Half way in - what would a successful 2017/18 look like for you?

Qualifying for the Champions League again, preferably in the top three rather than top 4 would really be a sign that last year was no fluke or false dawn like we've had a couple of times in the last decade.  I'd take that in regards to the league.

We're 6 points down on last years pretty impressive points tally at this stage.  We ended up on 76 points.  I'm not sure whether we're going to improve on that but if we're 70+ then we've had a better second half of the season than last year.

And in the Champions League, I do think us getting to the last 8 would be a mini-achievement in itself given our last few attempts at it.

FA Cup is totally unpredictable.  Would be brilliant to get some silverware back but you have to have some fortune in terms of the opposition along the way.  I'd sacrifice say 2nd in the league for 4th to win it, but I don't think I'd sacrifice 4th for 5th.

Maybe I'm setting the bar too low but I'd say last 8 Champions League, 72+ points and inside the top 4 probably would be a good campaign from here?

Successful would be FA Cup winners, semi-finalist of the Champions League and 2nd place, which is double on points right now. Bear minimum would be 4th and reaching quarter finals of the Champions League. Side question: Does Klopp need to win a cup with it being his third year in charge and given his record with them?

If you're talking 'decent' then factoring in the poor summer transfer window and the iffy start to the season (until after the Spurs game) I'd say top four (all four go straight into the group stage so not arsed which position really). In terms of Champions League, I'd say beat Porto and see where that takes us - we've not got that much European experience in the squad so whilst on our day we could probably beat anyone there's just as much chance of a decent team teaching us a lesson.

In terms of 'successful' I'd say you've got to be looking at winning the FA Cup in addition to above.

Comfortable top 4 position, a hearty showing in the Champions League and FA Cup Final and you’ll get no complaints from me... winning one of the cups and a top 4 and I’d be very pleased.

Finishing 2nd in the league, lifting the FA Cup & Champions League trophies..

All 3 achievable...

Comfortable top 4 position, a hearty showing in the Champions League and FA Cup Final and you’ll get no complaints from me... winning one of the cups and a top 4 and I’d be very pleased.

So don't win the title, don't win the Champions League and don't win the only remaining domestic cup competition we're in and you won't complain? I'm not getting at you fella but this above anything else shows how dumbed down supporter expectations have become. This would have been unthinkable even just ten years ago.

Old Big Ears No 6 for me

Premier League winners. That's all. Seeing as impossible now, CL winners will do, failing that a 4th place finish.

FA Cup isn't as important to me.

Wildly unrealistic targets for a 'successful' season on here.

2nd in the league and win the FA cup and semi in CL. CL winners, prem winners... F**k me I'd be very happy with a 4th place finish again and we can keep slowly building. FA cup would be nice and last 8 of the CL should be achieveable too.

Maybe I'm being pessimistic though

I'd bite your hand off for top four and the FA cup.

We need some silverware. It's getting a bit cringey all this 'laughing at Everton since 95' when we've only won a league cup in the last 10/11 years.

Top four is the priority though so we can rebuild again in the summer. We can attract a different calibre of player now that we're back in the CL - salah, Keita, VVD etc. Qualify for the CL again and I expect some top additions to go with those three and I expect us to challenge on all fronts next season.

Top 3, CL Quarter-Finals and I would really like us to lift the FA Cup.

But most important thing, a good run... no more silly draws while we could win comfortably. Klopp needs to improve.

No silverware = No success, that will never change for me.

Top 4 is crucial this year in terms of building for the future and getting back to a position of competing regularly.

Would be very disappointed if we didn’t make the last 8 of CL, given the draw.

Whilst I think 2nd place in the league is achievable, is swap it in a heartbeat to win the FA Cup and finish 4th, we really do need to take that step of winning some trophies after losing finals since 2012.

So don't win the title, don't win the Champions League and don't win the only remaining domestic cup competition we're in and you won't complain? I'm not getting at you fella but this above anything else shows how dumbed down supporter expectations have become. This would have been unthinkable even just ten years ago.

That’s why I said I’d be very happy with winning one... 

But I’m realistic to know that a comfortable top 4 entry, also the fact it being two years on the trot we’d qualify (stability) and good showing in the CL is a step in the right direction compared to our usual struggles missing out on top 4 the season after getting it, while also CL performances were poor... so yeah I wouldn’t complain, totally happy? No, but I’m not blind to the improvement...

Wildly unrealistic targets for a 'successful' season on here.

2nd in the league and win the FA cup and semi in CL. CL winners, prem winners... F**k me I'd be very happy with a 4th place finish again and we can keep slowly building. FA cup would be nice and last 8 of the CL should be achieveable too.

Maybe I'm being pessimistic though

About where I'm at. I think we should be aiming top three as it is certainly there, especially if VvD does help stabilise the defence and shore up a few of those games we've dropped points in. Title is unrealistic for anyone but City, but 2nd is certainly there. I would say 4th and a decent CL & FA Cup run is acceptable, 2nd with any form of silverware would be above expectation with the fact the league is City's to lose.

I do believe we are as good of a shout as any for Europe, just with that forward line humming we can score against anyone we want... tt's keeping the goals out at the other end I'm very F***ing excited for the knockout stage though, bring it the F**k on.

A trophy and 2nd in the league.

I think both are very achievable.

Big ears number 6

Success is pots.

Real progress is top 4 and at least a semi in European Cup.

“Steady” progress is top 4 again. First time 2 years in row since 2009.

Come on. Last 8 of the Champions League isn't just "achievable", we were quite lucky with the draw considering who we could have faced there, and now we *have* to beat Porto as we're a much stronger team. Make no mistake, FCP are a decent side with a relatively strong starting XI, but they got no answer to our Coutinho, Salah, Firmino etc.

So I'd say UCL quarter finals as a minimum, and then who knows, if we're on a good run by then, and maybe with a bit of luck in the draw, we could go all the way.

In the league, I just want to qualify for the UCL again. I know there's a difference between 2nd and 4th, but I'm not too bothered in all honesty. Top 3 would be preferable so we avoid the qualifying rounds, but as long as we're in it, that's the most important thing.

Staying in the Champions League for a sustained period of time is absolutely crucial if we want to sustain and then increase our level of spending and continue to build up our squad.

Top 4, good run in the CL and a good run in the FA cup will show that we are truly moving forward.

I'm actually more optimistic about next season because we will have a better team, especially that we signed a super star in the making in Keita and hopefully we sign Goretzka and a good GK.

“Steady” progress is top 4 again. First time 2 years in row since 2009.

This is basically how I’m seeing this season... sure I’ll be happy if we win one of the cups, but I’d say as long as we show heart and don’t whimper out of them, especially CL, but again get top 4, more comfortably than last year, then I won’t complain because like I said above it shows we have got a bit more stability to us... and with the signings coming in I expect us to be a force next season!

I still reckon we can get a cup this season though, funnily enough, I feel the CL is the one we have a better chance in...

Finish ahead of United.
Win the FA Cup.
Win the Champions League.

Staying in the top 4 would be realistic now for the rest of the season, VVD purchase will help us achieve that. Would be nice to get some silverware so the FA cup is our only chance of that and a decent run in the Champions league. Would also like to see the Scum buckle under the pressure and we claim 2nd or 3rd place in may.

On a  realistic note, I would think 3rd place in the league, quarter finals in the CL and  an FA Cup will be a real improvement from last season. One step at a time, not that we have an all conquering side at the moment.

That’s why I said I’d be very happy with winning one... 

But I’m realistic to know that a comfortable top 4 entry, also the fact it being two years on the trot we’d qualify (stability) and good showing in the CL is a step in the right direction compared to our usual struggles missing out on top 4 the season after getting it, while also CL performances were poor... so yeah I wouldn’t complain, totally happy? No, but I’m not blind to the improvement...

I know, like I said, I wasn't getting at you, all I meant was that it shows how far we've fallen as a club when supporters will accept the progress of not winning anything so long as we finish 4th. It's not a criticism of supporters but the club's failure. I do think we need to win something though this season. This team is getting used to not winning anything, to being perennial alsorans. I think for their own growth they need to lift a trophy, even if its just the FA Cup. A trophy would also be a visual symbol of our progress back towards being a successful club. I also think Klopp needs to win something in order to show that he can because he hasn't won a major trophy in five years and his success is rather overplayed in the minds of many supporters - Two Bundesliga titles, one domestic cup and two (German equivalent to) Charity Shields.  I think Klopp needs to show that he's not just a great motivator, not just a great coach, but a proven winner.

I know, like I said, I wasn't getting at you, all I meant was that it shows how far we've fallen as a club when supporters will accept the progress of not winning anything so long as we finish 4th. It's not a criticism of supporters but the club's failure. I do think we need to win something though this season. This team is getting used to not winning anything, to being perennial alsorans. I think for their own growth they need to lift a trophy, even if its just the FA Cup. A trophy would also be a visual symbol of our progress back towards being a successful club. I also think Klopp needs to win something in order to show that he can because he hasn't won a major trophy in five years and his success is rather overplayed in the minds of many supporters - Two Bundesliga titles, one domestic cup and two (German equivalent to) Charity Shields.  I think Klopp needs to show that he's not just a great motivator, not just a great coach, but a proven winner.

Success overplayed?

If we accept that winning the Bundisliga if you’re not Bayern Munich is at least as hard as winning the Premiership how does that logic work?

But hey - he might win a trophy and get sacked like the last guy to do so.......that’d be a “win-win” for you would it not?

Didn’t you call for his head around September?

If we accept that winning the Bundisliga if you’re not Bayern Munich is at least as hard as winning the Premiership how does that logic work?

I'm not sure I accept that myself... (this bears no relevance to the main topic of the thread but I just like intruding into other people's conversations)

I'd say that winning the Bundesliga if you're not Bayern Munich around the Guardiola era would've been perhaps as hard as winning the Premier League, but at the time Klopp did it, he was not exactly making unheard of type of history there.

Bayern may have won 5 in a row in 2016-17, and are now on their way towards winning a 6th this season, but this is actually the first time they have won more than 3 league titles in a row, ever. So this type of dominance is actually a more recent development.

Before that, what you had was generally Bayern dominating, but whenever they had a bad year for some reason or another, a random club would, on occasion, win the league. That's the advantage of pretty much having only one major adversary - if they f**k up, you have a real chance.

That's how Dortmund won it in 2001-02 under Matthias Sammer (who later went on to do a good job as Bayern sporting director), then Werder Bremen in 2003-04 under Thomas Schaaf, Armin Veh's Stuttgart in 2006-07, Wolfsburg won their first ever Bundesliga in 2008-09 under Felix Magath, and finally Dortmund did it in 2010-11 with our Jürgen. And yet, none of those managers are held in as high regard as Jürgen just for having won the Bundesliga with a club not named Bayern (for good reason, I'd add, but I'm just making a different point here).

The main difference in Jürgen's case was that he did it twice in a row, something that only Dortmund themselves (in 94-95 and 95-96), Hamburg (in the 80's) and Monchengladbach (in the 70's) have ever done, aside of course from Bayern Munich. Moreover, he made a mark in Europe in a way the likes of Stuttgart and Wolfsburg never did (though similarly to the Dortmund of the 90's, who were European champions), and rebuilt them from a near bankrupt position to a team that is sustainably challenging, even if still far behind Bayern in many dimensions.

So I'm not in any way trying to diminish Jürgen's work at Dortmund as it was absolutely brilliant, just throwing it out there in regards to the comparison you made. And mostly because I actually went through the winning managers of every single European top leagues for the past 30 years recently (to prove a point in another thread), so I have all this useless knowledge in my brain I felt I should put to use.

Anyway, the Premier League these days is definitely the most competitive league in the world, and much harder to win by comparison. Not only there are many clubs with relatively similar spending power, you could also argue that the league has attracted the very best managers in the world.

Successful would be FA Cup winners, semi-finalist of the Champions League and 2nd place, which is double on points right now. Bear minimum would be 4th and reaching quarter finals of the Champions League. Side question: Does Klopp need to win a cup with it being his third year in charge and given his record with them?

Not sure about having to win something, but last 4 CL and 2nd in Prem would be a marked improvement for me.

I'm not sure I accept that myself... (this bears no relevance to the main topic of the thread but I just like intruding into other people's conversations)

I'd say that winning the Bundesliga if you're not Bayern Munich around the Guardiola era would've been perhaps as hard as winning the Premier League, but at the time Klopp did it, he was not exactly making unheard of type of history there.

Bayern may have won 5 in a row in 2016-17, and are now on their way towards winning a 6th this season, but this is actually the first time they have won more than 3 league titles in a row, ever. So this type of dominance is actually a more recent development.

Before that, what you had was generally Bayern dominating, but whenever they had a bad year for some reason or another, a random club would, on occasion, win the league. That's the advantage of pretty much having only one major adversary - if they f**k up, you have a real chance.

That's how Dortmund won it in 2001-02 under Matthias Sammer (who later went on to do a good job as Bayern sporting director), then Werder Bremen in 2003-04 under Thomas Schaaf, Armin Veh's Stuttgart in 2006-07, Wolfsburg won their first ever Bundesliga in 2008-09 under Felix Magath, and finally Dortmund did it in 2010-11 with our Jürgen. And yet, none of those managers are held in as high regard as Jürgen just for having won the Bundesliga with a club not named Bayern (for good reason, I'd add, but I'm just making a different point here).

The main difference in Jürgen's case was that he did it twice in a row, something that only Dortmund themselves (in 94-95 and 95-96), Hamburg (in the 80's) and Monchengladbach (in the 70's) have ever done, aside of course from Bayern Munich. Moreover, he made a mark in Europe in a way the likes of Stuttgart and Wolfsburg never did (though similarly to the Dortmund of the 90's, who were European champions), and rebuilt them from a near bankrupt position to a team that is sustainably challenging, even if still far behind Bayern in many dimensions.

So I'm not in any way trying to diminish Jürgen's work at Dortmund as it was absolutely brilliant, just throwing it out there in regards to the comparison you made. And mostly because I actually went through the winning managers of every single European top leagues for the past 30 years recently (to prove a point in another thread), so I have all this useless knowledge in my brain I felt I should put to use.

Anyway, the Premier League these days is definitely the most competitive league in the world, and much harder to win by comparison. Not only there are many clubs with relatively similar spending power, you could also argue that the league has attracted the very best managers in the world.

All about opinions Diego - I happen to disagree. The logic still passes that a team other than Bayern wins the league less frequently than the title changes hands in England (admittedly only amongst Chelsea, Utd and Citeh - Leicester aside).

My point anyway was more that his two titles in Germany is a damned sight more than we’ve come close to achieving (League wise) in 27 years so I think diminishing it is evidence of a particular agenda (original convo, not your challenge).

Anyhow......

I’ve wuoted above what I feel the min requirements are, but wining the C L, I’m up for that and think it is possible, with s little bit of luck, and our new keeper in place in Jan 🤪

All about opinions Diego - I happen to disagree. The logic still passes that a team other than Bayern wins the league less frequently than the title changes hands in England (admittedly only amongst Chelsea, Utd and Citeh - Leicester aside).

My point anyway was more that his two titles in Germany is a damned sight more than we’ve come close to achieving (League wise) in 27 years so I think diminishing it is evidence of a particular agenda (original convo, not your challenge).

Anyhow......

I take your point, but I'd put it another way: the title in England exchanges hands only between clubs of similarly high investment (Chelsea, Utd, City), with the odd exception with smaller budgets (Leicester) being a total aberration to how things usually work.

Meanwhile in the Bundesliga, teams of much lesser investment (in comparison to the one giant of that country, Bayern) win the league far more frequently - Kaiserslautern, Dortmund, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg. For me, that's because in Germany you basically need Bayern to have a bad year (or be absolutely fantastic to surpass them), whereas in England you need a host of clubs to seriously F**k up in order to win the title with a club like Leicester.

That was the reason for my observation.

But anyway, we sure agree that Klopp's achievements at Dortmund were fantastic. And in this day and age where the competition is almost entirely dominated by the continent's "super" clubs, taking a club such as Dortmund as far in the Champions League as he did was fantastic.

Success and progress are different kettles of fish.
Progress imo would be a top4 place while at the same time getting to the latter stages of the FA Cup, and we've already made progress this season on our most recent showing in the CL.
Success imo is to win trophies. FA or CL or PL. Don't think it'll be PL. But no reason why we can't shoot for one of the other two

Success and progress are different kettles of fish.
Progress imo would be a top4 place while at the same time getting to the latter stages of the FA Cup, and we've already made progress this season on our most recent showing in the CL.
Success imo is to win trophies. FA or CL or PL. Don't think it'll be PL. But no reason why we can't shoot for one of the other two

Precisely my point. Whilst our club needs to show progress, this team, this group of players need to have some form of success for its own individual growth. They need to get used to winning things if we want them to win things, start tasting what success feels like in a Liverpool shirt, and if not now, then when? Not being successful at our club makes it easier for them to view our club as a stepping stone.

The title of this thread says 'successful' not acceptable. Qualifying for the Champions league twice on the run for the first time in ten years would be acceptable, given that it shows progress, but it could hardly be described as being a success. So for a successful season we need to dust off the Trophy Cabinet because its been looking bare for far too long.

I know, like I said, I wasn't getting at you, all I meant was that it shows how far we've fallen as a club when supporters will accept the progress of not winning anything so long as we finish 4th. It's not a criticism of supporters but the club's failure. I do think we need to win something though this season. This team is getting used to not winning anything, to being perennial alsorans. I think for their own growth they need to lift a trophy, even if its just the FA Cup. A trophy would also be a visual symbol of our progress back towards being a successful club. I also think Klopp needs to win something in order to show that he can because he hasn't won a major trophy in five years and his success is rather overplayed in the minds of many supporters - Two Bundesliga titles, one domestic cup and two (German equivalent to) Charity Shields.  I think Klopp needs to show that he's not just a great motivator, not just a great coach, but a proven winner.

But the game has changed considerably, of course it would be great to win a domestic trophy but at the expense of a second season in a row in the Champions League it would probably hurt our longer term development more despite the glory of winning an FA Cup. Sustained qualification for the Champions League vastly improves your ability to attract and to keep hold of the better players in the world. An FA Cup would be terrific it really would but there are plenty who would not swap a cup win for a top 4 finish. That's just how it is in modern day football.

@ the barest minimum, a top three finish would do.

Top 4 and CL again.

Continuation and progress.

But the game has changed considerably, of course it would be great to win a domestic trophy but at the expense of a second season in a row in the Champions League it would probably hurt our longer term development more despite the glory of winning an FA Cup. Sustained qualification for the Champions League vastly improves your ability to attract and to keep hold of the better players in the world. An FA Cup would be terrific it really would but there are plenty who would not swap a cup win for a top 4 finish. That's just how it is in modern day football.

You're still confusing success with progress. They are not one and the same thing. The game has not changed, not one iota. Competitive sport is about winning things, it always has been and ever shall be. You're first or you're nowhere. That's the measurement of success. So again, I point you to the title of this thread. It doesn't say what does an acceptable 2017/18 look like, it asks what does a successful one look like, and if for you finishing 4th is success, then you're supporting the wrong club.

You're still confusing success with progress. They are not one and the same thing. The game has not changed, not one iota. Competitive sport is about winning things, it always has been and ever shall be. You're first or you're nowhere. That's the measurement of success. So again, I point you to the title of this thread. It doesn't say what does an acceptable 2017/18 look like, it asks what does a successful one look like, and if for you finishing 4th is success, then you're supporting the wrong club.

Fourth is not success Five , I agree with you on that point.
We are Billy Shankly Boys ...some of us ...and brought up on anything but first is not worth mentioning.

However ... from the shambles and low point this club reached in recent years then to again finish the season in a CL berth to me would be a success. It shows progress. I don't care if its 2nd 3rd or 4th but to finish in one of those positions will consolidate where we are . We can kick on from there in 18/19.

I am satisfied. It's going into the right direction. I need #4 in the league or some silverware (FA, CL) to call this season a success. Next year that will change: Only silverware will count from that point on. 

You're still confusing success with progress. They are not one and the same thing. The game has not changed, not one iota. Competitive sport is about winning things, it always has been and ever shall be. You're first or you're nowhere. That's the measurement of success. So again, I point you to the title of this thread. It doesn't say what does an acceptable 2017/18 look like, it asks what does a successful one look like, and if for you finishing 4th is success, then you're supporting the wrong club.

Read the title of the thread again 'what would a successful season look like for YOU?' It says. It's subjective. In the context of where we've been in recent years, finishing in the top 4 places THIS season (no mean feat given there are 5 teams vying for three places) would represent success for many in this board. It's subjective is it not? You don't need to play thought police to everyone all the time. You can lament the fall of expectations of your typical Red but that makes not one iota of difference to how the team itself performs so what does it matter?

Finishing 2nd and winning the FA Cup would be good progress for me.

We're easily the second best side in the league so I hope we transfer that into the final league position.

I do have a feeling though we might do something in the CL and wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the final.

Precisely my point. Whilst our club needs to show progress, this team, this group of players need to have some form of success for its own individual growth. They need to get used to winning things if we want them to win things, start tasting what success feels like in a Liverpool shirt, and if not now, then when? Not being successful at our club makes it easier for them to view our club as a stepping stone.

Yea, success is like a habit that you can fall in and out of. Reckon players who have already won trophies are much better prepared psychologically to win again. Having experience of finals/crunch games and of closing out winning positions stands to players for the next time.
And part of this squads progress is to start winning, getting across the line, and getting the hunger for more.

I've no doubt that Jürgen is not in this just to make progress, he wants to win sh*t. And thank God for that.
He's slowing improving the quality of players in the squad, and appears to be getting the backing to do it, which is great too.
Doesn't happen overnight, and there will be bumps along the way.
But he is most definitely the man for the job, absolutely nobody else I'd rather have in the position.
Just look at the VVD signing - Klopp was a massive influence.

Have no doubt that success is not far away ...

Just having Klopp someone who can convince a player like VVD to come to the Reds when Guardiola wanted him is progress for me.

Top 4 and silverware is a must for me!

Finishing 2nd and winning the FA Cup would be good progress for me.

We're easily the second best side in the league so I hope we transfer that into the final league position.

I do have a feeling though we might do something in the CL and wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the final.

Ditto

Top 3 in the league, semi-finals of the CL and winning the FA Cup.

League - can't win it and we're giving a small lead up to the other two above us so if we can overtake one of them then I'd take it. That'd also mean avoiding a late heart-wrenching run like last season to confirm our spot in the top four.

CL - couldn't have asked for a better group and opponent in the first knockout stage. A quarter-final berth is the minimum to expect and can't be considered a success at this point if we were to only beat Porto because in all honesty, we should. Comfortably.

FA Cup - I want to win something.

Top 3 in the league, semi-finals of the CL and winning the FA Cup.

League - can't win it and we're giving a small lead up to the other two above us so if we can overtake one of them then I'd take it. That'd also mean avoiding a late heart-wrenching run like last season to confirm our spot in the top four. Next year there is a genuine opportunity to jump above both those sides - with the right investment - and it would be a good 'signal' to the rest of Europe to demonstrate that to recruits.

CL - couldn't have asked for a better group and opponent in the first knockout stage. A quarter-final berth is the minimum to expect and can't be considered a success at this point if we were to only beat Porto because in all honesty, we should. Comfortably.

FA Cup - I want to win something.

I think I'm about the same, with similar reasoning.

I think we're arguably as good as Chelsea and United over a season and I'd like to finish above at least one of them. I think we're a better side than Spurs, who are massively overrated, and Arsenal. United are there for the taking especially!

If we can find our way past Porto, I don't think anyone would actively 'want' to draw us and we've it in us to play two really high level, high energy games to go through.

FA Cup is a serious option for us, I'm fed up being used to winning f**k all.

Successful would be
1) League Title or
2) Champion’s League Title or
3) FA Cup and qualify for CL next year.

Has to be hardware.

So FAR

Grand scheme

• We've lost 2 league games (so far). 1 was a freak of nature with an unfair sending off. The other was a BAD performance with many individual errors.
  
  We've also drawn far to many from winning positions.
  
  Man City have been unstoppable.

End of Season

• A good end to the season would be Top 4 and a trophy.
  A great end to the season would be top 4 a trophy, keep Coutinho and get a new goalkeeper.

Finishing 2nd and winning the FA Cup would be good progress for me.

We're easily the second best side in the league so I hope we transfer that into the final league position.

I do have a feeling though we might do something in the CL and wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the final.

I've been thinking the same thing about the CL for awhile now. There are some very strong teams in it, don't get me wrong, but I just have a feeling that we are playing such a phenomenal brand of attacking football that we will take many teams by surprise.

We are the second-best team in the league - I agree with that, too. I think that with us shoring up our defence with VVD, we can only get a better points-per-game ratio, too. That means overtaking Chelsea and United, but we would never have any chance of catching City so I'd happily settle for second at this moment in time.

The FA Cup is too unpredictable, but I definitely wouldn't say no to winning that and top four.

For a season to be successful in the eyes of most fans demands something more than just 'progress.' Heard that word for 27 seasons, now. Progress towards what?  Progress starts by winning something shiny.

We reached two finals last season (but one) and missed out, so any trophy win would be a start, and I think we NEED it psychologically, as fans and as a club.
BUT...
For us to catch City would need them to drop 20+ points (e.g. 4 defeats and 4 draws) and us to drop NONE for the rest of the season, so we can count out winning the League.

I agree that CL looks eminently possible this season, but we'll need to learn to manage games much better than we do now, or the CL's usual suspects will manage us out of it.

FA cup is a lottery for the likes of us because we don't prioritise it and our weakened side is always prone to tripping over a crap team from some forgotten corner of hell.

League Carabou? Cup has gone.

4th place?  We should have that as bread and butter if we keep our form up.  Absolute minimum expectation.

So for me its CL or bust.  Get to the final and make Europe sit up and take notice, maybe even, dare I say it, ...!

I can't see us getting even close to winning the Champions League. Defensively we are still very poor and it would require an extraordinary amount of luck for us to even get close to the final. We had a piss-easy group and still made very hard work of getting out of it.

The FA Cup is do-able for us but we have yet to play the 3rd round yet!

Realistically, I can't see us winning anything this season simply because of our defence. It's the reason Leicester dumped us out of the League Cup. Top 4 will do for me.

I want and expect:
3rd in premier league
Last 8 of champions league
FA cup winners.

Then come the summer transfer window:
A new keeper
A defensive midfielder
A new striker to back up Bobby

I'll be satisfied if we finish top 4 and above Utd.  Win the FA Cup or CL on top of that and it would be a big success. 

I would settle for Champions League semi-finals.  Learning how to shut games down and keeping clean sheets, the rest will follow.

YNWA

I would settle for Champions League semi-finals.  Learning how to shut games down and keeping clean sheets, the rest will follow.

YNWA

So good- posted twice.. I posted a defensive line up against Arsenal away , albeit with plenty of goal threat and was jumped on as a Hodgson clone.

Many are fixated with the Fab 4 etc anyone who posts a side and a plan to do a shut out gets dumped on.

Win every game... %100 so far 😂

Win the Champions League, win the FA Cup and finish second or first in the League.

This may be seen as optimistic but let me explain the thinking behind it.

This is based on van Dijk increasing the resilience of our defence by approximately 20%.

The Champions League is now into the knockout phase and we can beat anyone at home and our away form in both the Premier League and the Champions League has improved recently under Klopp this Season. Same goes for the FA Cup.

Palace put a dent in the City armour the other day and after their game against Watford tonight they visit us a week Sunday. When we beat them i am confident it will trigger an inferiority complex within their team which will result in a series of poor results as their confidence subsides.

They have games against Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke, Scum, Everton & Spurs, so some potential banana skins there. With the tightening up of our defensive unit i expect us to win all our games so there is every chance we could potentially win the League. For this to happen City would have to lose 6 games, when we beat them at Anfield that leaves five of the above to do the same.

I know this sounds slightly optimistic but if van Dijk can hit the ground running then the confidence his presence will breed will lift the entire squad, this in turn will improve our defence which will in turn increase the likelihood of a win when scoring three or more goals. 

Win the Champions League, win the FA Cup and finish second or first in the League.

I like your confidence mate but ain’t gony happen. Even if we beat them next week, they’ll need to lose 5 or draw 8, without us dropping any points. If Cou stays i’m quite confident we will finish second.

As for the CL, we certainly have a chance given we have arguably the most formidable attack in Europe, but I wouldn’t be judging Klopp on whether or not we get number 6.

FA Cup is more than achievable. It’s about time we picked up some silverware and this is our best chance.

I like your confidence mate but ain’t gony happen. Even if we beat them next week, they’ll need to lose 5 or draw 8, without us dropping any points. If Cou stays i’m quite confident we will finish second.

As for the CL, we certainly have a chance given we have arguably the most formidable attack in Europe, but I wouldn’t be judging Klopp on whether or not we get number 6.

FA Cup is more than achievable. It’s about time we picked up some silverware and this is our best chance.

That's what we said in 2005.

That's what we said in 2005.

When we finished fifth?

He's talking about winning the league, mate. And that's not going to happen. City have to drop 18/48 points and we have to win every single one.

And that's not going to happen.

With Migs and possibly Lovren.

At this precise moment in time I'd be happy with the latter stages of CL perhaps the semi's although i think we can go all the way,
Top 3 in the league, most definitely not out of the question might even sneak ' Bridesmaids' and as a cherry the FA cup,

Progress made and a very bright future, i'd settle for that!


YNWA

When we finished fifth?

He's talking about winning the league, mate. And that's not going to happen. City have to drop 18/48 points and we have to win every single one.

Precisely mate, thanks for clarifying.

Gotta take the fa cup seriously.Win the F***ing thing.

Upgraded.

Currently three points behind ...... to finish above the Scum.

Meet and Beat Barcelona in Champions League ideally in the finals but next round would do too.

Replace Simon? I'm that desperate, really.

I'd settle for a decent run in the FA cup, hopefully winning it, decent run in CL and finish top 4 in the league, hopefully in second place.

Upgraded.

Currently three points behind ...... to finish above the Scum.

Before  their game tonight v  Stoke we are currently level on points.   

(If they buy Sanchez they are doing the very same as when they bought in from Arsenal  Van Persie five years ago.
To score goals. Proven goal scorer.)

A number six CL will be nice.

Many combos I read here, but I'd go for -

1.  3rd place finish
2.  Quarter finals in the CL
3.  FA Cup winner.

This itself is an improvement over last season and certainly achievable. Not forgetting we still have a few calamity members in our squad. Until we get those replaced we'll always be thereabouts. 

Second/third place.

Champions league quarter/semi finalists.

FA Cup winners.

Am I aiming a little high? I don't think so. In truth, I want a CL final but as this is our first appearance in the knock-outs for a few years, I've lowered the expectations unless we exceed those in the future.

2nd place. FA cup bagged  and last 4 in Europe. Tbat would a very succesful season

Bridesmaids, FA Cup win & No 6,
Anything less is a complete failure and everyone will be shot ! 



YNWA

Bridesmaids, FA Cup win & No 6,
Anything less is a complete failure and everyone will be shot ! 



YNWA

By Order of the Peaky Blinders.

Top 3 in the league, semi-finals of the CL and winning the FA Cup.

League - can't win it and we're giving a small lead up to the other two above us so if we can overtake one of them then I'd take it. That'd also mean avoiding a late heart-wrenching run like last season to confirm our spot in the top four.

CL - couldn't have asked for a better group and opponent in the first knockout stage. A quarter-final berth is the minimum to expect and can't be considered a success at this point if we were to only beat Porto because in all honesty, we should. Comfortably.

FA Cup - I want to win something.

How quickly things change...

Sold our best player, let go of our second best striker in a department we're already short of quality in depth and have seen every single one of our rivals strengthen.

With that in mind, I would take the following:

- Fourth in the league
- Beating Porto

A Champions league win is the only thing that will make this a successful season. 2nd, 3rd or ,4th in the league is not a success for anyone but FSG, I want trophies!