Yes, as I've said, I'm arguing for the principle, not for this lot in particular. If, I don't know, Michael Cox did this stuff though...
RAWK Goes Into Lockdown 24/25 Edition - Famous European nights at Anfield are like Quadruples, imaginary!
- Thread starter JinnerJamie
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss three 1-1 draws.
The first got us knocked out of the FA Cup, the next puts us in a good position in our Round of 16 Europa League game, and the latest was an actual decent performance against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All hopes for the season now rest on the Europa League - does Amorim have the squad to win it?
What the feck
From official Liverpool Forums
Remember when Liverpool had unexplainably unrelenting fitness on alternate seasons under Klopp? Goldbridge Farm remembers.
Beat by the drums.
Que?
You mean Soccer Saturday? You do realise why Soccer Saturday was there right? So fans can get updates on the 3pm kick offs, which are not on tv.
Recently, we have apps and other sources to check scores, but in the past soccer saturday was where people got scores.
There is a massive difference, one is following 1 game whilst the other is updates to every game in the PL to nations league.
I said Soccer Saturday.
No I know why it was originally conceived but we had the Internet, ceefax, the radio and pubs showing games even back in the mid to late 90s to be fair mate. Never in 30 odd years have I had to rely on it for football scores.
You say its massively different but both are basically just people watching other people, who are watching football that they're not watching.
If people enjoy them fair enough but I've never understood the popularity of either.
I actually laughed when Darwin stepped up. As it was very obvious he would miss.
It was like when De Gea stepped up to take one for us in the Europa League final in terms of “obviously he will miss”
Well, its not true. There is a blackout for games at 3pm. So there is no legal way of watching the games.
Soccer Saturday was only on for 3pm games not every football game.
There is a difference, which you are ignoring.
1. watching 1 person on youtube narrate 1 game.
2. Watching Soccer Saturday when there is no live games and getting scores for 20+ games. 1 and 20 is a difference.
I think we need to introduce the non-drums xG stat in order to explain what had really happened there over the course of two legs.
You mean inhalers right?!
"surprising" fitness levels is certainly an odd thing for a Liverpool fan to highlight.
Two mid-70 point seasons in 16/17 and 17/18, suddenly two seasons in the high 90s for points (actually starting falling off a bit at the end of the title-winning season, unfortunately too late), then couldn't even hit 70 points in 20/21. Back over 90 points for 21/22, then back below 70 for 22/23.
It's actually remarkable inconsistency for a team with the same manager and largely the same group of key players still at their peaks.
Plenty of pubs had illegal streams going back years, to be fair
He's been oh so smug about Liverpool for a while now - hard not to find a bit of pleasure when looking at this image
I know it's bitter, and they're still winning the league - but still.... what a fine day it is today!
Despite tumbling out of Europe in the last 16, Salah, VVD etc. will still be better than United greats who won both PlL and CL in the same season / 3 titles in a row, according to him.
Not sure if Carragher spoke on it himself, but we're only a few weeks removed from them talking themselves up as favourites for the Quadruple.
Then Plymouth knocked them out of the FA Cup and they were favourites for "a treble" because their side of the CL draw was easier.
Now PSG have knocked them out of the CL and I saw a comment where one of their fans said they don't even care about the weekend because the League Cup is "tinpot".
Did they? Not heard of a pub that showed championship 3pm KO's
Last nights game thought me a few lessons about Liverpool, firstly is it generally accepted now that this famous anfield atmosphere is a total myth? The stadium resembled a cross between a morgue and a library, all that could be heard were the PSG fans, very embarrassing for Liverpool as a club and a fan base.
Secondly the referees are much stronger in Europe, Salah and a few others tried their usual disgusting tricks and dives trying to win penalties but the ref last night was strong enough to not cave into their antics.
That begs the question, what do we need to do in the Premier League to ensure fair play and not have cowardly referees who give penalties anytime a Liverpool player is touched in the opposition box?
Secondly the referees are much stronger in Europe, Salah and a few others tried their usual disgusting tricks and dives trying to win penalties but the ref last night was strong enough to not cave into their antics.
That begs the question, what do we need to do in the Premier League to ensure fair play and not have cowardly referees who give penalties anytime a Liverpool player is touched in the opposition box?
It's fine that they went out last night. Van Dijk is too good for the highest level anyway.
Yeah, if Darwin can't score open goals from 6 yards then why did they think he could score past a keeper from 12 yards?
Did you specify championship? Didn’t realise
Dunno if it's just me but he looks a bit like Jose after a sunbed session
Seeing a few scousers moaning about the new CL format putting them up against "one of the best sides in Europe" while Villa got Club Brugge, as if this exact sort of tie wasn't fairly common anyway, and as if they weren't drooling themselves silly over their "easy" half of the draw when the bracket came out.
Only Liverpool fans could somehow turn playing the bottom team in the qualifying round into some kind of fix
No one sane was doing that at all since we were in Real's half. Which big teams did we avoid? Bayern and Inter.
Dipper logic.
PSG was 15th, the knock-out round was for teams placed 9th to 24th.
So they were actually below the automatic spots? In that case question should be asked.
I suppose you're not being serious.
We could've gotten Real or Bayern etc. as well if things had shaken out differently, so I don't see the point in complaining that we got PSG. We should've just played better and knocked them out - nothing more to it.
From the perspective of it being the last 16, it's about as par-for-the-course a draw as they could have had.
PSG have actually been a great example of the draw being "unfair" in recent years:
2023/24 - Group runner-up - Real Sociedad in last 16 (Sociedad must have felt a bit shafted there)
2022/23 - Group runner-up - Bayern Munich in last 16 (Benfica vs Club Brugge and Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt in the same round)
2021/22 - Group runner-up - Real Madrid in last 16 (Benfica vs Ajax in the same round)
2020/21 - Group winner - Barcelona in last 16 (Sevilla vs Dortmund in the same round)
It was based on Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter being on the complete opposite side, and City, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico and Juventus all ending up on the same path to semi-finals, while PSG were considered a fairly nothing opponent having scraped 15th in the league phase.
Before the knockout phase started, you were looking at Brest/PSG, then Atalanta/Club Brugge/Aston Villa. I'd say you definitely benefited from an "easier" part of the draw, and a lot of your fans picked up on that.
Unless I'm missing something, we didn't even know Bayern and Inter would be on the opposite side, and Monaco/Benfica was also a possibility, not just Brest/PSG. Basically us being in Barcelona's place and them in ours.
The only thing we knew for sure was that Barca would be on the other side of the draw given that we were tied together as 1 and 2 in the group phase. Every Liverpool fan wanted the winner of Monaco vs Benfica in the Round of 16.
All that work finishing top of the league phase. Shame.
@Alex99 so when exactly did our fans "pick up on that"? Because this was the draw, and nothing was certain apart from us and Barcelona being on opposite sides:
After we knew which side we were on, we knew we were getting PSG and potentially Real in the semis should we get that far. This is what articles (ESPN) were saying at that moment:
So not really "benefited from the easier part of the draw" at all, either. It's basically just not true whatsoever that we were "drooling over the draw" at any given point in time.
I've probably misremembered the exact details of the salivating, but there were basically no Liverpool fans worried about PSG, even if Monaco/Benfica was the preferred tie.
As soon as the draw for the play-off round was done you were guaranteed to avoid City, Real Madrid, Juventus, Atletico, Arsenal, Bayern and Inter until at least the semi-finals, and you knew Barcelona would be on the other side of the draw as soon as the league stage finished, so you wouldn't have to worry about them until the final.
Your route to the semis was PSG/Brest/Monaco/Benfica, then Brugge/Atalanta/Sporting/Dortmund/Villa/Lille.
I probably shouldn't have said "half of the draw" because I basically meant run to the semi-finals. Although common sense would dictate that you were always fairly likely to meet a "big" team in the semis.
Which basically any fan of a top team would look at and agree that it's an extremely favourable run to the semis if you can avoid PSG. If any confidence was being shown after looking at that group of teams, I'd say it was warranted as long as we avoided PSG. Which we didn't.
He’s just been in the sea shells
This thread is so disappointing since RAWK locked down. Defeats the purpose of the thread. Now people are being all serious discussing cup draws and the like 