Discussion Football (Soccer) Thread

[mightymalaka]

Lol, you think I base that opinion of this season alone? How about the 100 points last year...

It's all relevant to the current level of depth in the EPL! So you can LOL all you want, but like i said it's purely subjective, there is no definitive answer!
United came 2nd last year with one of the worst United sides ever to come come 2nd in a comp, compared to say this year even with your mob!

A more realistic comparison to this year would be the 99 season with United and Arsenal but the difference then was sides even going down to almost 10th
Were a lot better than say a woeful United who finished just outside the top 4.....For that matter Chelsea, Arsenal and United this term have been as poor
As i can ever remember in recent years! Whilst say even Liverpool in 99 was a much better team in comparison!
The bottom 10 this year have been absolutely terrible!

 

[George]

It's all relevant to the current level of depth in the EPL! So you can LOL all you want, but like i said it's purely subjective, there is no definitive answer!
United came 2nd last year with one of the worst United sides ever to come come 2nd in a comp, compared to say this year even with your mob!

A more realistic comparison to this year would be the 99 season with United and Arsenal but the difference then was sides even going down to almost 10th
Were a lot better than say a woeful United who finished just outside the top 4.....For that matter Chelsea, Arsenal and United this term have been as poor
As i can ever remember in recent years! Whilst say even Liverpool in 99 was a much better team in comparison!
The bottom 10 this year have been absolutely terrible!

I've got no idea what the rest of the league has to do with one team. City now have 198 points over two seasons. You can say their competition is easy but I don't take that view - I think that they are a great side regardless.

 

[mightymalaka]

I've got no idea what the rest of the league has to do with one team. City now have 198 points over two seasons. You can say their competition is easy but I don't take that view - I think that they are a great side regardless.

No one said they are not a great side! But to say they are definitively the greatest side in English football history is a massive stretch!
And of course the rest of the comp is relevant to how you measure such things! Hence the ridiculously simplistic view you have sensationally taken!

How have City gone in the champions league last 2 years?
You are doing all the great United and Liverpool sides even from the 80's a massive disservice by making such a claim!
To say City is one of the more dominant champions in the last 2 years would be more accurate, and obviously they are a great side
But it's a very short sighted view to not factor in the strength of opposition when assessing the all time greats!
Plus no one will ever know and we will never be able to prove either way that's why it's called Subjective Georgie boy!

Like comparing Phar Lap with Winx! Now at the risk of being accused of rubbish baiting Can you dig that boss?

 

[From 45]

I've got no idea what the rest of the league has to do with one team. City now have 198 points over two seasons. You can say their competition is easy but I don't take that view - I think that they are a great side regardless.

Because the bottom 6 teams of any league determines how strong the league is. Unfortunately the bottom teams in the EPL have been deplorable..

 

[St Muir]

Congratulations to City, it’s hard having to win every game for weeks on end, they handled it well. Next season should be a cracker!
On to the CL

 

[George]

No one said they are not a great side! But to say they are definitively the greatest side in English football history is a massive stretch!
And of course the rest of the comp is relevant to how you measure such things! Hence the ridiculously simplistic view you have sensationally taken!

How have City gone in the champions league last 2 years?
You are doing all the great United and Liverpool sides even from the 80's a massive disservice by making such a claim!
To say City is one of the more dominant champions in the last 2 years would be more accurate, and obviously they are a great side
But it's a very short sighted view to not factor in the strength of opposition when assessing the all time greats!
Plus no one will ever know and we will never be able to prove either way that's why it's called Subjective Georgie boy!

Like comparing Phar Lap with Winx! Now at the risk of being accused of rubbish baiting Can you dig that boss?

Overly aggressive response, all I did was disagree with you. Anyway, just my opinion

 

[mightymalaka]

Overly aggressive response, all I did was disagree with you. Anyway, just my opinion

Underwhelming passive response, has left me dumfounded with a half chub stuck in the stalls! All i did was disagree with you back at ya!

Anyway just my psychosis!

 

[JiggsteR45]

City have been indisputably the best side of these past two seasons. “The Greatest team in English football history”? Hmmmmmmmmm? Can’t totally agree with that bold statement. I still believe that the Alex Ferguson- coached Manchester United would have to have a legitimate claim to THAT title. There again, it’s all pretty subjective, is it not?
Manchester City up until 1968 had won the Football League championship just TWICE (1937 & 1968) hardly the stuff of legend. They (unlike Liverpool, Everton, Spurs etc) also went down into the THIRD division at one stage....... Their history during the past ten years has been one of success. The millions from foreign investment has established City as a powerful force..... but “ the greatest in history” I’ll agree to disagree on that mate.

 

[JiggsteR45]

Here’s a list of a few of the sides who have won the League Championship/EPL title (and how many times they’ve won it)

Manchester United 20
Liverpool 18
Arsenal 13
Everton 9 ️
Aston Villa 7
Manchester City 6
Chelsea 6
Sunderland 6
Tottenham Hotspur 2

As you can see..... City have a fair way to go in order to qualify for “Greatest team in English Football history”

 

[Brains Trust66]

Here’s a list of a few of the sides who have won the League Championship/EPL title (and how many times they’ve won it)

Manchester United 20
Liverpool 18
Arsenal 13
Everton 9 ️
Aston Villa 7
Manchester City 6
Chelsea 6
Sunderland 6
Tottenham Hotspur 2

As you can see..... City have a fair way to go in order to qualify for “Greatest team in English Football history”

Apparently Man U have just had 3 of their wins disqualified for playing unregistered players so the list is now -
Liverpool 18
Man U 17

Lol, only joking .

I thought West Ham had won it a few times years ago but im obviously wrong as usual .


Don’t Panic !!

 

[JiggsteR45]

Apparently Man U have just had 3 of their wins disqualified for playing unregistered players so the list is now -
Liverpool 18
Man U 17

Lol, only joking .

I thought West Ham had won it a few times years ago but im obviously wrong as usual .


Don’t Panic !!

No mate, West Ham have yet to trouble the engravers for the league championship trophy! Spurs last saluted as League Champions in 1961...... I was a mere slip of a lad of 16 then Newcastle United ( another “big” club ) last won it in 1927 a mere 92 years ago!!!

 

[Brains Trust66]

No mate, West Ham have yet to trouble the engravers for the league championship trophy! Spurs last saluted as League Champions in 1961...... I was a mere slip of a lad of 16 then Newcastle United ( another “big” club ) last won it in 1927 a mere 92 years ago!!!

Thats weird , i dont know where i got the West Ham thought from , lol , oh well . I really should look stuff up before i say things but why change the habit of a lifetime lol.
So Newcastle are even worse than St Kilda , lol. Did they get close during the Alan Shearer days ? I remember they were pretty good for awhile then .


Don’t Panic !!

 

[joop]

Man City - Premier League
Liverpool - Champions League
Leeds United - Promoted

Man Utds worst nightmare.

 

[JiggsteR45]

Man City - Premier League
Liverpool - Champions League
Leeds United - Promoted

Man Utds worst nightmare.

have Leeds actually been promoted, mate?

 

[joop]

have Leeds actually been promoted, mate?

nope, just like Liverpool haven't won the champions league. It was a joke, like ha ha ha ha i love jokes..... geeeeeeeeeeeze

 

[JiggsteR45]

Thats weird , i dont know where i got the West Ham thought from , lol , oh well . I really should look stuff up before i say things but why change the habit of a lifetime lol.
So Newcastle are even worse than St Kilda , lol. Did they get close during the Alan Shearer days ? I remember they were pretty good for awhile then .


Don’t Panic !!

Newcastle got agonisingly close during the Alan Shearer/Peter Beardsley era. They finished:

3rd in 1993/94 ( the second season of the new EPL )

2nd in 1995/96

3rd in 2002/03

I’ve always had a special love for the Magpies/Toon. Love the passion and devotion of their supporters..... regardless of ladder position. Back in the distant days of my teens and twenties I followed Everton all over the country. Although they were a long way from Merseyside, I always LOVED going up to Sunderland and Newcastle. Those were THE days!!!! ️

 

[JiggsteR45]

No mate, West Ham have yet to trouble the engravers for the league championship trophy! Spurs last saluted as League Champions in 1961...... I was a mere slip of a lad of 16 then Newcastle United ( another “big” club ) last won it in 1927 a mere 92 years ago!!!

Newcastle “Worse than St. Kilda”? Errrrrrrrrrr well not really, Colleague. They have won more than one premiership in their history! ️️

 

[JiggsteR45]

nope, just like Liverpool haven't won the champions league. It was a joke, like ha ha ha ha i love jokes..... geeeeeeeeeeeze

 

[Brains Trust66]

Well the season has finished and what a great season it has been . Of course we still have the champions league and europa cup finals and FA cup to be played .
I want to say a big thanks to all you crazy mad one eyed fans who have kept things civilized all season and made it fun to come on here every week . I know we are all Saints fans but even so usually people can get agro about english football but it didnt happen all season . Its been fun paying more attention to other sides than i used to do . To have different opinions was fine too .
To be honest , when i started this thread i was a little concerned first would anybody visit and second would it become a big fight between different fans of different clubs . But as far as i know there wasnt any trouble .
Its good to see fans of other clubs congratulate others when their sides played well .

Hopefully we can keep this thread going and follow the next season all together as well .

Once again a big thank you to all of you football fans .


Don’t Panic !!

 

[St Muir]

Thanks BT you’ve been fantastic at pulling this together and keeping it ticking along. Thanks too to all the posters. It’s one of my favourite threads with some insightful thoughts. Oddly enough, it’s probably the least argumentative thread .

 

[joop]

Thanks BT you’ve been fantastic at pulling this together and keeping it ticking along. Thanks too to all the posters. It’s one of my favourite threads with some insightful thoughts. Oddly enough, it’s probably the least argumentative thread .

If Leeds get promoted I’ll probably change that

 

[JiggsteR45]

If Leeds get promoted I’ll probably change that

good one mate! ️

 

[JiggsteR45]

Well the season has finished and what a great season it has been . Of course we still have the champions league and europa cup finals and FA cup to be played .
I want to say a big thanks to all you crazy mad one eyed fans who have kept things civilized all season and made it fun to come on here every week . I know we are all Saints fans but even so usually people can get agro about english football but it didnt happen all season . Its been fun paying more attention to other sides than i used to do . To have different opinions was fine too .
To be honest , when i started this thread i was a little concerned first would anybody visit and second would it become a big fight between different fans of different clubs . But as far as i know there wasnt any trouble .
Its good to see fans of other clubs congratulate others when their sides played well .

Hopefully we can keep this thread going and follow the next season all together as well .

Once again a big thank you to all of you football fans .


Don’t Panic !!

I echo all the sentiments of St Muir (and Joop too! ) this thread has provided me with a most interesting diversion from the “real” (?) footy, especially the last 3 rounds! As far as “trouble between fans” is concerned, if humour and good nature are to the fore, then everyone’s a winner ( that’s no lie ) just WHO thought that having my ugly mug on the “threadline” was a good idea???

 

[austinnn]

Liverpool 18-19 - one goal away from being champions.

Score one (more) goal in any of the 8 matches below and win the club's first ever "Premier League" championship (as distinct from pre-Premier League):

Loss

Away v City 03/01/19 score 2/1

Draws

Away v Chelsea 29/09/18 score 1/1
Home v City 07/10/18 score 0/0
Away v Arsenal 03/11/18 score 1/1
Home v Leicester 30/01/19 score 1/1
Away v Utd 24/02/19 score 0/0
Away v West Ham 04/02/19 score 1/1
Away Vs Everton 03/03/19 score 0/0

We can say that Liverpool had a great season comparatively, but those 8 matches were all low scoring affairs featuring strikers who couldn't finish and/or conservative tactics. Additionally they were all against the "top" teams around them, namely the teams that finished 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th.

Liverpool were close to perfection though. The club turned around quite a few different defeats or draws to win against the odds. Just two that spring to mind are the Shaquiri Shakedown against Utd and Fabinho's Fake at St James's Park.

Two of our front three finished with golden boots, our keeper got the golden gloves, both full backs had record assist levels. One of our centre backs
was just named the PFA Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season. Our team is jam packed full of quality and boasts a fantastic manager who gets the best out of his players.

But it wasn't enough. Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and Everton fans can rejoice in knowing that their draws against us delayed the Liverpool Championship nightmare for another year, City fans can feel justified in that by beating us and avoiding a loss at Anfield, City played their final, just played it in October and January.

Liverpool's inquest should have started already and the questions on that list should be:

What didn't happen in those 8 games that did happen in the other 30?

Are Mo Salah and Bobby Firmino on a downward trend or did they have a blip this year? Salah was unstoppable last year, this year he had to satisfy himself with merely being joint top scorer, but was realistically a shadow of his 17-18 self. It's tempting to think that defenders have worked him out, but maybe he just needs a break (no Sergio, not that kind of break...) Bobby needs to start games to have any effect, and he seems less consistent this year, not sure if the figures back me up.

How do we get the games into the squad? Brewster, Ox, Origi, Shaquiri, Curtis Jones, that Portuguese fella we tried at right back that says he's a striker, and so on. We need those guys ready to be super subs for us when Sadio, Bobby and Mo aren't working out. We need them to be sharp from minute one, game one next season. There were enough chances through the season form many of those players to do the business. Sometimes they delivered, no more spectacularly than the home semi Vs Barcelona, but sometimes they let us down.

It sounds churlish to say that Liverpool didn't have enough quality throughout the season, but they didn't have enough quality when it counted to win the league.

I believe that LFC is going to challenge again, that they won't fall back as they have in previous years, but they do still need to improve and I hope they will get even closer to perfection, enough to beat the best next year.

YNWA

 

[austinnn]

Counterpoint:

Last season, the Reds finished 25 points off top spot and played in the Champions League final.

This season, they finished 1 point off top spot and will play in the Champions League final, perhaps even win it this time.

That's an acceptable upward trajectory,

It's hard to believe, but this was Naby Keita's, Allison Becker's and Fabinho's first year at Liverpool. Yep! It was VVD's first 18 months too, and look at the improvement in Joe Gomez and Joel Matip since his arrival. Trent AA is 20. No one bar Milner is nearing retirement and if he doesn't go home, he looks like he will play with us forever, tough sonovabitch that he is.

There's not one area that you could perceive as a weakness, how long have Reds fans waited to say that? No longer vulnerable at set plays or weak with corners, not one player in the first 11 we'd like to replace. Whenever I hear of players we're reportedly bringing in, no matter their pedigree, I'm always asking myself "Yeah but when/where would he play?" - that's a good sign. No one looks likely to defect to a "bigger" club. The manager doesn't look like he wants to leave, he's just signed a contract extension.

Off field the club is in the best health maybe it's ever been in, and we've been able to splash real cash for whomever we like for the last 2 years.

Robbo says "Man City know we are here to stay", Dejen says "We're coming!"

So finishing the 18-19 Premier League in 2nd place - 25 points higher than Chelsea in 3rd - is disappointing as a result, as part of the journey it's pretty cool. Now for that all important final 5% extra improvement.