NUFCPAUL Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Can't wait until we are battling against Liveprool and City for the title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Just now, Yorkie said: True, in this competition anyway. I think West Ham and Leicester winning their respective European competitions would be a greater indication of the Premier League 'problem' in Europe. Hopefully neither will and there's hope yet that the rest of Europe can still compete with the obscene growth that's happened over here. Still, fuck Liverpool, regardless of whether or not their progress here contributes to that existential issue. And definitely fuck them as any reflection of my identity. Eh? Have you not seen the Europa winners in recent years? Also completely dominated by Spanish teams. Maybe there's a bit of proximity bias going on with you seeing it as a problem, because English teams are suddenly dominating. I dunno, English football hooligans don't reflect my identity either, but I'll still support England. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 19 minutes ago, Wullie said: Peter Enckleman might have cost Inter the title. Saw a journo on Twitter saying Radu had recently demanded more game time or he would leave. Awkward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) Fletch completely writing Real Madrid off. Edited April 27, 2022 by Sima Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 I've got nothing against either West Ham or (particularly) Leicester, the latter of whom have easily been the team in the PL I like and respect the most over the last half decade. I just find it very sad that the imbalance in European competition is apparently becoming greater and greater. For West Ham - a team with no European record to speak of, and a team who I happen to think have been a disappointment in the league this season (so depressing that ManU are still gonna get 6th, despite everything) - to bulldoze through their group and then dispatch the competition's most decorated team and then Lyon... I dunno. It's a bit depressing. At least Leicester nearly made a pigs ear of their progress at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9 Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Surely, surely Liverpool are doping. How on earth do they manage this level of performance every game? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) Why can't it be that those teams are good and played well? We're the richest club in the world and have been linked with/bought 4 of Lyon's players, they're not exactly lacking talent to the extent where West Ham have just blown them out of the water with their superior finances. Edited April 27, 2022 by Kid Icarus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Edgar Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 1 minute ago, AJ9 said: Surely, surely Liverpool are doping. How on earth do they manage this level of performance every game? They all have asthma. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 6 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said: Eh? Have you not seen the Europa winners in recent years? Also completely dominated by Spanish teams. Maybe there's a bit of proximity bias going on with you seeing it as a problem, because English teams are suddenly dominating. This is my point though. A team like West Ham suddenly being good enough to break that dominance makes me think there's an imbalance. Maybe/hopefully I'm wrong. Spose Fulham and Boro both got to the finals. A clean sweep of PL winners across the board would surely justify a bit of concern though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9 Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 1 minute ago, David Edgar said: They all have asthma. That old chesnut Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie_b Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 4 minutes ago, AJ9 said: Surely, surely Liverpool are doping. How on earth do they manage this level of performance every game? They had their 'off cycle' last season so probably back on it this (allegedly) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Yorkie said: This is my point though. A team like West Ham suddenly being good enough to break that dominance makes me think there's an imbalance. Maybe/hopefully I'm wrong. Spose Fulham and Boro both got to the finals. A clean sweep of PL winners across the board would surely justify a bit of concern though. These phases happen all the time like and like I say, Spain are still the dominant country even in recent years in both competitions, so you could maybe argue it's a counter-balance rather than an imbalance. West Ham have had a great season as well, beating Lyon was still a big deal because Lyon are no pushover and are stacked with good players: Paqueta, Dembele, and Denayer who we've been linked with and obviously Bruno before then too. I'm not saying don't worry like because I think the entire game's fucked and will try to infinitely grow to the point of bursting I just wouldn't worry about the specific thing you're worrying about, if that makes sense. Edited April 27, 2022 by Kid Icarus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wullie Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Lyon just aren't much cop tbh, they're 8th in France atm and are unlikely to make any European competition next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 1 minute ago, Kid Icarus said: These phases happen all the time and like I say, Spain are still the dominant country even in recent years in both competitions, so you could maybe argue it's a counter-balance rather than an imbalance. West Ham have had a great season as well, beating Lyon was still a big deal because Lyon are no pushover and are stacked with good players: Paqueta, Dembele, and Denayer who we've been linked with and obviously Bruno before then too. I'm not saying don't worry like because I think the entire game's fucked and will try to infinitely grow to the point of bursting I just wouldn't worry about the specific thing you're worrying about, if that makes sense. Fair enough re the first paragraph but the second one I feel like you're emphasising my point (i.e. how is that great Lyon side getting beaten by a good but unspectacular West Ham team?) Maybe I'm overthinking it but let's pick this up again if that clean sweep does happen. Anyway, I need to accept the utopia I'm yearning for where Steaua Bucharest, Partizan Belgrade, Anderlecht and Gothenburg are meaningful contributors to European competition - let alone the likes of Lyon and PSV - is just a dim and distant memory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Duper Branko Strupar Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 The fact Villareal are in the CL helps other teams have a chance of winning Europa, like. And Barca are shit. Atalanta weaker. Dortmund out early. Dont think West Ham have gotten there by an imbalance at all, personally. Just great form and a bit of luck. Their group wasnt exactly difficult, Sevilla game was close and they deserved the aggregate win over Lyon through just pure determination coupled with quality and being really well drilled. Which game were they down to 10 men in? First leg? Not at all a fan of Moyes or West Aaam in general, but it'll be amazing if they win it. That team has done really well. It's been really well put together as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Yorkie said: Fair enough re the first paragraph but the second one I feel like you're emphasising my point (i.e. how is that great Lyon side getting beaten by a good but unspectacular West Ham team?) Maybe I'm overthinking it but let's pick this up again if that clean sweep does happen. Anyway, I need to accept the utopia I'm yearning for where Steaua Bucharest, Partizan Belgrade, Anderlecht and Gothenburg are meaningful contributors to European competition - let alone the likes of Lyon and PSV - is just a dim and distant memory. Definitely overthinking it imo West Ham are having a great season, Lyon aren't great but they're not pushovers and have talented players and that's all there is to it I think, far bigger upsets happen all the time. You're maybe just seeing it as part of a pattern you've already noticed rather than just something that happens. There's definitely an increasing concentration of wealth though like, which along with these daft attempts at growth like the ESL, strike me as signs of a potential bubble burst. Can't say I know anything about the Dutch league but it does seem like it's in the mud at the moment, that recent Ajax side aside. Edited April 27, 2022 by Kid Icarus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaqen Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Lyon are a pretty poor side to be fair. With the money the premier League sides have they should have dominated Europe alot more in recent years really. I guess the worry is now that might actually happen. Teams like Villa and Everton have higher net spends over the last decade than even sides like Bayern. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgarve Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 I mean , Rangers are also in the Europa semis and Villareal in the UCL semis , so the depression about money isn’t always matched by reality Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 40 minutes ago, tgarve said: I mean , Rangers are also in the Europa semis and Villareal in the UCL semis , so the depression about money isn’t always matched by reality There are exceptions, but the pool of teams occupying semi-final positions every year is absolutely getting smaller and smaller, particularly in the Champions League. 18 different teams from only six countries throughout the teens. 20 from seven the decade before. 24 from 13 in the 90s. 28 from 19 in the 80s. This is a slightly different issue to what I was whinging about re English teams obviously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 (edited) I'd hate West Ham to win it, like. Those porn brothers will be absolutely insufferable. Them winning it would also show that Europa League up for what it is. Shit, basically. Edited April 28, 2022 by toon25 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 7 hours ago, toon25 said: Them winning it would also show that Europa League up for what it is. Shit, basically. That's rubbish that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Quite a few shocking goalkeeping errors in such a short spell. Possibly side effects from the vaccine now showing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HTT II Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 I hope West Ham and Leicester win their respective cups, it shows that European football is not a closed shop or reserved only for the elite which is what the whole ESL thing was about. Does it show the dominance of English clubs, aye, but in Leciester and WHU it shows what good recruitment, a good youth policy and good coaching can do which is why some of the Spanish sites outside of the big two over there have done so well. It’s called progress IMO and although I don’t want neither City or LFC to win the CL, I’ll be rooting for Leicester and West Ham and more so Rangers, what a story that would be, plus my son’s team-mate’s grandad supports them (and us and Dunston) and he’s a top top bloke. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HTT II Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 They need to stop CL/Europa League drops outs entering the Europa League and Conference League thing too, give more teams an even chance… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Perez started the ESL because he saw the PL was becoming the ESL and he wanted a piece of it. Of all th EPL sides did decent business, all 4 CL sides would be better than Real Madrid Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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