That’s what we asked our Symposium panel. Here’s what they said:
Chris Rowland:
I had no idea this was going to be so difficult. I asked the question on the day of the Leicester match. Most of the replies were written after it. Those 90 minutes have downgraded expectations markedly.
Liverpool are becoming a bit bipolar. Are they the Liverpool that beat Spurs, the Liverpool of earlier in the season, or the Liverpool of the Swansea, Leicester, Hull and Wolves games? Either are possible at any given moment.
I have to assume that both Jekyll and Hyde will be making further appearances for us this season, so with something less than confidence I predict wins against the sides that are not competing for top 4 – Bournemouth, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Watford – draws against Arsenal, Everton,West Ham and Stoke, and defeat at City.
W7 D4 L1 leaves us on 74 points, which is competitive for top 4. Most seasons it would be enough, but this might be an outlier – bloody typical in a season where we finally made the mark! It will probably put us about 6th.
On a football pitch we can match any other team, including Chelsea, on the day. But over a period we cannot. We are not consistent, and we are not flat track bullies. We do not cull the minnows often enough – in fact it’s them we have the most trouble with. Our top table competitors are much better at it. That’s what makes the difference.
This article is for Subscribers only.
[ttt-subscribe-article]
