Indeed. But your team will also want to avoid injuries today.
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The 2019-2020 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That should light a fire under Villa - they can't afford to see out a very dull 0-0 against West Ham if Watford somehow win.
Nice goal from Stanislas for Bournemouth, though Pickford probably should have saved it. 3-1. Come on West Ham, lets see a goal....
I hope we can score, but with Antonio substituted I’m less hopeful. Glad we don’t need the win!
There is that, true.
I doubt that Watford will win, although they are fired up (with good reason).
And Martinez is a very good keeper, (one or two mistakes can be made by anyone).
But the defence, the defence, the defence.....
After nothing happened for 80 minutes, a goal apiece in the West-Ham match...so everything remains as-is.
At the bottom of the table, Villa escape relegation by a point, and both Bournemouth & Watford are relegated, joining Norwich whose fate had been clear a fortnight ago.
So, Villa stay up by the skin of their teeth. It feels rotten for Bournemouth, but you could make the argument that none of the bottom five "deserved" to stay up based on points accumulated. The only thing that leaves a sour taste is Villa essentially surviving based on a blindingly obvious refereeing error.
So, Villa and West Ham get another season in the Premier League. Relief for both teams but the incoming Championship teams Leeds and West Brom (and probably Fulham) look solid, West Ham and Villa will need to improve if they want to avoid being in this same situation next spring.
Man City routed Norwich in The Most Meaningless Match of the Season™. Liverpool finish with a win. Man Utd are in the CL, they were not stellar this season but Leicester tragically and completely threw away a golden opportunity to muscle into the top four. Teams have sussed out how to deal with Vardy and Leicester need another scoring option. Man Utd fans have the excellent Fernandes to thank for almost single-handedly dragging them back into the Champions League. There are other very talented players in the squad but he has been a spark for them.
Oh, and Man City are colossal cheats, let's not forget they've gamed the system and ensured that football will continue to march down a path of corruption and inequality for years to come...Hooray for 2020! (which I say sarcastically except for Liverpool winning the title)
So, Villa and West Ham get another season in the Premier League. Relief for both teams but the incoming Championship teams Leeds and West Brom (and probably Fulham) look solid, West Ham and Villa will need to improve if they want to avoid being in this same situation next spring.
Man City routed Norwich in The Most Meaningless Match of the Season™. Liverpool finish with a win. Man Utd are in the CL, they were not stellar this season but Leicester tragically and completely threw away a golden opportunity to muscle into the top four. Teams have sussed out how to deal with Vardy and Leicester need another scoring option. Man Utd fans have the excellent Fernandes to thank for almost single-handedly dragging them back into the Champions League. There are other very talented players in the squad but he has been a spark for them.
Oh, and Man City are colossal cheats, let's not forget they've gamed the system and ensured that football will continue to march down a path of corruption and inequality for years to come...Hooray for 2020! (which I say sarcastically except for Liverpool winning the title)
I do think the Europa League can be a bit of a curse particularly for a fragile squad rebuilding. Hate to say it as a Spurs supporter but hope we finish 7th and Arsenal win the FA Cup! Would love to see the burden of all those extra games on a hard pressed Arsenal squad.
Great to see Villa survive IMO, down to the wire.
Watford fans must be so angry at their club right now, poor poor decision making.
Watford fans must be so angry at their club right now, poor poor decision making.
The Europa League is a curse unless you win it. But to win it, you have to invest heavily and beat some pretty decent teams toward the end. And if you don't win it all you have to show for your investment is a worse league position, more injuries and increased fatigue at the end of the season. You get a little money for competing but (and I haven't checked the numbers) it probably doesn't make up the difference in lost Premier League money from dropping a few rungs in the table.
The Europa League makes more sense in leagues with less money sloshing around, as a way for runner-up clubs to make a splash in a cup competition and maybe earn a little extra money. This is especially true in leagues like Spain where the same teams always win the league and so clubs need to find glory elsewhere. In England, mid-table teams get an incredible windfall just by being average. And let's not forget that most owners care about making money more than about glory on the pitch. If they could be sure of maintaining a cash cow by never winning anything and finishing 10th every season, most owners would do it.
Obviously, as an Arsenal supporter, I would like to see us win the FA Cup, a competition that has history & tradition, & still means something to football romantics.
However, I had hoped that they would not qualify for the Europa Cup; they need to focus on building a defence & a balanced team.
Therefore, I hope that they depart or exit from the Europa Cup, nice and early.
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Excellent post.
All too true.
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I think Arsenal have one priority this summer, even more important than building a defence. Keeping hold of Aubameyang. Without him you would really have struggled to be safe.
We have signed Soucek on a four year permanent deal. I think he has impressed since the break.
This is Arsenl's worst finish in 25 years, but the rot had set in -and set in well - for the best part of the past half decade.
Securing Aubameyang is certainly a priority, but so is crafting a decent defence, and a balanced team. Given how long it has taken Manchester United to find their footballing feet post the Sir Alex era, I cannot imagine that this team building task will be an easy one, or one that is completed any time soon.
Securing Aubameyang is certainly a priority, but so is crafting a decent defence, and a balanced team. Given how long it has taken Manchester United to find their footballing feet post the Sir Alex era, I cannot imagine that this team building task will be an easy one, or one that is completed any time soon.
It will also be interesting to see what price players command this transfer window. With no gate money since March and no clear idea when that will change, money could be tight up and down the leagues.
Maybe see if Adams, Dixon, Winterburn and Keown are available?
Harry's United nations they used to call us back then as we used to have so many different nationalities in the team (when most didn't have that many).
But agree the sport is very different now. Much more player power which isn't a good thing.
Pretty fun last day of the season overall. I do kind of wish Bournemouth scraped survival, but they dug themselves too much of a hole earlier in the season and didn't leave themselves enough time. They have quite a few quality players that Premiership clubs will be wanting to take off their hands over the summer: Aké, Brooks, King, etc.
Pretty amazing that United came all the way back from the doldrums of midseason and finished third. The lockdown break really helped them as it helped them further integrate Bruno Fernandes into the squad and bring Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba back from injuries. They did run out of gas at the end and really need more depth in the squad to mount a decent title challenge / UCL run next season.
The other half of the equation was Leicester City's epic collapse. They played good football today, but the injuries, suspensions, and overall lapses of concentration killed them down the stretch. Maddison was injured of awful the entire second half the season, which didn't help matters, either.
Looks like Wolves missed out on Europa, but don't they have another path in if Chelsea wins the FA Cup?
Pretty amazing that United came all the way back from the doldrums of midseason and finished third. The lockdown break really helped them as it helped them further integrate Bruno Fernandes into the squad and bring Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba back from injuries. They did run out of gas at the end and really need more depth in the squad to mount a decent title challenge / UCL run next season.
The other half of the equation was Leicester City's epic collapse. They played good football today, but the injuries, suspensions, and overall lapses of concentration killed them down the stretch. Maddison was injured of awful the entire second half the season, which didn't help matters, either.
Looks like Wolves missed out on Europa, but don't they have another path in if Chelsea wins the FA Cup?
As my family are all Villa fans, glad that they survived.
As a Saints fan, surprised we ended up in 11th. If you'd predicted that in January, I would've laughed at you.
Mid table ended up being quite meh, but also incredibly close in some areas.
Well done Liverpool - congrats on the season result and commiserations to Bournemouth and Watford, although I feel Watford's board deserved the punishment of going down, after the way they behaved this season - just got to feel for the fans and the players.
Norwich really did look like they could have been up there with Wolves at the start of the season, but even Pukki wasn't looking like the threat he was at the start of the season in the latter part of the year...very strange. Dead and buried long before the restart.
Let's see what next season holds. For now I'll go back to watching the A-League, with my favourite team The Wellington Phoenix continuing their fine form.
As a Saints fan, surprised we ended up in 11th. If you'd predicted that in January, I would've laughed at you.
Mid table ended up being quite meh, but also incredibly close in some areas.
Well done Liverpool - congrats on the season result and commiserations to Bournemouth and Watford, although I feel Watford's board deserved the punishment of going down, after the way they behaved this season - just got to feel for the fans and the players.
Norwich really did look like they could have been up there with Wolves at the start of the season, but even Pukki wasn't looking like the threat he was at the start of the season in the latter part of the year...very strange. Dead and buried long before the restart.
Let's see what next season holds. For now I'll go back to watching the A-League, with my favourite team The Wellington Phoenix continuing their fine form.
Being A Columbus Crew SC fan, I have a soft spot for any club that wear black and yellow (or similar). I toyed with the idea of buying a Wellington Phoenix shirt recently (some of their past editions have been very nice), but I'm not keen on the giant red Huawei logo this season.
A few years back West Ham had no shirt sponsor. I really liked that top as it said West Ham, not some company I have no interest in endorsing. I rarely where my football tops though. My mum used to buy me one for a birthday or Christmas some years, but we don't anymore.
Plus its really only something I want to wear at a game and its been ages since I went to one.
So, with the season over, what exactly am I supposed to do now?
I guess review all the transfer rumours of the players we CANNOT buy
I guess review all the transfer rumours of the players we CANNOT buy
So, with the season over, what exactly am I supposed to do now?
I guess review all the transfer rumours of the players we CANNOT buy
Champions League and Europa League are starting up again soon.
I'm glad United will be under no pressure to actually win the UEL this time to ensure their place in the UCL next season, but if everyone can get a good rest in and give it a shot with the strongest competition likely to be Inter Milan... hey, it's a significant trophy.