19 Oct 2012

'LFC will struggle to finish 7th' - Anfield hero writes off Reds' CL chances. Agree...?

In September, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insisted that Liverpool are capable of finishing 4th this season, a task he conceded would be a 'monumental' achievement. With over 90 points still to play for this season, anything is possible, but former Red midfielder Gary McAllister does not share Rodgers' optimism.

In an interview with the BBC, McAllister praised the 'excellent' style of football played under Rodgers, but warned that good performances are not enough. He observed:

"There comes a point where it’s more than just performance though.

They [Liverpool] have got to be winning games, and when Suarez takes himself away from the penalty area, there’s not that many others getting in there to get them a goal"


When specifically asked if he believes the Reds can make it into the top four, Macca delivered the following withering assessment:

"Looking at the form of Spurs, Newcastle and Everton, it’s going to be tough for Liverpool to be in the top 6 or 7, never mind the CL spots".

To be fair, Liverpool's Premier League results this season add weight McAllister's view; based on results alone, there's no way the club will make it into the top four. Yes, performances are good, but playing well doesn't win points.

* Liverpool have 6 points from 7 games so far, which is an average of 0.8 points per game.

* If this points rate continues (it won't, but just as a hypothetical), then the club will end up with 30 points for the season, which is relegation form (!)

* As I highlighted in a post yesterday, Liverpool are conceding 1.7 goals per league game at the moment, which puts the club on course to concede 60 league goals for the season.

It's only 7 league games into this campaign so stats are not really an accurate prognosticator of overall league performance this season, and I am positive that the league table will look very different for Liverpool in three months. As for whether the club can finish in the top four this season:

* Average points achieved by 4th placed teams over last 8 years = 68
* Average points per game needed: 1.7
* League points left to play for: 93
* League points LFC need: 62

With a per-game average of just 0.8 points this season, Liverpool are way off the pace right now. At this stage, the Reds need to average 2 points a game for the rest of the season to make 4th.

It's definitely possible, but realistically, it's not very probable.

Jaimie Kanwar


21 comments:

  1. This season is a write off. Save yourselves some heartache and stop with the wishful thinking. Our problem is not that we are not scoring goals its that we are conceding them. The whole backline is poor and constantly gets caught on the counter. We will finish in the second half of the table.

    Best prediction 9th.

    Probable finish 12th.

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  2. A goalscorer, sorting out defence, plus other teams starting to lose points, can make a sustained competition for the 4th possible for us.

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  3. I'm behind Rodgers ALL the way until the wheels fall off. REAL Wingers, attacking full backs, one touch football, Kids everywhere and hardly any Dalglish signings.....He knows what he's doing, he'll get it right.

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  4. Bedding in some quality youth players(who otherwise would have left for game time like ince), and implementing a different style of play are the main aims for this season. We can all see progress on the good days, and david brent rodgers buys, already look better than all of kennys.
    People will undoubtedly say, how is this any better than under kenny, but the fact that there is a solid plan, young players coming through and tactics on show already indicate improvements.

    city, manure, arse, spurs and chels are ahead of us, but we are worthy of 6th. If we buy the right players in jan and next summer, we'll have a very strong squad what with the 4/5 kids who have stepped up.

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  5. It will take time, especially to develop the mentality where we can grind out wins without performing well. That kind of mentality doesn't just magically appear. For me, this season is about getting the team adapted to this new system and developing a siege mentality at Anfield again. We do need to improve the squad as its all good bringing in youngsters but they will take time to develop a consistency to their game as (illustrated by the frustrations at Arsenal, who have now resorted to bringing in older players in the last two seasons). Rather have a good mix of options, in relation to experience and age. We don't have much PL experience in this team, especially in midfield and attack. A top half of the table finish is all I'm expecting of this team as the performances maybe promising but we are way off in terms of having that solidness about us as we have big problems defensively as a team.

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  6. yeah couse he dose dalglish won a trophy last year got to another cup final and got europa league 3 things rodgers wont do this season the football as not been any better last year we were a tad unlucky this year apart from about 70min of football we have just been trash

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  7. the sooner rodgers gos the better for everyone he will not scceed at anfield end of story thats my opinion and am sticking to it lets see him prove me wrong rafa still as no job maybe he could take over tempory if the results get much worse

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  8. Oh, thee of little faith. LFC need 'supporters' like you like they need a hole in the head !

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  9. I'm not calling for Rodgers head just yet. I don't think he should have ever been hired, and he certainly did nothing to help himself during the transfer window. But I'm not ready for him to get the Hodgeson just yet.

    That said, the next transfer window will be what makes up my mind. He will finally have his scouting team in place, he'll know the strengths and weaknesses of the players we've got, and he'll have had time to put a plan in place and execute it. I've given up on the first half of this season. We're currently in 14th. I don't think it will take much effort to stay at least in 14th. And it's possible to move up to at least 10th by the next transfer window. From there, he needs players who can and will contribute immediately. We need a scorer, we need defense, and if he can find the GK of the future too, even better. But that's the priority. He needs to fill the gaps, deepen the bench, and come out in the next half with the ability to get a lot of wins. If that doesn't happen. Then I'll be ready to cut the cord and move on from BR.

    I like that he's getting long term contracts for Suso, signed today, and trying to do the same with Wisdom and Sterling, and some of the other really talented young players. But that's not going to help us now as much as the future. And thank you Rafa for getting those guys into development.

    But 4th place is unobtainable. Even with an amazing set of recruits at the next window, Forget the Champions league. We're playing for 8th or 9th this year, 4th or 5th next year.

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  10. No offesnse man, I don't think Rafa could win with this current squad. We still don't have a scorer, and the defense is weak, and in places old. Even Rafa would need to rebuild, and 4th place would be a pipe-dream.

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  11. 4th is impossible. Not with the current squad, and if you wait until the next window to bring in new talent to fill the gaps, you're too far behind to make up ground. 8th or 9th this season is possible, 12th is probable, depending on who comes in during the next transfer period.

    That said, Jamie did a really good job of proving how bad BR's teams are on Defense. Even with the transfers, that seems more like coaching and style of play. I don't see that changing at all, unless he's willing to bring in a new defensive coach/consultant/guru to help him sort it out. That more than anything will keep us far from 4th.

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  12. Agreed. The D is very poor, and always gets caught on the counter. Some of that is the players though, and some of it is the style of play BR wants to employ. Jamie did a great job showing how weak BR's teams are on defense. You can bring in some great backline players, but I don't think that's going to change much, unless he changes the style of play he wants to use.

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  13. I think its a case of wait, with this new system. May still not work out but I think it is too early to write it off, as it is n't your run-of-the-mill system. I agree, it isn't necessarily a case of changing the backline, it is a system thing that the team needs to execute better.

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  14. what realists who see rodgers and fsg for what they are little faith wrong mate no faith what so ever the sooner they have both gone the sooner the club mite start moving forward

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  15. You're entitled to your opinion, but if you think that we are not better than last season then you are suffering from mild retardation of the brain, IMO.

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  16. in what way are we better results no football last year we hit the woodwork countless times and were unlucky this year we have been trouced by west brom and arsenal were lucky against the mighty hearts [i have friends who are hearts fans and before a ball had been kicked they were all moaning about how they get the hard draws well before the second leg they were licking there lips as they thought they could beat us]v sunderland rubbish now lets get to the one decent result we have had norwich they have not done nothing this season either take away suarezs three goals that he scored from outside the box just about and what those that leave you with not a lot the defending as been poor to say the least .rodgers signings have been poor allen reasonable but way over priced 10 million max the rest are garbage to say the least not counting the young german lad and before every one gets carried away about sahin hes on loan and mourinio has said he will be back at madrid or sold for the highest price so if he dose have a good season that will rule us out whats the point in taking people on loan without having a option to buy hes getting used to the premier for one of the big clubs{mean financially]to come in and take him from under our noses the way the club his run under fsg his a joke feel abit sad for ego man rodgers hes out of his depth only time will tell who is suffering from retardation of the brain

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  17. Mate, you comment was "...the football as not been better last year...". My vague understanding of the language that you are murdering is that the football this season is not any better than last year. This statement is not talking about the results, you are talking about the quality of the football that we are playing. I totally agree that our results have been poor, but the quality of the football, in large parts, has been fantastic. Out passing is much better than last season, we have been dominating games more than last season, our attacking build up has been better than last season. We still need a striker, as per last season. IMO if you feel that the football as not been better last season, then you can't appreciate good quality football.

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  18. dream on get your head out of the rodgers tikka takka bullshit we have been more like macca pacca lets see if we can get a good result today against the mighty reading and if we dont you can carry on watching your fantasy football 7 games 9 goals 5 against norwich so in the other 6 games 4 goals thats fantastic football but look on the bright side were seeing lots of goals because we have let in 12

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  19. We're six points off fourth and we've had the worst start to a season in 100 years. The way I see it, things can only get better from here on in and fourth place if very much still within the realm of possibilities. We create a hatful of chances every match, we have players pitching in with goals from all over the pitch, our defense is getting more solid and we have a transfer window to come, in which we can generate funds by selling Downing, Carrol, Henderson, Joe Cole, Wilson and Doni who are all obviously surplus to requirements, which should generate enough cash to largely fund one or two quality additions in positions that need to be improved on the most. Fourth is very very much so a possibility.

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  20. Listen, we did the "play for a result" under Houllier, Benitez, Hodgson and then Dalglish. It didn't get us an inch closer to the title nor did it lead to football worth watching. All these former players who act like they know better than our manager are getting on my nerves. GaryMac got sacked at Leeds and wasn't considered good enough for Motherwell. Lawreson never got past coach at Newcastle and Nicol managed a club in a Micky Mouse league and still couldn't win a title. Yet still they feel that they need to be heard. I'll tell you when they should open their mouth, when they know what the solution is, not to point out what isn't working. Until then, send in your CV's to L4 lads, let's see if you'll be considered.

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