Looking back on the 2008/09 season where Liverpool finished second on a record points total, my thoughts always go towards one of the ELEVEN draws we had during that season. Some of them were thrilling encounters such as the 4-4 draw against Arsenal, but others, such as 0-0 home draws against West Ham, Fulham and West Ham, were disappointing performances which really the Reds should have done better in. We only needed a few of those draws to come our away to win the Premier League title, but alas, since we have slipped back from those promising times.
Fine margins win football matches, and fine margins are the difference between success and failure during a Premier League season. Every side has to play 38 games but little moments can make all the difference to the all important points total at the end of the season. Rafa Benitez’s side during that nearly season were pretty much superb throughout the campaing, but one fundamental area where they lacked a cutting edge was at set pieces and especially corners.
In fact it has been a running joke for the best part of 40 years that Liverpool have been hopeless at corners, and even in recent years the same trend has continued. Some may say that if teams like Barcelona don’t focus on scoring from corners, why should we? The fact is though we are not Barcelona and what is the harm in improving in the areas that you are weakest anyway?
Focusing on scoring from corners and set pieces may have connotations of focusing on being a more direct team, rather than a pass and move philosophy in keeping with the Liverpool Way, but for me, those fine margins that I’ve talked about, can be made up by having a good set piece delivery.
The ability to vary your play, and to be able to beat the opposition with a variety of options is crucial to a title winning side. In 2008/09, the only thing you could accuse Rafa Benitez’s side of being, was that they lacked variation; something that title winning sides such as Manchester United and Chelsea have always possessed.
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I think liverpool will have a great season. With all the signings we have made, expect us to win all the trophies in England.
i like your observation corner kicks goals are good advantage to any team that knows how to utilize it kenny shuold look into it
I don’t think, I know that Liverpool will not win anything next season.
Yes, we have brought in some good players but we still lack real quality and pace. Add that to the fact that we are still short of a striker, a right winger, a left back and a centre back.
Part time, unknowledgeable fans like Chucky need to realise that and stop buying into other so called fans nonsense!
What the clueless author has to remember is that there are only so many hours in a day .
He also has to remember that Human beings are not fabricated pixelated characters on a playstation screen & they have a limited skill set .
Within those limited hours in a day & within that limited skill set we have to work on what is best for LFC .
We were never a joke attacking from set plays or defending them , we at worst didnt depend as heavily upon them as lesser sides with lower quality players & tactically limited coaching & managerial staff .
LFC have always & will always strive to deliver entertaining football to its fans & deliver a value for money experience , hence our traditional , excellent skillful approach to the game .
Under Kenny we will be a threat in all areas of the pitch & we will have no apparent weakness , thats not to say we wont conceed a goal or one of our players wont have a nightmare against a particular opponent , it is saying that over 38 games will amass enough points to be within striking distance of the title come May .
We wont do that by depending upon one , two , or three players , we will do that by depending on approximately 26 players who will all play a very valuable role behind the scence offering quality opposition in training & or serious pressure to someones position in the regular starting 11 .
We will play to the strengths of the squad , in Kenny we have a Genius football mind that was brought up on the mucky wet hard tackling pitches of Goven in Grimey working class Glasgow , a talent that refused to lay down until he was the top player first in his home city , then in his entire homeland .
From there he moved to the European Champions & established himself as the Best player on the Island & arguably the Best In Europe .
From there he went into management & is the only man alive to have won the Title for 2 different clubs & brought 2 different clubs to 4 FA Cup finals winning it twice , add in a League Cup final & I hope you can see I have painted a picture of a man who not only knows how to get there & win it , he also knows how to stay there in the face of the toughest odds imaginable .
Its likely that with the quality of players added to our squad we will be more dangerous at set plays but we will not be a team that rely on set plays or a team that devotes most of their training day to set plays like Stoke need to to survive at this level .
We will be the same fluid pass n move side we were since January except now everyone has adjusted to the changes & with fresh faces who have no conflict of loyalty to previous managers added to the squad we will be more devastating & clinical .
Set plays may improve our goal difference but they will not improve our win – draw – loss record .
The playing & coaching staff unified behind a single shared vision will be the major improvement upon Rafa’s closest shot .
These are exciting times we are privileged to witness , Kenny Dalglish is back in town & he isnt wasting any time letting his rivals know who they are up against & that he means business because he is THE Business , with a very slick , very ambitious , very professional , free spending American Board intent upon writing their names into English cultural folklore so that they can be mentioned alongside genuine working class heros , John Lennon , Jim Larkin , Bill Shankly & Kenny Dalglish .
We are about to take off like a rocket .
Lee is an Arsenal fan , he wants to have Alex Songs Baby & wear a dress fro the rest of his life .
In his spare time he comes into LFC forums & pretends to be a fan & talks miserable pessimistic shit about us in the hope it will help his beloved Arsenal finish above us .
He is a miserable shitstain & a good kick in the balls would do him the world of good .
Theres only one Graham Souness !
One Graham Sounessssssss !
Soueyyyy !!!
Soueyyy !!!
Soueyyy !!!
Not wanting to get into an internet argument with a retarded individual such as ‘Exasperated’ but idiots like you are what is bringing this club down.
Rather than favouring a blinkered view like yourself simply because you lack the footballing know how, I prefer to take the more realistic approach and tell it as it is.
No amount of the stereotypical whinging about me being the fan of another club will stop me but unfortunately, no amount of posting from myself will stop illigimate little people like yourself from spouting such tripe about others more knowledgeable than yourself.
Some call it jealousy, I call it stupidity but that’s just the way it is. You can’t educate pork!!!
You are a traitorous rat Lee , so you should call it treachery if you truly are a LFC Supporter but how the hell can you claim to know for a fact we wont win anything next season & claim to be a Supporter ?
Even an open supporter of a rival club couldn’t possibly make such a bold claim about us , with even Fergie & Rooney saying they expect us to challenge next season , Villa Boas Stated he expects us to challenge as did Mancini & Redknapp so where tha fuck do you get off by proclaiming we will win nothing !!!?
Are you clinically depressed ?
Or do you just need that boot in tha balls from a prime Souness like I prescribed to get you in touch with your masculinity & stop you being such a depressing old woman even a desperate African refugee like Alex Song wouldn’t touch if his visa depended on it !
Grab yourself a dictionary and look up the word ‘challenge’. It applies in our case because we will challenge but it doesn’t mean that we will end victorious and actually win something.
The comments from Chelsea and United are the same but to repeat for your benefit, IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY THINK WE WILL WIN!
Sorry to burst your bubble there pumpkin but that’s just the way it is. To claim we will clean-up and win everything has to be admired for optimism but rejected due to stupidity.
If we brought in 2 or 3 quality players then my mind would probably change but until then my assessment remains the same.
I dont give a shit what they think we will win , they are our rivals team managers & they acknowledge Dalglish’s excellence & the strength or our squad & they dont claim to support us .
But you claim to support us & state that you know for a fact we wont win anything ,
Again I ask ..
How can you make such a claim without being an enemy of LFC Supporters everywhere ?
Well, first and foremost I am capable of forming my own opinion based on what I see before me. You on the other hand choose to blindfold yourself and make ridiculously stupid claims without much substance.
Blind faith does not make you a good supporter, it just makes you out to be a very stupid one….and that’s putting it mildly.
Suggest you pick your chins up, accept my comments for what they (not what you want them to be) and check yourself in to asylum!!
I have already told you I accept your comments as those made by a rat , what more do you want from me ?
You on the other hand have refused to answer the simple question before you whish is not questioning your opinion in any way shape or form ,
How can you claim to support LFC yet claim to know for a fact that we will win nothing ?