Who is going to win the league?

PHB

We've all been bouncing around the issue, lots But its half way there, what do people think?

IMO, United are one point behind assumign they win their two relatively easy home games. They have been ****e all year, no doubt about it. Have yet to click into gear. They are normally much stronger after Christmas, and we've seen signs that we are starting to gel in terms of chances. I think we'll hit full form now, and with our hardest away fixtures out of the way, we're in a great position.

United first circa 95 points
Chelsea second [5 points off United]
Liverpool a close third [8 points off United I'd guess]

p.s. I had a think about whether or not to include (fans of) and decided to put it in there, because I think its a fairly safe bet that most United fans and Liverpool fans will be voting for their own team. The polls are normally much more interesting when you remove the bias of fans. There's not as many Arsenal and Chelsea fans, so I didnt do it, cause it gets kinda ludicrous. If people think its unfair, get the mod to change it

p.p.s. I wanted to put in Arsenal, so I felt I had to put in Villa

Melion

Oh god, this thread is going to be fun

Frisbee

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

For me:

United
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal
Villa

United haven't picked up yet this season yet are still grinding out results.
Chelsea have looked fairly vulnerable and I fully expect Pool to crumble.
Hopefully we can secure fourth with a quality DM signed this month.
Although if Villa strengthen they could easily beat us to it...

SantryRed

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

United to win it. They've played all of the other four away from home already. They haven't been playing well and have yet to click. Assuming they win their two games in hand, they'll be a point behind.

I reckon Liverpool will be a close second, about 5 or 6 points behind aslong as Torres gets fit and Gerrard doesn't go to prison:pac:

Chelsea to come third as I can see them falling more off the pace as the season goes on. Wouldn't be surprised if Scolari doesn't finish the season as manager.

Villa to come fourth. Arsenal are all over the place and Villa seem to be getting stronger.

The whole league is going to be the best ever to be honest. Gonna be a great finish.

ntlbell

Chelsea

united by 5 for me

I'd like to see united and the pool battle it out till the end tho

Melion

Can i just ask one thing before the thread goes mental.

Why is everyone going to bang on about United not clicking yet but getting results? Surely Liverpool are in the same situation

Frisbee

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

Melion wrote: »

Can i just ask one thing before the thread goes mental.

Why is everyone going to bang on about United not clicking yet but getting results? Surely Liverpool are in the same situation

For me it's because United do this year in, year out and still come close.
Pool do it every year but this is the first year they've been getting the results while playing poorly.
Personally I just think they'll crumble, but come second.

Podge2k7

Liverpool (Liverpool fans)

Hopefully Liverpool can hold out and win it.!

PHB

Chelsea

Melion wrote: »

Can i just ask one thing before the thread goes mental.

Why is everyone going to bang on about United not clicking yet but getting results? Surely Liverpool are in the same situation

I think the general logic here is, and its a logic I semi agree with:

Both teams have been playing ok, and getting semi decent results, but nothing amazing. Both teams certainly have in theory another level, based on the individual players.

We know that this United team clicked amazingly last year.
We assume that at some point, they will click.

Liverpool have not yet clicked [although the last 2 matches are beginning to suggest otherwise]
We don't think that they will click. As such, they will fade off.

But I'm not so sure about that.

Melion

Ok, cheers.

As has been said countless times on here. A lot of us Liverpool fans just want a sustained challenge which is what we appear to be getting. I think that if we do start playing well we will be very hard to beat. There's a small bit of me now thinking it might finally be ours to lose rather than us chasing the other "Big 3"

Helix

Arsenal

i voted villa fior the craic

Headshot

Chelsea

for me

United
Liverpool
Chelsea
Villa
Arsenal

sorry Frisbee but unless Arsenal get some reinforcements this transfer window
Arsenal could be in trouble

Man utd to win the league by 3 points

Smegball

Chelsea

Berbatov is hinting that he's getting into his groove, and Tevez is playing better recently, if Ronaldo hits any run of form United will win the league IMO, our defence is the key, even if the attacking players aren't performing I think United have the best defence in the PL and are more likely to scrape those 1-0's together when needs be.

Frisbee

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote: »

sorry Frisbee but unless Arsenal get some reinforcements this transfer window
Arsenal could be in trouble

Fully aware of that. We need a decent DM or it's the low low realms of 5th for us...

DmanDmythDledge

Chelsea

Melion wrote: »

Can i just ask one thing before the thread goes mental.

Why is everyone going to bang on about United not clicking yet but getting results? Surely Liverpool are in the same situation

This is as good as Liverpool usually play every season, probably slightly improved on other seasons. Fortunate wins against Man Utd and Chelsea as a result of terrible tactics and a lucky goal respectively. Alonso could be out for a while which would be bad news as it is he and not Gerrard who pulls the strings for Liverpool. Also their squad is not good enough to cope with injuries/suspensions.

Chelsea will not be champions because Scolari is not fully up to the task. Maybe next season he will. This sums it up pretty good.

It's Man Utd's title to lose. Potentially one point behind playing way belowe their best. They will be firing on all cylinders soon and with the best XI, squad and manager in the league there's only going to be one outcome.

_blank_

Aston Villa

PHB wrote: »

relatively easy home games.

:eek:

Yeah.

lol

PHB wrote: »

Liverpool fans will be voting for their own team.

Not so far

redout

Chelsea

PHB wrote: »

United first circa 95 points
Chelsea second [5 points off United]
Liverpool a close third [8 points off United I'd guess

Did you even work out the remaining games ? if we won every game till the end of the season we could only finish with 98 and you actually think we will only drop 3 points or similar from now until the end of the season ? no chance. We have never scored that high I dont think, Chelsea did in 04/05 and only lost once, I think that points total was a premiership record. This league is too close and we will drop at least 10 points I reckon. No way 95 or even 90 imo. Last year we only scored 87 and 89 the season before that.

Chardee MacDennis

Man Utd

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

This is as good as Liverpool usually play every season, probably slightly improved on other seasons.

i think our points total would disagree with that.

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

Fortunate wins against Man Utd and Chelsea as a result of terrible tactics and a lucky goal respectively.

LOL, just LOL....

tok9

Man Utd

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

This is as good as Liverpool usually play every season, probably slightly improved on other seasons. Fortunate wins against Man Utd and Chelsea as a result of terrible tactics and a lucky goal respectively.

Are you serious?

Guy:Incognito

Spurs with a late push.

_blank_

Aston Villa

I knew it.

Me and eirebhoy have the same views on football.

Even though he doesn't like to admit it :pac:

jesus_thats_gre

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote: »

for me

United
Liverpool
Chelsea
Villa
Arsenal


Man utd to win the league by 3 points

Would probably see if pan out this way myself. A few points will probably only seperate the the top 3. A few weeks ago, I was concinved that Arsenal would ultimately take 4th but I would be somewhat skeptical now due to injuries and so on.

Saying that, I think that Arsenal are going to have a massive influence on who wins the the league as they are playing Liverpool, Chelsea and United in their last 5 or 6 matches. The distribution of points between the top 4 has already been totally turned on it's head this season and Arsenal could really influence who wins it.

I don't subscribe to this "clicking" and "going on a run" business though. I also don't subscribe to the notion that United were particularly amazing last year.. At the end of the day, they just scraped the league over a Chelsea team that seemed disinterested and then won the CL on finals against the same team. That is not an attempt to devalue their achievement either as winnning it is all that counts.

Regarding Liverpool, they have been steadily plodding along as they normally do. Torres coming back is a massive boost as it should make them that bit more clinical in front of goals.

There is plenty more to be said but I can't be bothered.. Twill be close at the end - whoever wins out.

jesus_thats_gre

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

redout wrote: »

Did you even work out the remaining games ? if we won every game till the end of the season we could only finish with 98 and you actually think we will only drop 3 points or similar from now until the end of the season ? no chance. We have never scored that high I dont think, Chelsea did in 04/05 and only lost once, I think that points total was a premiership record. This league is too close and we will drop at least 10 points I reckon. No way 95 or even 90 imo. Last year we only scored 87 and 89 the season before that.

Oh no he didn't!!

eddiehead

Aston Villa

Stekelly wrote: »

Spurs with a late push.

Surely by "late" you mean 10-15 years

Daysha

Chelsea

United will top it with around 83. Liverpool second on 78, Chelsea 76.

poindexter

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

United for me. am not a fan of theirs, but they have a boss and a strong team who knows what it's like to go the distance in the EPL and win it. I'd love to see Liverpool win it for a change, just a case of them holding their nerve and not bottling it which they seem to have done in recent seasons

UnitedIrishman

Chelsea

As a United fan I think things are going pretty well at the minute. Fair enough we could be scoring a bit more but it'll click eventually.

With noises coming out of Chelsea about Scolari and them dropping points in games they wouldn't normally - it's setup quite nicely for us to quietly chase Liverpool. Not saying Chelsea are out of the race or anything but I think this years side isn't as clinical as they were last year or under Mourinho.

I'm just glad as a United fan that despite our poor performances, the theatrics of Ronaldo and our long fixturelist, that we're still third with two games in hand and now beginning to hit form. Add in the fact we have the Pool, Arsenal and Chelsea all at home.

If us and Liverpool are level with 5-6 games to go I'd be very confident of us pulling through. Even if we're 2-3 points behind I think they might just slip up.

LuckyLloyd

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

I voted United:

- they have played the toughest of the three pre Christmas schedules, and got all of their away ties against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea out of the way;
- I believe they will suffer less from fixture congestion on the run in (accepting that they have a couple of games to catch up on) because A) they have demonstrated a clear commitment to gut their line - up in domestic cup games and I strongly believe that they will have no further CL participation following their tie with Inter Milan;

DmanDmythDledge

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

This is as good as Liverpool usually play every season, probably slightly improved on other seasons. Fortunate wins against Man Utd and Chelsea as a result of terrible tactics and a lucky goal respectively. Alonso could be out for a while which would be bad news as it is he and not Gerrard who pulls the strings for Liverpool. Also their squad is not good enough to cope with injuries/suspensions.

Its this type of comment that generally makes me stay away from these types of discussions. This post lacks any knowledge imo

Jazzy

Man Utd

probably Utd if they get their sh1t together. only a stupid man would rule out chelski tho. i think it has been Utd's to lose since the start of the season as they have the best squad and the most fearsome reputation. ronnie misfiring and utd's current position is a strong indicator of just how good he was last season for them. i can see berb coming on strong for them now. i still dont see why tevez should stay at utd beyond the end of the season. rooney is better and plays in the same position and u cant really put tevez, berb, rooney & ronnie on the same first XI. hes too good to be a solskjaer

Mr.Nice Guy

Chelsea

I see it being similar to last season with Chelsea making a late charge and Liverpool doing an Arsenal, but with United having enough to take it.

micks

Aston Villa

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

Also their squad is not good enough to cope with injuries/suspensions.

Just as well Liverpool haven't been missing one of their first choice centre backs or one of the best strikers in the world for the majority of games up to xmas? No way they be top if they were missing players of this caliber!

DmanDmythDledge wrote: »

It's Man Utd's title to lose. Potentially one point behind playing way belowe their best. They will be firing on all cylinders soon and with the best XI, squad and manager in the league there's only going to be one outcome.

While i may agree that UTD are prob best equipped mainly because of experience and fixture list remaining - its technically also Liverpool's/Chelsea's to lose if Liverpool/Chelsea win their remaining games they also win league so sould be an interesting finish.

If anything disrupts Utd i have a feeling it will be trying to accomadate ronaldo/berbatov/rooney/tevez - IMO if it aint broken dont fix it and still cant understand why they felt they needed to pay a huge fee on berbatov

Smegball

Chelsea

Will Liverpool do a similar job to last seasons Arsenal? Arsenal were looking formidable until they collapsed last season.

internelligent

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

I'd love to see Liverpool do it of course but it does look like Man U as their fixture list has been the most difficult up to now. PHB, I really think you're dismissing the likes of Fulham and Wigan too flippantly, writing them off as 'relatively easy' to beat. That'll come back and bite you. Torres coming back for Liverpool will have such a huge impact I can only imagine. Will it be enough to secure top spot come may..........I doubt it but I would be far from confident in winning the league regardless which club I supported atm. One thing's for sure is that it's the most exciting league there's been in a while and it's set up for a great finish.

Boggles

Jazzy wrote: »

only a stupid man would rule out chelski tho.

Totally agree, I did voice my converns when Super Mario got the job,
but I think the players are strong enough to mount something on their own.

Jazzy wrote: »

i still dont see why tevez should stay at utd beyond the end of the season. rooney is better and plays in the same position and u cant really put tevez, berb, rooney & ronnie on the same first XI. hes too good to be a solskjaer

Because it is a squad game and to battle on 4 fronts you need not just a large squad but a large squad with quality, Personally I think United need another top quality striker, if John O'Shea made 40 appearances last season, then I think we can accomadate one of the most unique great talents I have seen in years, Tevez to stay, it must happen. I honestly would not swap him for any other striker in the league.

As for the title, it will be down to Chelsea and United again, Rafa is just too negative to win the league, unless he changes his mindset, I think Liverpool will be empty handed again this season and the Yanks who have not known any success yet could well look elsewhere for a manager.

ziggy

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

This post has been deleted.

bUILDERtHEbOB

Man Utd

Boggles wrote: »

As for the title, it will be down to Chelsea and United again, Rafa is just too negative to win the league, unless he changes his mindset, I think Liverpool will be empty handed again this season and the Yanks who have not known any success yet could well look elsewhere for a manager.

How in the name of god can you be too negative to win the league?

I seriously don't understand this argument at all.

Melion

Can someone explain a weak area in the Liverpool squad?

Boggles

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

How in the name of god can you be too negative to win the league?

I seriously don't understand this argument at all.

Starting no strikers (at home) against a free scoring Hull would be one example this season.

OPENROAD

Melion wrote: »

Can someone explain a weak area in the Liverpool squad?

Think if they were to lose Gerrard for any length of time they might struggle.

bUILDERtHEbOB

Man Utd

Boggles wrote: »

Starting no strikers (at home) against a free scoring Hull would be one example this season.

Kuyt is a striker.

Melion

Boggles wrote: »

Starting no strikers (at home) against a free scoring Hull would be one example this season.

Kuyts a striker and played 90 minutes. Torres was injured. Whats the problem?

Melion

OPENROAD wrote: »

Think if they were to lose Gerrard for any length of time they might struggle.

Why exactly?

Boggles

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

Kuyt is a striker.

Is he not a winger now?

bUILDERtHEbOB

Man Utd

Boggles wrote: »

Is he not a winger now?

He's a striker who can play on the wing, or a winger who can play as a striker, whatever way you want to go about it yourself, but still a striker.

Frisbee

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

Kuyt is a striker.

In the loosest sense of the word.

Melion wrote: »

Why exactly?

As him and Alonso are the only people you can really build an attack through nd Rafa seems to have something against Xabi.
If Gerrard was out for two months through injury we would see a swift decline in Liverpool's results unless Alonso played 90mins every game.

Bounty Hunter

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

im assuming lots of people were taking the piss i didnt vote for Villa we wiill come close to 4th imo

Villain

Arsenal

I did cos emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I could

Melion

Frisbee wrote: »

In the loosest sense of the word.



As him and Alonso are the only people you can really build an attack through nd Rafa seems to have something against Xabi.
If Gerrard was out for two months through injury we would see a swift decline in Liverpool's results unless Alonso played 90mins every game.

Explain please

Jazzy

Man Utd

yeah i know u need a strong squad and such boggles but i almost think that Utd are overloaded in that department. it would be bloody great for Utd if they keep him (which i think they will) but i dont think it would be the best for Carlos Tevez (yeah i know he will prob get a load of medals + money) but he will never be the main man there, he will never really fill out his potential. he will always be the 2nd fiddle to rooney & ronaldo.

Frisbee

Man Utd (Man Utd fans)

The way he was treated in the summer. I mean who in their right mind thinks Gareth Barry is a better player than Xabi Alonso?
And if you do you need your head examined.
Granted he's played 90mins in nearly all your games this season, but that only seems to be because he's been playing out of his skin.