2014/15: Will Liverpool struggle to meet the dizzying highs of 2013/14?

Firstly excuse the negativity of the topic. I'm hoping people can persuade me that my concerns are unwarranted and their reasons for thinking so.

Q. Can Liverpool really achieve a top 3 slot next season with the following issues;

1. The obvious lack of the talent & goals that are Luis Suarez
2. Brutal fixtures to start the campaign off. I know for a fact, I would prefer easy games to start and get up a head of steam as opposed to meeting the champions so early.
3. Gelling so many new players into the team in time to hit the ground running.
4. The added, but awesome, pressures of champos football and toll it will take on the side.
5. Teams strengthening around us. Arsenal, 17 seasons with CL. Chelsea finally getting a striker who can inflict damage. City buying as usual. The scum, hopefully not, rebuilding.
6. Adaptation to new tactics and life without Luis in time for kick off. Hate to think we will turn into a classic no.9 hoof ball team, but the 1st half against Preston reaked of old days with lack of imagination. This is unlikely.
7. Previous new managers settling in period over. Jose & manuel.
8. Expectation. With great achievements and expenditure comes the burden of expectation. Would hate to think Rodgers job is conditional to a PL win 2015, personally would be devastated if he got the boot even if we didn't finish in the top 4. It's such a tall task.

All very worrying. I know we defied all the odds last season to just miss out on the title..... Can we do that again? Or better? What would a reasonable target be?

I'm not sure we'll quite hit the heights of last season but I think Rodgers is building a squad that'll hit those heights and stay there in the long term. 

Trying to sign young talented squad that'll have their best years ahead of them.

I am slightly concerned by the signings our rivals have made so far but I still see us good enough for top 4. Possible title challenge if our signings excel straight away.

Firstly excuse the negativity of the topic. I'm hoping people can persuade me that my concerns are unwarranted and their reasons for thinking so.

Q. Can Liverpool really achieve a top 3 slot next season with the following issues;

1. The obvious lack of the talent & goals that are Luis Suarez
2. Brutal fixtures to start the campaign off. I know for a fact, I would prefer easy games to start and get up a head of steam as opposed to meeting the champions so early.
3. Gelling so many new players into the team in time to hit the ground running.
4. The added, but awesome, pressures of champos football and toll it will take on the side.
5. Teams strengthening around us. Arsenal, 17 seasons with CL. Chelsea finally getting a striker who can inflict damage. City buying as usual. The scum, hopefully not, rebuilding.
6. Adaptation to new tactics and life without Luis in time for kick off. Hate to think we will turn into a classic no.9 hoof ball team, but the 1st half against Preston reaked of old days with lack of imagination. This is unlikely.
7. Previous new managers settling in period over. Jose & manuel.
8. Expectation. With great achievements and expenditure comes the burden of expectation. Would hate to think Rodgers job is conditional to a PL win 2015, personally would be devastated if he got the boot even if we didn't finish in the top 4. It's such a tall task.

All very worrying. I know we defied all the odds last season to just miss out on the title..... Can we do that again? Or better? What would a reasonable target be?

All things considered and from previous debate within myself, I see the manager getting even better and our players, Suarez is gone, I'm not worried.
You will see a similar challenge from us this upcoming season and each season after further improvement.
Prepare yourself for the new era.

I'm honestly not overly bothered by what our rivals are doing and I don't think you should be either. I don't see any side in the Prem finishing with an astronomical number of points, so if we're good enough to win the league... we should win it. Yes, them 'strengthening' might make 6 out of 38 seasons a game slightly tougher, but even when we were sh*t with an inferior team to the big hitters we still managed to nick a fair few wins and draws and I would argue now that the gulf is the smallest it has been in several years, if not actually being in our favour in several aspects.

What I would be worried about is whether we can sort the defense out, because conceding 3 times in one game to teams like Cardiff and Crystal Palace is absolutely unacceptable.

Personally, I'm very worried, hence the thread. All I wanted was one more season from Luis to cement our place at the top table. Now we have the added pressure of a sh*t start, new albeit better players and world class additions to opponents. I would take 4th tomorrow if it was handed to me. Yes I agree Rodgers is building something great... Just hope we do it before others achieve the same.

We will finish first or second. But if you want to have a nervous breakdown before the season even starts, have at it.

We will finish first or second. But if you want to have a nervous breakdown before the season even starts, have at it.

Ha ha that obvious? It's been a tough few weeks worrying thanks mate

I could be completely wrong, but I think Brendan has a sound plan and he appears to be getting to execute it the way he wants. We'll miss some of the wonder goals by Luis but I think Brendan is building a stronger team that should have more goals in it overall.

Firstly excuse the negativity of the topic. I'm hoping people can persuade me that my concerns are unwarranted and their reasons for thinking so.

Q. Can Liverpool really achieve a top 3 slot next season with the following issues;

1. The obvious lack of the talent & goals that are Luis Suarez
2. Brutal fixtures to start the campaign off. I know for a fact, I would prefer easy games to start and get up a head of steam as opposed to meeting the champions so early.
3. Gelling so many new players into the team in time to hit the ground running.
4. The added, but awesome, pressures of champos football and toll it will take on the side.
5. Teams strengthening around us. Arsenal, 17 seasons with CL. Chelsea finally getting a striker who can inflict damage. City buying as usual. The scum, hopefully not, rebuilding.
6. Adaptation to new tactics and life without Luis in time for kick off. Hate to think we will turn into a classic no.9 hoof ball team, but the 1st half against Preston reaked of old days with lack of imagination. This is unlikely.
7. Previous new managers settling in period over. Jose & manuel.
8. Expectation. With great achievements and expenditure comes the burden of expectation. Would hate to think Rodgers job is conditional to a PL win 2015, personally would be devastated if he got the boot even if we didn't finish in the top 4. It's such a tall task.

All very worrying. I know we defied all the odds last season to just miss out on the title..... Can we do that again? Or better? What would a reasonable target be?

Let me try to flip this on it's head for you mate. 

1.  We were without Luis for the first 6 games last season and if he'd stayed we'd have missed him till November this season.  I'm guessing therefore you would have still been worried about our lack of talent and goals whilst trying to cope with - 2. our brutal start and probably not getting up a head of steam before he returned from suspension?

3.  We've signed 4 players so far with another 3 or 4 being completed this week so we might sign 9 players in total.  Are you assuming that we'll play all of them all at once?  We signed 9 players last summer but only Migs played every league game.

4.  The awesome pressure of the Champions League and the toll it'll take on the squad is a figment of the media and opposition fans imagination.  The main reason we've signed all those players you are so worried about fitting in is so that we have a squad we can rotate without a change of system or a drop in standard.

5.  Other teams are strengthening just like they did last summer, we strengthened enough to challenge them last season because every player we had improved their game and they were finally understanding the system that Brendan put in place 12 months earlier.  They can and will improve again as they aren't the finished article, they are young players still learning their craft.

6.  There won't be a change of tactics, Brendan will continue to improve the system we've been playing for 2 seasons.

7.  Brendan still has 1 more season than they do with more or less the same core of players he started with.  He will improve again.

8.  The expectation has always been there, this season will be no different.  I can't see why the owners will put undue/unnecessary pressure on him to win the title when they know we're ahead of their own target/schedule.

Let me ask you this, were you this worried this time last year?

I'm not sure we'll quite hit the heights of last season but I think Rodgers is building a squad that'll hit those heights and stay there in the long term. 

Trying to sign young talented squad that'll have their best years ahead of them.

I am slightly concerned by the signings our rivals have made so far

This. Arsenal sign Debuchy, Khedira, Sanchez and Balotelli meaning their first XI alone is significantly stronger (if they complete those two transfers though). Chelsea signed Felipe Luis, Fabregas and Costa and for me they have significantly improved their first XI. United have signed Shaw and Herrera who will also improve their first XI, although they have a lot of spending to do like us. You've also got City, who haven't really done much but have a fantastic team and squad nonetheless. Neither of these four teams have weakened. No key players have left. No half decent players have left.

Then you've got us, who have lost the best striker in the world. There is your problem. We've signed lallana - does he improve first XI? IMO no, as Coutinho is better. We've also signed Markovic - does he improve first XI? No, as Sterling is regarded as of a higher quality. We've also signed Lambert and Can - do they improve first XI? No. We're set to sign Origi and Remy - do they improve first XI? No. We're also set to sign Lovren and Moreno, do they improve first XI? Yes.

Will arsenal be stronger defensively? Yes. Will they be stronger offensively? Yes. Surely that's our goal this summer, is it not?

This. Arsenal sign Debuchy, Khedira, Sanchez and Balotelli meaning their first XI alone is significantly stronger (if they complete those two transfers though). Chelsea signed Felipe Luis, Fabregas and Costa and for me they have significantly improved their first XI. United have signed Shaw and Herrera who will also improve their first XI, although they have a lot of spending to do like us. You've also got City, who haven't really done much but have a fantastic team and squad nonetheless. Neither of these four teams have weakened. No key players have left. No half decent players have left.

Then you've got us, who have lost the best striker in the world. There is your problem. We've signed lallana - does he improve first XI? IMO no, as Coutinho is better. We've also signed Markovic - does he improve first XI? No, as Sterling is regarded as of a higher quality. We've also signed Lambert and Can - do they improve first XI? No. We're set to sign Origi and Remy - do they improve first XI? No. We're also set to sign Lovren and Moreno, do they improve first XI? Yes.

Will arsenal be stronger defensively? Yes. Will they be stronger offensively? Yes. Surely that's our goal this summer, is it not?

We play those teams twice each, that's 8 games or 24 points, if we lose them all as you believe we will.  Still leaves us 90 points from the other 30 games, so it's all good mate.

This. Arsenal sign Debuchy, Khedira, Sanchez and Balotelli meaning their first XI alone is significantly stronger (if they complete those two transfers though).

Wasn't aware that Arsenal had signed anyone other than Sanchez, who won't improve their crap defense one bit.

You deal in a lot of assumptions I've noticed.

We play those teams twice each, that's 8 games or 24 points, if we lose them all as you believe we will.  Still leaves us 90 points from the other 30 games, so it's all good mate.

You dont win the league with more than 5 (max 6) losses mate. 8 straight up would see us outside the CL positions. If we were to lose those 8 its because of a quality issue that will see us lose more than 8. That said, I cant see us losing those 8games. Away matches maybe.

You deal in a lot of assumptions I've noticed.

What a polite Way to say he struggles with reality FL.

You dont win the league with more than 5 (max 6) losses mate. 8 straight up would see us outside the CL positions. If we were to lose those 8 its because of a quality issue that will see us lose more than 8. That said, I cant see us losing those 8games. Away matches maybe.

And you don't see many teams outside of the top 4 after reaching 90 points mate. 

Wasn't aware that Arsenal had signed anyone other than Sanchez, who won't improve their crap defense one bit.

You deal in a lot of assumptions I've noticed.

Crap defense? Jesus would hate to see what you class ours as. 4th best defensive record last season. Hardly equates to crap.

What a polite Way to say he struggles with reality FL.

I think it's you guys who sing "we're gonna win the league" and you guys who claimed we'd beat Palace 6 nil and Newcastle by 7 who struggle with reality..

Wasn't aware that Arsenal had signed anyone other than Sanchez, who won't improve their crap defense one bit.

You deal in a lot of assumptions I've noticed.

That's more your ignorance. They've signed Debuchy as well as Sanchez who you constantly dismissed would sign for them.

I think it's you guys who sing "we're gonna win the league" and you guys who claimed we'd beat Palace 6 nil and Newcastle by 7 who struggle with reality..

Don't know I said that,  but far better to live in hope than despair.  What's with this you guys crap?  Almost like you want to distance yourself from being called a Liverpool fan.

As long as we play with the same spirit as last season with the same free flowing football results will take care of themselves I feel very positive about this season and I like the new signings we have made as they all seem to make sense. Watch Sturridge fly this season.

As long as we play with the same spirit as last season with the same free flowing football results will take care of themselves I feel very positive about this season and I like the new signings we have made as they all seem to make sense. Watch Sturridge fly this season.

Ye heres hoping. If we are successful, I can see Studge winning the golden boot.

Don't know I said that,  but far better to live in hope than despair.  What's with this you guys crap?  Almost like you want to distance yourself from being called a Liverpool fan.

Not at all. I'm just trying to be realistic as much as you feel I am not.

I'm a proud Liverpool fan, regardless. Low point was H&G but that never stopped me backing our own team.

Not at all. I'm just trying to be realistic as much as you feel I am not.

I'm a proud Liverpool fan, regardless. Low point was H&G but that never stopped me backing our own team.

"Trying to be realistic" is crediting Arsenal with 2 signings they haven't actually made in order to attempt to reinforce a point that you've been banging on about (and twisting the truth about) since the window opened?