Premier League ‘24-‘25 (real and fantasy)

Liverpool continue to maintain a massive 9 point lead over Arsenal and Chelsea (?!) at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over City. A nine point lead it's insurmountable but it's been done only three times in like three decades. That's 5 loses and a draw in City's last six games across all competitions and third in a row in the EPL. They haven't won since before Halloween and really look all out of sorts. Another coach not named Pep would be looking at the sack tomorrow. That a first season for Slot.
City just look very bland and have no new ideas whereas Liverpool have a fantastic diverse squad that is strong in all areas with plenty of back up.
 
City just look very bland and have no new ideas whereas Liverpool have a fantastic diverse squad that is strong in all areas with plenty of back up.
If anything this run has finally exposed Haaland. He can't contribute much unless he's served the ball. Without someone doing that, his got almost zero contributions to the team. In the past it didn't matter because off his scoring pase (best defense is a good offensive). Without teammates getting in the ball in a scoring position he's lost. Even with Norway he's leaning on Ødegaard. I don't even know what's going on with Foden and Silva plus Walker looks time has caught up with him out of nowhere.
 
City just look very bland and have no new ideas whereas Liverpool have a fantastic diverse squad that is strong in all areas with plenty of back up.
Salah’s assist today was absolutely brilliant. Only a handful of players in the world would see that pass.

His pk was pretty sweet as well. :)
 
If anything this run has finally exposed Haaland. He can't contribute much unless he's served the ball. Without someone doing that, his got almost zero contributions to the team. In the past it didn't matter because off his scoring pase (best defense is a good offensive). Without teammates getting in the ball in a scoring position he's lost. Even with Norway he's leaning on Ødegaard. I don't even know what's going on with Foden and Silva plus Walker looks time has caught up with him out of nowhere.
Agreed about Walker. For me one of the most puzzling things is Foden. How do you go from being player of the year to zilch!
 
City just look very bland and have no new ideas whereas Liverpool have a fantastic diverse squad that is strong in all areas with plenty of back up.
City's running into a confluence of (1) injuries; (2) Pep's desire for a small squad; (3) misses in recruitment; and (4) being sentimental about aging stars.

There's only one Rodri, but to have no backup was running a big risk that's now come home to roost, particularly with Dias, Stones and Kovacic all missing large chunks of time. The Kalvin Phillips miss looms large, as does settling on Gundogan last August rather than spending more and getting a younger, more athletic midfielder. Guys should have been brought in to challenge our regulars, particularly in the midfield. And letting go of guys like Romeo Lavia and Liam Delap made sense at the time, but they could be used now.

It's hard to have new ideas when you keep rolling out the same MF with Bernardo and Gundogan out there that you know lacks the legs, speed and athleticism to create anything. Seeing a lineup that had neither Doku nor Savinho start Sunday didn't give me any hope. The league, barring a miracle, is gone for City. Hopefully, they can stay within shouting distance over the next month and bring in a couple of guys in January to jumpstart the second half of the season -- and the impending refreshing of the squad. Seems very likely there will be big turnover next summer, and City's in a good position to spend.

Things seem to be rolling right for Liverpool, but someone's going to make a run at them I suspect. Arsenal's not going away, but I'm more inclined to think it will be Chelsea. And I'd never have expected that six months ago.
 
Arsenal's not going away, but I'm more inclined to think it will be Chelsea. And I'd never have expected that six months ago.
No one did but their cast a wide net and shotgun approach in talent hoarding seems to be working for this season. It’s not sustainable in the long run but as Keynes said “In the long run we are all dead.”

As for City, your points are on target but there seems to be deeper rumbles. De Bruyne seems to be persona non grata which is strange considering it can be argued that he was one of (if not the best) City player over the title runs. There’s something happened there. Kevin was willing to be moved this summer but City didn’t want to do it. Now they aren’t playing him in the increasingly rare spans when he’s fit.

Pep’s not one for big personalities and when you are winning it’s easy for players to go along. When you are struggling, well those personalities are going to come out.
 
No one did but their cast a wide net and shotgun approach in talent hoarding seems to be working for this season. It’s not sustainable in the long run but as Keynes said “In the long run we are all dead.”

As for City, your points are on target but there seems to be deeper rumbles. De Bruyne seems to be persona non grata which is strange considering it can be argued that he was one of (if not the best) City player over the title runs. There’s something happened there. Kevin was willing to be moved this summer but City didn’t want to do it. Now they aren’t playing him in the increasingly rare spans when he’s fit.

Pep’s not one for big personalities and when you are winning it’s easy for players to go along. When you are struggling, well those personalities are going to come out.
With KDB, he’s always been a moody guy. That said, I think it’s pretty simple. He stuck around expecting an extension. It never came. Now he’s being extra careful with his injury and recovery to not jeopardize the rumored payday in San Diego.

My love for KDB is boundless, and I hate seeing it end this way. But it’s clearly ending.

Just another thing that City maybe didn’t manage well enough with the intersection of guys getting old, contracts being run down and not knowing if Pep was sticking.
 
With KDB, he’s always been a moody guy. That said, I think it’s pretty simple. He stuck around expecting an extension. It never came. Now he’s being extra careful with his injury and recovery to not jeopardize the rumored payday in San Diego.

My love for KDB is boundless, and I hate seeing it end this way. But it’s clearly ending.

Just another thing that City maybe didn’t manage well enough with the intersection of guys getting old, contracts being run down and not knowing if Pep was sticking.
Another disappointing result for City today. Peps interview after was quiet something. He really did not want to be there.
 
One year too long? Seems so.
Well he just reupped for two more but the second year might be his option. I mentioned earlier where would he go? Resource wise everything outside of Real Madrid is a downgrade and he’s Catalanian and an ex Barca player and manager so that seems unlikely. PSG will throw money at him but would he want to go there? Would he consider going back to Barca or the Bundesliga after having the fiscal freedom in City (although Red Bull is bending the rules in Germany so there’s that)? Inter? This seemed like a perfect window to take a national gig. Spain would never be an option (see above) but England was right there.
 
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Well he just reupped for two more but the second year might be his option. I mentioned earlier where would he go? Resource wise everything outside of Real Madrid is a downgrade and he’s Catalanian and an ex Barca player and manager so that seems unlikely. PSG will throw money at him but would he want to go there? Would he consider going back to Barca or the Bundesliga after having the fiscal freedom in City (although Red Bull is bending the rules in Germany so there’s that)? Inter? This seemed like a perfect window to take a national gig. Spain would never be an option (see above) but England was right there.
I think Pep's really frustrated because he can't fix the problems in the squad. The squad is too thin and too beat up to make changes. He's left playing guys in positions where he knows they can't succeed. If we can all see that the City MF is too old and slow and weak, then I'm sure Pep does too.

I don't know if he'll actually end up coaching the extension. My worry is that he signed, expecting a charge in the squad and improvement in play. And it hasn't come. This is just who some of these guys are at this point. Gundogan, Silva and Walker have just gotten old. Ederson's head is elsewhere. Rico Lewis hasn't physically developed enough. Stones can't stay fit, and now the workload is catching up with Dias, Ake and Akanji. But the lack of response to him reupping might make him reconsider. His closest friend at the club, Txiki Begiristain is leaving too.

Seems though that he doesn't want to leave the club at a comparative down point, and with the Club World Cup, it's hard to replace someone at the end of the season. Hopefully guys coming back from injury and a couple of signings in January (and then again in June) will recharge not just the team, but Pep.

Be interested to see what lineup he runs tomorrow. I would think you'll see something closer to the squad that beat Forest a week ago, with Doku and Grealish out there. Foden wide. Gundogan and/or Bernardo on the bench. Gvardiol will be back in the lineup too. That's probably the best team we've got right now. January 1 can't come fast enough, if we'll actually make any moves.
 
To this admitted noob, I am a little unclear as to what constitutes a "derby". I guess I thought just about all of the current derbies involved two clubs within a very short distance of each other (e.g. cross-town). From this description, I guess "derby" and "rivalry" are synonymous in EPL-speak, regardless of the distance (although I'd find it difficult to believe that a derby could exist between, say, Newcastle and Bournemouth).
 
I was amused to read this morning that Crystal Palace-Brighton is sometimes referred to as “the most pointless derby in football,” at least per Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_%26_Hove_Albion_F.C.–Crystal_Palace_F.C._rivalry

I was trying to find out why this is a rivalry game.

Regardless, it was a fun first half.
To this admitted noob, I am a little unclear as to what constitutes a "derby". I guess I thought just about all of the current derbies involved two clubs within a very short distance of each other (e.g. cross-town). From this description, I guess "derby" and "rivalry" are synonymous in EPL-speak, regardless of the distance (although I'd find it difficult to believe that a derby could exist between, say, Newcastle and Bournemouth).
It’s a stretch to call Crystal Palace and Brighton a derby. It’s a rivalry that’s played out as both teams compete and advance through the pyramid at times at each others expense.

Great derbies are usually geographically limited and usually to the greater metro area. Liverpool/Everton Man U/ City. London is packed with them because there are 17 professional teams and a hand full semi-pros and a ton more of amateur ones. Even then they can be broken down. The North London derby is only Arsenal/Spurs because they are the only teams there and physically closer than Duke and UNC. South London derbies have like five teams to pick from.


Speaking of derbies, Kyle Walker has no future as an actor.
 
I was amused to read this morning that Crystal Palace-Brighton is sometimes referred to as “the most pointless derby in football,” at least per Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_%26_Hove_Albion_F.C.–Crystal_Palace_F.C._rivalry

I was trying to find out why this is a rivalry game.

Regardless, it was a fun first half.
I am completely ignorant about EPL compared to everyone here (and appreciate learning from everyone here), but we became CP fans after going to a game there in February. Being a CP fan is very humbling but fun. Nice to see them getting their acts together with a solid win today. They play Arsenal twice this week.
 
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