leffe186

Almost every single football conversation I have over here tbh.

Is Man U’s squad really that shit? Genuine question. Conte just closed out the season with a back three of Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez. I can’t believe a top manager couldn’t make something good out of whoever they’ve got.

Yeah Man U do seem to have a big job on their hands, but they’ve also got the resources to make a couple of big additions. Top 4 is already in doubt for anyone other than Man City and Liverpool tbh. Chelsea still have a billion good players out on loan who could be recalled, but have really struggled in recent weeks. Spurs have got to strengthen their squad to even think of coping with CL and the PL. West Ham and Leicester will be better next year with fewer distractions and you’ve got money. On Spurs, if either Kane or Son go you’re left with Conte, the other one, and a shit-ton of cash. If Conte goes then it will depend upon who comes in but it’s a pretty strong first XI either way. The problem as always with Spurs is that up to now there have always been at least five teams willing and able to spend significantly more on transfer fees and wages.

Yeah, this is where me not watching much footy recently doesn’t help . I do take the point about Conte being more able to make short-term improvements, but the whole “Spurs would be nothing without Kane and Son” narrative is slightly weird. Heard it or variations of it a million times and I never know exactly what to say. Yes things look massively different if we lose our manager or our best players? If the point is that a team only got top four because their manager and best players are really good then I find it hard to argue against. If the point is that those individuals are more likely to leave Spurs because they can go to somebody better with more money then I find it hard to argue against. It sounds like you’re arguing that Spurs are different from the other “top” teams like Man City or Liverpool (or Man U, or Chelsea) because their success is on weaker foundations?

“I like Arsenal”

He really shouldn’t, although I guess that depends upon what you think his goal should be. They’ve got loads of money and the name, plus presumably their youth facilities are terrific. The team just got 6th. For all their obvious issues it really wouldn’t take much to have them be properly good again. Look at Conte. It seems to be hard for people to remember how many problems there were at Spurs pre-season and early season with all the Kane stuff and the obvious lack of faith in Nuno from all angles. Now look at the difference. Ten Hag should be spending next year setting himself up for the 2023-24 season. He has three transfer windows and a year in which he can use the Europa to blood youngsters or whatever he wants. Nobody should expect them to be guaranteed top four next year, but you should be able to see a significant difference by the end of the season, both on and off the pitch.

Who was it who was talking about Arsenal doing it “the right way” compared to Spurs the other day?

A reminder that this is a thing: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/all-or-nothing-arsenal-documentary-amazon-prime-release-date-how-to-watch-trailer-tv-series

Ach, yeah, don’t rub it in.

TV here is showing Liverpool, naturally (am in lunch break). That Wolves goal was so simple.

Let me guess. 35 wins, one draw, and two losses to Liverpool?

One of these things is not like the others.

This was before this year, when they released Auba etc, spent a ton of money, didn’t have any European money and may now fail to get into the CL again. Spurs are just essentially doing what Arsenal did way back when with their stadium, only Arsenal did it when the economy was far more forgiving. Not sure how you can argue that Arsenal in contrast operate within their means when (a) they don’t and (b) they just did the same thing Spurs did.

Did an article quote a Transfermarkt valuation??

Don’t forget that it’s a Barry that writes songs that make the whole World sing. You’re being a bit harsh.

That’s the silver lining to all of this.

I don’t think I’d ever stop laughing.

Yeah, Leeds fans were famously not cunts before being relegated

Think you had a post invasion.

Forgot to change my team

Ouch. I have Kane with 7pts. The entire rest of my team currently has a total of 5pts. Only hope is if Salah doesn’t play at all as captain.

My fantasy team is hilarious this week. Made even better with Ben White coming off the bench.

That’s what’s so weird though, and one reason the Arsenal fans are quite so pissed off. They put themselves in this position.

Bottom line, only two or three teams truly underachieved this year - Man U and Everton for sure. Everyone else did roughly as expected, with you guys being the asterisk due to the takeover and new manager (and us to an extent). After everything the top six is currently still the “top six”. If Arsenal get 4th they’ll definitely have over-achieved.

This is it. I hate the “bottled it” trope in general, but the reason it’s being trotted out here is nothing to do with pre-season expectations and everything to do with the last few weeks. The funny thing is that the benefit of hindsight makes their performance look worse. Perhaps expectations should have been higher. They spent oodles of cash, didn’t have to worry about Europe at all and their manager had a couple of years to bed in. Of the seven teams that finished above them last year, Man U imploded from the top down, Leicester and West Ham were clearly held back by playing in Europe and Spurs sacked their manager in October. If they don’t make the CL it’s clearly a missed opportunity. Look at the BBC predictions: https://www.givemesport.com/1737506-man-city-man-utd-liverpool-chelsea-who-will-make-the-premier-league-top-four-in-2122 Not a single pundit predicted Spurs or Arsenal in the top 4 - out of 20. Then look at those fan videos from last night. It’s not just the media calling them “bottlers”.