The Race to the title 2016/17 (plus Top 4 Cup)

Harry Palmr

14 games gone, 24 to go



Chelsea PPG is 2.42
Arsenal 2.21
Man City 2.14
Liverpool 2.14
Spurs 1.92
Man Utd 1.50

Chelsea clearly in the driving seat now if only as they have the momentum backed with a tactical plan that is working a treat. Arsenal taking advantage of a bad weekend for the other two in the top four with Spurs overcoming a very flat spell with two recent wins albeit over shoddy opposition (Swansea, West Ham).

Clearly if Man Utd were to have any ambitions to win title they'd have to up their PPG for the rest of the season to something unlikely so top 4 is the only game in town (or an EL title)

GavRedKing

Arsenal

After the christmas period, given City have to play Arsenal and Pool within the next 5 or 6 games, that table and order could be changed drastically, just on the results in those 2 games alone.

City lose both and they're out of it, win both and they're probably back as favourites.

Arsenal

Really pains me to say it but this is a title Chelsea will win
This might sound very bog standard but the reasons being is that they can actually defend as well as attack
Hilarious that people doubted Conte only a few weeks back with the usual "Busted Flush" nonsesne

GavRedKing

Arsenal

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Really pains me to say it but this is a title Chelsea will win
This might sound very bog standard but the reasons being is that they can actually defend as well as attack
Hilarious that people doubted Conte only a few weeks back with the usual "Busted Flush" nonsesne

Football and its rival fans only operate in a very short window of remembrance, this weeks win will be forgotten and the team, coaches and board will be failures and useless if you lose the next game or two.

The press love it even more, I can see the headlines when Chelsea drop points next.

"contes title charge derailed"

Thats after the classic from a few weeks ago when after losing to Pool and Arsenal that he was already under pressure from the board....apparently.

I love the tabloids, twitter fans even more so, it makes for great light reading, but thats just football, all fans are guilty of it from time to time.

Edit : I'm still pessimistic about our title hopes, City should have been home and hosed by 60mins if it wasnt for poor finishing from Aguero and De Bruyne, Courtois made 2 great saves to keep us in it but we gave up more chances and that 2nd half against City than we did in the previous 7 games. So this backline, and especially the left axis of Cahill and Alonso without Matic, is liable to be cut open at anytime.

MD1990

Spurs

I think City will do it as I think they will buy a CB in January & Gabriel Jesus will make a big impact from January he has been outstanding for Brazil. Liverpool & obviously Chelsea to be the main challengers.

Bridge93

Arsenal

Conte and Chelsea really piss on the excuse some hold for Utd that mourinho needs time before he should be properly judged. I know Utd are playing streets better then last year but Conte inherited a far more uncertain and fractured dressing room than mourinho did. He also has less star additions from what was at the clubs last year. Yet he's been a revelation.
May be the exception rather than the rule I guess when you look at Klopp taking a bit of time. While never Black or white and usually a shade of grey it does seem in hindsight that it was Mourinho and not the players who played a larger role in the spectacular collapse last year.

Chelsea
City
Arsenal
Liverpool
Utd (I feel they'll claw back ground but the damage has been done)
Spurs

Sono

Liverpool

Arsenal to win it for me.

Mr.Nice Guy

Spurs

Bridge93 wrote: »

Conte and Chelsea really piss on the excuse some hold for Utd that mourinho needs time before he should be properly judged. I know Utd are playing streets better then last year but Conte inherited a far more uncertain and fractured dressing room than mourinho did. He also has less star additions from what was at the clubs last year. Yet he's been a revelation.
May be the exception rather than the rule I guess when you look at Klopp taking a bit of time. While never Black or white and usually a shade of grey it does seem in hindsight that it was Mourinho and not the players who played a larger role in the spectacular collapse last year.

Conte has the best midfielder from last year, instrumental in Leicester's success: Kante. Not a coincidence that Chelsea are much better than last season and Leicester are a lot worse.

I tipped City at the start of the season and I will stick with it. I do think they need to strengthen their defence and I'm not a fan of Bravo. The arrival of Gabriel Jesus should help them up top, though he did go off the boil for Palmeiras a bit the last few months.

I'm not convinced by Chelsea defensively and believe Luiz is an accident waiting to happen. He should have been sent off against United for the foul on Fellaini and he should have been sent off yesterday for fouling Aguero when he was through on goal. He is a liability and will be found out over the course of the season.

I can see Liverpool and Arsenal going close but I'd have more faith in Liverpool lasting the pace than Arsenal. Don't see Spurs and United involved in it.

Manchester Utd

Posted this earlier in the evening

Table after 14 games last season....

1.Manchester City 29
2.Leicester City 29
3.Manchester United 28
4.Arsenal 27
5.Tottenham Hotspur 25
6.Liverpool 23

KaiserGunner

Too early to call at this stage with 24 matches left. Anyone in the top 5 is in with a shout. Think Man Utd are probably out of it unless they go on a 10 game winning streak, too much to claw back relying on 5 teams to drop points.

The "advantage" of no European football for Chelsea and Liverpool will be negated until February now, so the next two months could be very interesting. Depending on how far Man City, Arsenal and Spurs get in Europe could play a part from February on.

Chelsea are on a great run and do look unstoppable, but still only three points ahead so it's all to play for.

niallo27

Let's be realistic liverpool are in a false position. A challenge for top 4 is all we expect. The squad is too small to challenge.

The_Kew_Tour

I think Pl is between Chelsea, City, Liverpool and maybe Arsenal

United need really start winning soon to get top 4, and they aint a hope of winning league

I think Spurs will not get top 4

Harry Palmr

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Posted this earlier in the evening

Table after 14 games last season....

6 point spread then, a 14 point chasm now. Puts the challenge for those not right at the pace of the race in context.

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Chelsea have a relatively easy, on paper at least, next 6 games before we play Spurs away on January 4th, our next "toughest" game after Spurs, is Liverpool at the end of January. Heres the 8 games before we play Liverpool.

Chelsea v West Brom

Sunderland v Chelsea

Crystal Palace v Chelsea

Chelsea v Bournemouth

Chelsea v Stoke City

Tottenham v Chelsea

Leicester City v Chelsea

Chelsea v Hull City

Of those 8, if we win 5 or 6 of those games, I'd be confident enough that we'd be still top but the fixture list pile up and rotation around Christmas can catch out anyone and outside our starting XI, if a kep player here or there goes down injured we could be knackered.

Still though, 8 games, 22 goals, 2 left in and 24 points is a good return so I've soe case for optimism, I'd still take a top 4 finish now but if we come out of those 8 or 9 games still on top, I'd be much happier.

Sgt Pepper 64

Arsenal

Has to be Chelsea for me. No euro matches and Im quite frankly amazed at how we managed to steal Kante for so little whilst City, Utd and Arsenal ignored him.
Only worry is injuries to Eden or Costa, but I can see us buying in Jan if someone decent out there

greendom

Arsenal

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Has to be Chelsea for me. No euro matches and Im quite frankly amazed at how we managed to steal Kante for so little whilst City, Utd and Arsenal ignored him.
Only worry is injuries to Eden or Costa, but I can see us buying in Jan if someone decent out there

It's definitely looking good for Chelsea at the moment but it wasn't that long ago that City had virtually been crowned champions. Things seem to change very quickly in this league so anyone in the top 5 is in with a shout.

At the moment Chelsea are favourites though, City 2nd and Arsenal 3rd. Things might be clearer still after the Christmas fixtures (but probably not)

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Has to be Chelsea for me. No euro matches and Im quite frankly amazed at how we managed to steal Kante for so little whilst City, Utd and Arsenal ignored him.
Only worry is injuries to Eden or Costa, but I can see us buying in Jan if someone decent out there

I think we got Kante because the others were bringing in CMs themselves, to varying degrees of success.

Xhaka at Arsenal
Gundogan at City
Pogba at Utd
Wijnaldum at Pool
Sissoko at Spurs

I dont think we'll go to the market in January barring some injury problem but a capable LWB as back up to Alonso would be nice, even just to have an option if he gets suspended/injured.

Barr

Arsenal

Chelsea for me with Arsenal taking it down to the wire.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

Conte has taken a squad of players who looked not only worn and tattered in their play last season but also dysfunctional enough to warrant their own Osboune style reality show and he has whipped them into a sleek, multi-functional unit. That he has done this despite A) Spending less money than the 2 Manchester clubs and not securing his top targets in the window and despite this being only his 1st season in England and at his club, something which should give Wenger, Klopp and Pochettino an advantage, speaks volumes about his own quality as a coach and how he has connected with this group of players. Add to that that he has Moses and Pedro (who looked like a total mismatch for Chelsea and the English game) as 2 key players in his starting 11 only increases the man's legend.

I will say I do think the lack of Euopean football and the fairly feeble EFL cup run has certainly given Chelsea a helping hand, especially when you read about the extent that Conte likes to work on team shape, something that simple wouldn't be possible to do if there were a constant stream of mid week games to contend with.

All of that being said, I do think City will invest in January. Guardiola says he needs 10 players to turn City into an elite side, capable of challenging Europe's elite. Personally I think he needs more, but he, like Conte, is making do with what he was given while having also added some excellent young players into the mix, players who will grow into the English game. He's a wonderful coach faced with a massive challenge, his biggest challenge yet. While at the start of the season I tipped City to win the league but I did underestimate the impact Conte would have at Chelsea and the sheer amount of an advantage the lack of mid week games really is. Guardiola earmarked Conte as his biggest challenger for dominance of England and the way this season is shaping up that theory is proving to be the case.

Who do I think will win it? Man City

fuzzydunlop85

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Conte has taken a squad of players who looked not only worn and tattered in their play last season but also dysfunctional enough to warrant their own Osboune style reality show and he has whipped them into a sleek, multi-functional unit. That he has done this despite A) Spending less money than the 2 Manchester clubs and not securing his top targets in the window and despite this being only his 1st season in England and at his club, something which should give Wenger, Klopp and Pochettino an advantage, speaks volumes about his own quality as a coach and how he has connected with this group of players. Add to that that he has Moses and Pedro (who looked like a total mismatch for Chelsea and the English game) as 2 key players in his starting 11 only increases the man's legend.

I will say I do think the lack of Euopean football and the fairly feeble EFL cup run has certainly given Chelsea a helping hand, especially when you read about the extent that Conte likes to work on team shape, something that simple wouldn't be possible to do if there were a constant stream of mid week games to contend with.

All of that being said, I do think City will invest in January. Guardiola says he needs 10 players to turn City into an elite side, capable of challenging Europe's elite. Personally I think he needs more, but he, like Conte, is making do with what he was given while having also added some excellent young players into the mix, players who will grow into the English game. He's a wonderful coach faced with a massive challenge, his biggest challenge yet. While at the start of the season I tipped City to win the league but I did underestimate the impact Conte would have at Chelsea and the sheer amount of an advantage the lack of mid week games really is. Guardiola earmarked Conte as his biggest challenger for dominance of England and the way this season is shaping up that theory is proving to be the case.

Who do I think will win it? Man City

10 players !? That's taking the piss a bit, especially when he bought in about 5 or 6 over the summer.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

fuzzydunlop85 wrote: »

10 players !? That's taking the piss a bit, especially when he bought in about 5 or 6 over the summer.

He said it was 10 before he took charge. In terms of being able to challenge the likes of Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona while also competing domestically I'd say 10 is rather low if anything when you consider the level those clubs are at compared to where City were before Guardiola took over.

Paully D

Andersonisgod wrote: »

All of that being said, I do think City will invest in January. Guardiola says he needs 10 players to turn City into an elite side, capable of challenging Europe's elite. Personally I think he needs more, but he, like Conte, is making do with what he was given while having also added some excellent young players into the mix, players who will grow into the English game.

He has already spent nearly £170m for Christ sake. Making do with what he was given my bollocks.

fuzzydunlop85

Andersonisgod wrote: »

He said it was 10 before he took charge. In terms of being able to challenge the likes of Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona while also competing domestically I'd say 10 is rather low if anything when you consider the level those clubs are at compared to where City were before Guardiola took over.

Well that's not as bad, but still thinks it a high number considering the talent in that squad. Certainly shouldn't need a whole new team to be challenging the European elite.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

Paully D wrote: »

He has already spent nearly £170m for Christ sake. Making do with what he was given my bollocks.

Kolarov at cb. Clichy at cb. Zabaleta and Sagna still in the team. Fernando still actually getting gametime. No strong options to replace Aguero when injured or suspended. Pep's ambition is to make City the best team in Europe, if that's the standard to which you aspire then those circumstances can't happen, certainly not for half a season. If you are aiming for Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona while also seeking to win your domestic league you have to dream bigger.

On top of that, while he did spend big in the Summer, you must also view the long term benefits of those spending matched against the short term shortcomings. Gundogan is just finding his feet in England, Stones has huge potential but is young. Sane is magnificent but is very young and must adjust to England. Gabrial Jesus is the same as Sane.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

fuzzydunlop85 wrote: »

Well that's not as bad, but still thinks it a high number considering the talent in that squad. Certainly shouldn't need a whole new team to be challenging the European elite.

Whem quizzed by Roman Abramovich about what he would need to do in order to take Chelsea back to where they were from 2005-2009 Guardiola said they needed at least 10 players to compete. It's no coincidence that he views both squads similarly, it's clear that the top English clubs, despite their high spending, have let standards drop comapred to where theyw ere in the mid to late 2000's and to get back to that level, while also maintaining a strong challenge domestically, bigger squads with more quality options and players who are fit the mould of the coach are needed.

KaiserGunner

I thought Guardiola was supposed to be this genius coach and yet he needs 10 players and in your opinion more than that to challenge in Europe.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

KaiserGunner wrote: »

I thought Guardiola was supposed to be this genius coach and yet he needs 10 players and in your opinion more than that to challenge in Europe.

You can be a genius coach all you like (and let's not forget how much better he has this City side looking despite it being very early in his reign and there still being massive deficiencies in his squad) but if you want to truly challenge the best in Europe on a consistent basis while also competing domestically then you need a squad capable of that. It's that simple. Given the money available to the Manchester clubs they should be the most likely to break the Madrid/Barcelona/Munich dominance of Europe but only Pep's City look in any way capable of doing so at the moment. He's a realist and he's easily England's best bet.

GavRedKing

Arsenal

I think for Conte is been the perfect start because he can work on the system and getting the players to change to something thats far from the norm for them in the 3-4-3. If there was a European football in the mix in his frist year also, I dont think its a stretch to assume that it would not go as smoothly as it has.

The goal is to get back there anyway but if the squad are used to the system by the end of year one, it makes the transition to 2 games a week much easier.

greendom

Arsenal

KaiserGunner wrote: »

I thought Guardiola was supposed to be this genius coach and yet he needs 10 players and in your opinion more than that to challenge in Europe.

looks like he's only a good manager when he's working with his players who are all amongst the best in the World.

Not the sort of man you'd want to bring in to get you out of relegation with 10 games to go.

Arsenal

Chelsea to win it, City or Arsenal 2nd and I fear Spurs will nip 4th

Andersonisgod

Spurs

greendom wrote: »

looks like he's only a good manager when he's working with his players who are all amongst the best in the World.

Not the sort of man you'd want to bring in to get you out of relegation with 10 games to go.

Probably not.

But is the man to bring about an entire culture shift at even the world's biggest clubs and produce teams that not only standout in those clubs histories as anongst some of the most successful but also that play some of the best football.

Can you play Pep's way with limited players? Obviously not. Did he prove that he doesnt need Messi to succeeed? Absolutely yes. He needs multi functional footballers and he needs time to drill them. Working with average players for 10 games with the sole aim being to avoid relegation is not what Guardiola is about and is also absolutely not the way in which you judge the greatness of a coach. It's a massively flawed criteria.

ronjo

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Probably not.

But is the man to bring about an entire culture shift at even the world's biggest clubs and produce teams that not only standout in those clubs histories as anongst some of the most successful but also that play some of the best football.

Can you play Pep's way with limited players? Obviously not. Did he prove that he doesnt need Messi to succeeed? Absolutely yes. He needs multi functional footballers and he needs time to drill them. Working with average players for 10 games with the sole aim being to avoid relegation is not what Guardiola is about and is also absolutely not the way in which you judge the greatness of a coach. It's a massively flawed criteria.

Did he win the Champions League without Messi? Am pretty sure not and isnt that what he should be judged on?

greendom

Arsenal

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Probably not.

But is the man to bring about an entire culture shift at even the world's biggest clubs and produce teams that not only standout in those clubs histories as anongst some of the most successful but also that play some of the best football.

Can you play Pep's way with limited players? Obviously not. Did he prove that he doesnt need Messi to succeeed? Absolutely yes. He needs multi functional footballers and he needs time to drill them. Working with average players for 10 games with the sole aim being to avoid relegation is not what Guardiola is about and is also absolutely not the way in which you judge the greatness of a coach. It's a massively flawed criteria.

Perhaps, but it also shows his flaws. Very restricted in how he sees football and not very adaptable to new situations unless the quality of player is already there or he has shed loads of dosh to go and buy the best.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

ronjo wrote: »

Did he win the Champions League without Messi? Am pretty sure not and isnt that what he should be judged on?

Silly to base your judgement of his work solely on one competition. I'd be confident saying that the only people who do that are those who didn't watch Bayern regularly and are (more often than not) looking for an excuse to hate on Guardiola. He is one of the most successful domestic coaches in Bayern Munich's history and by his 3rd season he absolutely succeeded in creating this incredible multi-faceted team which merged the football of Barcelona with the vintage approach of German sides. Rummenigge talks about Pep's team in absolutely glowing terms. While his trophy haul was moderately successful, the legacy he left at Bayern and in German football the memories that his team left make him a success.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

greendom wrote: »

Perhaps, but it also shows his flaws. Very restricted in how he sees football and not very adaptable to new situations unless the quality of player is already there or he has shed loads of dosh to go and buy the best.

Again to reiterate. With a limited squad and with the likes of Kolarov, Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando ect. all still playing fairly big roles at the club the man is competing at the top of the league, has qualified from his CL group all yhe while bringing about a fairly major culture shift at the club, the likes of which could only be comparable to Wenger when he arrived at Arsenal. Oh and he beat Barcelona, not by sticking 10 men behind a ball but by meeting them head on, it was a statement victory that says City could very soon compete on an even footing with the very best.

Also there is literally no successful coach that I can think of that is more adaptable than Pep Guardiola. None. That's no exaggeration, that's a statement being made baeed on seeing this man's teams change formation/system countless times to adjust to the needs of any particular game. He's the guy at the very forefront of this movement in football that is gradually moving away from formations in general. I'd probably go as far as to say that, up to this point, there's never been a more adaptable coach. It's oke of his great strengths.

greendom

Arsenal

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Again to reiterate. With a limited squad and with the likes of Kolarov, Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando ect. all still playing fairly big roles at the club the man is competing at the top of the league, has qualified from his CL group all yhe while bringing about a fairly major culture shift at the club, the likes of which could only be comparable to Wenger when he arrived at Arsenal. Oh and he beat Barcelona, not by sticking 10 men behind a ball but by meeting them head on, it was a statement victory that says City could very soon compete on an even footing with the very best.

Also there is literally no successful coach that I can think of that is more adaptable than Pep Guardiola. None. That's no exaggeration, that's a statement being made baeed on seeing this man's teams change formation/system countless times to adjust to the needs of any particular game. He's the guy at the very forefront of this movement in football that is gradually moving away from formations in general. I'd probably go as far as to say that, up to this point, there's never been a more adaptable coach. It's oke of his great strengths.

once he has what he wants. not very adaptable in making do with what he has.

Andersonisgod

Spurs

greendom wrote: »

once he has what he wants. not very adaptable in making do with what he has.

Try playing Pepball with Benteke, Wickham and Delaney and you will run into trouble. Equally, try playing long ball with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and you're inviting danger.

You play to your strengths. Summing him up in one sentence would be that he wants possession and when he doesn't have it he wants it back. That's it broken dowb to it's simplest form but the varied way he goes about that and how he matches that up in different ways against each opponent he faces makes him the most adaptable coach I've ever seen.

domrush

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Try playing Pepball with Benteke, Wickham and Delaney and you will run into trouble. Equally, try playing long ball with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and you're inviting danger.

You play to your strengths. Summing him up in one sentence would be that he wants possession and when he doesn't have it he wants it back. That's it broken dowb to it's simplest form but the varied way he goes about that and how he matches that up in different ways against each opponent he faces makes him the most adaptable coach I've ever seen.

This ****e of Pep being the golden god of modern football is incredibly tiresome at this point. He inherited a team with the greatest footballer of all time coming into his prime as well as numerous other stars in the team and made them click. Yes they won a lot but its not like he did it with dross, players like Iniesta, Messi, Ibra, David Villa, Henry, Yaya , Sanchez, Masherano, Fabregas etc etc were all brought in to strengthen what was undoubtedly one of the two strongest clubs in the world.

He then inherited a CL winning team in Bayern, spent millions buying in players, mostly from his nearest rivals in the league ensuring there was absolutely no domestic competition of serious stature. He was thoroughly outplayed in all three CL Semi-finals he reached with Bayern, they wern't even close contests, didn't he lose the first one to Real by 5 or 6 -0 on aggregate?

He's a great coach no doubt but I'm sick of the way he's made out to be the saviour of modern football by buying in the best talent in the world and playing possession football ad nauseom. What Fergie achieved with Aberdeen and United particularly in the early years in Europe is far more impressive to me than Pep's achievements and I'm an Arsenal supporter.

I don't see how you can call him adaptable either when he relys entirely on one style of football and when that doesn't work his teams often break down?

GLaDOS

Oh great, another thread about Pep

The_Kew_Tour

If Pep goes crazy like his antics at weekend no wonder City will underacheive

Andersonisgod

Spurs

GLaDOS wrote: »

Oh great, another thread about Pep

I know, it's irritating in the extreme. Ironically the vast majority of my original post was about Conte and lauding his achievements but nobody wants to talk about that...I wonder why?

I won't post about Pep anymore in this thread. As you can see from the comment above yours it is utterly pointless when it's so very clear that the people making an argument of it are bereft of both the details and the context. There is a sensible debate on Guardiola to be had, both positively and negatively however clearly that debate is not to be had here on this thread. I'm certain I'll receive posts or messages saying that I'm at fault for refusing to acknowledge the other side of the argument but that's not true. I would, and do elsewhere, listen to cohesive points about flaws in Guardiola's work and, while I might not always agree with those, they are at least conceived from the basis of actually understanding his projects from having watched his teams and read material about him. Arguments that begin with "stop making out he is the God of football" are pointless. Arguments that revolve around "he's only good because of his players" are pointless and I shouldn't have to explain why. Arguments that hark back to Ferguson at Aberdeen as a stick to beat Pep with are obviously pointless given how it completely ignores just how different the circumstances of football are today. It's a pointless argument being made. That's what I will leave you with.

Harry Palmr

So then Chelsea are looking pretty damned good for the title (he said hoping to create negative energy), Liverpool and City both have problems, not quite the same issues but with the same result - very cheap goals. Both can and do score but there is a lack of steel in both sides. Arsenal purring along, Spurs loss at Old Trafford means Utd are now just three points off 5th spot and 6 off City in 4th.

GavRedKing

Arsenal

On paper we've a few "easier games" coming up but with the congestion, niggly injuries and players being 1 yellow away from suspensions, I wouldnt be too confident just yet.

If we get to January and the Spurs away game on the 4th (I think) and we're top by 3pts, it'll be fantastic. Busy 4 weeks and it can all swing in 2 match days.

Shanotheslayer

Chelsea look very good.

I fancied City before the season and then the start they had made me fancy it further now I'm swaying towards Chelsea look the most solid and the back and Costa seems like a new man in terms of temperament

GLaDOS

If Chelsea don't pull away I can see it being a cracker of a title race.

Lack of squad depth could cost Chelsea if they pick up a few injuries, be interesting to see what they do in January.

mansize

Arsenal

Chelsea look very strong, the early season cheap press criticism of Conte has disappeared up its own arsé I see

GavRedKing

Arsenal

GLaDOS wrote: »

If Chelsea don't pull away I can see it being a cracker of a title race.

Lack of squad depth could cost Chelsea if they pick up a few injuries, be interesting to see what they do in January.

Thats it, we're woefully exposed at LWB if Alonso goes down with a long injury, we've no natural replacement although if we do get a raft of injuries I can see Conte changing the formation.

LB and CM is thin though, Cesc and Chalobah are good replacements but we've nobody that can replace Kante effectively enough in the side.

I've said it elsewhere, this squad is far from the finished article anyway, it will be next year is when I'd consider the squad more complete and Conte has shipped off guys like Mikel, Ivan, JT and probably Oscar too before adding a few more of his own players, then we'll be a serious contender, for now, I'd still be delighted with a top 4 finish.

If we dont win it from here, my next favourite that I'd like to see win it is Arsenal.

They've a very good squad this year.

Harry Palmr

So then a good night for all the contenders, with Arsenal having slipped up last night.

Chelsea still grinding out those low scoring wins! Something that is constantly harped on about is Liverpool's defence, yet when you have a proper look only Chelsea and Spurs can really feel happy they are set up correctly at the back

Chelsea 34:11 (one third)

Liverpool 40:20 (half)

Arsenal 37:17 (almost half)

Manchester City 34:19 - (more than half)

Tottenham 27:11 (about 40%)

Manchester United 22:17 (about 75%)

klose

Gundogan picked up a bad injury tonight and will be out for months, good time for arsenal to be playing them at the weekend.

klose

Arsenal

klose wrote: »

Gundogan picked up a bad injury tonight and will be out for months, good time for arsenal to be playing them at the weekend.

Not for the first time
A good player but just brittle

the whole year inn

Spurs

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Not for the first time
A good player but just brittle

And Fernindinho out aswell.