The problem is you have at least four, arguably six or seven clubs in the PL who think they deserve to win the title, and only one can. That leaves 3-5 disappointed sets of fans. I don't like to use the term 'glory supporters' because we all obviously like to see our teams win, but you need to be realistic about the fact that not winning the title is OK, and will happen to 19 out of 20 teams every season. And as you say it's not a level playing field because you have some clubs with billionaire owners who have a gigantic advantage over everyone else. I can understand wanting to see a different manager in if you don't like the kind of football you're seeing, or you don't agree with the decisions they make with what resources they have available, but I don't agree with wanting a manager out just because he doesn't win something, because that is not in his control.
The imaginatively titled Premier League 21/22 Thread
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Aye, I think everyone knows where I stand on him and his ability as a manager. Yet another get out of jail moment last night. There will come a time when his expensively assembled squad don't have any moments of brilliance or luck/dodgy late penalties (delete as appropriate) to bale him out.
By the sounds of it Utd were distinctly second best last night. In the first half in particular. But 3pts is all that matters.
By the sounds of it Utd were distinctly second best last night. In the first half in particular. But 3pts is all that matters.
I agree Edd, that's why I framed my previous question in the context of "would second place but being Xpts off the top be acceptable, or would a decent CL run etc."
I suspect most big 4/6/7 fans would be happy if they saw their team making genuine progress year on year and getting close, or closer, to winning a title/CL/trophy.
Obviously those ambitions have to be adjusted to your club's bank balance. City and Chelsea are just money pits, so finishing well off the pace in all comps is not acceptable. Spurs, Leicester, Pool, Arsenal, WH all work on smaller, ie NORMAL, budgets and thus ambitions or expectations are lower. Or maybe "realistic" would be a better word.
Utd are probably the one exception. They fit somewhere between the 2 camps. They don't have billionaire owners who throw money at them, quite the opposite, but they do have an amazing marketing team behind the scenes that all but prints money. They are the only other PL club who can compete financially with the 'rich man's play things' of City and Chelsea.
And for the record, yes, I am jealous of City and Chelsea, I wish my club had an owner who fired 200m per year at them and didn't care. But they don't. So all I can do is look on enviously and point out the slightly morally repugnant nature of clubs being owned by men/sovereign wealth funds who have made their money in ehhh 'questionable' ways. And also point out that both the club's in question were mere also rans before their owners turned up. And they may revert to that level if the owners ever get bored, or in Chelsea's case, kick the bucket.
Not even also rans, let's not forget City were relagated in 2001, as were Chelsea in 1989. Chelsea didn't win their first modern top flight trophy until 2005, before Abramovich came in they had gone even longer than Spurs witthout winning the title *goes off to find rich Spurs fan*
lejackal
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If Abramovich hadn't bought Chelsea they were going the way of Leeds
Given how obnoxious and generally dislikeable their fans are, I almost wish they had.
lejackal
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Absolutely, they're like a throwback to the 70's/80's
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Yeah Man Utd were very poor last night, but for poor finishing/world class goalkeeping Utd would have been 0-2 down at half time. Telez scored a worldy and the Ronaldo goal was Man Utd's latest ever Champions League goal. Was a great feeling to win like that. Not really surprising that McTominay was invisible for 70 minutes, Matic came on and straight away started taking the ball of the two centre backs and moved the ball forward quickly. Van De Beek took his chewing gum out and chucked it on the floor when Fred was put on at right back. The way Van De Beek is being ignored is horrible, considering Everton wanted him and OGS blocked the sale. We will probably go on a half decent run now until we get close to going to the next level and just bottle it. Some tuffer tests to come Liverpool, Man City and Spurs on the horizon. Liverpool and City will destroy McFred.
Kane's back in form then @edd_jedi!? I mean they were dead good that bunch of part timers from Slovenia, and the European fizzy trophy challenge league plate thing is a proper competition, right!?
Joking aside, a hat-trick will do his confidence no harm. Albeit, the fact your reserves struggled against the weakest side in a weak competition isn't great.
As for VDB, as I keep saying, I don't get the situation. If OGS doesn't rate/want him, why was he bought? Ok, maybe OGS thought he would be great but he has turned out dung, so why not let him go in the summer? Either give him a run of games to prove himself, or sell him.
As for Utd's tough runs. Ehhh I give you Pool's next 4 games, City, Watford (A) (with Alison and Fabinho in Brazil), Atleti (A), and then some shower from down the East Lanc's road (A).
Joking aside, a hat-trick will do his confidence no harm. Albeit, the fact your reserves struggled against the weakest side in a weak competition isn't great.
As for VDB, as I keep saying, I don't get the situation. If OGS doesn't rate/want him, why was he bought? Ok, maybe OGS thought he would be great but he has turned out dung, so why not let him go in the summer? Either give him a run of games to prove himself, or sell him.
As for Utd's tough runs. Ehhh I give you Pool's next 4 games, City, Watford (A) (with Alison and Fabinho in Brazil), Atleti (A), and then some shower from down the East Lanc's road (A).
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Thing for me with VDB is the midfielders we play aren't exactly tearing teams apart, infact the exact opposite! Poor lad he's wasted at least 18 months of his career at Man Utd.
8 goals behind Brentford on Goal Difference, that's shocking when we supposedly have one of the best strikers.100%
Some ****ing game yesterday (Pool City). How City weren't 2 up at HT I will never know, that was a bloody fisting (hello Mr. Swear word checker, you gonna pick up on that one!?). Pool were miles better in the second half, I'd almost say, the better of the two teams, but they both played some superb football. The fact both sides were clearly out on their feet after 85 mins shows just how high tempo that game was.
I'm not sure many other sides in the PL could play at that level/tempo for 90 mins. Chelsea, possibly.
I heard a sta that over the last 3 yrs those two teams are separated by 1pt in the PL, I was surprised it was that close, but then I guess the yr Pool won it, City finished miles off, and the year before there was only 1pt in it.
Watford sack their manager. Who had him down to be the first to be sacked? In Hindsight, Watford were an easy call, they don't like to keep managers more than 2 or 3 weeks.
Ohh and I may well have been wrong about Palace. They had done a lot better than I expect up until this w/e and saw their game against Leicester, they hammered them. Leicester had about 2 chances in the whole game and took them. Palace dominated and probably should have won.
It looks like Brendan's "blow smoke of their asses and hope" tactics may finally have been rumbled at Leicester.
And they compound it by appointing Ranieri. A man who at his last 4 jobs has a win rate below 40%.
lejackal
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It makes a mockery of the fit and proper persons test though. Not that Arsenal can talk with Stan the man making people homeless and taking money from Rwanda and Dubai
lejackal
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Yeah, although this will probably turn into "he squeezed my bum" (not that it justifies it or makes it acceptable) rather than the Everton ice man
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Even a prison team has got a better DCM than Man Utd have.
