The Premier League Thread

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he played before football began.

toughest player I ever played against

You and @Le Tissier's Laces certainly are our celebrity posters.

I once worked with a guy who when young made it to West Ham reserve level. Bobby Moore, Geoff Hust and Martin Peters must have been a similar age because he had reserve match team sheet with his name and the (later to be) three world cup winners all on it. He was a very modest guy but you could tell it was his prize possession.
 
Would be better if it was players who had never finished in the top 6, espescially if you're going to leave Shearer out.

I like it

Harder to come up with the original list (bit more work involved) but certainly more interesting and relevant for the discussion in hand
 
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I'm with you there. The whole idea to restart while this virus is still raging is distasteful to say the least.

Yep, they should just cancel the season, but unfortunately money talks and some are desperate to finish the season.
In fact I would go as far to say until a vaccine is found and available to all, I wouldn’t even contemplate starting next season either.
 
Yep, they should just cancel the season, but unfortunately money talks and some are desperate to finish the season.
In fact I would go as far to say until a vaccine is found and available to all, I wouldn’t even contemplate starting next season either.
West Ham are desperate to finish the season. Right now as it happens!!
 
I note that one of the three proposed solutions for ending the French top division - now that it won't be finished on the pitch - is to only include the results from the first round of fixtures between each side. Indeed, it's a method which I've seen thrown about for a little while, and does seem to be attracting greater attention. Consequently, I thought I would look into what the PL table would look like, under such a proposal. It's not as simple as simply going back and looking at the PL table after matchweek 19, for two reasons:

1. West Ham v Liverpool had been postponed in matchweek 18
2. Matchweek 19 was actually the first occasion when everyone began playing fixtures for the second time. It was matchweek 20 which saw the final occasion of fixtures being played for the first time.

By my reckoning, the PL table, after everyone has played each other once only, looks as follows:

Liverpool 55

Leicester 42
Man City 41
Chelsea 35

Man Utd 28 (GD 6)
Sheff Utd 28 (GD 4)
Spurs 27 (GD 6)

Wolves 27 (GD 4)
Newcastle 25
Palace 24 (GD -5)
Burnley 24 (GD -8)
Brighton 23 (GD -3)
Arsenal 23 (GD -4)
Everton 22
Bmouth 19 (GD -8)
West Ham 19 (GD -12)
Saints 19 (GD -16)

Villa 15 (GD -12)
Watford 15 (GD -18)
Norwich 13

So Watford get relegated, rather than Bmouth (which would be the case if the league was finished as it is, or under a flat points-per-game average). But interestingly, that would be the only material change. The caveat to me saying this is that all three EL places get awarded based on league positions, and Man City's appeal doesn't get overturned - two things which combine to mean 8th place gets EL football. Although the ordering of Wolves, Sheff Utd and Spurs between 6th and 8th is different above, as compared to the current table (or a flat points-per-game average), all three teams would still be EL. And in both tables, Man Utd in 5th become the benefactor of Man City missing out

Of course many of us will remember that in gameweek 18, we beat Villa. Even in normal circumstances I can remember walking out of Villa Park thinking that was a huge win. But if the season was to be decided as above, suddenly in becomes a bigger win than we ever could have imagined.

PS. I am not meaning to suggest one way or the other as to whether concluding the season in this fashion is the way to go, if events cannot be finished on the pitch. Every single solution has negative outcomes, and is up for debate. I merely thought I would have a look into what this particular outcome looks like - particularly when I was in the knowledge that our successful run of resulted over the December and January would largely be excluded in this scenario. I personally continue to remain of the view that football is decided on the pitch, not in offices or the ballot box. Hence my preference is for the season to be cancelled.