I think we were punching above our weight for most of the season, in the league anyway. It would have been a truly exceptional effort to win it with the squad we have. The idea that we were going to win 8 on the bounce or whatever, when we hadn't done that all season, was always unlikely.
We got away with too many results and didn't turn up in the key games. Nevertheless, having found ourselves in such a strong position, it was incumbent on the players to fight until the end and not go out with a whimper, not just in the league but FA Cup and EL, where we had even better chances to win. Truly shameful the way it all fell apart.
Think this "didn't turn up in the key games" is a big exaggeration. It's true of our end of season games v Atalanta, Palace and Everton. But it's not true of our big games over the season as a whole.
We were very good v City at home - the ref gives the pen for the kung fu kick in Mac's chest and we win that. We were decent v them away and earned a draw. We got robbed at Spurs by VAR. We had Mac sent off at Chelsea and still played well. We were miles better than the Munts in both league games. Yes our finishing was poor and so you can say we've only ourselves to blame but poor finishing is not the same as not turning up. Away to Arsenal I grant you - they were way better. But at home we were better than them and again would've won if the ref n VAR hadn't decided it was ok to play basketball in your own pen area if you're playing us.
So, yeah, it fell apart at the end and in 3 of those last games you are right. But it's not true before that. And I'd also dispute that we got lucky or got away with things earlier in the season, not with all those decisions going against us.
We played better for most of this season than we are giving ourselves credit for. Yeah we need to improve but there was a lot of good stuff played.
This is a young team with newish forwards and a completely new midfield. Takes time to build a winning unit usually. Took time with Klopp's 1.0 team. We were ahead of schedule n then maybe got a nosebleed at the end, especially after Atalanta put doubt in our minds. Not unusual. Arsenal did the same last season and are now coping better this year cos they've got used to being in the running, and become tighter as a unit.
We've all maybe lost a bit of perspective over the last few weeks, me included, cos of the disappointment of being close and not being able to see it out. Hopefully we will look back on this as a rebuilding season, which is what it really was.
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