History Repeating

[FoxForceFive]

This season seems to be confirming the theory I've banged on about repeatedly.

It's clear (to me at least) that the fitness regime that Rodgers has in place does take something out of the players during the first half of the season only to give it back with bells on after Christmas.

How much of that is effected by injuries & a number of new players getting used to that regime is debatable (feel free to debate it).

If we assume that we don't need to bring in as many players next season & don't suffer from having one real first team striker whom is injured it's not hard to imagine that we could maintain a much higher level throughout the first half of the season meaning that when if put a run together post Christmas we could challenge again.

 

[Mystic]

I believe it's the new signings adapting as much as it is the fitness (which is no doubt a big factor). We bought a lot of players this season which is why it took time, most people wrote off our new signings barring one or two before Christmas, now they're regarded as some of our best performers, that's no coincidence. I hope in the summer we only bring in one / two strikers, a midfielder and competition for Mignolet, that's all we need, and it should help reduce this effect we've been seeing. I also believe it not being a world cup / European championship year will massively help in this regard.

 

[Frogfish]

Mystic - and a new RB as Johnson looks like he will be on his way, unhappy to take a 1 year deal and a drastic cut in salary (he can make that up elsewhere with a signing on fee).

I would have loved to see how we got on with this formation in the first 17 matches. We could have been challenging for the title again.

 

[peterhague]

I think the signings and departures was the crucial difference, too. We ended the 2013 season and started the next one in much the same form - not as free-scoring, of course, but then Suarez was missing. It was certainly nothing like this year or Rodger's first half-season.

And the difference was continuity - actually helped last season by our signings being so mediocre that summer.

I think there's still a bias toward the end of the season and presumably that's down to fitness etc, but it's more of a marginal issue.

 

[Frogfish]

 

[Sherman]

We got going this season when Brendan reverted back to the tried and trusted and gradually re- introduced the new signings again.

 

[cloggypop]

Also when he changed the system.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Yep, that about sums it up.

Mr Rodgers will hopefully know this & makes it a priority to ensure the start of next season is more stable & has less of a turnover in first team players.

Whatever the reasons behind it, I'll be extremely disappointed if it's repeated again, personally speaking I think a third season following the same trend is verging on unacceptable, but the huge impact of a suarez shaped hole in our squad & the debate over whether he was given the opportunity to replace him adequately buys him an out.

One of the reasons I rate our manager so highly is the way he seems to learn from his mistakes, I just hope he learns how to rectify making the mistakes which lead to the poor form at the start of every season.

 

[Leo]

How were we top of the league at Xmas last season with that point average?
1.89 seems extraordinarily low to be top.
Suppose losing to city and chelski before the new year didn't help.

 

[Red Mullet]

I believe it's the new signings adapting as much as it is the fitness (which is no doubt a big factor). We bought a lot of players this season which is why it took time, most people wrote off our new signings barring one or two before Christmas, now they're regarded as some of our best performers, that's no coincidence. I hope in the summer we only bring in one / two strikers, a midfielder and competition for Mignolet, that's all we need, and it should help reduce this effect we've been seeing. I also believe it not being a world cup / European championship year will massively help in this regard.

We didn't have CL qualifiers this season to play thanks from coming 2nd. If we get 4rd or 4th then we will.

 

[cloggypop]

I don't mind coming 4rd.

 

[Red Mullet]

I don't mind coming 4rd.

Nor do I. 3rd or 2nd will be better though 🙂

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

How were we top of the league at Xmas last season with that point average?
1.89 seems extraordinarily low to be top.
Suppose losing to city and chelski before the new year didn't help.

We were joint-top with Arsenal but ahead on goal difference. I would put the lead down to a helpfulschedule as we avoided playing City and Chelsea until after Christmas (we duly dropped to 5th after the pair of games against them). Everyone dropped some points here and there before Christmas - City had lost 4 games by then, a few times in shocking results (Cardiff, Sunderland, Villa), but Chelsea didn't have a striker to capitalize

 

[YNWA]

.
Mr Rodgers will hopefully know this & makes it a priority to ensure the start of next season is more stable & has less of a turnover in first team players.

I was thinking earlier today about the expected turnover of players, and i could count 6-7 players outgoing i.e. Johnson, Gerrard, Borini, Toure, Enrique, Jones, and either one of Lambert/Balotelli (or both actually) with a similar numbers of players coming in. However looking at the outgoing list, most of them are not part of the core 15-16 player group we have been using in the second half of the season. Hopefully the replacements will be a better fit for our team in terms of both style and the skill set required and take the overall quality of the squad to a even higher level.