Westmorlandspur
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- Feb 1, 2013
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At some stage on Sat Stoke are going to have to try and win the game which opens the door for us.
Race for the Top 4 - 2017/18
- Thread starter am_yisrael_chai
- Start date
Sane will destroy that right hand side with Arnold and lovren.
ajspurs
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- Jul 7, 2007
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Exactly, they may try and stay compact at first but they will open up eventually I think. They have quite a big pitch too so it's not like it will probably turn into one of those hostile games on those small tight grounds either.
Trix
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- Jul 29, 2004
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Hearing things are very broken at Chelsea, agents already telling the club players want out, a manager not speaking to members of the hierarchy, and players arguing between themselves at training. Don't see them rallying for the last few games with all that going on personally.
How is the condition at arsenal?
Westmorlandspur
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Clyne is apparently fit again but would be a gamble to throw him straight in without any previous games. Teams have targeted Arnold recently with some success. Sane will be a nightmare for him.
lukespurs7
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- Feb 21, 2006
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Nice 1 Trix cheers for info
Shadydan
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- Jul 7, 2012
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That was obvious the moment Conte started to attack the board in the summer, it was only going to go one way, just surprised it took this long to come to fruition, I hope Barkley is enjoying his new club by the way.
Jimmypearce7
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- Feb 23, 2005
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I don't want to get carried away but...... i am told (not implying an inside source, just a fellow Yid who looked it up on the internet) that we would be in Pot 2 seeds next year. There are 8 in each pot and we are currently ranked 19th but three of the teams above us look unlikely to qualify. Of course Arsenal being one of them, may spoil that by winning the EL. Another reason to support Athletico Madrid, if one were needed.
SpartanSpur
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He's a great coach but it's clear his sulking has had a negative impact on the club this season.
That said when your club spend £200m+ without your input and you end up with:-
Morata (Weak mentally and inferior to the outgoing Costa )
Drinkwater (Such a meh signing)
Bakayoko (Definitely the wrong DM from Monaco)
Rudiger (Looks ok but he's not up to their usual CB standards)
Zappa/Emerson (Back up wing backs for a manager that likes a settled side)
Barkley (Player returning from a bad injury that needs a lot of work)
It's not surprising he had a bit of a meltie.
Shadydan
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I have a feeling Poch would have gotten a lot more out of them, Conte has made excuses all season and that can only transcend to the players which is probably why they are under performing.
BringBack_leGin
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- Jul 28, 2004
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Amazing when you consider that the 22 players making up our current squad (so not including those out on loan, just those contributing to our current good season) cost a combined £290m at most (if you believe highest press values, all clauses activated etc). And that’s a pretty even split between first team and squaddies.
tommo84
Proud to be loud
- Aug 15, 2005
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This is almost right but it depends a bit on who wins the other leagues, as Pot 1 is reserved for winners of the top 7 leagues and the Champions League holders (top 8 leagues if the Champs League winner also wins their domestic league). So the question becomes are there 8 teams above us in the Uefa coefficients who are set to qualify for next season, but not as domestic champions. Currently there are (I think) 7:
Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Dortmund, one of Porto and Benfica, Man Utd, Napoli and Basel.
Zenit could creep in to the qualification spots for Russia and Arsenal could win the Europa League. The other two teams above us who look unlikely to qualify for the comp next season are Chelsea and Sevilla. Also, Ukraine is the 8th Top League, so if the Champs League is won by a team who don't win their domestic title (i.e.Real Madrid) then Shaktar would drop into Pot 2 (but Madrid would be promoted to Pot 1 so it would even out).
So yeah it looks like we could be the last team in Pot 2 but a few variables to be ironed out still.
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SpartanSpur
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Agree to an extent but I do feel Chelsea's squad has deteriorated considerably in the last few years. I was stunned at how Conte broke the league wins record with that squad. 3 at the back threw everybody for a loop and Kante was just a beast of a signing.
In the last couple of seasons they've lost Terry, Ivanovic, Luiz and Cahill, all top defenders on their day but crucially pretty prolific goal-scoring defenders also (They missed those set piece goals this year). Terry was Mr-Chelsea too. Then Diego Costa who was a warrior that scored in a lot of tight games, massive bastard but a vital one for them. They also sold Matic to Utd and replaced poorly, weakening a key component of their title winning side. They also sold some useful squad players in Oscar and Ramires to China for big cash that they've since wasted. Problems are somewhat understandable really.
Shadydan
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- Jul 7, 2012
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Yeah he did well but let's not forget that the nucleus of this team won the title two season's before that, they just essentially stopped playing for Mourinho and the added bonus of not having European football so he could work on his tactics and keep players fresh for the league whilst it was a great achievement to win the league in his first season he had all the ingredients there to succeed.
I would say that the team he was left with should be finishing in the top four or at least shouldn't be out of the race in April anyway. They've got backup in every position now and it's not as if they've had an injury crisis in the season.
I personally think his constant whinging at the board has had an affect on the players, he's practically moaned constantly about their squad depth despite having an abundance of players on their books that IMO could have been useful. I think that's just given the players an excuse to drop off, the negativity wasn't only coming from him but he contributed to a lot of it, he also could have handled the Diego Costa situation a bit better.
There's another problem which is Conte never committed to Chelsea so the board were right to not fully back him and buy the players he wanted in that respect, I don't think he can have much complaints.
Lighty64
I believe
- Aug 24, 2010
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we got 15 pts last season
Man U = 3pts
Man C = 4pts
Liverpool = 1pt
Arse = 4pts
Chelsea = 3pts
SpartanSpur
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I agree with this part but it's tight in the top 6 now. Would you swap squads with them now? I wouldn't, which would be insane to say 3 years ago. This was my point. Some down to our growth, but also some down to a gradual weakening on their part.
Right now I'd only take Kante, Willian and Hazard without hesitation. A few others would be marginal.
Lighty64
I believe
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people would still ignore it, or not notice it.
Shadydan
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I wouldn't take their squad but the difference here is who is managing them IMO, our squad of players have improved because of Pochettino and we've been on an upward curve whilst a lot of theirs had improved last season those who ought to have pushed on have either stagnated or gone backwards this season due to the turbulence at the club and the fact that Conte most probably won't be there next season (Moses, Luiz, Christensen, Cortoius, Bakayoko, Cahill)
They have a better squad that Liverpool for example and more depth yet Liverpool will finish above them.
SpartanSpur
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Yeah I can go along with that. It's been a failure at every level at that club this season. Like you said the writings been on the wall since the summer so I'm also surprised it's taken so long to come to fruition.
Imagine if @Trix is talking about Hazard, Willian, Courtois and even Kante trying to force a move. Massive summer ahead for them, hope they fuck it up further!
