{"id":1353,"date":"2018-09-12T09:01:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T09:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=1353"},"modified":"2018-09-12T09:01:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T09:01:05","slug":"liverpool-and-this-seasons-various-competitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-and-this-seasons-various-competitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool And This Season\u2019s Various Competitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Liverpool And This Season\u2019s Various Competitions<\/h1>\n<p>I wrote in my piece last week that I despise the international break. There are countless reasons for that, not least of which is that boring friendlies are about the most tedious types of football match that you can watch. There\u2019s also the fact that some international managers simply don\u2019t care about club players and therefore don\u2019t do enough to protect them. That\u2019s ok for the likes of Manchester City, who mysteriously haven\u2019t had many of their players called up this time around, but for Liverpool it has caused us more than a few problems over the years. I have to be honest, though, and admit that there\u2019s also the fact that, from a selfish point of view, it\u2019s difficult to think of what to write about when there\u2019s not much going on at Anfield worthy of the distraction. The friendly between a James Milner XI and a Stan Petrov team at Celtic Park was for a great cause, but it\u2019s hardly something I can write in-depth about.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">International break is over. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/S8nmPwnDfL\">pic.twitter.com\/S8nmPwnDfL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 mesut subhana ozil (@Ozileness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ozileness\/status\/1039783174719647744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes things fall nicely into your lap, such as when the Champions League draw was made, but most of the time you need to consider what might be interesting for people to read. I could have written about the wild and absolutely bonkers response that I\u2019ve had to a recent tweet I sent, but I decided that Evertonians have enough to worry about at the moment. If you\u2019re wondering what I\u2019m referring to, I tweeted the other day that when I got married, some of my friends sang You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone at the start of the wedding breakfast and a Bluenose friend of my mum and dad walked out. The responses I had ranged from half of the blues saying that they\u2019d have done it too and the other half saying I\u2019d made it up. There were also some people that called my new wife a \u2018slag\u2019 and others that invoked Heysel as a response. Twitter is exactly as mental as some people say sometimes. Anyway, instead of that, I\u2019ve written this.<\/p>\n<h2>The Premier League<\/h2>\n<p>I will make no bones about it, this is where I believe the Reds should concentrate all of their effort and energy this season. It is absolutely tragic that we haven\u2019t won the league since it got its rebrand in 1992 and became the Premier League, though most sensible people would admit that there have been plenty of mitigating factors behind our failure over the years. From the boardroom fallout between Tom Hicks and George Gillett through to the financial might of Manchester United, we have stumbled too often over the past three decades. Now, however, we\u2019re in the best state that we\u2019ve ever been in, with supporters, owners, players and staff all pulling in the same direction and all with one common aim: to make the club successful.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">One <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a> official has suggested that the mood around the club is the best he has known.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the first time in years, everyone is pulling in the same direction. Everyone is smiling. That\u2019s nearly all down to Klopp. He has unified the whole club.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OliverKayTimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@OliverKayTimes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AnfieldHQ\/status\/1027232427578728448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rival fans want us to believe that there\u2019s pressure on J\u00fcrgen Klopp and his backroom staff, but that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. They point to the money spent as proof that he should be winning a trophy this time around, happily turning a blind eye to the income received from player sales like the \u00a3142 million Barcelona sent our way for Philippe Coutinho. They also ignore that the likes of the two Manchester clubs have spent significantly more than us over the past five years and our player purchases still put us as the team that has spent the fifth largest amount in recent times. In other words, the only pressure on the manager is that put on him by himself, which is about the healthiest sort of pressure you can have. Even so, we\u2019ve now got a decent looking team and, injuries permitting, should be able to challenge at the top.<\/p>\n<p>Personally I\u2019m of the opinion that Pep Guardiola\u2019s side might just have half an eye on the Champions League this time around. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the Spaniard is about as talented a manager as there is in the game, provided he\u2019s allowed to spend bags and bags of money. He\u2019ll know how to get his players focussed on more than one objective at once. Yet there\u2019s also a reason why no team since Alex Ferguson\u2019s United side in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 has been able to win consecutive titles, which is that it\u2019s difficult to get players to do what they\u2019ve already done If City have a match against Real Madrid on Wednesday night and a dog of a game away to Burnley on the Saturday, you can\u2019t tell me that they\u2019ll be able to get themselves as up for the latter as they did last season. The Sheikh\u2019s that pay their wages want the prestige of a European Cup, after all.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1110\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_3186-533x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"533\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_3186-533x400.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_3186-267x200.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_3186-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_3186-65x50.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And so, if he\u2019s faced with a choice between playing our strongest team in the Champions League or in the domestic division, I desperately hope that Klopp opts for the latter. All it will take is for City to be one or two percent off their game and that could be all the opening that we need, provided that we\u2019ve been keeping our eyes on the prize. It will take a monumental effort to win the title and we\u2019ll have more of an idea both of the manager\u2019s intentions and our ability to actually do it once we\u2019ve made it to the other side of the next month or so, but for me the most important thing is that we remain in the chase when April and may roll around. Do that and we might just have what it takes to finally bring the greatest prize in English football back to its spiritual home.<\/p>\n<h2>The Champions League<\/h2>\n<p>Last season was a thrilling, exciting, wild ride for the club. Two season ago, when we were beating all of the best teams but dropping points to the rubbish ones, people joked that we\u2019d \u2018just win the Champions League then\u2019, but nobody really expected us to do it. That we marched to the final in such style, never truly seeming to be under threat at any stage of the competition, is a testament to the belief and ability present in J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s side. Let\u2019s also not forget that we managed it whilst blooding in two youngsters to the right-back spot, having central defenders that everyone said were rubbish and a pair of goalkeepers that had their own weaknesses that needed to be coped with. In the end, it was a remarkable achievement to even be involved in the final, let alone come within two goalkeeping errors of getting something out of it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fr\">Champions League fixtures on 18\/19 September:<\/p>\n<p>&#x1f3f4;&#xe0067;&#xe0062;&#xe0065;&#xe006e;&#xe0067;&#xe007f; Liverpool vs. PSG &#x1f1eb;&#x1f1f7;<br \/>\n&#x1f1eb;&#x1f1f7; Monaco vs. Atl\u00e9tico &#x1f1ea;&#x1f1f8;<br \/>\n&#x1f1ee;&#x1f1f9; Inter vs. Spurs &#x1f3f4;&#xe0067;&#xe0062;&#xe0065;&#xe006e;&#xe0067;&#xe007f;<br \/>\n&#x1f3f4;&#xe0067;&#xe0062;&#xe0065;&#xe006e;&#xe0067;&#xe007f; Man City vs. Lyon &#x1f1eb;&#x1f1f7;<br \/>\n&#x1f1ea;&#x1f1f8; Real Madrid vs. Roma &#x1f1ee;&#x1f1f9;<br \/>\n&#x1f1ea;&#x1f1f8; Valencia vs. Juventus &#x1f1ee;&#x1f1f9;<br \/>\n&#x1f1f5;&#x1f1f9; Benfica vs. Bayern &#x1f1e9;&#x1f1ea; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HrrMihXXUz\">pic.twitter.com\/HrrMihXXUz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SpOrTs ToWn. (@Sportstown01) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sportstown01\/status\/1039634186204839939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That, combined with the club\u2019s well-storied history in the competition, means that I\u2019m loathe to say what I\u2019m about to say. The truth is, though, that I won\u2019t mind if we\u2019re knocked out of the Champions League relatively early. I know that\u2019s virtually sacrilege to some supporters but, as I\u2019ve already said, I want the Premier League title. I don\u2019t believe that we\u2019re strong enough just yet to compete on two fronts and I would not be heartbroken if our European adventure was the one that took an early bath. I want us to make it out of the group stage comfortably, if for no other reason than the threat of the Europa League is enough to make anyone shudder, but after that I\u2019m not bothered how far we go. If our league form doesn\u2019t seem to being affected then obviously another run would be fun to witness, but if the manager has to concentrate his efforts on just the domestic competitions then so be it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-32\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/trophies-680.jpg\" alt=\"Trophies\" width=\"680\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/trophies-680.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/trophies-680-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/trophies-680-65x50.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say that I actively want us to get knocked out, of course. The extent to which us being so good in Europe riles out Premier League rivals can\u2019t be understated. Manchester City will be hoping for some revenge for our 5-1 win over them last time out so if we\u2019re able to knock them out again then it would surely start to play on their minds and maybe even affect Pep\u2019s judgement when it comes to how to deal with Klopp\u2019s team and tactics. If we can go further than Jos\u00e9 Mourinho\u2019s Manchester United then it might further the notion that he is yesterday\u2019s man; that\u2019s if he\u2019s even still in charge at Old Trafford by the time that the knockout stages get underway. I would love it if we could add number six to our trophy cabinet, but the second it looks as though it\u2019s affecting our league form I\u2019m afraid my loyalty will switch without compunction.<\/p>\n<h2>The FA Cup<\/h2>\n<p>Of the four trophies on offer, this is the one I care least about. The Football Association only has itself to blame for the fact that so many supporters are no longer bothered about their flagship tournament. They\u2019ve been warned time and again that people are finding it more and more tedious, yet they do nothing to try to get people to engage in it once more. From my own point of view, the biggest mistake that they made was taking the semi-finals away from neutral venues and forcing them to be played at Wembley. Not only did it demonstrate their own self-interest in terms of needing to raise money for their white elephant of a stadium, but it also showed their complete and utter contempt for supporters outside of London.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">1965 FA Cup Winners, Liverpool FC <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PFDwW7eGWg\">pic.twitter.com\/PFDwW7eGWg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kathleen (@oldpicposter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oldpicposter\/status\/1039617050719789056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I also find myself thinking about the X-Factor when I think of the Wembley-based semis. When the X-Factor had live shows from the first moment, it took away the possibility of watching contestants go on a journey. Seeing how they would react to being in front of a crowd was half of the fun of watching the finals, so putting an audience in front of them immediately made it all a bit anti-climactic. Likewise, the FA deciding to host the semi-finals in the same venue as the final has taken the edge of it all for me. Getting to Wembley was one of the exciting parts of the FA Cup journey, but now supporters and players alike see the lustre has gone. Obviously I would be delighted if we ended up winning it, but if the manager wants to play weakened sides in it then I wouldn\u2019t mind one bit.<\/p>\n<h2>The League Cup<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of playing weakened sides, what will J\u00fcrgen Klopp opt to do for our League Cup match against Chelsea, I wonder? On the one hand, it\u2019s a competition that traditionally sees the youth players and those on the outskirts of the squad get a run out, yet on the other it\u2019s now a match against one of our rivals that we play again in the league a few days later. I actually like it when managers try to win this because it\u2019s a competition early in the season that can give the players a taste of success. I think there\u2019s a reason that we\u2019ve won it more than any other team and why Mourinho used to target it with Chelsea, knowing that getting a trophy in the cabinet is a useful thing to have. On the flip side of that, of course, is the fact that it can start to see your league form deteriorate thanks to nonsense such as the two-legged semi-finals.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It\u2019s crazy to think that in 3 years Jurgen Klopp turned Liverpool from a laughing stock to 2 european finals, a league cup final and be title contenders. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GOAT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GOAT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 H\u0106. (@MhectorC11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MhectorC11\/status\/1039680222017282058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also not totally delighted by the fact that I\u2019m almost certainly going to have to watch Simon Mignolet play football for us again when the tournament gets underway. It is, however, a chance for the manager to give players a chance to prove their worth to him and try to convince him that they deserve a place in the starting eleven. Lads like Daniel Sturridge, Xherdan Shakiri and even Dominic Solanke will want to impress both the gaffer and the supporters when the opportunity arises. The good news is that, for the first time in a long time, there isn\u2019t too much of a drop off from the first eleven to the second-string nowadays. I won\u2019t mind us going far in this, provided the manager will stick to his guns and rotate, rotate, rotate. Do that all the way through the competition and we\u2019ll not only give the squad players something to fight for but also the supporters something to get excited over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool And This Season\u2019s Various Competitions I wrote in my piece last week that I despise the international break. There are countless reasons for that, not least of which is that boring friendlies are about the most tedious types of football match that you can watch. There\u2019s also the fact that some international managers simply don\u2019t care about club players and therefore don\u2019t do enough to protect them. That\u2019s ok for the likes of Manchester City, who mysteriously haven\u2019t had many of their players called up this time around, but for Liverpool it has caused us more than a few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1354,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1353\/revisions\/1354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}