Title "Stroll" 2019-2020

[banditos]

The fixtures for this weekend really help us and we may even extend our lead. City have less than 2 days rest before playing Blades, as do our opponents, Wolves. Wouldn’t be surprised if Wolves rest a bunch for our game. They’ve got to be thinking City at home is more likely to yield them points than a trip to Anfield.

[ntto]

I have a feeling Wolves will take points off City tonight!

[Corndog]

And the squad will be reinforced with another quality attacker/mid on jan 1.


It couldn’t be going better.

[rodo]

the 3 game run of spurs away utd home then wolves away is probably our only tricky run of fixtures between now and the end of the season

[Cormack74]

Chelsea in 4th are as close to Norwich at the bottom as they are to us at the top, and we have a game in hand, that's crazy at this stage of the season.

Chelsea need to up their game.

Much as I despise everything they stand for, I'd far rather they took 4th and Utd missed out on the CL again.

[BigChief]

Official website address....
WWWWWWWWDWWWWWWWW.liverpoolfc.com

I'm nicking that.

[dom9]

Some trivia for you



[ame]https://twitter.com/oilysailor/status/1210317368179744768[/ame]

[dom9]

[ame]https://twitter.com/sportingintel/status/1210324951951126530[/ame]

[Le Chef]

Yesterday was then acid test, I we came away with out lot intact. Can only see City beating us too be honest, and even then it'd doubtful if we play like that.

[Le Chef]

Also glad to see the Brendan love in as ended in the media....

[SB]

Damn it made me angry watching Rodgers taking notes in his little note pad for his HT speech like he used to do with us. How bad your bloody memory mate if you need to take notes

[baitman]

Damn it made me angry watching Rodgers taking notes in his little note pad for his HT speech like he used to do with us. How bad your bloody memory mate if you need to take notes

Thinks he's Rafa

[SB]

Thinks he's Rafa

I’m sure his dossier would suggest he’s the reincarnated Rafa

Rafa 2.0 if you like

[McDermotX]

Football365

Home Winners & Losers Premier League winners and losers on Boxing Day…

Premier League winners and losers on Boxing Day…
Date published: Friday 27th December 2019 11:47


Winners

Liverpool
During the first mini-period of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure, Liverpool were an entertaining, thrashing, attacking team whose defensive vulnerabilities stopped them mustering a serious title challenge but made them a highly dangerous cup team. During the second mini-period, Klopp signed players to improve the defence and prided himself on clean sheets.

In the third mini-period, Klopp went in search of the perfect balance. At the King Power on Boxing Day evening, we had emphatic proof that he has found it. With that balance comes near perfection. With that balance will come a maiden Premier League title.

We have become accustomed to Liverpool’s high bar, but this was something else. Klopp’s team did not just beat the team in second place, they humiliated them. They made all the niggling concerns about fatigue and travel over December look superfluous, and then did the same in the context of the match. Just when we wondered if Liverpool might pay the price for not extending their lead by two or three more goals, they scored three times. What more can they do? What other hoops are there left for them to jump through?

Count the ways in which we love thee. The defensive resilience was extraordinary. Jamie Vardy wriggled free once in 90 minutes, marshalled down the channels by Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. In two fixtures between the current top two this season, Leicester have managed one shot on target in total.

The attacking prowess remains unabated by the improvement in Liverpool’s defending, assisted (literally) by the best pair of full-backs in the world. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson haven’t just been the keys to Liverpool’s constant creativity; they have forced us to alter our expectations of what full-backs can do.

The only fly in the ointment is an occasional profligacy in front of goal that threatens to make matches interesting until the weight of pressure and chances eventually pays – the same happened on Thursday. And even then, Liverpool have the best conversion rate of shots to goals in the Premier League so it’s hardly a huge concern for Klopp.

But the best parts of Liverpool are not the individual components within this machine, but the whole package. It is the way they press relentlessly to hound the opposition and create the impression that they have at least one extra man on the field. It is the way in which players show for the ball more than any other team in the division. It is the manner in which they get the balance right between patience and possession for its own sake, constantly choosing the correct pass at the correct time.

Do not underestimate how hard that is to play against. Leicester supporters groaned when their side ceded possession in their own half, but it all stems from Liverpool’s control. When you finally get the ball back, you feel the need to try and make your possession count and so attempt speculative passes; the alternative is to be pressed high up the pitch and risk losing the ball anyway. To complete the unhappy picture, even if you do pass through the press and get midfielders into the final third, you risk being killed by a lightning fast counter attack.

I’ve said it plenty of times before, but this Liverpool magnificence has become so quickly normalised. Klopp has won 26 of his last 27 league matches as a manager. Even if Manchester City win every game between now and the end of the season, Liverpool could afford to draw five and lose one of their remaining matches and still be guaranteed glory.

[Shaggy]

Just having a right good laugh reading Bluemoon. Properly unhinged they are.

Enjoy just a small selection.

Their football is awful however they're good at what they do. Particularly when they are allowed to do what they want on the pitch. Foul with impunity, cheat, dive, push players into hordings, attack coaches, play the victim whatever. The scene was set when scudamore said he wanted a different winner every year.

I've just noticed a rather odd anomaly.

Liverpool are playing the same three teams after us.
Leicester
Wolves
Sheffield United

Now on the face of it there doesn't appear to be anything ominous about that.

However, historically teams that play us tend to perform poorly in their next game. This makes sense because we're not like any other team and we physically drain our opponents.

Leicester last night is a perfect example.

If I was looking to help a team out over the hectic schedule I would probably engineer it so that they play the team that has just played against Manchester City.

Great observation. One I have noticed is the fixtures before and after the champions league knockout games. Check them out!!

Entire fixture list has been carefully manufactured.

Yep hand picked games then the tv companies pick the games to hurt us and help the scousers! There certainly some back handers going on! Suppose a history club doing well and winning the league will keep the big bucks coming in for premier rights and other teams in the league will be happy with that too! If premier money drops dramatically a lot of teams will be in deep **** they rely on that money!

If that old peddled lie is true and it does even out over a season they are in for one hell of an implosion

Cultured Wimbledon. Too many blues on here brown nosing these ****ers for my liking. Wouldn’t have this on rawk about us. **** em.

if only manchester city have the same backing from the premier league officials and VAR ??? liverpool have been given the title and the damage was done in the first 10 games, with some of the worst refereeing and bent officials in a studio seeing things we have never seen before ?? how on earth did somebody spot laporte handball vs spurs and view it as handball ??? then in the same game missed rodri being pulled to the floor in the box and not see it as a pen ??

manchester city have to work hard just to win 3 points and nobody is giving us a dodgy pen or miss a offside to win a tight game, its what the game should be for all clubs you have to earn your corn and not be handed a title because the main sponsors or tv rights money or seen as this mighty historic football club

Blimey, thought i was on RAWK for a minute. Liverpool are not that good and as has been said by some, stop their fullbacks and you stop them winning. Robertson is terrible defensively.

That being said Leicester are woeful. Easily the worst team at the Etihad this season.

Even allowing for the above, they had to use VAR again. Just as Leicester were having their one good spell the alert went to Stockley Park, Oliver got a word in his ear and is the only one in the ground to see the invented hand ball. If that isn't given Leicester probably in with a shout for a point.