Premier League Thread

Aren't hamstring injuries usually at least 2-3 weeks

 

I'm hoping 3 not 2

 

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Who are those teams in the bottom half? oh yes Liverpool and Tottenham!

 

Our goal difference is twenty better than Tottenham's. 20.

 

Our problem is - we haven't killed off those bottom of the league teams!

 

Liverpool lucky to have 14 points to be honest. If things had gone really against them they could be in the bottom 3!

 

How much of a gap will we need over Liverpool, Spurs and Everton do people think we need to build before the pundits stop staying they will over take us later in the season? 20?

I am assuming our main threats to Top 4 are those closest to us in the table. I am not going to make the mistake that I am criticising the pundits for by writing off Swansea and West Ham. Swansea beat Arsenal without 3 key players today. Would be like us playing without Toby, Mane, Tadic and one of our staring central midfielders. Admittedly Arsenal have 4-5 first teamers out (depending on where you rank Arteta)

If we beat Man United and they get a few more poor results before they can sort their defence out then we might be able to open up a sizeable gap on them as well. Fingers crossed

 

I can immediately think of games against us and QPR that they did not deserve to win. That would have them on 10 instead of 14. Where does the other extra point they have that means they are not in the bottom 3 come from? I don't follow them that closely. Unless you mean they should have got zero against us instead of 3

 

Goes to show nothing's changed - we do well against the top teams like Swansea and West Ham, then throw points away to the dregs of the league...

 

I read an article the other day saying that if we won, as we did yesterday, we would have exactly the same W's D's and L's as Wigan did at the start of the 2005/6 season.

 

Whoa downer.....

 

They also made it to the league cup final that season

 

That's the example people keep quoting in order that we keep our feet on the ground....is that unlikely scenario likely to happen to 2 clubs.

 

It's the big clubs and the pundits clutching at straws - "Look, everyone, Saints are the same as Wigan, so they'll fall apart soon, because they will obviously follow exactly the same trajectory"

 

Why bother making comparisons to mediocre teams like Wigan?

 

That's true. They weren't exactly running people over, however, with just 13 goals in 11 games, and the other surprise package that year in Bolton was even more fluky statistically, taking 23 points in their first 12 games with a mere +3 GD. Wigan's defense regressed massively, and suddenly those 1-0 wins turned into 2-1 losses.

If our defense falls apart we could go the same way, but it's not exactly showing signs of porousness yet.

 

Quite. That stat has obviously been dug up by the press to illustrate their desired cautionary tale. I quoted it as I had this sudden image of the contagious excitement of this thread somehow transmitting to the squad, which could Wiganize the hole thing.

 

Anyway. Chelsea have the league in the bag, Man Utd have probably turned a corner, with the squad they have city ought to be nailed on for top 3 at least, and history says Arsenal will finish 4th. They, and West Ham and Swansea, are the teams we are currently competing with.

 

Well today could hardly have gone any better. The whole weekend in fact.

A shame really that we've got to wait three weeks until we play City, Arsenal, and Man Utd. Right now, given a mixture of injury and form, I would take any of them on at this moment. In particular, all three of them have injuries at CB which presumably might be cleared somewhat come three weeks time?