Ste wrote...

Spot on Tony. Reckon we're in a battle with Chelsea for second place

Posted by: Ste  | August 6, 2007 1:28 PM

David Squibb wrote...

I think its to early to make a judgement Tony, but going on pre season games I see where your coming from. We scored some tremendous goals last season from outside the box and Riise bagged 2 already pre term this time around, but thats not what we need to rely on. There has to be more threat inside the box and the poachers goals Fowler and Owen took so well a while back need to be made and put away if we achieve that theres a chance, but no predictions from me yet except we are good enough to do it and I think our defence is sound enough to keep us on top if we get there for the run in.

Posted by: David Squibb  | August 6, 2007 1:57 PM

redadrian wrote...

ah the sweet smell of a pessimist! not a ball kicked in anger and already we are alsorans .
.........hardly worth getting up in the morning

supported this club man and boy for over 50 years.been a season ticket holder in the kop for the last 30 years and it never ceases to amaze me how people like you can support this club with no belief. When the boys take to the field next week i will be there willing them on with a belief so strong we could take on the world

red tinted glasses? ....... you better believe it

YNWA

Posted by: redadrian  | August 6, 2007 2:42 PM

pablo wrote...

I think u r right. I think we will finish a close 2nd! as long as we push man u all the way i will be very happy! but if it is goals we r lookin for, and Torres, Benayoun and Babel turn out to be outstanding recruits then do u not think they will get us the goals to put us up there? I mean with our defence an with an attack that we have got why cant we win it? that is if them players settle in quick! but only time will tell! without doubt if we want to be fighting for a title at the end of the season we need a good start! so i hope u r talkin garbage but unfortunatly i dont think u r!

Posted by: pablo  | August 6, 2007 2:49 PM

sean wrote...

i will be happy if we finish within 10 points of the champions this season even if that means 3rd again.

With babel and torres having to settle it is far too much to expect for us to win the league.

We need to be far more attacking away from home. We should not change our style of play just because we are away from home afterall it is still a pitch with 2 goals and 4 corner flags regardless of the venue.

I'd love to see some more high scoring away games rather than the now accustomed 0-1 defeats but doubt it will happen.

mind you i never thought parry would convince rafa to come to us without even mentioning half time expectations in istanbul so hope is still there.

The african nations cup will effect chavski badly and united are 1 or 2 injuries away from struggling so you never know.

Posted by: sean  | August 6, 2007 5:46 PM

Jay wrote...

I dream of the title but being sadly realistic I have to concede that second place and a major closing of the gap is the best we can hope for. The only way we can do the league is if Man Utd and Chelsea have a massive dip in form. I just don't see the Mancs doing that.

Posted by: Jay  | August 6, 2007 8:19 PM

Luke wrote...

Salient points Tony, important to keep a bit of perspective here.
Torres is obviously a quality player, but is he the poacher we really need? Perhaps not. And with Kuyt still thinking he's a deep lying front man, the goals could still be in short supply - pre season has already shown us we could be afflicted with the same disease.
Babel? Poss bit raw and unpolished, and we need to bring in some quality for the defensive positions, if we dont have Heinze to cover left back and centre half, we need some Plan Bs, even if Insua does look promising. Arbeloa and Aurelio dont fill me with confidence, and Riise is only good for the odd bullet 30 yarder.
I think we're well served in wide positions, I rate Pennant, Kewell has a lot to prove, and Yossi is an astute buy.
Centre mid - I still dont see Rafa's thinking, 5 top class players for 2 positions? We should have got rid of at least one and got a tidy wedge, Sissoko for £8m to strengthen other areas. I wouldn't minded Alonso going as he's been living on reputation for 18 months now. Thinks he's some American football-style quarter back who trots back to his centre halfs to get the balls and then spears an 80-yarder upfield, which sometimes works, but sometimes doesnt. I want a more dynamic, thick of the action player Xabi. We paid £12m for you mate.
We will be a lot closer to the terrible two this year, but I don't think we can compete with Chelsea's overall strength in depth and the attacking verve of Utd.
Here's hoping I'm proved wrong.

Posted by: Luke  | August 7, 2007 9:17 AM

stefan wrote...

Their is no reason to think otherwise Liverpool are by far the strongest team in the league with 2 full strong sides to play i think Rafa's rotation will come into it's own, i hear other managers suggesting that the rotation will not work and consistancy will be the key to winning the league, but i tell you this if all the other clubs had big squads they would do the same!! Torres, benayoun, Babel look very good signings!! Torres will score 20+ this season. I predict Liverpool to win the Champs League as well. will soon see but lets be honest i think people are genrally quite worried about Liverpool this year. Rafa knows what he's doing and to win the league twice in Spain with a Valacia he'll do it with Liverpool.

Posted by: stefan  | September 2, 2007 1:26 PM