Topic: Chasing the Title

[spider-neil]

To be honest if we win the league i wouldn't want City to win the CL. Guarantee people would play down us winning the league because City "concentrated on winning the BIG ONE".

If Liverpool win the league I wouldn't give a fuck what City go on to do. Liverpool would have removed a 29 year long monkey off their back.

[mikeb58]

If Liverpool win the league I wouldn't give a fuck what City go on to do. Liverpool would have removed a 29 year long monkey off their back.

All day long, don't give a shit about other clubs do anyway, they are not worthy of my time. But if we win the Title I wouldn't be arsed if City won the C/L, Everton won the FA Cup and Man Utd get top 4!

This quest for the Title has dragged on to a piss taking length can't wait to get our hands on it!

No other fuckin club will spoil my party.

[Sharado]

How have we done following these previous training camps? We seem to do them every season but do we tend to come back and do well from them?

We got to the european cup final last year. That was alright as it goes.

[Peabee]

How have we done following these previous training camps? We seem to do them every season but do we tend to come back and do well from them?

Last season, we were on 54 points after 27 before we went to Marbella. Then we had 21 points from 11 afterwards, so PPG approximately the same. However, those 11 include Chelsea, United away, which we lost. We also went on a good CL run... 

I’m sure it helps with morale and enjoying some sun more than anything.

[Kelvinlfc]

We're going to the do the league & CL double.

[RSoares21]

I wont and we certainly shouldnt seek the approval and adulation of others to get absolutely hammered in celebration of winning a title.

If Liverpool win the league I wouldn't give a fuck what City go on to do. Liverpool would have removed a 29 year long monkey off their back.

By no means will it ever ruin my party lol 

[kaesarsosei]

In general terms I would say the Champions League is at least equal or slightly more important than any national League Title. However in some situations, its different.

For Liverpool, the title is unquestionably the priority and I would be surprised if you could find anyone who would take the CL over the League. You could even argue that for the likes of United (nearly 7 years with no title now!) the league is more important than the CL. For the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea who have all won their leagues fairly recently, and especially City, the CL is more important no question (I won't even bother including Juve, Bayern & PSG who's national leagues have become jokes - Dortmund excepted this year). This is why last Thursday was so galling, I think City are/were only 1 more bad round of results away from completely dropping their focus in the league.

But for Liverpool, I would say the league is more important than any trophy is to any other club. If City won the CL, Everton the FA Cup, Spurs the League Cup and United won every remaining game to finish second I would not give two fiddler's fucks about any of them.

[Sharado]

We're going to the do the league & CL double.

Correct.

[lionel_messias]

In general terms I would say the Champions League is at least equal or slightly more important than any national League Title. However in some situations, its different.

For Liverpool, the title is unquestionably the priority and I would be surprised if you could find anyone who would take the CL over the League. You could even argue that for the likes of United (nearly 7 years with no title now!) the league is more important than the CL. For the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea who have all won their leagues fairly recently, and especially City, the CL is more important no question (I won't even bother including Juve, Bayern & PSG who's national leagues have become jokes - Dortmund excepted this year). This is why last Thursday was so galling, I think City are/were only 1 more bad round of results away from completely dropping their focus in the league.

But for Liverpool, I would say the league is more important than any trophy is to any other club. If City won the CL, Everton the FA Cup, Spurs the League Cup and United won every remaining game to finish second I would not give two fiddler's fucks about any of them.

Liverpool being league champions again would mean everything. Would be transformational for Klopp and his squad too.

For City, winning the CL would be good for their brand and story, but they'll still gonna go out and buy £150 million footballers in the summer, no matter what.

[You think you'd learn by now]

For the club and the supporters, winning the league, for some of the players I'd say that winning the European cup is just as significant.

[JackWard33]

To be honest if we win the league i wouldn't want City to win the CL. Guarantee people would play down us winning the league because City "concentrated on winning the BIG ONE".

If we win the league I'll be drunk in a ditch for a month and I'll have to google who won the CL

[You think you'd learn by now]

If we win the league I'll be drunk in a ditch for a month and I'll have to google who won the CL

I may see you in that ditch 

[Brian Blessed]

If we win the league I'll be drunk in a ditch for a month and I'll have to google who won the CL

"Fuck, we did the double!"

[RyanBabel19]

Last season, we were on 54 points after 27 before we went to Marbella. Then we had 21 points from 11 afterwards, so PPG approximately the same. However, those 11 include Chelsea, United away, which we lost. We also went on a good CL run... 

I’m sure it helps with morale and enjoying some sun more than anything.

Cheers mate, wasn't sure how we normally perform after them and whether it had any impact on how we go on to end the season after training abroad

Hopefully it benefits us significantly this season

[Raid]

In addition we played some weakened teams to focus on the Champions League in a couple of those league games.

On paper, this looks absolutely great - 4 points, clear, only 5 games in 34 days and a warm weather camp in the middle. But those games still need to be won. 15 points will give us a minimum 4 point lead with a dozen games remaining.

[anoopvk]

Just wondering how did BVB performed after new year under Klopp?

Also in the PL how were we under Klopp in new year, if i remember correctly we were pretty good last season untill we started concentrating on CL. Is that correct?

[U-238A]

"Fuck, we did the double!"

He'll need to upgrade ditches to appropriately reflect the occasion.

[Hij]

For the club and the supporters, winning the league, for some of the players I'd say that winning the European cup is just as significant.

Fair point.

Let's win both then.

[Roady]

I’d celebrate for a week and wouldn’t give two fucks who won what if we won the league. I’d be booking flights back to Liverpool for the party. I can’t imagine the scenes seriously. 05 was incredible. It would surpass that and I was pissed for 72 hours.

[Coolie High]

Champions league will always be more important regardless of the propaganda we’ve gone 30 years without winning a league, other clubs haven’t won the Cl once in their 100 year plus history... it will always be number 1.

[Roger Federer]

Champions league will always be more important regardless of the propaganda we’ve gone 30 years without winning a league, other clubs haven’t won the Cl once in their 100 year plus history... it will always be number 1.

You would seriously take the Champions league over the league title this year if we could only win one of them?

We'll do both obviously so I guess it doesn't matter...

[fowlermagic]

Champions league will always be more important regardless of the propaganda we’ve gone 30 years without winning a league, other clubs haven’t won the Cl once in their 100 year plus history... it will always be number 1.

If you dont do the business in the league there is no CL football so every season the priority has to be the chase for the title. Obviously at a certain time of the season the goalposts may shift, ie last season 20 points behind City but still in the CL but at the start of the season the league has to be #1.

[Xabi Gerrard]

In general terms I would say the Champions League is at least equal or slightly more important than any national League Title. However in some situations, its different.

For Liverpool, the title is unquestionably the priority and I would be surprised if you could find anyone who would take the CL over the League. You could even argue that for the likes of United (nearly 7 years with no title now!) the league is more important than the CL. For the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea who have all won their leagues fairly recently, and especially City, the CL is more important no question (I won't even bother including Juve, Bayern & PSG who's national leagues have become jokes - Dortmund excepted this year). This is why last Thursday was so galling, I think City are/were only 1 more bad round of results away from completely dropping their focus in the league.

Pretty much agree with this. As a general rule of thumb I think being European champion is a bigger deal and more prestigious than being national champion. There are definitely exceptions though - us for example, just because it's been so long since our last league title.

Varies from club to club though. For Man Utd, Arsenal, City and Chelsea they probably all want the CL more. Man Utd brand themselves as the biggest club in the world, but have only won a paltry 3 European Cups. No way can a club with so few be considered European royalty, let alone the biggest club in the world.

Arsenal need a CL just to enter the conversation of being a truly big club. They've got a great domestic record but can't ever be considered truly big until they win the top European pot.

City and Chelsea have both won a few leagues recently but are lightweights on the world stage - something their financiers and new found fans will want to address.

Spurs probably see them as equal value - it's been so long since they've won anything big so probably have no preference.

[NarutoReds]

Champions league will always be more important regardless of the propaganda we’ve gone 30 years without winning a league, other clubs haven’t won the Cl once in their 100 year plus history... it will always be number 1.

I am in the same shoes too. Haha. Well, with the thought of in the UEFA Champions League, we
need to go toe to toe with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and other
bloody monsters that your feet sometimes are shaking by just walk into the pitch, what's more facing their forwards...
Compared to Burnley, Cardiff City and Brighton & Hove Albion in the league...
And to be the winner of that glorious cup, we are being crowned as the King of Europe.
That's what I read first in the newspaper in 2005, titled as: "Liverpool, King of Europe... What a day that moment!!
What a day.

[Robert_B]

In general terms I would say the league and champions league are level. However for us, at this time, the league is more important. We want to prove we are a great team, and the league proves that to a greater extent than the champions league does.

[Indomitable_Carp]

We've not lifted a League trophy in my lifetime. I want the League more without question.

[Alisson Wonderland]

We've not lifted a League trophy in my lifetime. I want the League more without question.

I was 3 when we last did, I'm now 32!  I want the league more now because that's the only thing I haven't seen us win

[The Test]

Intertoto, closely followed by the shebelieves cup for me. Was it Newcastle who were told they’d won the intertoto cup at half time during a league game, by virtue of some nebulous coefficient going there way... and we think we’ve tasted glory.

[rob19:6 "And yeah doth the Lord liketh trucking."]

Don't care who wins what, I haven't seen the club lift a title since I was in my 20's, now in my 50's so all I care about is us winning it.

[SerbianScouser]

I may or may not have trouble stop day dreaming about the double...

[scalatore]

Intertoto, closely followed by the shebelieves cup for me. Was it Newcastle who were told they’d won the intertoto cup at half time during a league game, by virtue of some nebulous coefficient going there way... and we think we’ve tasted glory.

What a bizarre idea the Intertoto was. The Newcastle year:

"The 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition after a major change of the competition format. There were only three rounds instead of five, and eleven tournament co-winners qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup (instead of three teams qualifying for the first round proper). Also, for the first time in the modern history of the competition, an outright winner was highlighted from the 11 co-winners of the Cup, with that honour going to the final-round Intertoto winner that advanced farthest in the UEFA Cup. This honour went to Newcastle United."

Even as a footy mad teenager who'd go to lower league games all over the county, I never paid any attention to that rubbish. Bonkers.

[Cheesehead]

To be honest if we win the league i wouldn't want City to win the CL. Guarantee people would play down us winning the league because City "concentrated on winning the BIG ONE".

Who cares. We would have won the league!

[LiverLuke]

Don't care who wins what, I haven't seen the club lift a title since I was in my 20's, now in my 50's so all I care about is us winning it.

 I was born in 1991, I need us to win to convince myself I wasn't a curse on us winning the league!

[Sharado]

I may or may not have trouble stop day dreaming about the double...

If you're not perpetually thinking about how to rotate the squad for the remainder of the season to make sure of the double you're a scab.

[RyanBabel19]

Always find the league vs Champions League discussion interesting, especially when you're talking about the premier league

IMO you can win the Champions league easier, don't get me wrong its an incredibly hard competition to win but you can get a very kind group, good draws, your opposition having an off day, a gamechanging reffing decision etc push you massively closer to winning the competition. You don't get the benefit of those kinds of things help you nearly as much in a domestic league campaign. There's always the 'its the best of the best' line about the Champions league, but it doesn't matter if you won your domestic league or finished 3rd or 4th, you can still win it. You're more likely to face tougher opposition but that's also no guarantee, i'm sure you could look at most sides CL opponents for each season and make equal or more challenging lists from that seasons same league campaign. A big thing for me is these bankrolled sides can stroll their domestic league, but how many of them have replicated it with CL wins? City seem to struggle, PSG aren't the frightening prospect they should be in CL games and aren't even making the final with all that money spent. Along with all the powerful sides in the CL there are plenty of sides that look absolutely awful year after year of being in the compeition

I'd be happy to win either, i'd rather win the league obviously, but winning the Champions League again would be absolutely amazing. Personally I'd rather not see another english side lift the CL in the same season we won the league, I probably shouldn't care but taking City as an example, its quite funny to watch them falter year after year in the one trophy they clearly all want to win but cant despite all that money thrown at players in an effort to make it happen, they'll likely feel they could say the same about us with the league... but that's all the more reason not to want to see them win the CL... and atleast we've made the final of it recently

[You think you'd learn by now]

for us it means more since we haven't won it in a while, outside of the league, winning the CL imo is more prestigious worldwide, especially for attracting players.

[CHOPPER]

The biggest attraction we have at this club is Jurgen Klopp and it will be the same next season, even after when we have won the league.

[Cormack Snr]

Finished all me jobs at 3-30 today so sat off for an hour in me Corpy van in Everton Valley and made my predictions for us and City..  We will win the league by 4pts...

City                                       
                                                                                  50pts
12/01/2019: Manchester City v Wolverhampton      W     53pts
19/01/2019: Huddersfield Town v Manchester City  W     56pts
30/01/2019: Newcastle United v Manchester City    W     59pts
02/02/2019: Manchester City v Arsenal                  W     62pts
09/02/2019: Manchester City v Chelsea                  D     63pts
23/02/2019: Everton v Manchester City                  W     66pts
27/02/2019: Manchester City v West Ham United     W    69pts
02/03/2019: A.F.C. Bournemouth v Manchester City  W   72pts
09/03/2019: Manchester City v Watford                    W   75pts
16/03/2019: Manchester United v Manchester City     D    76pts
30/03/2019: Fulham v Manchester City                      W   79pts
06/04/2019: Manchester City v Cardiff City                 W  82pts
13/04/2019: Crystal Palace v Manchester City             W  85pts
20/04/2019: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur      W  88pts
27/04/2019: Burnley v Manchester City                       W  91pts
04/05/2019: Manchester City v Leicester City               W 94pts
12/05/2019: Brighton v Manchester City                       W 97pts



LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

January
                                                          54pts
12 – Brighton and Hove Albion (A) W     57pts
19 – Crystal Palace (H)                 W     60pts
30 – Leicester City (H)                  W     63pts
February
2 – West Ham United (A)               W    66pts
9 – Bournemouth (H)                    W     69pts
23 – Manchester United (A)            D     70pts
27 – Watford (H)                           W     73pts
March
2 – Everton (A)                              W    76pts
9 – Burnley (H)                              W    79pts
16 – Fulham (A)                             W    82pts
30 – Tottenham Hotspur (H)            D    83pts
April
6 – Southampton (A)                      W    86pts
13 – Chelsea (H)                            W    89pts
20 – Cardiff City (A)                        W   92pts
27 – Huddersfield Town (H)              W  95pts
May
4 – Newcastle United (A)                  W   98pts
12 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)  W   101PTS

[stevieheighway]

City need 2.76/2.82 points per game to reach 97/98 points. They've averaged 2.38 so far this season, they averaged 2.41 in the last 17 of last season (so 2.4 over their last 38 league games); 2.63 over the whole of last season.

They averaged 2.81 over the first 21 games last season. That's the level they need to rediscover, now, to reach 97/98 points. They're not playing at that level; they haven't been, consistently, since the end of 2017.

And when push comes to shove in their hectic schedule, the owners and manager's priority is the CL.

wow, thanks for this mate, I'm more convinced than ever now

Now you gotta believe us,
We're gonna win the league...

[Mutton Geoff]

Brighton away isnt a gimme they are quite solid at home.