GERARD Houllier once claimed that his Liverpool side were ‘ten games from greatness’. Less enthralling, but just as significantly, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool are now seven games from contention.
More possession kept, more spirit shown, more chances created, more chances wasted and depressingly, more dropped points.
A familiar pattern played out for the Reds at White Hart Lane in their 2-1 defeat.
Losing away at Spurs shouldn’t be seen as a disaster, especially given the resilient nature of the performance after a terrible opening ten minutes, but the defeat now places extra significance on Liverpool’s next seven league games between December 1st and January 2nd.
Southampton, Aston Villa, Fulham and Sunderland visit Anfield in that time. Away from home West Ham, Stoke and QPR lie in wait. All are games that Liverpool can and will be expected to win. 21 vital points are available in total over the next 33 days and it is the perfect opportunity to for Liverpool to start climbing the table.
The problematic start thus far has been (rightly, in my opinion ) excused to some extent given the paucity of depth in the squad, the difficult fixture list and the fact that high performance levels have failed to be rewarded in the form of points on several occasions.
Now though, Brendan Rodgers has seven league games where, on each occasion, he will be in charge of the stronger team. He isn’t facing the might of City, United or Chelsea. He isn’t taking on the much more evolved and settled squads of Everton, Spurs or Arsenal and this period of back to back Premier League games will give fans, owners and players alike a clear picture of what Liverpool can achieve this season.
Despite only three league wins thus far, the potential for relative success (4th place isn’t good enough, but it is all we can hope for at the moment) still remains. Currently 10 points off 4th placed West Brom and only 4 points above the drop zone, December looks like being the measuring stick for Liverpool. Come the final whistle on January 2nd when Sunderland visit L4, Liverpool will have played 21 league games and their position in the table will be more telling than it is at present.
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It is crucial then, that when the players in red make their way back to the Anfield dressing room that day, they do so in significantly better shape than at present. Excuses will be harder to come by after this batch of winnable fixtures and if the players can squeeze out a good points total (17 points or more) then the season’s aims will be being reassessed in a more positive manner.
Amazingly, if Rodgers can guide his team through this period while accumulating the requisite amount of points expected, then his side will probably be placed well enough to make an assault on 4th place. It is unlikely, of course, given that stringing just two wins back to back has been impossible for Liverpool this season, but on paper, it is eminently possible.
Every team the Reds face over the next four weeks are weaker and should be vanquished. The woeful home record will need to be finally eradicated and consistency must be found during this period. Drawing at home to Newcastle and Man City is bearable when the performances are good. Losing to Spurs and Manchester United after being the better team in both fixtures can be put into context and digested easily enough.
That will not be the case if results against the likes of QPR, Villa and Sunderland are not favourable. Promise has been shown this season, but now is the time for delivery.
Seven games to get back in contention. Seven games for Brendan Rodgers to haul his side back up the league table and if that is achieved then Liverpool will likely be within touching distance of the Champions League place that they desire. If anything would persuade FSG to loosen their purse strings significantly in January then surely it would be the potential of a quicker than expected return to Europe’s premier money spinning competition.
Fourth place is, unfortunately, the most that fans can dream for Liverpool right now and despite an underwhelming opening to this season, the lack of consistency exhibited by rival teams fighting for this coveted spot means that, incredibly, a good December is all it would take for the Reds to be genuine contenders for the position again. Then it would be over to FSG to show us how serious they really are about making this club a force again.
‘Greatness’ is a long way off but come the New Year, fourth place shouldn’t be.
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ho ho ho . what a stupid stupid stupid article . Might as well say 24 games away from winning the league . Total dreaming by this author , he must be actually believing Brendans waffle
With this amateur clown in charge ,4th from bottom is more realistic
And what a stupid reply from a stupid person! This writer never once said he believed it…….he just laid out what the situation was and what BR should be measured on! But of course, you never took in what the article actually said……..’It is unlikely, of course, given that stringing just two wins back to back has been impossible for Liverpool this season, but on paper, it is eminently possible’
Shock horror, that someone posts a critical, non constructive comment without actually reading the article!
If we dont dump Rogers thn we wont get any good players and Suarez will leave .
Another highly intelligent reply. What do you base this on genius??? And who are the players that won’t come because Rogers is our manager???
Well I have it on good authority that because Rodgers isn’t the manager we have no hope of signing xavi van messaldo!
is this a joke ? we will never be good without a top manager . 3 points today but hardly impressive . even when we win rodgers looks out of his depth . didnt hear post match interview but i presume rodgers went on about – high performance levels , the players were magnificent etc etc , win or lose its always the same
most fans ive spoken to are now calling rodgers – bullsh!t brendan , well deserved nickname in my opinion
Expand Bob, I know you find it hard, but tell us what was wrong with the performance in your eyes, instead of just logging on and criticising why don’t you offer an opinion and a rationale?
Focusing purely on the Southampton game, why do you think Rodgers was out of his depth? What were you not impressed with? What would you have said after the game if you were Rodgers?
we struggled to beat a totally rubbish side 1-0 at home . i know we dominated 1st half but we have seen it so many times where the other side snatches a draw . its not good enough – we should be putting teams like that away
if i was rodgers i would have done the decent thing after , i would have said ” im sorry for embarrassing liverpool fans so much , im clueless , please forgive me , i resign “
I wouldn’t say we struggled to win at all, I would say we completely controlled a game in which we restricted the opposition to pot shots. The struggle was in finding the breakthrough and killing the game off, but is this a problem restricted to Rodgers?? I seem to remember this being a significant problem for quite a while. We should be putting teams away at anfield, I quite agree and more often than not away from home but let’s take the blinkers off, this isn’t specifically a Rodgers issue. Personally I think this can plague a side who plays with 1 forward, too much pressure and reliance on player. Look at united and city, the regularly play with 2 top class forwards (with others on the bench) and get goals.
I thought you would say that.
Wow… Those fans must be super bright… How did they come up with that name??
you are a toby !
Hopefully 7 games away from the sack
Woooooooo come on the reds let lose 7 games so a manager gets sacked! Whilst also taking the piss out of Belsen fans for their treatment of rafa!
Crazy I know but how about support the team?
Yea, that would be awesome. That would mean we get to start again…. again. It would mean we’ve fired someone before being afforded the required time to impliment his plan. It would mean we’d have lost about 7 games in a row and endured sitting through each one… But hopefully in 7 games Rogers gets sacked…. Get real
you get real u moron . only mancs want us to keep that useless fool
All negative comments, you may as well not support the team if your not supporting the manager. The same thing happened last season when KK was in charge, dominating games but not winning then maybe it’s the players. We are playing well creating chances but the players aren’t taking them, I hardly think that is down to the manager. I know it’s about results but which top coach would want to come to Liverpool at the state we are in? He ain’t going anywhere and you know it. I believe in BR and all you should as well you muppets.
Your the muppet . I really cant believe how braindead some fans are . ” we are playing well ” – dont be such a biased moron , we arent playing well , apart from city , utd and Norwich matches .
Fools like u watch MOTD highlights and listen to the managers after match waffle and believe the crap he tells .
“Its not down to the manager ” about not taking chances shows what a stupid ignorant moron u are . he picks them , he plans tactics , formations , subs everything ! duh .
Believe in Rodgers – ur so thick u probably still believe in santa , but dont comment until u know something about football
What are you saying about Santa???? He is still coming right?
not to you
But I have been a good boy Bob, I help old ladies cross the street, get kittens down from trees and always attempt rational conversation in the face of abuse! Surely I should be near the top of his list!
No coal for me!
I’ve watched every game and I know a lot about football, but tell me who want to coach Liverpool? U were probably one of the dumb fans asking for Rafa back? Look how well he is doing. Comment when your not going act like a tool again.
matt , you are stupid, i cant be bothered explaining why , you wouldn’t understand but really , you are . my 5 year old understands soccer better
Did you just call it ‘soccer’ Bob????? I’m not angry, just really disappointed.
Spot on Wesker , only BR is to blame , his system , his poor signings , his silly philosophy
This abomination of a manager is even pushing Sterling away from our club . Sterling WILL NOT sign if Rodgers is manager ( and who can blame him )
Prove that?
Abomination of a manager? Wow, talk about over egging! Why is he an ‘abomination’? Are you just disappointed he isn’t ‘epic’?
Sterling will not sign? Lets wait and watch then.
In my very very humble opinion an well judged and balanced article, looking forward to the road ahead. Somehow I just do not get what was wrong with that!
Itslike the blind leading the blind on this site . Read the swansea fans comments – they dont want or rate brendan , Only Liverpool haters would want us to keep a inept guy like BR . What fools you blind sheep are
Corky, rather than just berate people and slag them off, and be lead by Swansea fans like some sort of sheep ( 😉 ) why don’t you set out why YOU don’t rate Rodgers…
why should he ? its obvious isnt it ? . only the odd few can not see how rubbish rodgers is . and frankly , if they are that stupid , any explanation is wasted on them
Are you asking me as to why someone should explain their opinions, back them up and present rationale? Followed by ‘its obvious’.
Hmmmm surprisingly enough this isn’t a black/white scenario, it’s distinctly grey (and with some of the hate there is distinctly not 50 shades!), just because someone has a differing opinion to you doesn’t make them stupid or a moron. If you think their opinion is wrong surely for the good of the club it is your responsibility to convince them why you are right????
But hey Bob, it’s only ‘soccer’ 😉
apart from the truly biased or naive people who wont believe this , i can tell you for sure , that as things stand , sterling is not going to sign .
it is common knowledge around melwood , things could change of course , but my understanding is , its not the money , its the poor state of the squad and he cant see us challenging in the near future
what might change it is ,top top players in in january and surging run up the league . otherwise bye bye
You can say that for sure? From ‘common knowledge around Melwood’, come on Bob, vagueness is a classic sign of the itk phenomenon that blights the modern game.
Only a select few will know what is going down in relation to his contract. His head may or may not be have been turned, he may or may not like he squad. Nif that is true that is a very arrogant attitude for. 17 year ld who has just made his breakthrough.
Bar supporting the team fully there is little we can do to effect contract negotiations so I will wai for facts before judging a young man or the club.
i have heard it from more than one person close to the club . anyway we will see
Well I truly hope you are wrong on this one Bob, but the club can’t and shouldn’t be held to ransom by a 17 year old. Problem is that sterling is rightly considered a first team regular that can effect games and excites the fans but even with a new contract will not earn anywhere near the amounts cole and downing get.
I just hope he has decent people advising him, this is the club for him and it is a club where he can blossom. He knows he will play regularly here, other big teams can promise but often don’t deliver. He deserves a decent contract and the club needs to realise that amongst some of the dross that has come in these last few seasons and the fragile relationship it has with fans at present, we have in Sterling a real diamond.
why would he want to stay ? one of the best , most exciting young players in the world . he can go anywhere . will he stay at a club , with no future ,
a club with owners who wont spend enough to challenge , a club whose owners are vying with the blackburn owners for most incompetent of the decade .
a club who has a young unproven inexperienced manager who so far has added only average ( at best ) players , has taken us down to mid table , and who publicly has been insulting sterling for not signing ,
we are nowhere near even challenging for even 4th place , and little or signs we will ever do so , under the current regime .
so take off your liverpool hat and glasses for a minute , and ask why would he stay ? would you in his shoes ? would i ? no
Why wouldn’t he want to stay? A club that has nurtured him for a number of year, despite the odd exception one of the greatest canvases in the world, regular football alongside some world class players.
Owners that won’t spend? Come on Bob, be serious for a second? Owners that won’t spend? Look at the money they have spent since being here? We are up there with our rivals in terms of money spent, the problem is the players signed and the amounts paid. If you are going to bash FSG they have plenty of areas to bash without you making one up
Taken us down to mid-table? Have I been in a coma and missed something? By my memory we have been struggling ever since coming second, and our form in the second half of last season was the worst in the league. Again Rodgers has his faults so why bash him with stuff like this? After 4 months?
Nowhere near challenging for 4th? Have you seen the league, by 2013 we could occupy 4th, it’s not like we are QPR.
Would I stay? Who knows, we don’t know what is being said. The club needs to sell the future and the direction whilst offering a wage comparable to his role. Suarez, skrtel, agger and suso have all committed under Rodgers and could all have moved on but stayed. Lets wait for facts yeah?
Are all happy with 13th ? You shuld be getin rogers sacked
now i know why i dont bother debating/ arguing with you tim , your totally biased and unrational , its impossible to have a constructive argument with you .
you ignore my points that you cant argue about , you pick on other points and twist them , you only see your side ( the biased “everything is great ” side ) .
for example FSG have spent damn all net , i can email you the facts if you wish , and liverpool have NEVER been mid table before rodgers , NEVER !
7th place under rafa but we were a contender for 4th , even after the hodgson mess , kenny roared us up the table to 6th , then a poor end to season saw us finish 8th – NONE of that is mid table mediocrity ,but this season is .
you can keep your imaginary happy future ,ill stay honest . as for the other point . there is no gray , only black and white . FSG are bad ,rodgers is bad ! no shades , no grey , nothing ! you can see imaginary shades if you like but its black and white to most people
I don’t know why you get so angry Bob just because you are challenged. Biased and unrationale? How? Because I don’t swallow your unsupported opinion? Because I have my own interpretations that I’m prepared to support without throwing m toys out of he pram? I remain level headed in discussion but you think it’s impossible to have a constructive conversation with me? Yikes! I still remain unsure where you come to the conclusion that I think everything is fine, but hey suggesting you actually read any of my points woul be irrational.
So you move the goalposts to net spend, fair enough. It still doesn’t take away from the money re-invested though, something H&G never did. What you must be arguing is that the owners don’t put enough of their own money in yeah? As opposed to what Liverpool owner ever? Presumably the facts you hold cover the entire financial state of Liverpool football club yes? So incoming, outoing, wages, transfer fees, tax, policing ad so on? Unless you hold all of that information (including the state of the club when thy bought it) it is extremely short sighted to judge ‘a net transfer’ spend, espcially in a word of undisclosed fees, unknown wages and unknown bonuses and agn spend. Bu hey you have ‘facts’, who ami to doubt. Challenge to you Bob, if you hold facts that continually go on about, why not write a piece for this site presenting them?
7th and 8th are not mid table no? What you have done there Bob is given Liverpool finishes over a season, we have only just entered December and technically could finish first with the amounts of points lef available. How long is a manager given???
It must be so pleasant in your world Bob seeing things so simply. This is yes this is no, this is black this is white. The sport today is a complex beast with uncountable factors to be considered daily, but not in your world eh, just the ‘soccer’ for you 😉
Before I sign this off, let me reiterate for what it’s worth, this isn’t a fully fledged support of FSG or Rodgers, it’s taking a rational response to your hysteria. Now, if as you say, you have proof, then I say show it…..
i really cant be bothered , its like talking to a door . you make irrational arguments and i cant argue with someone who doesnt embrace reality
You don’t argue a all Bob, you never actually raise a point that is supported by either you full opinion or these elusive ‘facts’ you bang on about. Your replies remain limited to slating other people.
If my argument is irrational at least tell me why before comparing me to a door! But hey life would be much poorer if we didn’t have doors so I will tak it as a compliment 😉
By your continued avoidance of the challenge I tak it you are not interested in writing a piece based on your ‘facts’ or even merely explaining your point?
Lets sack the muppet , then we might be 7 games from contention