View Poll Results: Who will win the Premier League this season?

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  • Chelsea

    2 20.00%
  • Tottenham

    0 0%
  • Man City

    2 20.00%
  • Liverpool

    2 20.00%
  • Arsenal

    0 0%
  • Man Utd

    2 20.00%
  • Brighton

    2 20.00%
  • Someone else

    0 0%
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Thread: 2017-18 English Football Season Thread

  1. #16
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
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    1. Chelsea
    2. Man City
    3. Man Utd
    4. Spurs
    5. Arsenal
    6. Liverpool

    Like shooting fish in a barrel. A couple of incredibly tiny fish in a massive barrel, with an airgun from about 50 feet and with no previous experience in shooting a gun. That's my quality level of prediction.

    EDIT: Meanwhile, Real Madrid 2 - 1 Manchester United in the UEFA Community Shield. Still hoping we can manage something out of this, by all accounts (ie, by the BBC live feed) we're getting blitzed.
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  2. #17
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    I'll go for Manchester City but that is not an informed opinion. It's probably between Chelsea and Manchester City, but pre-season guessing is a crapshoot in my opinion.


  3. #18
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Formalhaut View Post
    It's probably between Chelsea and Manchester City, but pre-season guessing is a crapshoot in my opinion.
    Is it, though? Because there's twenty teams in this league and in your crapshoot you just so happened to chance upon the two richest ones. If it's a crapshoot, why can't it be Stoke or Watford? Sir, you attempt to deceive us!

  4. #19

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    So maybe some of you guys can help me out. From everything I've read, the Spanish media creates stories to put Barca and Real Madrid in the best light, essentially creating its own hype machine? From every source I can find, Liverpool have no deal with Barca for Coutinho but every Spanish and La Liga source says he's already signed with them. What gives? Is this the European equivalent to "Fake News?".

    Take care all.

  5. #20
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Psychotic View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Formalhaut View Post
    It's probably between Chelsea and Manchester City, but pre-season guessing is a crapshoot in my opinion.
    Is it, though? Because there's twenty teams in this league and in your crapshoot you just so happened to chance upon the two richest ones. If it's a crapshoot, why can't it be Stoke or Watford? Sir, you attempt to deceive us!
    Well, I mean, there's always a chance a team would do a Leicester and win.

    But I think out of the 'regular' top six or so teams, I'll go for Chelsea and Manchester City. Didn't actually know they were the top two richest teams, but I guess that makes sense!


  6. #21
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Captain View Post
    So maybe some of you guys can help me out. From everything I've read, the Spanish media creates stories to put Barca and Real Madrid in the best light, essentially creating its own hype machine? From every source I can find, Liverpool have no deal with Barca for Coutinho but every Spanish and La Liga source says he's already signed with them. What gives? Is this the European equivalent to "Fake News?".

    Take care all.
    For Liverpool, the only accurate journalists are James Pearce, Melissa Reddy and Paul Joyce. They've all said he's not going.

    The only official thing that has happened is that Barca submitted a £72m bid a couple of weeks ago which was rejected. Since then, not a peep. With how modern football works, a club would not submit a bid unless it had sounded a player (his agents really) out about a move, so Coutinho would obviously be happy with a move to Barca - and I mean even the most dyed-in-the-wool Liverpool fan could see that it's a bigger and better club. With that said, by all accounts from those journalists he's also still happy at Liverpool and doesn't want to do a Sterling or a Van Dijk. If Liverpool get an acceptable offer, adios, if not, he'll stay.

    I think two key factors are that his best and childhood friend Neymar was still at Barca two weeks ago when the bid was made but isn't anymore, and also with the World Cup coming up he needs to be playing regular football this season - will he be doing that at Barca? Regardless, I still think he wants to move but isn't "all in", I guess.

    As far as the Catalan press is going, it's all been utter lies and bollocks. He's supposedly being on the brink of signing for two weeks. He was supposed to have been unveiled yesterday. A "Delegation" has been coming to Liverpool every day it seems... never mind that LFC's offices are actually in, whisper it, London!

    Make no mistake, losing Neymar was a major humiliation for Barcelona and its president, Bartomeu. Some speculate the press are doing this to further undermine him to get him out - if this GUARANTEED 100% DONE move for Coutinho falls flat, it's a further stick to beat him with.

    With that said, the Brazilian press has now also taken up the cause so I have no idea wtf because there isn't the Barca agenda there, and that has me slightly nervous. I can't see Liverpool selling this late in the window, and £72m by this transfer window's prices for Coutinho is a joke. That might've flown two years ago, but post-Pogba and post-Neymar? Especially when the club bidding for him has those Neymar funds in their pocket? Not a chance. With that said, with the right offer - one that makes him the second most expensive player on the planet - and it'll happen. Some rumblings from West Ham journalists that we've made tentative Lanzini enquiries also makes me nervous, but again he'll cost what, £40m? £50m? Football in 2017!

  7. #22

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    Yeah, I figured it was just Spanish hyped up media trying to make trouble or help Barca. If Liverpool lost Coutinho literally days before the season starts, then what's their plan of being competitive at all? If he does want to go, then in much the same way as Suarez, plan for it for the next season. See how this year plays out, maybe win something big with him in the fold and if he still wants to go, let him leave early next summer with enough time to bring in a replacement for him.

    Some have been saying "but they may never get the same amount for him again!" which I find silly since transfer prices only go UP. Next year teams aren't going to suddenly spend less money on players.


    There's still so much that can go down with transfers that these predictions might be moot, but here goes:

    Spurs (Surely they'll sign someone this window, right? I think they have the best Starting XI at least)
    Man City
    Chelsea
    Liverpool
    Man Utd
    West Ham
    Arsenal
    Everton
    Leicester
    Crystal Palace
    Bournemouth
    Swansea
    West Brom
    Newcastle
    Southampton
    Burnley
    Huddersfield
    Stoke
    Watford
    Brighton

    Take care all.

  8. #23
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
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    Spurs winning: How much of an achievement would that be? Where on the scale of Leicester to Manchester City would you put that?
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  9. #24
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Loony BoB View Post
    Spurs winning: How much of an achievement would that be? Where on the scale of Leicester to Manchester City would you put that?
    Somewhere about half way. I can't see it happening though, they have a paper thin squad and traditionally have done very poorly in games at Wembley (as per European ties). They're media darlings, but I think a non top 4 finish is more likely than a title win.

  10. #25
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Psychotic View Post
    With that said, with the right offer - one that makes him the second most expensive player on the planet - and it'll happen.
    Or not. Barca have finally made a second bid of £90m and got turned down. Although I did expect them to bid a lot more than just £1m more than Pogba when I wrote that. Coutinho is good, but he's not second-most-expensive-player-of-all-time good. Neither is Pogba though, and that's not intended as a troll.

    Suspect they'll do one final bid and that might be accepted.

  11. #26
    'Just Friends' Formalhaut's Avatar
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    The Captain did a full league placement prediction so I might as well give my faildiction:

    Manchester City
    Chelsea
    Tottenham Hotspurs
    Liverpool
    Manchester United
    Arsenal
    West Ham
    Everton
    Crystal Palace
    Leicester

    Bournemouth
    Swansea
    Southampton
    West Brom
    Burnley
    Newcastle
    Stoke
    Huddersfield
    Brighton
    Watford

    Feel free to rip that to shreds. I feel as if Stoke will just about manage to cling on. 4th-5th-6th is a toss up between those teams, and West Ham could very well do better than I put them down as.


  12. #27

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    The way I see it, some of Spurs top players will be good as gone next year if they don't finally break through. Finishing Top 3 back to back years is a good achievement in and of itself, especially if they're not spending like the big boys (or at all apparently). I also am a big believer in group chemistry. Unless you have a legendary player like a Messi or a Ronaldo, teams that constantly shuffle the pack sometimes struggle to gel. Most of these Spurs players will have played together for years now and that sort of chemistry is important. However, if they don't strengthen the squad, they may have to choose between going all out in Europe or England.


    It's also why I'm skeptical of Man City running away with anything. Sure, they've signed a lot of players and filled in some holes but will they gel? That said, I think Gab Jesus is going to be a beast this year for them.

    As for transfer prices, as a longtime fan of the NBA, let me say this: Don't get hung up on the numbers anymore. The actual player value no longer reflects the price. With so much money being available worldwide, everyone's price is going way up. A player who probably is worth $30 million will now be $60 million, etc, etc.

    Liverpool knocking back Barca says two important things to me: Klopp has command of the team and they aren't in financial straits that require cashing in. That said, I think we probably have just this one year left with Coutinho, so we'd better make it count.

    Take care all.

  13. #28
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    For me it's not the numbers themselves but the numbers relative to the other numbers!

  14. #29
    Huh? Flower?! What the hell?! Administrator Psychotic's Avatar
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    Disregard everything I said about Coutinho to Barca, I have no idea what the hell is happening anymore. I think it'll happen now.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psychotic View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Old Manus View Post
    So is old Luis still the saint and saviour of all things Mersey?
    No, we've moved onto Coutinho who of course, will never ever leave us because he truly loves the club and fans and the colour red.
    I said this in 2013 knowing full well it would all end in Barca. It always does.

    Oh well, let's go bully Southampton so we can feel good about ourselves and they in turn can go bully Celtic. The Circle of Football Life.

  15. #30
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
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    Handing in a transfer request with four and a half years left on your contract, just six months after you signed it? Honestly I don't think Coutinho is in much of a position to make requests. I get that he can but Liverpool have every right to say "no, we can still get £90m for you in a year and a half down the line". Liverpool hold all the cards in this matter in my opinion.
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

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