The 2022-2023 Football Thread

[laptech]

Unfortunately, City have strength in depth; injuries don't matter quite as much to them, - or, rather, do not have as much of an effect as would be the case with such injuries with other teams - because they have a sufficient number of quality players - players who would stroll into a first team with any other club - on their bench.

When it comes to the subs bench, City will have the advantage because as you rightly point out, they have strength in depth and thus can put out a very strong sub bench which they have done in the past and as we see week in week out, subs coming on can make a huge difference to a game. Ten Haag will not want the game to go to extra time because he knows he does not have the strength in subs that City will have. Fresh legs will make all the difference and City have been able to put some extremely experience players on their sub bench which I am sure will worry United's manager.

City's 6-3 league hammering of United should not be looked into too deeply when looking at the two teams because Ten Haag only came into the club in April 2022 and City beat them in October 2022 whilst Haag was finding his feet with the club. The game in January could be seen as being the game with interest because Haag had by then a good few months under his belt with the team and United beat City 2-1. So, even with an understrength side to that of City and no where near the strength in depth of City, United beat them in January. In my opinion City will be going in as clear favorites but this will be the first time both teams have meet since the United win in January so even with all the strength and skill that City have, I cannot see it being an easy game for City, unless United do what they did at Liverpool which is down tools and got hammered 7-0 lol. You never know

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, normally, I am no fan of Manchester United, but, on this occasion, they will have my full support.

I hope they thrash City, rather than simply defeating them.

Above all, I do not wish to see City win the treble.

 

[laptech]

Well, normally, I am no fan of Manchester United, but, on this occasion, they will have my full support.

I hope they thrash City, rather than simply defeating them.

Above all, I do not wish to see City win the treble.

The last game of the season will be very interesting because both managers will not want to risk any of their key players getting injured. As you already mentioned, City have strength in depth so they could probably get away with a couple of more injuries but not to key player like Haaland. The problem United have is that is any of their key players get injured they are stuffed because they haven't got very good backup players. If Hag plays key players in the last game of the season and they get injured then it could be a thrashing for United.

What's the reason you want City to be thrashed? personal reason? (if so don't need to say), their dominance due to Abu Dhabi owners money?, because of who owns them?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

What's the reason you want City to be thrashed?

Where can I start?

.... their dominance due to Abu Dhabi owners money?,

Yes.

And again, yes.

because of who owns them?

Yes, yes, yes.

Manchester City have won five out of the past six Premier League titles; that is far too many and is a degree of suffocating domnination that Manchester United (under Sir Alex Ferguson), or Liverpool in the 1980s, never quite reached.

They are currently facing over a hundred charges (115, I think) of having breached the FFP rules; 115 is not a small number, and I think that they are cavalier in their treatment of rules and regulations, believing (possibly correctly) that these do not apply to them.

Just to preserve a sense of cosmic fair play, - and to add a small sliver of belief to the idea that money (and an excellent manager with access to bottomless funds) cannot buy everything (Chelsea are not a sufficient object lesson in that regard), personally, I would like to see anyone other than Manchester City win the Champion's League and I devoutly hope that Manchester United - chaotic though they currently are - defeat them in the FA Cup.

 

[Silencio]

If there's a neutral out there who wants city to win the treble, I'd be shocked. It won't be an achievement of wonder or delight for anyone but their own fans, but everyone else will rightly see it as a crushing, soulless, inevitable grind.

Meanwhile, Coventry vs Luton at Wembley for a ticket to the Premiership tomorrow. Some interesting matches to close up the 2022–2023 Premier League season and resolve the final two relegation spots. I'm pretty neutral on both — maybe slightly shading towards Coventry winning promotion. Everton may need to stay up to ensure their very survival as a club: with their financial difficulties, the loss of revenue from relegation may be too much to overcome.

 

[mrsmith1]

I couldn’t care less who wins the FA cup. I wish it was possible for both teams to lose.

 

[mrsmith1]

For me, Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton have been the Premier League teams of the season.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

If there's a neutral out there who wants city to win the treble, I'd be shocked. It won't be an achievement of wonder or delight for anyone but their own fans, but everyone else will rightly see it as a crushing, soulless, inevitable grind.

My thoughts also.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I couldn’t care less who wins the FA cup. I wish it was possible for both teams to lose.

I think that the relentless, soulless, suffocating grind of Manchester City's success - an anaconda of a team, boa constrictors of football, crushing the life out of competition because of the colossal advantages they enjoy - is profoundly unhealthy for the Premier League.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

For me, Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton have been the Premier League teams of the season.

They have been excellent, agreed.

I would also add Arsenal - who have over-performed and done extremely well (as some of the fans will come to realise, once the immediate disappointment of recent results has receded) this season.

Hardly any commentator predicted that they would qualify for the Champion's League last August, let alone lead the table for most of the season and end up in second place.

 

[Silencio]

Dortmund in the process of throwing away the Bundesliga title. A real shame.

 

[Apple fanboy]

They have been excellent, agreed.

I would also add Arsenal - who have over-performed and done extremely well (as some of the fans will come to realise, once the immediate disappointment of recent results has receded) this season.

Hardly any commentator predicted that they would qualify for the Champion's League last August, let alone lead the table for most of the season and end up in second place.

Agreed. However I think CL football will take its toll on you next season. The fact that you had very few cup games helped you a lot this year.
Of course strengthening the squad will help, but if you are buying Rice for £100+ million how much money will you have left?

 

[laptech]

Where can I start?


Yes.

And again, yes.


Yes, yes, yes.

Manchester City have won five out of the past six Premier League titles; that is far too many and is a degree of suffocating domnination that Manchester United (under Sir Alex Ferguson), or Liverpool in the 1980s, never quite reached.

They are currently facing over a hundred charges (115, I think) of having breached the FFP rules; 115 is not a small number, and I think that they are cavalier in their treatment of rules and regulations, believing (possibly correctly) that these do not apply to them.

Just to preserve a sense of cosmic fair play, - and to add a small sliver of belief to the idea that money (and an excellent manager with access to bottomless funds) cannot buy everything (Chelsea are not a sufficient object lesson in that regard), personally, I would like to see anyone other than Manchester City win the Champion's League and I devoutly hope that Manchester United - chaotic though they currently are - defeat them in the FA Cup.

With that said about City, I wonder how German football supporters feel about Bayern Munich winning the league title for which is now 11 seasons in a row. If people are this hung up about City winning 5 titles in six years, the German people must be going berserk over one team winning their league 11 times in a row.

 

[laptech]

Also for Man United, I get the feeling the writing is on the wall for them regarding the FA cup because their womens team lost their FA cup final and have also lost out on winning the league on the last day of the league with Chelsea Women winning it for a 4th time in a row. The omens are there for the men's team and it don't look good.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Bayern Munich have killed German football.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

With that said about City, I wonder how German football supporters feel about Bayern Munich winning the league title for which is now 11 seasons in a row. If people are this hung up about City winning 5 titles in six years, the German people must be going berserk over one team winning their league 11 times in a row.

The thing is, - and this, obviously, - also applies to a even greater extent to German football (and, indeed, French football) - when one team becomes so dominant for so long, it is no longer possible to consider that league as genuinely competitive.

One of the reasons that the English Premier League has been popular has been the fact that - until relatively recently, at least - the title could have been won by any one of a number of clubs, a small number, granted, but nevertheless, a degree of genuine competition existed and the winner of the title was not automatically assumed in advance.

Spanish football has been competitive, - who won the title was not a foregone conclusion - as has Italian football, and, until recently, this also applied to English football.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The thing is, - and this, obviously, - also applies to a even greater extent to German football (and, indeed, French football) - when one team becomes so dominant for so long, it is no longer possible to consider that league as genuinely competitive.

One of the reasons that the English Premier League has been popular has been the fact that - until relatively recently, at least - the title could have been won by any one of a number of clubs, a small number, granted, but nevertheless, a degree of genuine competition existed and the winner of the title was not automatically assumed in advance.

Spanish football has been competitive, - who won the title was not a foregone conclusion - as has Italian football, and, until recently, this also applied to English football.

Still applies to English football.
Liverpool won it 8 out of 10 times between 76-86.
Manchester United win it 8 out off 11 times in the 90’s.

Manchester City are not guaranteed to win it each year. It is still as open as it’s ever been.
Yes I know they have plenty of money. But that does not guarantee success.

Pep won’t stay forever. KDB is their talisman and is better than most midfielders in the world. But he won’t go on forever.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Still applies to English football.
Liverpool won it 8 out of 10 times between 76-86.
Manchester United win it 8 out off 11 times in the 90’s.

True, but they didn't win doubles and trebles that readily.

Manchester City are not guaranteed to win it each year. It is still as open as it’s ever been.

I would argue that the margins are tighter now; one doesn't have room for many errors over the course of a season.

Liverpool chased Manchester City to the wire, - winning the title once, and the Champion's League once - but, it has cost them dearly.

In other words, the teams that win have to have been not just extremely good, but consistently excellent over the entire season.

Yes I know they have plenty of money. But that does not guarantee success.

Chelsea is the obvious (and hilarious) object lesson, here, agreed.

However, the absence of such money makes it harder to compete against - over a season - against a club with access to such resources.

Pep won’t stay forever. KDB is their talisman and is better than most midfielders in the world. But he won’t go on forever.

Agreed, Pep won't stay forever, and neither will KDB.

However, Manchester City have a strength in depth that others can only envy.

Their subs bench would stroll into a first team place on almost every other team in the division.

 

[Apple fanboy]

True, but they didn't win doubles and trebles that readily.



I would argue that the margins are tighter now; one doesn't have room for many errors over the course of a season.

Liverpool chased Manchester City to the wire, - winning the title once, and the Champion's League once - but, it has cost them dearly.

In other words, the teams that win have to have been not just extremely good, but consistently excellent over the entire season.


Chelsea is the obvious (and hilarious) object lesson, here, agreed.

However, the absence of such money makes it harder to compete against - over a season - against a club with access to such resources.


Agreed, Pep won't stay forever, and neither will KDB.

However, Manchester City have a strength in depth that others can only envy.

Their subs bench would stroll into a first team place on almost every other team in the division.

This is true. But Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and United can all say the same. Maybe not as good as City’s, but better than the rest of the League’s for sure.
If Leeds for example had been able to call on their first choice 11, would they be in their current predicament

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This is true. But Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and United can all say the same. Maybe not as good as City’s, but better than the rest of the League’s for sure.
If Leeds for example had been able to call on their first choice 11, would they be in their current predicament

If Arsenal had been able to call on their first choice 11, they might well have been champions this year.

The demands of the season mean that to maintain - sustain - standards over the course of the entire season require a team to have strength in depth, players of quality who are not regular starters in the first team, or sufficient players of quality so that positions can be rotated regularly.

At present, the only team to enjoy such luxury is Manchester City.

 

[Sydde]

Luton makes its first entry into the modern EPL on PKs.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Luton makes its first entry into the modern EPL on PKs.

Well done and congratulations to Luton.

 

[Sydde]

Also, congradulations to all the teams promoted last season for staying up, first time for no one-and-dones for about seven years. Forest is kind of an interesting case: they seem to play better on their heels, not winning games with ball control but letting the other team kick it around and apparently scoring on short breaks. In beating Arsenal, Forest controlled the ball less than a fifth of the game.

 

[pachyderm]

Also, congradulations to all the teams promoted last season for staying up, first time for no one-and-dones for about seven years. Forest is kind of an interesting case: they seem to play better on their heels, not winning games with ball control but letting the other team kick it around and apparently scoring on short breaks. In beating Arsenal, Forest controlled the ball less than a fifth of the game.

UP THE HATTERS !!

Also, Coventry City barely avoided relegation two years ago! eh, more or less anyway... and we were relegated to League 1...

 

[laptech]

Congrats on Luton Town getting into the PL but I have a question. Do you think a team that has a ground capacity of just over 10,000 should be allowed to gain entry into the PL where the majority of PL clubs have 30,000+ capacity. Bournemouth were the team with the lowest capacity of just over 11,000 and even then their entry into the PL was questionable.

So, basically the question is this, should teams gaining entry into the PL be forced to upgrade their ground capacity to a size that is more fitting of a PL club, say 30,000+ capacity or should any size capacity, even one that has lower than 10,000 be allowed into the PL?