General Premier League Thread - 2017/2018

pjohnson

If "meltdown" is 2nd place then what fhe hell are 2nd and below having :pac:

tayto lover

mickmackey1 wrote: »

First time any country got 5 teams into the knockout stage of the CL.

That may be true but I don't think the standard is as high now as 10/15 years ago.
Man Utd are not as good as they were 10 years ago imo.
Neither are Chelsea or Arsenal.
City are running away with it.
But apart from that the football is not as good or exciting imo.

ERG89

GavRedKing wrote:

Its not a bad attempt from Chelsea and Utd, any other year they'd be right up there neck and neck

Would they?
If they were it'd be a low standard race.
Think Chelsea have dropped off a noticeable amount this season & not many of United's performances show any sign of potential Champions beyond September.
Yeah there is 5 PL sides in the last 16 but some of the group's went far easier than expected. Dortmund failed to beat Apoel or barely winning a game for the 2 months & Atletico didn't even beat Qarabag in their group either.

Harry Palmr

mickmackey1 wrote: »

The size of City's lead is having a psychological effect I think. The rest are dropping points they wouldn't normally drop because they know the league is gone. Battling for top 4 positions just isn't as motivational for the big boys.

Everyone is fighting for a Champions League berth which is where so much prestige now lies

Man Utd just aren't that good actually - they blew away hapless sides with a few late goals when playing the likes of Everton, Palace, Newcastle but since sides starting putting it up to them their goal rate has fallen off as has ability to keep a clean sheet - just three times since Oct 28th (Spurs/Brighton/Bournemouth). Chelsea are a strange team but it's hard to know quite what it is that's not quite right there. Conte will be gone in the summer regardless of where they finish I think. Arsenal will be thereabouts as per - like Liverpool they have the ability but lack the application too often to be real contenders. Spurs are staying in there but feel like Harry Kane + Son and 9 others too often. Burnley will surely get burned off as they just don't score enough goals ultimately.

GavRedKing

Liverpool

pjohnson wrote: »

If "meltdown" is 2nd place then what fhe hell are 2nd and below having :pac:

I think it's the pressure on Jose. His 2nd season is where he's usually spent his money and got 3 windows to get in his own players and kick on and win the league.

Utd and by extension the rest are nowhere near city but even Chelseas run of 13 wins last year would have us some 6 points or so behind City at the same stage this year.

Their start has been exceptional. Rest can hope to finish top 4 and try beat City next year. If you can beat the top 6 teams around ya you'll go along way to winning the title and City don't look like slowing down anytime.

GavRedKing

Liverpool

The best thing about the City dominance so far is watching Duncan Castles squirm and trying to spin positives where he can, while taking jabs at City and Pep. It's great craic. :pac:

niallo27

Arsenal

pjohnson wrote: »

If "meltdown" is 2nd place then what fhe hell are 2nd and below having :pac:

I think 2nd is a false position for utd. They will be passed out in the next month or so.

blueser

GavRedKing wrote: »

The best thing about the City dominance so far is watching Duncan Castles squirm and trying to spin positives where he can, while taking jabs at City and Pep. It's great craic. :pac:

Have to agree with you there. The poor fella is getting a tough ride on Twitter. I really feel for him.

fullstop

pjohnson wrote: »

If "meltdown" is 2nd place then what fhe hell are 2nd and below having :pac:

If you were trying to have a dig at Gav, who posted about the meltdown, at least get your facts right. Chelsea are 3rd, 1 point behind utd.

irishman86

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

I think 2nd is a false position for utd. They will be passed out in the next month or so.

This comment is stupid beyond belief
Did you say the same when Leicester were top :pac:

niallo27

Arsenal

irishman86 wrote: »

This comment is stupid beyond belief
Did you say the same when Leicester were top :pac:

Utd are not the 2nd best team in the league, that is pretty clear.

SuperTortoise

Watford

Nothing stupid at all about the comment, utd have'nt shown any sort of great performances at all this season, they have scraped a lot of wins they did'nt deserve and been very average in a lot of other games, they are just starting to get found out and i don't think they'll finish inside the top 3 come May.

deaddonkey15

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

Utd are not the 2nd best team in the league, that is pretty clear.

They're the 2nd best performing team in the league since it began in August. That is pretty clear.

niallo27

Arsenal

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

They're the 2nd best performing team in the league since it began in August. That is pretty clear.

Yes but are they the 2nd best team.

Tom.D.BJJ

niallo27 wrote: »

Yes but are they the 2nd best team.

Unsurprisingly a Liverpool fan has an alternative reality...I mean table

greendom

Liverpool

The debate is pretty immaterial. City are so far ahead and the rest are much of a muchness

niallo27

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

I think 2nd is a false position for utd. They will be passed out in the next month or so.

you have been they will be past out in the next month nearly all season although you have changed it from liverpool to anyone now.

deaddonkey15

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

Yes but are they the 2nd best team.

Yes.

pjohnson

fullstop wrote: »

If you were trying to have a dig at Gav, who posted about the meltdown, at least get your facts right. Chelsea are 3rd, 1 point behind utd.

But the fact is they are behind United I'm not sure what this post was trying to say haha.

blueser

greendom wrote: »

The debate is pretty immaterial. City are so far ahead and the rest are much of a muchness

That's a bit harsh. I doubt any of the fans of "the rest" would see themselves as much of a muchness. We all think our club is the best thing since sliced bread.

fullstop

pjohnson wrote: »

But the fact is they are behind United I'm not sure what this post was trying to say haha.

I still don't get your point? What did whoever was in 4th have to do with what he said?

pjohnson

niallo27 wrote: »

Utd are not the 2nd best team in the league, that is pretty clear.

So you think the Premier League has calculated the standings incorrectly?

pjohnson

fullstop wrote: »

I still don't get your point? What did whoever was in 4th have to do with what he said?

I never mentioned 4th......are you drinking or what?

fullstop

pjohnson wrote: »

I never mentioned 4th......are you drinking or what?

no but maybe I should be! Totally misread it sorry!

pjohnson

fullstop wrote: »

no but maybe I should be! Totally misread it sorry!

then its withdrawls. Get the Guinness into ya asap. :P

fullstop

pjohnson wrote: »

then its withdrawls. Get the Guinness into ya asap. :P

Don't even have that excuse unfortunately :pac:

MOTD just starting

Harry Palmr

Wemberly is half empty, what the average home gate for Spurs. Yes I knows it's bigger! Thought they'd close the top level.

SuperTortoise

Watford

I see the Southampton defence are still on holidays, horrible.

Bridge93

Liverpool

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Wemberly is half empty, what the average home gate for Spurs. Yes I knows it's bigger! Thought they'd close the top level.

Was 55 thousand there today. Would imagine that would be slightly below the normal levels with games against the big 6 considerably higher

irishman86

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

Utd are not the 2nd best team in the league, that is pretty clear.

Ignoring the fact they are second in the league of course, but hey when have facts ever stopped you :rolleyes:

Shanotheslayer

Liverpool

niallo27 wrote: »

Utd are not the 2nd best team in the league, that is pretty clear.

Hahaha.

What nonsense is this?

irishguitarlad

Watching my first motd of the year here, has the standard this year been this bad? Or is this weekend just a blip?

Agent Coulson

Liverpool

Kilbane called it St Stephen's Day on MOTD


The off the ball boys dared him to do it

niallo27

Arsenal

irishman86 wrote: »

Ignoring the fact they are second in the league of course, but hey when have facts ever stopped you :rolleyes:

burnley were forth a few weeks back. Does that mean they are the 4th best team in the league. Does your present standing count now or at the end of the season. Does Chelsea winning the league last year count for nothing or spurs constantly finishing ahead of utd also count for nothing.

~Rebel~

On this whole 2nd best business... to be honest I think Utd do actually have the 2nd best squad/team in the league - but I would agree that a team being 1st/2nd/3rd at a given period does not automaticallymake them the 1st/2nd/3rd best team, just that they're the 1st/2nd/3rd best performing team.

For instance after Leicester won by being the best performing team in 2015/2016, if that made them simply the best team, then any of Utd, City, Chelsea etc fans would obviously have been very happy to do a straight swap of their squads. But they weren't the best team. They were the best performing team. Different things, determined by each teams fulfillment of their potential at a given time. City have had massive potential for a while, but only now are actually close to getting the most out of that potential. Whereas in 15/16, "better" teams had far higher potential than Leicester, but Leicester completely fulfilled their potential while some of those others only hit 50 or 60%

As it happens this year, I think the top 4 are right now correctly ranked by both performance and actual quality.

So. There's my attempt to put a final boring logic nail in what is probably a pointless argument anyway. Semantics.

dundalkfc10

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Wemberly is half empty, what the average home gate for Spurs. Yes I knows it's bigger! Thought they'd close the top level.

Noticed a lot of empty seats on MOTD in Old Trafford aswell

Whatsisname

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

burnley were forth a few weeks back. Does that mean they are the 4th best team in the league. Does your present standing count now or at the end of the season. Does Chelsea winning the league last year count for nothing or spurs constantly finishing ahead of utd also count for nothing.

So Liverpool finishing 6th, 8th and 4th in the last 3 years means what exactly?

thebaz

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Noticed a lot of empty seats on MOTD in Old Trafford aswell

noticed them at the Eithad on Saturday - City having the season of ther life - it all seams a bit one sided , and too many fearful negative football teams in the league

galwaylad14

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Southamptons defending is so bad.

I get annoyed at the lads when we play astro when one or two quick interchanges has them watching the ball with men running free around the box but **** me I'm watching professional footballers on 50 grand a week doing the same here.

Ah ya it's definitely as easy to defend your boys on astro playing one two's as it is Dele Ailli and Harry Kane!

You should give Pellegrini a few tips!

irishman86

Everton

niallo27 wrote: »

burnley were forth a few weeks back. Does that mean they are the 4th best team in the league. Does your present standing count now or at the end of the season. Does Chelsea winning the league last year count for nothing or spurs constantly finishing ahead of utd also count for nothing.

Exactly they count for nothing, as of today United are the second best team in the league. Your bias is beyond hilarious buddy. Like whats your obsession with the past..........oh wait never mind :pac::pac: i kid

irishman86

Everton

Whatsisname wrote: »

So Liverpool finishing 6th, 8th and 4th in the last 3 years means what exactly?

That they are the second best in the league i guess

galwaylad14

~Rebel~ wrote: »

On this whole 2nd best business... to be honest I think Utd do actually have the 2nd best squad/team in the league - but I would agree that a team being 1st/2nd/3rd at a given period does not automaticallymake them the 1st/2nd/3rd best team, just that they're the 1st/2nd/3rd best performing team.

For instance after Leicester won by being the best performing team in 2015/2016, if that made them simply the best team, then any of Utd, City, Chelsea etc fans would obviously have been very happy to do a straight swap of their squads. But they weren't the best team. They were the best performing team. Different things, determined by each teams fulfillment of their potential at a given time. City have had massive potential for a while, but only now are actually close to getting the most out of that potential. Whereas in 15/16, "better" teams had far higher potential than Leicester, but Leicester completely fulfilled their potential while some of those others only hit 50 or 60%

As it happens this year, I think the top 4 are right now correctly ranked by both performance and actual quality.

So. There's my attempt to put a final boring logic nail in what is probably a pointless argument anyway. Semantics.

Leicester were absolutely the best team in 15/16. They proved it across 38 games. They actually won the title comfortably enough in the end. Just because they didn't have the world famous players or a great style doesn't mean they weren't the best team.

Arghus

When all ifs, buts and maybes are taken into account the best judge of who's best at one particular time is the table - and right now United are second in the table.

Turtwig

thebaz wrote: »

noticed them at the Eithad on Saturday - City having the season of ther life - it all seams a bit one sided , and too many fearful negative football teams in the league

A stat I'd very much like to see how the xg varies between city this season, peps Barca, pep bayern. My intuition would be that Barca and Bayern opponents had a higher expected goal than epl teams have. I know the importance of goal difference in the EPL is a factor but teams who are clearly beaten seem more intent on keeping the score down rather than having a real go and attempt to out play city, if only for a brief consolation goal. In other words, when Barca (Or real) were cruising by a three goal margin teams teams would throw more players forward in an attempt to deprive them of a cleansheet and score goals. It doesn't say much for the depth of ability in the epl that they just sit back and focus on killing the clock and keeping the score down.

Iused2likebusts

Liverpool

These mourinho complaints are laughable he has the biggest squad in the PL nobody has the depth of squad that he has to choose from. He has made 7 signings if he wants a bit more money maybe sell one of your 6 CBS or 5/6 lads that can play LB. The amount of options he has in his squad nobody in the league can compete with including city. He has signed zlatan,pogba,mkhitaryan and lukaku to get them functioning as an attacking force. 2 CBS and a DM to try make them better defensively add that to currently having the best keeper in the world in place. The simple fact is that Pep has bought better, reorganised his squad better, improved his players better, rotated his players better and has his team set up better than Jose.

ERG89

Newcastle vs City couldn't be less tempting after yesterday's games on tv.

Tom.D.BJJ

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

 The simple fact is that Pep has bought better, reorganised his squad better, improved his players better, rotated his players better and has his team set up better than Jose.

Don't think anyone is disputing that.  

Mourinho does have the resources, but started at a lower baseline that Pep at City, and its plain to see the first team needs some improvement in key areas to catch up with City.  This Utd team is badly lacking a leader on the pitch

Whatsisname

Everton

irishman86 wrote: »

That they are the second best in the league i guess

The logic behind these fairytale alternative table is truly impressive!

the whole year inn

Liverpool

Tom.D.BJJ wrote: »

Don't think anyone is disputing that.  

Mourinho does have the resources, but started at a lower baseline that Pep at City, and its plain to see the first team needs some improvement in key areas to catch up with City.  This Utd team is badly lacking a leader on the pitch

That lies!
Both needed a season to get the team they wanted, hell Jose had a better first season at United, but Peps class shone through dropping the dead weight eg Navas Clichy etc. Both got the transfers they wanted just simply Pep a better manager