Liverpool – 39 points Everton (postponed) Arsenal @ Sunderland @ QPR Wigan @ Newcastle Aston Villa @ Blackburn Fulham West Brom @ Norwich Chelsea @ Swansea Arsenal – 43 points Tottenham @ Liverpool Newcastle @ Everton Aston Villa @ QPR Manchester City @ Wolves Wigan Chelsea @ Stoke Norwich @ West Brom Chelsea Matches – 43 points Bolton @ West Brom Stoke @ Manchester City Tottenham @ Aston Villa Wigan @ Fulham Newcastle @ Arsenal QPR @ Liverpool Blackburn Newcastle – 42 points Wolves Sunderland @ Arsenal Norwich @ West Brom Liverpool @ Swansea Bolton @ Chelsea Stoke @ Wigan Manchester City @ Everton
Liverpool Home – 7 Away – 6 Top 7 matches – 3 Bottom 5 matches – 3 Arsenal Home – 7 Away – 6 Top 7 matches – 5 Bottom 5 matches – 3 Chelsea Home – 7 Away – 6 Top 7 matches – 5 Bottom 5 matches – 4 Newcastle Home – 7 Away – 6 Top 7 matches – 4 Bottom 5 matches – 3 On paper it looks like we’ve got the “easiest” remaining schedule. Meaning we play the least matches against teams from the top of the table. Who knows whether we can buck the trend we’ve established so far and capitalize, but the opportunities will be there. Fortunately, the three teams we play that are in the top 7 are the three teams that we’ll be challenging for 4th. I left Tottenham out because it looks like they’re locked in for third, and even if Harry leaves for the England job they would need a massive meltdown to join the battle for 4th. Not that a massive meltdown is beyond Spurs, but I’ll add them later if need be. Our next two matches are the FA Cup 5th round and the Carling Cup final, so hopefully we can establish some momentum. From here on out we’ve generally got one match per week, so hopefully the guys will be rested and mentally prepared to make this run. I’ll update the thread with the results as they come.
so about 15 games ago or so I said let wait til we get to near game 20 before we start deciding about this team....so now we are through 25 games? I just don't see it happening. - We have ZERO creativity in the midfield - Maxi > downing - but downing plays. - Carroll and Suarez combo doesn't work - and Carroll alone doesn't work - we can't play bellamy every game - Stevie is off the pace, Suarez is off the pace - Dirk has lost a 1/2 step - will pop up with something here and then but not consistenly - Henderson is not a scorer - Lucas' injury is starting to show through is bunches
See, I just truly don't know what to think. We're a different team every time we step onto a pitch. We're taking a beating against a shitty Bolton club, then outplaying City and United, then bossing Wolves, then looking confused against Tottenham, then losing to United. There's no level of consistency, good or bad. I think we could grab fourth if we would really set our sights on it and play at a consistent level. I think it will be there for the taking. But I'm not sure the team have that level of concentration and determination in them at the moment. They might. Hopefully we advance in the FA Cup and win the Carling Cup, and then hopefully we can finally use this crazy "momentum" thing we've all been expecting to use after a good run. Too much "hopefully" though. I just don't know.
Yeh, I don't think that this is going to be a pretty thread either. We're really only this high in the league because of other teams and their screw ups. We continue to be good in some matches and goats in others. I don't see a plan. I see bench sitters who IMO are better than the players we constantly field. I see subs coming on that instead of refreshing and complimenting the team, just run around ineffectively. We start off matches really well, for 5 minutes. If we don't score by then and we usually don't, then we drift back losing the midfield and pressurizing our defence. We had no midfield presence today, Gerrard had to come back to bolster up wee jay and therefore isolated Luis. But manure were still able to dominate. I guess I'm just venting frustration. I can't see 4th place in this season. On the other hand we were told this was going to be our rebuilding season...............................................................................................................................AaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgH! Let's go out and have a kick around lads, good luck.
We need to pick a set side and play them in a string of games. Suarez, Gerrard, Carroll and the boys at the back. Fill in the dance card.then see what we got.
If you're going to play Suarez and Carroll together, how do you set them up? In a 4-3-3 with Carroll up front and Suarez on the wing? Or do you put them both up front in a 4-4-2?
But that's the thing- all these other teams are screwing up as regularly as us. Not one team would you consider an in form standout at the moment in the whole league. Even the top three have their moments of shittyness. We're still close enough if we get on a run of wins. We went on a similar run last year at the end, they just have to work out how to get it started.
I can't see it, I can barely see us in 6th never mind 4th. I think the management blew an opportunity to build a team. Admittedly there have been some successes but as hopeful as I was (and as defensive as I was) for Henderson and Downing I just cant see them being in our future. Don't get me started on Carroll, lanky doberman is never the future of our strike force. Suarez? He won't be here next year and simply doesn't have the team behind him to perform, terrible service he gets, poor bloke spends half his life running backwards to get the ball. I'm not trying to be pessimistic but I look at that list of games and I see 4-5 speed bumps we can trip over and a good number of home draws. I worry they'll be content to get a cup and call it good if we make it into Europe that way. I'm not suggesting that winning some silverware wouldn't be a massive improvement over the last few years, it would be but it shouldn't be enough. In some respects that opens up another worry; especially if we go on and do well in the FA Cup; why can we perform in those competitions and not against Bolton or Stoke, or..... Of course that's assuming we can win the Carling Cup.
Unfortunately, I agree. We keep shitting the bed whenever the door has been left open for a chance to move up the table.
Depends, but I'd go 4-3-3 with either Bellamy or Kuyt. Carroll is effective with players near him. In the short amount of time Suarez and Carroll were on the pitch together in the last 2 games, there seems to be a better understanding. I may be wrong on this, but pretty much everyone of Suarez's goals has come with Carroll on the field. Carroll is in much better form, so I think it can work. I'm still hopelessly positive about the run in. Finally get Steve, Suarez and Carroll playing together, which we have barely seen. I'd like to see more of Shelvey and Sterling start to get blooded, but hopefully we can put the last 4 months behind us and get something going.
4 points off a CL spot and 4 points Norwich behind us, and 6 points behind Sunderland and Everton. This is the sort of perspective the team needs. Either we buckle up and go on a run or get embarrassed by the likelihood of Norwich, Sunderland and Everton leapfrogging us.
The chance is there. We do play some lower side teams who they should beat (but we all know what happens when we play teams we should beat). But I'm not expecting it, unless someone goes on a ridiculous run of form up front.
We have a relatively easy schedule and some 6-pointers versus Chelsea and Arsenal. 4th place is there for us to take.
Both at Anfield, which seems to help us against decent teams, but not against poor teams. We do have a couple of tricky trips to the Northeast against Newcastle and the resurgent Sunderland.
Yup, and all things considered, we have to be happy that we're still in contention. With the new-look Premier League (i.e Big 6 vs. Big 4), it was always going to be a battle this year to take fourth and I see no reason why we don't have a legitimate shot at it. Our schedule is rather favorable in that we pretty much control our destiny.