It will be a very tough match for us (LFC) as Arsenal are in their best form in some time and we need to win to take advantage of City’s draw.
Salah is fit apparently.
Something tells me a draw is likely 🤬
Pretty sure that Arsenal will get top 4 now regardless of the result tonight
Been raining in London for the most of the day. Still raining now.
@dagrubster said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
It will be a very tough match for us (LFC) as Arsenal are in their best form in some time and we need to win to take advantage of City’s draw.
Salah is fit apparently.
Something tells me a draw is likely 🤬
Pretty sure that Arsenal will get top 4 now regardless of the result tonight
Been raining in London for the most of the day. Still raining now.
pfft never in doubt.
@mariner4life And a great result down in Brighton for their nearest rival with Tottenham Hotspur FC tonking Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 to move within three points of the Gunners for the 4th Champions League position. Next up for the chop from Spurs is West Ham United with fingers crossed Aston Villa can make it a forgettable couple of days for Arsenal.
Not exactly EPL but came across this brief article which which had me chuckling
Here is another list where stadiums are ranked according to beauty. This one will certainly have @dogmeat doing a lap of honour.
@higgins 
The Cottage is consistently (well I've seen it twice which is one more than necessary for me) voted one of the best football grounds in the World!!
Should be even better next season in the EPL when the new Riverside stand opens complete with swimming pool on the roof! Plus a concourse that will allow the public to walk all the way from Putney to Hammersmith Bridges and it's own (new) pier for river taxi's.
It'll be equally as good the following year when we are back in the Championship 
Two listed buildings - the oldest professional club in London. What's not to like?
@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@higgins
Should be even better next season in the EPL when the new Riverside stand opens complete with swimming pool on the roof! Plus a concourse that will allow the public to walk all the way from Putney to Hammersmith Bridges and it's own (new) pier for river taxi's.
It'll be equally as good the following year when we are back in the Championship
Two listed buildings - the oldest professional club in London. What's not to like?
There aren't many grounds with character left with the out of town functional industrial estate monstrosities.
I was always fond of Luton's ground where the entrance looks like you're wandering tthrough someone's front door
and Brentford used to have a pub at each corner
Back to the UCL, 3 teams from England, 3 from Spain, 1 from Germany and 1 from Portugal. Draw will be critical and the 3 English teams, Bayern and Real Madrid will be keen to get one of the other 3.
Bottom of the EPL fascinating this year.
Newcastle been on a great run under Howe until coming unstuck at Chelsea (to one of the best touches you’ll ever see from Havertz). Then losing again 4 days later to 10 man Everton. Shouldn’t have as NC on top and Wood should have been on the score sheet. Not sure about Woods effectiveness honestly which is a shame.
On the flip side the Everton win meant so much, Lampard broke his hand!
I really want Leeds to stay up just for the theatre - their games against Man U, Norwich and Wolves have been great. All out attack, terrible tackles, fights. Much better than 9 behind the ball dullness.
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
FA Cup Semis
City v Liverpool
Palace v Chelsea
Fucking Yes.
Don't get me wrong, we'll probably lose to Palace.
But the write up on the BBC this morning all about Liverpool / City and the 3 trophies they were hunting for (PL, FA, CL) pissed me off.
I would love it love it love it love it love it if they won none of them.
(ok, I concede the PL is defo going to one of them ... having said that it's not impossible. They are 11/10 points clear of Chelsea with an extra game played. So if Chelsea win and then Liverpool / City draw against each other & Chelse win that around, those numbers will drop to 6/5 points clear)
@majorrage thaaaat's a little sensitive
Liverpool have already won one trophy, and are currently still alive in 3 more. City are alive, and favoured, in the remaining 3. That's the kind of narrative the media loves.
Yes Chelsea are there in two of them. Good stuff. Well done to a club that might be bankrupt in a week...
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage thaaaat's a little sensitive
Liverpool have already won one trophy, and are currently still alive in 3 more. City are alive, and favoured, in the remaining 3. That's the kind of narrative the media loves.
Yes Chelsea are there in two of them. Good stuff. Well done to a club that might be bankrupt in a week...
City favoured in the remaining 3? How many champs league has Pep won with them? It’s one less than finals they’ve played in. Who did they lose to?
Oh that’s right, another English team still in it. Whose not even mentioned.
I tend not to get sensitive about Chelsea - everybody hates us. Boo Hoo. Pretty happy to not be considered a league contender, but for the other 2, it’s pretty shit. They even mapped out the paths to the finals for both.
And let’s be clear. Liverpool have so far won one thing. And if you play the odds, that’s what they’ll finish the season with. Chances of them winning all 4 are so minute, you shouldn’t be writing articles about them.
@majorrage said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage thaaaat's a little sensitive
Liverpool have already won one trophy, and are currently still alive in 3 more. City are alive, and favoured, in the remaining 3. That's the kind of narrative the media loves.
Yes Chelsea are there in two of them. Good stuff. Well done to a club that might be bankrupt in a week...
City favoured in the remaining 3? How many champs league has Pep won with them? It’s one less than finals they’ve played in. Who did they lose to?
Oh that’s right, another English team still in it. Whose not even mentioned.
I tend not to get sensitive about Chelsea - everybody hates us. Boo Hoo. Pretty happy to not be considered a league contender, but for the other 2, it’s pretty shit. They even mapped out the paths to the finals for both.
And let’s be clear. Liverpool have so far won one thing. And if you play the odds, that’s what they’ll finish the season with.
calm your farm
City are favourites, at the bookies, for every single comp.
Liverpool will not win another trophy this year. Beating City and then Chelsea in the FA cup is too hard, they have a far harder run in than City in the league, and there are better teams in the Champs League (i actually sort of favour whoever gets out of the Real/Chelsea tie as the best bet)
Chelsea can not win the Premier League. Bank it. They do not play City or Liverpool for the rest of the season, so there is the main way to make up ground gone. And they still have Arsenal, Man U, West Ham and Leicester.
City have to play Liverpool, West Ham, and then teams in the bottom half i think. They'll win the league by about 6 points.
Trebles are talked about forever. Winning 4 is ridiculous. They are stories. Winning 2 cups is very meh in comparison
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage thaaaat's a little sensitive
Liverpool have already won one trophy, and are currently still alive in 3 more. City are alive, and favoured, in the remaining 3. That's the kind of narrative the media loves.
Yes Chelsea are there in two of them. Good stuff. Well done to a club that might be bankrupt in a week...
City favoured in the remaining 3? How many champs league has Pep won with them? It’s one less than finals they’ve played in. Who did they lose to?
Oh that’s right, another English team still in it. Whose not even mentioned.
I tend not to get sensitive about Chelsea - everybody hates us. Boo Hoo. Pretty happy to not be considered a league contender, but for the other 2, it’s pretty shit. They even mapped out the paths to the finals for both.
And let’s be clear. Liverpool have so far won one thing. And if you play the odds, that’s what they’ll finish the season with.
calm your farm
City are favourites, at the bookies, for every single comp.
Liverpool for the league in my view. Don’t care about bookies in football - rarely right.
Liverpool will not win another trophy this year. Beating City and then Chelsea in the FA cup is too hard, they have a far harder run in than City in the league, and there are better teams in the Champs League (i actually sort of favour whoever gets out of the Real/Chelsea tie as the best bet)
City will win the FA if they care enough. Atletico / Bayern for the CL. Liverpool to lose to Bayern.
Chelsea can not win the Premier League. Bank it. They do not play City or Liverpool for the rest of the season, so there is the main way to make up ground gone. And they still have Arsenal, Man U, West Ham and Leicester.
Agree.
City have to play Liverpool, West Ham, and then teams in the bottom half i think. They'll win the league by about 6 points.
Trebles are talked about forever. Winning 4 is ridiculous. They are stories. Winning 2 cups is very meh in comparison
Mate it’s a crap disrespectful article.
Hence why I would Keegan it if Chelsea wins one of them …. Which they won’t.
@majorrage i think Chelsea are a good shout in both cups. Their manager obviously knows how to play them, and they have a good team. But the Champs league is bloody tough, you need good teams to knock out other good teams for you.
Chelsea also have the advantage that they can take a couple of league games off to prep for Cup games. Well, that's really the advantage for the FA Cup semi more than anything. Real are pissing in La Liga, and the FA Cup final is after everything else.
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage i think Chelsea are a good shout in both cups. Their manager obviously knows how to play them, and they have a good team. But the Champs league is bloody tough, you need good teams to knock out other good teams for you.
Chelsea also have the advantage that they can take a couple of league games off to prep for Cup games. Well, that's really the advantage for the FA Cup semi more than anything. Real are pissing in La Liga, and the FA Cup final is after everything else.
The focus and results have been pretty good since it all kicked off, but I can't see how any trophy can be won with the backdrop of what's going on. Having said that, there is a lot of talk now and we do know that there are multiple bidders & the highest bid is over 2bln. Not sure how this works now with price acceptance etc, as who is buying/selling. No idea. Either way the sale is expected by the end of this month at which point it should be free of sanctions and hence full ticket sales etc.
In the medium term, we'll be a lot weaker no doubt as the endless money tree has disappeared. However, we've currently got a strong squad, a world class manager & that extra piece I feel we've been missing, real unity, may actually be a plus from the whole fiasco. So who know, anything is possible. Perhaps that may make us favourites for the FA cup?
Until we lose to Palace.
@majorrage said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@mariner4life said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@majorrage i think Chelsea are a good shout in both cups. Their manager obviously knows how to play them, and they have a good team. But the Champs league is bloody tough, you need good teams to knock out other good teams for you.
Chelsea also have the advantage that they can take a couple of league games off to prep for Cup games. Well, that's really the advantage for the FA Cup semi more than anything. Real are pissing in La Liga, and the FA Cup final is after everything else.
The focus and results have been pretty good since it all kicked off, but I can't see how any trophy can be won with the backdrop of what's going on. Having said that, there is a lot of talk now and we do know that there are multiple bidders & the highest bid is over 2bln. Not sure how this works now with price acceptance etc, as who is buying/selling. No idea. Either way the sale is expected by the end of this month at which point it should be free of sanctions and hence full ticket sales etc.
In the medium term, we'll be a lot weaker no doubt as the endless money tree has disappeared. However, we've currently got a strong squad, a world class manager & that extra piece I feel we've been missing, real unity, may actually be a plus from the whole fiasco. So who know, anything is possible. Perhaps that may make us favourites for the FA cup?
Until we lose to Palace.
Chelski to win the FA Cup, 'Pool to win the league and Bayern to win the UCL - Citeh to win nada. Given the strength of the other two, and the obvious and probably greater ownership issues and uncertainty, it would be pretty impressive achievement for Chelski to win the FA Cup, reach the final (and lose on pens) in the Carabao Cup, plus reach the semi or final of the UCL.
@junior said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
Chelski**Chelminster ** to win the FA Cup, 'Pool to win the league and Bayern to win the UCL - Citeh to win nada. Given the strength of the other two, and the obvious and probably greater ownership issues and uncertainty, it would be pretty impressive achievement for Chelski to win the FA Cup, reach the final (and lose on pens) in the Carabao Cup, plus reach the semi or final of the UCL.
FIFY.
Liverpool have only won at Citeh once under Klopp so Peps team still have to be firm favourites for the EPL.
I think they will finally win the Champions League as long as Guardiola stops tinkering. But cups are weird things. An English team should win it though.
I do think Fulham might just pinch the Championship:winking_face_with_tongue:
Liverpool is a fantastic away side and has lots of firepower that can score from a number of different sources and ways.
You are right that city are favourites, one thing that will be interesting is that City dont have to win the game. That may force them into a tactical change and mindset they arent used to which could allow Liverpool to take advantage.
Saying that, Liverpool have some difficult matches outside of City so it would be a herculean effort if they do win the league
@dagrubster said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@canefan they are too good for the championship/not good enough for the prem. like norwich have been recently.
need to add some solidity to their side next year as their free flowing game will be exposed next season.
It is so important to buy well when a team gets up
@canefan I'm hopeful that getting promotion secured early might make difference to Fulham's chances of staying up.
In 2018 we went up via the play-offs and spent 100Mill all at the last minute and thus had a team that didn't know each other at all. We also had a coach who favoured kamikaze attack and a slow defence and then changed coaches twice.
This big spend got us into trouble with FFP. 2020 we again went up via the play offs but because of the Covid break we only had three weeks between promotion and season kicking off. We mainly got loan players who in the main (a certain fragile show pony from Chelsea apart) performed really well. I think we were good enough to stay up but parkerball is not going to allow you to get enough points to secure your position.
Now we have a new Manager who is allowing players to express themselves and yet still have the second best defence in the championship. We've recruited well, should confirm promotion early and FFP restrictions are easing. We do need to buy a decent left back, one - maybe two central defenders and a midfielder to replace Carvalho. Then hope that players that lord it in the Championship; Mitro, Wilson, Seri can make the step up.
I'm actually torn between lording it in the Championship playing for shits and giggles or the grind of survival in the EPL with your lofty ambition being to finish 17th.
@canefan said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
@dogmeat rebounding back into the prem is tough. If Fulham do it that will be a significant achievement
All evidence suggests that bouncing back into the prem is much easier than getting your first promotion. You just have to bounce back within the time the parachute payments last or all your players get raided. Hence why Bournemouth are likely to go up this season.
@kiwipie Totally right - unless you bankrupted yourself getting promoted in the first place - which has happened to a few clubs and consequently have to let your best players go.
@canefane Your comment prompted me to check. Fulham have spent 15 seasons in the Prem this century. Only 10 clubs have managed more - the ever presents plus Man City, Newcastle, West Ham, Villa.
Fulham have spent more time in the top tier than Southampton or Leicester - without ever finishing higher than 7th.
So there have been 50 clubs that have featured in the EPL.
12 of the 22 Founder members are in this years comp. Six of them have been ever present. Eight teams have never been relegated. Three are currently in League Two and 8 are in League One
How many of the 50 can you name?
What would be interesting to know is which teams have spent the longest in the Championship (or the old Div 2) without ever gaining promotion.
@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
So there have been 50 clubs that have featured in the EPL.
12 of the 22 Founder members are in this years comp. Six of them have been ever present. Eight teams have never been relegated. Three are currently in League Two and 8 are in League One
How many of the 50 can you name?
I'll have a go at the more obscure ones.
Barnsley, Bradford, Wimbledon, Portsmouth, Swindon, Oldham (were they still there at the start?) and of the ones currently struggling Wigan, Charlton, Bolton, Ipswich, Sunderland. Did Luton play in the first season or did they get relegated (like Notts County) in the season before - those are the only 2 I can think of who had a chance to drop out of the league altogether.
@bovidae said in EPL 2021 / 2022:
What would be interesting to know is which teams have spent the longest in the Championship (or the old Div 2) without ever gaining promotion.
Of the current batch, Forest & Preston have been there a while without going up (or down)
@kiwipie all correct bar Luton who did indeed go down with County. Swindon were there the first two seasons.
Forest have had three spells in Premiership but haven't featured since 98-99
Preston haven't graced Tier One of English football since 1961. They have actually spent the majority of the last 50 years in the bottom two leagues even having to reapply in 1986. They have only been in the Championship since 2015-16. they are the only First Division Champions yet to feature in the Premier League.
I’ll have a go
Ever Presents
Others
DISQUALIFIED
45. Millwall - courtesy of dogmeat
@bovidae I reckon it's Plymouth Argyle. Certainly the biggest club from the biggest city never to have played at top level.
They have ben tier 3 champions 5 times have had six spells in Tier 2, once for 20 years (including WW2 They finished 4th in 1953, the closest they have ever come to promotion although they did also have a chance in 86 just outside the play-offs. They did get to the FA Cup semis in 1984
