A quite hilarious quote from a Liverpool fan...

Currently I would prefer to have our team than Liverpools though it will be interesting to see how certain players from both sides adapt to their second seasons alongside currently unknown signings this summer. I trust us to make better signings as our recent record (for 2-3 years now) has been amazing (its a good few years since we signed a bad player of note - candidates would be Best, Gosling, Perch came at a combined cost of about 3 million which we've already recouped with the selling of Best) whereas Liverpools has been poor really.

Any cup win outweighs finishing 5th, I would accept a financial argument for champions league football outweighing the league cup (though personally disagree) but I'd prefer to finish 17th and win a cup then finish 5th. Football should be about striving to win things.

I agree with most of what people have said though would add that as a geordie living in Liverpool the sheer dismissive attitude of most Liverpool fans towards the merits of most other clubs suggests they still think they have their team and reputation of the 80's. They are a larger club than us and will climb back above us in the next year or so but they seem unaware that they are a distance behind the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelski let alone the Manchester clubs.

 

If they are a larger club, it is by the slimmest of margins.

This year is going to be critical for them, I think. On the one had, they could do well. A Europa league place is realistic. A CL place is possible, but would require a bit of good fortune.

7th, however, is also very realistic. The top 5 more or less is a given. We have every reason for optimism.

7th would hit Liverpool very hard. Their past glories really would become the stuff of anorak history. Gerrard will soon be retiring. They won't have the standing to hire a replacement, certainly not without even second rate European football on offer. FFP will start to become a real inconvenience.

Two seasons without European football, and Liverpool, Villa and Everton all become of a muchness (a muchness which coudl alos include us).

So, no pressure then Brendan

 

What?! Are you actually serious?

 

Betting odds change with the amount of money that gets put on a certain result or team. Liverpool have FAR more delusional fans then any other team in the EPL therefore you expect that dippy lot to throw away their hard earned cash on crazy bets. I don't think any Newcastle fans think that we are going to win the league but Liverpool fans think they are going to win it every year :S

 

Fair point...Look at Boro and Portsmouth, the LC did nothing for them long term, but if we can have another good league season AND win a cup, regardless of what that cup is, I'd be over the moon! At the end of the day, winning a cup means winning games and I want us to win every game!

 

While I wouldn't say they are better positoned, I'd say they are in as good a position.

Personally I think they have a decent squad of players. They also have very deep pockets which they are happy to dip into. They have one of the best names in European football to trade off too. They have an excellent youth system and a number of highly talented youngsters in their squad. They had a poor league season but did win a cup.

We also have a good squad and had a much better season in the league. We are starting to get our youth set up in order but don't have the talent that they have in their youth ranks and it'll take time to fully establish the system. We have deep pockets but choose to do things frugally (nothing wrong with that). Obviously things are easier when you have money to chuck but we have a better scouting network in my opinion which balances it out. We have won **** all for god knows how long though. And while our name is decent, I don't think anybody would claim we are looked on as fondly by players as Liverpool.

Not much in it for me but I wouldn't swap ours for theirs as I think we have some talents in our squad (Cabaye, Santon, Benni) which may take a significant leap forward this season. They are defo a larger club though, by a decent stetch for me. Its the recent history of winning stuff which is the killer there. Everyone loves a winner!

 

When they can get get 50,000+ a week into Anfield then I will admit they are bigger club. I would take another position higher in the premiership this season over winning a cup. Cups are a nice day out and some bragging rights for a few weeks but Finishing higher in the league takes real class over a whole season.

its not all about medals

 

No maybe not all but it mainly is. Nobody recalls who came 5th in the league from any particular season. But most football fans know Liverpool have won the league 18 times and Man U 19. Where a club sits in any club ranking system is gauged by what you've won first and foremost. At all levels of football (bar maybe the tiddlers) and sport in general, its about winning.

Personally after waiting my whole life to see us win something, and having seen us come close on three or four occasions, I'd happily take winning something above finishing in the top 5. I'd love us to get that monkey off our back.

 

It's a tough argument. If we won a cup we'd see many grown men in tears with the overwhelming joy that none of us under the age of about 50 have never experienced. However, it's whether that one good feeling is worth the months of suffering and beatings we'd then take in the league as a sacrifice, should this scenario of "cup v league" materialise. It's nice to have that good feeling lasting week after week as you win games consistently through the season that give the true feel good factor. The cup win would be a bonus, but realistically I think we, as fans, would be more satisfied if our league campaign was top notch.

It's easier for us to feel good winning games every weekend and losing in cups saying "well we weren't going to focus on the cups anyway", but if we won a cup and struggled in the league all we'd get is complaining of how poor our performances were. I'd love us to win a cup, preferably not the league cup, just to allow the good feeling to last throughout the summer, but in terms of a satisfactory season, league form is what matters. If we get to a stage where we feel confident of finishing in a European place, then we should call challenging for cups a success. Perhaps this is why Liverpool have their argument of a successful season, for a club used to finishing in these places in the league, the next step up is to win something. For us it's to push to be among clubs like Manchesters and Chelsea in the league. Then it's time to really look to winning something.

 

Very little in it I think.

Liverpool may have a better ring to Newcastle generally but I think Newcastle may have a better reputation on the continent with respect to taking care of and developping younger players. I don't know which would trump which when trying to sign the next Cabaye.

They have deep pockets but are also going to incur some heavy losses on player trading. If FFP has any teeth (biggish if ) then their ability to buy their way out of their hole is going to be hampered.

Their current squad will be weaker due ot age in 2 years. Colo is our only player approaching his sell by date.

A good season next year and they can regain a place in the second rank of English football (currently I would say: the two Man's and Chelsea rank 1, Arsenal and Spurs rank 2, Pool and us rank 3). A poor season and they go into rank 4: everybody else

 

What a ridiculous example of a partisan football supporter.

A trophy is a trophy when you haven't won one in a while.

Don't think Mourinho's Chelsea complained when they won it, beating us in the final back in... 05 I think it was.

Our only first team player the wrong side of 30 is Gerrard, and the rest of the team have a good 5 years at least left.

Reina (29)
Johnson (27)
Skrtel (27)
Agger (27)
Enrique (26)
Gerrard (32)
Lucas (25)
Henderson (22)
Suarez (25)
Carroll (23)
Borini (21)

A bench of any of Kelly (22), Coates (21), Gulasci (22), Carra (34), Downing (28), Spearing (23), Flanagan (19), Bellamy (33), Shelvey (20), Suso (18), Sterling (17) and Robinson (18).

 

I think football has changed though with the advent of the EPL. Premiership positions are what pay the biggest bucks not Cup wins unfortunately. As a Newcastle and England fan I have never experience winning anything in my lifetime lol But I would still take league position over a mickey mouse cup win.

After all, the bin dippers won the league cup and goto the FA cup final but its pretty obvious who took the bragging rights from last season!! The league is all that matters, I think cups are for older fans.

Harsh??

 

Gerrard maybe the only one heading to the wrong side of 30 but he has been your best player for the last 10 years. You dont have the money or more importantly the pulling power to get in a replacement anywhere near his talent.

 

I stand corrected on the age of your squad, sorry.

 

No, just incorrect.

Last season was very pleasant and satisfying. Let's see how people act if we ever get our hands on anythign we can put in an open top bus.

Having said that, if I was a Liverpool supporter I would be very worried about just how close they were, and are, to being beaten into insignificance. (more or less exactly as close as we are - - we'll just be able to live with it better)

 

Another my dicks bigger than yours argumant.

I don't care it's simple really in that to all fans the club they support is the biggest in the world.

 

Well, Gerrard is a once in a generation talent, of course he'll never be replaced like-for-like.

But, the money is there from FSG if the transfer is needed, as they have proved so far. Indeed, they were willing to finance a big money move for Jones as well, but he chose United. This summer we'll probably spend £30M or so not counting Borini (£10M). Modest but not insignificant.

The policy is youth development and young signings - something that we all thought would happen last season, but didn't (Adam 25, Downing 27, Bellamy 32 when they signed).

Borini is 21 and very talented, much like the signings you've been making recently. Henderson will come good... We're linked with Joe Allen, 22, a great talent. There are high hopes for our young players (the reserves and youth teams are all coached by ex-Barca staff and have been for several years - Segura and Borrell brought Messi, Fabregas, Pique etc up for Barca) like Shelvey to eventually cover the loss of Gerrard.

Also, for the past few years we've been managing without Gerrard - and his return last season didn't really change things. It was another midfielder, Lucas, who got injured and hastened our poor form.

For the record, over a three season average we're something like 7th in the league on spending.

 

What will make a rich history for a club is what counts. Yes the league positions pay the big bucks, but it won't enrich the history of your club. Winning things will. Probably wrong to indicate its an age thing, probably just a personal thing for yourself. I think many of our younger fans would love to win something more than finishing 5th in the league. I think this new regime will deliver a trophy sooner rather than later anyway to be honest.

I think the point is it doesn't have to be one or the other. But winning a cup will always count for more than finishing 5th in the league. The team that finishes 5th has clearly been the better side over the course of a season but that is the whole beauty of the cups.

 

I think they are in a precarious position and risk falling foul of what we did. At present though their very recent history of actually winning things means their reputation is a little more bullet proof. Our treatment of the likes of Benni has stood us in good stead on the continent, and we have a decent reputation anyway from the KK and Bobby years. But the cold reality in terms of standing would be evidenced if we were ever competing for the same player. Yes they'd pay more so you'd maybe never get a clear view, but I suspect a player (certainly a foreign one) would always select Liverpool ahead of Newcastle. Its just a much bigger name to them. Well maybe not if they were French!!

They have some good youngsters from what I hear so I think they may be alright age wise. They also bought some good aged players in Carroll, Henderson, Coates, Borini. The likes of Sterling, Suso, Robinson are supposedly terrific talents. They already have the likes of Kelly, Flanaghan (not based on his game against us! haha), Shelvey, Wilson. Certainly no worse off than ourselves I think.

 

Think your team could make a real run at the League cup, or the FA cup this season.