Liverpool Won't Win The Premiership Title 2001-2

Hey, I was right about Chelsea in 5th, Spurs 7th, Everton top half.

Maybe it's only a downward spiral because they'd been so consistent before.

One question, who is currently top of the premiership?

But, anyway, to restate my view:

Chelsea reverse amazing, but a mere blip. A bit like a comedy series that uses all its best material in the pilot ("The Clairvoyant"!) or a band with one great debut single. There's not going to be any follow-up to this. I'd love to see an LFC festive slump, but they've just conceded all the goals they're going to for the rest of the year.

Arsenal the major challengers, and to really threaten they need to take at least a point on 23/12 (and, of course, win tonight - Bobby R due *something* in the capital by now, surely?). This is just the sort of game Houllier's Liverpool peak for (precisely the opposite with Evans). Leeds too flaky.

Very prepared to be wrong, wrong, wrong about this.

This should probably be a new thread, but I haven't got my New Threads badge yet.

I need to get excited about something.

I bet Bobby R's face is a picture. "Whelllll...."

Omar, have Ajax got any interesting matches lined up in early April?

Pinefox, I don't think LFC WILL win the premiership but I do think they can.

nothing really interesting, sort of mid-table to bottom teams. Tonight a semi-biggie though, at home against Vitesse.

Tel. call from gooner friend this am; he blithely shrugged away the result before I knew what it was: 'a hoot', he says, all down to G Poll; no worries, Arsenal were brilliant, blah.

I think that Bobby Robson's Newcastle being Dec 19 leaders is an absolute delight. And what a way to end that London run.

Sky Sports tells us that the mighty LFC managed only one strike on target vs Arsenal - which is a little harsh, considering Little Mikey Owen went so close via Ashley Cole's stumble. Justice was done I think, considering the whole van Bronckhorst nonsense (though, Mrs Edna W - an uncharacteristically sweary presence to my left throughout - correctly predicted Durkin's red-card reaction). I'll only be prepared to call this a slump if Liverpool fail to pick themselves up for trips to Villa (already victors at Anfield this season) and West Ham.

I didn't see the Leeds v Newcastle match, but it's a lovely thing to have an avuncular white-haired ol' fella as our Christmas number 1. I don't suppose they'll stay there...

By a five-goal margin, away from home? I think not. Good win at Villa though - vital, actually.

A depressing inevitability about the result at Goodison - I can't recall how many times Man U have poached a couple of late goals in fairly even contests with EFC over the last ten years, but I suspect it's more than three. Unsworth's miss = the end of any 2002 Royal Blue pretensions to top-half worthiness, let alone UEFA glory. Time to start practising that furtive over-the-shoulder glance.

Didn't see any of your match Mike but as far as I remember your boys do that a lot, give good teams a rough ride and then trip up at the last, and I had you down for a sneaky win yesterday too.

Sunderland away and Man Utd are hard nuts to crack, actually; esp. compared to Ipswich and Soton. A Black Xmas for both clubs. Newcastle keeping a rare flame burning, and good on them.

I fear that my previous predictions look more OTM than ever. I feel for the Pool fans out there. How long must they wait?

The sheer jamminess of LFC's win at Villa seems very redolent of their 80s style - a mini-slump would be followed by a tricky away fixture (possibly televised, with Ian St John summarising), promising further misery for the Reds. But, appallingly, the opposition would spurn chance after chance and Rushie would bag a later winner after some ludicrous fluke of a Craig Johnston equaliser. A fortnight later, they'd be top, immovable til May.

Once again, I do hope I'm wrong.

Its not the north or the south side
No its not
its not the east or the west side
no its not
It is the Darkside
That is correct!.

- Ian, you can never rule out Liverpool, can you?

- [Laughs] No, you *can't*... and isn't it incredible.. the number of times we've seen them a goal down, looking out of it, and at the end of the game they've got the three points... and -

- Sympathy for Ipswich?

- I *do*, I feel very sorry, very symptathetic for Ipswich, but [laughs] what can you do - we've said it time and again, we've come on here on a Sunday.

- And all thanks to this man.

- That man again! Well he just has this ability doesn't he, this *knack*, of - being on the spot when they need him. And, what can you say.

Inexplicably, Gerrard and Owen started on the bench. When those two came on in the second half it was a different story, and I think overall a draw was a fair result.

To have any chance at the title this season their key players will need to stay injury free.

Everton 0 Charlton 3: much sympathy for Mike J here, it's uncanny how his pessimism has been proved right. I wanted Everton to win this, but only because of who they were playing.

When Dr C returns I'd like to hear his thoughts on Chelsea's current run, because they're impressing me: Newcastle away is the sort of game they often lost to weaker sides under Vialli.

United win at Fulham tomorrow = they become favourites.

Odds-on early contender for eventual tombstone inscription?

Arsenal vs Leeds for the title; Liverpool slip gently away; Newcastle tumble; Villa and Tottenham start thinking of 7th place as key goal.

It's all turning out as I feared. (Hey! How about MY uncanny predictive pessimism?!...)

Except for:

Robin C is correct re. Chelsea - there's some kind of dangerous look about them.

Everton really did slump yesterday. Defeats to Leeds, Sunderland, United, OK; but 0-3 vs Charlton sounds like panic stations. Can they steady the ship? How?

No, we can't. No fit strikers, no money. Best playmakers = injury- prone 47yo ex-international nutcase or injury-prone balding Dane who is now making noises about wanting out. 13th at best.

Should Smith stay or go? I'm not sure, but perhaps Evertonians can at least take some relish from Liverpool's continuing sad slide?

Result of the day apart from Soton: Charlton, from 0-2 down to beat a team who'd won 3/3.

Next big fixtures to get all hot'n'bothered about:

Leeds-Arsenal, 20/1

Man U-Liverpool, 22/1

Absolute title-deciders, er, both of 'em. Right now, here in what I've decided should be pronounced Jan-OO-aree.

United stay in the hunt. Newcastle can be eliminated from serious title talk, EXCEPT that they already had been.

I still say Leeds, Arsenal in top 2; Utd in 3rd. Those are the top 3 anyway. Liverpool should manage 4th. Chelsea 5th as said all along.

Footy-minded acquaintance opines: Liverpool would succeed if it was the late 80s... they play like one of George Graham's old teams.

Agree, those fixtures look crunchy.

Perhaps that could do with its own thread.

No, I was thinking more of the way High Laurie rhymes 'January' with '1973' in his song "Mystery".

Did anyone see said game last night? I need a review as I was out watching live music (and very good it was too)

I've always supported the overdog.

I'm actually very glad that Man U-Liverpool has been rescheduled, as I'll be on a plane on 1/4...

JANUARY: Actress Elizabeth Hurley tells a shocked world that the father of her unborn child is Ipswich Town's manager, and that the tot will be given the surname Hurley-Burley. Dance music magazine Mixmag reveals the result of their search for the person who has attended the greatest number of different clubs in the past 12 months. The winner is Steve Bruce.

FEBRUARY: Bolton's slide down the Premiership table is explained when it is discovered that opposing defenders have been taking Vitamin D tablets to counteract the effects of Ricketts... Disappointing ticket sales for the Spice Girls' reunion tour begin to soar when it is announced that, in tribute to her husband, Victoria Beckham will start the concert on the bench.

MARCH: Paul Ince is arrested for leaving the scene of an accident after Arsene Wenger catches the Middlesbrough captain crashing into his 2CV, causing damage to the front bumper. However the case collapses when, in court, Wenger admits: "I did not see the Incey dent". The search for Osama Bin Laden switches to Craven Cottage amid rumours that the Al-Qaeda leader is trying to make contact with the sinister Al-Fayeda network. APRIL:

Elizabeth Hurley gives birth to a baby daughter whose head is covered in ringlets. She is christened Curly Girly Hurley-Burley. In another shock example of footballers behaving badly, the man who adds up the attendance figures at Anfield is assaulted by Liverpool stars. Says proud Phil Thompson: "My lads are the best counter- attacking side in football".

MAY: Blaming Leicester's relegation on a muscle-bound striker who doesn't score any goals, Dave Bassett finally sells Ade Akinbiyi. He immediately pays £10m to take Emile Heskey back from Liverpool. Arsenal win the title but at least Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand book Tottenham's place in Europe. They'll be going on a cheese- tasting coach trip round Belgium with Saga.

JUNE:

Following three straight defeats by Cameroon, Germany and Saudi Arabia, distraught Ireland boss Mick McCarthy flies home straight after the World Cup's first round. Impressed, the Scottish FA immediately offer him Craig Brown's old job. England's campaign ends in farce, all 23 players ruled out with food poisoning after Kieron Dyer persuades them to visit a South Korean restaurant. "I heard there were some tasty old dogs there," he sheepishly explains.

JULY: In the annual pre-season spending spree, Arsenal chairman David Dein raids Inter Milan for Ronaldo, Liverpool chairman David Moores raids Real Madrid for Roberto Carlos and Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis raids Burnley for some second-hand kit so he won't have to fork out for a new set. Middlesbrough's manager returns to Old Trafford as Manchester United's new boss after Sir Alex Ferguson is overheard saying he's "looking forward to spending a lot more time with McClaren". An even-redder-faced-than-usual Fergie later admits what he'd actually said was "I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with ma claret"?

AUGUST:

The new season begins with Liverpool kicking off in front of a capacity crowd at Anfield, Manchester United kicking off in front of an expectant Old Trafford and Leeds United kicking off in front of the Majestyk night-club. The Queen Mother celebrates her 102nd birthday with a telemessage from Bobby Robson. SEPTEMBER: The hunt for Bin Laden appears over when the FBI arrests a much- disliked bearded man who achieved infamy for wrecking the twin towers. Sadly, Ken Bates is later released without charge. Dennis Wise joins Fulham, then refuses to play anywhere other than up front. This gives the Cottagers a forward line of Steve Marlet and Cockney Rebel.

OCTOBER: Just six weeks into the season, newly-promoted Manchester City are losing each game by an average score of 7-4. Shell-shocked boss Kevin Keegan reveals he is considering tinkering with his revolutionary 0-0- 10 formation or, as a compromise, asking Shaun Goater to play as a fly goalie. Ariel Sharon names Dwight Yorke as Israel's new defence minister after his successful incursions into Jordan.

NOVEMBER:

The Queen Mother dies and as a mark of respect, Chelsea players on a drinking session lower their trousers to half-mast. Walter Smith leaves Everton, saying he needs more job security. He immediately becomes CEO of a leading Internet company.

DECEMBER:

As Christmas approaches, kindly Robbie Savage promises he'll try his best to make sure that everyone who tackles him gets a card, though whether it turns out to be yellow or red will depend on how gullible the referee is. A police report reveals a huge increase in drunk and disorderly arrests at Upton Park. Glenn Roeder says West Ham will try to hold their Christmas party elsewhere next year.

There's yr answer, Carsmile. After this mid-season flurry of excitement, seeing Man U top (and apparently pulling clear) only six weeks after apparently being 'out of the running' has taken the wind out of everyone's sails. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd actually quite like Liverpool to get a result at Old Trafford tomorrow. Just a draw, mind. With Arsenal mopping up three points vs Leicester the following night, it might get interesting again.

Newcastle, obviously, remain the team I'd like to see win it the most (but also the team I imagine with the greatest chance of fading to fifth or sixth), with Leeds a distant second.

As for the original question - well, now I've convinced myself that they won't (dangerous thinking, that) and, perhaps, defeats at Old Trafford and Elland Road might squash them out of the Champions' League picture too. Might be hoping for too much.

>>> seeing Man U top (and apparently pulling clear) only six weeks after apparently being 'out of the running' has taken the wind out of everyone's sails.

?? Not at all - it has reassured me that this might yet not all end in tears.

>>> I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd actually quite like Liverpool to get a result at Old Trafford tomorrow.

I can't believe you're saying it either.

>>> With Arsenal mopping up three points vs Leicester the following night, it might get interesting again.

Well - that would be one word for it.

Newcastle wil be 6th. Likely top 5, from the top: Arsenal / Man Utd / Leeds / Liverpool / Chelsea. 7th now looks like Villa (barring a storming couple of months at Goodison...)

What did Brian Moore say? - 'It's up for grabs now!'... (But still not, I think, Liverpool's for the grabbing.)

"and he answers his critics in the best way he knows!!"

I would write more (and more and more) but I've got a sodding team building course to go on in ten minutes :(

And Chelsea beating Spurs.

And yeah Stephen Wright took the ball off Giggs so many times in the second half.

"Credit is also due to Heskey".

And yes, Dr C is quite right about tonight's result.

"the largest centre half in captivity" - who? I thought N. Ruddock left Spurs years ago.

http://www.football365.com/mediastore/Story_Images/MediaWatch/hen rypantsposer.jpg

Arsenal snugglin' up next to Man U, I see.

Last night was a disgrace - Chelsea's performance was tactically inept, careless and lacking in effort. Only 3 players from the starting 11 deserved to pull on the shirt. Cudicini - several good saves and at least looked gutted, Terry - gifted a goal and played badly overall but gave 100% in trying to make up for it and Gudjohnsen who never stopped trying to score. The performances of some of our 'stars' were disgusting. Petit - get fit and get interested or get out! Last night's 'efforts' were an insult to the fans, your teammates and the management. Desailly - has frankly been a showboater since day one. He never wants to get involved against big, hard strikers (since Hartson roughed him up in his first season) and now can't cope with movement and pace either. Whatever he had once had gone before he ever came to The Bridge and he's got worse. We looked solid at the back when he was out injured and Ranieri played Gallas and Terry. Stanic - so utterly useless that, last night I actually began to feel sorry for him. Can't trap a ball, has no pace, doesn't communicate with the rest of the team and can't pass. When he played on the right I thought he was left footed and would do better on the left, but now we see that he can't do that either! A rarity - a no-footed footballer. He made SImon Davies look like Pele last night. I thought I'd seen the worst from him vs Arsenal over Christmas, but this was a new low. It's shocking that shit like Stanic is wearing the shirt when home-grown players like Muzzy Izzet, Micky Duberry and Jon Harley were let go. Melchiot - lazy, lethargic. Unable or unwilling to roll his sleeves up and do the basics like marking, tackling etc. Lampard - forget England, lad, you're not worth a place in Chelsea's team. Utterly invisible last night. Didn't support the strikers and didn't tackle back and help the beleaguered defence.

Possibly the most tragic aspect of last night's effort was the lack of leadership. With Desailly and Petit on the field you'd expect some leadership and direction for the team. Fuck all. Tactically we had no plan to combat the 3-5-2 and at 2-0 down we were still in it, in theory. When we did eventually switch to 3-5-2, Zola should have been brought on as a support player to the front 2. You can do that with 5 in midfield and it would have given us other options rather than hitting long to Hasslebaink or Einar.

Something's got to change. It's not acceptable to thrash West Ham and Norwich and then fail to turn up for the big ones. As I said, a disgrace. FWIW the sending off made no difference.

That said, I thought Spurs were magnificent last night, they just stopped Chelsea from playing, what were Chelsea thinking giving Sheringham all that space?

Gardner and King at the back were superb too.

This morning I heard a juicy rumour that Dwight Yorke trained at Mellwood (Liverpool's training ground) for three days before Christmas (and the arrival of Anelka and Baros) and ended up failing a medical!

It was nice to see Rebrov score last night. I still want him to stay but I think this is becoming an increasingly forlorn hope.

And yes Melchiot is awful, he was terrible against Ireland also as I recall. I want Spurs to win it after last night. You can't watch a game like that and remain neutral.

Lampard looked like a lost sheep for most of the match, I'm still not sure if he was ever worth the amount they paid for him, was it 8 or 9 million?

Oh dear.

Agree on Lampard though, he looked as if he'd turned up only to realise that the sick note his Mum had written him had fallen out his pocket on the way there and he had to play after all.

He honestly seems like he doesn't have a fuckin clue what he's up to "squad rotation" wise.

Which Squad has the thickest looking players? It's got to be between Chelsea (esp. if Le Saux isn't playing) or Liverpool (much as I love 'em)

It strikes me as a bit of a Roy Evans situation,at least how I felt when Evans was with the Pool, ie he's not doing badly enough to sack but deep down you feel he's never going to do THAT well and eventually will be sacked after wasting a few years.

Also John Terry truly fucked up for the first goal last night. Ridiculous stuff.

Sorry I love this html business.

Sami Hyypia. Jamie Carragher. Danny Murphy. Emile Heskey. Babbel looks like a mental patient. Ruud Van Nistelrooy is a bit dim looking too. Giggs looks on another planet half the time.

manyoo = Either of the Nevilles

Chelsea = John Terry or Jody Morris

Arsenal = Ray Parlour

Spurs = Steffen Freund (village idiot)

Sammi Hyppia doesn't look dumb, he looks like Chemical engineering graduate Dolph Lundgren, whereas John Arne Riise looks like star of Tron, Jack Talman.

Him-"Luke Chadwick, the new Peter Beardsley".

Me-"But he's shit..............................OH"

Ronan - if you mean should Ranieri go? Yes, of course. I've been saying so all season. And he will - if we don't get to the cup final Bates will pull the trigger. We'll never win anything with him at the helm. He can take Petit, Stanic, Desailly, Jokanovic, Dalla Bona, Lampard and Melchiot with him too. My money is on someone like Roy Hodgson to rebuild the team and get a bit of shape.

Edwin Van der Sar looks a bit thick. Most people with sticky outy ears do I suppose.

Dean Windass, he looks dead thick.

and my last thing before I leave, who looks clever? except Le Saux of course, that goes without saying. Dudek, he looks like he's got some book learning in him, as does Karl Heinz Reidle.

Who will come in at Villa? David Moyes from Preston? or Megson from the Baggies? or Dodgy Graham?

On a totally different note I was drinking that cheap red bull substitute with crap vodka last night and I had nightmares about Gerard Houllier and assorted Liverpool players past and present having fights in New York. Jesus it was scary.

Comedy quotation: Doug Ellis says "This shows the amount of pressure managers are under in the modern game". (File that one with the Krays' police programme.)

Gregory for Derby? Graham for Villa - yes, I think I can see that. (Imagine it - reunited with both Merson and Ginola!)

Dr C - did you see Big Ron in the Guardian today? Sounds like you and he might agree re. Chelsea.

He doesn't mention Roy Hodgson, though - that's an interesting one. I like Hodgson, though I can't quite explain why. I remember being so sad when they said he broke down in tears on being fired from Blackburn.

Roy Hodgson just seems like a thoroughly decent chap from what I've seen, and it looks as if Udinese shat on him terribly.

To answer one question though, I don't hold a lot of hope for winning it, but there is a glint there, just a glint, probably the same glint in the eyes of Arsenal, Leeds and Newcastle fans.

Also Red Cabbage is having things too much his own way at the moment and that's not good for him.

Then Edna thrashed me three times in table football *and* the machine swallowed my last 50p.

To change the subject though, where did Heskey find his shooting boots? I'm glad he did though.

England squad you say? Vassell, Rickets *and* Phillips on the team sheet? WTF?????

I think if Houllier had been around that dip in form wouldn't have lasted quite as long.

Agreed. (Didn't see it.)

WAHT

Chelsea's Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko has revealed how he would like to become part of the growing football revolution in America at some stage of his career. Shevchenko has failed to reproduce the kind of form which prompted Chelsea to pay AC Milan a record £30.1 million fee for him and the 30-year-old now admits to having an ambition to play in the US before he retires.

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