Title chase 2020/2021

[sidcow]

2 hours ago, Pelle said:

There might be a reason for them in that those 6 clubs now have got a very solid fan base that will buy their games. I guess most young kids today follow one of these 6 clubs and have done so for a few years. liverpool, manure and arsenal have of course done that for many years and are most likely the biggest and most followed clubs in England. chelski and citeh are probably not far behind. spuds might be a bit behind but has a solid fanbase as it it. If these clubs fall behind and starts to drop many of their followers might lose interest which makes Sky lose customers. Just a thought, and I don't fully buy that conspiracy but I don't think it's that far fetched.

I remember listening to that (Northern?) Irish fella who always used to cover the Champions League BBC Radio Coverage (May still do for all I know) 

I just remember him uttering the phrase "English Football needs a strong Manchester United" 

Nearly ripped the radio out of the dashboard to throw out of the window.  A lot of people in the press genuinely think this kind of nonsense.  They love it when the big teams are doing well. 

They love Leeds at the moment but I guarantee if they were actually trouncing their real favourites week in week out and Arsenal and Liverpool were floundering, they would change their tune. Start to nitpick about stuff, like they will with us. They can't wait to mention how we barely stayed up last year. This carries on and they will find stuff to do us down. 

We've not been forgiven for keeping Jack out of the clutches of United yet. 

[Loxstock92]

1 hour ago, Thug said:

After reading 10% of your post, it’s clear we have a 95% chance of winning the league

I love mathematics.

[Dodgyknees]

3 hours ago, Enda said:

 Do you really think Phil McNulty goes to bed “terrified” 

100% yes. Of his own reflection.

[Xela]

2 hours ago, PaulC said:

Leicester fans are not so optimistic about there teams chances. Without Vardy theres not much threat. Surprised they didnt invest in another striker. 

They've tried over the years

Silimani £28m, Musa £16m,  Iheanacho £25m and Perez £30m

They just can't anyone who can play like Vardy

[fightoffyour]

3 hours ago, VillaChris said:

.Already we've put ourselves in fantastic position to really push on and have around 30 points by the start of xmas period. What we used to average in the three MON 6th seasons.

One thing I would caution is that Everton look pretty strong to have a 60 + point season and Leicester won't be far off that if Vardy gets back and stays fit for majority of the season so could be one of those seasons where there isn't much points difference between 3rd-8th. In recent times the average points needed for europa football is 55 points but suspect that will be a little higher this season.

I find this talk of merely qualifying for Europe blasphemous and completely off topic.

[sidcow]

13 minutes ago, Xela said:

They've tried over the years

Silimani £28m, Musa £16m,  Iheanacho £25m and Perez £30m

They just can't anyone who can play like Vardy

This is exactly what people mean when they say Jack is worth more than money to us. 

If we'd have got £80m we probably still wouldn't have that special something that he alone can bring. 

[Enda]

12 minutes ago, sidcow said:

This is exactly what people mean when they say Jack is worth more than money to us. 

If we'd have got £80m we probably still wouldn't have that special something that he alone can bring. 

With £80m we’d sign Sebastian Haller twice.

[Danishlad]

17 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

We seem to be one of only a few teams that seem to be able to defend so far this season. 

Mostly because of Trez. Have a look at the highlights from yesterday. He was always in the way, coming inside to help the centre mids. and not letting his full back get space too. Doing like two defensive jobs.

[Danishlad]

OK which one of you was on the bcc podcast saying we would win the Europa league in 2028 and champions league in 2030. That made me laugh.

[MotoMkali]

4 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Nearly every single player you mentioned there are bottom 6 premier league/top half championship players in my opinion. 

Our current 11 is a potential top 6 challenging team.  Each time you take a player out the current 11 and add one of those you mentioned our level slowly drops down the table. 
 

The only exception is probably Traoré and maybe Heaton . 

The only team that isn't like that though is city and arguably Chelsea. If Fernandes gets injured United won't challenge for Europe, Liverpool are left with Gomez and Fabinho as there cbs until VVD gets back (matip as well but he is also injured rn) and have a huge drop off in midfield from Henderson and thiago not to mention Adrian, Arsenal only really have youngsters as back ups right now so aren't necessarily in a great position if someone like partey, Leno or Auba gets injured.

The fact is our depth isn't that bad. Yes they lost to Stoke but most of them have barely played in the last 12 months aren't fully fit and normally rely on the better players around them. In that game there was no midfield outlet.

And all of this is why we have to rets players more regularly we can't afford for mcginn to go down for weeks at a time due to a muscle injury or perform poorly for an extended period. Yes we miss him for one game if we rest him but the next 7 or 8 he is back to his best. And the longer poor form continues the harder it is to justify resting because we need them for the chase. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

14 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

The only team that isn't like that though is city and arguably Chelsea. If Fernandes gets injured United won't challenge for Europe, Liverpool are left with Gomez and Fabinho as there cbs until VVD gets back (matip as well but he is also injured rn) and have a huge drop off in midfield from Henderson and thiago not to mention Adrian, Arsenal only really have youngsters as back ups right now so aren't necessarily in a great position if someone like partey, Leno or Auba gets injured.

The fact is our depth isn't that bad. Yes they lost to Stoke but most of them have barely played in the last 12 months aren't fully fit and normally rely on the better players around them. In that game there was no midfield outlet.

And all of this is why we have to rets players more regularly we can't afford for mcginn to go down for weeks at a time due to a muscle injury or perform poorly for an extended period. Yes we miss him for one game if we rest him but the next 7 or 8 he is back to his best. And the longer poor form continues the harder it is to justify resting because we need them for the chase. 

We’ve got pretty much one game a week until the rest of the season. Especially if we get knocked out of the Fa cup. Players shouldn’t need to be rested.

[mjmooney]

Just be grateful that we merely humiliated Van Dijk, instead of crippling him, or we'd never have heard the end of it. 

[YouUnastanFren]

6 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Just be grateful that we merely humiliated Van Dijk, instead of crippling him, or we'd never have heard the end of it. 

Rumour has it that his knee is fine really, it's actually just the twisted blood Grealish gave him that will keep him out for the season

Edited October 19, 2020 by YouUnastanFren

[PaulC]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

They've tried over the years

Silimani £28m, Musa £16m,  Iheanacho £25m and Perez £30m

They just can't anyone who can play like Vardy

Nothing this season. Iheanacho I dont know why they persist with. Hes never going to be more than average at best 

[Xela]

14 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Nothing this season. Iheanacho I dont know why they persist with. Hes never going to be more than average at best 

I quite like him. His goals per minutes is one of the very best in the Premier League. (think i saw the stats last year). He's just not suited to their system 

[MotoMkali]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

We’ve got pretty much one game a week until the rest of the season. Especially if we get knocked out of the Fa cup. Players shouldn’t need to be rested.

That is plainly false. It increases the risk of injury substantially if you play players that often especially with international breaks. If Jack, Mings, Luiz and McGinn play 2 games in a week capped off on either side by 2 games that is 4 games in 10 days and could lead to someone getting even a minor injury that could see them out for weeks. 

[romavillan]

5 hours ago, villalad21 said:

Question is.

For how long will this thread stay relevant?

It's not relevant now.

[robby b]

I'm impressed by a new feature on the OS this season, their 'behind the scenes' match highlights (which are in addition to the standard highlights). I've really enjoyed them, I wonder how many of you have watched them too. The camera shots are so close to the action, it's as if you're actually on the touchline, with players sometimes just a few metres away. The sounds are louder too, like the whack of the players' boots on the ball, and you can occasionally hear what a player says (shouts) too. You can hear one of our players laughing crazily and another shouting 'Get in!' during the huddle with Barkley after his goal. : D 

Edited October 19, 2020 by robby b

[Vive_La_Villa]

18 minutes ago, robby b said:

I'm impressed by a new feature on the OS this season, their 'behind the scenes' match highlights. I've really enjoyed them, I wonder how many of you have watched them too. The camera shots are so close to the action, it's as if you're actually on the touchline with players sometimes just a few metres away. The sounds are louder, like the whack of the players' boots on the ball, and you can occasionally hear what a player says (shouts) too. You can hear one of our players laughing crazily and another shouting 'Get in!' during the huddle with Barkley after his goal. : D 

Just watched it. Love how they all celebrated together!

[AvonVillain]

4 hours ago, sidcow said:

I remember listening to that (Northern?) Irish fella who always used to cover the Champions League BBC Radio Coverage (May still do for all I know) 

I just remember him uttering the phrase "English Football needs a strong Manchester United" 

Nearly ripped the radio out of the dashboard to throw out of the window.  A lot of people in the press genuinely think this kind of nonsense.  They love it when the big teams are doing well. 

They love Leeds at the moment but I guarantee if they were actually trouncing their real favourites week in week out and Arsenal and Liverpool were floundering, they would change their tune. Start to nitpick about stuff, like they will with us. They can't wait to mention how we barely stayed up last year. This carries on and they will find stuff to do us down. 

We've not been forgiven for keeping Jack out of the clutches of United yet. 

Alan Green? Completely agree. When 'the others' do well, it demonstrates the lack of quality in the league, when the fabled 'top 6' dominate, things are how they should be. Completely obliterating history and the cyclical nature of football from their minds.