Premier League 2023/2024

[Wheeler Dealer]

4 pts separating the top 5 after 10 games can’t of happened to often.

There seems to be less shock results this year than previous seasons, based on what we've seen so far. The three promoted teams are absolute garbage and I doubt any one of these three will hit 25 points this season.

I think the only real surprise is Chelsea, and I'm sure most would have expected them to be much more competitive. I'm chuffed to see them struggling along with Man U. Chelsea's wholesale recruitment has proven to be risky and so far disastrous, but time will tell if this strategy works or not...

Man U have a very average, over priced squad managed by a man massively out of his depth.

 

[night-watchman]

We probably had the hardest fixture, Utd was also a potential banana skin for City but there is a huge gulf between them really, and City usually roll them over.

I know Utd are dogshit at the moment, but whichever way you spin it Utd Away is a more difficult fixture than Palace away.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

I know Utd are dogshit at the moment, but whichever way you spin it Utd Away is a more difficult fixture than Palace away.

Palace beat United at Old Trafford this season...

 

[Col_M]

Palace beat United at Old Trafford this season...

who hasn't beaten them at OT this season?

 

[philll]

Another player in a long list of players who foolishly went to Chelsea and took the grubby Russian money over their career.

It could be argued that at the end of the day a professional footballers main job is to earn as much money as they can while they can, so in that respect he’s done ok. It’s a shame so many sacrifice a good career playing football for this option though.

Ok, but to add some actual context to the struggles he's faced...

"I was [suffering with mental health issues in 2019]. Nan passed, grandad passed, dad got diagnosed with Leukaemia, I lost my dog and was drink driving, which is just not me. I made a big mistake. I was also fighting for my son, which was going on constantly and takes its toll. I think when someone has too much to juggle, it can hit you. And it did hit me. And I was like 'wow', is this what it's come to? And I was lost."

 

[easley91]

Another player in a long list of players who foolishly went to Chelsea and took the grubby Russian money over their career.

It could be argued that at the end of the day a professional footballers main job is to earn as much money as they can while they can, so in that respect he’s done ok. It’s a shame so many sacrifice a good career playing football for this option though.

To play devil's advocate..

Why is it? Our own Assou-Ekotto said it was a job to him at the end of the day. I'd want to set generations of my family up for life so they never have to struggle if I could. Why is wanting the money such a bad thing when typically players will retire in their 30s/40s? I don't think it's a bad thing to want to provide financial security for yourself and your family.

Is your issue the money, or where that money comes from?

 

[McFlash]

What the hell happened here? He was never a top tier player but that move to Chelsea must rank as just about the worst in Premier League history. Drinkwater was a PL winner and should have had a proper go in a mid-table PL side at least.

He'll mainly be remembered for nearly having a fight with a young Devine during a youth game when he was about 30, the massive twat.

 

[rossdapep]

Thank god Kane didn't go to United. Would hate to see him waste perhaps his last peak three years at that disaster of a club.

I have so many United mates who were fimung they didn't go for him. In fact, they were talking about it as if it was an easy deal to do.

I told them Levy would have really dug his heels in and Kane probably wasn't even 100% convinced about it.

 

[PCozzie]

He'll mainly be remembered for nearly having a fight with a young Devine during a youth game when he was about 30, the massive twat.

Oh yeh, forgot all about that

 

[Tucker]

To play devil's advocate..

Why is it? Our own Assou-Ekotto said it was a job to him at the end of the day. I'd want to set generations of my family up for life so they never have to struggle if I could. Why is wanting the money such a bad thing when typically players will retire in their 30s/40s? I don't think it's a bad thing to want to provide financial security for yourself and your family.

Is your issue the money, or where that money comes from?

I think most people would like to think there’s at least some level of sporting ambition, of playing for the glory of it and not just the pay packet.

 

[BorjeSpurs]

Really good from Tim Vickery on the ongoing situation with Luiz Diaz parents.

 

[Styopa]

I think most people would like to think there’s at least some level of sporting ambition, of playing for the glory of it and not just the pay packet.

I think the other point worth mentioning is we often see phrases thrown around like “set their families up for life.” But these players can do this even by moving to a more modest club, where they still would be paid relatively enormous amounts.

For example the average Championship player is apparently paid something between £10k and £30k a week. In other words they probably earn more in a month than most people in the UK earn in a year. Especially at the higher end of that spectrum, where even in the Championship they earn significantly more in one month than the average UK person does in a year- let alone the global average.

So we can probably safely say a couple of years earnings for your average championship player is more than most people will earn in twenty or more years. Probably 3 or 4 years at between £10k and £30k a week is more than most people can expect to earn during their working life (relative to inflation).

And that’s a few years in the Championship, let alone the massive contracts offered by clubs like Chelsea.

They are perfectly entitled to move to whoever pays them the most but the whole setting their family up for life thing is way overdone in my opinion.

 

[beats1]

There seems to be less shock results this year than previous seasons, based on what we've seen so far. The three promoted teams are absolute garbage and I doubt any one of these three will hit 25 points this season.

I think the only real surprise is Chelsea, and I'm sure most would have expected them to be much more competitive. I'm chuffed to see them struggling along with Man U. Chelsea's wholesale recruitment has proven to be risky and so far disastrous, but time will tell if this strategy works or not...

Man U have a very average, over priced squad managed by a man massively out of his depth.

I don't think Chelsea should be written off, and I'm frankly scared about our next match. The season Mourinho won the title:
We were crap until the game at WHL where we won 5-3, it took one match for everything to click in to place

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

This Friday-to-Monday nonsense is starting to feel like an international break…

 

[rossdapep]

I don't think Chelsea should be written off, and I'm frankly scared about our next match. The season Mourinho won the title:
We were crap until the game at WHL where we won 5-3, it took one match for everything to click in to place

Yeah I certianly get a little worried when we get made 'favourites' and people start assuming we will wipe the floor with a rival cause they ahve struggled in other games.

We won't deploy tactics that Chelsea struggle with.

Having said that, Chelsea struggle in the last 20 minutes or so as they don't kill teams off and that pressure comes back to them.

 

[Mr Pink]

Yeah I certianly get a little worried when we get made 'favourites' and people start assuming we will wipe the floor with a rival cause they ahve struggled in other games.

We won't deploy tactics that Chelsea struggle with.

Having said that, Chelsea struggle in the last 20 minutes or so as they don't kill teams off and that pressure comes back to them.

But surely you wouldnt be 'scared' of playing them....?

Theyve been poor thus far and struggle to score if Sterling isn't having a good day.

Obvioulsy we need to respect them, and they have some talent in their ranks for sure, but they're not a cohesive side (yet) and there's no evidence to suggest we should be scared of them.

I thihk theyll be more worried facing us.

 

[HNIM]

This Friday-to-Monday nonsense is starting to feel like an international break…

Maybe, but nobody's coming back injured.

 

[worcestersauce]

What the hell happened here? He was never a top tier player but that move to Chelsea must rank as just about the worst in Premier League history. Drinkwater was a PL winner and should have had a proper go in a mid-table PL side at least.

Yep, He retired six years ago.

 

[philll]

Just adding salty fuel to the "but they don't deserve to be in first!" fire...

It's also a little bit hilarious that United are actually doing better than they "should" be.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

"Expected" by a bloke from Newcastle, clearly. I am getting so bored with "Expected" this and that, since when has expecting anything been this important? Expectation leads to disappointment or smugness, both are fucking awful, nobody wins. Can we pack this in?