The Football Thread - Season 2013/2014 & World Cup

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tears streaming down my face in Anfield this afternoon, i wasnt the only one by a long chalk and i feel no embarresment in admitting it...very moving all round, a great speech by roberto that echos all our thoughts

YNWA
 
A very emotional afternoon. I can't watch too much about Hillsborough as it sets me off, though I had to watch most of today as I felt I had to.

My two brothers were there, luckily not in that part of the ground, but I/we had no idea about that till 2-3 hours after the event. This was a time before mobile phones remember and it took them a few hours for them to get to a phone. My brothers and I have never spoken about what happened, except for asking what they saw when they returned home that night, but if it affects me the way it does, I don't know what it does to them.

Just a few of the many thousands of people the disaster has affected though. Luckily for my family they both came back. There was a chap who lived around the corner who didn't. Fate, luck, randomness, it could have happened to anyone that day if they were in the wrong part of the ground.

Hopefully the reasons for the disaster, the subsequent cover up, the misdirection of the media and anyone who was culpable will be brought to book at the end of the inquests. It will never be forgotten, but hopefully Justice will prevail. At last.
 
My oh my, what twists and turns tonight. :eek:

A very poor Cit€h get a very very fortunate equaliser from a mistake by Mannone. Cit€h 2 v 2 Sunderland

Everton get beaten by Palace. :eek: Everton 2 v 3 Palace.

I doubt many would have predicted those scores. :rolleyes:
 
I didn't even realise there were PL games on tonight - half watching Real v Barca though.
 
Interesting results tonight. Means Liverpool, assuming they win their other games, could draw with Chelsea and take the title.

I think there will be more twists and turns in this exciting season.
 
So, back to football.

Last nights results really do mix things up a little. I'm in two minds as to whether it's a good thing. Knowing you have to win every game focuses the mind, but also knowing a draw thrown in will not kill you helps.
 
I think it would be dangerous, for Liverpool to play for a draw, but it also means (if Liverpool keep winning) that Chelsea will have to come to Anfield to win. I think we are a great counter-attacking team, so this may well work out good for Liverpool.
 
So, assuming that Liverpool win the title, who for manager of the year? Rodgers or Pullis? While winning the league is a huge ask, surely getting palace to a mid table finish after having something like 1 pt from first 8 or 9 games is a great achievement too.
 
Both will have done a great job, but any team can get a boost from a new manager, which is why so many of the teams in trouble have changed their manager over the last few months. I know Pulls has taken that initial boost and gone way beyond that and deserves great credit, as does the team, but to win the league takes a lot without throwing hundreds of millions at a team over a very short time. It is no coincidence that Chel$ki and Cit€h have only won the league other than Utd in recent years. I know Liverpool have not been paupers in spending money, but they have been spending lots of money for decades and only come close once or twice.

I think the value of Chel$ki and Cit€h's squad were twice the value of Liverpool's last week. :eek: To be competing with them this far into the season is an amazing job. To win the league you have to have the best team over a season, to avoid relegation you need to get your team to at least the 17th worst team. Yes, Pulls will have done an amazing job, and taken them much higher than 17th, and deserves all the kudos he is getting, but to take a team to a title without spending a huge amount of money in a short space of time would deserve to be manager of the year because it is so hard to do, recent history shows that.

If Magath saves Fulham, considering their season, and the position they were in when he arrived, will he have done a better job than Pulls or Rodgers? Or will he have he just have got his team playing slightly more consistently than the teams about them while still possibly losing games?

The season Liverpool are having has been breaking records, and that is also breaking records in Liverpool's long illustrious history, not just the Premier League era. ;) And we have had some good team's in the past. To do that from finishing 7th the previous year without spending hundreds of millions in between deserves huge credit imho. :clap:
 
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redhed17 said:
To do that from finishing 7th the previous year without spending hundreds of millions in between deserves huge credit imho. :clap:
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Or maybe it means they didn't perform to their full potential last year?

Being a league winning manager is always sexier than avoiding relegation, but as the press etc love liverpool, rodgers is a shoe in for it ... and well deserved to
 
new2me said:
Or maybe it means they didn't perform to their full potential last year?
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The last four years Liverpool have finished 7,6,8,7, so you could say they haven't performed for a few years, or you could say that they weren't that good. Rodgers has still improved them a lot in a short space of time.

new2me said:
Being a league winning manager is always sexier than avoiding relegation, but as the press etc love liverpool, rodgers is a shoe in for it ... and well deserved to
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It hasn't felt like the press have loved Liverpool. :eek: I think even the most anti Liverpool person can not but admire the style Liverpool have been playing this season. And for the title, Liverpool are, and have been the underdogs compared to Chel$ki and Cit€h, and most neutrals go for the underdog, especially if they are playing attractive football.
 
liverpool have been frightening this year and deserve the title as much as anyone. As for underdogs and favourites, I dont care what the bookies say or what the ex players preach ... the season's best, most exciting team doesn't always win the league and United proved that last year ;)
 
redhed17 said:
The last four years Liverpool have finished 7,6,8,7, so you could say they haven't performed for a few years, or you could say that they weren't that good. Rodgers has still improved them a lot in a short space of time.
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redhed17 said:
It hasn't felt like the press have loved Liverpool. :eek: I think even the most anti Liverpool person can not but admire the style Liverpool have been playing this season. And for the title, Liverpool are, and have been the underdogs compared to Chel$ki and Cit€h, and most neutrals go for the underdog, especially if they are playing attractive football.
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Rogers has improved them there's no doubt about that.

At the start of the season I'd have agreed that Liverpool were underdogs but as the season progressed you could argue circumstances favoured them. Whilst City and Chelsea have been very stop starty after managerial changes, this season's Liverpool side are about the best side I can remember without European football to juggle and they didn't have prolonged cup runs either.

Whilst I think Liverpool fully deserve the title, I think this year was perfect for them and it was also Arsenal's big chance too.

As for the press. I wouldn't say they've 'loved' Liverpool but the press love a story and let's be honest, Liverpool's push for the title after 24 years is far more of a story than the same old City or Chelsea challenge. It was exactly the same with United after their 26 year wait.
 
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Circumstances may have favoured Liverpool but they also favoured Arsenal and Spurs, but you have to take advantage of it. ;-) Spurs at least spent the (Bale) cash to try and take advantage of the changing times, even if it didn't work out for them.

And you can decide how you go out to play, you can go out with a strong defence were you don't have to rely on too many goals like Chel$ki (luckily for their misfiring forwards ; -) lol) but not be the most exciting, or you can go for the Cit€h route and try and outscore the opposition and maybe be a good team to watch. Liverpool have gone the Cit€h route, maybe out of necessity, but they have done it so well.

Obviously the aim is to have a great defence and attack but you normally favour one over the other.
 
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What a league and what a season. :eek:

Moaninho loses at home for the first time to Sunderland. :eek: Yes, Sunderland, rock bottom of the league. :eek:

Well done Sunderland. :clap: 4 points, and should have been 6, from two of the top teams going for the title.

Chel$ki didn't play well. They just huffed and puffed. It could have went either way though. Some dodgy decisions on either side, Ramires looks back and smacks Larsson in the face with his forearm five yards in front of the Ref, who was looking the other way. The Sunderland penalty was soft, but I can see why it was given seeing where the officials were.

And then a Liverpool player (on loan) scores the penalty. :LOL: Especially good against a team who have got so many players out on loan around the world.

Bit of a poor showing from the Chel$ki crowd. A bit quiet, and I couldn't believe people were leaving early. :thinking: What do they go to games for if it's not drama like that? Just go to Stamford Bridge to see the team win? I have never left a game early (when I used to go) in my life. Anything can happen in a football match, especially in this league.

Still twists and turns to come. What a season. :clap:
 
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Incredible isn't it? In glad tomorrows game is at noon - don't think I could last any longer.
 
Well after the week Sunderland have had I don't neccessarily see me needing a quick growth fluid for my fingernails tomorrow. Although depending on the score with 10 minutes to go I may well need plasters again, just like last week. If only I could get to my toenails still they might take a hammering every now and again. Good luck to the Liverpool lads tomorrow and here's hoping for another Suarez hat trick.
 
Just saw a story about the Sunday gossip columns on the BBC teletext "Spurs are eying up a move for Utd striker Danny Welbeck, 23, as Daniel Levy looks for a top class striker. (Sunday. Mirror)"
The word "Oxymoron" jumped into my head. ;-) Lol
 
It's looking good for Liverpool at the moment, but remember, it's not over yet. There's still some important matches to come and a lot of points to play for amongst the top three, and a few dropped points could swing it any way.
 
Liverpool need to step it up again in the second half. These 2-0 leads are wrecking my nerves :eek:
 
johnnypanic said:
Liverpool need to step it up again in the second half. These 2-0 leads are wrecking my nerves :eek:
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Yeah. The sky team said they needed another goal.

Seriously? Two nil was supposed to be a good cushion! Although I guess watching the city game last week.....
 
Happy days, now guaranteed Champions League, next season. Feel sorry for Norwich but so glad we held our nerve.
 
PHEW!!! Thank god that's over with. If we have to win ugly then so be it. I'm going to need some false nails for next week I think. All we need now is for Citeh to drop points against West Brom and it'll be another perfect footballing weekend for me. Would like to see Everton climb back into 4th spot today and I'm hoping they can do a job on Citeh when they play soon. It's a good job we've got a few players names beginning with S, so that S.A.S. do it again, even when one of them is out. YNWA
 
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Got through another one. Great start by Liverpool, but Norwich came back deserved something out of the game. Sterling was on fire. The speed he has running at/past players must be terrifying for defenders.

Liverpool sat back too much towards the end which made it very nervy.

Weird, I was more nervy last week, as I think I expected a slip up against Norwich. :LOL:
 
redhed17 said:
Great that we're in the Champions League, :) main objective achieved.

Hopefully we go into it as actual Champions. ;) :LOL:
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I know you Liverpool boys and girls don't want to admit it but it will be a bitter disappointment now if you don't win the title you are surely favourites and good luck to you. Hope you do it because you have the history, the pedigree and on top of that Steven Gerrard, he deserves a premier league medal for the great player he is and his loyalty to the club. If you do it what a great year to win it for the fans 25 years after Hillsborough.

Steve
 
dinners said:
I think we believed it before you guys ;)
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I live in hope, (in my heart ;)) but I won't believe it till it is impossible to lose it.

Too may disappointments over the years, and too many twists and turns this year to take anything for granted. It's looking good though. :)
 
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