who will win the premiership 04/05?

Villain

Originally posted by Johnny_the_fox
Liverpool - now is the time

If you really believe that, head to the bookies I reckon you'l get quite nice odds, then again you might get even better odds come xmas if their more than 10 points behind!:D

mayordenis

Originally posted by kida
1.Man U
2.Chelsea
3.Arsenal(further down if lose Viera)

15-20 point gap


4.B'ham
5.Newcastle
6.Villa
7.Boro
8.B'Burn
9.Bolton
10.Charlton
12. Fulham
12. Liverpool
13. Portsmouth
14. Soton
15. Everton
16. West Brom
17. Palace
18. Norwich
19. Spurs
20. M City

has nobody realised that man utd have been counter-productive this summer there signings are mediocre at best.
liverpool 12th is just ridiculous think of baros and cisse up front they would absolutely ruin any defence.

JohnnyBravo

baros had six good games he suddenly isnt world class
we will have to wait and see if he can be consistently good for the pool
Although 12th is a bit stupid

kida

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I actually believe Liverpool will struggle badly next season. The only person gone is the donkey Heskey, the rest of the mediocricity is still there.

Wait and see.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by JohnnyBravo
baros had six good games he suddenly isnt world class

I certainly amn't judging Baros from his 5 games at the European Championships, I've always rated Baros highly. This was after the first game against Latvia which proves my point:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=167393&pagenumber=2&&postid=1697347

I don't think everyone is judging players just by their performances in the EC.

irishgeo

Originally posted by irish1
If you really believe that, head to the bookies I reckon you'l get quite nice odds, then again you might get even better odds come xmas if their more than 10 points behind!:D

i have been at the bookies and got odds of 14/1 .

I am waiting for the odds on cisse being top scorer in the prem.

Jivin Turkey

Originally posted by kida
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I actually believe Liverpool will struggle badly next season. The only person gone is the donkey Heskey, the rest of the mediocricity is still there.

Wait and see.

But in all fairness the rest of the "mediocre" players finished 4th last year. Under a poor manager whom the pressure was getting to. You are talking complete garbage.

PHB

baros and cisse

Rip apart any defense? Hey they ain't bad, but lets not go nuts here. I'm sure they'll do well, especially considering that those three will be competing with Owen for the top spot, but they aren't consistant scorers yet.

sikes

doesn't benitez tend to play with one upfront?
could be wrong tho

mayordenis

Originally posted by PHB
but they aren't consistant scorers yet.

well infairness cisse has been consistanly at the top of the french scoring charts and baros has actually scored and had a good record but he hasnt played enought.
liverpools players being mediocre is incorrect the manager and style have been mediocre.
Liverpool for the League could very well happen.

PHB

I'm not disagreeing with ya, I honastly think that Liverpool are gona chalange this year, but not because of their strike force, because of their midfield

Big Ears

Originally posted by sikes
doesn't benitez tend to play with one upfront?
could be wrong tho

correct my Spurs supporting fellow boards poster .

But that might have to do with Valencia having very strong midfielders and very weak forwards .

Baros would be able to play well up front by himself , so would Cisse , but I dont think iOwen would be up for it .

paddyduff

Manchester United

Big Ears

Originally posted by paddyduff
Manchester United

I hope u dont find this rude , but what advantages do u think they have over the other top clubs ?

PHB

I'll give you my reasoning for Man Utd's victory this year.

First off you gotta look at why we lost last year:

1. Rio Missing
2. Keane Missing a lot
3. Bad bad injuries/suspensions at the back all at the same time
4. No drive

---

1. Rio is back, Man Utd had the best record before we lost him, he is a rock and ensures we don't lose to the **** teams

2. Keane won't be rested as much this year. Last season Fergie rested him when he shouldn't have, and he won't make the same mistakes as last year. I'd say he'll play about 30 of the prem games this season.

3. The back has much much much more depth
If you put out there top team

Neville - Rio - Slyvestre - Heinze
I think thats the best, or second best to Arsenal's, by only a small margin

Then you can put out their backup defence

P Neville - Brown - O Shea - Fortune
or put Pique in there anywhere
That defence ain't half bad and is better than most of the premierships

4. Drive?
They were humiliated last season.
Keano wants to finish his career on a high
New/Young players are going to be much more driven this year.
Players who underpreformed last year:

O Shea:
He will have to be much more driven than he was before, because he is competing for a spot.

Giggs:
He, if he isn't gone by August, which I pray he isn't, is going to be on a one year rolling contract, knowing that Fergie will loose him if he doesn't get his act together.
He will be underpressure because if Fergie wants to play Scholesy(which he will) with two forwards up front, thus putting him out on the right, and putting Ronaldo on the left.
Giggs has to preform.

Van Nist:
He was **** last season, and he scored 20 goals.
He was pissed off at not winning anything but the FA Cup, and he wants to win the CL.
He had a bit of a injury prob last year but this year if he doesn't, I think hes gona be top/2nd scorer in the premiership, and he can be rested since Saha and Smith ain't too bad a combo

Another Element of this is the up and coming youth/new players who I think can break through this year.

Miller
Fletcher(not really up and coming but you know what I mean)
Eagles
Tierney, McShane, and Pique
That german guy
and Martin

Team for the future:

Tierney - McShane - Pique - O'Shea

Eagles/Martin - Miller - Fletcher - German Guy

Smith - ?

All those players want to get in, and they are gona fight for it.
Hence why I think Man Utd are gona win this year

Jivin Turkey

Originally posted by PHB

1. Rio Missing
2. Keane Missing a lot
3. Bad bad injuries/suspensions at the back all at the same time
4. No drive

Keane played 28 of 38 games last year. I would hardly call that missing alot.

Rio was the only injury/suspension they had at the back. And Brown was fit by the time Rio actually got suspended.

PHB

Keane was missing a lot, because normally he plays nearly all the games a year, and when he wasn't playing we sorely missed him.

Rio was the only injury/suspension they had at the back. And Brown was fit by the time Rio actually got suspended.

Do you remembed last season?
Rio got banned.
Neville got a 2/3 match ban, can't remember which
Slyveste got injured.
Brown was unfit. He could run for 90 mins, but he wasn't match fit.

All in same 3 week period

Jivin Turkey

Originally posted by PHB

Do you remembed last season?
Rio got banned.
Neville got a 2/3 match ban, can't remember which
Slyveste got injured.
Brown was unfit. He could run for 90 mins, but he wasn't match fit.

All in same 3 week period

In all fairness and correct me if Im wrong, but how many games did Silvestre miss? 1? Neville was stupidly sent off, you can have no complaints, Brown was back about 3 months at that stage, if he wasnt match fit then he will never be match fit, sure people were hailing his performances then.

Most the reasons you gave for Uniteds failure last year were excuses. They are really going to have to step it up if they want to challenge Arsenal and Chelsea this year. And judging by their signings Im not sure if they will do it.

Villain

Do United supporters here honestly they have a better team than Arsenal???

smuckers

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Utd

Every year I always have this feeling that The Blues will do and they don't but this time we may just do it.
But no doubt you will see this headline, Chelsea held by stubborn Palace.
I think Man City will struggle and out of the promoted teams West Brom have the best chance as they have the same manager in place.
I'm hearing on the radio how Boro are going to be gunning for the top 4 I can't see it to honest, all their signings are 30 years olds and Reizinger is past his best, though Jimmy and Viduka will get them goals.

Big Ears

one things for sure , the quality of the league is improving , and its where a loit of the stars of the future(Reyes , Van Persie , C.Ronaldo ) want to be .

is the Premiership overtaking Spain in terms of quality ?
is Italy still as boring as ever = yes
have German teams gone down a notch = yes
is the French league improving = yes
are Porto going to be knocked out of the Champions League before the last 16 = probably .

I cant wait ofr the new season , and hopefully it will be as exciting as the season 3 years ago .

smemon

Originally posted by irish1
Do United supporters here honestly they have a better team than Arsenal???

on paper probably not.

i'll be quick to point out arsenal never beat utd last season in 4 games. thats when utd were supposed to be having an off season. we've signed many decent proven players saha, smith, miller so we'll have more attacking options rather than just ruud on his own who gets marked out of it every now and then.

another advantage over arsenal is the sides experience in europe and the league. theyve been through it all, the treble, nothing one season, watching arsenal do the double, fighting back for the league.

arsenal are still learning, they havn't retained the league or conquered europe. fa cup theyve mastered but really its 3rd choice, a consolation prize.

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by smemon
on paper probably not.

i'll be quick to point out arsenal never beat utd last season in 4 games. thats when utd were supposed to be having an off season.

There was quite a long period not so long ago where United could not beat Liverpool... If I was to use this as a basis to suggest Liverpool were gonna win the league ahead of Unied at the time, I would have been laughed at... Ok so there was one season where we did actually finish ahead of United (god its was 2 full years ago)..

jesus_thats_gre

The most likely contenders for the league are Arsenal, United and Chelsea...

- Arsenal have to to be favourites still after two very positive seasons where they were undisputedly the best team...

- United will run them close and it really depends how the team reacts to last season. Some decent additions to the squad also.






- Chelsea is impossible to predict. You cant help feel that it will take them a while to gel again. A new manager and a large number of changes in the squad takes some time to settle.. If they settle in quickly then they should be fighting united and Arsenal all the way. If not, they will scrap it would with Liverpool for third or possibly fourth...

- Liverpool - While I genuinely can't expect the new manager to win the league in his first season, Benitez comes with an undisputed ability to do well in his first season. If he can dispose of some of the dead wood, acquire 2/3 new players and get decent performances out of what is there already, it certainly is not inconcievable that Liverpool could finish 4th, 3rd or even 2nd. It would take something out of the ordinary for them to win the league, but then again why not???



On last season alone, Arsenal and United have to be favs, Chelsea for 2nd, 3rd or 4th and Liverpool with 3rd or 4th. Somewhat sitting on the fence there

Big Ears

dont forget the toon , with less injuries this year , they are bound to play better especially with the good addition of Milner to the team .

Its gonna be a very good season with a lot of good teams , although I do get the feeling Newcastle could get a lot more points than they did last season and finnish worse .

smemon

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
There was quite a long period not so long ago where United could not beat Liverpool... If I was to use this as a basis to suggest Liverpool were gonna win the league ahead of Unied at the time, I would have been laughed at... Ok so there was one season where we did actually finish ahead of United (god its was 2 full years ago)..

yeah i would have laughed at it too but that was more of a jinx than anything. utd have it against bolton of recent, utd and arsenal are neck and neck, thats why its more meaningful when arsenal fail to beat their challengers.

i get the feeling liverpool are quietly confident but dont want to show their confidence because of past failures. i know rightly liverpool will expect to be challenging the top 3, TBH they should aswell, theyve a decent side if they sort it out.
i wouldnt overhype their attack too much, baros and owen were there last season and did nothing, adding cisse doesnt make then formidable. selling owen to finance a decent midfielder would be more beneficial, cisse is well capable of playing on his own with kewell supporting.

Jivin Turkey

Originally posted by smemon

i wouldnt overhype their attack too much, baros and owen were there last season and did nothing, adding cisse doesnt make then formidable. selling owen to finance a decent midfielder would be more beneficial, cisse is well capable of playing on his own with kewell supporting.

Owen scored 16 in 29 games, and he did nothing? RVN scored 20 in 32, which isnt all that much better. Why do people say that Owen was crap last year. He is there to score, which he did. The team didnt play to his strengths and he still gave a good return.

And Baros was out for 6 months.

mayordenis

on i slightly random point le tallec should plaz his best mazbe get a starting place in the liverpool line-up he is one to watch.

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by mayordenis
on i slightly random point le tallec should plaz his best mazbe get a starting place in the liverpool line-up he is one to watch.

Yeah I agree! He deserves his chance and I really hope he takes it..

Take it

1 - Arsenal
2 - Man U
3- Liverpool

(A very close finish I think with 5/6 points in it)

I think Liverpool have a good chance this season with Owen cisse and baros up front People may not think baros is top class but any time hou played him for 20 min or so at the end of a game last season he completely changed the game I had money on him at 50/1 to be top goal scorer in euro and ill have some more money for him to be top goal scorer of the prem this season!! Liverpool just needs to sign a good strong midfielder to partner Gerard in the centre and maybe someone fro the left mid field!

You can never rule man u out and ronaldo I think will be a big feature in there season maybe there best this season and of course arse to win only if they keep verria they have an amazing squad.

smuckers

They also need a CB, Ayala was mentioned but nothing has come of that as of yet. Dellas has been targeted by several teams.