strangest/most interesting league in a long time?

Hank Scorpio

Is it just me or does this season have no "consistency" to it?

Personally im delighted to see villa doing well as i rate o neill as one of the top managers in the country. BUT

Arsenal, they feel to be playing the exact same way as they did 2 years ago
Chelsea , i have honestly never seen them performing to badly since abramovich came in.
Man UTD bought badly with that lazy shark up front and seem to be hit and miss for me atm..
Liverpool ( HOW THE FECK ARE THEY TOP OF THE LEAGUE? )

Is this league slipping? Are the big 4 gone?

Meh

Tusky

nuxxx wrote: »

Is this league slipping? Are the big 4 gone?

1 Liverpool 20 13 6 1 35 13 22 45
2 Chelsea 20 12 6 2 40 9 31 42
3 Manchester 17 10 5 2 28 10 18 35
4 Arsenal 20 10 5 5 33 23 10 35

?

Xavi6

Tusky wrote: »

1 Liverpool 20 13 6 1 35 13 22 45
2 Chelsea 20 12 6 2 40 9 31 42
3 Manchester 17 10 5 2 28 10 18 35
4 Arsenal 20 10 5 5 33 23 10 35

?

Didn't realise City were in 3rd. Or did you mean the other 'Manchester'?

ArmaniJeanss

I GuanYin wrote: »

Didn't realise City were in 3rd. Or did you mean the other 'Manchester'?

I think 'Manchester' was just shorthand for the team that 99.99% of the football world associates with the city of Manchester.

Xavi6

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I think 'Manchester' was just shorthand for the team that 99.99% of the football world associates with the city of Manchester.

Not the point though.

Hank Scorpio

villa have games in hand..

nehow, i watched chelsea today, and also arsenals game. I cannot see arsenal finishing ahead of villa and i cant see liverpool winning it.

also the champions league this campaign has been somewhat of a pain for the PL best teams contrary to previous / recent seasons, pain as in not as even qualification

Im just trying to put across my point of view of this being one of the strangest runs in a long while in the premiership, which im not dismissing or insulting, its extremly interesting. If liverpool do end up winning it tho really have to question the strenght of the league in contrast to previous seasons

ArmaniJeanss

I GuanYin wrote: »

Not the point though.

Aye, he should have have been more careful not to offend fans of a big urban conurbations second team.

Xavi6

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Aye, he should have have been more careful not to offend fans of a big urban conurbations second team.

Exactly. It's a simple requirement of a league table that teams be distinguished from each other. Makes it much easier to read.

Imagine a Championship table that just had 'Sheffield'. Madness.

Diabhal Beag

Villa are the team to watch ATM

bantee

I GuanYin wrote: »

Exactly. It's a simple requirement of a league table that teams be distinguished from each other. Makes it much easier to read.

Imagine a Championship table that just had 'Sheffield'. Madness.

Or imagine if he had stuck in slang and abreviations such as Pompey or Soton. There would be awful confusion.

Karmafaerie

nuxxx wrote: »

villa have games in hand..

nehow, i watched chelsea today, and also arsenals game. I cannot see arsenal finishing ahead of villa and i cant see liverpool winning it.

also the champions league this campaign has been somewhat of a pain for the PL best teams contrary to previous / recent seasons, pain as in not as even qualification

Im just trying to put across my point of view of this being one of the strangest runs in a long while in the premiership, which im not dismissing or insulting, its extremly interesting. If liverpool do end up winning it tho really have to question the strenght of the league in contrast to previous seasons

And so it begins.
Getting in your "it doesn't really count, Liverpool only won cause the other teams let them" excuse out a bit early aren't you Nuxxx?
At least wait untill May.:rolleyes:

A Dub in Glasgo

The top 3 will be from the big 4 come the end of the season. Chances are the top 4 will be the big 4. C'est la vie.

ciaran76

I think if Liverpool win the league and I have heard people say that the league is poor this season well thats not Liverpool's fault.
Liverpool can only go out and beat the team they are playing.


The league is inconsistant this year except for 1 or 2 teams and the team who at the moment are most consistent are Liverpool.

Oh my god I just realised I am defending Liverpool !!!!!:eek::o

copacetic

I GuanYin wrote: »

Exactly. It's a simple requirement of a league table that teams be distinguished from each other. Makes it much easier to read.

Imagine a Championship table that just had 'Sheffield'. Madness.

good point, I bet you thought City were in 3rd place there for a while.

astrofool

I GuanYin wrote: »

Exactly. It's a simple requirement of a league table that teams be distinguished from each other. Makes it much easier to read.

Imagine a Championship table that just had 'Sheffield'. Madness.

heh, is it minnowism when you have to keep telling other people to use the full name of another club, just to ensure your own club has an identity?

Most people would probably use "City" or Man C to abbreviate Machester City.

Maybe in a few years time, once all the soul has been sucked from City, and they play a team of solid gold footballers will there be confusion with 2 Manchesters in the top 4.

ROCKMAN

I kind of get want the OP is trying to say .In a way no team seems to want it , Take Utd for instance 10 points behind with 3 home games in hand ,Now most seasons Utd would just go out and pick up these 9 points , job done ,back in the race .However this season picking these points up is not a sure thing.It all depends on which team turns up.Chelsea started the season and IMO looked like the most likely champs , However since Liverpool busted their home record they have not looked anywhere near the same team .Not expecting much from the gunners this year ,yes they can play some of the best and most fantastic football you will see anywhere , they just don't seem to have the backbone for the title race this season. As for Liverpool , I think why most people are finding it hard to see them win the title at the moment is the fact that they have had 3 or 4 chances this season so far to make a break and open some distance between themselves and the rest at the top but so far have failed to deliver so far
As for the comments about if they win it being a weak league etc etc .... This is bull**** .If They do win it . It will be down to one thing and one thing only
THEY WILL HAVE DESERVED IT , THE LEAGUE DOES NOT LIE .

Jazzy

I GuanYin wrote: »

Didn't realise City were in 3rd. Or did you mean the other 'Manchester'?

i didnt realise it was "every little victory" for the whole of madchester

Bubs101

ROCKMAN wrote: »

As for the comments about if they win it being a weak league etc etc .... This is bull**** .If They do win it . It will be down to one thing and one thing only
THEY WILL HAVE DESERVED IT , THE LEAGUE DOES NOT LIE .

Exactly. It's kind of sad for Man Utd and Chelsea fans to paint it as a weak league this season.

It's definitely the most interesting it's been in a while. Liverpool on top gives it a strange dynamic, especially with Man Utd and Chelsea so close. Arsenal and Villa looks equally interesting for 4th. Don't think the bottom makes it any better though, it's hard to get involved in a relegation battle if they're too many contenders

invincibleirish

We're only just past half way, the season can still very well end up with the exact same top 4 in order, with two promoted teams going down and everyone else 'as you were' between top and bottom.

It'll be exciting it always is, but it probably wont be much different.

Xavi6

astrofool wrote: »

heh, is it minnowism when you have to keep telling other people to use the full name of another club, just to ensure your own club has an identity?

Call it whatever you like. They're two seperate entities and should be distinguished. Not sure what's wrong with that.

Most people would probably use "City" or Man C to abbreviate Machester City.

And a lot of people would use 'United' or Man U to abbreviate the other crowd.

Maybe in a few years time, once all the soul has been sucked from City, and they play a team of solid gold footballers will there be confusion with 2 Manchesters in the top 4.

Fingers crossed. I look forward to it.

ROCKMAN

Bubs101 wrote: »

Exactly. It's kind of sad for Man Utd and Chelsea fans to paint it as a weak league this season.It's definitely the most interesting it's been in a while. Liverpool on top gives it a strange dynamic, especially with Man Utd and Chelsea so close. Arsenal and Villa looks equally interesting for 4th. Don't think the bottom makes it any better though, it's hard to get involved in a relegation battle if they're too many contenders

As a die hard UTD FAN

GOD I hope LIVERPOOL fail big time ,

But the league is a hell of alot more interesting this season, than the normal 2 horse races which we have seen for most of the premiership.

astrofool

I don't think anyone reading the thread will have thought that Manchester in the table was any other team than Manchester United, so from that point of view, the abbreviation was sufficient.

Jazzy

every little victory....



tbh, they will always be the other team in madchester that Oasis supported. oh, and the mondays.


amazing the big deal you spin over someone not naming the most well known team in the world in their full name. should read more dickens, great expectations especially. his name in full is Pippentook btw

Xavi6

Jazzy wrote: »

every little victory....



tbh, they will always be the other team in madchester that Oasis supported. oh, and the mondays.


amazing the big deal you spin over someone not naming the most well known team in the world in their full name. should read more dickens, great expectations especially. his name in full is Pippentook btw

So if the two teams from Liverpool were called Merseyside United and Merseyside City you would be ok with people not distinguishing between them? Yeah right :rolleyes:

ciaran76

I GuanYin wrote: »

So if the two teams from Liverpool were called Merseyside United and Merseyside City you would be ok with people not distinguishing between them? Yeah right :rolleyes:

Which one wears Blue ?:pac:

Xavi6

ciaran76 wrote: »

Which one wears Blue ?:pac:

Who knows. Merseyside is Merseyside. All the same really.

mike65

nuxxx wrote: »

Liverpool ( HOW THE FECK ARE THEY TOP OF THE LEAGUE? )

Lets see now.....................................................they won more games and lost fewer games? Could that be it?

Its a great league, full of strangness. A few clubs like Wigan and Fulham are clearly in better shape than recent years while the top teams are busy taking points of each other and slipping more than usual against the rest.

Rikand

AC or Inter ?

internelligent

Rickylovesuall wrote: »

AC or Inter ?

This argument is getting a ridiculous amount of mileage!!!!

Anyway, let's put another spin on this. Over the last 10 years the premier league has dropped it's standards substantially. So much so that only about 3 teams really have played at a fairly NORMAL level. It is only now that all these teams which were playing below par have improved their game where the other top 3 teams have stayed at their NORMAL level. In short, the league has been **** over the last 10 years and it's only now that true class is being shown on the pitch in the PL.


It's an amazing insult to suggest that Liverpool are only where they are because other teams have underperformed. That Liverpool aren't there by there own merit. Was the league weak last year when Chelsea and Manchester(:rolleyes:) were going through a bad patch?

MisterAnarchy

ROCKMAN wrote: »

Take Utd for instance 10 points behind with 3 home games in hand ,Now most seasons Utd would just go out and pick up these 9 points , job done ,back in the race

True but United have by far the easier fixtures left of the top 4 teams.
They have played most of their away matches against teams that finished in the top 10 last season.
Uniteds success was always built on beating the lesser teams and that will propel then on in the second half of the season.

Tusky

I assumed everyone would know I was talking about Manchester United as City are in the bottom half of the table.

titan18

Seriously, he was giving the top 4 atm and surely Manchester or even United was adequate in describing the team in third.How could somebody think it was City?They're useless

copacetic

Rickylovesuall wrote: »

AC or Inter ?

Milan or Inter you mean.

Bounty Hunter

IMO it has been the most interesting first half of the season in years, however it could still end up looking very normal come may.

there is a genuine challenge to the top 4 with Villa MON/Lerner & Co taking on Wenger and Le Arse.

There is the promoted yearly early overachievers in Hull, but Stoke also created quite an early stir with Delap's long throws in particular.

The new Money giving us lots to talk about transfer wise in Man City, who are giving us even more to talk about due to their underachievment thus far.

The upheaval and numerous manager changes at some clubs like Newcastle, Sunderland etc, along with clubs which are having mucho money issues like West Ham and Portsmouth.

The fact that the bottom half of the table teams are all one really close bunch and anyone could go from challenging for europe to fighting off relegation or vice versa after a string of good/bad results.

redout

In most countries outside the UK & Ireland Man Utd are simply refered to as Manchester. I am speaking from experience of living abroad and witnessing it. Although I do understand Xavi's point as we are not outside these countries obviously and I dont know anyone who refers to Man Utd as just Manchester.

As regards the league it is a strange one this season alright. Already this season twice in the space of three weeks the top four failed to win and also the entire top 10 failed to win on one occasion. That was the first time in 80 odd years by the way. Now what would the odds on that have been at the start of the season.

PHB

I think United [I've never seen anyone give out about this actually, I wonder why] and Chelsea have been mis-firing so far this season. I think Liverpool have been good, but clearly have room for improvement (as seems to be happening now). I think Arsenal have really really missed Flamini and Hleb, and didn't replace.

Bounty Hunter

PHB wrote: »

I think United [I've never seen anyone give out about this actually, I wonder why] and Chelsea have been mis-firing so far this season. I think Liverpool have been good, but clearly have room for improvement (as seems to be happening now). I think Arsenal have really really missed Flamini and Hleb, and didn't replace.

your right Leeds have been misfiring so far this season.

The most impressive/surprising thing for me is the fact that Liverpool are top without Torres thus far this season especially when you consider that many people suggested they were a 2 man team last season (Gerrard & Torres) and they have only added Riera and keane who till now hadnt set the world alight. They are top with room for improvement. Unfortunatley for them virtually everyone else has left room for improvement too so far

SantryRed

I now honestly think it's going to be a two horse race between United and Liverpool. United to win it by anout 4 or 5 points in the end.
Don't fancy Chelsea at all.

This forum will go into meltdown if that happens:eek:

scruff321

will everyone talkin about weather manchester is united or city shut the **** up who cares get a grip he clearly was talkin about united..

As for the point that united have an easier fixture list,i dont know if that means much in the prem this year,united made hard work of that victory against stoke the other week and were fortunate to beat sunderland,its gonna be close this year!

doonothing

SantryRed wrote: »

I now honestly think it's going to be a two horse race between United and Liverpool. United to win it by anout 4 or 5 points in the end.
Don't fancy Chelsea at all.

This forum will go into meltdown if that happens:eek:

I'm kinda of this opinion myself, as impossible as it is to call!

I really think there's going to be an exciting second half, moreso than that first anyway!

redout

I reckon Man Utd and Chelsea will pull away by late March. No way do I see it ending up a 3 horse race. If Gerrard picks up an injury of more than a couple of weeks then Liverpool will absolutely suffer. They are to dependent on him and have nobody even half as good who can step in and replace him. The difference is that Man Utd and Chelsea have stronger squads to cope with injuries, suspensions etc.

It will also be interesting come the end of february when the champions league starts back because in previous years Liverpool were never serious challengers and had the luxury to rest players before champions league games which they will not be able to do this year.

shane86

Bubs101 wrote: »

Exactly. It's kind of sad for Man Utd and Chelsea fans to paint it as a weak league this season.

Embarassing really.

I still half believe Liverpool will **** up at the final hurdle, although to have maintained the momentum with their best forward and arguably their best back out for much of the season is something else.

This year certainly shows that a great set of players can underperform under a poorer manager. Chelsea, give or take one or two I am forgetting, have the same gang of their very best players they had under Jose, yet look at them now.

Highsider

The fact people are suggesting that Liverpool are only top of the table because of the league being weaker this season is very embarassing TBH.

copacetic

Highsider wrote: »

The fact people are suggesting that Liverpool are only top of the table because of the league being weaker this season is very embarassing TBH.

heh,if anything it is because the league is stronger. I don't mind, when you see people start to get those whinges and excuses in as early as this, you know they are worried. Next up the other managers will be saying that Liverpool are getting special treatment from refs etc.

mike65

If one team looks vunerable its Chelsea, they are nothing like the machine Jose put together. The Man Utd/Chelsea tie could well be the most important of the season as regards the title.

If Gerrard picks up an injury of more than a couple of weeks then Liverpool will absolutely suffer. They are to dependent on him and have nobody even half as good who can step in and replace him

Always one to wheel out when in doubt, eh?

Ruskie4Rent

Highsider wrote: »

The fact people are suggesting that Liverpool are only top of the table because of the league being weaker this season is very embarassing TBH.

I wouldn't call it embarassing. There hasn't really been any team to single out as being brilliant in what is supposed to be the best league in the world, if you ask me.

That's not saying that Liverpool don't deserve to be top, they do.

redout

mike65 wrote: »

Always one to wheel out when in doubt, eh?

Do you dispute that ?

copacetic

redout wrote: »

Do you dispute that ?

People on here said the exact same thing about Torres and we have coped pretty well. Personally I reckon 4-4-2 Alonso and Masch behind Torres and Keane, with Riera and Insua down the left and Carragher and Kuyt down the right would be handy enough?

Still leaves Lucas and Babel and Benny in reserve.

redout

The Torres thing has proved to be nothing more than hear’say but Stevie G, no chance. Captain fantastic goes missing longterm then pool are in trouble. I dont think even many pool fans would dispute that.

mike65

Yeah we're a one, sorry two man team. We'd never cope.

Now if we lost Gerrard, Torres and Alonso, and Masch, and Pepe, and Carra, and Reira we'd only win the Champions League.

Torres is hearsay? Gadzooks! I though he was real enough.

copacetic

redout wrote: »

The Torres thing has proved to be nothing more than hear’say but Stevie G, no chance. Captain fantastic goes missing longterm then pool are in trouble. I dont think even many pool fans would dispute that.

I'm not saying we wouldn't miss him, but the above post claimed we had no-one half as good. Alonso and Masch are 2 of the best midfielders in the world imo (and the opinion of a lot of the managers in Italy and Spain!)