Could we have had a stab at the title this year?

[hellava_tough]

Looking at Liverpool's impressive season so far, I can't help but get frustrated thinking that we should be up there, challenging for the title this season.

If we had have kept our world-class player for one more season, like Liverpool did theirs, brought in Eriksen and (crucially) let AVB buy a couple of his own players, we may have been looking at our first league title in 50-odd years.

What do you guys think?

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Not with AVB in charge.

 

[onthetwo]

on paper perhaps but as a club we're still miles away IMO

 

[kaz Hirai]

Looking at Liverpool's impressive season so far, I can't help but get frustrated thinking that we should be up there, challenging for the title this season.

If we had have kept our world-class player for one more season, like Liverpool did theirs, brought in Eriksen and (crucially) let AVB buy a couple of his own players, we may have been looking at our first league title in 50-odd years.

What do you guys think?

Yeah with bale still here, eriksen and more luck with injuries it would've been a slim possibility I think

 

[shelfboy68]

No as we always sell our best players no bottle from players to see it through even if it was a possibility plus no with avb or Tim in charge and wasted our money on some average players.
Other than that we might have gone close

 

[Azazello]

Yeah with bale still here, eriksen and more luck with injuries it would've been a slim possibility I think

your sig gives a good answer to the OP's question.

 

[Tom Pops]

If we had kept Modric and Van der Vaart and Bale and still brought in Eriksen, Lloris and Vertonghen then possibly.

All so many ifs though, it never needed to be that complicated. If we had just not bottled 3rd and therefore not sacked Harry then who knows.

 

[kitchen]

Liverpool's success has been predominantly down to the lovely blend that have with their front 4 players. They have the exceptional partnership of Suarez and Sturridge. And in Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling a really lovely blend - so much pace, passing ability and movement there. Gerrard holds and keeps it all together.

Suarez has been a better player this season than Bale was last season, and he's more of a team player. What has struck me most about him recently is he is actually incredibly good at holding the ball up and initiating a quick counter with a quick dribble or pass. Plus the refs seem to buy his every dive, whilst Bale would get booked when he is legitimately fouled.

We'd get more injuries than they have had all season (most notably, the same back 4 almost every game)

We'd have a partnership of Bale and himself, and our blend wouldn't be as good as theirs, with only Bale and Eriksen making runs or finding the passes.

So we'd probably make top 4, but the football gods would never let us challenge for the title until we are better than good enough to do so.

 

[hodsgod]

If we had kept Modric and Van der Vaart and Bale and still brought in Eriksen, Lloris and Vertonghen then possibly.

All so many ifs though, it never needed to be that complicated. If we had just not bottled 3rd and therefore not sacked Harry then who knows.

It's exactly what Liverpool have done, kept who they needed to keep, and built on that. We never do this.

 

[dricha1]

It would appear we have gone backwards and when you look at Liverpool and Everton you would clearly say they have overtaken us. I wonder if Levy regrets not getting either Rodgers or Martinez if he indeed did approach them?

When we sacked Redknapp, which I believe was the right decision, we were in a much better position than both Liverpool and Everton and should have offered more potential. So were we turned down? Didn't do our homework on either manager? Lacked the balls to go for either? Or just didnt rate them?

Safe to say next managerial appointment is crucial, and probably Levy's most important.

 

[SlickMongoose]

So if we had different players and different manager(s), we could have challenged for the title?

OK.

 

[Spurger King]

We certainly would have had a better chance of winning it than we did by (yet again) selling our star player. Must be nice being a Liverpool fan and following a club with ambitions of success.

We're just a well oiled player exchange business. A business I'm rapidly losing interest in after 25 years of unwavering support.

 

[mattyspurs]

We certainly would have had a better chance of winning it than we did by (yet again) selling our star player. Must be nice being a Liverpool fan and following a club with ambitions of success.

We're just a well oiled player exchange business. A business I'm rapidly losing interest in after 25 years of unwavering support.

Come on mate, I know you are disillusioned, we all are, but you know full well that John Henry only recieved one bid for Suarez, and that was from a rival. Had he recieved anything like a bid like we did for Bale from a team outside the Prem, he would have sold him.

It's very easy to play up to your fans by saying that Suarez won't be sold when he's not recieving any decent bids for him.

 

[Harry Barber]

Never with Levy i

So if we had different players and different manager(s), we could have challenged for the title?

OK.

No, a different chairman.

 

[danielneeds]

It's not the players, it's the togetherness, the unity, what Liverpool have rediscovered in spades. As soon as we have troubles at this club we split quicker than a bad Hollandaise. Too much politics, finger-pointing and arse covering.

 

[teok]

We are miles away.

 

[Mr Pink]

Come on mate, I know you are disillusioned, we all are, but you know full well that John Henry only recieved one bid for Suarez, and that was from a rival. Had he recieved anything like a bid like we did for Bale from a team outside the Prem, he would have sold him.

It's very easy to play up to your fans by saying that Suarez won't be sold when he's not recieving any decent bids for him.

Agree Matty but at the end of the day if you want to have a real go at doing something like Liverpool have done you need continuity. They added to their star player, where as went back a couple of steps - for the short term at least.

We always seem to be a couple of players short - or we sell our best players and loosen our grasp on that chance to really capitalise.

I understand our position in the food chain, I understand the need to be smart in the market in order to make gains on those above you.

But at the end of the day if you keep selling your best players your ripping the heart out of the team over and over again and having to build again.

Its like being dick teased constantly - you get so close to entry but you never get to park it in the garage so to speak.

Now, whilst its nice to dream of all our players clicking and us turning into a star studded team, the reality is if Eriksen creates ten gaols next season and fires in 15-20 goals and one of the big boys come calling waving their cash, he's gone.

Rinse and repeat, we're back into transition again with the next bright thing waiting to properly show case their talent.

Until we say...no, we're building a team for x amount of years...I think we'll always be close and on the brink.

And to think we never capitalised when we had the chance, it really makes you wonder.

 

[idontgetit]

Looking at Liverpool's impressive season so far, I can't help but get frustrated thinking that we should be up there, challenging for the title this season.

If we had have kept our world-class player for one more season, like Liverpool did theirs, brought in Eriksen and (crucially) let AVB buy a couple of his own players, we may have been looking at our first league title in 50-odd years.

What do you guys think?

We could have had a shot at the title without Bale.

Keep BAE (or buy a fucking left back like we were screaming out for) and keep Caulker with the offer of letting him go out on loan in January if he doesn't get game time, that way there's no mid season injury crisis at spurs.

Play 4-3-3 set up like this

High line pressing game (we have got the worlds best sweeper keeper) but a sensible flexible one where the emphasis is compact team pressing as a pack rather than a suicidal desperation defending.

Tell the wide forwards to actually play more like strikers when we're on the ball. Make runs off the striker, look for knock downs and draw defenders away. Aim to get in behind the oppo. Don't fuck around coming short to pick the ball up and just end up running or shooting at set defenses, unless the attack has already broken down.

Get the creative players in the cm3 on the ball the second we turn it over.

Roll the ball in to the striker as fast as physically possible and run past or support him.

The DM's job is to kick the fuck out of anyone who so much as looks at the other midfielders funny or whom deem it necessary to progress past our midfield press. The DM has no business noncing about up the pitch.

Aaron Lennon is at most an impact substitute. Andros Townsend get's a serious talking to about how to best use his talent (and a DVD of Theo Walcotts last season as a decent example).

The team players are rotated but the team dynamic never changes, unless during a game we desperately need to mix things up.

.............................................
We probably wouldn't win but at least we'd be in the fucking race.

 

[Hitch]

Come on mate, I know you are disillusioned, we all are, but you know full well that John Henry only recieved one bid for Suarez, and that was from a rival. Had he recieved anything like a bid like we did for Bale from a team outside the Prem, he would have sold him.

It's very easy to play up to your fans by saying that Suarez won't be sold when he's not recieving any decent bids for him.

If only Bale and his agent had held to their alleged initial promises to sign a new contract I believe that this Premier League season would have taken on a very different shape. Not just because we'd still have Bale but because Suarez would be at Real Madrid right now. The only thing that stopped that move from happening was Bale imo.

 

[danielneeds]

Agree Matty but at the end of the day if you want to have a real go at doing something like Liverpool have done you need continuity. They added to their star player, where as went back a couple of steps - for the short term at least.

We always seem to be a couple of players short - or we sell our best players and loosen our grasp on that chance to really capitalise.

I understand our position in the food chain, I understand the need to be smart in the market in order to make gains on those above you.

But at the end of the day if you keep selling your best players your ripping the heart out of the team over and over again and having to build again.

Its like being dick teased constantly - you get so close to entry but you never get to park it in the garage so to speak.

Now, whilst its nice to dream of all our players clicking and us turning into a star studded team, the reality is if Eriksen creates ten gaols next season and fires in 15-20 goals and one of the big boys come calling waving their cash, he's gone.

Rinse and repeat, we're back into transition again with the next bright thing waiting to properly show case their talent.

Until we say...no, we're building a team for x amount of years...I think we'll always be close and on the brink.

And to think we never capitalised when we had the chance, it really makes you wonder.

To be fair Athetico sold Falcao and Roma sold Lamela and Marquinos for megabucks and both are doing pretty swimmingly this season.

You can sell a star player, if you have a plan, but with hindsight, ours was fundamentally flawed.

Almost no club in the world could turn down £85m.