Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[beck7777]

Did I saw someone with Man U avatar here?!

Did brattz came into the wrong thread or he used the wrong avatar??

[spunk9]

Originally Posted by mahalosux

the reason why they still cannot win the EPL for 16 years is consistency...to win the league ..u hv to maintain consistency thru out the saeson..be it tat u face a strong or weak opponent....

another factor is 'fighting spirit'...i watch the lost againts gunners, MU and chelski..once the opponent score the 1st goal..they dun hv the morale to fight back...

Well if you ask me, i think Liverpool is lack of $$$$$$$$$ that is why.

Look at Chelsea they won due to $$$ isn't it... They have so many telents almost every position got 2 person completing.

Lastly you forgot to mention "LUCK" in a game like this you need abit of luck too to win!!!!

[onion_rings]

Originally Posted by spunk9

Lastly you forgot to mention "LUCK" in a game like this you need abit of luck too to win!!!!

Yeah bro spunk9, tat how we won the champion league 2yrs ago "LUCK n HARDWORK" too

[coolfire69]

Originally Posted by onion_rings

Yeah bro spunk9, tat how we won the champion league 2yrs ago "LUCK n HARDWORK" too

Yes bro, totalll agree... Just as below, like what Paul Tomkins mentions in liverpoolfc.tv, LUCK is always needed...



LUCKY, LUCKY LIVERPOOL?
Paul Tomkins 18 December 2006

I don't know if any exist, but studies into luck in sport would make fascinating reading. You can never legitimately blame bad luck for any reversal and come away with full credibility in tact.


But however well a team prepares, and however well it performs, luck invariably plays a part in any result.

Of course, much of sport is about making your own luck. Usually, if you are that good on the day it'll work out fine. But what if a key player turns and fractures his ankle on a loose piece of turf? What if the opposition keeper picks the day against your team to make three unbelievable, world-class saves, when a week earlier he'd bicycle-kicked the ball into his own net when playing against your nearest rivals?

Not all of the Reds' early season away performances were acceptable, but some weren't radically different to what was seen at Wigan and Charlton. Lots of chances have been created in all the away games, with the exception of the visit to Old Trafford. Still the profligacy is present, but now it's coming with three and four goals also being run up. It's been on the cards all season.

The opposition have had their chances, too; not as many in recent weeks, but enough to give Pepe Reina a chance to impress and do some work for all the clean sheets he's racking up.

At the other end, I think Dirk Kuyt has hit the woodwork five times now, which is worth noting to show how often he's been within an inch or two of scoring. The goalposts don't move to block a shot, so it's technically off-target, but he's a player who does so many things right in front of goal, even if the ball doesn't end up in the net. With a bit more 'luck' he could be in double figures in the league already. He is always getting on the end of things, and that's a great sign.

I still think the toughest luck the Reds have had this season came with the Premiership fixtures. Manchester United had a 'lucky' fixture list with four easy games to start with. Liverpool had an 'unlucky' start, with an incredibly difficult away schedule.

While Liverpool were navigating the group stages of the Champions League they also had to travel, for Premiership games, at three fellow group winners. The fixture computer pits Champions League teams against one another at that stage of the season, to make it 'fairer' (as both will have definitely had midweek European games), but this year all three games for Liverpool were away. Interestingly, all three of United's head-to-heads have been at Old Trafford. With that in mind, the league table is hardly telling the whole truth.

(As a side note, anyone who says English football isn't strong need only look at how all four teams topped their groups, and how three English teams topped their Uefa Cup groups. While Rafa has been improving the Reds, the standard of English football has also risen, masking some of that progress.)

As with cup runs, it's the luck of the draw. While United deserve to be top based on their consistency this season, the start did allow them to build up some momentum. Those early games can set the tone, and had Liverpool won their first four games, if presented with the same fixtures, things could perhaps have been very different; as could facing Arsenal, United and Chelsea at home rather than away. (Of course, had the Reds had an easy opening on paper, and still started slowly, it would have left even more of an uphill task.)

It's all ifs and buts, but a football season can never be about true equality, even with every team faced home and away in May (the only time it's at its closest to equality), because of the different circumstances of each game.

There's the form of the teams when you play them, and whether they are at full strength or ravaged by injuries. The Reds had to face an unbeaten Aston Villa, but now the wheels have come off Martin O'Neill's team, who currently look like easy pickings. Everton were flying high when the Reds had to go there – which only boosted the Toffees and gave them nothing to lose – and are now down in mid-table. United finally had a trickier than expected tie at West Ham, facing New Manager Syndrome.

Despite United stumbling to Alan Curbishley's highly-motivated side, I've long-since felt that the phrase "luck evens itself out over the course of a season" is moot. There is no divine power overseeing this random rule, merely the fact that over a longer period of time the law of averages will have some effect. And indeed it should. But it never balances things with any overall sense of justice.

Perhaps the Reds' biggest change of luck in recent weeks has been with penalties. It's notable that the last two convincing victories were secured with the (correct) award of a penalty at 0-0.

I've been moaning for months, up until the Fulham game, that the Reds have been getting nothing from referees in this respect, with only one awarded in the two main competitions all season, and that way back on the opening day. At least five that were turned down in the interim were stone-wall penalties, while a few more fell into the 'I've seen them given' bracket. That has to be bad luck, because a team and its manager has no control over what the referee sees, thinks he sees, or choses to not see. And of course, if a manager politely offers to escort the referee and his guide dog to an opticians, he'll end up with a hefty fine.

It's not all down to luck – not at all. Players are finally finding their form, especially World Cup stars like Reina, Gerrard, Carragher and Alonso. One thing studies have shown is that players' levels almost always dip after a World Cup. There are exceptions, but they mostly go to prove the rule. You can look further afield, to someone like Ronaldinho, who is finding his best form after a slow start. (Hopefully some freakish, ponytail-related injury will keep him out for a few weeks in early spring.)

The World Cup is such an intense experience, with so much hype and expectation, and weeks of build-up, before a month spent in hotels under a lot of pressure to succeed. It's physically demanding, but it's more of a mental 'jet lag' that haunts the players afterwards.

Then there's the Reds' new boys starting to find their feet, perhaps aided by the return to prominence of the established senior pros. Even disregarding luck, there were a number of factors that made the early months of the season tricky. Only now is the integration of the new players starting to reap rewards.

The most impressive in recent weeks has been Craig Bellamy, who is finally showing the devastating pace, clever movement and good use of the ball we'd seen in past seasons. Jermaine Pennant's form is picking up (although it was almost his head that needed picking up in the 2nd minute on Saturday), while Mark Gonzalez is working hard at all areas of his game. For a small winger, his tackle on Luke Young was as full-blooded and fearsome as any seen this season, and may be a greater defining moment as to his ability to succeed in English football than his goal a week earlier.

But it's up front where the greatest improvement has been seen, as two new players link like old friends. In the last few weeks Bellamy and Kuyt have begun linking as well as I've seen any two forwards in red in recent years. It's still early days, of course, and it helps that both are now in form as individuals. There appears to be a really natural understanding between the two, given it's been struck up so quickly. As it's early days, it may be too soon to judge. But time tends to make these things better, not worse.

A good understanding between two strikers can be like gold dust. They don't need to be world-class individuals if they have an understanding that leads to exceeding the sum of their parts. Getting chances is about split-second decisions and movements, and if you can anticipate when your co-striker will release a pass, and know when he wants a pass in return, it gives you a massive edge; waiting on your heels can kill a move. Both Bellamy and Kuyt seem to know what the other is intending.

In the summer I said that I felt Bellamy is one of those players, like Jamie Carragher and Frank Lampard, who find themselves going up a level or two when they hit their mid-20s. He's always had pace and good feet, but his game is so much more rounded now, with a far more intelligent use of his assets.

It's tough on Peter Crouch, who can link well with anybody, but on current form the two in possession are working well. Crouch might not be getting many league minutes but he's been the star in the Champions League, with four goals, and he could well be the Reds' forward that Barcelona will be fearing the most. He only needed five minutes at Charlton to head down to Steven Gerrard in reprising their fruitful understanding of last season.

So maybe the Reds' luck has now changed. A few more penalties, a few balls spinning into the net rather than away after hitting the post, plus a few more goals from Jamie Carragher, and I'll be convinced Lady Luck is smiling. Who knows, she may even get out her scales to accurately even things up.

[canthaveenuf]

Originally Posted by cluboxed

Yes, hopefully we can carry on this run and push for the top 2 places

Would also love to see that too. But very difficult lah. Not only need the team to work damn super hard, but also need Chelski and MU to co-operate too. Quite difficult.

I think this year, if we can get 3rd place, I quite happy liao. We will live to fight another day. Best if we can win the FA or Champions League. Worse case, Carling Cup also can lah .....

Cheers

[canthaveenuf]

Originally Posted by spunk9

Well if you ask me, i think Liverpool is lack of $$$$$$$$$ that is why.

Look at Chelsea they won due to $$$ isn't it... They have so many telents almost every position got 2 person completing.

Lastly you forgot to mention "LUCK" in a game like this you need abit of luck too to win!!!!

Let's hope the new Arab owners will do their part and inject the much needed $$$$ and let us win something. Only hope that they are in for the long haul and for the passion. Got $$$$ no passion also no use.

Yes, indeed, we need luck as well. But, sometimes, we need to create our own luck. With $$$$, we can have more cover and that means if we hit bad luck with bad injuries, we can at least have a chance to overcome the bad luck.

Cheers

[cluboxed]

Any news on transfers this coming January window ??

[mahalosux]

Originally Posted by spunk9

Well if you ask me, i think Liverpool is lack of $$$$$$$$$ that is why.

Look at Chelsea they won due to $$$ isn't it... They have so many telents almost every position got 2 person completing.

Lastly you forgot to mention "LUCK" in a game like this you need abit of luck too to win!!!!

though Pool is lackin of $$$..they still hv the football academy...where all their talents came from...

they should not neglect the good work of the academy and keep intro new blood to the scene..i guess chelski cannot go ard boasting they nurture young players into the scene ..like wat Pool does....

but on the other hand..if the take-over deal is materialized..i guess Pool will hv better finance to bring in players...but hopefully the new owner will start work on a bigger stadium..as Pool need to hv a bigger stadium to bring in more funds from ticket collection....

[mahalosux]

Originally Posted by cluboxed

Any news on transfers this coming January window ??

Understand tat Pool is interested in taking Matthew Upson from Birmingham..he's available for 5 million pounds... other target includes Nesta and the brazilian wing back from sevilla...cant recall his name...

hopefully our january target will not be hijacked again this season...remember last year Benitez had expressed interest on Vidic..b4 MU close in on him last season...

[spunk9]

Originally Posted by mahalosux

though Pool is lackin of $$$..they still hv the football academy...where all their talents came from...

they should not neglect the good work of the academy and keep intro new blood to the scene..i guess chelski cannot go ard boasting they nurture young players into the scene ..like wat Pool does....

of cos of cos!!!! But comparing academy i still like man u's youth team!!!

[mahalosux]

Originally Posted by spunk9

of cos of cos!!!! But comparing academy i still like man u's youth team!!!

one of the academy i admired..is the one over at W. Ham..imagine they had produce a number players in the current England squad... F. Lampard, R. Ferdinand, J. Cole, J.Defoe, M. Carrick, A. Ferdinand...imagine if they dun sell their players...

[Frankiestine]

Originally Posted by mahalosux

one of the academy i admired..is the one over at W. Ham..imagine they had produce a number players in the current England squad... F. Lampard, R. Ferdinand, J. Cole, J.Defoe, M. Carrick, A. Ferdinand...imagine if they dun sell their players...

But it is really ironic that while they are churning out the cream of the crop for the country, at club level they are struggling..

[mahalosux]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

But it is really ironic that while they are churning out the cream of the crop for the country, at club level they are struggling..

mayb due to the financial situation.they have to off-load their talent..furthermore in the past few seasons..the hammers seems unlikely to pose any challenge for any silverware..

hopefully with their new icelandic owner plus the spare cash..they can keep their talents and push for something more....

[spunk9]

Originally Posted by mahalosux

one of the academy i admired..is the one over at W. Ham..imagine they had produce a number players in the current England squad... F. Lampard, R. Ferdinand, J. Cole, J.Defoe, M. Carrick, A. Ferdinand...imagine if they dun sell their players...

Yap you are rite!!!! Lampar and the rest are really good player in the league as for playing for the country non of them shine!

[mahalosux]

Originally Posted by spunk9

Yap you are rite!!!! Lampar and the rest are really good player in the league as for playing for the country non of them shine!

actually almost the whole Eng squad failed as a collective unit..guess they oni reserve the best for EPL....