General Premier League Thread 2023-24 Mod Note in op 27/6/23 And 21/05/24

City four in a row, let the celebrations begin...

That asterisk needs to be expanded to acknowledge to the trophies won before 2008. Like the League titles of 1937 & 1968, the latter which they never got proper credit for. Given that the world was fixated on Manchester United's European Cup win that year. He could easily change them to:

League 2+8*

FA Cup 4+3*

League Cup 2+6*

European Cup 1*

Other Europe 1 (unchanged)

Total trophies 9+18*

A fantastic achievement for City and Pep. First four in a row.
I hope to God someone challenges them again next year otherwise it’s just gonna get boring

Klopp's farewell is genuine, City's wall of money is as artificial as it gets, no surprise people are more interested in the former

City are cheats. Whether the Premier League ultimately has the stomach to hold them to account or not in the end is whatever. Football people know the truth.

4 in a row is incredible though. Whatever about their business dealings; to keep a side driven to win titles after titles is some achievement...

It is tempered by their ability to go out every summer and freshen up as per their desired targets while never losing players they want to keep during the peak of their careers. The latter bit is simply extraordinary too, Utd and Liverpool at their very best would periodically lose their biggest stars to the continent.

It’s all nonsense really. Absolutely, the team on the pitch at the end of the conveyor belt is one of the very best club football has ever seen. But it’s impossible to decouple it from the machine that broke the rules to create it, imo.

Last day, emotions getting the better of me

Kovacic and Nunes have been utter flops too, but it makes little difference.

Bernardo Silva signed for Man City in 2017.

After transfer rumours linking him to Barcelona, Bernardo Silva signed a new contract, on improved terms no doubt, for Man City in 2019. (Until 2025)

Atletico Madrid wanted to buy Bernardo Silva in 2021 and Pep confirmed that he wanted to leave, but he never did. I'm not sure what convinced him to stay.

Bernardo Silva handing in another transfer request amid bids from Barcelona and PSG in 2023, but then suddenly changing his mind to sign a new contract with one year extension. (until 2026). I'd assume improved terms here again, but this time crucially there was a release clause inserted for a fee (£50m) that was lower than the bids for him that summer.

And that's just one player.

But yes, it's that financial stuff that makes no difference to stuff on the field whatsoever.

Can you not come up with something original and that is actually a good comparison?

City's actions are all about money not using Peds or cheating on the field.

I think they went with Tomiyasu too late. Zinchenko is over-rated and Kiwior didn't do that much but Tomi had that Asian professionalism to him.

And Havertz in a false number nine did more than Jesus too. City are good at selling players it seems, Palmer aside.

2 seasons of going all in, with no end result to show for it, is a massive blow to Arsenal mentally.

Arteta did great to get those players back challenging this year, and even better again in January. Again, mentally to get them back in the race. They had a few breaks go their way but Arteta had their mindset in the right place so has to be commended for that. And the players too tbf. Gabriel, White, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz are the standouts for me since the turn of the year.

To do it a third time will take some feat. Getting those same group of players going all in again is a tough job, after a summer tournament too.

I think they could win a league with Havertz at 9 - but only if they're getting more goals out of their left-wing-forward. Martinelli only scoring 6 this season after 15 last season was a real drop, when they'd have maybe expected him to even kick on a bit.

The question is just if this season was a blip, and can he get back into heavy double figures next year. Get 16+ each out of Saka and Martinelli, along with Trossard and Jesus chipping in, and a guy like Havertz can work at 9, linking it all together, and still chipping in himself with 10 to 15.

The Havertz at false 9 complaints reminds me of the Firmino at false 9 complaints.

The real question marks should be placed at Martinelli & Saka only scoring 6 & 10 goals from open play. A goalscoring winger is a higher priority than a CF for Arsenal in the summer for me. Jesus is just sort of hanging around now so what happens there. Hard to sell him.

And a LB, obviously.

Rice having only been there a year helps too - he can still definitely be the engine room of the team again next year. A few smart additions and I think they can properly challenge again… now, realistically, I think it's City's to lose as per usual, but think Arsenal can be there to take advantage if City leave an opening.

Chelaea finish 6th. What a strange season for them. Finished 6th, final of the cabarao Cup, semi final in the fa Cup. Not the worst season in the world for any manager in their first year yet it might not be enough. Would be a very poor design to stack Poch but nothing would surprise me with Chelsea.

Interesting question with the Pep/Arteta and playing so many CBs / pure 4 at the back.

Who blinks first?

Who changes first?

Somebody brought it up again and I'm entitled to give my opinion.

I'm of the opinion that it's a stupid comparison. One is a peds cheat, the other a money chest. They bear no relation.

Fact of the matter is the titles were won by players on a field over a season. There was no cheating on the field of any sort. This comparison attacks the players as it envelops everything at the club.

The players don't deserve any insinuation of cheating sent their way.

The cheating allows them to be on the pitch together. They’re part of that whether they like it or not and as a result all their achievements are tarnished. Personally I don’t dwell on it but it can’t just be completely overlooked either

....

Good thing exactly what comparison is being made has been explained and clarified so many times, so there's no confusion :)