Has there been one where two have?
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Has there been one where two have?
I would imagine - yes
Last two years there have been two teams on 40+
Just looking now, Chelsea and United in 2004 and Woolwich/Man Utd in 2008 I think. It’s not particularly common, though.
The fact we have put ourselves in this position whilst playing 11 away games, and 7 at Wembley. If we can get into the new ground ASAP I honestly think we have a chance
Yeah, in only 12 of 27 Premier League seasons has there been two teams on 40+ points at the half way stage.
And in 14 of those 27 Premier League seasons we would have been top or joint top with 41 points at this stage. We are on the right tracks.
Impressive as it is, I think there is something more going on.
The gap between the best and the rest is getting bigger. I don't know if its because the big six are getting better, or the rest of the league is getting worse. The fact is that beating the 'rest' of the league is getting easier. Watford away are the only points we have dropped this season against non-big six teams. Liverpool have dropped zero in games against those teams.
I guess my point is that impressive as it is, the fact we are all on >40 points may be down to point inflation rather that pure quality. I don't think the quality of the current premier league is anywhere near 2005-2009 level.
Both, I think.
Defensively I'd agree. There is more onus on attack - especially at the top - and teams have started playing forward a lot more. More goals and more entertaining but there aren't as many well organised teams. Only Burnley and Cardiff play defensively.
One thing to remember is it will probably take a while to make the new ground a fortress.
Also interesting that Man City dropped like a stone from that point onwards.
I do have a nagging fear that Man City just don't have the same motivation to win the league in a 'title defence' season as they did, for example, last year. Could honestly see it shape up that we're the only fuckers who end up trying to stop Liverpool.
They announced Pellegrini was leaving and the players lost focus
The quality outside the top 6 is the worst it's been in decades, for sure.
The money is the highest it's ever been for these clubs yet the quality is actually getting worse. I actually think a lot of that is down to who they're hiring to manage the clubs too and the style of play outside the top 6. How many of these clubs just sit back? The majority of them. Which means realistically the odds are only with one winner.
Competitiveness in Europe will tell you all you want about how good the top 6 really are. In the mid to late 00s, you had Chelsea, Liverpool, United and Woolwich all get to Champions League finals and most of the time they all reached the semi finals too.
I agree with the rest of your post, but I would seriously dispute this. There's been a big shift to offensive football in the last year or two including the 'lesser' teams. Only Cardiff and Burnley play defensively now. Every other team comes out to attack - you could hardly say Wolves or Fulham played 10 behind the ball.
But that's down to those in charge.
Jokanovic and Nuno are good coaches who want to play football the right way. Those would probably be in the minority of my point. Wolves have recruited well and their system allows them to attack whilst not feeling exposed at the back.
Right now, I'd say Southampton, Bournemouth, Wolves and Everton are the only clubs outside the top 6 with good coaches who promote playing football the right way though. Everton have recruited HORRIBLY and Eddie Howe needs to improve the defensive side of his coaching but Hassenhuttl and Nuno will keep their clubs mid table and pushing on with the right recruitment. There are others who TRY and play football, the likes of Pellegrini at West Ham and Wagner at Huddersfield but the quality is very low, especially with Huddersfield who just have a Championship level team.
Fulham are already becoming a bit more defensive under Ranieri, nothing wrong with that of course, they absolutely need to start keeping cleansheets and grinding out results.
All fair, but what clubs are 'sitting back' in their play, as you state above, apart from the two mentioned? A few years ago every team outside the "big four" seemed to have a defensive mindset. Now few do. I find the shift quite interesting.
Exactly.
This was pointed it out on one of the podcasts earlier this season. The premier league did begin to decline in quality after 2009. Teams, particularly at the top, became looser which led to much more exciting games but general lower quality. In the champions league most of our best teams got utterly exposed. That was probably why Leicester were able to win the league- cause the league was a bit shit.
I do think the quality of the league is rising. We had a champions league finalist for the first time in six years (even if it was the dippers) and man city outplayed all continental opposition they faced before going out to them. Even we managed to beat the champions and come within an ace of knocking out the previous years finalist.
However, the rest of the league has not really improved, so they are becoming pretty easy to beat.
I just worked out how many points the big six have dropped against non big six opposition this season
Liverpool- 0
Man city- 5
Tottenham- 3
Chelsea- 10
Woolwich- 5
Man U- 12
IMHO teams generally aren't as well organised now as they were several years ago. You see more open, freer flowing games which is great for the neutral but it's representative of a lack of quality in defence. Standards of defending are pretty poor atm.
Burnley, Cardiff, Newcastle, Brighton all sit back relatively well to be honest and are all known for it.
Fulham (under Ranieri), Huddersfield, Leicester and Palace all sit back, but aren't AFRAID to attack when the opportunity arises. I wouldn't really call any of them footballing sides, not good ones anyway.
I just wish to see more of these clubs take gambles on who they appoint. Hassenhuttl for example is a really good appointment for Southampton, they won't be fighting relegation under his tenure. There are some real smart coaches out there who would be better than the usual merry-go round bunch we see every single year. And I actually think it'll make the Premier League better. Look at Southampton when they hired a young hunr
Hutter, Machin, Giampaolo, Gallardo, Cocu, Bosz - are just a few that Premier League money can probably buy a lot of these clubs. Why make Alladyce one of the best paid managers in the country when you can bring in one of those managers, who might be more of a gamble, but bring much bigger reward?
People always thought money would make the Premier League more competitive. In one sense, it has made the big teams compete against eachother at a higher level (points wise) but it's also made a gap the top six SO much bigger. It's almost incredible to think that Leicester actually won the league 3 years ago.
Football has evolved and the problem is, a lot of these smaller clubs haven't - still wanting to hire managers who could do it 10-15 years ago. Haven't improved training facilities when the money is there to do so etc. Just happy to stay in the Premier League as opposed to evolving along with it.
Yeah, I agree with much of that. I guess where we differ slightly is I see a lot of those weaker teams as actually trying to play (sometimes), they just aren't very good at it.
Completely agree with the latter point about the PL fragmenting into a series of separate mini leagues. It's all highly unbalanced.
That could win us the title
I think that when liverpool finally lose, it'll rattle them.
And they will lose. If you lose to red star belgrade, you aren't going unbeaten in the prem.
I would take pleasure in us being the team to do that to them when we visit them next month, but I could do with a loss before then too. Maybe city can do us a favor on the third, though i'd rather that match be a draw.
Or maybe newcastle can do something tommorow. I mean, the likelihood is they get thrashed. But one can dream right?
And they will lose. If you lose to red star belgrade, you aren't going unbeaten in the prem.
I would take pleasure in us being the team to do that to them when we visit them next month, but I could do with a loss before then too. Maybe city can do us a favor on the third, though i'd rather that match be a draw.
Or maybe newcastle can do something tommorow. I mean, the likelihood is they get thrashed. But one can dream right?