I dunno what to make of the Premier League this season. Here's the standings. Leicester 57 Tottenham 54 Arsenal 51 Man City 47 Man United 47 West Ham 46 United playing like utter crap this whole season yet we are pretty close to the a CL spot.
Leicester better win it this season because all their players are getting picked by all the big teams with money come summer.
This has been one of the most competitive EPL seasons ever. With 10 games left, I think a point total of around 73-75 will be enough to win it all 2014/2015 - 87 points for 1st place 2013/2014 - 86 points for 1st place 2012/2013 - 89 points for 1st place 2011/2012 - 89 Points And all the way down to the start of 2001/2002, 1st place ended up with at least 80 points to win it all with as high as 95. Over 14 years 1st place average ahs been about 88 points. Shows you lower teams are taking away more points from the top teams than before.
On the positive side: If we beat Dortmund, the first title is booked. Making it to the Cup Final shouldn't be a problem either. And I'm very optimistic about beating Juventus on our home court, so the Champions League race is still open and three titles very possible. The one thing that bothers me about most about Pep right now is that he still didn't get that Ribéry, Robben, Costa and Coman are all wing players and can't be effective all together on the court. None of them is nearly as good as Müller in the middle. Costa had his best games on the left wing, but hardly plays there recently.
The Premier League's top powers are all struggling in some aspects. Man U can't score, Man City can't defend, Arsenal isn't consistent enough, Chelsea is off the deep end.
Why does everyone suck and who the crap is Tottenham? Someone give me an overview of everything I need to know in 1 toilet-sitting sized article. Normally I'd be more into soccer but Aggy has been good at hoops this year.
Leicester City basically hit the jackpot this year as they've had 3 players (Vardy/Mahrez/Kante) basically turn into studs in great form. None of them got poached during Winter transfer, so they are legitimate title contenders. Chelsea started off in putrid form, at one point even hovering near the relegation zone. They've come up a bit since firing Mou, but the players seem disinterested. Eden Hazard in particular has been a shell of his former self and John Terry is no longer the John Terry of old. Man U has somehow managed to stay near the Top 4 despite puzzling tactics and lifeless attacks. Tottenham is boss this year because Dele Alli is the ****. Man City are rotting in the backline again. No matter who they waste money on nobody is a suitable partner for Kompany. Yaya and Silva both haven't been in very good form, and neither has Aguero for that matter. Losing De Bruyne to injury for 2 months likely sealed their fate. Arsenal had looked like legit contenders in the first half of the season, but once again they're trailing off toward the finish line.
I think it is between Hotspurs and Leicester this year without any surprises from underachievers like the Gunners and youngsters like Rashford and so on.
To be honest I don't think Arsenal would have a bigger chance winning the league than this year and they are just collapsing down the stretch 2-2 now at Spurs now with 10 men
Götze didn't play for months. Don't know if this huge match would've been right for his comeback. I preferred Coman. His explosiveness in the last few minutes could have made the difference. Still, this is an ok result. Bayern won't lose two more matches, so basically every Dortmund error pretty much means the title.
He has been fit for at least a month. Pep could have given him 15 minutes several times to lead him back, but he didn't. When Thiago, his favorite, was injured, he played him immediately when he came back.
I'm not familiar with his exact health status, do you know more than the stuff you read on the media? If he's been fit, Pep should've brought him against Mainz or earlier, but not last night for the comeback. Our offense is way more packed than central midfield, so there's nothing wrong about playing Thiago immediatly (who didn't get a minute yesterday - so there's the favorite theory). You can't play Götze on the wing, so there are only Müller and Lewandowski left to keep out and that's what you rarely do.
Against Mainz, Guardiola played 4 wings, 2 of them out of place in central midfield. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that might not be the smartest strategy of all. At least, one could have brought Götze for the second half or the last 20 minutes or so. It's not like the team was doing great. The other thing is that Guardiola doesn't really communicate much with the players, at least he is not upfront. There is definitely truth to what Ibrahimovic, Eto'o and Mandzukic are saying about him.
Agree on the first part. That's basically what I wrote here after the Mainz match. About the communication: Not sure if Zlatan, Eto'o and Mandzukic are the right persons to rely on: It's not like they weren't causing trouble anywhere else but with Pep. In fact, Juventus apparentely will try to get rid of Mandzukic after the first year, just like Atletico did last season.
