Transfer window open soon. As a Liverpool fan urgent work to be done in the engine room.
I never thought I would say it, however Luton away has a romantic charm to it.
I'd like to see Villa finish in the top six this season. Just as long as we don't do a West Ham and do well in the Europa Conference League at the expense of league position. The club's owners started investing heavily in the academy (Jacob Ramsey won the 2023 Premier League academy graduate award) and that is going to start paying off, along with what looks like being a very decent war chest for new signings. Unai Emery certainly means business.
"A man of little significance"
Unai is a decent manager, his turnaround of Villa has been quite remarkable
My predictions are....
Winners: City
Top 4: City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool
Relegated: Luton, Sheffield United and Everton
Sticking your neck out? :-)Originally Posted by TaketheCannoli
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Haha, just how I see it. I take Burnley to stay up and Spurs under Steve Bruce in just avoid the drop.
More importantly where do you see yourselves?
I think next year will be City winning (and for the next 5+ years), Chelsea pushing them the most but still ending up way behind in 2nd.
Top eight. I think being in the Champions League will stretch our squad and we'll struggle to maintain such a lofty league finish. We desperately need to add quality and quantity due to being ahead of schedule. Outside of our first 13 or 14 we're really, really poor. I also think we've been pretty lucky with injuries this season and you rarely get two seasons in a row like that.
We had them last season in the Cup. Believe me, there's nothing romantic about Luton.
Aside from 19-year-old Jhon Durán, who only made a handful of appearances from the bench (and remarkably was our reserve striker after Ings left in January), Emery only brought in one regular starter in January - Álex Moreno, who's been excellent at left back. The rest of the squad was already there, albeit without much support from a depleted bench. Had Watkins, Martinez or Mings picked up unjuries we wouldn't have finished where we did.
"A man of little significance"
1 City
2 United / Arsenal
3 United / Arsenal
4 Chelsea / Newcastle
5 Chelsea / Newcastle
6 Liverpool / Spurs
7 Liverpool / Spurs
Only because I'm a supporter...
1 City / United
2 United / Arsenal/City
3 United / Arsenal
4 Chelsea / Newcastle
5 Chelsea / Newcastle
6 Liverpool / Spurs
7 Liverpool / Spurs
More realistically, I'd take the above for 24/25.
I fancy Dyche to haul Everton clear of trouble this year.
"United" ? You've four to choose from in the Premier League next season.......still boils my piss that one!
It's boiled mine for years. Shows the pretentiousness of the club and the bias of the media.
The gap between City and the others is just too big, so I tip them to win the PL again. Other teams like Arsenal and Man Utd are improving but I don’t see them closing the gap next season, it may take 2 to 3 seasons if they can continue to build.
Liverpool and Chelsea are a bit of an unknown, both have decent squads but are both teams in transition so it depends on who they buy and sell in the summer. Both of these could either be top 4 or equally finish 7th and 8th.
Spurs and Newcastle will be the best of the rest at the top with Villa and Brighton fighting them for the final euro places.
Neck out time, I think Everton will avoid a relegation scrap next season and we will finish 10th to 14th, but safe with games to spare.
Burnley and Sheffield Utd will have decent first seasons back and should be safe.
Forest will face the second season struggle and I think Bournemouth will too, so Forest, Bournemouth and Luton to go down.
Much talk of City winning it again & other teams rebuilding…
City May have to recruit too if Bernardo Silva & İlkay Gündoğan leave.
z
I struggle to see why, other than blind faith, anyone would put Chelsea in the top 6 -let alone top 4- based on this year showing.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I think their squad is unreal. Yes they need a keeper and a striker and maybe a left back but overall they have amazing players. Add Poch to that and it's got so much potential.
That Chelsea squad may need some time to bed together although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pochettino get a tune out of them straight away.
So you did know which United I meant?
Makes your points kind of moot, though I wasn't aware it caused that much offence tbh
- - - Updated - - -
Agree, they'll be in good shape after a full pre-season together
Not convinced that Chelsea squad is all that unreal to be honest. Which one of that squad gets in the Man City side?
As an Arsenal fan I'd take Reece James and Enzo Fernández but that's it, the rest of them wouldn't get into our side.
Last edited by ryanb741; 30th May 2023 at 13:51.
Doesn’t make my point moot at all and yes, it has caused a lot of offence for a long time. It’s insulting to every other United.
exactly... there really is only one. It's hardly our fault if, whenever someone hears United, they think of us. It's the other Uniteds that need to up their game.
Last edited by MakeColdplayHistory; 30th May 2023 at 14:17.
What Arsenal players get into the City side?
Totally agree with this, I think City will be hard to catch by any of the others and I do not expect Arsenal to get as close next season. United have issues and I think their 'improvement' is overstated but next season will show if I am wrong.
Liverpool and Chelsea require too much change for them to be considered a serious threat next season and a transition period seldom yields title challenges.
That comment seamlessly merges smugness and arrogance. Well done.exactly... there really is only one. It's hardly our fault if, whenever someone hears United, they think of us. It's the other Uniteds that need to up their game.
Pity you're not winning the Premiership any more though - how's the last decade felt?
Hmmm...
City to win, of course. Man Utd and Arsenal will likely pick up 2nd and 3rd spots, in either order. I suspect that Newcastle will add significantly to the current squad to position themselves for CL football so I reckon they'll nab 4th. There are then some teams who will be in transition for the minor European places - namely Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs.
If Poch really hits the ground running (and they buy a quality striker in place of the knob Havertz) then I could see Chelsea surprising a few; they have fantastic squad depth already and just need a bit more focus/organisation to be a force again. Similarly, Liverpool are only three or four additions away from having a fighting chance for top four, let alone 5th/6th.
My lot will need a bit more work, I fear. We need the right style of manager, firstly, as most of our on-field problems have been manager-retaled. As well as getting rid of the deadwood we need at least four/five top signings (goalkeeper, defence, midfield and - should Harry go - up front). And where appropriate we need to integrate our former loanees (including Spence and Udogie, who might just be a big part of the answer defensively - especially the latter).
Anyway, my predicted top 7 is:
- City
- Man Utd/Arsenal
- Man Utd Arsenal
- Newcastle
- Liverpool/Chelsea
- Liverpool/Chelsea
- Spurs
It's going to be a very, very interesting season, I think.
Hi Marc
The squad contains some remarkable players that have either been used incorrectly or, used hardly at all. After Tuchel's personal problems that led to his demise, the squad seemed not to be able to lift their game, perhaps because they didn't respect Potter sufficiently and the appointment of Frank should never have happened. It would have been better to see the season out under Saltor than to bring back a manager on an interim basis that had history with some of the squad already (not all good).
I'm not sure whether Poch is the right man but he comes with a reputation. Add to this the fact that through their own underachievement, they lack the distraction of European football next season, and it could provide the perfect storm. Remember last time they didn't have European football (also after a previously disastrous season) they won the league. Top six should be an achievable goal.
Tough one, Saka I reckon would get in though and Odegaard as well would have a shot if they played a system whereby he played alongside KDB in a kind of David Silva role. Plus he and Haaland play together for Norway. Saliba also would be in with a shout as would Ben White as the way he plays with inverted wingers would be perfect for City. So Saka for sure, maybe Odegaard and Saliba and possibly White also.
You may well be right but I come from rugby and believe that a team is just that. And if quality players cannot work as a team then you do not have a team. I know the rule in football is to change the manager but I am not convinced it's suitable. Fergie and Wenger for example had long tenures, not always crowned with success but they instilled a spirit to the team, and new players picked up on that spirit or left.
Instead, we seem to have a culture where the changing room decides whether they will play with the manager or not, instead of for the team. So a new manager comes in, gets new players... Maybe he is talented enough to inspire the team but what becomes of the club? where is its spirit? It goes the moment the manager goes, or is replaced. What would you say of fans who behaved this way, who shifted their allegiances depending on the manager, the players, or indeed the results?
I mentioned I came from rugby. In 2011, in Auckland, the French manager (Marc Lievremont) lost the players, who disagreed with the team selection. For the final ML was basically a spectator on the bench, having left the players decide the starting 15 and the bench. They played as a team losing 7 to 8 to the AB in NZ.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
You make many a good point, Marc. The trouble is the silly money in the game. The players no longer need very long careers to be set for life.
City will walk it easily, their second team would come in the top 6 each year. They can rebuild easily enough with unlimited funds!
Agree with most of that except for White. The point I’m trying to make though is that is that despite not having players that can make the best team, a squad can perform above and beyond its theoretical level. Mourinho done it for years in his early days.
Yep for sure and Pep makes good players better. Look at Nathan Ake as a great example.
As an aside rumours going round that Graham Potter is on his way to Crystal Palace.
https://www.football365.com/news/tra...n-utd-man-city
Not sure about any kind of title challenge but what significant change is needed at Liverpool? The year after winning the league form fell off a cliff for much the same reason it has this year, injuries and players running out of steam. The season before last Liverpool were challenging in all competitions.
It was pretty obvious that Henderson (Who even said in the summer he was running on empty) and Fabinio needed to be rested and it seems there was a perception that with Keita and Ox and Millner there was enough back up to at least last the season, quite why anyone thought a reserve 3 of whom 2 were so injury prone could act as back up is beyond me. Jones was injured Diaz got injured early on there was a complete lack of depth.
Liverpool really need 3 decent signings 2 in midfield and one defender preferably who can play in more than one position along the back and for Gods sake just put TAA in midfield and stop flogging a dead horse trying to play him as a defender. A player with the energy of Henderson and the passing ability of Alonso and he is stuck playing a jack of all trades role.
Chelsea will be back up there in the mix the big question mark is with Spurs, they really need to get a new manager sorted fast and start getting the squad back together again because the signs are not looking good.
This shows the power of the media and how it influences thinking. We play what we call City bingo when discussing media articles about us. Ticking them off as the article unfolds. The 2nd team would be in the top 4 or 6 is usually somewhere. Unlimited funds being spent is never far away, despite the facts telling a different story. You won’t go far to read about our huge squad. The reality is we have one of the smallest, but it has quality team players. By the way, you will struggle to find many match going blues that think we will walk any competition. For much of this current season many thought we were a declining team and could not have envisaged where we stand currently. We weren’t playing particularly well.
I am used to reading all the nonsense and most goes over my head, but what frustrates me is when our manager / coach doesn’t get the credit for his work. He finds a way and has changed my way of seeing the game. We buy well and have a lot of young academy players coming through. When we do buy it usually takes a season for the new player to understand the system and look like they can play at this level. Look at Jack, Nathan, Rodri, John Stones, Cancello, who were all being touted as a waste of money by other clubs supporters. What they all have in common is they eventually understand the system and are then fantastic. It.becomes engrained in them. It’s Pep’s system and many won’t appreciate his work until he is gone.
Absolutely agree regarding TAA. He is potentially a world class midfielder. Pep would have him in the Stones / Lewis role and I think he would possibly be better than both in there. With that freedom and his passing range he could be devastating. Instead we just hear constant criticism of his defensive frailties. He is the one player I would love to see at City and see what Pep would do with him.
TAA is the best right back in the world. FACT.
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Putting my predictions up a week before the season starts, club squads may change significantly between now and then. Keeping my powder dry.
Nah, Big Dan Burn, he's from Blyth.
I'm not sure he's even the best Right Back in Liverpool...
What he could be though, is an amazing half back / DM.
Fanciful thinking from diehard Liverpool fan?
Vinicius Jnr would roast him - for the whole 90mins.
Kyle Walker nullified VJ in CL semi.
I’m not say KW is the best - but he’s a better defender than TAA… & TAA is a better midfielder then KW.
… but that’s not where they play.
QED.
z
Des Walker > Kyle Walker
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Arteta looks to be able to do the same. Very impressed this season despite the last few games.
Could be one of those perfect moves for Potter and Palace that. I’d not be surprised to see them replicate Brighton this season.
I’m pretty sure he was joking and you took the bait.
z
As a united supporter I hate this discussion, but the best defender in the league is Kyle walker. City are so good at defending high because walker is so fast he can make up for the mistakes of others.
He's up there with the KDB as one of their best players
Looks like Rashfird will play up top at the weekend which gives us a chance
TAA is a fantastic footballer who should play in midfield
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