And if we finished 5th?

I was born in 1985 so for me, seeing Liverpool win trophies is still not the norm, i was raised with the Scum taking all the silverware.

Roll on the next few years, if we keep Rafa then things will only get better... 

First of all nnilswerdna since 1985 we have won a fair amount of trophies all but 1 . . . . . the prem (1990 the league wasnt the prem) ! so us not winning trophies is not the norm to me is a load of bollocks !
Mathematically we are in with a shout either way , jd is right in saying so . In my opinion we have struggled to hit top form all season and due to other teams in the top 4 also dropping points  its put us still within reach , we have made ground on last season but only because others have lost some . Either way we are still in it and if we can find are form like we always do in the 2 nd half of the season then its ours for the taking .
    If we are unfortunate to finish 5 th then its likely it will be time up for rafa, but is that really the answer ? who can take over him and bring us number 19 ? who could we trust to do it ? would we be going back to someone with another 5 year plan again ? I personally dread to think who the yanks would bring in after the whole klingsman fiasco .

It's an interesting topic, brings up a whole host of questions.

Obviously Rafa's leadership would have to be questioned. I appreciate that he has brought quality players to the club, and has dealt with some difficult situations off the field, and I do consider that our strongest XI is of equal quality to that of the other big clubs in England. That being said, however, if Rafa cannot sustain a title challenge with the squad we have then his abilities would be under scrutiny.

This is now a squad almost entirely of his conception, playing in a manner he chooses - were we to finish fifth this would not be the end of the world (even if I'd obviously be gutted), but his ability to maintain a challenge in the EPL would be doubtful.

This is all speculation though! What would we do if we finished fourth, third, or second? Until the season is over I will continue to believe we will win the title, and remain 100% behind the manager and players.

wake up reds, i am thousands of miles away from you and i believe in lfc more than you. you ought to be more optimists ( sorry for my english)

It's important to keep Rafa if we are wanting to win trophies. Stability is the key. Though if Rafa doesn't win anything this season, his position would be questioned because he's been in charge for 5 years and we haven't won any trophies for the last 2 seasons.

Finishing 5th is just unthinkable.

It wont happen, so theres no point debating it.

We ALWAYS hit our stride in this part of the season

Where do people get this conception that we're stronger in the second half of the season?

Our league form under Benitez:

04/05 -
first 19 games = 31 points
last 19 games = 27 points

05/06 -
first 19 games = 41 points
last 19 games = 41 points

06/07 -
first 19 games = 34 points
last 19 games = 34 points

07/08 -
first 19 games = 37 points
last 19 games = 39 points

So once in four seasons have we ended up with more points in the second half of the season than the first. Now we've picked up 42 points in our opening 19 games this year, more than at any other stage under Benitez and I personally think it'll be a struggle for us to win more than that in the last 19 games. We've played three of the last 19 earning five points.

We have all the tough(er) sides (bar United and now Everton has gone) to come at Anfield, which has been our downfall this year, so again those home games may make it more difficult for us to eclipse the 42 points in the first half of the season.

Sticking to the gist of the topic though as a possibility of finishing fifth? Well yes I still think it's a possibility but Arsenal and Villa both have extremely small squads in comparison to the big three (ourselves included) and that might take it's toll in the final months of the campaign should injuries and/or suspensions hit. If of course the injuries hit us yet Villa and Arsenal manage to keep a fully fit squad fifth could be right on the cards for us, which would undoubtedly beg questions of Rafa Benitez and his future at Anfield.

Not only Benitez but the future of others at the club. Next season (09/10) is a world cup year in South Africa and not many of our current squad hoping to go to that world cup with their respective nations are gonna want to be playing UEFA Cup football. Finishing fifth would also mean less money from UEFA, TV revenue, prize money and so on. The knock on effect is less money to spend in the transfer window and much more difficult to attract world class players.

Fifth would be a disaster for us at the moment, but fortunately I don't see it happening as the first half of the season has put us in a great position and we should have enough quality to get the another 30-35 points which would almost guarentee a top four finish. Not that our aim should be a top four finish, our expectations should be much higher than that but if the wheels were to fall off our title challenge, I still think we have enough to finish in the top four.

We always go in a slump and then win the rest of the season is a better comment to make. Luckily our slump isn't as big as it was last season luckily. So when we get our win its up up and away from then

very much doubt we will end up fifthed, only if we have loads of injuries that could happen!!

DLS, the stats don't the whole story.

We've always been more convincing in the second half, not necessarily picking up a substancial amount of points more than the first half.

Not only Benitez but the future of others at the club. Next season (09/10) is a world cup year in South Africa and not many of our current squad hoping to go to that world cup with their respective nations are gonna want to be playing UEFA Cup football. Finishing fifth would also mean less money from UEFA, TV revenue, prize money and so on. The knock on effect is less money to spend in the transfer window and much more difficult to attract world class players.

Fifth would be a disaster for us at the moment, but fortunately I don't see it happening as the first half of the season has put us in a great position and we should have enough quality to get the another 30-35 points which would almost guarentee a top four finish. Not that our aim should be a top four finish, our expectations should be much higher than that but if the wheels were to fall off our title challenge, I still think we have enough to finish in the top four.

Totally agree dls, my expectation is at worst second.Finishing fifth in ANY season is unthinkable now with the debt were saddled with, the Yanks have burdened us with a built in requiirement to achieve CL football just to help service the interest payments.What chance has Rafa or any replacemnt manager got to blood  promising young players ( of which we have many) as replacements for under performing first team squad players.

I know I'm burying my head in the sand, but I don't even want to contemplate us coming 5th.

Surely after being in such a strong position for most of the season, we will at the very least finish in the top three, I sincerely hope so anyway.

But wherever we finish my support and love for Liverpool will never fade. 

I just feel this is and has been our best chance for years, I hope we don't throw it away.


By the way top post Glenbuck, very sensible and well thought out.

Good post Glenbuck...Come on guys lets be a little bit more positive and have just a tad more faith in Rafa!

I personally don't really think we will finish 5th. It's possible but unlikely. The worst I can see, is 2nd place for us. Since we're joint top now, it's obviously our best chance to win the league. We may have dropped unnecessary points but we are still in the race.

Be optimistic people. I think we'll finish 2nd personally, unfortunately I think we'll finish about 4points behind Man U. We need to keep our heads up. Stabiility is the key, and I don't think that if we fail to win the league this year anything stupid should happen. If we finished 5th however which is the title of the thread, then I think Rafa's position might be under pressure. I don't think it should be, stability on as many levels as possible is the key. We need to keep mostly the same squad, coaches etc. If we can improve slightly in those areas then we should try to, a.k.a selling and buying players. We need to be thinking about the title in the next 2-3years. Not about finishing 5th