Have to agree, District Line. On our day we can beat anyone, but that isn't the same as being on a par with the top six. The fact that the assessment that we were better than Spurs came from someone with 'Arsenal' in their username says all we need to know. I appreciated the compliment, but dismissed it as a one-eyed, bitter Arsenal fan who doesn't want to admit that Spurs are closer to them in terms of quality than they've been for years. As to whether we're better than Chelsea, until our result yesterday I might have given some consideration to that view ...
At home I would say Fulham are as good as any team in the Prem, but away the reverse. I went to the Villa-Fulham game and thought Fulham were disappointing against a poor Villa side. I think Fulham are getting better and closer to the top 6/7 for sure and if they can get that consistency they will be in and amongst the so called "upper echelon". I have the same conversations with Arsenal fans in person that can't accept they are no longer a top club. My view is that the league can be broken up into 5 categories Group 1: City and United Group 2: Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs. Group 3: Liverpool and Newcastle Group 4: Wigan, Wolves, QPR, Blackburn, Bolton Group 5: Everybody else (but with Fulham, Sunderland and Everton top of the pack)
No, sorry that was misleading, obviously Group 4 teams aren't better than Group 5. I actually think the gap between Group 5 and 4 is quite large. If Fulham improve their away record I would be tempted to place them at least in Group 3 if not Group 2, there is fantastic potential there
This is almost right but I'm not sure you need Group 3. Newcastle have a small gap over Liverpool but then it is tight all the way down to 15th - only 6pts. I don't think there is a huge amount between any of those 10 teams - a good manager could probably take any of those teams to 6th but maybe not much further. Pardew is clearly doing a good job at Newcastle and their scouting team have found some gems so they deserve their current position as 'best of the rest'. Liverpool should be in the 2nd group but they've wasted their transfer kitty so they might have missed their chance. It's kind of funny how 'Top X' seems to get bigger as Liverpool get worse.
To be honest, I was just bantering with District Line. Seeing as you ask the question, I'd say we're at least on a par. Looking at the two squads, there aren't a lot of your players I would take over their opposite numbers in our team, although there are many who I would be happy to see in a Fulham shirt if we were replacing existing players who left. The two clubs are well matched in terms of squad. In terms of infrastructure, stadium size, number of supporters, etc Everton ought to far outstrip Fulham. I think our 'proper' place in the current Premier League is in the second quarter, with potential to be high up within that mini-league but more often than not falling to the middle or bottom of it. Everton ought to be regularly at the top of that second quarter, but for a number of reasons - which you are probably better placed than me to go into - are falling short. If Sunderland, Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool (who aren't top five material any more, and have quite a way to go before they are again) all get their act together and start realising potential on a regular basis, 10th would be the best we could realistically hope for in most seasons. But we've punched above our weight for a long time, and there's no reason that we can't keep on doing it. If our proposed stadium redevelopment goes through we might even be able to start rivalling some of the above.
