Uh oh. We’re halfway there. Well, that’s the obligatory Bon Jovi reference done and dusted. Now on to the footy. First up, some facts. We’ve played 28 games this season. 19 in the League, hence the Greatest Band Ever reference. Six in Europe. And three in the League Cup. We’ve won 20, drawn six and lost TWO. We have lost two games out of 28. TWO! Not that you’d know it, given some of the reactions on- and off- line.
To complete the ‘facts’ stats, in those 28 games, we have scored 75 and conceded 24! Out of 19 in the League, we have scored FIFTY (scoring in 18 games out of 19, in the process, our first blank coming against Leicester). So, where does this leave us at the halfway stage?
Well, second on 41 points, as it happens, which puts us on course for 82. Just for perspective, in Klopp's five full seasons, after 19 games we have had the following records:
16-17 43 points
17-18 35 points
18-19 51 points
19-20 55 points!!
20-21 34 points
We’ve done this while progressing in the League Cup and winning all six games in the group stages of the European Cup. So I’d say we are doing pretty well, all things considered.
The reason for the ire is that we are a whole six points behind City… This is the same City who in recent seasons have finshed on 86, 81, 98, 100 and 78 points and are on course for 90+ this season. The same City who are managed by one of the game’s best coaches. The same City who could spent a fortune on Jack Grealish (while we brought in more (£42.8m) than we spent (£36m) on Konaté).
The rejoinder will be, ‘Yeah, that doesn’t make any difference, we exist to win, etc, etc.’ Well, for a start, we still might win the Title. Look at the records; despite fighting City with one hand tied behind our back, we are barely behind them.
- They’ve lost two. So have we.
- They’ve scored 50. So have we.
- They’ve conceded 12. We’ve conceded just four more.
- The six-point difference comes from our five draws to their two.
So the ire reserved for the team and Klopp on the back of one defeat is excessive and should be shouted down.
How many times in the last few years have these players let us down? Even last season, which was a write-off in more ways than one, they came back from a near impossible situation – we were EIGHTH on the seventh of March and won eight of our last 10 – to finish in third in the end! Without that run, none of that European football we’ve seen this season would have happened.
This season, we have been outstanding at times. We’ve scored three on five occasions, four on three occasions, five on two occasions in the League alone. We’ve huffed and puffed on other days but got over the line, a notable quality in our Title-winning campaign (Villa and Wolves come to mind).
Those five pesky draws? Chelsea, down to ten men, gave a defensive masterclass. We threw away leads in the rest of them: twice against City; twice against Brentford; Brighton came back from two behind; Spurs came back from a goal down.
The only times any criticism could have been justified this season were against West Ham and Leicester. And even then, things could have gone the other way. Things can turn quickly, we’ve seen that over the last few years. Sure, there’s no margin for error – but that’s because of the ‘new normal’ that City’s millions have created. If we won every game from now until the end of the season, we would finish up on 98 points.
And remember that in 2018-2019, 97 was only good enough for second! But if there is one thing that we’ve learned with this team, it’s to never give up. We still have lots to play for, on four fronts. Living on a Prayer? Maybe. The next few weeks will tell us all.
John Brennan
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