IthacaMatt
Old Timer / Unofficial Contributor for 25+ years
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 23,454
- Like
- 34,129
Hey out there! Any thoughts as we come to the business end of the season?
I am quite surprised that Leicester have kept hold of the lead so late in the season, but this is a year with no great teams, and may have the lowest point total of the Premier League Era. I am very much a Foxes bandwagon fan, just because of the Hoosiers (Nottingham Forest) aspect to the story. Claudio Ranieri has done a great job, and they continue to work hard, late in the season. With fewer games than the competition and a 5 point lead, I really think they are going to do it.
Spurs have done a tremendous job, and are also so young. Some of these guys like Ryan Mason and Eric Dior and Danny Rose did not really win me over at first, but the way that MP rotates his squad keeps them all working hard and contributing. Harry overcoming his early season scoring drought has been crucial, of course, but they are getting better about finding more goals throughout the lineup, and they are reportedly going to get Berahino from WBA this summer to give them a little more creativity up front. Quite a squad he's built that is playing much better than the name on the back of the jersey would have you believe.
Arsenal, oh man, Cech out for a month. Looked like they had blown the game against Spurs to bury their season, only for Sanchez to snatch back some hope with his last minute goal. Boy, these guys have been underachieving down the stretch, especially Sanchez and Ozil. When Danny Welbeck was your best player on the day, you have to look yourself in the eye and step it up.
City seem not to care anymore about England; it's all about the Champions League for Pellingrini's farewell. It will be farewell for many of these players, too. For so much injection of youth into the squad last summer (Sterling, DeBruyne, Delph), it's a shame that they still rely so heavily on Yaya Toure and David Silva and Sergio Aguero. Those guys are all faded this year, but might have enough left in the tank to make a Champions League semi-final, they are already essentially in the final 8, absent a historic meltdown to Kyev.
United and Liverpool are both so hot and cold. There is talent in both squads, but the pieces don't fit. Some of that has been injuries. Although people have attacked Van Gaal all year long, he's still right around where he is supposed to be, despite a million obstacles and the press braying for his head every week. He probably thought he would be treated with more respect when he took the job. Liverpool has a lot of young talent and is not that far away, in my opinion. Klopp is the right guy. I think they will threaten top 4 next year.
Everton seem to be running out of patience with Roberto Martinez, which is understandable. He has taught them to play attractive football, and inspired football at times, but he just lacks the ability to criticize his players and to make them play defense at the end of games. Same problem Rogers had, back when he still had all that attacking talent when Suarez and Sturridge and Sterling were playing with such joy.
Chelsea are apparently trying to make a run at Pochettino and see him as a perfect fit for bringing their own young talent through. If you include the 3o guys they have out on loan, and you just brought them all back in to training camp, and didn't travel the freaking world for the new guy's first season, so he could really get to assess the talent, I think that would be enormously beneficial for Chelsea. Conte might be a good choice. Three straight titles at Juve, credited with turning Pogba into the world class talent he has become. But does Chelsea need Pogba that badly? Don't they think Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be the next one? And Matic is a hell of a talent still, too, and could be here for another 8 years.
Of the former mid-table clubs, I love what Alan Pardew did with Crystal Palace early in the season, but I'm troubled by the free fall that's taking place, like happened to him at Newcastle, where he once finished 5th, just a couple years before. He doesn't seem to know how to stop a slide when it happens, although he certainly can get a team up for a big game and has built sides before pretty successfully.
West Ham is doing great under Bilic, much better than under Allerdyce, much more attractive football, and moving into Olympic Stadium next year and likely playing in Europa League is going to make them a lot more money, get them more TV coverage than they've had before, and really could make them a new kind of Spurs level team, if they are managed well.
I wonder if Daniel Levy will hold on to his coach and his star striker, especially with this huge new TV contract kicking in, or will he yield to temptation and sell him for a ton of money, to help defray the costs of their new stadium?
I think it finishes:
1. Leicester
2. Tottenham
3. Arsenal
4. Manchester United
5. Man City
6. West Ham United
7. Liverpool
8. Southampton
9. Chelsea
If I were Chelsea for next year:
1. Hire Pochettino as Coach
2. Bring back Lukaku at 56M pounds - double the profit for Everton
3. Sell Costa for 40M
4. Play younger guys, bring in some guys from loan deals, keep a much deeper squad
5. Scott Dann for defense, not Stones. Half the price, twice the player.
6. Get rid of John Terry. This year should be Ivanovic's last year, transition for central defense.
7. Surprisingly, do not clear out a lot of the spoiled brats; bring them back again. They were champs a year ago, and in the semifinals of Champions League the year before that.
My Roster: 3 purchases - 1 defender, 2 strikers. Sell Diego, Mikel. Move out Terry and Ivanovic for a clean start in the back.
G: Courtois, Begovic
LB: Baba Rahman, Kennedy, Nathan Ake
CB: Kurt Zouma, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Andreas Christiansen or Tomas Kalas
RB: Azpilicueta, Ola Aina
DM: Matic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marco Van Ginkel
AM: Hazard, Willian, Pedro, Fabregas, Oscar, Mario Pasalic, Juan Cuadrado (WOW!)
Striker: Lukaku, Edinson Cavani, Bertrand Traore, Dom Solanke
I am quite surprised that Leicester have kept hold of the lead so late in the season, but this is a year with no great teams, and may have the lowest point total of the Premier League Era. I am very much a Foxes bandwagon fan, just because of the Hoosiers (Nottingham Forest) aspect to the story. Claudio Ranieri has done a great job, and they continue to work hard, late in the season. With fewer games than the competition and a 5 point lead, I really think they are going to do it.
Spurs have done a tremendous job, and are also so young. Some of these guys like Ryan Mason and Eric Dior and Danny Rose did not really win me over at first, but the way that MP rotates his squad keeps them all working hard and contributing. Harry overcoming his early season scoring drought has been crucial, of course, but they are getting better about finding more goals throughout the lineup, and they are reportedly going to get Berahino from WBA this summer to give them a little more creativity up front. Quite a squad he's built that is playing much better than the name on the back of the jersey would have you believe.
Arsenal, oh man, Cech out for a month. Looked like they had blown the game against Spurs to bury their season, only for Sanchez to snatch back some hope with his last minute goal. Boy, these guys have been underachieving down the stretch, especially Sanchez and Ozil. When Danny Welbeck was your best player on the day, you have to look yourself in the eye and step it up.
City seem not to care anymore about England; it's all about the Champions League for Pellingrini's farewell. It will be farewell for many of these players, too. For so much injection of youth into the squad last summer (Sterling, DeBruyne, Delph), it's a shame that they still rely so heavily on Yaya Toure and David Silva and Sergio Aguero. Those guys are all faded this year, but might have enough left in the tank to make a Champions League semi-final, they are already essentially in the final 8, absent a historic meltdown to Kyev.
United and Liverpool are both so hot and cold. There is talent in both squads, but the pieces don't fit. Some of that has been injuries. Although people have attacked Van Gaal all year long, he's still right around where he is supposed to be, despite a million obstacles and the press braying for his head every week. He probably thought he would be treated with more respect when he took the job. Liverpool has a lot of young talent and is not that far away, in my opinion. Klopp is the right guy. I think they will threaten top 4 next year.
Everton seem to be running out of patience with Roberto Martinez, which is understandable. He has taught them to play attractive football, and inspired football at times, but he just lacks the ability to criticize his players and to make them play defense at the end of games. Same problem Rogers had, back when he still had all that attacking talent when Suarez and Sturridge and Sterling were playing with such joy.
Chelsea are apparently trying to make a run at Pochettino and see him as a perfect fit for bringing their own young talent through. If you include the 3o guys they have out on loan, and you just brought them all back in to training camp, and didn't travel the freaking world for the new guy's first season, so he could really get to assess the talent, I think that would be enormously beneficial for Chelsea. Conte might be a good choice. Three straight titles at Juve, credited with turning Pogba into the world class talent he has become. But does Chelsea need Pogba that badly? Don't they think Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be the next one? And Matic is a hell of a talent still, too, and could be here for another 8 years.
Of the former mid-table clubs, I love what Alan Pardew did with Crystal Palace early in the season, but I'm troubled by the free fall that's taking place, like happened to him at Newcastle, where he once finished 5th, just a couple years before. He doesn't seem to know how to stop a slide when it happens, although he certainly can get a team up for a big game and has built sides before pretty successfully.
West Ham is doing great under Bilic, much better than under Allerdyce, much more attractive football, and moving into Olympic Stadium next year and likely playing in Europa League is going to make them a lot more money, get them more TV coverage than they've had before, and really could make them a new kind of Spurs level team, if they are managed well.
I wonder if Daniel Levy will hold on to his coach and his star striker, especially with this huge new TV contract kicking in, or will he yield to temptation and sell him for a ton of money, to help defray the costs of their new stadium?
I think it finishes:
1. Leicester
2. Tottenham
3. Arsenal
4. Manchester United
5. Man City
6. West Ham United
7. Liverpool
8. Southampton
9. Chelsea
If I were Chelsea for next year:
1. Hire Pochettino as Coach
2. Bring back Lukaku at 56M pounds - double the profit for Everton
3. Sell Costa for 40M
4. Play younger guys, bring in some guys from loan deals, keep a much deeper squad
5. Scott Dann for defense, not Stones. Half the price, twice the player.
6. Get rid of John Terry. This year should be Ivanovic's last year, transition for central defense.
7. Surprisingly, do not clear out a lot of the spoiled brats; bring them back again. They were champs a year ago, and in the semifinals of Champions League the year before that.
My Roster: 3 purchases - 1 defender, 2 strikers. Sell Diego, Mikel. Move out Terry and Ivanovic for a clean start in the back.
G: Courtois, Begovic
LB: Baba Rahman, Kennedy, Nathan Ake
CB: Kurt Zouma, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Andreas Christiansen or Tomas Kalas
RB: Azpilicueta, Ola Aina
DM: Matic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marco Van Ginkel
AM: Hazard, Willian, Pedro, Fabregas, Oscar, Mario Pasalic, Juan Cuadrado (WOW!)
Striker: Lukaku, Edinson Cavani, Bertrand Traore, Dom Solanke
Last edited:
