Premier League (Boxing Day) Games

[waspish]

We do.

The dippers are European and World champions, PL champions in waiting and potential points record breakers. By June, Klopp will potentially have achieved all that Pep was brought in to do. And surpassed him. Forget luck, VAR, wank goalkeeping, injuries and all the rest. That’s what the history book will show.

...Unless we win the CL. Otherwise we’ll go down as an exciting PL team who excelled at home but - when push comes to shove - were limited to domestic success.​

Yep and fair play to him but we did the domestic treble something bacon said was impossible with how the fixtures are stacked! The league is a major achievement and deserved but cups you can get lucky.

 

[johnnytapia]

Actually it isn't absurd.

Results and performances are not the same thing. The table quite frequently lies.

First of all let me say that I believe Liverpool to be a phenomenal team. I also think City and Liverpool are the two best teams around right now.

However, the additional points Liverpool have earned from let's say luck (for the sake of argument) is the talk of the town in the football analytical community. It's beyond unprecedented. I listened to the most recent Double Pivot podcast as an example where the question was asked how are Liverpool achieving the results given that Man City's underlying statistics are much better (and they are) so how are they getting very very lucky or are they doing something tactically which has never been witnessed in the history of football? The answer was that they didn't know but that if Liverpool continued to play as they do their points per game was unsustainable. The question that is often skirted around should really be, given the stats, is there a third reason why Liverpool are so far ahead?

The last time I checked the Understat site Liverpool had 14 more points this season than their performances merited. That's incredible and a fantastic performance v Leicester doesn't change that.

Now all this will undoubtedly sound like sour grapes which is understandable but I will be the first to hold up my hands and say Liverpool might be the best team without whatever is going on but there is very little between City and Liverpool even now performance wise whereas the results would suggest otherwise. Until Liverpools performances and results start to reflect each other within boundaries that have been seen before in the history of football, I'm not joining in quite yet with the rhetoric and I would say the same if that was City.

You are David Icke and I claim my £5.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

They will be out the fa cup in a couple of weeks when Ancelotti turns them over, they will have just two things to play for I’m hoping Athletico kick them off the pitch in the CL or they may win that as well. We can relax now and play with a freedom we’ve nit really had for two seasons, I think we will end up around 9 points behind them by the end of the season I’m just hoping they don’t get 100 or more points.

The refs and VAR will ensure they do!

 

[Semper aggressus]

How does us spending stupidly in January stop them winning the league?

It doesn't, but spending on players who'd make a real difference could do.

 

[Semper aggressus]

We do.

The dippers are European and World champions, PL champions in waiting and potential points record breakers. By June, Klopp will potentially have achieved all that Pep was brought in to do. And surpassed him. Forget luck, VAR, wank goalkeeping, injuries and all the rest. That’s what the history book will show.

...Unless we win the CL. Otherwise we’ll go down as an exciting PL team who excelled at home but - when push comes to shove - were limited to domestic success.​

How have they managed those achievements yet we have better players and a better manager?

It must be down to consistently getting huge slices of luck in all its guises:
VAR
No injuries to key players.
Penalties given for blatant dives.
Keepers making once in a career howlers.
Playing when their opposition are off form/hampered by injury.

Plus we have the media scouse propaganda which opposition players must also see, they're shitting it before even getting off the bus at Anfield now.

But really, i think if we'd bought van dijk we'd be 10 points clear of them even this season.

 

[blueparrot]

How have they managed those achievements yet we have better players and a better manager?

It must be down to consistently getting huge slices of luck in all its guises:
VAR
No injuries to key players.
Penalties given for blatant dives.
Keepers making once in a career howlers.
Playing when their opposition are off form/hampered by injury.

Plus we have the media scouse propaganda which opposition players must also see, they're shitting it before even getting off the bus at Anfield now.

But really, i think if we'd bought van dijk we'd be 10 points clear of them even this season.

If we'd bought Van Dijk we wouldn't have Laporte. So only the fact that Laporte is injured and Van dijk isn't you are probably right. But Van dijk isn't better than Laporte, at least not for a Pep team.

 

[Nellies left peg]

Only part of my prediction was vardy would have goal ruled out. But Milner and his penalty is so predictable its sickening .Michael Oliver you are a complete bent cheating tool and I hope you get your come uppance like Madley did

 

[its grim up north]

No one wants to say it but Khaldoon fucked up mate.

Did he really? My memory was that Van Dick had nailed his colours to the Anfield mast, and that was where he was going.

 

[Cobwebcat]

You are David Icke and I claim my £5.

A dice rolls a 6 ten times on the bounce. Could be luck could also be loaded dice.

They’re a great team but I don’t discount they’re getting help whether consciously or unconsciously. What is without question is something is going on not seen before.

City fans are concentrating on us not being clinical as an explanation but our success rate is not far off what’s expected. It’s Liverpool that are getting undeserved points for a ridiculously long period...last season was strange this season is crazy.

As another poster correctly pointed out small decisions make a huge difference in a low scoring sport like football.

If it is some sort of conspiracy they’re doing a bad job as they should be reeling it in by now!

 

[jimharri]

Did he really? My memory was that Van Dick had nailed his colours to the Anfield mast, and that was where he was going.

Yep, that's how I remember it. Didn't the mickeys have to issue some form of apology to Southampton for an earlier attempt to sign him, which was found to have been an illegal approach?