Hopes & Expectations

I've noticed in the match threads we've had to date, and the polls attached, quite a few people predicting a draw. Some of the posts go on to say something along the lines of 'We shouldn't underestimate them & a draw would be a good result'.

I was just wondering exactly what peoples expectations are of the team going into each game this season, as personally I wouldn't have been happy with a point before the Pompey game like some people, even though I was glad to have come away with that after the performance we put in. My own opinion is that in the league anything less than a win against teams outside the big four is a bad result, and we can't be aiming for a point against any of these teams if we want to win the title. Obviously sometimes things won't work out as planned, but I feel we have to expecting to beat every team we line up against, that is the mentality of Champions. Against the other 'big three' I expect us to pick up at least 6 points at home, and to beat at least one of them on their own turf if we are going to challenge.

Going by previous seasons we can probably afford to drop 25 points max if we're going to win the league. Assuming that we drop 9 against Utd, Arsenal & Chelsea over 6 games, and through freak results (which everyone gets) we'll probably drop another 10, that only leaves us with a 6 point margin if we're going to win it. With this in mind, going to the likes of Portsmouth, Newcastle & Spurs expecting a draw isn't good enough for me.

In Europe again apart from the big teams, the likes of Milan & Barca who we don't usually meet, anything but a win in the group stage isn't acceptable to me unless we've already qualified, be it home or away. I don't want to see us setting up with a 5 man midfield against the likes of Porto away, and certainly won't be happy if we only come away with a point. In the knockout stages it's a bit different as away goals come into play, and then I am happy for us to play for a clean sheet away from home.

In the League Cup I would like to see us experiment a little, playing some of our youngsters to see what they're made of & probably giving Itandje a few games, but I want to see us taking the FA Cup seriously. Last season's promise to play Dudek backfired, and is a mistake I don't want to see repeated. I hope & expect to see us challenging on three fronts this season, and don't really mind what happens to us in the Carling Cup, but the priority for me definitely has to be the league & if players have to be rested I would rather it was in one of the other competitions.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on what we should be aiming for this season, what's everyone elses view? Are there any teams outside the big four you would take a point against beforehand, or are you like me & expect to win all these games? Are all the competitions just as important, or should we be focusing on one in particular? I'd be interested to hear everyone's opinion, so all thoughts welcome.

People settling for the draw are life's eternal pessimists.

My personal view is that I expect Liverpool to win every single game they take part in - like Porto tonight. I expect us to win. If we draw I will be disappointed for the simple reason that we have been to two finals in 3 years and have beaten sides better than Porto away before.

Now some other people will say 'Ooh I will be pleased with a draw' thereby if their prophecy does come true they won't have the disappointment in their lives.

Comes down to simple human characteristics my friend.

I agree with you Eddie - anything but a win in the group stage games IS unacceptable.  We are seeded first for a reason.  If any team takes any points of us then we have underperformed, and that is not fine.

What about the league JD? I personally think that we have to be happy with picking up a point away at Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal, but apart from them we should expect to win every game home & away.

I agree with you EddieC. We have a team that can beat any other in the Prem but given the contingencies of playing the "big three" away and the odd freak result we will drop points. But its the mentality with which we approach these games that make a difference. We were champions league finalists last season, so technically, we should not have too big a problem in the group stages. We should be expecting a win in these circumstances and like you mentioned in a previous post if we come away with a draw because we were trying to win that eases it just a little. Our team is stronger and capable of so much and we have to believe that they are. People are saying that we are a season premature dreaming about the title...we've started off well enough and we have to sustain the challenge. Why can't we win the league? Previous title winners had an attitude when they played teams outside the top four, it was almost as if they had already beaten them before they even stepped onto the turf, the 90 minutes that followed was just an affirmation of that.

So yeah, I'm definitely aggreeing with you...draws against lower teams hurt, because we should be beating them...

Quite an obvious expectation surely!:

We should be looking to win every EVERY game at home - no matter whom we are playing.

We should player for player win every away game (Prem) against all teams apart from the other top 3.  Which we should expect to take a draw at best.

That will win us the league.

In Europe - win every home game, win the occasionally away game - and draw most.

This wins us the Champions League!

Quite an obvious expectation surely!:

Obviously not for everyone, if you look at the number of draws predicted against Villa & Portsmouth.

Of course it's not always going to be straight forward.

Every Away game in the league, we are never guaranteed a win - games like Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham this season - I would not put £100 of my own money on us winning those games. 

But, if we are to win this league...we have to expect to pick up 3 points at some of these grounds, if not most.

It's always nice being scepticle prior to the game - as you never know what Liverpool side will turn up - literally!

Quite an obvious expectation surely!:

We should be looking to win every EVERY game at home - no matter whom we are playing.

We should player for player win every away game (Prem) against all teams apart from the other top 3.  Which we should expect to take a draw at best.

That will win us the league.

In Europe - win every home game, win the occasionally away game - and draw most.

This wins us the Champions League!

I totally agree with Richobaz! (Do I need help?).

Win your home games and get something out of the away games in Europe gets us through the group stages and the knockout stages.  The Final is how good or lucky you are on the day.

When we were winning the league for fun we never expected to lose.  We always considered the opposition were lucky to get a point out of us.  To quote the 'great?' Tommy Docherty - "The only thing you get at Anfield is a cup of tea".  We must have the same attitude now home and away.

We didn't change the side for the League Cup or the F A Cup which is why a lot of the stars from that era can't even walk now.

I think we should use the kids for the League Cup and the usual rotation to accommodate the F A Cup.

Our priorities are the Premiership and the Champions League.  The domestic cups are just 'nice to haves'.

I believe and expect us to win every game we play!

Why?

Because Anfield should be, and is, a Fortress for us and no team should leave with anything. Away from home teams have to open up more because they are in front of their own fans. This should give us even more space to play our football, than we have at home, and in turn we should all off these games as well!
I think people expecting a draw is terrible and liverpool ownly achieving a draw even worse!

We were robbed by an idiot ref against chelsea, and the portsmouth game was an absolute disgrace of a performance, in my opinion!

I echo Eddies thoughts on this. I think the days of thinking a draw at the likes of Portsmouth is a good result should be coming to an end. I expect us to win every game we play in but realise some will be slightly tougher than others. But, every game we play in being home or away, we should be taking three points. The other top three are games that I expect us to win at home but admit away drawing wouldn't be too bad. The only other team I'd say would be slightly tricky is everton. Although we have an abundance of quality higher than them lot and should be thrashing them within an inch of their lives, I think it's fairly true to say derby games are not that simple and straight forward.

Folk say they would be happy with a draw so they arent to down hearted if we do draw but really we should all be down if we dont win every game i know i am.

To be honest i expect us to win every home game we play in, that includes the champions league, away from home i expect a win against all the sides, apart from the rest of the 'Big 4', obviously there will be the freak results that every team gets though. In the CC i couldn't really care less about it, use the kids in it.
In the FA cup i think Rafa will probably rotate the team, but i want us to take that competition seriously, CL - think in this we no longer need to prove ourselves but i wouldn't accept anything less than a win at home, away from home i would expect us to win most games, apart from against the big boys like Barca, AC Milian etc etc. In the league i want our strongest line up every week but obviously we won't get that.

Oldred - people on here will start talking about us...if you carry on like this?

I would like to differentiate between hopes and expectations. I hope we win every game, but it is unrealistic to expect to win every game; and I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than unpleasantly surprised. I'm not into setting myself up fo heartache. There's enough of that in life.
The Pompey game I called a draw because of all the factors going into it - and it was my first call for a draw this season. I reckon if we had played them the week before an international break, we could - and should - have stuffed them.
With Porto, I don't know enough about their side to really call it, but from what I gather, they are still a good side and worthy of respect, as opposed to any "easy, easy" calls.
You guys have a point about low expectations, but I'm not the one going out on the pitch, and neither are you. Certainly I would expect a professional footballer to go and play for a win, or at least the best result they can get in the circumstances (e.g. dodgey calls and injuries during the game). As for what I expect; that is my opinion and I am happy to discuss it - but I would resent anyone telling me what and how I should think.

People settling for the draw are life's eternal pessimists.

My personal view is that I expect Liverpool to win every single game they take part in - like Porto tonight. I expect us to win. If we draw I will be disappointed for the simple reason that we have been to two finals in 3 years and have beaten sides better than Porto away before.

Now some other people will say 'Ooh I will be pleased with a draw' thereby if their prophecy does come true they won't have the disappointment in their lives.

I think that's a bit unfair to say that "people who settle for a draw are life's eternal pessimists" as it's just a cautious prediction and yes I will have the disappointment in my life if we lose or play really bad and get a point anyway.  If you have the mentality that we will win every game then surely you have more of a fall and are being over optimistic.  I understand that everyone has an opinion and I really believe that we can win the title this year but expect to win every game? come on