EPL 2022 / 2023

Thought I'd bring an Aston Villa focus on this thread - Stevie G has recruited really well for us with Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Coutinho being made permanent. Carlos from what I saw of him in pre season already looks like he'll make an instant impact on the league. He's strong, and a very good distributor. Will be interesting to see who partners him at the back now that Mings has lost the captaincy to John McGinn. I would like to see Calum Chambers partner Carlos personally as he looked far more assured than Mings and Konsa who is coming off a long injury layoff.

Boubacar Kamara is another inspired signing. We had no defensive midfielder last season which is suicidal in Ènglish Football, but from what I've seen, this guy is the answer to our problems where we got exposed on the counter so often as he breaks up play so well and can also turn defence into attack. Stevie G did really well convincing this guy to join us ahead of the likes of Athletico Madrid, Man U etc. He's like another version of Declan Rice.

I would have liked to have seen us add another striker to the side as Watkins and Ings were very hit and miss last season, but they have another season to prove themselves.

I expect us to be pushing for a European spot tbh, Gerrard is doing the right things and is starting to get guys in that fit into his system, now he's needs to start getting us to show a bit more consistency on the field.

Was listening to the Totally Football podcast and the 3 guests picked their 3 teams to be relegated.

Fulham, Bournemouth, Forest
Fulham, Bournemouth, Brentford
Fulham, Forest, Everton

throw in my pointless predictions

Winners. City. well durrr. They've won 4 out of 5 with Guardiola in charge. They've scored 90+ points 3 times. They signed a couple of good players and were willing to let others go. There is a part of me that wonders whether or not the Champs League might be the main focus this year (hence signing a proper striker) but they are the best team with the best coach and they will win

Rest of the top 4: Liverpool, Spurs, and god help me i might be sucked in by Arsenal. Chelsea and Man U to keep Newcastle out of the "big 6"

Top Scorer: Kane because Spurs will be good and he'll also take lots of penalties.

Relegated: Fulham, Everton, Forest

First Manager Sacked: Frank Lampard

wait, i just did more reading on Bournemouth and they look like 22-23s Derby County. They'll come stone motherless.

@KiwiPie

That's the first prediction I have seen that doesn't have Bournemouth for the drop.

Forest are the most popular choice to survive from the promoted sides. Personally I think that is more sentiment than science.

Predictions are bloody difficult a month out from deadline day but Bournemouth do look doomed.

Then pair two from Fulham, Forest, Leeds, Everton, Brentford, Southampton. Strength in depth will be key/.

the other end of the table looks much more predictable.

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@KiwiPie

That's the first prediction I have seen that doesn't have Bournemouth for the drop.

Forest are the most popular choice to survive from the promoted sides. Personally I think that is more sentiment than science.

Predictions are bloody difficult a month out from deadline day but Bournemouth do look doomed.

Then pair two from Fulham, Forest, Leeds, Everton, Brentford, Southampton. Strength in depth will be key/.

the other end of the table looks much more predictable.

I think the fancying of Forest to stay up is based on the fact they have virtually a new team this season (12 signings as they lost 7 loan players at the end of the season). They seem to be spending in quantity rather than price but it is a gamble. Awoniyi looked good in the Bundesliga but strikers get much more space over there, Lingard is a wild card - free transfer but they are paying him a fortune. The rest are a mixture of lower league players and young prospects.

@KiwiPie yeah that and they are considered a 'big' club or like Leeds one that 'should' be in the EPL.

My opinion is formed by Fulham's calamitous spend up 4 years ago.

My picks to go down as in who I'd quite like to see relegated Bournemouth, Everton, Southampton.

Actually I'd really like to see Newcastle relegated despite Eddie Howe seeming to be a decent bloke and the Toon Army so long suffering - just coz Saudi Arabia. But that ain't going to happen. and if I really could wish upon a shooting star - Fuck Chelsea

@dogmeat Agree with most of that.

Clubs from last season who look vulnerable to relegation are

• Southampton - seem to have runs of poor form but also a string of good results to keep them out of trouble. If Ward-Prowse is taken before deadline day pencil them in for a relegation battle.

• Everton - sold the only striker who scored last season and Lampard looks to have little clue.

• Brentford - Sheff U & Leeds did well in their first season and struggled in the 2nd. Teams should have worked them out and they don't have the magical Dane to provide the class.

• Leeds - their best 2 players have left and have been replaced by players that Jesse Marsch knows. Expect a good season or a bad one, middle ground doesn't look an option.

• Wolves - they have lost some players and don't score often. Could find themselves struggling.

• Leicester - no signings yet and Newcastle sniffing around Maddison, Barnes, Tielemans, Fofana apparently.

Should probably stop there, not all clubs can be at the bottom!

@KiwiPie Not long before you come up against Maidenhead. How are you guys looking at promotion wise before the first ball is kicked in the Vanarama League? I see the most expensive season tickets come it at 389.00 quid which is just under 17.00 pound per game so its not too bad all things considered. For old buggers like me they are reduced to 250.00 quid! Good luck in going one better than you did last season.

You all can go and get farked, the cherries will find a way to stay up.. We may need our Russian owner to sell to someone who has the ambition to stay up and actually start buying players, our defence stocks are wafer thin to say the least

Smart money on us going down but I would like to still hope for now

@KiwiPie said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@dogmeat Agree with most of that.

Clubs from last season who look vulnerable to relegation are

• Southampton - seem to have runs of poor form but also a string of good results to keep them out of trouble. If Ward-Prowse is taken before deadline day pencil them in for a relegation battle.

• Everton - sold the only striker who scored last season and Lampard looks to have little clue.

• Brentford - Sheff U & Leeds did well in their first season and struggled in the 2nd. Teams should have worked them out and they don't have the magical Dane to provide the class.

• Leeds - their best 2 players have left and have been replaced by players that Jesse Marsch knows. Expect a good season or a bad one, middle ground doesn't look an option.

• Wolves - they have lost some players and don't score often. Could find themselves struggling.

• Leicester - no signings yet and Newcastle sniffing around Maddison, Barnes, Tielemans, Fofana apparently.

Should probably stop there, not all clubs can be at the bottom!

I thought Everton had new relatively wealthy owners? You'd think they would have gotten a big enough scare last season

@canefan

Farhad Moshiri bought Everton in 2016. He is an Iranian linked to the Russian oligarchs. He was Usmanov's business partner when they bought into Arsenal. Sold out to buy Everton and has made a series of poor decisions since.

Fans have nothing good to say about him.

He's dodgy as fuck and has said he is not selling the club.

@Higgins said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@KiwiPie Not long before you come up against Maidenhead. How are you guys looking at promotion wise before the first ball is kicked in the Vanarama League? I see the most expensive season tickets come it at 389.00 quid which is just under 17.00 pound per game so its not too bad all things considered. For old buggers like me they are reduced to 250.00 quid! Good luck in going one better than you did last season.

Cheers Higgins. No real idea on form for the season ahead. We should be one of the better funded teams given we get close to the biggest crowds but Wrexham.are the rock star team of the division and only 2 teams go up.

With the EPL back on Sky I watched the Crystal Palace-Arsenal game this morning. 2-0 to the Gunners but a few nervy moments either side of halftime. Very impressed with Saliba.

Joao Palhinha, Mitrovic and Neeskens
Play in black and white
Scoring goals all night
Making Liver-pool look shite
(To tune of Super Trouper by ABBA)

Can the Premiership end now please

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

Joao Palhinha, Mitrovic and Neeskens
Play in black and white
Scoring goals all night
Making Liver-pool look shite
(To tune of Super Trouper by ABBA)

Can the Premiership end now please

And the only team in Nottingham beat the mighty Maidenhead while that team in West Bridgford looked pretty poor.

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

Joao Palhinha, Mitrovic and Neeskens
Play in black and white
Scoring goals all night
Making Liver-pool look shite
(To tune of Super Trouper by ABBA)

Can the Premiership end now please

absolutely end the season now, no one gave us a chance of winning even against middle teams and we kept a clean sheet although we were even playing Lerma centre back lol. We still have no depth, but all points are important for sure!

@bayimports Any day the Stevie G train is derailed is a good day! If you needed 10 wins to stay up, now you only need 9 ......

@dogmeat Didn't we have something like this a couple of months ago?
Anway I'll start to maybe jog memories when coming to fill out the schedule
Tottenham Hotspur
Aston Villa
Arsenal
Birmingham City
Blackpool
Blackburn Rovers
Bournemouth
Bolton Wanderers
Bradford City?
Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley
Cardiff City
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Coventry City
Everton
Huddersfield Town
Hull City
Ipswich Town
Leeds Utd
Leicester City
Liverpool
Man Utd
Man City
Middlesborough
Newcastle Utd
Nottingham Forest
Norwich City
Porstmouth
Reading
Sheffield United
Southampton
Stoke City
Sunderland
West Ham Utd
Wigan Athletic
Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Bromwich Albion

@Higgins I'm too lazy to make my own list so I'll add Brentford,. Fulham to yours and remove Coventry & Bradford.

Trawling the brain for others to include
Charlton
Derby
Sheffield Wednesday?
Wimbledon? (or did they leave prior?)

that's a pretty thorough list @Higgins , a quick scan would also suggest Watford and Swansea City are missing, but with what you and KP have it must be pretty close

Queens Park Rangers

Swindon

Well done ferners

You have them all

No to Coventry Bradford Sheffield Wednesday & Swindon the rest are spot on

I did think of making the quiz so you had to match the team with the seasons involved but figured that’s too hard

Since I put it up the average score is 30/43 so a great effort particularly from @Higgins

For the record

@dogmeat so Portsmouth get two entries or have you missed a team?

@dogmeat But when I put my list up I did not have the time pressure of your quiz. It probably took me about fifteen to twenty minutes to come up with my list, and even then I missed a few!

@bayimports said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@dogmeat so Portsmouth get two entries or have you missed a team?

Some sharp eyes there!

@bayimports
Bollocks

I miscounted Pompey

Brentford 4 Manchester United 0 and it's not yet half time.......

Dickish behaviour by Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea's 2-2 with Spurs. Does he have a substance abuse problem?

@sparky I haven't seen the match but reports suggest both Managers were dicks and that Tuchel had grounds for being annoyed. ?

Man U and West Ham propping up the table.

Forest win at home to West Ham and celebrate by making their 15th signing of the summer. Manager Cooper says still looking for a couple more players to join before deadline day.

Lampard still looking favourite to be sacked but Ten Hag must have sweaty palms 9 days into the season. Fortunately their next opposition doesn't start with a "B" Unfortunately it does start with a 'L" and isn't Leeds or Leicester. Although on current form both those sides would fancy Utd at this stage of the season.

@sparky said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

Dickish behaviour by Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea's 2-2 with Spurs. Does he have a substance abuse problem?

View embedded content

It was brilliant. Loved the match, not the result tho.

Love passion like this

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@sparky I haven't seen the match but reports suggest both Managers were dicks and that Tuchel had grounds for being annoyed. ?

The handshake was a classic. Conte going for the tough handshake, no eye contact and walk on past and Tuchel gripping on tight. Not sure who I would back in a fight, Conte looks harder but Tuchel is lanky and crazy.

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

Man U and West Ham propping up the table.

Forest win at home to West Ham and celebrate by making their 15th signing of the summer. Manager Cooper says still looking for a couple more players to join before deadline day.

Lampard still looking favourite to be sacked but Ten Hag must have sweaty palms 9 days into the season. Fortunately their next opposition doesn't start with a "B" Unfortunately it does start with a 'L" and isn't Leeds or Leicester. Although on current form both those sides would fancy Utd at this stage of the season.

It is already looming as crunch time for Ten Hag and the board. Do they back him for the long term overhaul that is needed and write off this season as necessary pain? Does Ten Hag become pragmatic and make United hard to beat and dangerous on the break? Playing all of CR7, Sancho, Rashford, Bruno, Eriksen is almost like playing 5-0-5 as none of them really want to do their defensive duties.

@sparky said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

Dickish behaviour by Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea's 2-2 with Spurs. Does he have a substance abuse problem?

View embedded content

There's something about ethnics and roundball that they get super excited about the smallest shit.

@KiwiPie Not backing him would be such an admission of total stupidity... Still Glazers....

They're probably more worried that the fas don't like the new kit than they are the results.

I see your Manager was also a little put out by the refs decisions and also partly blamed the drinks breaks for your draw with Boreham Wood

@dogmeat said in EPL 2021 / 2022:

@KiwiPie Not backing him would be such an admission of total stupidity... Still Glazers....

They're probably more worried that the fas don't like the new kit than they are the results.

I see your Manager was also a little put out by the refs decisions and also partly blamed the drinks breaks for your draw with Boreham Wood

They are still doing ok, what with leading the points table and an away game against 16th placed Gateshead on Tuesday night (UK Time).

@KiwiPie has every right to be feeling confident of promotion this season, just 44 games to go!

@Higgins Just so long as they remember that It Ain't What You Do - It's The Way That You Do It.