EPL 2023/2024
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@sparky said in EPL 2023/2024:
Man City winning 4 PLs in a row is a bit like Lance Armstrong winning 7 Tours de France in a row and Ben Johnson winning the 1988 Olympics in 9.79. It's spectacular achievement if you overlook the cheating.
It's only a matter of time until the last two Premier League titles are awarded to Arsenal and Man City get booted down to League 2.
I can't see their lawyers letting that happen for charges that are already 6 seasons old
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Arsenal: Decent enough choke again, the loss vs Villa the difference between 1st and 2nd
No way that was a choke, Arsenal had a great season and just didn't quite get enough points for the title, no disgrace in that. In Arteta's 4 full seasons, their points totals have been
61 (8th)
69 (5th)
84 (2nd)
89 (2nd)For a young manager in his first role with a team that he has built himself, that is very impressive. The next step is to strengthen in key areas an improve the depth so that he can make sure his gun players get enough rest. In those 4 seasons, Saka has only missed 9 league games while also playing a World Cup and I think you can see at times that he loses his spark.
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@KiwiPie said in EPL 2023/2024:
Arsenal: Decent enough choke again, the loss vs Villa the difference between 1st and 2nd
No way that was a choke, Arsenal had a great season and just didn't quite get enough points for the title, no disgrace in that. In Arteta's 4 full seasons, their points totals have been
61 (8th)
69 (5th)
84 (2nd)
89 (2nd)For a young manager in his first role with a team that he has built himself, that is very impressive. The next step is to strengthen in key areas an improve the depth so that he can make sure his gun players get enough rest. In those 4 seasons, Saka has only missed 9 league games while also playing a World Cup and I think you can see at times that he loses his spark.
If they can get Isak from Newcastle and jettison Jesus that would be a good start.
One more game to watch this season: Leeds vs Southampton for promotion.
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@Billy-Tell said in EPL 2023/2024:
If they can get Isak from Newcastle and jettison Jesus that would be a good start.
Jesus should be used more on the right to rest Saka.
Newcastle are interested in Ramsdale, and Arsenal have been linked to Guimarães.
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@Billy-Tell Maybe you haven't been following the case closely? There are 112 charges still pending agains Manchester City. Each one serious enough to lead to a points reduction.
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@Billy-Tell Man City literally has a state lobbying British diplomats on its behalf.
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@antipodean said in EPL 2023/2024:
ery few teams have lost while leading at Xmas. In fact if memory serves me correctly, that sad claim to fame is Liverpool's.
Mate it happened this year - and last year
It happens almost exactly half the time
.
How often do Christmas leaders go on to win the title?
We look at the good news and bad news for Arsenal after they secured the Christmas No 1 spot
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Great stuff.
I think you can argue that most sides had a good season
City: 4 in a row but will be gutted out of CL. Best team in world.
Arsenal: Improved. No disgrace to lose to City
Liverpool: Improved in a transition year. Promised more but didn't quite deliver.
Villa: Agree Emery best Manager this season. Really shows up Gerrard.
Spurs: Given Kane gone an excellent season. Ange needs to be more pragmatic. Can see it unravelling next year. The irascible Aussie thing is wearing a bit thin.
Chelsea: Struggled for most of season but came right in New Year. Watch Boely fuck it all up over summer
Newcastle: Must hate that FFP stops them doing what City and Chelsea did Given injury run not awful. Fans enjoyed CL footy
Man Utd: Total utter shite.
West Ham: Agree with what you said. Worst fans in division. Such a sense of entitlement
Palace: Two seasons in a row a new Manager comes in and they start playing great footy. Is it the Manager or the fact that their stars are suddenly available. Nevertheless great result and exciting times ahead if they can keep squad together
Brighton: A poorish season De Zerbi seems to have spent most of it touting for another job. Will bounce back. Well run club that don't fuck about.
Bournemouth: Great season
Fulham: So inconsistent but a good year considering they were written off after Mitro left. Worry for them for next season though. Squad already needs strengthening and likely to lose 3-4. IN MARCO WE TRUST
Wolves: Had them down for relegation pre season with no manager and no money so a good result
Everton: Still in a tough spot Really need a new owner but (fortunately) not going to be 777. Solid result given everything that went on in behind
Brentford: Toney is a monumental cock. Frank seems tired. Could be a tough year next season. Disappointing.
Notts Forest: Survival was the priority and they managed it despite points deduction. Very lucky bottom 3 were so bad. Relegation fodder?
Luton Town: The only promoted club who can hold their heads high. Well run. Well managed. Always anticipated they would only be here for a short time but made sure it was a good time. Will pay for new stadium and hopefully bounce back up
Burnley: Bad Kompany.
Sheffield United: Bringing in Wilder was never going to work. Showed their hand last summer. Were never going to survive. Ambition seemed limited to not being as bad as Derby. -
@KiwiPie said in EPL 2023/2024:
Arsenal: Decent enough choke again, the loss vs Villa the difference between 1st and 2nd
No way that was a choke, Arsenal had a great season and just didn't quite get enough points for the title, no disgrace in that. In Arteta's 4 full seasons, their points totals have been
61 (8th)
69 (5th)
84 (2nd)
89 (2nd)For a young manager in his first role with a team that he has built himself, that is very impressive. The next step is to strengthen in key areas an improve the depth so that he can make sure his gun players get enough rest. In those 4 seasons, Saka has only missed 9 league games while also playing a World Cup and I think you can see at times that he loses his spark.
Especially when you consider that City also lost to Villa. Losing to Forest early in the season probably the biggest mark against them.
Arteta is really looking like something special at the moment. Even able to make Kai Havertz look like a success. Been a lot of spending though - do they have another big summer spend in them or are they tapped out and just going to tinker at the edges and make some small adjustments?
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i struggle to give even a solitary little fuck about Man City's alleged over-spending when you consider:
Manchester United have annual revenues of $824 million, have spent $445 million on transfers in the last 2 seasons, and have an annual wage bill of $180 million.
To come 8th, 31 points behind city.This sport, especially in England, is absolutely awash in money. Having a bit more than your competitors isn't the cheat code some seem to think.
Can Burnley hope to compete with City? No. Can every other team at the top of the tree in England? Yes. -
Define top of tree?
The likes of City have enjoyed the beneficence of billionaire owners but now are doing everything in their power to prevent others e.g. Newcastle from doing the same.
There are two power plays in progress.
United, Liverpool, City, Spurs, Arsenal Chelsea don't want anyone else gatecrashing their little party.
The rest of the EPL think similarly about the Championship and wider pyramid.
Half the EPL clubs are owned by yanks who think the whole notion of promotion / relegation is the devil's work.
I'm not particularly agitated by City's transgressions. I especially don't think it has anything much to do with Peps era. It is interesting though jhow quickly smaller clubs get penalised compared to the years City's drama has / will drag on.
I just don't like one side dominating a competition - be that United or City the Crusaders or the Blues, Tiger Woods or Verstappen.
The delight in sport is its unpredictability. Take that away and it gets boring. It's a big part of the joy of supporting Fulham. You never know WTF you're going to get.
How long would my moral superiority last if Shahid Khan was able to spend some of his billions to elevate us into the CL? It'd evaporate in a nano-second, but it's never going to happen because it's a closed shop.
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That's exactly how I feel Mr Meat. I've followed football my whole life and it has always been sleazy. Now the sleaze is of a different type but I just try to enjoy the actual game for what it is.
The reason City have dominated for the past few years is of course their money but also a planned approach to team/squad building. For example when Rodri first arrived to take over from Fernandinho, he was interchanged with him a lot and it was thought he would never be as good - by the time Fernandinho retired, Rodri was good enough that he wasn't missed. Similarly with David Silva, Yaya Toure etc.
On Chelsea, I actually think the best thing that happened for Poch was having so many injuries that he was forced to stick with
Caicedo Gallagher
Palmer Madueke Mudryk
Jackson
for a few games and they have all benefited from having a settled system and personnel. For the first half of the season, he had so many players he kept on shifting them around and trying to find a system for them.On Brighton, they actually had a good season up until half-way - 30 points from 19 games and into the final 16 of the Europa League. In 2024, it fell apart - 18 points from 19 games. I'm sure they will be fine with a good manager (after McKenna of Ipswich apparently), their injured players returning and a couple of obscure South Americans who turn out to be superstars.
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@dogmeat we are competing in the top 6 regularly now, but I wouldn't put Spurs in with the likes of Chelsea, City, and Utd especially. I don't think anyone could accuse us of trying to buy titles, in fact one of the longstanding gripes from Spurs fans is the our tightwad chief executive
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@KiwiPie said in EPL 2023/2024:
Arsenal: Decent enough choke again, the loss vs Villa the difference between 1st and 2nd
No way that was a choke, Arsenal had a great season and just didn't quite get enough points for the title, no disgrace in that. In Arteta's 4 full seasons, their points totals have been
61 (8th)
69 (5th)
84 (2nd)
89 (2nd)For a young manager in his first role with a team that he has built himself, that is very impressive. The next step is to strengthen in key areas an improve the depth so that he can make sure his gun players get enough rest. In those 4 seasons, Saka has only missed 9 league games while also playing a World Cup and I think you can see at times that he loses his spark.
I have nothing but praise for Arteta and what he's achieved with the club. Also for the Arsenal management for resisting the urge to drop him after a couple of mixed opening seasons.
Perhaps the choke tag more apt for Liverpool after this season, although given the terrible December of Arsenal, you could argue that they choked back then.
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@canefan said in EPL 2023/2024:
@dogmeat we are competing in the top 6 regularly now, but I wouldn't put Spurs in with the likes of Chelsea, City, and Utd especially. I don't think anyone could accuse us of trying to buy titles, in fact one of the longstanding gripes from Spurs fans is the our tightwad chief executive
The big 6 aren't about buying titles. It's more about making sure that their revenue streams aren't diluted by others joining them at the top of the pile.
Truth is that you can't really buy a title now. Winning the EPL is much more about your manager/team than money. City vs United is clear and obvious proof of that. Newcastle have as much money behind them as anybody else, as well as a superb up and coming manager, but they don't even look close to title contention.
