How high can Liverpool finish?

Jivin Turkey

So Christmas has come and gone, is now a fair time to judge how far Liverpool have come under Benitez?

Yesterdays win makes it eight out of eight, scored 17, conceeded nil. Is that not championship winning form? At the beginning of the season I myself thought that the highest Liverpool could realistically expect to achieve was fourth with room to spare and the gap to the top three considerably narrowed. I'm beginning to doubt my own predictions now.

Why can't Liverpool finish higher? Is second a reasonable target? Are United fans wary of Liverpool over their shoulder?

To be honest I don't see why the bar shouldn't now be set higher for this team. Second is very easily achievable IMO. With an out of sorts Everton coming up, followed by a home tie against WBA, that could be ten wins out of ten.

Is this not the team that people were claiming would struggle to get fourth a couple of months ago?

I've seen people dismiss the type of football Liverpool have been playing as poor. Did any of them watch the game against Newcastle? Or any of their recent games for that matter? The pass the ball with such a pace it's beautiful to watch. One touch stuff. It's been a while since I've enjoyed watching my team as much.

January and February see some tough games coming up. Bolton (a), Spurs (h), United (a), Birmingham (h), Chelsea (a), Wigan (a), and Arsenal (h). I suppose we will get the few that will say we will judge after then. My mind has already been made up, can Liverpool challenge for the title next year? Why not?

With Crouch coming into his own, and the team beginning to understand how to play around him, and also new signings to arrive in January, I think the team can come through that tough period of games relatively unscathed. Which leaves them with a reasonably easy (on paper) run-in. Second should now be the goal.

So how high do you think Liverpool can finish?

mike65

Just for fun I filled out the BBC prem predicter using a simple win/loose/draw approach and Liverpool finished 7 points behind Chelsea. Okay its art not science but I was honest in my assesment of each tie. If (big if) Liverpool retain a mainly fit squad for the next 4 and a bit months then second place is certainly a fair target.

Chelsea will not relinquish the top spot even when they are poor they win.

Man Utd are the only team to worry about and they are proberly one injury away from a dip in form (Rooney or RVN) whereas I think Rafas system means if a striker went down or even if Gerrard was injured the team could cope.

I nearly think the new signings assuming they happen might not be a good thing! Leave the new boys for the bench or the FA Cup...I tell you one thing when a ball gets past Reina it'll be a shock to the system, I hope they can cope.

Mike.

shabbyroad

to answer the question posed in the thread title

"1st"

ButcherOfNog

It all depends on Chelsea, if they stutter (i don't think they will), we could yet nip thru and win the title. Doubt it tho. UTD are playing well at the moment too so its those 3 for the top 3 spots.

PHB

Is second a reasonable target? Are United fans wary of Liverpool over their shoulder?

It all depends on Chelsea.

If Chelsea keep winning and not dropping points at all at all, United players will get disheartened, and we could well end up 3rd or 4th, just like last year.
However if there is a decent chance, or if we actually made some ground ever on Chelsea, I fully expect Utd to keep up their form.
Furthermore the team hasn't reached its peak yet, and we have yet to have the following players come into their proper form,

Saha - who is one of the few strikers to reach 20 goals a season
Ronaldo - who has always had good second half of the season
Ole - who is a legend
Vidic

If Ruud and Rooney drop in form we won't win, I doubt that, because we have 2 strikers returning to us.
p.s. Don't forget we always have alan smith as a striker if we really needed him.

Also I fully expect us to buy a midfielder in January because if we don't we will be forced to play post world cup prices, which will always be nuts.

Also, don't forget, United are, and always will be while Fergie is there, a second half of the season team!

I'm not hugely concerned about Liverpool, I think whether we finish higher than them is entirely down to us. If we continue to try to win the premiership they won't catch us.

--

How high can they finish?
I think 2nd is the highest, but in reality 3rd is obviously their target.
I imagine if Liverpool beat Arsenal this season and came 3rd behind Utd and Chelsea most fans would be very happy with this season.

Can they hold off the challenge from Spurs Wigan Bolton?
I still think Liverpool are about 5 players off a challenging team and I think it will really come down to who Benetiz buys in January.
To put it really simply, and this is really simply, if Benetiz can buy attackers who score goals on their own, independent of the midfield, they can easily pull away with United and Chelsea and secure third by April. Defensivly they are a top class team, although another CB would not go astray.
If that doesn't happen, I think their is only so long a run can go without the midfield getting tired and having a bad game. They are winning right now because they don't concede and their middle 3 of Gerrard - Alonso - Sissisko/Hamann is top quality.
They need another 3 players who can win the game on their own, but Benetiz seems to be making the right jestures in the market to bringing in these players.

Dont be at yourself

Of Chelsea and Liverpool, Chelsea have a far tougher end of season run-in. But then, the season could be already over by then.

Liverpool have premiership-winning form at the moment, but can they sustain it? And more importantly, will Chelsea lose theirs?

Either way, they're still definite contenders for 2nd place. And 2nd is the new 1st anyway.

Rikand

liverpool can definately push for 2nd and if they keep their current squad of players as is, i can certainly see them finishing in such a position

once they keep traore off the field!!!

-edit-

though when they next play blackburn, by all means let him please be playing!

Corben Dallas

3rd, ManU will finish above them. Arsenal are having a poor season good at home, appaling away. Charlton are gettting worse and Tottenham maybe 5th is as good as they can go.

ManU have found some consistancy lately and getting knocked out of Europe has done them good.

cournioni

I've got my tickets for the United vs. Liverpool game today... The form of both teams is going to make for a cracking game!

I reckon Liverpool will finish in third place behind United and Chelsea.

damienom

I reckon second would be a good result. No reason why we can do it again. Question worth asking though is how far can we go in Europe?

el rabitos

Question worth asking though is how far can we go in Europe?

the same distance we went last year tbh. i think theres maybe a couple of teams in europe even capable of beating liverpool over 2 legs and liverpool beat both teams in last years competition.

i certainly wouldnt be suprised if liverpool retained the champions league.

Saha - who is one of the few strikers to reach 20 goals a season
Ronaldo - who has always had good second half of the season
Ole - who is a legend
Vidic

saha wont score more than 15 goals in all competitions this season even if he played every game from now on.

ronaldo is awsome, he can beat every player on the pitch then kick the ball into the stand. he's litterally half the player ryan giggs is, or was.

Ole - is a cripple. if he scores a competitive goal again i'll be shocked

vidic doesnt play for united and since last week you probably havent heard of him so lets not go all united fan-like and say he's the new *insert legendary name here*

how high can liverpool finish? 1st is possible on current form, 2nd is likely, 3rd would be a nice improvement and acceptable

Tusky

Why did Rafa buy Zenden & Garcia and not buy a right winger though ? Maybe he thought Kewell wouldnt return to form as he seems to be doing right now ?

I wonder will he sell one of the three left wingers come summer. If he did, he would almost certainly sell Kewell. I hope he doesnt though, I still have faith that he will come good!

The_B_Man

to answer the question, i think 3rd.

PiE

PHB wrote:

I'm not hugely concerned about Liverpool, I think whether we finish higher than them is entirely down to us.

That's a very confident post with both teams on level points (assuming Liverpool win their 2 games in hand). Going into the new year on the level will be a big test to both teams.

But if anything, I'm thinking it's Liverpool who will have to slip up to allow Utd to nip second. It'll be close, as Utd don't have anything major to worry about outside the League... and I highly doubt Liverpool's current run of form will last until the end of the season. To think it was only a few months ago that many were questioning if Rafa was the right man for the job and cursing our luck that we didn't get Jose. How things change.

Chelsea MUST have a dip in form eventually. Everyone thought Arsenal were invincible in the league when they went unbeaten, only to lose form rapidly after the defeat to Utd. It's a matter of time, and I have a funny feeling it will be this season.

Tusky wrote:

Why did Rafa buy Zenden & Garcia and not buy a right winger though ? Maybe he thought Kewell wouldnt return to form as he seems to be doing right now?

Squad depth? Also Garcia plays on the right.

Necronomicon

el rabitos wrote:

Ole - is a cripple. if he scores a competitive goal again i'll be shocked

Are you his physician now? You know **** all besides what you read in the papers, so you should reserve judgement until you see him play again.

el rabitos

Are you his physician now? You know **** all besides what you read in the papers, so you should reserve judgement until you see him play again.

are YOU his physician??

now i know that EVERY player at united is a LEGEND, and the ball boys are legends and the man that picks up sir alex's gum from the dug out is a legend BUT unfortunitely the rest of the premiership didnt stop improving while sir ole was sitting at home just so he could come back and be the babyfaced assasin.

he's 32, not match fit, unlikely to regain the same sharpness again

Necronomicon

el rabitos wrote:

are YOU his physician??

now i know that EVERY player at united is a LEGEND, and the ball boys are legends and the man that picks up sir alex's gum from the dug out is a legend BUT unfortunitely the rest of the premiership didnt stop improving while sir ole was sitting at home just so he could come back and be the babyfaced assasin.

he's 32, not match fit, unlikely to regain the same sharpness again

I'm not his physician, but I'm not the one speculating about his condition. Maybe you're right, maybe he won't be what he used to be, but you're shutting down his chances of being good again like it was fact.

RE*AC*TOR

I define the word can as "possible" - 1st is possible for liverpool - but not likely. Realistically a fight for second with ManU is on the cards. A lot hinges on strengthening in january i think though. For both ManU and Liverpool.

Chelsea haven't been playing to their potential recenlty - but unfortunately for everyone else - they still have been winning. Unless that changes - more than likely 2nd is the most Liverpool can hope for this season (and the Champions League..... obviously).

phenom

Liverpool are in good form adn are capable at the moment of getting realisitcly 2nd of 3rd place, It does depend on how Chelsea play and they do have some tough games ahead of them, Arsenal arent impressing me this season, So that really leaves Liverpool and Man Utd in the battle for 2nd place imo.

el rabitos wrote:

are YOU his physician??

now i know that EVERY player at united is a LEGEND, and the ball boys are legends and the man that picks up sir alex's gum from the dug out is a legend BUT unfortunitely the rest of the premiership didnt stop improving while sir ole was sitting at home just so he could come back and be the babyfaced assasin.

he's 32, not match fit, unlikely to regain the same sharpness again

Who is to say he will not be as good as he once was, He has had trouble with injuries and that has to be taken into account, He is old ok but look at Sheringham and Shearer, their still playing and Shearer can still provide the goods, Ok he is not as good as he used to be but he still has it.
No one can predict if he will be a flop or not when he returns. Time will tell.

MrJoeSoap

el rabitos wrote:

Ole - is a cripple.

Give it a rest, the guy has had a tough time with injuries but is close to a comeback at this stage. Once he gets himself fit (which I have no reason to doubt) he will score goals, he's a naturally gifted goalscorer.

redspider

So far, Chelsea have dropped just 5 pts, and both Man U and Liverpool have dropped 14 pts each. Arsenal meanwhile have dropped 22 pts so will be satisfied with 4th.

So, its looking very much like:

1 Chelsea
2 Man U
3 Liverpool
4 ????

Chelsea just cant seem to lose or draw even when they dont play that well. They come out of games with a win where they create about 10 chances or less. They have won all games in the league, bar two. All games - think about that and 9 pts is a large gap. Their defence is solid - apart from goals that sneak through the goalies legs and when they give away penalties ;-). Of course they are beatable, but I cant see them getting into a mental decline and losing 5 games or something or bottling it. I can see them losing in the CL against Barca or any good technical team such as Juventus or whoever later. Uefa/Fifa will be delighted if Chelsea dont win the CL, so keep a close eye on that one. But I cant see them losing the league as they just pick up too many wins, and even coast the difficult games easier, such as away against Arsenal

Man U, now that they are out of the CL and now that Roy-the-boy has gone, should have a clean run at 2nd place, and should more than likely get that spot barring injuries. They are mentally vulnerable however and are far more likely to drop points than Chelsea so catching Chelsea is remote.

Liverpool are strong mentally at the moment, and their recent string of matches just shows that they can reduce the opposition to a very weak state. However, as Sao Paulo showed, a team that was not that good, if Liverpool go behind, there is no guarantee that they will come back to win, in fact far from it. However, this seasons resolve is much much better than last year. There is no way though that they could push Chelsea for 1st. I expect them to finish 3rd as they are due a bad run of sorts (ie: some draws and a couple of losses) and this season will be a very long one so injuries and player fatigue will have a bearing. Their CL run will determine their efforts in the league as well, as the "hangovers" from European nights may likely make them more vulnerable than Man U for dropping points.

Arsenal meanwhile have problems. Their strikeforce is not as potent as it needs to be, Henry is sheer class, brilliant of course, but Arsenal need a team as well. The midfield is weaker without Viera and the backline is susceptible. Wenger will probably make them concentrate on the league if they do exit the CL quickly - however there are shadows with Pires and Henry possibly exiting, and who knows, maybe Wenger as well is thinking of a new challenge. They are capable of getting 4th of course, much more so than Spurs or Bolton. Spurs are the only team that has the capability to challenge Arsenal for 4th I believe, and now wouldnt that be a sting in the tale, a bit like Everton holding off Liverpool last season.

Overall though, the league with Chelsea so dominant and over 38 games its a bit like watching the paint dry at times and this year it looks very blue. The only excitement maye come from Man U and Liverpool battling for 2nd and Arsenal battling with Spurs for 4th. But for the clubs, there is no difference between 2nd and 3rd in terms of money and barely in prestige, so there is little to play for. Arsenal have to get 4th though as their business plan is built upon CL qualification so that is a must. Just like last season, the race for 4th may be more interesting to watch. Its a funny old game ....

Redspider

milltown

As has been said before, first is mathematically possible but not realistic. 2nd and 3rd is between Utd. and Liverpool. I'll probably be shot for saying this but...

If 2nd place comes down to a real dogfight I think Utd. will pip us. Notwithstanding the display in Istanbul I have not seen as much from Liverpool as Utd. to make me believe they can grind out results when the going gets tough.

Yes, we are having the sort of run lately that would have brought a tear to our trousers a year ago, but the foundation of this run is clean sheets (no pun intended). Realistically, we will start to leak the odd goal and it's that ability to dig deep and grind out a result when losing that I have seen more often from Utd. than ourselves. The super cup final in Japan could be a case in point. I didn't see that match, I had to work, and by all accounts we were robbed but the bottom line is, we went behind and we lost.

It would hurt me to see the Mancs grab second when we had a realistic chance at it, but rivalries aside I think third place and challenging second would be a quantum leap from last year.

G'wan de Pool!

edit: I just realised this thread had wandered back on topic so... If OGS makes a full recovery to match fitness and becomes a first choice/squad rotation striker, rather than the super-sub he was once employed as, I think it says more about the decline of the team than the resurgence of the man.
My €0.02.

PHB

Even if you were correct in your assesment of the players I was discussing, the simple fact of the matter is these are guys who have yet to come to form. Currently we have other players playing in their position functioning very well.

Ole was never actually a super-sub, its a myth. He is just a very clinical finisher, so whenever he gets a chance he scores. Look at the 164 meg avi on another thread for a Man Utd feature.
He also has a couple more years at the top because he didn't start football until later in life, and doesn't have the wear and tear of players of his age. Also he has been playing for the reserves, and played one half, then 70 minutes. No more reserve matches until January, but Fergie has stated he could be on the bench for a christmas game, I'm praying Arsenal, and then he scores
Underestimate the baby faced man if you will, everyone always does, especially Liverpool

Man Utd are the only team to worry about and they are proberly one injury away from a dip in form (Rooney or RVN) whereas I think Rafas system means if a striker went down or even if Gerrard was injured the team could cope.

I was wondering what you are basing this on?
Gerrard is as important to Liverpool as Rooney is United, if not more important, as United have replacements of fairly decent quality, while Liverpool don't have anyone who can come close to Gerrards level.

What some people seem to be forgetting is Uniteds form,
9 games, 8 wins, one draw.
Liverpool are 6 points behind, and those points aren't in the bag, but I'd expect them to obtain them.

There is still the issue of a scorer. Liverpool have nobody in the top ten premiership scorers. This will be needed in tough games.

There is also the issue of away form, what wins championships. Away form is much tougher to get than home form, and you need both to do well.
United have had away form all this year, while Liverpool havn't,
Middlesborough - draw
Spurs - Draw
Brum - Draw
Fulham - Loss
Palace - Loss
Villa - Win
City - Win
Sunderland - Win
Everton - ?????

They could be coming good, but they've got a tough game at Everton. Until they are consistant away in the premiership, they won't be a real threat. And this is the hardest part of it.

Both Liverpool and Utd have the potential to have home fortresses, and I imagine both of them will do, as they have the teams to do it, and its easy enough for managers like Benetiz and Fergie to sort out for the rest of the season.
Away form is different, and this is where United will pull away.

Ultimately, and why I think that Liverpool have little chance of overtaking us, and why I'm still hopeful for the premiership, is that United have had one season, I think someone can check this, where their second half of the season hasn't been better than their first.
United come good post Christmas, they always do.

MrJoeSoap

PHB wrote:

Ole was never actually a super-sub, its a myth. He is just a very clinical finisher, so whenever he gets a chance he scores. Look at the 164 meg avi on another thread for a Man Utd feature.

Thats exactly it. The only reason people see him as a super-sub is because of the three games in the 98-99 season (vs Liverpool, Forest and Munich). He's one of the most naturally gifted players of our generation, and as PHB said he has a few years in him yet because he was quite a late starter.

Julesie

As a neutral (a villa fan for my sins ) i believe Utd will just make 2nd ahead of Liverpool. As a previous poster has said, Liverpool's current run is based upon clean sheets rather than scoring prowess. I think it will be a big test of character when they lose their next league game and the nature of the defeat.

Also if Liverpool go further in the CL, the fixtures list may begin to pile up on them which could prove detrimental to their league position. Although i think you'd be hard pushed to find a liverpool fan that would prefer 2nd in the league over retaining the CL.

StickyMcGinty

it'll all depend on how rafa strengthens the side in jan, if he can strengthen 2 or 3 positions i can see us pushing united all the way for second, but i think we'll save the title challenge for next year!

the game tonight will tell you a lot about liverpool, the derby has always been a tough game for us no matter what our form has been like. a good win tonight and confidence will be really high

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote:

Ole was never actually a super-sub, its a myth. He is just a very clinical finisher, so whenever he gets a chance he scores. Look at the 164 meg avi on another thread for a Man Utd feature.
He also has a couple more years at the top because he didn't start football until later in life, and doesn't have the wear and tear of players of his age. Also he has been playing for the reserves, and played one half, then 70 minutes. No more reserve matches until January, but Fergie has stated he could be on the bench for a christmas game, I'm praying Arsenal, and then he scores
Underestimate the baby faced man if you will, everyone always does, especially Liverpool

Ole is an incredibly gifted goal scorer, I don't think anyone is arguing that..I think you are being slightly optimistic in hoping he will play to his ability this season though. I watched an interview with him on MuTV the other day and he was very very cautious about when he will get a run out again and said he was slowly starting to regain some of his sharpness but is still along way off..

PHB wrote:

I was wondering what you are basing this on?
Gerrard is as important to Liverpool as Rooney is United, if not more important, as United have replacements of fairly decent quality, while Liverpool don't have anyone who can come close to Gerrards level.

What some people seem to be forgetting is Uniteds form,
9 games, 8 wins, one draw.
Liverpool are 6 points behind, and those points aren't in the bag, but I'd expect them to obtain them.

There is still the issue of a scorer. Liverpool have nobody in the top ten premiership scorers. This will be needed in tough games.

Well Gerard is Liverpool's captain so suggesting Liverpool would miss their captain is a given. However, an injury to Ruud or Rooney would have a more significant effect on United's ability to score goals...

A quick look at the bbc website confirms this.. Over two thirds of United's goals in the PL this season have come from either of these players.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/club_stats/default.stm

23 out of 34 in the league with a single goal or two to a handful of other players.

Saha is the only realistic alternative to either of these two but what are the chances of him not having another long lay off this season, nevermind him playing at the level of Ruud or Rooney.. It is also rumoured that Fulham are going to make a move ro re-sign him and I wouldn't be surprised if United let him go to be honest.


As for Liverpool.. Well Gerard has scored 4 PL goals this season..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/club_stats/default.stm

While he is the top scorer in the PL for Liverpool, our PL goals are fairly well spread out amongst the team.. If you are familiar with how Valencia played under Benitez, you will see what I am not worried by not having a high scoring player. As for who would replace Gerard, Garcia is more than capable of playing between the midfield and forwards for a few weeks.. While not anywhere near the player Gerard is, he gets a large number of assists and goals - i.e. will more than do that job..



Regardless, I think we will finish 3rd or 4th.. 2nd is certainly within our grasp though.

evad_lhorg

well now last season chelsea had 8 draws and 1 loss. this season so far they have only 1 draw and 1 loss. and i dont think they have been great lately and can well be given a run for their money. liverpool and United are the only contenders i see though.

they were lucky to get away with a win against fulham as John Terrys block would make any Gaelic player proud.

mike65

jesus_thats_gre, good man! That saved me long post!

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

2nd is a genuine target for them now but I think most likely they'll end up in a battle for 3rd. Points-wise they're still closer to Arsenal than Chelsea despite having had easier fixtures than the Blues up to now, 1st is unrealistic.

Liverpool don't have as much individual brilliance as Man Utd or Arsenal but they are well organised are on the crest of a wave at the moment. A few good summer signings and 2 months of excellent form doesn't yet convince me that they've gone from a team that couldn't catch Everton to one that'll finish 2nd. Their away games against Chelsea & United and the two against Arsenal are a while away yet iirc so I suppose the picture will be a lot clearer then.

MrJoeSoap

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

2nd is a genuine target for them now but I think most likely they'll end up in a battle for 3rd. Points-wise they're still closer to Arsenal than Chelsea despite having had easier fixtures than the Blues up to now, 1st is unrealistic.

Haven't Chelsea played every club and Liverpool played 17 of the 19 other clubs???

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Dont be at yourself

Chelsea have played Arsenal twice, and Liverpool still have to play Arsenal home and away. Chelsea have also played their away matches against Liverpool and ManYoo. So for them, the most difficult games of the season are pretty much over.

redspider

Yeah, its true, Chelsea have already played arguably more difficult games than the others in the "chase", or perhaps more accurately described as the Race for 2nd. They are on target for 100+ points.

Whats amazing for me at the moment is that Chelsea are still grinding out results, not dominating games but doing enough. Whether that can continue for the whole of the season remains to be seen.

But at the moment, the race for 2nd, 3rd, 4th is more interesting than the race for 1st, which is over bar a miraculous change of form.

redspider

Lex Luthor

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Once he gets himself fit (which I have no reason to doubt) he will score goals, he's a naturally gifted goalscorer.

So is Robbie Fowler, but he never regained his early years form after his knee operations in the late 90's.

I think the highest they can finish is 2nd. I don't think Chelsea will let the lead slip and even if they do, it won't be by much.

I was speaking with a Man U fan the other day and he was worried about Man U dropping any points at the moment as he feels Liverpool could gain max points from their 2 games in hand.

It's still hard to call...it could go anyway. I think the Man U v Liverpool game will be the difference between the 2 sides points wise at the end of the season. Both managers know that at this stage.

mayordenis

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

2nd is a genuine target for them now but I think most likely they'll end up in a battle for 3rd. Points-wise they're still closer to Arsenal than Chelsea despite having had easier fixtures than the Blues up to now, 1st is unrealistic.

Liverpool don't have as much individual brilliance as Man Utd or Arsenal but they are well organised are on the crest of a wave at the moment.

pointswise liverpool will be ahead of man utd if they win the games in hand,
and as for individual brilliance man utd have rooney - thats it, he's the only one who could honestly be called brilliant.
ruud can be a classy finisher if he stays on form, scholes,giggs are past their best, ronaldo is kak.

Lemlin

mayordenis wrote:

pointswise liverpool will be ahead of man utd if they win the games in hand,
and as for individual brilliance man utd have rooney - thats it, he's the only one who could honestly be called brilliant.
ruud can be a classy finisher if he stays on form, scholes,giggs are past their best, ronaldo is kak.

Ronaldo on-form is a top player. At the start of last season, he was unstoppable. Hopefully for United fans he will regain that form.

I think Liverpool are very capable of making second. Benitez has made them ruthlessly efficient at the back, much like Mourinho has made Chelsea.

That said, Liverpool tend to go through blips of bad form. They already had one this season but if they can go the rest of the season without one, and that's a big but, I think they'll finish second.

jesus_thats_gre

Lemlin wrote:

Ronaldo on-form is a top player. At the start of last season, he was unstoppable. Hopefully for United fans he will regain that form.

I agree with this.. Ronaldo has plenty of raw talent but is incredibly ineffective most of the time.. He will likely get better but is uncomparable to Rooney..

MonkeyTennis

I think Liverpool will finish 2nd or 3rd. They look like they have finally cracked beating teams from the bottom of the table but they will definitely drop points against better teams, Spurs, Arsenal etc. whereas I think Chelsea will continue their consistent form. Im glad Benitez came to Liverpool. I think Liverpool can challenge Chelsea, maybe not this year though

Lemlin

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

I agree with this.. Ronaldo has plenty of raw talent but is incredibly ineffective most of the time.. He will likely get better but is uncomparable to Rooney..

Much like Harry Kewell. If Liverpool could get him to recapture the form he had at Leeds, it'd be like a new signing.

Tusky

Lemlin wrote:

Much like Harry Kewell. If Liverpool could get him to recapture the form he had at Leeds, it'd be like a new signing.

Speaking of Kewell, I think hes on his way back to his old form. With every game you notice him getting better and growing in confidence. His passes in the game yesterday and midweek led to goals by Cisse & Crouch and he had plenty of good shots against West Brom too.

jesus_thats_gre

Lemlin wrote:

Much like Harry Kewell. If Liverpool could get him to recapture the form he had at Leeds, it'd be like a new signing.

Yeah I agree again. He has the potential to be amazing for Liverpool and I hope to fulfills even a tiny bit of that potential..

This next 6 months is a make or break for him. With the World Cup coming up, I would imagine he would want to put in a good showing so he should be working very hard in the run up to it.. Going by his last handful of games, it actually looks like he is slowly regaining his form..

Dont be at yourself

Supposedly the last few games is the first time he's played pain-free for Liverpool. Hopefully he can build on his form, get his confidence back and become the player we know he can be. He'd really be a great addition to Liverpool if he got back to his old self.

Jivin Turkey

Lemlin wrote:

Ronaldo on-form is a top player. At the start of last season, he was unstoppable. Hopefully for United fans he will regain that form.

It took him 19 games to score a goal at the start of last season, I would hardly call that "unstoppable".

Lemlin wrote:

That said, Liverpool tend to go through blips of bad form. They already had one this season but if they can go the rest of the season without one, and that's a big but, I think they'll finish second.

While I don't expect Liverpool to maintain their current form for the rest of the season, I don't recall any "blips" so far this year. Only two of their results in all competitions have been disappointing IMO.

Lemlin

Jivin Turkey wrote:

It took him 19 games to score a goal at the start of last season, I would hardly call that "unstoppable".

And look how long its taken Peter Crouch to score a goal but have alot of people not commented that he has still made a vital contribution to the team? Ronaldo is a midfielder, scoring goals is not everything, creating them is. That's why he's on the wing and not playing up front instead of Rooney or Ruud.

Can you not remember the problems Ronaldo caused Liverpool when they lost to United last season in Rio's comeback game?

While I don't expect Liverpool to maintain their current form for the rest of the season, I don't recall any "blips" so far this year. Only two of their results in all competitions have been disappointing IMO.

If Liverpool hadn't suffered any blips, they wouldn't be 17 points behind Chelsea, albeit with two games in hand. As I've said though, they are going through a good patch of form now. Do you want to argue with my opinion on that too?

Jivin Turkey

Lemlin wrote:

And look how long its taken Peter Crouch to score a goal but have alot of people not commented that he has still made a vital contribution to the team? Ronaldo is a midfielder, scoring goals is not everything, creating them is. That's why he's on the wing and not playing up front instead of Rooney or Ruud.

But still fact of the matter is he wasn't playing well. He didn't get many assists either. Ferguson gave him a rest as he looked fatigued, and it was showing in his play. He started to play well after Christmas. Ask any United fan this, that is the answer you will get.

I'd harp on but I'm not one for hammering anyone for not checking their sources.

Lemlin wrote:

Can you not remember the problems Ronaldo caused Liverpool when they lost to United last season in Rio's comeback game?

Clearly. I remember being so sick that of course it would be this game that he would actually play well in.

Lemlin

Jivin Turkey wrote:

But still fact of the matter is he wasn't playing well. He didn't get many assists either. Ferguson gave him a rest as he looked fatigued, and it was showing in his play. He started to play well after Christmas. Ask any United fan this, that is the answer you will get.

I'd harp on but I'm not one for hammering anyone for not checking their sources.


Clearly. I remember being so sick that of course it would be this game that he would actually play well in.

And I could harp on about you not checking yours. Ronaldo scored 5 goals and had 4 assists last season. Xabi Alonso only scored 2 goals and had 6 assists. Would you not agree Ronaldo's record was better? But did Xabi Alonso not have a good season for Liverpool?

Chucky the tree

Lemlin wrote:

And I could harp on about you not checking yours. Ronaldo scored 5 goals and had 4 assists last season. Xabi Alonso only scored 2 goals and had 6 assists. Would you not agree Ronaldo's record was better? But did Xabi Alonso not have a good season for Liverpool?

YOur point? Goals and assists dont make a good season. a winger should always have more goals and assists them a defensive midfielder.

Since makelle(sp) scored only 1 goal does that mean he had a **** season then yea?

Lemlin

Chucky the tree wrote:

YOur point? Goals and assists dont make a good season. a winger should always have more goals and assists them a defensive midfielder.

Since makelle(sp) scored only 1 goal does that mean he had a **** season then yea?

That was exactly my point. Goals and assists are not everything for a midfielder. Ronaldo caused plenty of problems last season for defences, and he was one of the best players at Euro 2004.

Davei141

Alonso had a broken ankle last year aswell. Poor comparison.

Chucky the tree

Lemlin wrote:

That was exactly my point. Goals and assists are not everything for a midfielder. Ronaldo caused plenty of problems last season for defences, and he was one of the best players at Euro 2004.

he didnt really. Thanks to his show-boating and complete lack of ability to cross a ball last season he was fairly poor to how he can perform.

Tusky

Lemin, youre making lots of sillly points and comparisons. Liverpool are 17 points behind Chelsea....because Chelsea are a much better team, not because Liverpools form has been bad. IMO they have only had a few disappointing results this season. Comparing an attack minded wingers goals to a defensive midfielder/playmakers ( who was also seriously injured last season ) is also silly.