{"id":762,"date":"2016-12-23T11:39:14","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T11:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=762"},"modified":"2016-12-23T11:39:14","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T11:39:14","slug":"liverpool-football-club-all-i-want-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-all-i-want-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club – All I Want For Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year again. Wherever you go it you won\u2019t have to wait long before you hear either All I Want For Christmas<\/strong> or It\u2019s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas<\/strong>. The latter is only really true if Christmas looks like grey skies and tacky lights. Trees are being decorated, stockings filled and presents are being wrapped. Liverpool fans have a couple of days to wait before we get to see the Reds play again, though, so I thought I\u2019d do something a bit different.<\/p>\n

\"It's

It’s Christmas Time<\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s no match for me to review. I\u2019ve already had a look at all of our rivals. I\u2019ve explored the merits and weaknesses of our squad. So I found myself asking, \u201cWhat do I want for Christmas from a sporting point of view?\u201d What exciting and interesting things could 2017 have in store for us all? You\u2019ll probably have your own desires and wishes, of course, so feel free to put them in the comments section. I\u2019ll try to tweet out<\/a> some of the more interesting answers. For now, though, here are mine.<\/p>\n

To Be In The Title Race<\/h2>\n

It would be the easiest thing in the world to tweet and say that I want us to win the title. Of course I do. There are times when that consumes my every waking thought. I\u2019d give anything to see the Premier League trophy arrive at Anfield in May. If you\u2019ve followed my blogs regularly then you\u2019ll know that I believe we\u2019ve got a really good chance of achieving that, too.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s too<\/strong> easy to say that, though. It\u2019s too simplistic. We can\u2019t win the title in December anyway. The trophy won\u2019t know its destiny until the end of the season. What I want, therefore, is for us to still be in the title race when the new year gets underway.<\/p>\n

\"Trophies\"<\/p>\n

Obviously whatever happens we won\u2019t be out<\/strong> of the title race on January the first, even if we lose to both Manchester City and Stoke and Chelsea win both of their games we\u2019ll still have a mathematical chance of winning it, even if it would be extremely unlikely.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing, though. In too many previous years the Reds have been nowhere near the summit at the turn of the year. With the exception of 2013-2014, Liverpool in the last few seasons have spent Christmas wishing for a top-four challenge. The league has been little more than a pipe dream. Supporters have been quick enough to declare us done and dusted by this stage of previous campaigns.<\/p>\n

With that being the case, then, there\u2019s nothing wrong with saying that we\u2019re in the race now. We\u2019re only six points shy of Chelsea and they\u2019ve got to come to Anfield. It\u2019s true that it\u2019s difficult to see them dropping points any time soon but Antonio Conte\u2019s side can\u2019t keep winning forever. They haven\u2019t had to deal with an injury crisis in the same way that we have and if they do it will be interesting to see how they respond.<\/p>\n

\"mooinblack

mooinblack \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Apparently Alex Ferguson always used to say that as long as his side were in touching distance of the team at the top at Christmas then he believed Manchester United would have a chance of winning it. Well, we\u2019re very much within touching distance and we\u2019re in a good position insomuch as Chelsea, City, Arsenal and Spurs have all got to come to Anfield. Our only tough away fixtures on paper are trips to Old Trafford and The Etihad.<\/p>\n

So wish number one for me is to remain in the title race through to the business end of 2017. If we can be there or there about then I genuinely believe that the Liverpool crowd has the ability to push us over the line. Anfield, when it\u2019s rocking, is one of the toughest grounds in world football to go to. Let\u2019s keep ourselves involved and see what happens when the dust settles.<\/p>\n

A Sadio Man\u00e9 Replacement<\/h2>\n

Presuming as I am that Senegal are likely to do quite well at the African Cup Of Nations and our winger is going to be missing for the majority of the tournament, it feels vitally important that we bring in a suitable replacement for him whilst he\u2019s gone. He\u2019s probably not our best player but his pace causes teams problems and we\u2019re going to miss him.<\/p>\n

There are rumours that we\u2019re likely to make an offer for Wilfried Zaha<\/a> in January and I can see why. Don\u2019t be fooled by the fact that he plays for Crystal Palace. He\u2019s a brilliant talent and has notched up three goals and six assists for the Eagles so far this campaign. Not bad when you consider that they\u2019re genuinely terrible. He\u2019s also achieving 4.4 dribbles per game, which is 1.8 more than the man he\u2019s likely to replace temporarily. If you\u2019re unconvinced then click the link and red the article; you might just change your mind.<\/p>\n

\"Photo-Works

Photo-Works \/ Bigstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Whether it\u2019s Zaha or someone else that J\u00fcrgen Klopp looks to bring in I don\u2019t really care, I just don\u2019t want to us to be an attacking player down at a time when it matters the most. There are many different things that a team needs in order to challenge for the Premier League title. They need to be organised in defence. They have to be able to control the midfield when needed. Obviously they need goals.<\/p>\n

One of the things that can make the biggest difference, especially against the more \u2018dogs of war\u2019 teams that you sometimes go up against, is speed. That\u2019s why Man\u00e9\u2019s been so influential. He started his Liverpool career like an absolute firecracker and rightly earned comparisons with John Barnes. He\u2019s not been at his absolute best of late but he\u2019s still been dangerous precisely because of the turn of pace that he\u2019s got to terrorise defences. If he\u2019s not going to be around for more then a month then I\u2019d like us to bring in someone who can do that in his stead.<\/p>\n

No More Injuries<\/h2>\n

The faceless egg on Twitter might like to lay the blame firmly at J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s doorstep, but the truth is that we\u2019ve been remarkably unlucky with injuries at times so far this season. From the weird moment in pre-season when Loris Karius broke a finger on Dejan Lovren\u2019s head right the way through to Emre Can being out after clashing knees with Divock Origi in training, we\u2019ve suffered some irritating blows on the injury front.<\/p>\n

There are occasions when teams absolutely runaway with the Premier League and seem utterly unstoppable; the Arsenal \u2018Invincibles’ season is a good example of that. There are other times when no one else seems interested and only one team has the ability to play consistently enough to claim the crown, with Leicester City last season proving that.<\/p>\n

\"Kostas-Koutsatfikis

Kostas-Koutsatfikis \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Most of the time, though, there are two or three teams competing for the top honour and it comes down to a combination of factors and luck is definitely one of them. For all that Leicester deserved the title last season they didn\u2019t lose Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez or Ngolo Kante for long periods of time so they didn\u2019t need to find out just how strong their squad was.<\/p>\n

Now I actually think our squad is reasonably strong and I’ve written as much in the past<\/a>. Yet when you get a number of injuries to players who like to perform in the same area of the pitch then even the best of squads can begin to look weak. People have pointed to our bench in recent games as a sign of how much work our squad still needs, seemingly happy to ignore the fact that Danny Ings, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can have been missing for varying lengths of time.<\/p>\n

The faceless egg on Twitter might be quick to blame it all on Klopp, yet we know that Daniel Sturridge is prone to one of these mystery injuries every now and then. We also know that the German isn\u2019t responsible for Coutinho getting his foot kicked in a tackle by a Sunderland player. Nor is the manager to blame for whatever weird ankle issue it is that Joel Matip is struggling to shake off at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"Klopp\"

Klopp<\/p><\/div>\n

Give me a fully fit Liverpool squad for the rest of the season and I think it will take a very good team indeed to stop us from winning the title. That\u2019s how important our players are. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019ve been impressed with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn when they\u2019ve had to come into the side. I\u2019d just far rather see Daniel Sturridge and Nathaniel Clyne if I was given the option.<\/p>\n

The Rub Of The Green<\/h2>\n

Suggesting that football results are entirely down to luck is, frankly, wrong. There are, as I\u2019ve already said, a number of things that go into deciding whether or not a team is good enough to win the league. Yet we also can\u2019t pretend that luck makes no difference whatsoever.<\/p>\n

In 2013-2014 Raheem Sterling was flagged offside when he was racing through on Manchester City\u2019s goal. The naked eye suggested the assistant referee had made a mistake and replays confirmed as much, with the the England winger appearing to be about five yards onside. We went on to lose that game 2-1 and we lost the league by two points.<\/p>\n

\"By

By Biser Todorov (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Has Sterling been correctly ruled to be onside he would more likely than not have scored past Joe Hart and we would probably have drawn that game at the very least. If we didn\u2019t need to rack up a ridiculous scoreline against Crystal Palace then I don\u2019t believe for one second that we draw that match at Selhurst Park at the end of the season. We lost the title when Chelsea beat us at home.<\/p>\n

Of course there are a lot of ifs and buts in there, yet I\u2019m convinced that if we had a bit more luck in different situations – Steven Gerrard\u2019s slip being a prime example – then we aren\u2019t still waiting for our first Premier League title.<\/p>\n

So yes, I would like us to get the rub of the green a few times this season. There\u2019s nothing wrong with saying that luck is an element in winning things. You have to make your own luck, of course, yet you also need a little bit of help sometimes. Refereeing decisions going our way; balls bouncing to our players instead of the opposition\u2019s; deflections sending the ball into the other team\u2019s net rather than just wide of the post; these are the things we need to happen if Jordan Henderson is going to get to lift up the trophy in May.<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas<\/h2>\n

The next blog post I write will be my match review in the wake of the match against Stoke City. I\u2019d like to take this opportunity, therefore, to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you get everything that you\u2019ve asked for and you have a brilliant day with your loved ones.<\/p>\n

Christmas isn\u2019t easy for everyone, though, so I\u2019d also like to point you in the direction of The Samaritans who are there to help anyone that needs it. They\u2019re available on 116 123, which is a freephone number.<\/p>\n

\n

1 in 15 people have spent Xmas\/New Year alone. @samaritans<\/a> is here 365 days a year and can be reached, for free, by dialling 116 123 pic.twitter.com\/3AXMz0suEi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Samaritans (@samaritans) December 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n