Liverpool thread 2019/20

[pudge]

You can level that at every CL winner pretty much.

But one thing is constant throughout; every one of them won the big matches at the big times. That’s why they won. Same as league title winners. There bumps and scrapes along the way but at the end they’re the ones on top. Football isn’t a linear process, it never has been.

Was the first leg at the Nou Camp not a big match then?

Was topping the group not a big achievement?

The very fact that teams have a chance to win "big games" despite the aforementioned moments is a testament to the "back door" capabilities of the Champions League. If there wasn't a second leg, a top two qualifying, away goals etc. The league is black and white; if you're not first, you're last. If we bummed you 3-0 we'd get three points and you none. Instead of you having another 90 minutes to steal those same three points.

Engage your brain, don't be thick la.

 

[give it to gordon]

I’ve seen my team win the league plenty of times. And the CL/European Cup is the pinnacle of excellence in the modern game, to suggest otherwise is crazy. That’s why most big clubs have had success in that area.

how can a knock out competition be regarded better than a league over 38 games. Who says its the pinnacle its a competition where you can lose 4 times in the mini league and still win and still get lucky in the knock out rounds. A league ( with a fair playing field not this year as VAR has made sure which team wins ) is a more true indictor of how good you are. I guess you think the FA Cup is more important than the league, as every team in England enters the FA Cup so the winner must be the best team in England !

 

[I'm With Stupid]

You can level that at every CL winner pretty much.

Not to labour it, but I think that's kinda the point.

Any knockout competition will always have a greater element of luck involved. Otherwise almost by definition winning the FA Cup or League Cup would be as big an achievement as winning the Premier League. After all, they both have the same teams in them, and it's difficult to win either without winning some big matches along the way.

 

[Greggery Peccary]

how can a knock out competition be regarded better than a league over 38 games. Who says its the pinnacle its a competition where you can lose 4 times in the mini league and still win and still get lucky in the knock out rounds. A league ( with a fair playing field not this year as VAR has made sure which team wins ) is a more true indictor of how good you are. I guess you think the FA Cup is more important than the league, as every team in England enters the FA Cup so the winner must be the best team in England !

I don’t think of it in those terms. The domestic game is the nominal bread and butter of course. You can’t enter any European competition without doing well in them and our league is as competitive as any. Thus those who are able to qualify from England have proven themselves over a period against top class opposition and worthy of a crack at the competition with the cream of the other big European leagues. The tournament, as I said above, is only for the best teams in the league for that season and allows them to measure themselves against their contemporaries. That’s why I said it was the pinnacle of footballing excellence because 90% odd of the best players in the game are in it every year. It doesn’t diminish the scale of the domestic league, quite the opposite. One is the only way into the other, there doesn’t have to be a dichotomy.

 

[Grassland Blue]

It is the champions league,only champions should be in it

I’ve seen my team win the league plenty of times. And the CL/European Cup is the pinnacle of excellence in the modern game, to suggest otherwise is crazy. That’s why most big clubs have had success in that area.

So the league can wait a while then as you aren't so desperate to win it?
The champions league is a misnomer and rigged to boot.
That is why we, as fans, don't set much stall on winning it, unlike our owners, who have their reasons for doing so.
It won't be long before we appear in court to embarrass UEFA in front of the world.
I think that Liverfools hacking of our computers will play some part too.
My main concern is the route which the premier league is taking. Will that be a tainted trophy soon?

 

[give it to gordon]

I don’t think of it in those terms. The domestic game is the nominal bread and butter of course. You can’t enter any European competition without doing well in them and our league is as competitive as any. Thus those who are able to qualify from England have proven themselves over a period against top class opposition and worthy of a crack at the competition with the cream of the other big European leagues. The tournament, as I said above, is only for the best teams in the league for that season and allows them to measure themselves against their contemporaries. That’s why I said it was the pinnacle of footballing excellence because 90% odd of the best players in the game are in it every year. It doesn’t diminish the scale of the domestic league, quite the opposite. One is the only way into the other, there doesn’t have to be a dichotomy.

last time you won the CL you finished 25 points behind the league winners and than lost 4 , drew 1 to win it …..lots of luck….so that's it the pinnacle ?

 

[Greggery Peccary]

Was the first leg at the Nou Camp not a big match then?

Was topping the group not a big achievement?

The very fact that teams have a chance to win "big games" despite the aforementioned moments is a testament to the "back door" capabilities of the Champions League. If there wasn't a second leg, a top two qualifying, away goals etc. The league is black and white; if you're not first, you're last. If we bummed you 3-0 we'd get three points and you none. Instead of you having another 90 minutes to steal those same three points.

Engage your brain, don't be thick la.

The first leg was important, obviously. But in two legged game, the second has more weight. Especially when you’re 3-0 down.
The fact is that the hybrid of league & cup will always throw crazy moments up. But I don’t think that it denigrates any of the winners’ achievements, every single one of them produced performances that got them to the final and on to the podium or up the steps. Same as the league, first is first.

 

[Vienna_70]

I’ve seen my team win the league plenty of times. And the CL/European Cup is the pinnacle of excellence in the modern game, to suggest otherwise is crazy. That’s why most big clubs have had success in that area.

The greatest British manager ever, Brian Clough, said he would rather win the league title than the European Cup, as it’s a far better gauge of a team’s consistency over the course of a season.

So, no, the CL/EC is not the pinnacle of excellence, though it might be the pinnacle of glory in the European game.

 

[Greggery Peccary]

last time you won the CL you finished 25 points behind the league winners and than lost 4 , drew 1 to win it …..lots of luck….so that's it the pinnacle ?

I’ve just said in another reply that this format throws up crazy moments. But there isn’t one winner ever who won by beating nobodies and producing nothing worthy of winners. That’s a fact.

 

[pudge]

The first leg was important, obviously. But in two legged game, the second has more weight. Especially when you’re 3-0 down.
The fact is that the hybrid of league & cup will always throw crazy moments up. But I don’t think that it denigrates any of the winners’ achievements, every single one of them produced performances that got them to the final and on to the podium or up the steps. Same as the league, first is first.

How is "first is first" when you can finish second in your group, lose 50% of your group matches, and still progress?

Sure the FA Cup and Carabao Cup are by extension greater achievements. As just like the Champions League, you don't have to have won your league to qualify.

All you're doing is validating the idea of the fabricated aura around the competition as none of your points have any inherent sporting merit.

Are you all there?