when the other team is playing it tight.

I also wonder if Klopp knows how to play on a neutral ground. Do you counter attack or do you play like the home side? Is this part of the problem?

Spurs are the ones that seem to have changed the most. They've gone from bottlers to the exact opposite. Man City and Ajax come backs.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us. I don't know. But anyone quoting recent form or league position imo is completely barking up the wrong tree.

Are you being serious? Spurs finished 27 points behind in what was supposedly a three horse race (they were two points behind City mid-Feb.

[disgraced cake]

The Klopp cup final record has always been mad to me. Not exactly lost them to bums has he? A couple against the Bayern side that won the treble, Sevilla and Madrid who needed ridiculous luck to get over the line (to win their 3rd such trophy in a row) and City on penalties. Even the Wolfsburg side that won the cup were considerably better than Dortmund that year.

[duvva 💅]

It’s only a matter of time until the Klopp losing in finals thing is no longer a thing.

Hopefully about 15 days time

[Bobinhood]

I need some help here, is this sentence proper English?

"Harry Kane quickly used his dry mouth to get a touch on it and then showed everyone the video, he was that pleased."

[latortuga]

The Klopp cup final record has always been mad to me. Not exactly lost them to bums has he? A couple against the Bayern side that won the treble, Sevilla and Madrid who needed ridiculous luck to get over the line (to win their 3rd such trophy in a row) and City on penalties. Even the Wolfsburg side that won the cup were considerably better than Dortmund that year.

From memory his teams seem to all start really well, dominate possession and go for the knock out blow early, producing the majority of scoring chances - that's going by the 2 Champions League finals and UEFA Cup final - with all games being lost 2nd half.

You wouldn't say he's lost finals he should have been winning, certainly not when 2/3 times his teams were the underdog while the UEFA cup final was a bit more 50/50.  This final we go in as clear and worthy favourites which is a change from previous situations for Klopp and indicative of him having the better side of paper for once.

One final point I'd also make is the way we've won a lot of games this season in 2nd halves.  While this has mainly happened in the league, I think it has instilled a confidence and belief in the side that even if we don't score early then that's ok.  Maybe in the past we've sort of lost our way a bit when we haven't scored the early goal.

Remaining quietly confident, though as we are all well aware anything can happen in a one off cup final.

[BabsLFC]

I'm confident we will win, especially that our players have the experience of playing in the final and the wounds will still be fresh from last season.

I've got a feeling the Spurs players are going to be overwhelmed with the occasion and shit the bed.

+ this time around we have Allison and Fabinho... rock solid

[jckliew]

We owe Madrid one since Ramos did Salah in.

We WILL win it in Madrid! 

[Andypandimonium]

Just popping in to this forum occasionally as the final is still a long way off and quite nice to take a break from the stress of football over the last five months or so. I am a little worried for some of our fellow fans. Don't peak too soon girls and boys! As for the game itself, I am very confident of success. That doesn't mean we are going to win by four, but we will find a way to win. I agree that if the final was this weekend we would be in a great position to roll-over Spurs, but even with the three-week break, we are the superior side. Without peak City, we would have wrapped up the title in April. We are a great side, and the team which pipped us to the championship are not facing us in Madrid. We will do to Spurs, what Real did to us last season, of that I have no doubt. Spurs will have a good go but come up short, and take the plaudits for another fine effort this season. Had we had AB in goal last year, and Fabinho in midfield, I think we would have won last season, but that's history and part of the reason we will be ravenous for a title on 1 June.

Believe people...old big ears is coming home. See you at the victory parade 

Up the never-say-die reds 

[★deb★, please ?]

Alcohol in the stands?
Are those uefa or national rules?

[Red Beret]

[Smellytrabs]

[Mister Flip Flop]

I'd like to understand fully why Klopp has reached so many finals and hasn't won one since prehistoric times. If I understood that and then saw that he understood it and had made the necessary adjustments then I'd be more confident. He hinted that the CL defeat caused him to change tactics. Is that right?

Before the Europa we won that mad tie against Dortmund. And on the way to the CL we won that mad tie against Roma. On this run we've gone one better and had an insane turnaround against Barca. On route we've definitely won games more cautiously. You can see the difference. So in a way something has changed. But we're still very much gung-ho. And it seems to me that gung-ho doesn't win games on neutral turf when the other team is playing it tight.

I also wonder if Klopp knows how to play on a neutral ground. Do you counter attack or do you play like the home side? Is this part of the problem?

Spurs are the ones that seem to have changed the most. They've gone from bottlers to the exact opposite. Man City and Ajax come backs.

Perhaps Spurs have improved their ability to win silverware more than us. I don't know. But anyone quoting recent form or league position imo is completely barking up the wrong tree.

 

Take some time away from the internet pal

[Mister Flip Flop]

People need to relax and remember we are a better team than Spurs. Last year we where all over Madrid until Ramos starting assaulting our players and the referee looked the other way and personally i think if we had of had a strong referee we'd have won that day. We are a VERY good side and i am massively confident in our manager.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Being the better side doesnt guarantee anything on the night.

[lukeb1981]

Being the better side doesnt guarantee anything on the night.

Too right , Spurs have spawned their way through this competition.They where nearly gone a few times and scrapped through, that is whats worrying me.I feel Ajax would have gassed out around 60 mins and although might start well  they would struggle to keep the up in the last 30. Spurs will have 3 weeks to get their players fit.

[Davidbowie]

Looking at what I would expect to be the starting XI this year against the starting XI last year, there are a few differences.

Karius > Alisson - a huge improvement in goal in practically every way from shot-stopping, kicking and mentality.

Lovren > Matip - another improvement - you always feel that Lovren has a mistake in him and Matip is certainly better at bringing the ball out from the back whilst also being the taller player for set pieces.

Milner > Fabinho - Obviously these two won't be playing in like for like positions, Fabinho will be taking Henderson's role as the DM last year and Hendo moving into Milner's place slightly further forward, but what is there to say about Fabinho? Superb ball winner, athletic, strong and can pick a pass. Another improvement on last years midfield.

We're definitely stronger than in last years final, and that includes the bench were we are likely to have Origi, Ox, Sturridge, Shaqiri and Gomez who we did not have on the bench to call on last year.

[Floydy]

Being the better side doesnt guarantee anything on the night.

you are right, but as the better side, if we play to our capability then   a) it is more then 50-50 we get the right  result   b)  we can only really be proud of the team for their efforts.

[Sharado]

Looking at what I would expect to be the starting XI this year against the starting XI last year, there are a few differences.

Karius > Alisson - a huge improvement in goal in practically every way from shot-stopping, kicking and mentality.

Lovren > Matip - another improvement - you always feel that Lovren has a mistake in him and Matip is certainly better at bringing the ball out from the back whilst also being the taller player for set pieces.

Milner > Fabinho - Obviously these two won't be playing in like for like positions, Fabinho will be taking Henderson's role as the DM last year and Hendo moving into Milner's place slightly further forward, but what is there to say about Fabinho? Superb ball winner, athletic, strong and can pick a pass. Another improvement on last years midfield.

We're definitely stronger than in last years final, and that includes the bench were we are likely to have Origi, Ox, Sturridge, Shaqiri and Gomez who we did not have on the bench to call on last year.

For what it's worth, I think there's an argument that this years Henderson, Trent, Robbo and Mane are all better than last year's too.

[Red Beret]

Too right , Spurs have spawned their way through this competition.They where nearly gone a few times and scrapped through, that is whats worrying me.I feel Ajax would have gassed out around 60 mins and although might start well  they would struggle to keep the up in the last 30. Spurs will have 3 weeks to get their players fit.

Thing is, we're no strangers to against the odds results ourselves either.  I've cited Middlesbrough's UEFA cup run before as evidence of a side lucking it's way through a competition before slamming into a Seville shaped wall in the final.  I would expect no less of ourselves if we perform as expected.

[davealexred]

We are the better side, we have unfinished business in the Champions League and I think that will be enough to see us over the line.

Spurs lack of experience in big games like these will definitely show IMO, as it has countless times in the past. Last year’s final is evidence of that but we are a completely different beast this season.

100% focus from our lads and we’ll do it. YNWA

[LFCEmpire]

You guys remember who were the favourites in the 2012 final? Chelsea really fluked themselves to that trophy, we can not underestimate Spurs, we have to be smart.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

You guys remember who were the favourites in the 2012 final? Chelsea really fluked themselves to that trophy, we can not underestimate Spurs, we have to be smart.

Chelsea may have fluked themselves to the final, but they underperformed in the league massively, and they still had very good players.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

you are right, but as the better side, if we play to our capability then   a) it is more then 50-50 we get the right  result   b)  we can only really be proud of the team for their efforts.

Hopefully that will be the case, but in football in one match, when there isn't a night and day difference in quality between the two sides on the pitch, anything can happen. We are the better side and I am confident in us against anyone, but at the same time there are no guaranties.

I am certain however that we will be angry and motivated beyond description after last year, hopefully that gets us through

[SteveZissou]

Everyone's talking about how we can win the game, which I think is obvious but here's how we can lose.

Firstly, I'd say 7 times out of 10 we'd win this final. 2 times it'd go to penalties for a lottery. and 1 time Spurs win. Here's factors that could lead to that 1 in 10 possibility by my estimation:

1. We outperform Spurs in the midfield just as we did to Barca at their Camp, but Sadio misses a few sitters just like he did at home to Bayern and Napoli. He lunges at a ball when he could've been clean through to score and fails to hit the target.

2. Firmino is having one of those days where he tries to play like Ronaldinho and touches the ball 4x before trying the easy assist for a goal. This results in some lost chances. Klopp reckons he's not totally up to speed and gets substituted after about 60min.

3. Salah's trying too hard to score the goal of the year, weaving in and out of Spurs defenders, he beats 3 players at once and then tries to curl it round the keeper when Mane is clean through. Chance gone.

4. Spurs don't do much, but when they get a chance Lucas Moura or Eriksen puts it away from the cutback.

1-0

I can't see us losing a highscoring game, but if we spoil all our chances and leave our shooting boots at home, it could be one of those days.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

I've already played 83439434 scenarios in my head about this match, I can't take another 15 days of this