THE OBJECTIVE: Bring title glory back to Liverpool. We’re gonna win the league, and all that tripe.
THE CAVEAT: Any transfer bids must be accepted.
February. Arsenal’s favourite month of the season, blud. They’re already out of the title picture, so Wenger is overachieving already.
Onto the monthly awards for January. New Liverpool signing David Silva has been a masterstroke so far, and duly awarded player of the month. Some other fella won manager of the month again. Never heard of him.
The board and fans are happy anyway, which is all that matters.
Fixture #25 – Hull City (Away):-
Look at those player ratings. Almost as good as Kim Jong Un when he played every position for North Korea in their latest World Cup win. Hull meanwhile are close to the relegation places and showing it.
TRANSFER KLAXON! Last month i strengthened the midfield with David Silva’s creative greatness. With Sakho jumping off the title bound train for the claret and blue of London, the defence needs a boost. I look to underrated Stoke City stalwart Ryan Shawcross. Attempts to sign Lars Bender fell through, so Shawcross may have been a secondary choice, but his positioning stats are better than both Matip and Lovren. He is also the same price as what Sakho left for – £10m – so its a no-brainer.
Fixture #26 West Brom (Home):-
The boom train continues. Firmino with another hat trick. Ryan Shawcross with a near perfect defensive debut. Coutinho back among the goals again since his return from injury.
More good news in the squad department. Matip, Origi and Klavan all sign contract extensions. You never know when they might need calling upon.
Super Sunday turns out to be just that. With both Everton and Man Utd losing only boosts Liverpool and Spurs’ title hopes. 12 games left. Everything is heating up.
Mignolet has been on the bench pretty much all of the season. At least he is still willing to be part of the project for now.
With the transfer window closure imminent, here is a look at Liverpool’s top XI (hopefully) for the remainder of the season.
I was initially skeptical regarding Roberto Firmino. After a Harry Kane-style start (no goals in August) he now has 17 goals for the season. Plus 2 hat tricks in recent matches means he is hitting form at exactly the right time.
Fixture #27 West Ham (Home):-
Well well. This could have gone either way. Very few chances throughout between 2 sides who matches each other all over the pitch. It took an impressive 15th goal for Jonathan Calleri who is having a storming season for the Hammers.
It’s a poor result in a title run, but it’s time to soak it up and move on to the next one.
More squad-bolstering news with contract renewals for Lovren and Sturridge. The latter has hardly kicked a ball all season but obviously enjoys the atmosphere at the top of the table. Lovren has been superb, contributing to the best defence in the Premier League season.
That West Ham win is rubbed further in the face with the praise in the press for Liverpool turncoat Lucas Leiva. But fair play to him; Lucas is now their captain and West Ham are within a shot of Champions League qualification.
FA Cup 5th Round – Middlesborough (Home):-
Another strong performance but tight scoreline. Certainly deserved though. The quarter final beckons.
And it isn’t an easy task. Then again, no round of the FA Cup is easy.
And then it happens.
When you’re high, the only way is down.
Fixture #28 – Stoke City (Away):-
James Milner steps in for David Silva and puts in a shift that gets the job done. Coutinho grabs the winning goals, Karius’ valiant goalkeeping keeps Stoke at arms length. These are the results that win titles.
Final table after January:-
That defeat to West Ham now means Spurs have the least defeats in this Premier League season. But Liverpool have won more games, scored more, conceded less, and most importantly, have more points than anyone else.
With Everton and Man Utd continuing to falter, West Ham rise up to 3rd in a pack that is 10 points off the title pace. With only 10 games left, some teams are really going to have to change dramatically to alter this table. Eddie Howe’s Chelsea have stuttered back into Conte form. 29 goals in 28 games with that squad means problems.
In the bottom half, reigning champions Leicester are safe. Steadying out in 12th place after an awful start to the season. Only 1 change in the bottom 4 places, with Watford now bottom. Watford have conceded more than the total goals scored of Burnley, Sunderland and themselves. Hull are still only 7 points clear of the relegation mess, and have scored less than Burnley and Watford. They’re not safe just yet.
Tune in next time. FA Cup Quarter Final drama! Head to head with Spurs at White Hart Lane! Injuries (no doubt)! See you then!
Catch-up on what you’ve missed here: Pre-Season August September October November December January
Championship manager and it’s fan made updates are available as freeware from http://www.champman0102.co.uk/
For this blog the October 2016 data update was used.
