let's predict the top four and bottom three now, then laugh when this thread's bumped at the end of the season

may 22nd right

i'm just gonna get loose cuz why not

1. man city
2. chelsea
3. arsenal
4. tottenham

18. west ham
19. blackpool
20. wigan

1 Chelsea
2 Man City
3 Man United
4 Arsenal

18 Wolves
19 Wigan
20 Blackpool

The general pattern of this season is gonna be so predictable that Wolves to go down is the closest I can think of to a krazy wildcard that might just about happen.

Chelsea
Man Utd
Man City
Tottenham

Stoke
Wigan
Blackpool

yellow card due there, sam^^

Arsenal
Chelsea
Man City
Man Utd
----------
Wolves
Wigan
Blackpool

my crazy wildcard was going to be Man Utd out of the top four, but it's been done.

Chelsea
Man Utd
Arsenal
City

West Ham
Wigan
Wolves

1. Chelsea
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Man City
-------------
18. Wigan
19. West Ham
20. Blackpool

man utd
chelsea
man city
arsenal

liverpool
wigan
wolves

^ mad challops

utd aren't going to be within 7 points of first

i swear to god i only just this second spotted liverpool there

Heh - I was thinking the same thing, and not even joking about it.

Only doing top:
Chelsea
Manure
Arse
Citeh

only chelsea are a real team from that list. rejected.

xps i've been waiting for someone to post utd as winners, maybe that's how it happened

Broadening this out a little bit into teams exhibiting danger signs:

Wolves (reverting to McCarthy type)
West Ham (physically weak)
Birmingham (unimaginative)
Newcastle (losing the ones they should be winning)

Wolves- Struggling to develop
West Ham- Average players, everywhere
Birmingham- nah they won't struggle
Newcastle- Will be fine, though I can't believe a Hughton-coached team won't struggle defensively
Wigan- don't seem to have any reason to stay up

We've played about 40/50 percent decent football so far I think, been a shade unlucky. Biggest problem is the defence failing to solidify. Some big players still due to come back into the side, altho losing Guedioura to a broken leg for 5 months is a set-back. That's been adequately covered by the huge media outcry about oh wait it doesn't count when it's one of ours.

In short - I'm a bit concerned, but we're not far short of regaining some solidity and settling into the middle I think. Depends how careful Big Mick is about taking his fucking meds, really.

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Man City
4. Man Utd
----------
5. Spurs (lose out of goal difference)
6. Fulham
7. Birmingham
----------
18. Blackpool
19. West Ham
20. Wigan

FA Cup: Spurs
Carling Cup: Utd
Champions League: Real Madrid

1. Chelsea
2. City
3. Utd
4. Arsenal

18. Wolves
19. Blackpool
20. Wigan

FA: Arsenal
CC: Man Utd
CL: Chelsea

i only have wolves down bacause i like west brom and blackpool, tho tbf i quite like wolves too. but they're on a worrying run.

I just put Stoke because they just seem so superfluous to the Premiership. I've never seen Stoke v anyone on a TV listing and thought "I'll watch that".

Stoke are not even remotely going down, wtf

neither are WBA or Wolves

largely my predictions are similar to a hoy hoy's except no way are Fulham and Brum finishing that high

i just didn't think villa or everton or liverpool would and would feel sick putting blackburn there.

top goalscorer:
1. drogba
2. dembele
3. tevez

lol at myself for ever thinking everton could make the top 4 this season

1. chelsea
2. man u
3. arse
4. man c

17. liverpool
18. stoke
19. wolves
20. west ham

xp oh yeah I remember that :D

tbf I had Arsenal finishing 8th in my og prediction but that was basically a str8 a hoy hoy wind-up

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Man City

18. Wolves
19. West Ham
20. Blackpool

wolves > wigan

also DON'T discount Newcastle or even Birmingham from this contention

We know it's a stupid game at this point. At the moment my head says Wolves will climb away from this, but my heart says 2 points from the last 5 games MCCARTHY OUT

who was the last team to go up as emphatically as newcastle did but then go straight back down in one season? there's a probably a recent example, i haven't checked.

sunderland I am guessing

West Brom?

yes to both

happens nearly every year is my impression

Chelsea
Man U
Arsenal
City

Blackpool
West Ham
Wigan

Not mentioned at all yet: Sunderland (in context of this season), Villa, bolton, Blackburn

there's your midtable right there (plus Stoke)

(and WBA)

Resolutely mid-table, the lot of them. Think Bolton most likely to flirt with relegation.

xpost!

Villa could amount to absolutely anything this season.

was gonna say, Villa dingdonging w/ Spurs position-wise come April wouldn't surprise me greatly

position of those positions: itisamystery.jpg

yeah, everton to make a strong recovery up to wherever villa and spurs are too, but as to whether that'll be 10th or 4th i dunno

In short, this season to be exactly like last season?

eh maybe not 4th now you say that

i'm going to put this here because otherwise i will wonder come may

completed matchday 6

1. chelsea...15
2. man u ....12
3. arsenal...11
4. city......11

18. wigan...5
19. west ham...4
20. everton...3

enjoying being the only one mad enough to have Arsenal as champions. Eh fuck it I'll change mine and go all out with the madness:

Arsenal
Chelsea
Man City
Everton
---------
West Ham
Wigan
Blackpool

(West Ham just slipped my mind earlier)

I'm not at all sure about the bottom yet, apart from Stoke going down, and last weekend has made me uneasy about my blase prediction that Chelsea might take it. Still:

Chelsea
City
Man U
Spurs

Chelsea
Man Utd
Arsenal
Man City
......
Wigan
West Ham
Blackpool

1 - Celtic
2 - Rangers
3 - Hearts
4 - Kilmarnock

10 - St Johnstone
11 - Hamilton Accies
12 - St Mirren

also

1 - Chelsea
2 - Arsenal
3 - Man City
4 - Man Utd

18 - Everton
19 - Blackpool
20 - West Ham

we're not eh also YOU'RE the also

Forgot I was on ILEF.

also what did moyes do on ye?

He keeps doing the not-winning and that becomes a habit. Everton have frequently had terrible starts or terrible finishes to otherwise good campaigns - maybe this year they'll have both. Also I had to get some challops in.

1 QPR
2 Burnley
_________
3 Cardiff
4 Forest (P)
5 Norwich
6 Swansea

21 Portsmouth
_________
22 Middlesbrough
23 Scunthorpe
24 Preston

cozen got the top half right, in the right order.

mencap w/2 of 3 relegated

^ mad challops

utd aren't going to be within 7 points of first

― i dont love everything, i love football (darraghmac), Tuesday, 28 September 2010

lol i knew we'd be back to that

I give fergie the will to continue p much all by myself

Hey, my championship was alright.

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Man City
4. Man Utd
----------
5. Spurs (lose out of goal difference)
6. Fulham
7. Birmingham
----------
18. Blackpool
19. West Ham
20. Wigan

FA Cup: Spurs
Carling Cup: Utd
Champions League: Real Madrid

― a hoy hoy, Tuesday, 28 September 2010 13:32 (7 months ago)

lolz.

next year we really must remember refereeing decisions huh

man utd
chelsea
man city
arsenal

liverpool
wigan
wolves

― the holy c (cozen), Tuesday, September 28, 2010 10:26 AM (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^this guy gets it. had the hodge not been bodged, liv uld've gone down an all

None of your relegated went down fyi

they all went down... in my estimation

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/4/46928/1413875-badum_tish_super.jpg

I was right about Spurs beating Young Boys 4-0 at WHL, I was right about Stoke beating Villa 2-1, I'm *damn* sure gonna be right about Chamakhattack getting 15 goals this season, you should trust me more!

― Sgt's Laughter (Sgt. Biscuits), Monday, December 6, 2010 9:07 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aDodqUfKtKA/S_6GM2GhClI/AAAAAAAAAJg/AiGH0wZikfI/s320/sobbing.jpg

So LJ got all three relegated teams correct? Hat's off

woah, I was the only person who put man utd on top last year. doubling down this year

man utd
chelsea
liverpool
man city
arsenal
spurs

wolves
norwich
swansea

Man. City
Chelsea
Man. United
Arsenal
Liverpool
Spurs

Villa
QPR
Swansea

Man City
Chelsea
Man Utd
Arsenal

Blackburn
Swansea
Norwich

Chelsea
United
City
Liverpool

Villa
Norwich
Swansea

Chelsea
City
Utd
Liverpool
Arsenal
Spurs

Blackburn
QPR
Fulham

ok ok Norwich

predict all this Liverpool top 4 finish malarkey will be forgotten about by ooh end of November

quite like the idea of McLeish being unable to show his face within 100 miles of Birmingham for the rest of his life

i'm putting lfc top four because lol arsenal, lol spurs this transfer window. If that changes then so will my table

City
Chelsea
United
Liverpool
Everton
Spurs
Arsenal
...
Norwich
Blackburn
Swansea
QPR

Man Utd
Chelsea
Man City
Arsenal
Spurs
Liverpool
...
Blackburn
Villa
Norwich

Just assuming Arsenal sell Fabregas and Nasri tbh. Can see shot getting rocky for Bolton as well - good first team, thin squad, appalling luck with injuries.

1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Liverpool
4. Chelsea

18. QPR
19. Wolves
20. Swansea

1- Man City
2- Chelsea
3- Man Utd
4- Arsenal
5- Spurs
6- Liverpool

18- Blackburn
19- Wigan
20- Norwich

tbh probably more than one newly promoted team will go back down but I think Swansea play as good attacking football as Blackpool but are better defensively, and Blackpool almost stayed up last season. As for QPR, didn't have the heart/stones to diss r/t/c.

Ismael's placing of Arsenal at 8th is the kind of ballsy move I'm not capable of. Tips hat.

Actually he had them at 7th, I retract my tipped hat ;)

Surprised to see so many people placing Citeh 1st. I mean, they have the players, for sure, but I'm not impressed by them as a team. I predict riotous lols with Balotelli, all the new signings trying to fit in. That and I don't think very highly of Mancini tbh.

But then again, maybe buying loads of good players just does the trick.

Man C
Chelsea
Man U
Liverpool
Spurs
Arsenal

Villa
Newcastle
Swansea

That's the important thing I guess; plus I did tip them last year so I feel obliged to double up. Arsenal at 7th ought to be ridiculous given that they've been top four something like fifteen years straight, but frankly there's not much else going for them right now. Gervinho's reasonably good, but compare that to everyone else.

yeah tbh i'd have utd 6th arsenal 7th if it weren't for the coaches making steaks out of shite the past multiple years.

City in second place is, frankly, a nod to the reverse.

Chelsea- i'm not convinced by the balance of the squad but i'm not putting either utd or city first, and nobody else is gonna come close.

City were progressing last season for all our doubts about Mancini. Frankly if this season's squad finishes behind Rooney and the hod-carriers then I don't wanna watch English football any more.

funny time to take that attitude, they've been finishing ahead of more talented squads since the emergence of cron7 as the most effective player in football

nah the Utd squad is moving backwards and this year's Citeh looks more thrilling than ever on paper

depends on who is holding the pen, quite frankly

with mancini- they'll qualify for cl, don't think they'll do well in cl, don't think they'll win the title, don't think they'll play anything like the football they could with those players, don't like them tbh

if they're not challenging for the title by December i can't see Mancini being there

kinda like watching him drive his Ferrari in second gear tho tbh

yeah, that

mr bean for citeh manager

city
united
chelsea
liverpool
--
blackburn
swansea
norwich

just for the record, when this is bumped in may, we all knew utd would win it, but fuck predicting it as well

are United the top 4 club least potentially affected by the African Cup of Nations this season?

least potentially adversely affected by refereeing decisions, iirc?

chelsea
city
united
arse

newcastle
qpr
swansea

now now, everybody knows that this canard about United being the recipient of the most biased bullshit refereeing decisions in a season is a complete distortion of the facts as a result of 90 percent of EPL referees being secret United fans

also, Alan Green is a measured, neutral observer of the sport who never lets his personal loyalties get in the way of a commentary

newcastle, i love it

Chelsea
Man Utd
Liverpool
Man City
Spurs
Arsenal
Fulham
Sunderland
Villa
West Brom
Stoke
Wigan
Everton
Wolves
Norwich
Bolton
Blackburn
Swansea
Newcastle
QPR

But it's that concertinaed below sixth you could make a case for tons of clubs going down this year. I think Wigan and Wolves are due a nice season. I see Norwich being this year's hit-the-ground-running side - they're young, hungry, reasonably fearless and kinda swashbuckling-ish. Not sure why I think they'll finally be the ones to make that work, but it's got to one of these days.

One of the sleepwalking "giants" will edge out plucky Swansea (who get to be this year's "It's all very well playing nice football" side, i.e. the ones Hansen and Lawro tut about for thinking they can score against Stoke) on the last day of the season. I've picked Blackburn, but it could very easily be Bolton or Newcastle.

Similarly, really unsure about QPR on bottom - I mean, they did win the Championship by a decent amount. And Taarabt can play a bit. Not sure how much I've swallowed the doom-hype.

opening myself up for end of season c&p lols here but

there's no way city finish first this year, maybe in two years

have you seen the beginning of season c&p lol in the new thread

There's no way Liverpool finish above City more like. In fact City have the best squad now, they should win it. They'd clicked by the end of last season, and they did finish level with Chelsea even if Chelsea took the foot off the gas late on. What I mean is, they're already only one step away, this year is very possible.

depends on chelsea more than utd or arsenal, i think

Eurgh no fucking idea. City to win it, Liverpool 5th or 6th, Reina and Suarez to leave next summer.

you're pessimistic about lfc compared to just about everyone else tbh

No way Suarez is going to leave after one full season

long time in football imo, no way was luka gonna leave spurs in may 2011

Fair enough. But I'm calling it: no way Suarez is going to leave LFC after just one season.

^ early entry for next year's thread title

West Ham
Blackpool
Leicester
Forest
Reading
Cardiff
...
Birmingham
Doncaster
Bristol City

Blackpool won't be top 6.

IK you can't even get the prem right, don't trouble yourself w/the diddy leagues

Yeah sorry for being the one guy who gets the Premiership wrong. I'm still working on my Spain/Portugal/Scotland top twos, thinking this might be a big year for Maritimo.

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Man City
4. Liverpool

18. Stoke
19. Newcastle
20. Norwich

fa cup: liverpool
league cup: bolton

man city
man utd
chelsea
liverpool

villa
blackburn
norwich

I boldly picked Arsenal for the title last season and by jove I'm going to even more bravely do it again.

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Man Utd
__________

18. Wigan
19. Blackburn
20. QPR

I'm going to wait and see how the thread reacts to that before meekly suggesting they might get 3rd - was waiting for 'a hoy hoy' to take the hit before I went ...

just lolled tbh

1. Chelsea
2. Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Spurs
---
5. City
6. Liverpool
---
18. Newcastle
19. Blackburn
20. QPR
---
FA Cup: Arsenal
Carling Cup: Liverpool
---
Sack Race winner: Warnock, followed by Mancini
Top goalscorer: Torres.
CL winner: Bayern Munich.
Europa League winner: Man City.

I don't Arsenal winning the title is absurd, presuming everyone stays fit (lol), Cesc/Nasri don't leave or are properly replaced (lol) and AVB turns out to be a smoke and mirrors manager (less lol).

Putting Spurs in 4th btw is dependent on how 'Arry has a go on 31st August, like he does every year, obv.

fuck that nonsense tbh, hurt us in january

Top goalscorer: Torres

Lol.

Bayern will have to go some to win the CL judging by their performance yesterday. Had much of the ball but were comfortably repelled by an ordinary Gladbach team. Howler from Neuer on his debut meant they went down 1-0 at home. Let the post Van Gaal era commence.

Top goalscorer: Torres.
CL winner: Bayern Munich.
Europa League winner: Man City.

sam delivering the module here

top scorer drogba
Cl winner- man utd
Uefa league winner- cbf

Top goalscorer: Torres.
CL winner: Bayern Munich.
Europa League winner: Man City.

sam delivering the module here

― nh (cozen)

torres won't break double-figures.

Top scorer: Suarez
CL winner: Barcelona
Uefa league winner: Dynamo Kyiv

i just don't knooooooowwwwww

think villa will grind away in midtabes ok, agree that bolton might worry, don't see why wigan or sunderland would be any better, blackburn yep although i can still see them beating promoted teams, a little surprised people are being this bolshy about newcastle. (i mean i can totally see it but then ba's good and cabeye could be the snip of the season... most unknown quantity outside of the promoted teams imo.)

united to win, standard procedure

top scorer: rooney
cl: madrid
europa: fuck knows, napoli?

Yeah, i have a sneaking suspicion Newcastle could do alright. They've got Ben Arfa to come back. Plus they're signing Obertan lol

McLeish revolt will happen at one point, most prob. around November.

Bolton are fine defensively, just need a striker and maybe a loan to replace Lee.

Newcastle may have got Ba but many of their best players are trying to jump ship - never a good sign going into the season.

Venkys lol.

Wigan have lots of talented younger players coming up (McCarthy and Moses stick out) and haven't sold Rod/Fig - could build something imo. Losing Insomnia just doesn't seem like a big deal.

Sunderland may have a prat as a boss but the quality will get them through. No team with O'Shea, Larsson, Gyan, Catterlol etc. should go down.

Looking at midtable and below:

West Brom - will be in and around the lower top half for most of the season I reckon, mixing it with Fulham and whoever.

Bolton - should be good enough to stay up but as I mentioned they've got a small squad and some worrying injuries. Also they've let a lot of goals disappear with their returning loanees.

Newcastle - still think there's enough talent in that Newcastle team to stay up and maybe even do quite well, last season they spanked a few teams even without Carroll and got whipped in return a few more times. BUT lol Alan Pardew, and if they have an extended run of poor form that could turn into a loooong slide, especially after the manager inevitably gets sacked.

Blackburn - are not as shit as people think, and way too solid at the back to stand a serious chance of going down.

Wigan - this might be the season they go down, N'Zogbia is a sizeable loss I think despite Rod and Fig. Defence still lol, they've been lucky in the last couple of years to be surrounded by shittier teams, so a lot depends on how the promoted sides do. They'll be fucked by Financial Fair Play before long anyway. I like Martinez though.

Sunderland - easily too good to go down.

Villa - dunno, should be good enough, they've still got enough half-decent players, but there seems to be a haemmorhaging of spirit there. Bent should do alright but how many assists have they lost in letting Downing and Young go?

1. Utd
2. City
3. Chelsea
4. fuck it, Liverpool

18. Villa
19. Swansea
20. Norwich

Top scorer: Rooney
CL Winner: Barca

I forgot Stoke. Business as usual for Stoke.

Top goalscorer: Aguero
CL winner: Barcelona

chelsea
city
united
arse

newcastle
qpr
swansea

― you've got male (jim in glasgow)

swap united and city.

Reckon Eurovision might fuck up Stoke and Fulham's hopes of a top half finish?

If they qualify of course. Spurs should cope better.

Fulham seem perfectly capable of competing on both fronts if the season before last is anything to go by.

They'll be fucked by Financial Fair Play before long anyway.

?

think they generate hardly any money, so even though their spending is low would prob still have to be even lower still under FFP

Wigan have lots of talented younger players coming up (McCarthy and Moses stick out) and haven't sold Rod/Fig - could build something imo.

same as every year, martinez doesnt know how to take the next step. think ben watson might have a good season though.

BUT lol Alan Pardew, and if they have an extended run of poor form that could turn into a loooong slide, especially after the manager inevitably gets sacked.

could say the same about sunderland - ppl can kowtow to oshea and brown's magical man utd magic all they want but it won't stop that lot from becoming a classic brucey rabble if things start to go tits up. david vaughan's the best signing there.

if goodwillie's crap who's going to tuck them away for blackburn? just junior hoillet and then big chrissy & ryan at corners? not enough imo

Wigan have been living way beyond their means a long time - low attendance (pitifully so for a Premiership club), wages at something like 90% of turnover, heavily heavily reliant on the Chairman pouring cash in to keep the club running. They've done well out of player sales but they're unlikely to be able to find a Valencia or Palacios every year, and if they have to sell players to get closer to break-even then it's damaging their chances of even standing still, especially with wages not looking like going down any time soon. They're not at crazy Portsmouth level, nowhere near, but I can see the wheels coming off and if they go down they're not going back up.

about time they fucked off down the abyss tbph

Goodwillie's not crap, btw. Dioufy back at Blackburn now for full-on-crepey-blokes-up-front axis of evil though.

he's a scottish striker and thus i refuse to believe he is anything but crap

1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
-------
Going down: QPR, Swansea, Blackburn

1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Arsenal

18. CAN'T DECIDE
19. Wigan
20. Swansea

1. Arsenal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-fWDrZSiZs

lol

1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
------------
18. QPR
19. West Brom
20. Swansea

1. Man City
2. Chelsea
3. Man Utd
4. Arsenal
--------------
18. Blackburn
19. Swansea
20. QPR

Gonna have a crack at the table now:

1. Chelsea
2. Man United
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
5. Spurs
6. Arsenal (yes I am calling it)
7. Fulham
8. Everton
9. West Brom
10. Stoke
11. Sunderland
12. Bolton
13. Newcastle
14. Blackburn
15. Wolves (really tight from here down)
16. Norwich
17. QPR (Amazing start to the season followed by comedy slip down the table)
18. Aston Villa
19. Wigan
20. Swansea

1. Man Utd
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Citeh

--

18. Norwich
19. Wolves
20. QPR

I think I may be overstating the extent of Villa's plight, they look a shambles at the moment but I dunno, there are enough decent professionals in there. Maybe swap em with QPR on goal difference.

mdc table looks pretty solid to me. stoke a little higher and everton a little lower, norwich mid-table for the promoted side that exceeds expectations, and yeah, villa scrape survival at qpr's expense. maybe a fulham or a stoke finishes in front of dr. jozef wenglos.

agreed but fulham will struggle more than that imo

I fear the season's worth of full-bodied Jol bashing will turn sour when they comfortably beat us at Craven Cottage. But that's a decent team they've got there now (has been for ages actually).

in no way does the current spurs team go above arsenal, cesc or no

yeah fulham have a nice squad and under loljol, i half expect dembele to rack up the goals

in no way does the current spurs team go above arsenal, cesc or no

The implication being that Liverpool might?

fulham kinda old, p small squad, manager a liability. Could be a rough season

SACK RACE: I dunno, most of this lot look pretty safe, Mancini looks a bit shaky but if he gets sacked it'll probably be Ancelotti-style at the end of the season, unless things go REALLY wrong. Wigan won't dump Martinez now, and I suspect Wolves will stubbornly persist with McCarthy no matter how shit the season is. Difficult to call on Swansea and Norwich.

Warnock or Pardew have to be the first to go really. Maybe Steve Keen or McLeish. One of their chairmen will be looking at Mark Hughes circling menacingly - probably Ashley.

1. Man U
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Arsenal

18. Norwich
19. QPR
20. Swansea

1. Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Arsenal
4. City
5. Liverpool
6. Everton
--
18. Blackburn
19. QPR
20. Bolton

lol

OK, admittedly the bottom three is a little more hopeful than realistic, but I hear Norwich and Swansea play an attractive game.

1. Man U
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool

18. Wolves
19. Swansea
20. QPR

the huge tide of opinion that has liverpool 4th seems to me to be that sort of buzz that happens where people would like the scandal if arsenal drop out of top four. don't see it myself though.

Also the kind of buzz that's based on 'well, something must be happening there'. Tbh I like it more than last year's buzz in retrospect.

Where are we on that Liverpool mood cycle chart someone posted last season (that I can't find)?

http://i35.tinypic.com/106a8t0.png

It's Liverpool's lack of European action that makes me think they might do it. Spurs I suppose could play all kids all the time in Europa and there isn't as much pressure on us right now, but we have a habit of fucking these things up.

'arry might 'ave a go if it's 'is last season in charge.

the huge tide of opinion that has liverpool 4th seems to me to be that sort of buzz that happens where people would like the scandal if arsenal drop out of top four.

It's kind of a hunch thing for me. Torres wasn't (isn't) doing all that well and the introduction of new blood in Suarez and Carroll may actually mean something. It's one of the less brittle looking Liverpool sides I've seen in awhile. I'm sanguine about Spurs, too, provided they keep their wits about them and don't get distracted.

I'm pessimistic about Arsenal 'cause I see important departures, continued distraction and not much in the way of a plan B from Wenger who's taken his sweet time in reforming and rebuilding a solid starting eleven and their form in the second half of last season wasn't that good to begin with.

I suspect Wolves will stubbornly persist with McCarthy no matter how shit the season is

could go that way, and i fear it, but there's a distinct vibe from Morgan that sneaking out of the emergency exit in late April isn't gonna cut it this season so we'll see. you could read our relative lack of spending this window as a reluctance to give a lot more cash to Mick.

1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Spurs (haha)

18. Norwich =(
19. Blackburn
20. Swansea

Hm, if this near the peak then I'd be worried about where the slide is going to take us. I reckon it's the other way round this year though, expectations through the roof once we begin wiping the floor with patsies, starting this weekend. Maybe a little wobble when we're a dozen points clear in November just to keep things interesting.

the huge tide of opinion that has liverpool 4th seems to me to be that sort of buzz that happens where people would like the scandal if arsenal drop out of top four.

Will admit that's there for me. Also, Liverpool are just more likeable in the Dalglish/Suarez era than they've been for years, so I'm willing them to do well.

Wait, a Norwich fan?

5. Liverpool
6. Arsenal

Sorry, just really wanted to put the boot in

xp - I went to UEA, so always have sympathy for Norwich

Oh yes, that likeable scamp Suarez. (Don't get me wrong I think he's a fantastic player, but I want him to be respected, feared and hated in equal measure by the end of the season.)

Just wait till he bites someone's head off

but can he bite someone's face on a cold night in stoke

I think he has what it takes to bite a Delap or a Shawcross tbh

I don't think it is an absurd possibility that Liverpool will pip us for 4th Matt. I expect it to be a 3way battle between Ars*, Pool and City** all season.

*unless Wenger has a ridiculous August of buying dope players
**unless... Mancini can sort that shit out and isn't as horrible a manager as I think he is?

isn't as horrible a manager as I think he is

Kudos on winning the cup but I remember some really dodgy tactical decisions last year

It's adorable to see so many Britishers embracing Suarez as if he were a perfect grandson. It's also right though, he deserves a second chance I suppose. But in Holland he was two things:
1) Best player in the Eredivisie without a doubt
2) A fucking annoying cheat (God knows how many dives he did and first got penalties for it, but then got yellow carded for it a lot), suspensions for fighting, biting, kicking etc.

I'm really curious to find out if he ditched the latter traits.

I hope not

otm

Oh yeah, i'm awaiting the various Suarez incidents that are sure to pop up this season with a good deal of glee

Boat: Remember he signed w/ Andy Carroll. Suarez's dickishness seems charming and metropolitan; Carroll's... well until we see a Barton-esque twitter feed... doesn't.

I don't think I've seen a bad lad story about Carroll since he signed. Okay that's only six months, but there were tons before and that was only in about two years in the public eye.

He tried to maim various Valencia players in a friendly the other week, but that's not 'off-pitch' behaviour I guess.

he's a gazza injury vs forest waiting to happen

Suarez's diving will quickly be found out in the most corinthian league in the world

He noted "there was no criticism" of Joe Hart after Chris Smalling had scored United's first, despite it being "exactly the same type of goal – and he's your bloody England national goalkeeper

vintage awful cunt.

1. Chelsea (despite lack of signings Villas-Boas will harness the POWER OF SCIENCE to beat Fergie and City's Billions).

And yes Liverpool in 4th as Wenger leaves a few weeks into the season :-(

QPR, Swansea and Blackburn for the drop.

everyone had Chelsea in the top four

Gonna have a crack at the table now:

1. Chelsea
2. Man United
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
5. Spurs
6. Arsenal (yes I am calling it)
7. Fulham
8. Everton
9. West Brom
10. Stoke
11. Sunderland
12. Bolton
13. Newcastle
14. Blackburn
15. Wolves (really tight from here down)
16. Norwich
17. QPR (Amazing start to the season followed by comedy slip down the table)
18. Aston Villa
19. Wigan
20. Swansea

― Matt DC, Friday, August 12, 2011 2:19 PM (9 months ago)

deserves a c&p, except for the villa placing which wasnt far wrong

It's as good as anyone else's, no clear winners here. I guess some kudos to a hoy hoy and admrl for being the only two naming a top four spot for Spurs.

lots of posters looking forward to Suarez being a dick otm

sorry matt not picking on you over the other thread but this is too good not to repost

"Liverpool are just more likeable in the Dalglish/Suarez era than they've been for years"

I had a hollow laugh at this

Also, Liverpool are just more likeable in the Dalglish/Suarez era than they've been for years, so I'm willing them to do well.

― Matt DC, Friday, August 12, 2011 3:33 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xp damn

boxall got 2 of the bottom 3 correct i think

I only managed to get the Champions right, and Blackburn to go down. Poor really. Oh, and I scoffed at Sam's notion of Bayern winning the CL.

That is surely the wrongest thing I have ever posted.

I did have genuine goodwill for Liverpool at the start of the season but that evaporated with the Suarez debacle obviously.

Top goalscorer: Torres.
CL winner: Bayern Munich.
Europa League winner: Man City.

― I am Louise Boat (a hoy hoy), Monday, August 8, 2011 9:50 AM (9 months ago)

£50 on each of these would have made a handsome profit

liverpool likeability index, as far as i can recall-

Houllier
Evans
Hodgson
Dalglish II
Souness
Benitez

predict all this Liverpool top 4 finish malarkey will be forgotten about by ooh end of November

― i'm sorry for whatever (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 6 August 2011 11:56 (9 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Chelsea
United
City
Liverpool

Villa
Norwich
Swansea

That's nearly a clean sweep of wrong there, thank god I got United right.

I got City right too, but if you didn't predict the manner you can't claim it imo.

hell of a lot of us had Norwich and Swansea to go down. called the champions, 3 of the top 4, Blackburn's drop. McCarthy's sacking too, kinda.

I like that all the promoted clubs stayed up - it means the 12/13 membership will look markedly different from 10/11.

Definitely no first timers in the Premiership next year though.

Tell you what though, if you went back in time five or six years and showed people the final top 6 from this season they would have pissed themselves laughing.

The last time that happened was bolton, blackburn, wigan. I think. And they all stayed ages.

fulham not wigan iirc

8yrs in the epl for wigan is serious golfclapping stuff

ah right
xp

None of their managers were as coveted as Rogers and Lambert are though, both of them feel like very difficult acts to follow in a way that, say, Paul Jewell didn't. I like both clubs but if they lose their managers the could slip back down pretty quickly.

I picked Swansea and Norwich to stay up for some reason, I'm taking pride in that.

My only prediction came on the other thread the day of the 8-2. A fucker to retrieve but worth it.

This is how Liverpool started last season, after 3-6-9-12 matches: 13th, 16th, 18th, 9th.

Arsenal 17th, ?, ?, ? any guesses.

― boxall, Sunday, 28 August 2011 23:34 (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

chill out, they'll finish 5th like they were always going to

― r|t|c, Sunday, 28 August 2011 23:36 (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Got to appreciate if not enjoy the journey as well as the destination, Ismael made a good case for that last season I thought.

― boxall, Sunday, 28 August 2011 23:38 (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Would still take any bets on them finishing outside the top four

― Upt0eleven, Sunday, 28 August 2011 23:42 (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Also Merdeyeux, whether you had some unique insight or were just cheerfully optimistic, that's a very impressive prediction.

Next season we should pit ourselves against a bunch of monkeys with laptops & logins.

'next season'

Oh, and I scoffed at Sam's notion of Bayern winning the CL.

― pandemic, Monday, 14 May 2012 14:23 (5 hours ago)

If only I put money on it!

I had both Bolton and Blackburn down, along with QPR (just missed). Also Arsenal in 3rd. Also Suarez 'respected, feared, hated in equal measure' = otm.

also Norwich and Swansea playing good stuff = otm. I'll get back to totting up the fantasy league now.

Yeah that's not bad. Remind me where you finished in the fantasy football?

ha xp - typecasting

agree that bolton might worry, don't see why wigan or sunderland would be any better, blackburn yep although i can still see them beating promoted teams, a little surprised people are being this bolshy about newcastle. (i mean i can totally see it but then ba's good and cabeye could be the snip of the season... most unknown quantity outside of the promoted teams imo.)

― r|t|c, Monday, 8 August 2011 11:43 (9 months ago) Bookmark

guess i can take some vague credit for this stuff at least

i got second and third right. give me praise.

straight fiendish yo

there's so little in it it's probably not even worth doing til transfer deadline day tbh

I'll do Scotland while we wait

1 Celtic by >24 points
2 Dundee United
3 Hearts
4 Aberdeen
-----
11 Hibs
12 Dundee

No-one to go down thanks to SPL expansion shenanigans.

Scottish Cup: Dundee United
League Cup: The All New Rangers FC 2012

I shall also do Scotland:

Celtic by <24 points
Motherwell
Dundee United
Hearts
Aberdeen
St Mirren
Inverness Caley Thistle
St Johnstone
Kilmarnock
Dundee
Ross County
Hibs

Scottish Cup: Celtic
League Cup: Dundee United
Ramsdens Cup: The Rangers

I'm going to stick my neck out here:
1) Celtic

ok lets try this-

1. United
2. City
3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
5. Newcastle
6. Fulham
7. Liverpool
8. Sunderland
9. Spurs
---
17. Stoke
18. Norwich
19. Southampton
20. Reading

Top Goalscorer: Sergio Aguero
CL Winners: Real Madrid
Europa Winners: Spurs

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Spurs
6. Man Utd

18. West Brom
19. Reading
20. Norwich

1. Celtic
2. St Johnstone
3. Dundee United

1. City
2. Arselol
3. United
4. Liverpool
----
5. Spurs
6. Chelsea
7. Everton
8. Newcastle
9. Villa
...
17. Wigan
----
18. West Brom
19. Swansea
20. Stoke

scorer: Podolski
FA Cup: Charlton
Europa League: Newcastle
Champions League: Real Madrid

Podolski is a...gutsy prediction

I just figure a shoot-on-sight guy might be a revelation in that team; he'll get a chance in every move.

Is Podolski a shoot-on-sight guy though? I might have made a terrible error here - not switching him for Gervinho though.

he does like to thump them

fulham 6th, behave yourself

2.9 shots/game last season, up there with Robben and Reus nearly. Not that I like that prediction especially.

swansea 19th is pretty harsh, i wouldnt say it can't happen but still

chico, de guzman, michu are not too shabby and already put them at the level where they already were with sinclair and allen, plus 20m in the bank

unless laudrup is a complete mug there really ought to be three worse teams in an very average year

agree city won't win

agree united are faves

i like arsenal more now too but defence is still way flaky and wtf is wenger doing with "sahin only if song goes"? is that 4real? can see them for 2nd but united will son them old skool if they have to

chelsea 3rd/4th seems about right, won't challenge but will be a deluxe wildcard pwning dudes horribly every so often

how come everyone thinks Utd are gonna win? suspicious imo

i don't

1) City

United have strengthened and had some good guys bed in last season (Welbeck, De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Cleverly) and they'll want to push on.

City haven't strengthened and haven't dealt with the 30 guys who'll want to do more than be on the bench, especially the ones known as being a bit crazy occasionally.

United have the potential to pound every game 3-0; City have the potential to end up in some crazy imploding mess. City also have the potential to pound every game 3-0 but I don't see United falling apart like Balotelli, Adebayor, Tevez, Nasri etc. can make City.

Utd have pretty ordinary FBs. Vidic back is a big plus and so is Kagawa but Scholes dragged himself out of retirement cos Utd needed him and the midfield has got no better than a year ago imo.

1) City
2) Chelsea
3) Man Utd
4) Arsenal
5) Spurs
6) Newcastle
7) Liverpool

18)Wigan
19)Norwich
20)Reading

xp man surely you must know the drill by now, it's not like anyone tipping united would be gobsmacked if they came fourth

where is d-mac anyway

not posting 'til avb goes

utd don't come 4th

League Predictions

1 City
2 United
3 Chelsea
4 Liverpool

5 Arsenal
6 Newcastle
7 Spurs

Relegation

West Brom
West Ham
Reading

FA Cup: Newcastle
CL Winners: Barcelona
Top Scorer: Aguero

hey, Podolski scored two tonight

supplementing my other predictions

top scorer: Torres
FA Cup: Liverpool
CL Winners: Real Madrid

Everyone seems to be unanimous with Real winning the CL this season. There's a lot of strong teams in it this year, Im looking forward to it.

After watching some of our pre-season, and seeing that we can't actually score any goals, I'm putting Norwich in the bottom 3 too. I reckon:

1. Man City
2. Chelsea
3. Man Utd
4. Newcastle

18. Norwich
19. Wigan
20. Reading

1. United if they can get Van Persie
2. City if United don't get Van Persie
3. Chelsea, way off the pace
4. Arsenal whatever happens with Van Persie

Bottom three:

18. West Brom
19. Norwich
20. Reading

Maybe Swansea to go down as well actually.

Arbitrarily deciding to relegate 4 sides? I like it!

stoke are very strong relegation contenders imo

if hughton keeps playing holty on his own up front then yes, norwich too

swansea fans seem to be concerned laudrup is turning them into the new blackpool with suicidal attacking pre-season. they cannot be predicted with 20m+ in the bank possibly still to spend

west brom another unknown quantity, clarke will try and pass it around but at what cost to woy's organization? could be another mowbray if the balance isnt right

reading are competent enough not to finish bottom. maybe sucked into 18th by the end but they'll be a sturdy little outfit

does seem like the shittest league in years doesnt it

It feels like that every year. Reckon Southampton will be the surprise package but I'm not really sure what I'm basing that on.

West Brom have been relegation fodder other every recent manager except Woy, so I reckon they're down. Norwich player for player are just not that good and Lambert was a miracle worker so that's it for them as well.

Interested to see the rationale with Stoke. Surely they will just carry on doing what Stoke always do and clog up the middle of the table?

Hughes is trying to refashion QPR from the new Newcastle to the new Blackburn so they'll probably be alright. West Ham will probably be stodgy and difficult enough to stay up as well, plus they always seem to finish top half the season after promotion.

1 Man City
2 Man Utd
3 Chelsea
4 Arsenal
5 Liverpool
6 Tottenham
7 Newcastle
8 Everton
9 Fulham
10 Sunderland
11 Villa
12 Wigan
13 Swansea
14 Southampton
15 QPR
16 Norwich
17 West Ham
18 Stoke
19 Reading
20 West Brom

FA Cup: Chelsea
League Cup: Everton
Champs League: Barcelona

Might have a flutter on Everton to finish fifth, they could be in for a good season if they can keep Jelavic fit.

My rationale with Stoke is that there's often a fighty team implodes under its own squabbling, and West Ham're too boring a choice. If we could only get Stoke to the right side of the effectiveness/eat-your-own tipping point, the result could be spectacular.

Does anybody actually want the season to start yet? I feel like I need at least another month off.

I'd prefer a few more weeks for us to make some fucking signings.

Stoke, Villa and Sunderland all failed to win in their last six games of last season. Of those I think Stoke are most likely to carry that slump on - as I believe the other two have managers who can turn them around.

Absolutely not; a baseball-style season-long strike would be most welcome right now.

I'd prefer a few more weeks for us to make some fucking signings.

― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2012 12:17 (55 minutes ago)

Sig and Vert not good enough for you?

I think he means a CF.

A bit early what with so many sagazzz yet to be resolved, but I'm bored so:

1. Man City
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Man Utd
5. Tottenham
6. Arsenal
7. Aston Villa
8. Everton
9. West Ham
10. Southampton
11. Sunderland
12. West Brom
13. Fulham
14. Newcastle
15. Stoke
16. Swansea
17. Cardiff
18. Crystal Palace
19. Norwich
20. Hull

1. Celtic

chelsea
city
utd

1-3 return of chelsea tractor i'm afraid unless pellegrini draws up something valiant

liverpool
arsenal
tottenham

4-6 anyone's really

everton
swansea
norwich

7-9 slight edge over the midtable rest, safest to assume everton will end up in the same place but just in a totes different way

west ham
southampton
fulham
newcastle
sunderland
aston villa

10-15 flawed but capable of little runs meh idk

west brom
hull
palace
cardiff
stoke

16-20 wba vibe's a bit off, hull can probs grind it out, cardiff may too but with less quality, palace will attack well but with possibly the worst defence in epl history as it stands, DIE STOKE DIE

1. Celtic

― Hamburglar's smiling too (Nasty, Brutish & Short),

I'll put on my captain obvious hat and go one further and go Hearts to come last as well.

xp 10-15 all capable of comedy catastrophe seasons too i should add

wish i had some scandalous challops to bring to the table

I know. Newcastle at 14th is a Kinnear tax - as sv notes, they're cooking up a tasty front three atm. Stoke at 15th is boring Hughes consolidation and probably too low - they're well-suited, and the brief window that opened up late last year is gone now I fear. Liverpool at 3rd, well - that's a settled pre-season, Suarez staying, and fingers crossed the defence don't look down all year. Obviously Nal-Tott-Pool is gonna be the real 4-5-6th. Villa at 7th is Lambo leading a children's crusade all year, running out of puff and nous just at the death.

i actually truly believe in stoke finishing bottom fyi

u speak of kinnear tax as if pards tax wasn't already being levied last season. personnel is not the issue there

nah, the pards tax was just a settling of accounts after the rebate error the year before

stfu liv in the same bracket as us

lol yeah whatever

City
Chelsea
United
Spurs
Arsenal
Liverpool
Swansea
Newcastle
Norwich
Southampton
Everton
West Brom
Cardiff
West Ham
Fulham
Villa
Sunderland
Stoke
Palace
Hull

are youses city top votes faith in pellegrini or doubt in jose

City made four good signings, already had the best squad; Chelsea got a lot of ground to make up.

Celtic win domestic treble
Championship: Morton
League One: The Rangers
League Two: Peterhead

^120/1 or thereabouts

also Hearts to stop mid season so no relegation
also Celtic to lose CL play-off and be eliminated at group stage of Europa League

What's making that 120/1? Two of those are certainties and Morton led theirs for much of last season.

Morton 15/2
Peterhead 15/8
Celtic 1/40
Rangers 1/12
Celtic Scottish Cup Evs
Celtic League Cup 5/4

Chelsea
City
Spurs
Arsenal
Utd
Liverpool
Meh

I hear fifth any advance on fifth

Morton have sold prob their best player to Rotherham (for a measly £50,000) so I'm not sure they'll do as well this year

but but they signed Dougie Imrie (and told him to stop trying to pass the ball)!

City
Chelsea
United
15-point gap
Arsenal (on goal difference)
Spurs

Hull
Stoke
Palace

fuck a goal difference i want a play-off

City
Chelsea
Spurs
United
Arsenal
Swansea
Liverpool
Norwich
Everton
Newcastle
Cardiff
Villa
Southampton
West Ham
Stoke
Sunderland
West Brom
Fulham
Hull
Palace

A lot of Nor<3ich in these, what's that based on?

Supreme faith in van Wolfswinkel Hooper superstrikeforce

1. Man city
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester utd

18. Hull
19. Newcastle
20. Palace

Championship. Watford
League 1. Wolves
League 2. Fleetwood.

fulham relegation would be nice but i can't really see them doing the full tailspin tbh

over to you agent adel

cardiff 11th, 13th? pourquoi

If ever there was a season for all three promoted clubs to go down it's this one, possibly only Stoke could mess that up.

city
utd
chels
spurs

stoke
sunderland
hull

find it hard to believe i live in an era in which utd in the top 3 isn't a certainty

Got a bad feeling about Fulham based on a combination of Martin Jol, a load of flaky players and the new owner's moustache. If there is to be a comic collapse this season then surely they will provide it.

Cardiff placing due to Bellamy and blind faith in 5.5m fantasy team bargain Cornelius who will in all likelihood score 6 goals and be the subject of 2 amusing montages on MOTD, narrated by Alan Shearer, which end with him sitting on the turf shaking his head.

Whole league is much of a fucking muchness though outside City and Chelsea.

City/Chelsea feels right to me; but it feels all wrong that that's a consensus

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Spurs
6. Man Utd

18. West Brom
19. Reading Hull
20. Norwich

― (500) Days of Sodom (Merdeyeux), Friday, August 10, 2012 4:16 PM (11 months ago)

yeah that'll do

that French youngster'll make all the difference, eh?

I was thinking more of the return of Abou Diaby.

I can't be arsed with the top four. I'm gonna have nine months of that smooshed in my face while Saints are scrabbling around in 12th, the time for giving a fuck will come later.

5. Spurs, obv. (Dawson 88th minute OG from an incorrectly awarded corner)
6. Liverpool
7. Villa (C'MON KIDS)
8. Saints (C'MON KIDS)
9. Newcastle (either Joe Fucking Kinnear or Vincent Sodding Tan is gonna be all strutting about like they've been vindicated at some point this season, and for some reason I'm picking JFK)
10. Your Stokes
11. Your West Hams
12. Your Norwiches
13. Everton (originally put them in 19th because they were the team I couldn't remember existed but even then there was no way they were finishing below Hull)
14. Swansea (Europe)
15. Your West Broms
16. Cardiff
17. Palace
18. Fulham
19. Sunderland
20. Hull

No way are Sunderland declining under Di Canio.

That's like expecting Utd to kick on under Moyes

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool

― Merdeyeux, Tuesday, August 6, 2013 4:33 PM (4 months ago)

bookies should pay out early imo.

You didnt bet on the sprint sonnnn