City and Chelsea can buy their way out of trouble if need be in jan though. both of us (Reds and blues) i should imagine will be on tight budgets, even though some on here have a list as long as my daughters xmas list of players they want. personally i see 1-2 players max in jan with a budget of £10-£15 mill, not sure what Everton have to spend. never know what will happen, both playing good football, and we have some quality to come back as well both of us in Sturridge and Baines. never know the future could be red and blue of merseyside rather than the ****e up the road
Most impressive thing Martinez has done is getting Barkley playing so well, would of never thought he had that ability from watching him play. Yesterday Everton played some fantastic stuff. Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton and Everton would be my top four if had the choice, if you play great football, you deserve to be up there.
I still think it will take some doing for one of Liverpool or Everton to get into the top four, never mind both. Man Utd are still not that far behind if they somehow manage to get their act together (as unlikely as it seems ATM) and Tottenham are there despite not playing too well. Man City and Chelsea will be there. Arsenal will have a dip in form at some point in the season (usually during the cold weather) and the question is whether they can limit the damage this will cause.
not sure on Arsenal, IF Wenger spends some money in jan on some quality i can see them for the title, but trouble with Wenger is he thinks his teams are always good enough and then **** up, if he can strengthen and capitalize while they are doing well who knows. dont think as it stands they have enough for the title, bit like us for top 4 push. hopefully spurs wont start clicking until after they have played us.
And it should be a case of the team is never good enough. How many sides have we seen down the years that have stuck we what they have come January and paid the price? Arsenal have obviously done it a few times, Tottenham did it under 'Arry, we did it in 2008-09 too.
All jesting aside, I expect United to be in the mix for fourth place too. I think the title will be between City and Arsenal now, Chelsea third, and four of us, possibly including Spuds too, battling for fourth. I said before we embarked on those five away games against Arsenal, Everton, Spurs, City and Chelsea that we needed seven points from those fifteen - so far we have one. If we beat Spurs and can hold out against City and Chelsea I'll start believing, but since that loss at Hull I'm not so confident that the second half of the season will be as straightforward away from home as I'd hoped, thus negating the advantage of getting most of the top teams away from home out of the way first. And I still think that draw against ten men for 50 minutes at Newcastle will come back to bite us as much as the Hull game. If we're going to throw points away like that we've GOT to beat all the top teams when they come to Anfield next year. Are we confident that will happen? Need a striker, a midfielder and a winger in the window. desperately hoping that, despite awful finishing, Sterling can come good for us again; that Aspas can start showing some form; that Brendan builds the back four around Sakho; that Kelly coming back is not a flash-in-the-pan; and that Alberto can offer something too. Lot of ducks need to get in the row for us to get fourth, imho, but at least we're still in the mix in December for a change.
I've pointed out before that BR's record against those teams isn't great. Not terrible, a few draws. But he's only beaten Spurs and United so far. e god to start getting results against them now.
I think United have given themselves a mountain to climb tbh, as this year the competition for the top 4 is as fierce as it's ever been. So they're going to have to rely on 3 or 4 sides dropping off while they put together a consistent run. Rodgers needs to decide what system he wants you to play & stick to it. The same goes for his backline, pick the CB pairing (or 3) that he thinks is his best & get a settled defensive unit. All great sides are built from the back imo. We'll know a lot more about how good this Liverpool side actually is & what it could achieve this season, after your next 4 league fixtures. If it goes well, you could be right in the mix for the title! (feels slightly nauseous) if it goes badly you could find yourselves where United are now....
We need to petition UEFA to allow 5 PL teams the chance to qualify for the CL. Let's be honest, Spain should just automatically enter Barcelona and the 2 Madrids each year and surrender their 4th spot. They are not a competitive league. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, Everton would be far better for the game than having to endure the likes of Real Sociedad who so far have only scored 1 goal (and conceded 9) in the group
Our fixtures look slightly more appealing; Fulham (H) Swansea (A) Sunderland (H) Southampton (H) But I'm not counting any chickens just yet mate. The one advantage that we do have, is that we've played all of the top 7 now, which no-one else within it, has. If we play like we have in the 3 games last week, every week, then I'll be a happy man - win, lose or draw.
Now who's been smoking I'm not convinced the next three away games (essentially what you meant) will define our season. Away trips to "the other six" are a case of anything is a bonus. Three points from those three games would be fantastic, especially if it means we don't lose at WHL.
Joking aside mate, if you came through those 3 aways (plus Cardiff) with a good points return, you'd still be within touching distance of the top, after half the season had elapsed..... So I think those 3 crucial aways could well define your season, 3 defeats & you're effectively out of it, a couple of draws & a win & you're right in it still.
Your next 4 look much more appealing and I'm loathe to admit that, from what I've seen of you, You are playing some very good football
This is a bit of a myth tbh, in the 07/08 season we had a dip in the cold months that ended up losing us the title, and in 10/11 we had a flop after christmas which threw us out of all competitions. Other than those 2 years we have been very strong in the second half of the season. In the last 2 seasons i believe we have taken more points from the second half of the season than any other team in the league. Starting well has been our problem in recent years, not the other way round. That said most teams have a dip in form at some point and it's about grinding out the results when it happens (damage limitation as you say), but i expect this to happen with all the teams in the league, to waver at some point.
