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It’s Important To Keep Expectations In Check

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I GUESS it was only inevitable really; Liverpool win and all of sudden everything is rosy again.

Just like after the previous defeat when we were clearly destined for relegation, many fans appear to have lost the ability of anything even slightly resembling perspective.

It was a confidence-boosting win on Sunday, for sure, but it wasn’t a great performance (we were battered by West Ham, at times) and we had a bit of luck.

I would however, argue that we sorely deserved that luck, given how many penalties we’ve had against us, how many dodgy ones have gone for and, simply put, how much referees just seem hell-bent on working for the opposition.

But a slightly fortunate win doesn’t mean the season has all of sudden turned around. We’ve had a decent run, losing one of our last 11 league games but it’s also important to note that half of those have been draws and have managed back-to-back league wins once this season.

Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely delighted with Sunday’s result but it was the manner in which we turned the game around that led (and I’m sure I’m not alone in this) to the over-the-top outburst of jubilation. When you snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, it’s like a sudden release of adrenaline, whereas a comfortable 3-0 victory would’ve been equally as welcome, I doubt many people would’ve overreacted so much. Myself included.

I am yet to be convinced by Rodgers as a manager, a tactician or a person and his dealings in the transfer market have left a little to be desired too. Many will argue that he hasn’t had as much money as previous managers but he’s still had some, and after a great start Joe Allen has struggled, while Borini wasn’t overly impressive before his injury and it would now appear that not even Rodgers wants to put Assaidi on. It becomes a concern when a manager starts questioning his own signings.

However, I’m still prepared to allow him time. Until the end of the season, at least. Some fans are now talking about us as potential Champions League contenders, but that is as much an overreaction as it is when fans become suicide risks after we’ve lost a game. And despite there now only being a 4 point gap between the Reds and 4th, that is as much due to the inconsistency of the likes of Tottenham, Everton (oh God, that hurts!) and Newcastle as it is any great form on our part.
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We have a pretty straightforward run-in through Christmas and the New Year, on paper, and with Suarez back and Lucas already seeming to have hit the ground running, there is obviously reason to be optimistic. All I ask is that the overreaction in both directions is tempered slightly. It’s ridiculous to shout the odds at fans for responding overly-negatively to a defeat and then become stupidly optimistic following a narrow win the weekend after.

It can be hard sometimes, particularly being a Red in the past three years. We’ve had some huge ups, followed by continual downs in the past three seasons, so it’s hard to keep things in perspective and excitement at unbeaten or winning runs – no matter how short – is to be expected, just as losing (or drawing) a couple on the bounce is going to lead to pessimism.

We’ve had three successive wins against three pretty good sides, kept two clean-sheets and over the next five games it wouldn’t be out of the question to hope for 12-15 points. With a good run of wins, maybe a signing or two to get excited about in January and bit more killer instinct in front of goal as a result, and maybe in the New Year there’ll be a reason to let our expectations run wild but until then, it’s crucial that we keep them in check, regardless of the result.
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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

27 comments

  • David Aris-Sutton says:

    “However, I’m still prepared to allow him time”

    Well isn’t that jolly decent of you? And if he doesn’t deliver this season?

    The fact is that he has been given the job based on a plan, apparently a 3 year plan, we have to base any assessment on the end of that period

    • Andy ,durham says:

      Nonsense , FSG expect champion’s league football now , not in 3 years . I think the title is a 3-5 year goal

  • Erin says:

    It was a good away win. Credit where credit is due. Lets get 6 points from the next 2 games. Villa and Fulham at anfield and then Christmas period is crucial .
    Transfers make or break managers . He needs to look further afield than sturridge and Ince if reports are to be believed….
    Borrini and Allen are looking far too expensive for 25 mil
    Lets see what happens.
    YNWA

  • Andy ,durham says:

    I think its important for Liverpool to keep their expectations and standards high , Some fans already seem to be satisfied with lower standards . We dont want a mid table club mentality

    • Tim Williams says:

      who syas standards have dropped? a bit of reality at the situation LFC are in now and have been these last few years is required if we are going to move forward

  • Brad says:

    “I am yet to be convinced by Rodgers as a manager, a tactician or a person”

    Judge and jury are we? Brendan knows more about tactics than you do certainly. He has brought unity and a winning mentality to our club so he is definitely a good manager. To question him as person is just plain daft and I have to wonder what kind of saint you are to make that judgement?

    • bob says:

      unity ? all the fans are divided over him , some players like gerrard look less than interested

      winning mentality ? ha ha , you are joking ? it would help if he actually won more than 5 league games . teams at top of league have winning mentality – never heard that about a mid table team

      • Tim Williams says:

        16 games Bob, there has been 16 league games and you have written off a manager. seriously? The poor form and low confidence we saw at the end of last season doesnt suddenly disappear because the season ended. Rodgers has come in and the first task was to turn that kind of form around, having to do so without the experience of kuyt, maxi and bellamy, the debacle that FSG created in the transfer window and a starting run of fixtures that were not kind to say the least.

        But forget any kind of contributing factors and just look at the league table. well done you

        • vickers says:

          fk off timmy and let people have their opinions without u trolling your bull .
          Rodgers is sh*t , and just because some fans realise it quicker than u , doesn’t mean u should get upset

    • kirbyking says:

      Brad thats one of the stupidest comments ive seen on here ever , get a brain fool

  • San Fran Red says:

    All the fans are divided over him? Really? BR has done a much better job than Kenny with a lot less money to spend. He’s got more man management skills than most managers and he’s rebuilding the team.

    He inherited a mid table team with a bunch of overpriced non-talent. Stevie G. is underperforming, got nothing to do about his “feelings” for BR.

  • Ebri says:

    Honestly, a 3year plan without a champions league is nonsense, can you even listen to yourself? We need champions league qualification now!

  • Ebri says:

    Borini, Sturrige and Inc are not the answer to lfc’ goal scoring question. Please we need a proven goal scorer not these babies… Liverpool is too big for them

  • statham says:

    Fans need HOPE , i dont have any at the moment with this regime . Big players need to be brought in January to give fans some hope

  • Magic says:

    Rodgers is very poor manager , he lowers our expectations deliberately cause he knows he cant match them . All bad managers do

  • Huyton Dave says:

    The problem with a manager lowering expectations is potential targets will look at Liverpool and think – wow this manager thinks finishing 8th is good , do i want to go to a club with those low ambitions ? –

    I think Rodgers is out of his depth , and is trying to shift expectation to cover up his own failings

  • Gary says:

    after wasting all our summer budget . do we want Rodgers to buy even more dopes in jan ?

  • kirbyking says:

    We are Liverpool – We as fans should set the standards – Our expectation should always be top 4 no matter what , ANYTHING less is failure

Comments are closed.