Are there people who think that the title race is already over?

PHB

I see people writing off Arsenal
Are there people here who are saying the title is already won?
This sorta crap really bugs me

tetsujin1979

PHB wrote:

I see people writing off Arsenal
Are there people here who are saying the title is already won?
This sorta crap really bugs me

Arsenal won't win the title, they're already 9 points behind Chelsea (with a game in hand - against Liverpool), Ferguson said after losing to Chelsea on the opening day of last season, that united were already 3 points off the pace, with the run that chelsea had United were never going to catch up. This season United are already 5 points behind (also with a game in hand) so it's going to be tough for both teams to catch up.

Lemlin

No its not

Chelsea have it wrapped up. They've too much strength in depth. I'd back them to not even let in more than 10 goals this season, they look that solid at the back.

DoctorEdgeWild

The season's nowhere near over. Chelsea are clear favourites and at the moment, neither Arsenal nor United look capable of putting togther a run to match Chelsea's but it is not a foregone conclusion or anyting like it.

I do think Chelsea will win it but there is alot af ball to be played and there wil be chances for any of those three to win the Premiership if they play to the full of their potential.

jesus_thats_gre

I voted no. I don't think it is over based on what has transpired so far this season.. I did believe Chelsea had this season won before it even started though and I still think that..

Lemlin

No its not

I'd imagine this thread will just end with all the United, Arsenal and maybe Liverpool fans saying it's not over, whereas the Chelsea fans and fans from other teams in the Premiership, (who don't have a chance in hell of winning it!) will say it is.

Pepe LeFrits

I can't believe anyone who has been watching football for any sort of length of time would honestly believe the title race is over in September. Most teams have another 99 points to be play for.

impr0v

This time last year Henry and Reyes were knocking them in for fun and 'the invincibles' seemed to be just that. I remember a poll on the premier league home place asking a similar question to that above and the vast majority said that Arsenal would be winners, people tend to be a bit short-sighted at this time of the season.

Call me naive, but I expect Charlton to get some sort of result against Chelsea this weekend.

Pepe LeFrits

impr0v wrote:

Call me naive, but I expect Charlton to get some sort of result against Chelsea this weekend.

Wouldn't be surprised if it was 0-0 because it's like watching Greece vs £300m Greece at the moment.

d22ontour

Yes the league is over already after only 5 games. :rolleyes:

Bateman

No its not

Course it's not "over", but atthe moment no-one looks good enough to seriously challenge Chelsea. And that isn't likely to change anytime soon.

mike65

No its not

The title race is over.

The main interest now is how well Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool will compete with each other while trying to lock out Spurs, Charlton and A.N. Other from the CL.

Mike.

Lemlin

No its not

Mike65 is right. The main interests now are the rush for fourth place (although I expect Liverpool to get it) and who'll get relegated.

PHB

so to the people who say the race is over, the effective 2 point gap between Man Utd(whose extra match is against Wigan) is too much to overcome?

Who was on top of the table last year at Christmas time?

MrJoeSoap

No way its over, but Chelsea look so strong.

Gangsta

No its not

PHB wrote:

so to the people who say the race is over, the effective 2 point gap between Man Utd(whose extra match is against Wigan) is too much to overcome?

Who was on top of the table last year at Christmas time?

Chelsea wasn't it? why?

PHB

I'm sorry, I meant to say, this time last year.

I don't know whats with me these days. I think I want it to be christmas time

mike65

No its not

On BBC 5Live the commentator has just mused if the title race is over...and I fell asleep briefly!

Mike.

Necronomicon

6 games out of 38 played, what a load of rubbish saying it's over.

Lemlin

No its not

I think saying its over is being realstic. United or Arsenal will need Chelsea to have a blip, which I can't see them having.

Sure Arsenal have already lost as many games as Chelsea will probably lose the entire season!

impr0v

impr0v wrote:

Call me naive, but I expect Charlton to get some sort of result against Chelsea this weekend.

Feel free to call me naive now.

A Dub in Glasgo

No its not

It is over

mike65

No its not

Whats interesting is how every pundit and his dog are saying that Chelsea are ruthlessly efficent and well-drilled. What they're are'nt yet ready to say is that Chelsea are boring and bad for the game but I guess its up to the rest to bridge the gap - somehow.

Mike.

Lemlin

No its not

They are terribly boring. So are Liverpool. If you ask me, foreign managers are beginning to ruin the Premiership.

Its all well and good that they win things but alot of them place more emphasis on defence than attack and the Premiership is in danger of becoming Seria A's poor cousin.

Corben Dallas

not over but its looking like it. Where are the challengers goin to come from?

Man City & Charlton will do well this year but fade, and Arsenal and Liverpool havent looked like Premiership challengers, Man Utd are really goin to struggle to get Top 4, they havent bought any decent top lvl players and its goin to be tough.

SteM

How anyone can say that the league is over at this point is beyond me, there's lots of points still to be played for.

Corben Dallas wrote:

Arsenal and Liverpool havent looked like Premiership challengers,

They've only played 4 league games each so far.

Corben Dallas wrote:

Man Utd are really goin to struggle to get Top 4, they havent bought any decent top lvl players and its goin to be tough.

United haven't played well so far this season but they're in 3rd place, won 3 and drawn 2 (both against derby opposition). They've conceded 1 goal in 5 games. You've made a very bold prediction based on the facts so far this season. You don't see Arsenal and Liverpool challenging, you think City and Charlton will fade so who do you see knocking United out of the top 4?

Kingp35

No its not

I thought it was over before it had even started. the other teams simply arent good enough to compete with Chelsea. They have already begun to run away with the league and I can only see that continuing to be honest. The interesting battle will be who gets relegated. The PL is a very boring league now. If you want a league that is truely competitive look at the championship. Anybody can anybody in that league

BaZmO*

Corben Dallas wrote:

Man Utd are really goin to struggle to get Top 4, they havent bought any decent top lvl players and its goin to be tough.

Ha ha ha!!! Funniest post ever!!!!

B.

Culchie

I'm a neutral on this, so my objective view is this.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far is .....What will happen to Chelsea if Terry and Lampard get injured?

I don't have the answer, but that will be the acid test for Chelsea.

I think United without Keane and Heinz will do well to stay within 6 points of Chelsea until Christmas. If they can do that, they may pull off a transfer coup that might make a difference.

Arsenal look out of sorts this year. Liverpool.... just too Liverpool, good one day, poor the next.

So, for me, it looks at this stage it's going to be Chelsea, however that depends on Terry and Lampard staying fit. The law of averages suggest that one of these guys, if not both, are due a mid to long term injury.

United need to stay with them until Christmas while Keane is out, if they do, they have a chance.

vorbis

Chelsea in fairness are due a massive slump at some point (hopefully). Even when Arsenal went through the season unbeaten, they were "mini slumps" where they were drawing with teams from the bottom of the table. Chelsea had no such problems last year, law of averages would suggest that something (don't know what, injuries maybe as someone said) will happen to disrupt their rhythm.

Lemlin

No its not

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far is .....What will happen to Chelsea if Terry and Lampard get injured?

I don't have the answer, but that will be the acid test for Chelsea.

I think United without Keane and Heinz will do well to stay within 6 points of Chelsea until Christmas. If they can do that, they may pull off a transfer coup that might make a difference.

Arsenal look out of sorts this year. Liverpool.... just too Liverpool, good one day, poor the next.

So, for me, it looks at this stage it's going to be Chelsea, however that depends on Terry and Lampard staying fit. The law of averages suggest that one of these guys, if not both, are due a mid to long term injury.

Lampard has played something like 150 consecutive Premiership games. He's due an injury but he sure doesn't look like getting one. He's not even playing to his best at the minute and Chelsea are still winning.

The bottom line is that, while Lampard and Terry would be huge losses, Chelsea have the strength in depth to cover them. They have Ricardo Carvalho as cover in defence for god's sake. He'd walk into 90% of the teams in Europe.

Not to mention the abundance of midfielders they have to cover Lampard, all of whom are top class players.

Like Kingp35 said, no team has the strength in depth to match Chelsea. They have proven internationals - just as cover for their first team. Man Utd, meanwhile, have to play players out of their position to cover injuries and Arsenal have to bring in players who lack experience and/or quality like Senderos or Cygan.

por

No its not

Culchie wrote:

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far is .....What will happen to Chelsea if Terry and Lampard get injured?

I don't have the answer, but that will be the acid test for Chelsea.

If it happens between now and Christmas they will just wait till the Jan transfer window and shell out millions for 2 replacments.

If it happens after Christmas they will be so far ahead it won't matter.

Because a team like Chelsea can buy up all they want the league is over and it's a joke.

Jimi-Spandex

It is ridiculous to think that the race is over already.

I'm not saying that Chelsea definitely won't win the prem but I think that a defeat or two could dent their confidence enough. That coupled with unhappy benchers could have a significant enough effect on their morale/form to leave the door just a crack open for Utd/Arsenal

soma

Speaking as an EPL neutral - Alot of ppl are forgetting (a) just how bland and ordinary chelsea were made to look by mighty.. wigan.. on the opening day of the season (b) that football is a massively psychological game - plenty of events can happen that could de-rail Chelsea's self confidence e.g. injuries to those key players. How can everyone forget how toothless chelsea became last year when
deprived of duff & robben..?

Personally Im just delighted to see Arsenal and Man U kept away from the title for (probably) two seasons - it might ignite some hunger that Ive felt has been lacking over the past few seasons due to complacency.

LegacyUser

It looks over to be honest. Chelsea are playing badly and winning. How scary is that? To be honest, the whole chelsea thing pisses me off no end. Unlimited transfer budget and a brilliant young manager. I am jealous of them, make no mistake. I just think it's unfair because Man Utd acquired their wealth to become a huge club...and now chelsea have this unbelieveably rich owner!

FatherTed

Anyone who really thinks Chelsea has it already won is foolish.

All it takes is a couple of injuries here and there e.g to Lampard and Terry, a run of bad luck and suddenly it's a different story.

PHB

I'm sorry, somebody tell me where Chelsea's strength in the center of midfield is.
If Lampard gets injured, they are seriously ****ed.
Essien and Makelele are quite defensive players.
They lost about 5 midfielders in the summer.
Lampard was playing through pain at the end of last year and was taking injections. This will come back to haunt him and he will get injured at some point. They have Gudjohnson to takeover, thats pretty much it.

Chelsea have great strength in depth in defense and in the wings, and two great strikers.
But in midfield, they are heavily dependent on Makelele and Lampard.
If either of those gets injured, Chelsea will drop points.
Makelele is also getting quite old now incase people forget.

When I look at the table sofar, I look at the people chelsea have played against.
Wigan - Expected win, just
Arsenal - Flukely but impressive win
Spurs - Expected win, against a ten man team
West Brom - Expected win
Charlton - Expected win

What do I get from that?
They deserved to win their last 2 matches.
However the other matches have been won somewhat luckily, Wigan and arsenal while playing quite poorly.
People say that, 'the mark of a championship team, is when they play badly they still loose', and thats true. However that statement implies that they play very well at times, and they have not done that so far.

Man Utd have dropped points to Man City and Liverpool.
Chelsea will drop points against Man City(why I still don't know, but Man City have a thing against them)
A point against Liverpool at Anfield is not a bad result for United either, and I'd say Jose would take it if you offered it to him.

They aren't ahead yet imo. Christmas mark will show the true results

Corben Dallas

"You don't see Arsenal and Liverpool challenging, you think City and Charlton will fade so who do you see knocking United out of the top 4?"

Man City are goin really well under Pearce at teh mo, i see them fading but not to mid table, > to 4/5/6 by seasons end, Liverpool are getting to be prenninal 4th place finishers i think they will do better this year.
+Tottenham might do well.
I think Liverpool are goin to be better than 4th/5th this year.

ManU spent a lot of time last year in 4th/5th place and got a run together at teh end to get daylight from Liverpool (who lost the plot at teh end of the season)and Everton.

---

Reason i say this is the strenght or potential of players in the squads, IMO ManU's best player they bought for this campaign is Van De Sar, its been years since MU had a top drawer keeper. Elsewhere Rooney, Ferninand, Van Neistelrooy &Heinze(already injured) are the only quality players MU have, (Keane is an auto choice but if he gets to start 50% of the matches this year that would be worth a few points in itself.- but Keane isnt goin to put in a full season of games)
+MU have no cover for the positions compared to Chelsea, they are trying to convince us that Smith is a midfield player& cover for Roy LOL!, whatever about Lampard getting injured and the problems that might cause, if Rooney or Van Nistelrooy gets injured then teh lack cover will become a serious prob and ManU getting into Europe(top4) will be very difficult.

PHB

ManU spent a lot of time last year in 4th/5th place and got a run together at teh end to get daylight from Liverpool (who lost the plot at teh end of the season)and Everton.

How much would you define as a lot of time?

---

f Rooney or Van Nistelrooy gets injured then teh lack cover will become a serious prob and ManU getting into Europe(top4) will be very difficult.

So if Rooney or Van Nist get injured, we won't get into europe.
Last year Van Nist injured last year and we came third.

Jimi-Spandex

Corben Dallas wrote:

"

+MU have no cover for the positions compared to Chelsea, they are trying to convince us that Smith is a midfield player& cover for Roy LOL!, whatever about Lampard getting injured and the problems that might cause, if Rooney or Van Nistelrooy gets injured then teh lack cover will become a serious prob and ManU getting into Europe(top4) will be very difficult.

If Ruud gets injured then the front three will be

Giggs-Rooney-Ronaldo with Park, Rossi, Richardson, Saha and possibly Ole if he comes back in october.

If Ruud and Rooney get injured then just add in Saha, Ole or Rossi.

Hell, if we really get desperate we can call bellion back from West Ham.

I do agree that we lack somewhat in center mid cover. Hopefully this will be sorted when Obi Wan signs in Jan, if that happens.

and as PHB has said, Ruud was injured for most of last season. We finished 3rd.

Raskolnikov

No its not

I don't think the Premier League is wrapped up yet but it's certainly looking more and more likely. With Keane and Heinze out of action, United could drop even more points. Arsenal without Henry and Veira also don't seem certain to string together a sustained unbeaten run.

Also, why all this emphasis on Lampard? So far he's had his fair share of poor matches (Saturday against Charlton he bearly kicked a ball). The true strength of Chelsea lies in their defence. The Terry/Gallas combination looks to be the most solid of the Premier Division. Del Horno is looking to be ever bit of the player that Cole was supposed to be. While not world class like the other three, Ferreira is solid and reliable if not a little conservative. Infront of them you've got Makelele and Essien, the former is a proven top drawer player and the latter begining to show the same quality. The frightening prospect is that they have strength in depth so barring a catastrophe of injuries, Chelsea will not be conceding much this season.

PHB

Do people just not read what I write

Chelsea do not have strength of depth in the center of midfield.

They have

Makelele
Essien
Lampard
Gudjohnson(at best)

If Lampard gets injured, they will be in trouble. If Makelele gets injured, they will be in trouble. Even Essien is needed to be fully fit at this stage.

Big Ears

No its not

That may be true but very few clubs do have proper cover for central midfield .

Joe Cole can slip into the attacking role of those 3 central midfielders remember . Geremi could also do a job in the centre .

applehunter

No its not

Roy Keane is missing for Manchester.

Viera is gone from Arsenal.

Chelsea are much stonger and look good things for the title.

crowl

No its not

As a manu fan i felt the team was very strong at the start of the season, especially with van der saar at the back.

Now however I see that things are going to be very very hard for them without keane and heinze (2 best players of last season?) for a long period.

Arsenal are certainly in a period of transition and whether they improve or not I cant see either arsenal or man utd recovering in time.

People say chelsea are "due a slump" but thats always easy to say but I for one cant see it happening. I agree with what Mike65 has said and I wont be paying much attention to the premiership this season cos atm its just boring.

A Dub in Glasgo

No its not

Another day to show us the evidence that a Yes in the above is the the correct decision

Necronomicon

While I won't go back on my post, when you watch events today it's like United and Arsenal are gift-wrapping the title for Chelsea.

The Clown Man

No its not

Chelsea Are doing extremely well to mount a respectable title retention season.

Arsenal and Man Utc however are making a mess of the start of the season.

This is going to be Chelsea's title because the competition has faded.

redspider

No its not

It looks like it will be Chelsea's season in the league. Even if they do have a blip, who is going to be close enough to them to challenge? Everybody else is faltering at the moment, and show signs that they will continue to do so. For Chelsea to have a blip they will need an injury crises with 4 key players being out and even then they can probably continue more or less along the same lines. It looks like money does talk, Abramovich can buy the English league, even with his ill-gotten money.

See the Ladder ....

Lemlin

No its not

My question now is, after yesterday's results, are there still any people who think the title race isn't over?

segadreamcast

No its not

PHB wrote:

so to the people who say the race is over, the effective 2 point gap between Man Utd(whose extra match is against Wigan) is too much to overcome?

Who was on top of the table last year at Christmas time?

ROFL. Er, wanna recalculate that gap then?