2013-14 EPL Season

[UK_Seahawk]

For the record I don't think we are title contenders either. Ill take an Arsenal 4th place trophy at the end of the season.

Fair enough, it's just I was accused of talking nonsensical when I said the exact same thing a few weeks back.

 

[Uncle Si]

They (Liverpool) were undefeated without him (maybe one loss?) to start the season, with Sturridge on the field. Not sure its quite fair to suggest that its all Suarez.

He's been brilliant for sure.

ISWT.. we are far better than 4th place. Exciting month coming up

UK, who said you were nonsensical? I think most pool fans I know are pushing for a return to the CL has the main goal

 

[UK_Seahawk]

Look at your hyperbole / nonsense quote.

 

[Uncle Si]

Look at your hyperbole / nonsense quote.

you'd have to refresh my memory...

lets start from here. i think its a bit unfair to count them out of the title race. i dont think we're favorites.

does that clear it up?

found it.. you said "they've no prayer of winning the title and an outside chance at 4th"

I stand by hyperbole/nonsense (hyperbole is my favorite internet word though, so i wouldnt put a lot into it) There are a good 7 teams with a strong chance of 4th. To suggest a team 3 points off the top at 18 games has "no prayer" is simply unfair.

ahh well....

give us your anticipated top 4 at season's end. I think it will look alot they way it looks now (see City and Arsenal swapping places, maybe Chelsea passing Arsenal as well). Liverpool seem strong enough to stay in the top 4

 

[InSuarezWeTrust]

Vincent Tan. What a moron.

 

[Uncle Si]

Shit start to a Sunday...Everton and Arsenal get nice wins and Liverpool piss away an early lead

 

[Uncle Si]

My quick first half summary:

Has to go down as one of the more competitive (in terms of teams packed together) in recent memory.

Arsenal: top of the table. Have had some nice dominating wins, doing well balancing Champs league with PL. Have to feel they need to add depth, especially in relief of Giroud, to keep it up on both fronts. Walcott and Podolski back help quite a bit. Title contenders. First half MVP: Ozil has been a brilliant signing, but i'd say Ramsey. (Gate, thoughts?)

City: brushing aside away form issues (some weird losses, including Sunderland?) and beginning to assert themselves as the top team in the PL, maybe Europe. New manager has stabalized personality of the team. the midfield is one of the best in Europe (with Arsenal, Barca and Bayern) Probably could do with defensive help. Title Favorites. First half MVP: Aguero

Chelsea: Mourinho has them playing to their strength behind a strong defensive attitude. they are chippy, physical and talented. They need a striker. Title contenders. First half MVP: Mata (just kidding) Torres (still kidding). Hazard

Everton: playing above their heads under Martinez. Loan players Lukaku, Barry and Delafou have added strength and skill to their attack. They high press and fly around the pitch with intent, are well organized and outwork their opponent. Theyve a great young talent in Ross Barkley, they have survived the loss of Moyes and Fellaini by riding the likes of Mirallas and Osman. Hard to see them keeping it up because of depth. they cant afford to take anyone else on. Top Four Contenders. First Half MVP: Roberto Martinez

Liverpool: been a strange first half for them, and it ended with 2 tough losses. Sturridge carried the scoring early, Suarez returned and elevated himself to top 3 in the world to carry them since. They lack depth in the midfield, and are asking huge favors of teenagers. they score goals for fun (2nd in the PL) and have the top 6 (outside of United) coming to Anfield 2nd half. Their is intent to buy atleast 2 starting 11 players in January, and probably atleast 2 for depth (early word is Tello on loan, Salah and Hughes buys, with Hughes possibly going back to Derby on loan, all by Jan 2). I think who they buy and how they fit in goes along way to how they finish. Henderson has really become a fine player for them (Henderson and Barkley across the park may make up Englands CM for 2018). Top 4 Contenders. First Half MVP: Suarez

United: while Liverpool's first half has been riddled with turns, United's has been this gradual merry go round of consistently inconsistent performances. They have climbed up the table a bit on the backs of what should be sure wins. They've got a home win vs. Arsenal in their pocket and Moyes and the group seem to be settling in. But their midfield is dire and its hard to see them stretching for anything more than top 4. they are alive in all three Cup competitions which will stretch their team a bit. Not sure what January will look like. They need an impact midfielder. Top 4 Contenteders. First half MVP: Rooney

Spurs: sold their best player, reinvested the funds in 8 new players. the team has sacked their manager, struggled to score goals (up until game 17 Suarez had outscored all of Spurs in league competition, having played 6 less games)... and yet. they are 2 points from 4th. they've got a nice squad of players, just lack the consistency. was it the manager? time will tell. I think the Euro league will tax them a bit. Top 4 Contenders (and thats a stretch). First Half MVP: Bale's 83 million? I'll say Townsend.

Newcastle: hard to believe they are here. Dont think they will stay. Euro league contender at best.

 

[Gatehawk]

My quick first half summary:

Has to go down as one of the more competitive (in terms of teams packed together) in recent memory.

Arsenal: top of the table. Have had some nice dominating wins, doing well balancing Champs league with PL. Have to feel they need to add depth, especially in relief of Giroud, to keep it up on both fronts. Walcott and Podolski back help quite a bit. Title contenders. First half MVP: Ozil has been a brilliant signing, but i'd say Ramsey. (Gate, thoughts?)

City: brushing aside away form issues (some weird losses, including Sunderland?) and beginning to assert themselves as the top team in the PL, maybe Europe. New manager has stabalized personality of the team. the midfield is one of the best in Europe (with Arsenal, Barca and Bayern) Probably could do with defensive help. Title Favorites. First half MVP: Aguero

Chelsea: Mourinho has them playing to their strength behind a strong defensive attitude. they are chippy, physical and talented. They need a striker. Title contenders. First half MVP: Mata (just kidding) Torres (still kidding). Hazard

Everton: playing above their heads under Martinez. Loan players Lukaku, Barry and Delafou have added strength and skill to their attack. They high press and fly around the pitch with intent, are well organized and outwork their opponent. Theyve a great young talent in Ross Barkley, they have survived the loss of Moyes and Fellaini by riding the likes of Mirallas and Osman. Hard to see them keeping it up because of depth. they cant afford to take anyone else on. Top Four Contenders. First Half MVP: Roberto Martinez

Liverpool: been a strange first half for them, and it ended with 2 tough losses. Sturridge carried the scoring early, Suarez returned and elevated himself to top 3 in the world to carry them since. They lack depth in the midfield, and are asking huge favors of teenagers. they score goals for fun (2nd in the PL) and have the top 6 (outside of United) coming to Anfield 2nd half. Their is intent to buy atleast 2 starting 11 players in January, and probably atleast 2 for depth (early word is Tello on loan, Salah and Hughes buys, with Hughes possibly going back to Derby on loan, all by Jan 2). I think who they buy and how they fit in goes along way to how they finish. Henderson has really become a fine player for them (Henderson and Barkley across the park may make up Englands CM for 2018). Top 4 Contenders. First Half MVP: Suarez

United: while Liverpool's first half has been riddled with turns, United's has been this gradual merry go round of consistently inconsistent performances. They have climbed up the table a bit on the backs of what should be sure wins. They've got a home win vs. Arsenal in their pocket and Moyes and the group seem to be settling in. But their midfield is dire and its hard to see them stretching for anything more than top 4. they are alive in all three Cup competitions which will stretch their team a bit. Not sure what January will look like. They need an impact midfielder. Top 4 Contenteders. First half MVP: Rooney

Spurs: sold their best player, reinvested the funds in 8 new players. the team has sacked their manager, struggled to score goals (up until game 17 Suarez had outscored all of Spurs in league competition, having played 6 less games)... and yet. they are 2 points from 4th. they've got a nice squad of players, just lack the consistency. was it the manager? time will tell. I think the Euro league will tax them a bit. Top 4 Contenders (and thats a stretch). First Half MVP: Bale's 83 million? I'll say Townsend.

Newcastle: hard to believe they are here. Dont think they will stay. Euro league contender at best.

I think you're right on the money with Arsenal. Everyone keeps expecting the so-called collapse of the Gunners, but they're easily the most consistent side in the Premier League. If Chelsea and City haven't been so god awful in key parts of the first half of the season they'd be 1 and 2, instead of 2 and 3.

 

[Gatehawk]

Si gave us his thoughts, so I thought I might as well do the same, even though I know some people are gonna rip what I say to shreds simply because they don't agree with me(nobody ever seems to agree with me).

Arsenal
Arguably the most consistent side in England this year. Putting up an EPL-best 82 points in a calendar year is definitely impressive to say the least. The team did struggle during middle of December, but there isn’t really much you can fault the team for having to play Everton home, Napoli away, City away, and Chelsea home in the span of 2 weeks. Arsenal motored through injuries to key players and the massive signing of Ozil(who hasn't exactly been on the top of his game every week) has lifted every player to play on a whole new level. And Arsenal seem to have found the right defensive pairing in Mertesacker and Koscielny(saw a stat that said Arsenal haven't lost a match in which Laurent and Per played together for the full 90 in nearly 2 years). Szczesny has also been a revelation in goal(though he still likes to make Arsenal fans nervous at times, case in point nearly kicking the ball off Loic Remy and into the goal on Sunday). All around, Arsenal have looked so much better than in recent years and everyone is playing a vital part in this squad's progress so far this season.
Transfer Needs: Striker, Giroud did say he doesn’t feel Arsenal need to by another striker, citing Podolski and Walcott as reasons why, but Wenger loves to play those two on the wings so getting another central striker would be preferred. Arsenal’s options are definitely limited(in terms of use in the CL) due to a good number of top quality players being cup tied.
Outlook: Title Contender, will win a trophy of some kind in my mind(Title favorite if the right player is purchased)

Manchester City
When thinking of this team, the best term to describe them is Jekyll and Hyde. Virtually invincible at home but embarrassingly bad at times on the road. This side no doubt has the fire power to win anything, but they seem to be their own worst enemy(nothing new for them). Being perfect at the Etihad is great for them, but they have to ensure they bring that form on the road(wasn’t impressed by the 4-2 win over Fulham, namely cause they appeared to be running away before blowing a 2-0 lead) if they want to win the league.
Transfer Needs: Defense, anybody with half a brain can easily point out that City’s defense is their Achilles heel. Best example of this is that 6-3 win over Arsenal, City were deadly going forward(the Gunners helped with that mostly) but they were still atrocious at the back and I still stand by the fact that had Arsenal played better defensively, they would’ve beaten City.
Outlook: Title Contender(still have to be more consistent on the road to do that)

Chelsea
Another team that the “Jekyll and Hyde” description would suit well, though in this case it’s more “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” than anything. People still will call Mourinho the “Special One” but he’s better off being called the “Irritating One” as his side have played in the two most boring games so far this season(scoreless draws vs United and Arsenal), and for someone who claims that “Arsenal like to cry”, he sure loves to bitch and moan about a ton of things(like the Suarez incident from this past Sunday). The Blues sure as hell have to thank their midfield for their position in the table, cause their attackers, for the most part, have been about as useful as a blind man in a hide and seek competition.
Transfer Needs: A striker who’ll actually score on a regular basis, expecting Hazard, Lampard, and Cech to bail Chelsea out every god damned time will only work for so long so either Chelsea have to buy someone who will score goals at the striker position, or the ones they have will have to start scoring. Jose without a doubt sent the wrong striker out on loan by the way.
Outlook: Top 4 Contender(Unless their strikers start scoring more, they better not start thinking scoring once per game is going to win a title)

Everton
Two reasons see Everton in the Top 4 at the halfway point, Tim Howard and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku is once again proving to be the best on-loan striker in the world as he’s scored more goals than Chelsea’s 3 strikers that are still at Stamford Bridge. And Tim Howard continues to show why he’s, in my opinion, the most underrated keeper in the EPL(Guzan’s up there with him too), joint top in clean sheets does not lie. They definitely have the squad that’ll dig down deep to get valuable results and could be a dark horse for a title if things stay close together at the top, but I think that’s about as unlikely as Vincent Tan actually doing something that makes sense for Cardiff City.
Transfer Needs: Off the top of my head I can’t say they need to bring anyone in, they’ve got good chemistry right now and bringing someone new in could disrupt it. So I say what they need to do is make sure Leighton Baines stays, because Lord knows as soon as the transfer window opens, the “Baines to United” rumors will kick back up.
Outlook: Top 4 contender

Liverpool
Are we at the part where Liverpool fans start saying “Next year is our year” again? I’m only kidding but Liverpool is a great example of how close the top of the table’s been this year, going from 2nd, to 1st, to 4th, to 5th in a tad over a week has to really suck for a side that many started tipping as title favorites of late, mostly thanks to Suarez. Unlike Arsenal(Si’s gonna hate me for saying that), the injuries are probably the cause of the Reds struggles in the past few games, I thought losing Sturridge was gonna destroy Liverpool’s momentum, but Suarez picked it up another gear to keep it going, but then Gerrard went down and that’s when City and Chelsea happened.
Transfer Needs: Midfield and Defense. Let’s face it a Liverpool midfield without Gerrard is not that good, I mean look at Aspas, a lot of praise for him when he joined but what has he done this season? And Coutinho has had his moments this season, but those are far and few between lately. Sterling has great potential but right now he’s looking like Theo Walcott(Another Arsenal comparison Si’s gonna love) from a few years ago, all pace, not much finishing. And the City match(not sure about the Chelsea match, didn’t see it) exposed that Liverpool are very nervy to watch at the back, I don’t even need to mention Skrtel on the 1st goal and Mignolet had a shocker in the match, but how did Liverpool let Negredo even have that opportunity?
Outlook: Top 4 contender(I’d pick them over Everton to make the Top 4)

Manchester United
It’s not exactly going as planned for United, is it. All the hoopla over “The Chosen One” David Moyes taking over the reins after Fergie’s last hurrah and with a completely intact squad(thanks to an embarrassing Summer Window) you’d think United would’ve been up near the top of the league but they’ve been horrid for most of the first half. With the performances they’ve had so far, it’s a bit of a wonder they’re not in the bottom half of the table. They did manage a big 1-0 win over Arsenal in November, but still looked poor in doing so and have relied even more heavily on Van Persie(who’s hurt now) and Rooney(who’s appeared to picked up a knock now). Props to Moyes for getting Welbeck to start scoring(already tripled his goal total from last year I believe), but still.
Transfer Needs: Midfield and Defense. Unlike Liverpool, United’s defense and midfield have been, in my mind, the worst of the top half sides(Liverpool’s is better by a wide WIDE margin), for players who United fans treat like the Holy Grail, they’ve been extremely overrated even more this year, for one thing Adnan Januzaj is a vastly overhyped flash in the pan at the moment. They’re defense is easily exploited against most sides and if you want an nice example of stupid defenses, just watch the Manchester Derby again.
Outlook: Europe Contender(Maybe if things start working like they did with Fergie they’ll get a CL spot, but right now Europa League is all I see them getting).

Tottenham
Remember when I said it’s a wonder United’s in the top half of the table? Yeah well, say hello to the biggest waste of money(at the moment) by anything English, since the Titanic. Worst goal difference of the Top 9 sides in the EPL, tied with Newcastle for the worst defense in the Top half of the table, and like Si said, up until recently, Suarez had more goals by himself than Spurs. They spent 110 million in the summer and couldn’t score anywhere but from the penalty spot for the most part and now have Tim Sherwood as manager(who has he managed?). Lot of people have been saying “wait till they gel” to try and make up for the laughable start they had, but we’re still waiting. They have looked a bit better against Stoke, but it was Stoke, that’s not saying much.
Transfer Needs: Just about anywhere except the goalkeeper. Lloris has been the only one on Spurs that has impressed this year, besides that, there have been times where you could put anyone in any position on Tottenham and they could do a better job.
Outlook: Top Half(Spurs should just pack it in unless they unleash probably the greatest 2nd half to a season in the history of mankind, at least in terms of sides not threatened with relegation)

Newcastle United
Wait a minute, wasn’t this team in disarray? 9 weeks in, when they gave Sunderland its first win of the season, the Toon couldn’t even buy a good result. You can probably tip your cap to Remy, Gouffran and Krul for leading the turn around. They’ve been one of the best sides since and even gave a fantastic effort against Arsenal on Sunday. Definitely a team that you cannot underestimate on any day of the week and definitely a contender for a European spot if they keep it up.
Transfer Needs: Don’t lose Cabaye. Now I said that Remy, Gouffran and Krul were the catalysts for the turn around, but let’s face it, Newcastle’s heartbeat is Yohan Cabaye, who knows where this side would be right now if he had left in the Summer.
Outlook: Europe Contender

Southampton
Good things must come to an end huh? They were such a pleasant surprise for the better part of the 1st half, even making it up to 3rd twice in 3 weeks. But things took a turn for the worse of late and you can probably pinpoint exactly when it began: November 23rd, Artur Brouc, against Arsenal. They’ve won 1 of their last 8 matches(sadly it was against Cardiff) and that defense that had conceded only 5 league goals prior to the Arsenal match has quadrupled that total since. They have to correct this quickly or they could be dragged into the relegation fight.
Transfer Needs: I don’t even know, this side had so much promise at the beginning of the season and now it’s just been tossed out the window. I can’t even figure out what’s wrong with them. They were a side that I was rooting for to succeed but, well yeah, I just don’t know.
Outlook: Midtable(only if they correct whatever the hell is wrong with them)

Hull City
When we say Man City are a juggernaut at home and weak on the road, I suppose something similar can be said about Hull, they’re like Tigers(pun intended) at home, even when they don’t win, and like cubs on the road(only road win was to the bad Newcastle). They’re definitely looking like a midtable kind of club for this season.
Outlook: Midtable

Swansea City
Disappointing, that’s all I can say about the Swans, they were the surprise side of last season, earning their first European birth in club history in the process. However, it seems that winning a place in Europe, did more harm than good for them. They gotta learn how to not let European games affect their EPL form or they’ll get dragged into the relegation fight.
Outlook: Midtable/Relegation Threatened(I’d say they’re boarderline both because of how they’ve followed up from their European games)

Stoke City
Firing Tony Pulis should warrant Stoke getting a Nobel Peace Prize. They’ve looked like a much less infuriating side to watch this season, definitely not like a side that’ll piss you off with every waking second they have the ball.
Outlook: Midtable

Aston Villa
They caused a near full blown riot to occur in North London on opening day(mostly thanks to Anthony Taylor, I hate that bastard so much his name is burned into the deepest parts of my brain) and since then, haven’t really done much of note besides the incredible 3-2 win over Manchester City. I just want to say that Benteke has been really disappointing this season. I still think Brad Guzan is vastly underrated but he’s just been unfortunate for the most part this season.
Outlook: Midtable

Norwich
I cannot be the only one that feels sorry for the Canaries. They looked to have so much potential for this season but it took forever for them to get going, Van Wolfswinkle has been a virtual dud since his 1 and only goal so far. I don’t know who they should buy in the winter window, but they gotta do something and soon.
Outlook: Midtable(More towards the edge of midtable and relegation threatened than Swansea but they don’t have European games to cause damage to their fitness)

West Brom
I don’t think any side has disappointed me more than West Brom, after last season’s fantastic performance, though we can probably say Romelu Lukaku was the main reason for that, I didn’t expect the Baggies to have only 3 wins out of 19(2 of which are against fellow relegation threatened sides) and they haven’t won in their last 9 matches.
Outlook: Relegation Threatened

Cardiff City
Let’s all agree here, nobody would want Vincent Tan as a boss. The guy clearly doesn’t know how to run a soccer club. First he changed the club’s logo to a dragon cause he thought it was lucky, then he changed the club’s primary color to red cause he thought it was lucky, now he wants to only buy players with the number 8 in their birth year cause he thinks it will be lucky. The team itself has looked good at times and Cardiff has looked like the toughest side for any of the top clubs to visit.
Outlook: Midtable

Crystal Palace
I don’t like Tony Pulis, that guy is the reason I disliked Stoke City. But I can’t deny the fact that he knows how to keep teams up and he got Chamakh to start playing like a legitimate goal scoring threat. Palace have appeared to be the side that looks good and bad at the exact same time a lot in the first half of the season, Pulis might save them and keep them up but it’d probably be by the skin of their teeth.
Outlook: Relegation Threatened

Fulham
This teams defense is like one big facepalm. The worst defense in the EPL that I think even a team of 11 senior citizens could score on. They’ve looked good in attack, very rarely though, but that defense is as leaky as a spaghetti strainer.
Outlook Relegation Threatened

West Ham
Even when they look good, they are bad at it and when they’re bad, oh my God are they bad. They’re not as leaky as Fulham, but they let it probably the softest of goals. But don’t take my word for it, just watch Walcott’s first goal against them on a loop, that was probably the weakest goal I’ve ever seen how do even you let that in?
Outlook: Relegation Threatened

Sunderland
I got no hope for this team. All 3 of their wins were about as unlikely as you can be, but they also have 3 scoreless draws. Everything the Black Cats seem to do this season screams drop and they’re the only side that I can’t see anything else but that happening too right now.
Outlook: Relegated

Player of the Season(So far): Tie between Aaron Ramsey and Luis Suarez
Suarez purely based on his goals since his return from suspension and Ramsey has just been all around incredible this season, it’s a shame he got injured against West Ham.

Manager of the Season(So far): Roberto Martinez
I though Everton were mad for signing someone who just was relegated from the EPL to replace Moyes, but so far it’s working out nicely for them.

Transfer of the Season(So far): Loic Remy and Romelu Lukaku
Both are solid proof that loan moves can be very important for both players and their temporary clubs.

Top 5 Goals of the Season:
5) Oussama Assaidi vs Chelsea
Not even a brick wall could’ve stop that game winner.
4) Luis Suarez 1st vs Norwich
The Canaries are Suarez’s punching bag, let’s just leave it at that.
3) Danny Osvaldo vs Manchester City
The movement to stay on the ball and then the finish just left me speechless when it happened.
2) Pajtim Kasami vs Crystal Palace
I can’t even find the words to describe that finish.
1) Jack Wilshere vs Norwich
If there was ever an example of metaphorical rape, this team goal was exactly that.

 

[Hawkspur]

Good efforts on the assessments, guys (I especially liked your Spurs assessment, Gate: as objective as I'd expect!).

I've only really seen Spurs' games this season, and even then not that many of them, but here's my assessment:

Utterly bizarre! Defence has been really solid, apart from 3 games when they have shipped 14 goals (10 in the other 16 games). Best premier league away record! Crap at home, which isn't that surprising given how negative a large proportion of the fanbase had become. Under AVB the football was uninspiring, which I think lead to the poor atmosphere and his sacking, but the results were very strong historically for Spurs, even when compared to the past few seasons. This is remarkable given that half the squad is new and that none of them were as good as 2, if not 3 of the players they replaced. Eriksen and Paulinho have a lot of talent but are not Modric and van der Vaart. Likewise Lamela and Bale. I think playing Adebayor up front with Soldado will be good for the latter with shorter passes around the goal. There has been an obvious lack of scoring, but not a lack of chances being created. So far it has been just very ordinary finishing.

I think that the change of manager will have benefits in terms of the pace of the football played and the improvement of the atmosphere at home games that this will bring. If, (massive if) Sherwood can keep Adebayor's effort level high, this will have benefits as well. I think they'll ship more goals, especially given the injuries in defence, but also because it looks like we're back to the 4-3 rather than 1-0 philosophy.

I don't think Spurs will finish top 4, but I think they have as much chance of doing so as United or Everton. I do think they have players better suited to attacking football rather than the possession football we had been playing under AVB. To be 1 win off top 4 is as surprising as it is promising. Teams at the top will take points off each other afterall. I think City wins the league. Other than that, I don't know. Arsenal and Liverpool have probably looked the best of the rest, but can they keep it up all season? I expect they'll probably do enough.

 

[Hawkspur]

And here is Sandro's response to Charlie Adam, all too predictably, injuring yet another of our best players, even though Bale's not here any more:

http://instagram.com/p/ilsXpZOakc/

Outstanding.

Surely Adam should be able to be banned. It's getting flipping ridiculous. He either can't tackle and is dangerous or he's doing it intentionally. You'd have to put up a good argument to persuade me that it is not the latter. If people can get 10 games for being racist then surely crippling multiple opponents must be worth more than.

 

[Uncle Si]

"Liverpool
Are we at the part where Liverpool fans start saying “Next year is our year” again? I’m only kidding but Liverpool is a great example of how close the top of the table’s been this year, going from 2nd, to 1st, to 4th, to 5th in a tad over a week has to really suck for a side that many started tipping as title favorites of late, mostly thanks to Suarez. Unlike Arsenal(Si’s gonna hate me for saying that), the injuries are probably the cause of the Reds struggles in the past few games, I thought losing Sturridge was gonna destroy Liverpool’s momentum, but Suarez picked it up another gear to keep it going, but then Gerrard went down and that’s when City and Chelsea happened.
Transfer Needs: Midfield and Defense. Let’s face it a Liverpool midfield without Gerrard is not that good, I mean look at Aspas, a lot of praise for him when he joined but what has he done this season? And Coutinho has had his moments this season, but those are far and few between lately. Sterling has great potential but right now he’s looking like Theo Walcott(Another Arsenal comparison Si’s gonna love) from a few years ago, all pace, not much finishing. And the City match(not sure about the Chelsea match, didn’t see it) exposed that Liverpool are very nervy to watch at the back, I don’t even need to mention Skrtel on the 1st goal and Mignolet had a shocker in the match, but how did Liverpool let Negredo even have that opportunity?
Outlook: Top 4 contender(I’d pick them over Everton to make the Top 4)"



Not bad... However, one thing is incorrect. the Liverpool midfield has been far better without Gerrard. Our best performances have come with him sidelined. The emergence of Henderson with Allen give the squad hope.
Aspas isnt a midfielder, so he shouldnt be placed in that category. He's been hurt, but prior to was disappointing. Moses as well has been equally disappointing. Coutinho has been better than he looks, but not the player that finished the season.
The Sterling-Walcott comparison is a good one. I think Sterling's ceiling is higher simply because he's 19 and can fix his finishing woes. Rodgers is a different manager than Wenger (in that he wants Sterling to be playing wide-in, moving behind the striker from the outside. This will make him more of a wide CAM player, rather than a true winger). Still, if he becomes Walcott, thats not bad at all.

The transfer needs are spot on. Agger needs to play more (he's fit now). we need another CAM/Winger (looks to be sorted with Salah, and possibly Tello and Reges) as well as a true right and left back.

 

[Uncle Si]

How about predicted top 8?

1. City. the away form needs to improve. but they have too much depth to remain inconsistent.
2. Arsenal (i put them here IF they find support for Giroud)
3. Liverpool (Jan. transfers and the more favorable 2nd half schedule will give them more opportunities than Chelsea) Liverpool have played all the teams on the list away except United.
4. Chelsea... but just barely. Mourinhos willingness to degrade the game of soccer in England while pandering to English fans will keep them in the top 4. their inability to score from the striker position will cost them a title chance
5. United... they will come very close to catching Chelsea. midfield is too slow to keep up any pace. tough fixtures away still coming.
6. Everton... not enough depth. Martinez is the real deal though
7. Spurs.. their defense will earn them points. their offense will cost them points
8. Newcastle... just enough scoring to keep them within range of a Euro spot


Relegation: Cardiff, West Ham, Sunderland

 

[Gatehawk]

87 minutes of absolute frustration. Followed up by 8 minutes of absolute joy and elation. Arsenal left it late but Bendtner and Walcott finally pierced that stubborn Cardiff defense to keep Arsenal top of the league for another week.

 

[Hawkspur]

Lovely stuff. Bring it on.

 

[Uncle Si]

Jammie for Arsenal again, but deserved. United are just a poor side overall. Good win for Liverpool and a good win for Chelsea. Everton with a jammie late equalizer. I still fancy Liverpool for the top 4. Will be curious to see what we do now that the window is open.

Assaidi has done his best to help his parent club for sure. Nice response from the boys today. I was a bit worried given how much energy and emotion went into the City and Chelsea defeats. Thought both bitter and hard done by the officials, suffered injuries and so didn't know what to expect.

Good three points for Spurs but that just seemed like stealing. United is just a mediocre squad (and it still took everything from lloris to keep them from leveling)

City strong again

 

[Hawkspur]

Good three points for Spurs but that just seemed like stealing. United is just a mediocre squad (and it still took everything from lloris to keep them from leveling)

To be fair, that squad won the league last season; the manager is mediocre. Spurs were without their best 2 centrebacks, best 2 centre mids and the guy you think (an assessment I agree with) is our player of the season. Obviously United didn't have van Persie which was massive for them. Lloris made a couple of great saves at the end but didn't have a lot to do until then. Yet again, Spurs should have scored more.

Great win.

 

[Uncle Si]

Good three points for Spurs but that just seemed like stealing. United is just a mediocre squad (and it still took everything from lloris to keep them from leveling)

To be fair, that squad won the league last season; the manager is mediocre. Spurs were without their best 2 centrebacks, best 2 centre mids and the guy you think (an assessment I agree with) is our player of the season. Obviously United didn't have van Persie which was massive for them. Lloris made a couple of great saves at the end but didn't have a lot to do until then. Yet again, Spurs should have scored more.

Great win.

Don't get me wrong... Any three points away is good. To a top half team its even better. But United look a shell of themselves. Yes they're under a new manager but the squad looks slow, older and without invention. I put more on the players to be honest

Spurs to me are still playing from the shadow of 5-0 6-0. Just dont look fluid. (I was shocked that the 14 goals conceded in 3 games was near equal to the other 16 games...)

Good win and 2 points from 4th. If they find form they will make noise

 

[Hawkspur]

Good three points for Spurs but that just seemed like stealing. United is just a mediocre squad (and it still took everything from lloris to keep them from leveling)

To be fair, that squad won the league last season; the manager is mediocre. Spurs were without their best 2 centrebacks, best 2 centre mids and the guy you think (an assessment I agree with) is our player of the season. Obviously United didn't have van Persie which was massive for them. Lloris made a couple of great saves at the end but didn't have a lot to do until then. Yet again, Spurs should have scored more.

Great win.

Don't get me wrong... Any three points away is good. To a top half team its even better. But United look a shell of themselves. Yes they're under a new manager but the squad looks slow, older and without invention. I put more on the players to be honest

Spurs to me are still playing from the shadow of 5-0 6-0. Just dont look fluid. (I was shocked that the 14 goals conceded in 3 games was near equal to the other 16 games...)

Good win and 2 points from 4th. If they find form they will make noise

That's mostly fair, I think. You'd never guess that this United side won the league just last year. But while Spurs may not be on top form, nobody would have predicted that they'd take 10 points from the 4 games following the Liverpool thrashing. I think the shspe and tactics Sherwood is using suits the team far better. Lennon and Walker look heaps better playing the counterattack and I suspect that the plan for January will be to sell Defoe in order to invest in a left back who can combine with Townsend to provide a similar threat down the left.

Getting Vertonghen, Paulinho, Sandro and Kaboul back in the mix can only help too. As you say, though, there's still a lot to be done. At least they're not losing while they get it sorted.

 

[Uncle Si]

Spurs response to the AVB firing has been fantastic for sure. I know it sounds like i'm bashing but its just the opposite. Its been an interesting season for them. They've never really looked "in gear" if you will. they sold their best two players over the last two seasons, brought in 9 replacements, they are boasting one of (maybe THE) top defenses despite 6-0, 5-0 and 3-0 losses, they were outscored by one player up until game 17, but again, they are 2 points from 4th.

its astonishing really. Liverpool in constrast have looked like world beaters in 85% of their matches, yet only hold a 2 point advantage.