leffe186

As long as you put us where we’re supposed to be I’ll be happy.

I think it’s a bit of a hangover from the last 20 years or so. The financial differential between CL and no CL used to be even more severe but the increased PL money has narrowed the gap. It has also given all English teams a leg-up versus the rest of Europe, which means we are more likely to dominate the EL and ECL. This coming year you can add on the fact that CL clubs (finally) will not drop down to the EL mid-season. Then there’s the fact that you have more games to contend with and the pressure on the squad…but that is also offset by the additional money available in England. Teams further down the PL are able to sustain larger squads than before and also attract more young players from abroad (and lower divisions) to their youth programmes. Some clubs are better placed than others to exploit this, but when you factor in the good chance to win a meaningful trophy then it matters that little bit more too.

Cannot think of the Alty without Frank Sidebottom in my head. Legit makes me feel really old.

I think Ange said something similar after the Liverpool VAR fuckup. Like, firstly it wasn’t an integrity issue, it was clearly just a bad human error, but secondly if it was an integrity issue then players and managers aren’t exactly on solid ground. People routinely appeal for throw-ins they know aren’t theirs, dive etc etc. It puts massive pressure on refs, and deliberately so.

We’ve won one league game there in the last 34 years.

It’s been that kind of season. It‘s absolutely true that not having Europe helps in terms of players recovering from injury, but with all the international breaks and poor luck in the timing of certain games (City and Chelsea in Cup Finals when we’re supposed to play them) we’ve been unable to get any sort of rhythm. We haven’t had a game for two weeks, and now we’re playing Sun-Thu-Sun. If we can get on a roll now that would be great . Looking forward to next year more than anything now.

I’d bite both your hands off for a draw tbh.

Jesus how did Ipswich not score?

You’re a bundle of laughs. This Hull game is great.

Really good game this

Hull goal. Keeper should have done better.

Hutchinson very dangerous for Ipswich.

Hell of a game in Hull. Could see Ipswich having a mare in the Premier League but would love them to get the chance.

It was pretty funny at the time tbf . Chelsea totally pissed it away.

Paqueta has definitely inherited the Fabinho forcefield.

Refs and/or VAR. It’s such a common challenge we need to have a clear and consistent policy - is it a yellow, a red or fair game. It just seems to be a complete lottery.

Would like to see an update, that’s a fascinating table.

Oh we foresaw it all right. I’m sure most fans at the time had a story to tell about how it could have been them. IIRC you guys had issues at a Spurs match, we had bad experiences at QPR and (I think) Southampton. Hillsborough was known to be a potential problem. We knew.

Apparently Timber is now Arsenal’s only injured player and he’s not far from a return. They’ve been unbelievably lucky with injuries this year.

I don’t see us getting anything Sunday, but if I could be granted one wish it would be for Arteta to pull a Woody Hayes or Mike Tomlin on the touchline and get banned for ever.

Yeah it was magic. I lived on Muswell Hill Rd near the Church, on the bend in the road. Rented a room in a house with 10 others for £500pcm in the late 90s and early 00s. As time goes on it becomes clearer how lucky I was - was a terrific time to be in my 20s in London.

With the amount of money coming from the Premier League now the differential and importance of CL qualification - while still significant - is not as extreme as it used to be. That’s part of the reason why there’s more parity and fluidity at the top now. It’s just less critical to qualify. I do agree that all things being equal I’d love to finish 4th this year, but the specific question is whether we would stomach Arsenal winning the league to achieve that, and that’s where the balance is tipped.

Don’t think I knew that - whereabouts? I lived in Muswell Hill for years and my sister has been living there for ages. I miss it but could never afford a place there now.

It happened in 1999.

I don’t remember anything between Gazza and Martin Jol.