Premiership 2004-2005

[tomamar04]

So many questions

What was it, a good season or a poor one?

Did Chelsea buy their way to the title?

Who will be relegated?

Which Liverpudlian team should be in the Champions League next year?

Who is more of a disgrace, El Haj Diouf or Robbie Savage?

etc.

[NM]

So many questions

What was it, a good season or a poor one?

Did Chelsea buy their way to the title?

Who will be relegated?

Which Liverpudlian team should be in the Champions League next year?

Who is more of a disgrace, El Haj Diouf or Robbie Savage?

etc.

League wise for my team, (Liverpool) this season has been poor. Inconsistant league performances, and pititful away form has led to a fifth place at best finish, which isn't good enough for a club like Liverpool. However Europe has been another story. A champions league final against AC Milan to come, could turn a bad season into the best in over 10 years.

Did Chelsea buy the title. Imo, yes. Alright Jose Mourinho is a good manager, but anyone who can spend £200million in the summer on new players when the next team only has about £50million to me is buying the title.

Relagation. I think West Brom and Southampton are down the final spot is a coin toss between Norwich and Palace.

Which team from Liverpool should be in the Champions league. Depends on what happens in the final. If Liverpool win then I think both should be in. If Liverpool lose, then Everton as they've got forth in the league.

On to the last question. There both as bad as each other. Spitting on other players is inexcusable, but then going in on players constantly in a dangerous manner is also bad. Sooner or later Robbie Savage is going to end someone's careear, if he hasn't already.

[Skogs]

You can buy a top-three finish, but due credit to Mourinho for winning the league.

[gokufusionss1]

we were <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif">e and deserve to play in the UEFA cup, still gonna win the champions leauge though.
chelsea didn't buy the title, you can't look what happend to raneri.

[Devourment]

So many questions

What was it, a good season or a poor one?

Did Chelsea buy their way to the title?

Who will be relegated?

Which Liverpudlian team should be in the Champions League next year?

Who is more of a disgrace, El Haj Diouf or Robbie Savage?

etc.Hmmm, I don't like football that much, but I'll reply anyway.

1. For which team?

2. Yes

3. Norwich

4. Hmmm, don't know

5. El Haj Diouf

[Old Manus]

Last time I checked, buying players wasn't against the rules. Anyway, at least many English players actually make the first team! Look at Arsenal for God's sake!

[tomamar04]

Good point, but if Campbell and Cole had been available all season, they would have had 2 English players on the pitch, and for the first part of the season, when Joe Cole was practically ignored, Chelsea only had 2 English players on pitch.

In my opinion Palace will stay up because they're playing Charlton, who haven't won in 9 games (I think), Southampton have a difficult match, and West Brom are practically down. Depends on what Norwich do against Fulham.

[Doc Sark]

So many questions

What was it, a good season or a poor one?

Did Chelsea buy their way to the title?

Who will be relegated?

Which Liverpudlian team should be in the Champions League next year?

Who is more of a disgrace, El Haj Diouf or Robbie Savage?

In terms of who is going to get relegated, it has been a massively exciting season! Every week there has been a new twist which has made the battle for survival more exciting than the battle for the title which was effectively over by the end of January.

Of course Chelsea bought their way to the title. People forget that Ranieri is not a very good manager. Look at him now, sacked from Valencia for underachieving. The underachiever tag follows him around. Mourinho is the best in the business over the last five years, he too was bought, and over £210 million pounds has been spent in two years to make a dream team. Not against the rules no, and for a bunch of glory hunters from the Kings Road it's great news, but for English football it isn't. Monopolies on the best talent will eventually make football boring. However it is good to see Man Utd without a title in three years and slipping further and further towards an early nineties Liverpool situation where they have aging players, and no one decent to replace them. They are the third best team in England and it amuses me when their fans deny it.

I can't see West Brom staying up. I'd love Palace to survive, send the others down.

Everton deserve their Champions League place. We've had a poor season league wise, one hampered by injury and the pressures of transition and a good run in Europe. We'll be more of a force next season I'm sure. However if we win the Champions League we should be allowed to defend our title but not at the expense of Everton.

Neither. Robbie Savage is a smart player, I like him, and read his coloumn regularly in 4-4-2. He knows he isn't the most talented player in the world but uses his wit and cunning to his advantage. There is more to his game than occasional bad tackles. El Hadji Diouf is at least blatant in his misdermeanours. For me the villains are players like Joe Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Pires. The serial divers. I saw Ronaldo the other week make a yellow card gesture at the ref in order to get a fellow professional booked. Grow up boy. It's a mans game and there's no room for cheats in my book.

[Devourment]

Last time I checked, buying players wasn't against the rules. Anyway, at least many English players actually make the first team! Look at Arsenal for God's sake!Chelsea... English team... Nah.
Arsenal are just full of French. Manchester United have the most British side in the prem.

[tomamar04]

Exactly.

Around half of United's squad is made of of British players.

But it will be hard for United to win the title next year. We'll have to see if Chelsea can do what only Man United and Liverpool have done, and dominate English football over several years.

[Kirobaito]

Did Chelsea buy their way to the title?
Almoust every team in Euroupe nouwadays is a team that 'bought' their way tou a title. With the current ourganisation of labour and pouwer, it makes it impoussible tou stoup this inevitable cycle of ridiculous payroulls.

The ounly poussible way tou cure this malady is tou create a single coullective bargaining agreement four the entire countinent, a task that seems coumpletely impoussible, and it is. The task ouf negoutiating between the ouwners and a players' unioun is oune that touou difficult tou manage. Houwever, the ounly way tou end a mounoupouly oun the best players would be tou create this CBA, and in essence, create a "Paul Tagliabue" Euroupean Fououtball, oune ouf universal parity. Establish a salary cap amoungst every single league in Europe - this is the ounly true way to make it fair.

But hell, what dou I knouw? I'm just an ignourant American.

[Doc Sark]

I totally agree, though what's with all the "u"s?

A salary cap, would be difficult to implement, I would propose a spending limit though on transfers though. It would stop teams from spending hundreds of millions a year.

[tomamar04]

It wouldn't work.

I remember El Haij Diouf saying that he only plays football for the money, if that's the case for many players in the game, many would leave football.

[Cuchulainn]

I'm a diehard Man Utd supporter. This season, like the last 2, were well below par. Now that Glazier has bought 56% of the shares the future is in the balance, I don't want what happened to Leeds United happen to us. About English players, it's a strange subject. Man U DO have the most British players out of the top 3 but it hasn't exactly done us any good has it? Maybe the forward IS to buy out Europe and flood the Premiership with foreign talent, because Engliush talent seems to be thin on the ground. We are blessed with 2 of England's finest players though, in Rio Ferdinand & Wayne Rooney. Alan Smith too, although he has severely under-performed since September.
I wish Liverpool all the best in European Cup, It'd be nice to see another English team winning it, even if it is those Scouse $£%$£.

Regarding Everton, despite the 7-0 thrashing recieved by an Arsenal side I have for long admired & hated with equal balance, the points over the season are what count. They deserve everything they have.

Lastly, Chelsea. The deserved the Premiership, simply a class of their own all season & if it wasn't for a dodgy decision & poor luck in the European Cup Semi, who knows. It's easy to be bitter & spite every club for United's lackings, but we just were not good enough. He havn't got WORSE than we were, say 5 years ago, but the problem is, other teams have got better & we haven't moved. We are still the biggest football club in the world, just beating Real Madrid & I'm sure we'll find our feet again.

[tomamar04]

At least, I've found another Man United fan!

I also wish Liverpool luck, and I think they can win it.

[gokufusionss1]

At least, I've found another Man United fan!

I also wish Liverpool luck, and I think they can win it.


what?



are you sure you're a united fan.

[Old Manus]

I was rather disappointed after the Liverpool match, as in my opinion the only team in that semi who had a real chance against AC Milan was Chelsea. But Liverpool won, and I think they deserve some credit because of their astonishing defending. Liverpool will have my full backing in the final.



P.S: It went in.

[tomamar04]

At least, I've found another Man United fan!

I also wish Liverpool luck, and I think they can win it.


what?



are you sure you're a united fan.

I might be a United fan, but I'm also English, and I like seeing English clubs do well in Europe (and AC Milan beat United)

[Kirobaito]

I totally agree, though what's with all the "u"s?

A salary cap, would be difficult to implement, I would propose a spending limit though on transfers though. It would stop teams from spending hundreds of millions a year.
I did not want to fall out of favo<b>u</b>r with the English language.

[Doc Sark]

It wouldn't work.

I remember El Haij Diouf saying that he only plays football for the money, if that's the case for many players in the game, many would leave football.

??? And do what? If the choice was being paid a maximuim of £75,000 a week or doing nothing, which lets face it most footballers would end up doing, I know what I'd choose.

Anyway, I was proposing a transfer cap. To stop teams like Chelsea screwing up the transfer market by basically telling teams to "name their price" for wanted players. It's ridiculous!

ps. Walker Texas Ranger...I sense you're taking the p*ss?

[Resha]

Good point, but if Campbell and Cole had been available all season, they would have had 2 English players on the pitch, and for the first part of the season, when Joe Cole was practically ignored, Chelsea only had 2 English players on pitch.


You're my HERO. I LOVE YOU. :love:

And Chelsea, in my opinion, totally bought their way to the top. What is the POINT of having a team full of such excellent players? It just means that really really good players get benched when they could be playing. I even think I remember one player leaving Chelsea because of that? Didn't he?

If Chelsea had bought one or two..maybe even THREE good players and then won the league with a nice balance of developing players like Arsenal does, then I'd totally accept it. But this is like having a superside, and there's no fun when a super side wins! >=/ Grr CHELSEA. Yuckies.

[tomamar04]

They've got too many top quality players.

If you say Cech, Carvalho, Gallas, Terry, Ferraira, Makelele, Lampard, Duff, Robben, Gudjohnsen and Drogba wouldbe the starting 11 without injuries, look at the side you could make with the rest of the team:

GK - Cudicini
D - Johnsen
D - Huth
D - Bridge
M - Jarosik
M - Smertin
M - Parker
M - Tiago
M - Cole
S - Forsell
S - Kezman

Still a brilliant team...

[Resha]

Too brilliant. It's like an elite force or something! And it's no FUN ing elite having elite forces. >=/ For the sake of good footy, honestly. And I can't say that they play the most exciting footy either despite it all.

[Doc Sark]

look at the side you could make with the rest of the team:

Of course that's still forgetting, Geremi...! And he's quality.

[tomamar04]

Oh yeah, forgot about Geremi!

[aeris2001x2]

Chelsea are hardly invinciable. They had played poorly several times this season, culumanting in exits from two cups. They have lost their last 4 champions league away games. They in my opinion were not the side Arsenal were last season and in the second half after they lost robben there was a significant difference.

Great players they have, but aside from the main squad, wil the fringe players gel together? and if u were as good as geremi, cudicini, parker, huth, johnson, kezman etc are you going to stay at a club and get the odd game here and then, knowing anywhere else you would be almost certainly guranted first team football?

Chelsea must now do something not done since Man U in 2001...defend their title.

If Chelsea do dominate English football, then you can bet Arsenal and Man U will go down kicking and screaming.

[Doc Sark]

At the moment, Man Utd appear to be going down with more of a whimper. They failed to beat Chelsea at three attempts this season, and were a long way off the pace come the end of the season.

I don't think Chelsea are invincible either, but any team in the world would do very well to win at Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, so I don't take that as a very convincing arguement against them. The fact is they came through two of those European 2 legged ties as winners. They only lost 2 games in English competitions all season, took maximum points over Liverpool and United, not easily done by any team, and for my money, are leagues ahead of Man United at the moment. The only team I can see challenging them next year is Arsenal, who will have to be more consistent and defend better if they are to win back the title.

But in saying that, I'm no idiot, and would never write off Man United in a title chase until is mathematically impossible. So, we'll just have to see how the respond to a disappointing season, and if they've got that Dowie, bouncebackability!