Bogle is probably front runner for best right back in the league. For me (this will upset Olof) I think it's tight between Esteve and Rodon for best centre half in the league. I think Ampadu is our best/most influential player and walks in to any team in this league. Tanaka was the best midfielder in this league for 4 months until his recent dip. Dan James and Solomon are the best wide players. Gnonto and Ramazani prolly make the top 10. Piroe is the top scoring striker and probably the best finisher in the league and has been for 4 years. Firpo is the best attacking full back at this level. My lad has a magazine on holiday which has the top 50 football league players. Solomon, Piroe, James, Rodon, Ampadu make the yop 15. I'd say we have the strongest squad. We also pay the most money in wages.
Not disagreeing with any of that, I was simply highlighting other teams also have excellent players. If it was as simple as who has the best team, Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth don't beat Sheffield United yet all three have decent players of their own and did.
Not trying to say anybody is wrong mate, just putting my 2p in. FWIW I think we are too small a squad for a 50 game season. I'd like another centre half, another 10 and another 9 in the squad. Experienced ones. Thats where Burnley are strong, they have a more experienced squad. Sheffield United have over performed this season. Maybe the last 3 results are just an evening up process as they've won plenty of games they deserved to lose. Burnleys clean sheet record is very impressive but plenty of teams missed golden chances against them. They too have overperformed points wise. We have underperformed and by quite a margin. That's not always on the manager, it's individuals making errors. Farke is to blame for not dropping Meslier earlier.
It’s a well used phrase but it’s not always true imo…the table doesnt lie because it reflects the number of points won… but it regularly lies in terms of reflecting who are the better teams You CAN argue it’s not luck if your striker misses sitters and your keeper makes howlers. (Does it make you a worse team if your 1 weakness offsets the good work of others?) But either way it doesn’t account for what the other team does or doesn’t do. On a macro level one team could continually play sides out of form or with players injured - whilst another gets their best injury free team bang in form. On a micro level let’s say Leeds and Sheffield united play QPR in consecutive weeks. Both games are 1-0 . Elias chair picks the ball up from 25 yards out and smashes it in top corner against Leeds. Game drawn 1-1 Next week he picks the ball up in the same position puts it into row z. Sheff utd win 1-0. 2 point swing from 1 action, no bad or good play from the blunts or Leeds. No mistakes. Thats 1 action, there are multiple compound actions every game. It doesn’t take many going for or against you to produce a huge swing in points. That sort of thing has gone in Sheffield united’s favour all season. Similar with forest in the PL. People say luck evens out. But we got 13 consecutive away cup draws. Doesn’t mean we’re getting 13 home draws in a row. There is luck in football - it’s what makes it watchable. Best sides in champ in my view: Leeds - Gap Burnley - Gap Sunderland Middlesbrough, West Brom, Coventry, sheff united. (Much of a muchness)
without getting too much into everyone’s favourite xg argument it’s actually been far more Burnley and sheff utd over performing (points wise) than us underperforming. We have a better ‘xg against’ than Burnley. As you say for Burnley it’s been a combination of good defending and good keeping + a heavy slice of good fortune as sides miss sitters. a counter to that is you can get self fulfilling prophecies… where everyone knows chances against Burnley are at a premium so they snatch at them. And from the Burnley side… they grow in confidence from thinking they’re never going to concede.
I know you aren't mate and didn't take it that way. First and foremost it is a football forum and I was just putting a different angle on Ristac's take that we are clearly the best, I don't think it is that straightforward. There are certainly players from other teams that would get into our side (23 goalkeepers in the Championship alone!!!).
