Our Big Game/ Run In Record

[MattFox]

Is their a club in Football with a worse record at the business end in the league in particular since 2016?

 

We’re very good at turning it on when the pressures off but push comes to shove we crumble at the business end,

 

2017/2018

 

7th in the league and looking good for Europe after 24 games

 

Go on a run with home draws to Swansea, Stoke and Bournemouth and lose a crucial decider against Burnley pretty limply

 

Finish 9th

 

2018/2019

7th in the league after 33 games with a decent outside shot of Europe

 

Proceed to win one of the last 5 fixtures including home defeat to a poor Newcastle side

 

Finish 9th

 

2019/2020

 

Clear 2nd in the league after 21 games

 

Proceed to win four more games all season and fall out of the top 4 on the final day in a shoot off with United

 

Also get humiliated by Bournemouth and lose to a poor Villa side over two legs.

 

 

2020/2021

 

On Course for a CL spot on the final day and somehow manage to lose to a poor spurs side when a draw would have been enough.

 

Cup win makes up for a lot though

 

2021/2022

Lose tamely over two legs to a beatable Roma side and get thrashed by a then mid table championship Forest

 

Finish in the top half due to a run of form once the pressure was off

 

 

[Dan]

It's long been absolutely appalling and sums up what a decline there has been in this department since we won the league. It's the main reason why the bookies odds are misleading when it comes to us - if there is any mathematical possibility we drop on the final day then I'm pretty sure we'll go.

[shailen]

I think every club bar Man City will be able to point to similar moments. Yes we bottled some big games, but you can turn to the FA cup, PL win, champions league quarter final, community shield as moments where we turned up. 

 

If we were that good, we'd be competing with the likes of Man City but we just aren't. This season has been the only concerning one for me. We've looked so soft and that for me is bottling it!!! 

[Fear Of The Fox]

The team has overachieved since 2016. Board, for whatever reason, didn't have the ambition to make us a European powerhouse. Selling (losing) world class players and buying young talents might work in Netherlands (Ajax) but not in this country, not in PL. 

That said, even if we had qualified for CL football the board would have not strengthen the team with top quality players. 

Maybe someone else here knows more about our financial status but our ownership was the 14th richest in Europe a couple of years ago and if I'm not mistaken it's still in the top 20.

Eventually I reckon it's a combination of things we'll never be a top team. Most important it's the city and location. I'm pretty sure that even if were champions back to back we would be at the same situation we're now. 

[STUHILL]

In big games, we seem to lack leaders, calm heads, game management/intelligence, and quite simply, the balls! 

 

If we have to beat West Ham on the final day, I think we will once again struggle. Just hope we beat Fulham next week and teams around us struggle to get anymore points in these last 4. I suspect Forest and Everton will pick up 1-2 wins though and it will come down to our West Ham game...gulp! 

[sm1]

The common denominator in most of those seasons is Rodgers. Just like his Liverpool team before us, his teams collapse at the sight of pressure. Hopefully S&S can instill more steel into the team. What's most worrying for me is that a lot of our big players like Barnes, Youri and Maddison look subdued. On top of which, with KDH and Ndidi out of form, we really only have one midfielder showing any fight.

[Fox92]

We won two finals and one semi final in recent seasons. We've been league cup quarter final regulars too.

 

You can't put finishing 5th (when it should have been 4th) down to "losing big games". A league position is decided over the course of 30+ games, not one or two at the end.

[smudgerfox]

I remember Brendan telling RL his teams finish the season stronger than they start. That is palpably untrue. It is a simple fact that the points per game ratio dips alarmingly once the rot sets  in. Just maintaining the league average would have been enough for CL qualification two seasons on the trot. 

[sylofox]

12 hours ago, Fox92 said:

You can't put finishing 5th (when it should have been 4th) down to "losing big games". A league position is decided over the course of 30+ games, not one or two at the end.

I think the point was, we had both seasons 4th in our hands. But over the last 3 or 4 games it was thrown away. I'm not going to mention the use of Rodgers ball supposedly playing it safe.

[Chelmofox]

20 hours ago, MattFox said:

2021/2022

Lose tamely over two legs to a beatable Roma side and get thrashed by a then mid table championship Forest

 

Finish in the top half due to a run of form once the pressure was off

 

 

The beating forest gave us was in February! I think what you are saying was that our run in last season was actually good. 

[CosbehFox]

We looks utterly rudderless at times but what really annoys me is twice last season in Europe, they pushed themselves to get very good results at very difficult places to play in. 
 

So they can do it. But minimally occurs 

[Gamble92]

Wish people would bring up us beating Forest 4-0 half as much as they'd bring up the FA Cup loss on here

[Bourbon Fox]

Since 2016 we've had a steady exit of the wise old heads with dressing room presence.

 

Kasper, Sharky, King, Huth, Morgan, Cambiasso - a bunch of experienced players gone, and with them the grit and nous of years in the game as winners and scrappers.

 

Bertrand and Vestergaard weren't going to measure up. 

 

How many on-field captains have we given the armband to this year?

 

Tielemans and Maddison are great professionals but don't have the gravitas. Vardy's a jester.

 

What we have is a squad of talented players without the experience of what it takes to dig deep and 'gut out' a run-in.