EPL 2020/2021
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@canefan said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
@canefan said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
@canefan said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
@cyclops said in EPL 2020/2021:
Hmm I can't remember when Abramovich bought Chelsea.
So Man u and Arsenal the obvious options. Rovers, Leeds, Villa and Newcastle my pick for the others.
Correct except for Villa.
Then I guess Chelski make it
Nope, 8th behind Villa in 7th.
Can't be Spurs. Too many dire years
Not a single top 6 finish in the first 10 years of EPL.
Manchester United
Arsenal
Newcastle
Leeds
Blackburn
+1So not Liverpool either?
Yes Liverpool it is - but nobody had said it until then.
That's all for today - but who is interested in entering my Euros competition? Should be launched towards the end of the week. For Euro 2016, @dogmeat was 3rd out of 28 so it is pretty easy to do well (I was 2nd).
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
Pep's downfall in this competition is and always has been his overthinking things and departing from what's been proven to work. I am no fan of City, but have today felt quite sorry for them as they've been the best team in the CL this year by some margin and that's why they managed finally to make it to the final (in other years, they've not been the best and that's why they've regularly been beaten over two legs in the earlier knockout stages). Again, however, Pep has guilded the lily and in doing so has probably cost his club a CL trophy.
They've been the best team in the CL apart from the other team which beat them and became champions.
But yes, lets make it all about Pep & City. It was so nice of them to let that other team, whoever they are, have their day.
How's that chip on your shoulder, chief? Anyone would think you're an AB supporter with that attitude...
I didn't say that to shit on Chelsea, who obviously have also been fantastic and were deserved winners. When I said that City were the best team in the CL this year, I meant overall and up to the final. Obviously, they were deservedly beaten in the final by a Chelsea team who were setup well and executed almost perfectly, but let's not pretend that Chelsea were amazing throughout the entire competition.
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@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
Pep's downfall in this competition is and always has been his overthinking things and departing from what's been proven to work. I am no fan of City, but have today felt quite sorry for them as they've been the best team in the CL this year by some margin and that's why they managed finally to make it to the final (in other years, they've not been the best and that's why they've regularly been beaten over two legs in the earlier knockout stages). Again, however, Pep has guilded the lily and in doing so has probably cost his club a CL trophy.
They've been the best team in the CL apart from the other team which beat them and became champions.
But yes, lets make it all about Pep & City. It was so nice of them to let that other team, whoever they are, have their day.
How's that chip on your shoulder, chief? Anyone would think you're an AB supporter with that attitude...
I didn't say that to shit on Chelsea, who obviously have also been fantastic and were deserved winners. When I said that City were the best team in the CL this year, I meant overall and up to the final. Obviously, they were deservedly beaten in the final by a Chelsea team who were setup well and executed almost perfectly, but let's not pretend that Chelsea were amazing throughout the entire competition.
The chip exists for a very good reason. Because this game was all about City and plenty of people seemed to have been sucked into the narrative that City were the best team, City deserved the title, Pep "I have so many players, it's so hard to decide what team to play" was going to walk it.
So when I read you say City were the best team in it, I read somebody else that got sucked in without actually looking into any facts and simply bought the bullshit. Here are some facts, presented in the way which I'm sure you'll be ok with
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Man City topped their group easily, with only a single draw against in a high quality group with a 2 goals per game goal difference of 12. Chelsea meanwhile only managed a draw in their last game when nothing mattered, to top the group with a somewhat underwhelming goal difference of 12.
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In the round of 16, Man City swept aside the powerhouse of German football, Monchenglandbach (a highly respectable 8th in Bundesliga) with a 4-0 thumping. Chelsea managed to contain Athletico Madrid with a stuttering 3-0 win against one of the lesser Spanish teams who only won la Liga this year due to poor seasons by the big two
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In the quarters, City again faced a German powerhouse, this time destroying Dortmund with a whopping 4-2 scoreline. Meanwhile, Chelsea beat lowly Porto, the Portugese champions (easiest league ever btw) by a mere 2 goals to 1. They even lost at home, showing just how lucky they were to get through
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Semi final time, once again the powerhouse of a Pep guided Man City completely destroyed arguably the worlds best ever stacked team, the might of PSG (with Neymar, Mbappe don't you know) by a commanding 4 goals to 1. Has there ever been a better team? Meanwhile, Chelsea beat some little known Spanish team from the Capital, Real something or other, hell they didn't even win the league, they can't be much.
And we all we know what happened in the final.
So lets sum that up then. Both won their groups by GD of 12, City then beat Bundesliga 8th, Bundesliga 3rd, an French league 2nd. Chelsea beat La Liga 1st, Portugese 1st, La Liga 2nd.
City the best team? I think if you remove winning, and stop taking into account the quality of opposition, then you may be right. So yes, it's unarguable if we remove those two things.
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
Pep cocked up big time in team selection - and they looked lost for most the game. He finally found his top 11 for Europe, then decided that the attacking midfielder with most goals should play in a holding role rather than the 2 guys who can actually do the job well. Picked Sterling despite him always looking ineffectual against a decent defence and Chelsea just put 5 across the pitch and compressed the space. Very, very strange. Chelsea didn't even have to do that much, just grab a goal and sit back. And should still have sealed it with a second.
Have to say, Kante is an absolute machine. The number of times he gets a foot in to nick the ball away is uncanny yet he still finds time to drive his team forward. Well done Chelsea and Tuchel, a well deserved win.
Pep's downfall in this competition is and always has been his overthinking things and departing from what's been proven to work. I am no fan of City, but have today felt quite sorry for them as they've been the best team in the CL this year by some margin and that's why they managed finally to make it to the final (in other years, they've not been the best and that's why they've regularly been beaten over two legs in the earlier knockout stages). Again, however, Pep has guilded the lily and in doing so has probably cost his club a CL trophy.
They've been the best team in the CL apart from the other team which beat them and became champions.
But yes, lets make it all about Pep & City. It was so nice of them to let that other team, whoever they are, have their day.
How's that chip on your shoulder, chief? Anyone would think you're an AB supporter with that attitude...
I didn't say that to shit on Chelsea, who obviously have also been fantastic and were deserved winners. When I said that City were the best team in the CL this year, I meant overall and up to the final. Obviously, they were deservedly beaten in the final by a Chelsea team who were setup well and executed almost perfectly, but let's not pretend that Chelsea were amazing throughout the entire competition.
The chip exists for a very good reason. Because this game was all about City and plenty of people seemed to have been sucked into the narrative that City were the best team, City deserved the title, Pep "I have so many players, it's so hard to decide what team to play" was going to walk it.
So when I read you say City were the best team in it, I read somebody else that got sucked in without actually looking into any facts and simply bought the bullshit. Here are some facts, presented in the way which I'm sure you'll be ok with
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Man City topped their group easily, with only a single draw against in a high quality group with a 2 goals per game goal difference of 12. Chelsea meanwhile only managed a draw in their last game when nothing mattered, to top the group with a somewhat underwhelming goal difference of 12.
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In the round of 16, Man City swept aside the powerhouse of German football, Monchenglandbach (a highly respectable 8th in Bundesliga) with a 4-0 thumping. Chelsea managed to contain Athletico Madrid with a stuttering 3-0 win against one of the lesser Spanish teams who only won la Liga this year due to poor seasons by the big two
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In the quarters, City again faced a German powerhouse, this time destroying Dortmund with a whopping 4-2 scoreline. Meanwhile, Chelsea beat lowly Porto, the Portugese champions (easiest league ever btw) by a mere 2 goals to 1. They even lost at home, showing just how lucky they were to get through
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Semi final time, once again the powerhouse of a Pep guided Man City completely destroyed arguably the worlds best ever stacked team, the might of PSG (with Neymar, Mbappe don't you know) by a commanding 4 goals to 1. Has there ever been a better team? Meanwhile, Chelsea beat some little known Spanish team from the Capital, Real something or other, hell they didn't even win the league, they can't be much.
And we all we know what happened in the final.
So lets sum that up then. Both won their groups by GD of 12, City then beat Bundesliga 8th, Bundesliga 3rd, an French league 2nd. Chelsea beat La Liga 1st, Portugese 1st, La Liga 2nd.
City the best team? I think if you remove winning, and stop taking into account the quality of opposition, then you may be right. So yes, it's unarguable if we remove those two things.
Jeez, the persecution complex runs deep in this one..
Trust me, I didn't buy into any "hype" around City - as I said at the outset, I don't particularly like them and didn't want them to win the CL. All I said was, up until the final, they were best performing team in the CL, so perhaps deserved it this time far more than they had previously.
FWIW, that's not to say that City were miles better than anyone else in the competition. Chelsea were also very good and watching them destroy Real Madrid frustrated me as Liverpool fan - am I allowed to say that? - having watched Liverpool fail to do the same. No qualms from me about Chelsea thoroughly deserving it on the day and also for the way they performed in the knockout stages.
But, it is possible to say that both teams would have deserved it based upon how they performed throughout the competition. Acknowledging that fact is not shitting on Chelsea or buying any undue "hype" about City.
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior ok. So city were the best team until they faced a better team and lost. Got it.
I personally think beating both Athletico and Real in the knockouts was phenomenal. If City or Liverpool had done that we’d never hear the end of it.
You're right. Just as City's beating Dortmund and PSG was also excellent. You're taking at umbrage at saying that both teams were great in the lead up, but one might have been a wee bit better, but then the other side were better on the big and were deserved winner.
All Black fan mentality right thurr
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@junior said in EPL 2020/2021:
@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@junior ok. So city were the best team until they faced a better team and lost. Got it.
I personally think beating both Athletico and Real in the knockouts was phenomenal. If City or Liverpool had done that we’d never hear the end of it.
You're right. Just as City's beating Dortmund and PSG was also excellent. You're taking at umbrage at saying that both teams were great in the lead up, but one might have been a wee bit better, but then the other side were better on the big and were deserved winner.
All Black fan mentality right thurr
Have you forgotten what you wrote?
Best team in CL this year by some margin.
That’s your words. You can keep rewriting it if you want, but it was bullshit then and it’s bullshit now.
I took huge exception to the build up being all about city, and explained that above. I’m cool with being chippy about it too.
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@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
who is interested in entering my Euros competition? Should be launched towards the end of the week. For Euro 2016, @dogmeat was 3rd out of 28 so it is pretty easy to do well (I was 2nd).
Bloody cheek
I'd actually recommend @KiwiPie 's comp. Easy to complete - you don't have to remember to tip every round and with constant games there's plenty of interest
Plus as he said it's piss easy. He neglected to mention i won the world cup one in 2010 and was 2nd in 2014.
Hint - get the goal scorers - individual and team right and you'll go a long way.
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@cyclops said in EPL 2020/2021:
Let the manager dramas begin. Carlo Ancelloti is gone from Everton for Real Madrid. Seems like poor form from him given how much he talked up long term planning for Everton.
Most people are nothing if not opportunistic
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@cyclops said in EPL 2020/2021:
Let the manager dramas begin. Carlo Ancelloti is gone from Everton for Real Madrid. Seems like poor form from him given how much he talked up long term planning for Everton.
Hard to turn down Real when Everton are always so .... mediocre. The promising signs at the start of the season just withered away and they finished below Leeds
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Gee it's a merry go round for Italian managers at present. Ancelotti, Conte, Pirlo, Inzaghi and Allegri either taking up jobs or being movedon just to name a few.
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@cyclops said in EPL 2020/2021:
Let the manager dramas begin. Carlo Ancelloti is gone from Everton for Real Madrid. Seems like poor form from him given how much he talked up long term planning for Everton.
Good opportunity for Nuno Santo in my view. The talk seems to think it's between him & Moyes. I can't see why Moyes would leave West Ham though, he's arguably the EPL 20/21 manager of the year with the results there. Nuno also seems to be talking to Palace, but that would be a step sideways or backwards from Wolves. Everton may not be one of the top tier clubs, but that may well change with their new stadium.
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The reality is as a manager that you simply don't want to be the last person standing when the game of musical chairs finishes.
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