EPL 2021 / 2022
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@MajorRage said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
What. A. 90 mins.
I’m too smashed to write it up.
The EPL never ever fails to deliver.
Pretty weird day - I watched the City game as that was the one that mattered and just after Villa went 2-0 up, my internet failed and so all I had after that was my City fan brother repeatedly messaging GOAL!!!!
Leeds stay up and Burnley go down and that is about right from a football quality point of view - suspect it may be a while before we see Burnley in the top flight again.
Oh and Spurs don't Spurs it up and United crawl into the Europa League with a mere 58 points - a points total that would have placed them 11th last season.
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It sounds like a repeat of the final day in 2011-12. Well done Man City.
As an Arsenal fan, if you said at the start of the season would you take a 5th place finish, no one would have said no based on where the team has been. The fact that they should have finished 4th, but didn't, just highlighted their inconsistency and how far the team still has to go. Arteta still has a lot of rebuilding to do, but he is slowly refreshing the squad, which is the youngest in the EPL. Losing some key players at the business end of the season came back to bite them.
Finding a couple of quality strikers remains the priority, along with another midfielder.
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Norwich join West Brom as the most relegated team this century (5)
By beating West Ham 3-1 Brighton end the season in 9th their highest ever EPL (& Tier1) finish.
You can actually mount an argument for most sides that they had a decent season. Obviously not for the bottom 5 and Man Utd but most other teams. Liverpool will be disappointed but have had a great season. Chelsea - could have been worse after the Abramovich / sale of the club distraction. Most of the mid table clubs had comparatively good seasons and the likes of Southampton etc didn't have their customary flirt with relegation
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@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
Norwich join West Brom as the most relegated team this century (5)
On the more positive side they must also be the most promoted teams this century as well. Incidentally where does Fulham stand on that promotion/relegation table as they go up and down like a pair of whores draws?
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@Higgins It's a surprising myth about Fulham. Yes we have yo-yo'd over the last 4 (now 5) seasons but for the first thirteen years we were an ever present. So three relegations Less than the two I mentioned and the same as Watford, Burnley, Birmingham, Sunderland and Hull.
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the fuck City fans? Attacking the Villa goal keeper? Fucking really? You fucking idiots.
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@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@Higgins It's a surprising myth about Fulham. Yes we have yo-yo'd over the last 4 (now 5) seasons but for the first thirteen years we were an ever present. So three relegations Less than the two I mentioned and the same as Watford, Burnley, Birmingham, Sunderland and Hull.
I remember Fulham being a fixture in the prem. They had some excellent players, some of whom (like Moussa Dembele) ended up starring for Spurs.....
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@canefan said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@Higgins It's a surprising myth about Fulham. Yes we have yo-yo'd over the last 4 (now 5) seasons but for the first thirteen years we were an ever present. So three relegations Less than the two I mentioned and the same as Watford, Burnley, Birmingham, Sunderland and Hull.
I remember Fulham being a fixture in the prem. They had some excellent players, some of whom (like Moussa Dembele) ended up starring for Spurs.....
lol a shout out to Hull for some special recognition who appear to have managed to be in the Prem for 5 years, have been relegated 3 times but never finished higher than 16th! ouch
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Well, what a 2 hours. Who ever came up with the idea that all teams play at the same time on the last day is an absolute genius.
Relegation. Bit of a see saw battle with both Burnley / Leeds on 35 points with Burnley far superior goal difference. Burnley went behind early and that was that. Leeds were up then flat then up again in the last minutes. Disappointing end to the season for Burnley, but not surprising as the've been a bit chaotic from the word go. As for Everton ... well they had their party and thus didn't really care & got completely thumped by Arsenal. But their fans went nuts when City did their thing. Hilarious viewing.
Champs League spots. Spurs didn't do a Spurs and completely dominated Norwich to cement the last CL spot. Well on top all game and scored goals at ease, with Son scoring a double to give himself joint top scorer in the league with Salah, who also scored on Sunday. Bit of a fizzer this one really, as both sides were just well on top & hence previous results had already dictated. Arsenal fans are spitting tacks. Fuck'em.
Premership. Well, holy moly what a ride. I'm fortunate enough to be able to see two TV's from certain spots so we had Liverpool Wolves on one and City /Villa on another. Liverpool Wolves was a crazy game, being played like it was the last 5 minutes from the word go. Villa ahead early but it was all attack attack from Liverpool. The inevitably led to gaps at the back and it could have been 3-0 Wolves at one point. However, they squandered their (excellent) chances as they came up. Liverpool were incredible at creating chances and it was awesome to watch. Mane got the goal back and they were level at HT. Meanwhile City were largely very off and finally went behind deservedly after poor marking. Down 1-0 at HT they still had the PL, but it was obvious Liverpool were going to beat Wolves. My Liverpool mad brother in law was like a cat on a hot tin roof, hilarious. 15 into the second half City has let in another (via Coutinho!) and it was Liverpool with a hand on the cup! Then Boom. City 1. City 2. City 3. Unbelievable. Within 5 minutes. After that they just held the ball and gave Villa nothing. Liverpool got a couple of goals to win (as was obviously going to happen) but it was too little, too late. Drama had been done and the cup was theirs.
Phenomenal couple of hours of sport watching.
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@MajorRage crazy to think they have a game day blackout in the UK for the EPL. Surely people would still go to the games, and the broadcast money would be worth a lot more?
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So, EPL season wrap up.
City / Liverpool - both throughly deserved winners, no doubt about it. Two best teams easily. Felt Liverpool took all the plaudits / media so it must feel great to be a City fan. 4 of the last 5 prems & the trophy. I've said 4 seasons in a row I'm unsure if they can repeat next year and with the exception of one, they have. So no reason to think they can't. Liverpool, proper shit to score so many points again but not win the trophy. Proper shit. Some good signings again by Klopp though means they should maintain. Diaz is a genius. City - 9/10, Liverpool 9/10
Chelsea - lots going on in the background for the club, so I'm content as a Chelsea fan. Got CL football, will be a changed squad for next year but as long as Tuchel is there, then I think we'll be fine and have another decent season. Won't win it, or look like winning it until all is settled and we know if we have a financial backer, but we'll play good Football. 8/10
Spurs / Arsenal. Arsenal need to sign a striker, it's that simple. They've got a really young team and played well, but they haven't had the results this year and I'm not sure the fans back Arteta. Not sure he deserves to be backed either honestly. But he's got a new contract. Spurs, well Conte is Conte and he is a winner. If he works out how to work with Levy and keeps the players, then Spurs will do well again. But what a mixed season after Santo. Spurs 7/10, Arsenal 4/10.
United. Horrible team, horrible year. I don't know Football well enough to know what the problem is, but it could be everything. Perhaps should have stuck with Ole for the rest of the year as Rangnick didn't have control at all. 1/10
West Ham. Disappointing end for the high flying Hammers. Moyes has done wonders with that club, and looks to be doing another Everton style stint there. Fans back him, getting good results. Last day loss will really hurt though. 8/10
Leicester. Shows how far they have climbed for 8th to being a bit of a disappointment. I think Rogers has done well and should continue to do well. But an average season for them . 7/10
Brighton / Wolves. Rounding out the top half of the table with these 2 is a great result for both. Wolves in a new era this year managed to maintain their standards and Brighton perhaps outperformed. Reverse fortunes last few games though as Wolves couldn't buy a win & Brighton had a great run. Both probably worthy of 7/10 seasons, but with the form on the home run in I'lll split it 6/10 for Wolves & 8/10 for Brighton
Newcastle. I could wax lyrical for hours about what Howe has done. I really could. 3rd most points since January & taken them from relegation to 11th. Yes, they had a huge cash injection, but Howe didn't exactly buy superstars. Trippier probably his most high profile. He got the squad really working & deserves huge credit. It's 1/10 season followed by a 10/10. However, 11th is a great result so I'll give them an 8/10.
Palace - Decent start for Vieira and a season I think he'd call a success. Nothing wrong with 12th for a club the size of Palace. 8/10
Brentford. For such a small club, they have serious outperformed. From the season opening defeat of Arsenal they've done really well and Eriksen has been huge for them. Arguably the best relative season in the prem. 9/10
Villa. Pretty average if you ask me. Gerrard has done well and has got the fans, but I think Villa would struggle to view this season as a success. 6/10
Southampton. Similar to Villa. Premiership survival a plus, but a bit of an underwhelming to end at the bottom of the mid table. 5/10
Everton. Just awful. Lucky to survive and I'm completely unconvinced that Lampard is the right man for them. However, I think he's more the right man than Benitez! Didn't really recover after Ancelottis' sudden departure last season. Too big a club to be in the Championship though. 2/10
Leeds. Second season syndrome with a lucky escape on the last day. Hard to see how they re going to improve honestly, I think the PL seems to have gone a bit above them after their extended absence. 4/10
Burnley. They sold Wood & they sacked Dyche. Thus, I feel they got what they deserved. Sacking Dyche is like United sacking Ferguson. It's retarded. 2/10
Norwich / Watford - out of their depth this season with both relegated a long way before the end. Your're either good enough or you're not for this league. Neither were. 1/10 for both.
So here's the MajorRage awards for EPL 21/22.
Manager: Guardiola. It just has to be.
Player: Son. Yes it's easy to give this to the golden boot winner, but he was more than that in a mixed up season for the club
Club: Brentford. Absolutely amazing season
Houdini: Everton.
Player Whose Not A Striker: Van Dijk
Overall Award: Eddie HoweRoll on August!
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@canefan said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@MajorRage crazy to think they have a game day blackout in the UK for the EPL. Surely people would still go to the games, and the broadcast money would be worth a lot more?
Nah, it's a heavily supported move & I understand it. It's only 3pm Saturday that no games are shown.
In the middle of a shitty January, why would you go and watch Aldershot vs Grimsby when Liverpool vs City is on the TV?
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@MajorRage said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@canefan said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@MajorRage crazy to think they have a game day blackout in the UK for the EPL. Surely people would still go to the games, and the broadcast money would be worth a lot more?
Nah, it's a heavily supported move & I understand it. It's only 3pm Saturday that no games are shown.
In the middle of a shitty January, why would you go and watch Aldershot vs Grimsby when Liverpool vs City is on the TV?
Okay thats fair.
I'm so happy to see Spurs cement the 4th spot and UCL qualification after where we sat when Antonio Conte arrived. Son Heung Min wins the Golden Boot without scoring a single penalty. He has revitalised the club after the malaise of the Mourinho and Nuno tenures. Get a few signings in, a proper preseason, and it will be a season of promise in N17
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@MajorRage Good summary My only point of disagreement would be a 4 for Arsenal which I think is harsh. Personally I'd rate them a 6.
wearing my Fulham cap it does worry me that there aren't more crap sides. Already looking like the promoted sides and Leeds battling relegation next season. Really hope Huddersfield can overcome Forest at the weekend.
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@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
My only point of disagreement would be a 4 for Arsenal which I think is harsh. Personally I'd rate them a 6
agreed, but i guess it depends on when you want to start looking at them? Preseason expectations were very low, and worse after their start. So to where they finished a 6 is right
But then at one point they had 4th all but locked up, and promptly fell in a heap. That's a 4.
They desperately need a striker and just an all over bolstering of numbers.
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@Rapido said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
How long has the yellow card for removing your shirt been a rule? 25 years now? Even longer?
Footballers really are as thick as shit. Lol at that Brentford muppet, and every other shirt-remover over the years who ends up getting redded later on.
That was dumb thing number 1 from the weekend, they were already down to 10 men at that point and then he gets the 2nd yellow almost immediately. If Burnley had drawn, they could feel righteously angry about that.
The other dumb thing was Collins for Burnley punching the ball in the box, honestly what was he thinking.
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@MajorRage Great summary that one, hard to disagree with nearly all of it. Harsh to give a 4 for Arsenal when everyone was picking 6th for them at best. If they had finished in the same spot but had a great run at the end to get there, it would have been a 7! Maybe too simple to say a striker is what they need, sometimes it can be more complex than that. They definitely need depth though, a couple of injuries and they had Cedric and Tavares as full backs with predictable results.
West Ham: A 7 I reckon and paying for having a paper-thin squad with no replacement for Antonio and struggling with central defenders. Should have taken 6th and Europa League.
Leicester: 5 for me Brian. Conceding so many goals from set pieces did for them.
Villa/Southampton: Both teams can look good when the other team lets them play but both have days when they look hopeless.
