Liverpool will win the premiership 2006/07

I thought Ilx automagically informed you when you messed up yr html?!

To no avail.

maybe a power mad moderator will correct the thread title as well ;)

That was I was unable to stop a Liverpool victory despite influence in two areas is no surprise. This is what it feels like to be me.

Of course, this relies on Chelsea fucking it up. If rumours are correct, Mourinho's out the door if he doesn't win the Champions League this season. I think they might concentrate on that tournament - the signs were there they were being found out, Arsenal-style, in the Premiership in the latter part of last season. Teams were working out how to beat them. Attempting to play Ballack and Lampard at once may unbalance the side, Lampard might still be rubbish after the World Cup and I still predict Shevchenko will be a flop upfront (Eastern European striker rule + Chelsea striker rule).

Dean Ashton will score twenty something goals this season. Darren Bent will manage about eight. Boro or Wigan to go down. Spurs to finish fifth AGAIN.

David O'Leary: 2/1
Stuart Pearce: 4/1
Harry Redknapp: 6/1
Chris Coleman: 7/1
Paul Jewell: 16/1
Neil Warnock: 16/1
Iain Dowie: 16/1
Alan Pardew: 16/1
Glenn Roeder: 20/1
David Moyes: 20/1
Steve Coppell: 25/1
Sam Allardyce: 25/1
Adrian Boothroyd: 25/1
Martin Jol: 25/1
Gareth Southgate: 33/1
Mark Hughes: 40/1
Alex Ferguson: 40/1
Rafael Benitez: 50/1
Arsene Wenger: 50/1
Jose Mourinho: 66/1

Value in there?

I think Villa will do reasonably well this year. They looks set to rretain the title of Kings of the Midlands.

I like that there are two Evertons, like Booker T and the MGs. You either got Booker T or Isaac Hayes. Imagine that.

Bill Howell, a journalist with the Birmingham Mail newspaper, told radio station talkSPORT on Saturday that the statement actually came from one player only.

Issued on Friday, it read: "The chairman should be behind the club and not working against what we're trying to achieve.

"There've been a series of cutbacks and we feel we have to mention this because they are now starting to affect us.

"People talk about Aston Villa being a big club and winning the European Cup in 1982.

"We feel it should be a big club but if the chairman has got ambition, he needs to start showing it. It has to come from the top.

"So many other clubs are doing so much to show their ambition apart from us. As players we're all ambitious and we want to improve on last season.

"At the end of last season, the chairman refused to pay £300 for the pitches to be watered. The training ground development, which we were all looking forward to working in, has stopped.

"Now we have lost a masseur because the club refuse to pay for one and are clubbing together to pay for our own.

"We have also heard that the physio, who was on his way to see Martin Laursen, could not claim back for a cup of coffee at the airport.

"We've had no explanation for the cutbacks and we feel if the manager (David O'Leary) can't get one, then we have no chance.

"Maybe the chairman thought he would have left by now because of the takeover. Supporters are concerned with what happens on the pitch and rightly so.

"But we feel with all the cutbacks, it is difficult to attain the targets we all share.

"There are no positives coming out of the club. We need to see a plan where the club is going and all the players feel the same. Every penny is being watched."

Man Utd are an unknown quantity this season - there's a real feeling of faded grandeur about them. They're not really in the top tier of European football when it comes to pulling in the big names, they still have no midfield to speak of, although the Rooney-Ronaldo thing could be interesting. Both players will really have something to prove this season.

I have no idea what's going to happen to Everton or Man City, at all.

last season i was 99% sure chelsea would win it, this season i am 95% sure

That's exactly how I feel. Last season I was certain Chelsea would win, and by late September so was pretty much everyone else. This season I feel they're the overwhelming favourites, but I don't think they'll dominate to quite the same ridiculous extent.

I'll go on record now: Liverpool won't win the fucking premiership 2006/07. If they do, I Dave B will run naked around Anfield.

1. Liverpool
2. Chelsea
3. Arsenal
4. Man Utd
5. Tottenham
6. West Ham
7. Everton
8. Bolton
9. Newcastle
10. Man City
11. Portsmouth
12. Blackburn
13. Charlton
14. Watford
15. Sheffield United
16. Aston Villa
17. Wigan
18. Middlesbrough
19. Fulham
20. Reading

Man City will struggle, they've signed Dickov haven't they?

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Tottenham
5. Liverpool
6. Bolton
7. Blackburn
8. Newcastle
9. Everton
10. West Ham
11. Portsmouth
12. Wigan
13. Charlton
14. Middlesbrough
15. Reading
16. Aston Villa
17. Manchester City
18. Sheffield United
19. Fulham
20. Watford

Nothing, it's entirely arbitrary. I still have a feeling about Watford though.

1. Arsenal (a late surge from the kiddies)
2. Man Utd (top at Xmas, top at Easter, then...Rooney suspension)
3. Chelsea (Jose M sacked in March following last 16 CL exit and 8pts off Prem pace)
4. Spurs
5. Everton
6. Liverpool
7. Man City
8. Blackburn
9. Newcastle
10. Bolton
11. West Ham
12. Fulham
13. Villa (in bottom three at Xmas)
14. Charlton
15. Reading (early leaders - top until early Oct)
16. Boro
17. Wigan
18. Sheff Utd
19. Portsmouth (bye!)
20. Watford

None of the Italian superstars will come to England.

1. Everton
2.-19. bunch of woollyback no-marks
20. Redshite

However, I think Jose could well walk next season for reasons stated by Jamie, ie PROUDNESS.

Re: Signings - last season we relied too much on Lamps, hence our faltering end of season when Lamps started playing shit. Jose's realised we need more players who can shape and win a game, hence Ballack & Shev. So there's thinking behind it, it's not just Roman kneejerk big name desire. Am intrigued how they are all going to fit in, but i don't think this is a galactico thing (and even if it is, wasn't galactico pretty successful until they sold Maka?).

man city are blatantly going down - and because that feels so true right now, i wouldn't be surprised if they do okay .i agree with matt dc that reading will do worst out of the 3 promoted teams - it's the way.

also think ppl are being harsh on middlesboro (just cos of southgate? why?) and fulham, although i do wish coleman would SIGN ONE CENTRE BACK, ARE U BLIND MAN!!

finally, wigan and bolton perturb me. they seem to have a negative, thwarted feeling about themselves right now.

1. Chelsea [another title]
2. Liverpool [will improve in terms of final points and leapfrog over Manchester United to become the premier North West club.]
3. Arsenal [another season of younger players gaining experience, can they improve their away form? yes, can reclaim a top 3 position? ]
4. Man Utd [they need to improve their midfield, also Van HorseHead is off to Real Madrid? Will they replace him with Torres? or Tevez? or even Defoe?]
5. Tottenham [another solid season, Tottenham have an impressive squad but can they find the right starting 11 to blend as an formidable first team] Another UEFA CUP qualifying position

UEFA CUP & TOP 10/ TOP HALF of THE TABLE FINISHERS

6. Blackburn [can they score enough goals now that Bellamy has gone, however they are a tough organized side to play against.]
7. West Ham [another good finish, Pardew could be the best English manager in the premiership in terms of achievement come the end of 2006/ 2007 season.]
8. Newcastle [they need to bring in 2 quality strikers. If these don't arrive it could be another frustrating season of nothingness for the Geordies]
9.Bolton [Big Sam is hurt that he didn't get the England job, has he achieved all he can at Bolton?]
10. Middlesbrough [Can Southgate blend local youths, experience, foreigners and bring 2/3 quality new signings, particularly in central defence plus a creative attacking imposing midfielder to play alongside Lee Cattermole]

Top of the Lower Half of the Table Comfort Zone

11. Portsmouth [* only if 5 or 6 quality new signings arrive. By the end of August I will make a reassessment. The money is available apparently for quality new signings, but it's proving difficult to find the right quality of player.

However rewind 12 months to last summer when pompey under Zajec and Perrin signed numerous sub standard players that plunged pompey into the relegation zone. It's crucial that the right quality of player arrives this summer.

However I hope that Brian Priske stays, apparently now that Glen Johnson has arrived, he is surplus to requirements. Many Pompey fans are shocked that Redknapp is willing to off load him. Priske could play on the right side of midfield in front of Glen Johnson.]

12. Everton [will their expensive strikeforce hit it off? or not? can they achieve consistency? Is Lescott worth all that money?]
13. Man City [Manchester City are hit or miss, not good enough for a top 10 position but comfortable enough not to get dragged into a relegation scrap]
14. Charlton [will slip a bit this season, as they adjust to a new manager and playing style?]

Hovering above the Relegation Zone

15. Wigan [will slip back this season, slight turnover in the squad. Heskey for over 5 Million? Your 'aving a laugh Jewell!]
16. Sheffield United [Howling Mad Warnock will do enough to fight off relegation, they may suprise a few teams this season]
17. Fulham [Fulham a have limited transfer budget, will they sell Steed Malbranque, to generate funds to freshen the squad up?]

Relegation Trap Door

18. Reading [Will fight to the to the end, but they need to bring in players with Premier League experience - no evidence of this so far, another 1 season one wonder ala Crystal Palace and Norwich]
19. Aston Villa [Deadly Doug is a stubborn old fool, David O'Dreary is not a big motivator, the squad looks stale, lack of money to bring in new signings. Is this the season when Aston Villa implode and get ejected from the premiership via the relegation trap door? yes if they don't put things right NOW.]
20. Watford [Some are predicting a Wigan type season, however i just don't see the premiership quality, strength in depth or experience in the squad.]

[By the way, there are 15 ex premiership clubs in the championship this coming season, which is a record?]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championship

I think Reading will do well enough to put the Winnersh Triangle on the footballing map.

I'm not sure what the Winnersh Triangle is.

Ronney has spent the last two weeks writing his autobiography, in which he states, yet again, that he and Ronaldo are really good, text-sending, muck about pals.

I still don't understand the draw of soccer, but I think I like the fan aspects.

No Welsh teams at the moment, just ROBBIE SAVAGE.

Cardiff City are in the division below - The Championship

Swansea City are two divisions below Premiership - League One

Wrexham are three divisions below Premiership - League 2

the contrast between Sky and BBC yesterday in the first half was pretty amusing. On BBC it was all Lawro making depressed quips about how awful it was and on Sky Andy Gray ranting about "TAAAE TEAMS OF THIS CALIBRE, ALWAYS GAUNNAE BE TIIGHT" as if watching such a shit game was like drinking a fine wine.

I woke up really early yesterday with CUP FINAL FEVER so I went to Wembley at about 11am to have a look and get a bit of the atmosphere, but obviously I didn't have a spare thousand pounds to get a ticket so I watched the match in a pub in Camden. Somehow, for the first half, we got the Sky commentary about three seconds ahead of the pictures, so it wasn't just that nothing happened, but that every time a move looked promising we KNEW nothing was going to happen before it actually failed to happen. For the second half we had the BBC pictures with the Sky commentary about 1 second behind, which was an improvement, but still weird.

I got enormously shitfaced on Friday night and slept right through until extra time. Sounds like I didn't miss much. This was an unexpected bonus on a par with having to work the Friday of Glasto 2005 and missing all the torrential rain.

2 and a quarter hours of my life that I'll never get back, possibly the worst match I've watched in ages.

The Spanish football later in the evening was much better, but the final looked more like a third place play-off....oh, wait......

I had the pretty much the same impression as everyone else.

At least that goal was a lotta fun to watch over and over again, from different angles. Really really nice.

BBC's willingness to call a spade a spade is a big part of why the FA sulked off and gave the rights to the good old inept deferential bastards at ITV, no?

that's what I'd heard too, for shame

Money may have also played a part.l

money offered was pretty much the same from both parties is what I'd heard, but of course, when you've got Alan Green apoplectic about the quality of the game he's commentating on (ie your product), it makes sense for them to plump for the dullards like Andy Townsend spouting their usual shite.

There was a bit in yesterday's Graun saying the BBC were prepared to up their bid, and when the FA weren't interested it suggested it wasn't the main issue.

Was it that bad?

Well, the BBC certainly seem to think so: "...The first FA Cup final at new Wembley was a mostly dreadful spectacle played out between two teams whose exaggerated respect for each other ruined the hopes of a classic being played out at English football's new £757m home.

In fact, the first 45 minutes was so bad that it had an almost ghoulish fascination as the watching world pondered how players of such quality could be so poor..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/6673879.stm

That seems a bit on the harsh side to me.

don't worry there's an England friendly coming up which should provide the prestigious nu-wembley thrills. um.

I dunno, from the highlights I saw it looked like two teams with nothing left in the tank. Bring back the good old days of the top teams not caring about the FA Cup. Pretty much any combination of the other teams in the Premiership would have been more entertaining than that. Maybe not a Liverpool concentrating on the Champions League, and probably not Villa vs Boro, but other than that.

well the boyler co-efficient was too low for it to be a great match. great to see wembley finally full, i think the manu fans just had it though. i can't ABIDE flag-wavers though, which had a big effect on the outcome..

Who is this'Snoogy Doogy'?

i think he plays for real mallorca

Snoop Dogg won't get you 20 goals a season.

I would take Snoogy Doogy over Lucky Michael any day.

GOALS GONE WILD

Paid tha cost to meet tha cross

From Tha Chuuuch To C. Palace

Drop Craig Bellamy Like He's Hot

The best Premiership players - by science

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/fink_tank/article1851667.ece

LOL at Stubbs 8 places higher than Gerrard. And Paul Robinson: second worst player in the Prem.

Nerdtastic!

lol hleb

ahh ok i couldnt remember what thread it was we did the stats chat on last time, wanted to mention that list earlier.

wrt people's erm, intuitive understanding of footer i guess it pretty much shows ("shows") that people can always spot the good players (besides yes hleb wtf) HOWEVER the pub chat insider's tips are uniformly cobblers! all season you've heard "aha well ACTUALLY jaaskelainen, shorey, p.neville, o'neil, bentley and davies are sorely underrated etc etc."

so the other surprises would be

- hyppia is liverpool's best defender
- wayne bridge is overrated
- sorensen not rubbish
- davenport & ferdinand more useful than tevez

wayne bridge is overrated

How is this a surprise?

Lots of people, incl me, reckon Bridge is better than Cole.

Poor display by Matty Taylor.

Bently and Pedersen also now revealed to be rubbish.

folks have been darkly muttering that bridge is handier than cashley all year! i have, anyway.

xp

Better than Ashley Cole as a Chelsea player - that's not saying much is it?

Best Left Back In The World.

He's English, he must be

interesting to compare this method to the opta results, which presumably say otherwise re shorey & bentley if doktor mclaren is picking them for england now? then again, he's probly given up on all that now.

Davies, Bentley AND Dioufy in the worst forwards list. Charltonlido will be very upset.

He's English, he must be

this seems to be your criteria for judging their quality also

Lampard under-rated lol

Well yes, I extract the hype and ballyhoo and trumpet-blowing and judge accordingly (xp)

clichy is the highest rated lb at 4.26, with lescott, pogatetz and cole trailing. evra gets an average score.

chimbonda done quite badly in this as well i see.

I feel sad for Kevin Davies.

Full backs don't do well generally.

Linvoy Primus better than King, Carragher and Terry.

Berbetov not as good as he looks.

i wonder what Cantona's stats would've been 11 years ago tho.

haha i don't think anyone would be shocked about berbatov surely? a sporadic fannydangler supreme. though i love him the same as everyone else of course. YOUTUBE OTM

likewise lampard, inversely.

(probly my favourite youtube vid ever, that)

"i could fly higher than an eaaaaagle" when he rises for the header = ;_;

feeling good about jermaine pennant

this was where it all ended. on the plus side i actually have a stake in this one

the fa cup final this season was so dire

who was doing what to my psyche this year