Will Liverpool throw game against Chelsea???

The Muppet

Yes of course they will. I expect Liverpool to field a reserve team for this one.


But then I put on my sensible head which I save for special occasions and realize that they are professionals and will want to beat Chelsea for themselves irrespective of what that means to United. Thats the way these things have worked in the past and I suspect will do so again.

I'm not sure they have the beating of Chelsea especially with Torres out but I do believe they will give it heir best shot. It's a win win for pool fans with ready made excuses if they lose and a chance for a little friendly banter if they win and give United the edge.

Of course thats assuming It's not all over before then.

Handsome Bob

No they will not, but no doubt a select group of posters will be coming up with their conspiracies should Liverpool lose the game.

Spiritoftheseventies

Its not going to happen. We may lose to chelsea but it wont be for want of trying.

KittyeeTrix

i hope they turn up with sun loungers and cocktails and line up around the pitch for the 90mins.

I hope Reina makes sure tho' not to block the front of goal with his lounger.....;)

Seriously tho', I would defo like to see Chelsea win this, I don't think the 'pool will lie down for them with regards the game but one can hope

Good thread btw for those of us who haven't degrees in economics or managed top flight premiership teams as are almost needed in other threads...

GavRedKing

Hopefully for us Chelsea fans we wont have to rely on Liverpool "throwing" the game.

Not that it would happen, should Liverpool field a weaker team you can bet there will be compliments made about team selection. Like what happened with Wolves earlier in the season.

I can see us beating Liverpool regardless but I also thought the same when we played against Spurs :eek:.

jaykay74

There is an good chance that Liverpool will be within 6 points of Spurs when they play Chelsea. This is based on Utd beating Spurs which if it doesn't happen finishes Utds chances anyway and Liverpool beating Burnley. City beating both Arsenal and Villa might mess it up and mean Liverpool Chelsea game is meaningless for 4th.

Possible table on 2nd of May before Liverpool-Chelsea.

Games GD Points
Tottenham 36 28 67
Man City 36 27 64
Aston Villa 37 14 63
Liverpool 36 25 62

Based on :
Hull 0 Villa 1
Utd 1 Spurs 0
Arsenal 1 City 1
Villa 1 Brum 1
Burnley 0 Liverpool 1
City 1 Villa 1
Spurs 1 Bolton 0

Too much time on my hands this morning

I don't think Liverpool have any real chance of 4th but would like it to be still a remote possibility to avoid wholesale rotation from Rafa.

JerryHandbag

Comment on BBC live text last night:

jealousmonk on 606: Our game at home to Chelsea is going to cause a scandal. Personally I would take a 5-0 defeat if it meant stopping United winning the title, so who's to say Rafa isn't feeling the same way?

Which drew this response:

Anon via text: To jealousmonk, as a neutral in the title race a 5-0 defeat for Liverpool would damage Man United's title hopes but do a lot worse for the reputation and integrity of your club, something you could do without this season.

I think it sums it up nicely, Liverpool are professionals and will try their best I'm sure.....still not sure though if its gonna be enough to win. A draw would be a nice result
I remember 95 well, and was pretty sick that United couldn't finish the job after Liverpool held up their end of the bargain. Interestingly, that season was the last time a team lost 7 games and won the league, so maybe thats a good omen

jaykay74

I don't think the problem will be any professional throwing a game but that if Liverpool have little to play for and a Europa final coming up Rafa will (as is his right) rest key players.

Kess73

Reganio 2 wrote: »

No its not. Jamie Redknapp is basically Aquilani so they cancel each other out. Fowler would get straight into the squad (You could actually argue this, if Rafa insited on 1 upfront would Fowler be ahead of Torres but with Torres out it dosn't matter) and then Macca would fly onto our right wing no doubt. The rest wouldn't get their game.

A fully fit Rob Jones would walk into the RB slot ahead of Johnson.

Spiritoftheseventies

Yes do remember debating this with a few posters on the a Wolves thread on Rafas decision to rotate some of his players in league game prior to Champions league final involving the pool.
Sure Fergie will be doing his best re the press conferences to ensure Liverpool put out their strongest team

GavRedKing

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Yes do remember debating this with a few posters on the a Wolves thread on Rafas decision to rotate some of his players in league game prior to Champions league final involving the pool.
Sure Fergie will be doing his best re the press conferences to ensure Liverpool put out their strongest team

+1

SAF and the prre-match press conferences should be interesting that week :pac:

Should Liverpool put out a "weaker" team, and Chelsea go on to beat them you can probably guess that SAF will be complaining to the FA and making a song and dance about it.

Spiritoftheseventies

gavredking wrote: »

+1

SAF and the prre-match press conferences should be interesting that week :pac:

Should Liverpool put out a "weaker" team, and Chelsea go on to beat them you can probably guess that SAF will be complaining to the FA and making a song and dance about it.

And you can bet your bottom dollar the press are going to bring it up as well.

astrofool

Aren't Chelsea 5/5 against the "big 4" this season? I'd be surprised to see them not make it 6/6.

super_furry

No team throws a game. Remember Liverpool beating Blackburn to basically hand United the title before they threw it away against West Ham?

Spiritoftheseventies

astrofool wrote: »

Aren't Chelsea 5/5 against the "big 4" this season? I'd be surprised to see them not make it 6/6.

That is correct but they look a bit weak at the back. If we take them on down the wings we could pull of a result

GavRedKing

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

And you can bet your bottom dollar the press are going to bring it up as well.

Without a doubt, the press will be all over this before the game and after depending on team selection and result.

Expect Rafa and SAF to both get grilled about their thoughts on selection for this game.

Gonzovision

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

That is correct but they look a bit weak at the back. If we take them on down the wings we could pull of a result

Ivanovic is back, Cole will be back and Essien will be back, strengthens up that backline a bit

Spiritoftheseventies

Terry I think is the weak link there. The lad just isnt right at the moment.

Gonzovision

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Terry I think is the weak link there. The lad just isnt right at the moment.

In fairness he had been playing pretty well for the last few games, but he just seemed to lose the plot against Spurs.

GavRedKing

gonzovision wrote: »

Ivanovic is back, Cole will be back and Essien will be back, strengthens up that backline a bit

Cole will be back but I dont know if he will drop Zhirkov, Ivanovic should be moved to the right back slot.

With the possibilty of Essien coming back though to bolster our midfield we could dominant in there.

If A. Cole is started at left back, I can see Zhirkov Lamprd and Essien playing from centre with Maouda and J Cole off Drogba or Anelka.

Edit : forgot JT is only banned for the Stoke game.

Gonzovision

I think he should play Malouda in the centre with Lampard and Essien and leave Zhirkov out on the wing. Hopefully we will sort out the right wing this summer

adamski8

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

The professionals in them should want to win every game they play in , be it a friendly or a cup final.

The fan in them wont be too heartbroken if they dont get a result ,

Thats just my opinion.

I'm sure they all care more about their win bonuses than who wins the title

PHB

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

mike65

Controversial!

Ush1

PHB wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

lol.
Phil Neville maybe.:pac:

Spiritoftheseventies

PHB wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

Btw from now on Neville will be called Mussy (slang for Moustache). See Kuyts A to Z posted up on main pool thread. gas stuff.

Handsome Bob

PHB wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

I wouldn't put it past Neville all right, he would be that pathetic.

GavRedKing

PHB wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

Reminds me of when Gallas wanted a move from Chelsea, and he was apparently qouted as saying " it wasnt going to be his fault if own goals went in " :pac:

x in the city

Pool could be done for bringing the game into respute if they field a team of unknowns against Chelsea, and get docked 15 points next season, thus enduring asnother season of swet nothings next season even before a ball is kicked..:pac:

Spiritoftheseventies

x in the city wrote: »

Pool could be done for bringing the game into respute if they field a team of unknowns against Chelsea, and get docked 15 points next season, thus enduring asnother season of swet nothings next season even before a ball is kicked..:pac:

See thats where people need to be careful. Not even pool fans think Rafa is playing his best team. He could play Aqua and Fergie could say, that kid hasnt played all season. Others will say Pacheco deserves a run as does Martin Kelly. So Rafa may chose to bleed in a few new players in what could prove a nothing game. Its not who Rafa plays but how they play.
You look at that West Ham team last night and there was a serious lack of effort there.
Could be they were saving themselves for Saturday but its hard to know

GavRedKing

x in the city wrote: »

Pool could be done for bringing the game into respute if they field a team of unknowns against Chelsea, and get docked 15 points next season, thus enduring asnother season of swet nothings next season even before a ball is kicked..:pac:

Didnt Wolves only get a warning and relatively small fine regarding this? As in, if they were to field a totally different 8/9/10/11 that lined out from week to week then they would have got docked points?

It does say in the FA's rules that you must play your strongest team (IIRC)

bullpost

x in the city wrote: »

Pool could be done for bringing the game into respute if they field a team of unknowns against Chelsea, and get docked 15 points next season, thus enduring asnother season of swet nothings next season even before a ball is kicked..:pac:

It would never be that blatant. Benitez would basically put out a side that he could justify and take off big players to keep them for Europa cup final (If thats still relevant).
I expect SAF to come out with the mind games by bigging up Rafa's position at Liverpool in light of the adversity he's had to face from bickering owners etc.

Spiritoftheseventies

you will know if pool field a weakened team if Pacheco, Dalle Valle, Degen, and a few more start because they havent got a run in team so far (Pacheco has made the odd appearance while Degen has made one or two before returning to the bench).

Spazdarn

Rafa is not a moron. Nothing Fergie says will matter. He will however probably field a weakened team due to the Europa league, if they're still in it, if not they'll probably be fielding their strongest side in an attempt to gain entry to Europa league next season.

Regardless, Chelsea will still hammer them

pistolpetes11

x in the city wrote: »

Pool could be done for bringing the game into respute if they field a team of unknowns against Chelsea, and get docked 15 points next season, thus enduring asnother season of swet nothings next season even before a ball is kicked..:pac:

O yeah like what happened to Wolves ........

Prufrock

Liverpool are five points behind Spurs. It would be foolish not to chase them to the line. Until it is impossible to get 4th Liverpool have to try and win every game. After all a win at Chelsea and a defeat for Spurs against United would put Pool back into the picture for 4th even if it is just a long shot.

rossie1977

ToiletFusion wrote: »

Regardless, Chelsea will still hammer them

chelsea in their current form won't be hammering anyone, they barely beat bolton at home, if i was a chelsea fan i would be more worried about actually winning the other two games first

Johner

rossie1977 wrote: »

chelsea in their current form won't be hammering anyone, they barely beat bolton at home, if i was a chelsea fan i would be more worried about actually winning the other two games first

Why would we worrying about the Wigan game when it's after the Liverpool game?

pistolpetes11

rossie1977 wrote: »

chelsea in their current form won't be hammering anyone, they barely beat bolton at home, if i was a chelsea fan i would be more worried about actually winning the other two games first

Chelsea got beaten by Man City , which IMO was the worst performance of the season .

Played 10 games since :

Won 7

Lost 2

Drew 1

Scored 26 goals

Conceded 7 goals

No really all that bad now is it ?

everdead.ie

I think Liverpool have too much pride to throw a match and they probably feel that they owe too much to fans to throw a match anyway.

Former Great

PHB wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't put it past Gary Neville to accidently score an own-goal to stop Liverpool from winning the league if there was nothign for United to play for.

I fully suspect that Carragher and Gerrard will have it in the backs of their minds. Why? Because that's what Neville would do.

110% agreed.....

PHB

Rafa's the manager. If 4th is out of reach, and 6th is secure, why the **** would you bother playing anyone who you are risking. Play the fringe players, let one of them impress you in order to get a spot in the UEFA final should you get there.

If this does happen though, it'll throw open the whole question of the last two games of the season being influenced by cup competititions. United and Liverpool have done it themselves in the past, for European cup finals, and influenced the course of the reglation battle directly. It's pretty rich for United fans to complain now that Liverpool might do exactly what United would do and have done.

Mr. Presentable

Former Great wrote: »

Well lads what ye reckon , fourth is gone for Liverpool...Liverpool have the key to the title, surely there just going to hand it to Chelsea?

So, do you reckon, were the positions reversed, your club would "hand it to Chelsea"? Or is it only Liverpool that would do such a thing?

pistolpetes11

Liverpool would never a throw a game nor would any other team in the EPL, if they did they should be brought up on charges and thrown out of the league .

I dont think the players will be heartbroken if they dont win or if a weakend team was fielded .

Former Great

nipplenuts wrote: »

So, do you reckon, were the positions reversed, your club would "hand it to Chelsea"? Or is it only Liverpool that would do such a thing?

Two words answer that question ''Gary Neville''

Spiritoftheseventies

Former Great wrote: »

Two words answer that question ''Gary Neville''

Or Martin Atkinson maybe if United win title.
Just came across this.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/7599439/Manchester-City-v-Manchester-United-City-question-appointment-of-Martin-Atkinson.html

newballsplease

Throwing the game is a bit strong. But i do think they might not give 100% to win the game.
If Liverpool beating chelsea means Utd win the 19th League and beat Liverpools record........ I dont think any liverpool player/fan wants that.

Plus their main focus now is the Europa.

Essien

They certainly won't "throw" the game. If they have secured a European place, are out of contention for 4th and are still in the Europa League then they would (and have every right to) field a weakened team on the day, I dont think there's much more to it than that.

Warper

Of course they wont "throw" the game - I cant believe there is even a thread on this. Why would they rest players - for what? If they do make it to the Europa League final - the final isnt on until the 12th of May - a full week and a half after this match. More than likely they will still be challenging for 6th spot for EL qualification next year so there isnt a hope in hell they will throw the game.

newballsplease

they may field a weak team. The europa 1st leg is thursday(as far as i know, they have to make a long journey to spain) Im not sure how they get back.
Match Vs Chelsea Sunday(4th place gone)

2nd leg that thursday at home.

No they wont throw the game................... but they might not be too bothered about it either!!