Topic: Winning Title #19*

[Liverpoolluver]

Thanks for the great run lads and the title in waiting. On to the next one 

[DelTrotter]

Anyone who has been paying attention realises that Liverpool have been playing poorly and getting away with it for weeks.

Partly down to fatigue, partly down to injury and disruption, but mostly down to white line fever.

Think the only question now is whether there will be a pretty serious wobble, or a minor setback.

 

[bobadicious]

In a wierd way i think we needed that. A lethargy had set in that we would always find a way to win. Maybe thatll reset their heads that they have to up their game and if they play poorly they might get beat every now and again. I think this will keep them honest, nother massively lost here. Could have come at a good time.

[Malaysian Kopite]

February proving to be the month we struggle
the most again

[Penfold78]

Anyone who has been paying attention realises that Liverpool have been playing poorly and getting away with it for weeks.

Partly down to fatigue, partly down to injury and disruption, but mostly down to white line fever.

Think the only question now is whether there will be a pretty serious wobble, or a minor setback.

Nailed it. I think we know from our experience of Klopp it'll be a minor setback. He'll roast some of them. White line fever - totally.

[Red_Rich]

Funnily enough ... after that, I'm more confident of knocking Chelsea out on Tuesday. Play the same team and tell them to go and put it right!

[deFacto please, you bastards]

I didn't see this coming honestly, a loss sure, you have to lose at some point, but to lose like this given that we haven't lost like this in a long time, I didn't see comming. But it proves as the boys and the manager have been saying, one game at a time, you can't take anything for granted in football [or life for that matter]

[S]

Just feel like the lads are feeling that they've won the league already, when there's 12 points still to win and we have chelsea, arsenal, goodison and etihad in those 10 games, so no, the job is not done.

As strong as our position is this is a good point.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

I am. Hugely so.

The Arsenal Invincibles are still lionised and discussed regularly as legends.

If we take Abu Dhabi's points record, it'll be an achievement, but I want us to hold every fucking record going and be able to dick-swing about it for years to come.

Massive opportunity lost to be unarguably considered the greatest team ever.

1st class problems and all that.

[12C]

Some people need to get a grip. We went on a fantastic unbeaten run back in 78 and Andy King spawned one into the top corner. That hurt far more. This is a blip. We know how good we are.
Klopp will sort it.

[aw1991]

Easy tiger..... I never said that!!! We have been giving clubs great chances...... but they’ve not taken them.

We dropped two points since the start of the season until today, but we had this loss coming for months?
How many months? The month where we won the CWC, beaten Leicester 4-0 and Everton 5-2, or the month where we beat Sheffield, Spurs and United?

[deFacto please, you bastards]

As strong as our position is this is a good point.

Don't think you can blame the players of complacency given they've kept the same mantra for the last 2 years, one game at a time.

[Samie]

Anyone who has been paying attention realises that Liverpool have been playing poorly and getting away with it for weeks.

Partly down to fatigue, partly down to injury and disruption, but mostly down to white line fever.

Think the only question now is whether there will be a pretty serious wobble, or a minor setback.

We can Hodgson our way to the title. 

[Stockholm Syndrome]

Again as reactionary as it sounds, I think it's best for everyone to revert to one game at a time again. Just think of every game as it's own struggle for points.

[Son of Spion]

What a ride that run was, but it was always going to end somewhere.  In fact, ironically that result shows just how impressive our run of form has actually been.  This is a league where any team can beat any team on their day, and we managed to come up with a run of 110 points from a possible 114.  That will never be beaten.

Now let’s go and start another one!

Yep, and I hope it helps put to bed the 'weak league' myth.

I was reading this morning that this is actually the most competitive Premier League season in it's history if you look at how close everyone is points-wise, apart from Liverpool who have been performing like supermen.

What we have achieved has been utterly remarkable, and what we are about to achieve will be too.

[Iska]

Absolutely gutted at that, I wanted 110 points.  But oh well, it does seem to be a thing with this kind of football that when something goes wrong, it goes wrong bigtime.  Just not that often.  The Spurs-at-Wembley nightmare was a long time ago.  Hell Barca away was a long time ago.

I had to laugh though when something else went wrong and I finally accepted to myself ‘we’re not going to win this’ ... looked at the clock and it’s reading 88 minutes.

[vagabond]

Today was a bad performance. But it's really strange to think we performed badly against West Ham.

[12C]

February proving to be the month we struggle
the most again

Well it used to be November when Paisley was the manager, and people used to moan abar him believe it or not.

[Caligula?]

Its a joke to say something like this about this team- have a word with yourself.

Great run has come to an end, got to dust ourselves down and go on another

If that had ended 1-0 or 2-1, I might agree with you. But lately we've been winning games through sheer will and not necessarily deservedly too. We started the first half of that the way we've been starting every single game since Southampton. You can't continue to play like that and then just flick a switch in the second half and come out a completely different side every single game.

[Red Dane]

We have played awful lately. Klopp stor asking for a break!

[Fiasco]

I am. Hugely so.

The Arsenal Invincibles are still lionised and discussed regularly as legends.

If we take Abu Dhabi's points record, it'll be an achievement, but I want us to hold every fucking record going and be able to dick-swing about it for years to come.

Massive opportunity lost to be unarguably considered the greatest team ever.

We could go unbeaten from now until the end of the season and still not win the league. That is still possible. Going unbeaten doesn't determine much. A boxer can fight 50 tomato cans and go unbeaten, yet if he went up against a proper contender with 5 losses on his record he'd get smashed to pieces.

Going unbeaten would have been nice but for me, that's all it would have been. We've not won the league in 30 years, losing the odd game on the way to achieving that doesn't take away our brilliance. And anyway, we could go unbeaten for 100 games and you'd get the wankers and idiots from other teams and the media saying how it is a farmers league, VAR, we're lucky, its all a conspiracy etc.

We're gonna win the league, and we're still in with a chance of number 7 and a domestic cup. Going unbeaten was just a bit more cream on the cake.

[Kekule]

When Hendo is lifting that trophy above his head at some stage over the next couple of months no-one is going to give a shit about today.

[Lee-87]

Too many people  seem to worry about what others think. How Arsenal are reacting, how our rivals are reacting. Fuck them. We're top of the league, the best team by far and i wouldn't trade our position for anyone in world football.

Anyone expecting to win every game with ease has become spoilt. We've all but won the league and have a great chance at 2 others. Onward and upwards!

[jillcwhomever]

We are missing our captain/vice captain with the likes of Fab still trying to find his form, Keita in and out of the team. You are always going to hit a part of the season where it doesn't fire on all cylinders. Even when we were winning titles season after season, we didn't always play well in every game. I am sure there will be a reaction.

[cdav]

If that had ended 1-0 or 2-1, I might agree with you. But lately we've been winning games through sheer will and not necessarily deservedly too. We started the first half of that the way we've been starting every single game since Southampton. You can't continue to play like that and then just flick a switch in the second half and come out a completely different side every single game.

I'd just like to point out we are 22 points clear, there is really no need to over react. I doubt Klopp will be bollocking them, or do much differently

We will still win the league in the next 5 games

[Red Dane]

When Hendo is lifting that trophy above his head at some stage over the next couple of months no-one is going to give a shit about today.

You're right, but it is still frustrating!

[mikeb58]

If we had to lose a game this season, why not this one, away to a nothing team. Fuck me, imagine facing  Everton and City with the record still intact. Plus the Mancs can stop gloating they took a point of us now Watford thrashed us!

Let's see what kind of reaction we get from the lads after this result, that's the most important thing, hopefully it fires them back into the kind of form they are really capable off, cos we have seen very little of it lately.

Was never arsed about records myself, and I reckon the pressure of going unbeaten was probably getting to the team. Time to relax now, kick on and get those 12 points in the bag asap.

[Barneylfc∗]

People getting worried when we're 22 points clear with 10 games to go 

[FLRed67]

So can we please put the “Oh no, why would (insert name) come here to sit on the bench” nonsense to bed?

These players have been heroic, but we need to freshen things up for next season. That much is obvious.

And why not give Minamino, Elliot, Curtis Jones etc a chance? If the league is won, why not prepare for next season?

Oh, and “weak league”? Really? That Watford team today, which is likely to get relegated, would beat 99.9% of professional football teams that have ever existed. They thoroughly deserved it today.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

Just need to sit down and think about improving for Chelsea, Bournemouth, and Atletico now.

One would think this team would get back on their feet and make sure they dont stumble again so easily. But we are in a rare position where we haven't seen them reacting to a defeat yet; both a good and a bad thing

[bornandbRED]

People calling for Henderson make me laugh considering similar games in the past we’ve lost with him on the pitch and where people have outright blamed his ‘lack of creativity’. He may have helped, but that’s besides the point here.

This was a necessary reminder that you need to earn the right to play in every game. It’s a small example, but things like Mané laughing with Sarr on the half way line as the second half kicked off signals subconscious complacency that you wouldn’t see if this was a CL semi final. We’ve become accustomed to maintaining intensity week in, week out - that’s slipped away in the last couple of games.

A positive is that this will remove the pressure of maintaining the unbeaten run. And I’d much rather it was to Watford than City, Arsenal or Everton. You’d also expect the break to have positive effects in the medium term, as seems to be the case every season.

[Robinred]

A little perspective from 1976/77 when we were the best team in the world and won the title with the old Man City in second place.

We had a blip and got hammered 5-1 at Villa Park.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/great-games-aston-villa-5-181147

Shit happens.

 

I was there🤫

The season has been incredible. There have been results where we’ve ridden our luck; today any little slice of luck was Watford’s - and they thoroughly deserved it. The beachball bounce for the first, the backheel from Hughes (leading to the second) that miraculously stayed in play. Those little moments belong to teams that have fought for each ball, battled for second balls (and wins most), and constantly blocks passes and shots with real intent. They really ‘got in our faces’ and we didn’t handle it.

We will win the league, and this result won’t matter in the final analysis. I have a suspicion it’s just what we needed, given everything that’s happened. As others have said, it’s been coming, and it just might force Jurgen to re-examine his over reliance on certain players who look in need of competition for their places.

[farawayred]

Tuesday's game is more important than today's. Next Wednesday's game is even more important than that. So, monkey off our backs and all that. We move on.

[na fir dearg]

all those people saying it's done, you look pretty foolish now huh?!
 

[So… Howard Philips]

We are missing our captain/vice captain with the likes of Fab still trying to find his form, Keita in and out of the team. You are always going to hit a part of the season where it doesn't fire on all cylinders. Even when we were winning titles season after season, we didn't always play well in every game. I am sure there will be a reaction.

One of Paisley's teams were beaten 5-1 at Coventry, went on an unbeaten run and easily won the League. That's what we need to do.

[ScubaSteve]

On a positive note, when we win the league early we can enjoy the remaining games rather than stressing to be undefeated

The trophy is all that matters

[Snail]

Said in the match thread just then, it'll be good for us.

[Caligula?]

all those people saying it's done, you look pretty foolish now huh?!
 

Except it really is done. Do you not think we'll win 4 more games?

[Rafas3leggedtable]

Stopped been honest. After west ham game, Trent said they had 2 shots on target. Sly sports then came knocking a day or two later to interview the 2 best in the world full backs. Where was our people saying back off we not there yet? Then for good measure our lfc.tv team thinks what the hell lets have a "At home with the LFC lads" mini documentary. Then todays performance. OK Lovren and Ox wil get alot of attention but many were not there mentally today.
Would like to know Klopp's take on today but also in private the last 6 days.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

Tuesday's game is more important than today's. Next Wednesday's game is even more important than that. So, monkey off our backs and all that. We move on.

Tuesday is arguable; I would always put a league game above an FA cup match but that is me.

Wednesday after no doubt is more important.

Next Saturday is a big one. Even for the sake of telling the rest of the league, and maybe even ourselves, this is not a dip.