Erikse

I think the unknown with Mbeumo is that he seems good in a counter attacking side, but how well does he do against low blocks? You rarely see Brentford facing low blocks. We need someone who can help us against that.

https://sportsview.co.uk/2024/05/liverpool-plot-move-for-newcastle-united-midfielder-bruno-guimaraes

"He has a £100 million release clause which will be effective from June, but AS reports that the Brazilian could be signed at a reduced price, around £68m."

2 hours ago, Optimistic Nut said:

Something that narks me about random accounts who act as ITKs posting shit like that.

Removed the tweet when I realised it's just for followers, haha.. Don't want to help him out. Seems like he has been saying it will happen this week etc. Clearly not ITK.

Stabæk was 4-0 up against Egersund in the 62nd minute, and lost 4-5. Second tier in Norway.

1 hour ago, Izakaya said:

Bring him home 

Can't wait for the Longstaff, Burn, Murphy, Krafth and Barnes tiki taka masterclass.

1 hour ago, SUPERTOON said:

Looks like it’s De Zerbi to Chelsea. How long till he falls out with the owners ?

Judging by the fourfourtwo video on Chelsea, de Zerbi seems in line with how the owners want Chelsea to play.

14 minutes ago, Stuy_O said:

Maybe thinking a little far ahead but it really does look the ground is opening up in front of us.

 

Guardiola potentially leaving in a year, Liverpool beginning a major transition post Klopp, Man Utd and Chelsea looking at the likes of Frank and Southgate? I get these clubs will always be around the top part of the league but the Guardiola Klopp thing seemed like a stranglehold on the rest of the league. And PSR exists, I get that too. But it does seem like the landscape is changing. 

 

 

 

 

 

I actually think Spurs are on the up, if they can sign good players for the playstyle that Ange is trying to implement.

17 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

 

Next season’s BBC predictions will be Man City, Arsenal and then a dartboard depending upon people’s biases and all the management situations I presume. Put a gun to my head right now and I’d say Man City, Arsenal, Newcastle and then see who’s managing who. Maybe Liverpool fourth.

 

You’re going to have to tell me who had us in the Top Four though. I’m genuinely curious - didn’t think anyone did.

I can't find the video predictions that I watched, but maybe I remembered it wrong. Thinking about it, I probably did, because Spurs were not exactly getting hyped up before the season due to how they ended last season.

26 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

 Nobody had us in the top four. Remember why?

 

Just taking the BBC predictions, out of 27 sets of four Chelsea were in there three times. You guys were in there five times, Villa twice. Chelsea were the only team not in Europe even mentioned. They just picked the best teams for the most part.

 

If your point is that missing out on Europe isn’t a guarantee of good league performance then absolutely, but I can see where it might help (and I think I just did). If your point is that people overrate the potential then the actual predictions don’t seem to bear that out, although Copium might be a contributor in a given fan group. I don’t remember if Chelsea were optimistic or pessimistic about the season beforehand tbh.

 

 

Yeah, I won't get all that hyped up about our league performances next season before it even starts, just because of this. 3 out of 27 is way less than I thought tbh, but I don't think many from BBC would put us in the top 4 next season either.

3 hours ago, leffe186 said:

 

I think not being in Europe helped us overall, but was a mixed bag to an extent. Our squad wasn’t deep enough to sustain both Europe and the League and Ange clearly still needs a couple of years to make the squad his own. That said, in the second half of the season we couldn’t get any kind of rhythm going  because we kept having weird long gaps between games where the odd European tie might have actually helped. 
 

Still, it did allow Ange a look at the squad without having to throw kids in (also a mixed bag). And it did avoid the stuff Villa had to face with everyone basically running on fumes at the end. I think it will benefit us in the long run with Ange having had more time with the players on the training pitch.

 

That’s why I think being out of Europe will actually be hugely beneficial for you this year in the League, as long as you don’t lose one of the big guns. You’ve already gone through that stuff and though Howe will clearly want to improve the squad they’ve already shown they can get CL in these circumstances.

 

So for CL - well almost nobody can expect it any more as the competition is even greater, but it’s clearly not ridiculous. Man City (presuming Pep stays) and Arsenal should expect it but that’s it. Chelsea may be in turmoil again, Liverpool will be in transition, we don’t know what Man U will be at all and all three have Europe. We’re clearly still rebuilding, and Villa will have a lot to contend with. I’m also a bit nervous about Palace this year, and outside the first two it feels like everyone will take points off everyone. I genuinely have you in 3rd.

If you look at peoples expectations before last season, many people had Chelsea in the top 4 due to no Europe. Some people had you in top 4 due to no Europe. I'm sure that if you read through the Chelsea forum from last summer, they were going on about how no Europe will help them massively, and that they will now become a real threat to the top teams. Kind of like what we are doing now.

When it comes to Villa, their squad didn't seem deep enough at all either, and they were having some issues with fatigue for brief periods of the season. However, they still got top 4 in the end, so it's doable. Ofcourse, chances are probably higher without Europe, but are they really that much higher without the Conference League?

2 hours ago, Optimistic Nut said:

 

Spurs probably don't finish above us if they'd had Europe like we had tbf. 5th will probably get CL football in a lot of seasons moving forward as well. 

When I say "didn't work", I mean not getting CL, or top 4. As I said in my post, it helped both teams, but neither of them had a really good season despite not being in Europe. My point is just because we don't have Europe doesn't mean that we will compete for top 4, it's far from a given that it leads to a great season. Tottenham and Chelsea happened to be recent examples of that. The Conference League would also be one to rotate in, so likewise Villa made top 4 while playing in the Conference League, finishing above both Chelsea and Tottenham (despite having a seemingly weaker squad). I also don't think that tournament would have a massive impact on our league position, unless we wouldn't have rotated enough.

6 minutes ago, Palace fan said:

https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/aston-villa-chelsea-may-face-uefa-ban-due-to-ffp-issues/

 

I may marginally raise your prospects for Conference football in 2025/6. Top 9 might be doable - unless you suffer the world's most unprecedented injury crisis again 

I don't believe any of it until it actually happens.

2 hours ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

No chance Chelsea are kicked out of the EL for dodgy finances? 

They're already kicked out. They will play conference.

1 minute ago, Monkey Alan said:

I'm not one of life's optimists and nor am I the type to placate myself with comfortable fibs but I honestly think missing out on this naff competition will be a blessing. Eddie will be working like a man possessed, Tonali and Joelinton will be like caged beasts released in midfield, Hall and Livramento will be in their zones, ready to go in August, Isak's cool facade will be dropped and we'll see more of the radge packet side of him, Old Keiran Trippier will get a late career second wind, a sort of football viagra, Barnes will have been fully Howed and will force Gordon to step it up to a notch he didn't know he had, the sides Fabian Schar's hair will turn black again and Botman will return in March like Kane entering the Royal Rumble as the 30th man.

 

 

God! We should finish 8th every season until we're ready to win the league.

23 minutes ago, Rod said:

Chill out.  Its a blessing.  Trust me.

Not necessarily true, it helps with the league, but it still didn't work for Chelsea and Spurs.

When we got 7th it was "probably for the best" since we've got a much higher chance of winning the Conference. Now it's a shit tournament and we may be better off without. Moral of the story: Europe is kinda useless unless it's CL?  Why are we trying to turn every scenario into a positive one?

Usually I would say that we've got ourselves to blame, but 60 points and +23 GD is usually more than enoigh for top 7. Even top 6 in a lot of seasons. Not getting Europe of any form with +23 is a record that will not get beaten in a very very long time.

We really got a +23 goal difference without even making conference league.. That's wild.

1 minute ago, El Prontonise said:

Haaland is a poor forward.  Brilliant if put everything on a plate but everything else is shocking.

Put him in a different team, and he will look better. His pace gets nullified in these scenarios.

Waiting for the counter 3-0..

Goldbridge probably already trying to come up with new curse words for his rage speech for when they turn it around.

5 minutes ago, mouldy_uk said:

Why didn’t this De Bruyne come on against us earlier in the season 

That's what I've been saying many times. He hasn't been himself after the injury at all. Older players suffer more from it. We just gave him too much space.

City been drinking all week?

5 minutes ago, mush said:

Bruno was canny radge in that Arsenal game to be fair

 

Even more than usual

 

 

 

Yeah, I think they're just judging him based on that one game..

13 minutes ago, LionOfGosforth said:

 

Funny how they tend to forget to mention Havertz the fucking rat halfing Longstaff. Was worthy of 2 reds, never mind the weak yellow he got.

They forgot about that after the game, and never saw Havertz as a cunt at all. No bias going on there.

On 19/05/2024 at 20:27, nemtizz said:

Recent Pichichi winners:

 

Now Sorloth

 

 

 

Until Dovbyk scored 3 more and Sørloth went out after 17 min..