EPL 2021 / 2022
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astoundingly, thanks to City having a draw and a loss in their last 4, the title race is actually back on. Liverpool close to 3 points back after battering Leeds this morning
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That big win helps goal difference too.
Spurs lose to Burnley as well. Norwich and Watford (also lost) starting to get left behind at the bottom. That third relegation spot is looking like a brutal scrap though. All the postponements make the table tough to read; 14th place Brentford are three games ahead of 18th Burnley so the 4 point difference isn't much buffer.
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Liverpool beat Chelsea in the league cup final. 0-0 and then about a million penalties.
Unsurprisingly Leeds have fired Bielsa as they are getting pumped every week at the moment and are staring relegation in the face. Apparently they have the 2nd lowest wage bill in the division, so it's probably chickens coming home to roost in a sport where money absolutely talks.
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
Liverpool beat Chelsea in the league cup final. 0-0 and then about a million penalties.
Unsurprisingly Leeds have fired Bielsa as they are getting pumped every week at the moment and are staring relegation in the face. Apparently they have the 2nd lowest wage bill in the division, so it's probably chickens coming home to roost in a sport where money absolutely talks.
Strangely I reckon Bielsa had the best chance of saving them. They have just played Man U, Liverpool, Spurs so easier games were ahead. Not sure how a manager can totally change their playing style and still get results - even getting pumped 4-0 at the weekend, the xG was only 1.9 to 2.47. I know it means nothing as a stat but they play a high risk style.
They create so many opportunities due to the way they play - change that and I can't see them scoring and also not being solid enough defensively to keep clean sheets. Also a Leeds game was always fun to watch - I don't want to see them play like Watford and get 9 men behind the ball.
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@kiwipie i think most Leeds fans are pretty gutted about the decision, given where he has taken them. From the chat i have seen, he has done most of it by improving the players he had, not by buying new ones. Seems an incredibly harsh decision. But, that is the Prem League, once you are there you need to stay there.
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
But, that is the Prem League, once you are there you need to stay there.
Fulham and Norwich say bollocks to that.
Fulham are now mathematically safe from relegation to League One though.
TBH I'm not certain a dogfight to stay in the Prem next year will be as much fun for a Fulham fan as this season is proving to be. Scoring goals for fun is - fun!
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That must be a record for worst sub ever. Chelsea brought on Kepa after 120 minutes especially for the shootout. He responded by letting in 11 and then being the only player (from either side) to miss one!
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@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
But, that is the Prem League, once you are there you need to stay there.
Fulham and Norwich say bollocks to that.
Fulham are now mathematically safe from relegation to League One though.
TBH I'm not certain a dogfight to stay in the Prem next year will be as much fun for a Fulham fan as this season is proving to be. Scoring goals for fun is - fun!
Mitrovic has a ridiculous number of goals. 34 goals already with a chance to get to 50 for the season and 14 ahead of Brereton Diaz and Solanke. He might as well stay at that level now.
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@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@kiwipie or Mitro goes up to the Premiership and dispels the myth that he's not good enough. After all he scored 12 for Fulham in 2018-19 when we were quite shit and scores goals for fun at international level
He could possibly do that. I reckon he is good enough but needs the team to be dominant rather than sitting back and playing on the break. Not sure that will be Fulham when they go up (again).
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as a sports watcher of a certain age it's really strange to see Man U not really relevant in the Premier League
Now 5th, and if Arsenal don't balls up the games in hand, a mile from 4th. In 3 games against City and Liverpool the combined score is 11-1.
Coming up to 10 years since a league title. 5 years since they won a cup.
For 20 years Man U under Alex Ferguson were one of the most dominant sports teams in the world. Since then they are basically Spurs.
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It's really incredible how much they've fucked up. Over a billion pounds in the transfer market over that time too.
The battle for fourth looks like it will be a good one. I think Arsenal getting ahead is massive for them mentally. Having games in hand is great but if they were must-win to get ahead then the pressure is massive. But knowing they're ahead they can relax a little more. But still with west ham, man u, spurs and maybe wolves (although that loss to crystal palace probably means they're too far back now) at least one will put together a strong run to put pressure on Arsenal. Arteta seems to be turning things around but there's still time for a late season collapse.
Getting that 4th spot for is probably going to be pretty critical for Arsenal and Spurs. They both need a big off season recruiting if they want to really get back in to serious title contention and being in the champions league is key for that. Same for Man U but they have a bigger brand and bank balance so maybe they don't hurt as much. But those memories are fading so they'll need to get back soonish or they'll have the same problems.
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
as a sports watcher of a certain age it's really strange to see Man U not really relevant in the Premier League
Now 5th, and if Arsenal don't balls up the games in hand, a mile from 4th. In 3 games against City and Liverpool the combined score is 11-1.
Coming up to 10 years since a league title. 5 years since they won a cup.
For 20 years Man U under Alex Ferguson were one of the most dominant sports teams in the world. Since then they are basically Spurs.
Managers who have won trophies (top division only and including charity shield)
Mangnall(1903-1912) 5 (2 titles)
Busby (1945-1968) 13 (5 titles)
Docherty (1972-1977) 1
Atkinson (1981-1986) 3
Ferguson (1986-2013) 38 (13 titles)
Moyes (2013-2014) 1
van Gaal (2014-2016) 1
Mourinho (2016-2018) 3So basically 2 managers who had over 20 years in charge have won nearly all their titles including 18 of 20 championships. Liverpool might turn out to be the same with Klopp and City with Pep although City had already won titles before Pep arrived.
This morning, United's tactical plan was a good one, they pressed City and forced errors but couldn't combine that without leaving huge gaps behind them.
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This is an interesting table - the EPL since the end of September and it shows just how bad Everton's form has been since a promising start to the season when they were joint 2nd after 6 games. It also shows how well Arsenal have done since then and how bad Man U have been. Man U v Spurs at the weekend, if Spurs can win that then maybe it is Spurs v the Arse for 4th spot
