Game 2 Champions League other Matches

[HLOGI]

He will profit but there is a chance they become more reliant on his goals. This could - possibly - mean IF his form dips or he misses games they drop more points than usual.

It’s a straw of a sort, but one I am willing to grab hold of with both hands

Think their 2 draws show that they are geared a certain way and he is the main man. So for me, they are not unbeatable or unplayable. By passing forward more quickly than before they could cough up possession more than what their boring tiki-taka let us all be near the ball to not get an exposed game plan.

As someone mentioned maybe he is the final piece of the jigsaw to win the CL, however, the top 8-10 teams in CL all have quality attacks, defenses, and astute Managers. So he may bulldoze some teams but the way they got knocked out and the way we lost the final shows that teams outside of the PL are actually top level but the PL has money. So it is not guaranteed they win CL though they might one day win it, Newcastle might even win it before them. CL is a hard nut to crack.

[Nineteenx]

He will profit but there is a chance they become more reliant on his goals. This could - possibly - mean IF his form dips or he misses games they drop more points than usual.

It’s a straw of a sort, but one I am willing to grab hold of with both hands

He has periods of being injured for 4 to 8 weeks in most seasons, them getting reliant on him and him picking up one of his tweaks that keep him out for 8 weeks could happen

He still looks awkward and a bit clumsy to me, gets the job done mind, but he's not silky smooth like Suarez, Torres or Benzema for example, maybe that's part of his success, looks like a big carthorse, doesn't have the greatest of technique or style, but still manages to find the net, ugly bastard as well

[Nineteenx]

Also, why are we still talking like we're going to be in some kind of 2 horse race with City? We'll be in the fight of our lives for top four

[Steveo]

He has periods of being injured for 4 to 8 weeks in most seasons, them getting reliant on him and him picking up one of his tweaks that keep him out for 8 weeks could happen

He still looks awkward and a bit clumsy to me, gets the job done mind, but he's not silky smooth like Suarez, Torres or Benzema for example, maybe that's part of his success, looks like a big carthorse, doesn't have the greatest of technique or style, but still manages to find the net, ugly bastard as well

Correct…

Also, why are we still talking like we're going to be in some kind of 2 horse race with City? We'll be in the fight of our lives for top four

Agree, I just don’t see us having the fight it would take to get close to a title. Looks to be a competitive season this, with a clutch of clubs having got their act together. I think making the top 4 will be our fight this term.

[vin]

He has periods of being injured for 4 to 8 weeks in most seasons, them getting reliant on him and him picking up one of his tweaks that keep him out for 8 weeks could happen

He still looks awkward and a bit clumsy to me, gets the job done mind, but he's not silky smooth like Suarez, Torres or Benzema for example, maybe that's part of his success, looks like a big carthorse, doesn't have the greatest of technique or style, but still manages to find the net, ugly bastard as well

They won the league without him last year. They also have Alvarez. He isn't proven but in a team that creates chances, he will score.

[redebreck]

Bloody brilliant console.

I play most of my PS1 games on my PS3 but there were some belting titles.

I do like some modern games, but they often feel like movies that you play through and you're often spoon-fed helpful hints. A lot of the PS1-era games were trial-and-error or really thinking your way through a level.

This might need a thread honestly.

Can PS5 play earlier games - PS1, PS2, PS3?

[Nineteenx]

They won the league without him last year. They also have Alvarez. He isn't proven but in a team that creates chances, he will score.

Alvarez looks quality to me - They did win the league without him last season, or rather were handed it by Mike Riley and the PGMOL, the point Steveo was making I agreed with is they are changing how they play to accommodate him, if he has a 4-8 week spell out it isn't necessarily that straight forward and easy to slip back into how they used to play, ask our lads

[Insidious]

Can PS5 play earlier games - PS1, PS2, PS3?

I don't own one, but so far as I know the PS5 only has backwards compatibility for physical discs from the PS4.

You could of course download certain games (have to pay for them) from the Store that were from previous generations, but in terms of discs you already own, no.

I think (in terms of physical discs) it's -

PS5 can play PS4 discs.
PS4 doesn't have backwards compatibility.
PS3 can play PS1 discs but not PS2.
PS2 doesn't have backwards compatibility.

Generally when I play PS1 games (honestly the Generation I play most outside of Skyrim) I use the PS3 to do it. Being able to create multiple internal digital memory cards means I am less limited for storage of save files.

[Insidious]

Also, why are we still talking like we're going to be in some kind of 2 horse race with City? We'll be in the fight of our lives for top four

Can't speak for anyone else, but in terms of myself, I'm simply quite open to the idea of the disruption of the World Cup and the toin coss that is the possible injury list / disrupted chemistry for different sides in the League - combined with the "better" sides all feeling like they are in various stages of transitional phases.

Much as I think Man City likely win the title relatively comfortably, I'm open to the idea that a couple of ill-timed injuries to De Bruyne or Haaland could throw a spanner in the works.

I'm also open to the idea that, come January/February, we might have a bit more cohesion to us again and find the potential level required to go on a winning streak for a bit.

If that happens (a big if) then it's really about seeing how far off the pace we are when entering that period. We might very well be miles off (making it a non-discussion) or indeed end up being rubbish for the second half of the season (hope not!) but I am crossing fingers and toes tightly by looking at the following -

- Just 10 League games left before that World Cup break. Striking each round of fixtures off. If we can grind some wins, we may not drift too far back.
- Man City, despite Haaland's goal-scoring form, haven't quite hit their best yet - drawn 2 of their last 4. They may have a silly result or 2 in them.
- We play Man City at Anfield in October. If we did manage to nick a win there through whatever means (a big ask, but nothing is impossible at Anfield) it would help to keep them relatively close.

I generally have a lot of Faith in our ability to perform well in the second half of the season - our record under Klopp certainly seems to show that we do our best work there. It's easy to assume that our malaise will continue, but it only takes a couple of lads to find form, a couple to come back from injury (offering competition in key positions to keep people focused) and a bit of belief in the closing stages of games to see us through.

The Carvalho winner against Newcastle and the Matip winner against Ajax can definitely give us a percentage of extra belief going forward. Much as it would mean bitten nails for the guts of the 90 minutes, I'm actually hoping for another late winner in the fixture against Brighton. Late winners can instil self-belief in us, whilst also making the opposition more error-prone in the closing stages of games.

I'll cling to the idea that we can bounce back from a slow start and give Man City a challenge if we do manage to grind out a few more wins - "10 more games to the break...still in it.....6 more games to the break....still in it...." will be how I view it.

The best thing we can do - particularly for anyone worried that we could miss out on the Top Four - is to aim towards a points target, rather than worrying about a League position or a particular side, such as Man City. 75 points would usually get Top Four, so for anyone thinking more negatively, I guess we can ask ourselves a hypothetical of "can we reach 78-80 points?" and see what your mind says. Even if we were to have a bumpy ride, I suspect most would feel we were capable of grinding that out of ourselves.

Remember what we achieved with Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams at centre-back. A scenario that (probably) won't repeat itself.

[Insidious]

I'd also add that, according to a number of Reds on the Twittersphere and (if I recall correctly) the season was "over" after 2 games anyway. So if that is anyone's stance, just treat the upcoming Rollercoaster until May as a bonus round - a free hit - and enjoy the craziness of the free kicks, the counter-attacks, the tackles, the Thiago touches, the hilarious blazes over the bar and all the other weirdness that footie throws up.

Not to mention that we haven't actually been knocked out of the League Cup yet - or the FA Cup - and that a win in our next Champion's League game would begin to instil belief that we might have Champion's League knockout football to look forward to in the New Year - a treat that we should never take for granted, no matter how good we get. It's a privilege that many football fans never get to enjoy.

Who knows - might even get a lucky draw against Bayer Leverkusen or Sporting Lisbon or something and before you know it we're in a quarter-final.

A few leaves have wilted in the garden, but we aren't dead yet.