EPL 2013/14 Mega Thread - Previews, Reviews and General Discussion/Banter

[CrowsFan]

Bah who even cares about the premier league. Barca vs Ateltico for the La Liga title next weekend! Go Atleti!

[Noz]

Bah who even cares about the premier league. Barca vs Ateltico for the La Liga title next weekend! Go Atleti!

Haha how about Real Madrid decision to rest some of their players because they thought they couldn't win the league turns out if they had of won they could of entered the last week as favourites to take it out.

[CrowsFan]

Bah who even cares about the premier league. Barca vs Ateltico for the La Liga title next weekend! Go Atleti!

Haha how about Real Madrid decision to rest some of their players because they thought they couldn't win the league turns out if they had of won they could of entered the last week as favourites to take it out.

Don't know if they would be the favourites as it wouldn't change what Atleti need to do. A draw for Atletl would give them the title even if Madrid had won last night and won next week.

[Noz]

Bah who even cares about the premier league. Barca vs Ateltico for the La Liga title next weekend! Go Atleti!

Haha how about Real Madrid decision to rest some of their players because they thought they couldn't win the league turns out if they had of won they could of entered the last week as favourites to take it out.

Don't know if they would be the favourites as it wouldn't change what Atleti need to do. A draw for Atletl would give them the title even if Madrid had won last night and won next week.

Madrid would of been on 87 points and if Barca and Atletico drew and Madrid had of won then both Atletico and Madrid would be both on 90 points and Madrid would of won the title due to their goal difference.

[MTTY]

Make a bet they will get top 6? Will happily bet amywhere from 100 to 5k on evens for them to get top 6. Liverpool dont have the depth. United obv have work but with a decent manager top 6 is easy top 4 is achievable. While challenging seems like a long way ofd after this season its almost a given they will be closer to 2nd then 6th.

Liverpool ran way above ev this season but you also should feel embarrased that you let the title go aftee it was pretty much handed to you with 4 games to go.

$60m transfer kitty should fix that. Can't say the same for United's 'rebuild' however. No Champions League (to attract players) and no funds coming in from being in any European competition.

It's exactly where Liverpool were, and it will be similar for United. They'll have players reject their approaches for a Champions League team.

[Andrew3747]

Make a bet they will get top 6? Will happily bet amywhere from 100 to 5k on evens for them to get top 6. Liverpool dont have the depth. United obv have work but with a decent manager top 6 is easy top 4 is achievable. While challenging seems like a long way ofd after this season its almost a given they will be closer to 2nd then 6th.

LOL you're right, missing top 6 was a bit of a dig.. Max 5th @ best, even though every year Arsenal dont have enough in their Tank to keep going after Christmas and Everton has mediocre players they both will finish above you. well maybe not everton, Martinez with a few new players will do ok next year and might push you back to 6th/7th.

C'mon lets be honest, "challenging seems like a long way ofd" Challenging should be the last thing on your mind. Rebuilding is what you need.
sure you have some decent players in Rooney, RVP (softcock), Mata, Kagawa, and a few underrated players in Evans/Jones/Carrick who do their job, its players like Cleverly, Nani/Valencia/Young that really bring you down. Anderson coming back, geez just adding to the pile of dog crap, Arent you glad that you might actually get rid of Nani/Valencia??

Liverpool ran way above ev this season

i know, Rodgers knew too.. i've said it before champ.
breaking into the top 4 was our goal this year. anything else is a bonus you muppet.

you also should feel embarrased that you let the title go aftee it was pretty much handed to you with 4 games to go.

LOL, as i said before "TBH its stupid stuff like losing 3-1 to Hull, Drawing against Villa/Palace @ Home, it's little f*ck ups like this that cost titles" it wasnt just the Chelsea game. Games against Chelsea/City/Arsenal you expect a hard game and sometimes you get no points, its games against the lower teams like Man United you should put away.

but thats the way with the premier league, its a much more stronger/even competition than any other of the main leagues i reckon.
10 measly points separated 13th and 20th.

lol @ the Man Utd dig. 1st real title challenge in 20 odd years YUP WE ARE BIGGER THAN YOU NOW. Boom is in full.

Offer still stands. 100-5k top 5 @ evens. Everton don't have depth or the funds to compete in the EL+PL. United have the Liverpool luxury of having 45ish games next season. Everton are tactically wonderful but don't have the players, which will kill them vs the big teams and the lower teams who park the bus, with a full schedule. Liverpool need to hang on to Suarez + add key players + add depth. They have Lucas/Suarez as pretty much the only players that could start @ any top tier club. Sturridge maybe, but man he has turned into a sack of shower when he plays by himself. Can't lead the line in a single striker formation. They have a bunch of mediocre players on high wages which limits their growth. Talking about a rebuilding.....

Its funny how you say mention Rooney, RVP and Mata (they were the 3 best players in the league 2 seasons ago) as decent players. Moyes had 0 clue how to execute a functioning and fluid attack. LVG is a total voetball specialist. He loves the fluid attacking football. These players will shine. Yes we need a rebuild, but we are in a much better position than Liverpool ever will be. We have 3 elite players in their primes who won't move abroad any time soon, we have the best keeper in the EPL (untill Courtois makes his Chelsea his 100% destination), talented defender who is almost there in Jones, one of the brightest talents with Januzaj, Carrick and Valencia who are experienced enough to know what to do in situations. Midfield is awful with Carrick our only player who is actually any decent there, but we are a money making machine of a football club. We make 300m+every year. We also have a lot of dead wood that would be valuable at mid table clubs like Smalling, Young Welbeck etc. Liverpool on the other hand lost 118m last financial year and are looking to have another loss this year. We have the funds and the brand name to add key players+depth in every window, where Liverpool don't.

Going to say it again, next season for the first time in 25 years, Liverpool vs Manchester United will actually be significant  to the table.

As for LIGA, lol @ RM. They had their chance to have already won the league.

And MTTY. See above. Its not just about depth anymore. Its about key players. They can't do both in the same window. Money talks bra. They will join even if no CL. United have the money to do so, other clubs don't.

[CrowsFan]

Bah who even cares about the premier league. Barca vs Ateltico for the La Liga title next weekend! Go Atleti!

Haha how about Real Madrid decision to rest some of their players because they thought they couldn't win the league turns out if they had of won they could of entered the last week as favourites to take it out.

Don't know if they would be the favourites as it wouldn't change what Atleti need to do. A draw for Atletl would give them the title even if Madrid had won last night and won next week.

Madrid would of been on 87 points and if Barca and Atletico drew and Madrid had of won then both Atletico and Madrid would be both on 90 points and Madrid would of won the title due to their goal difference.

Positions on the table in La Liga aren't decided by goal difference when teams are equal on points. They go by the head to head results, and since Atletico has beaten Real, and had a draw they would be ahead if level on points.

[MTTY]

And MTTY. See above. Its not just about depth anymore. Its about key players. They can't do both in the same window. Money talks bra. They will join even if no CL. United have the money to do so, other clubs don't.
[/quote]

Chelsea and City, i'd say, would both be able to pay more money for a player than United. They can offer CL too. What is to stop them from hijacking any of United's transfers if they are good players? Same thing happened to Liverpool, even with players like Salah.

Why can't they achieve both in a window?

Say we get (example only):

- Lallana
- Richards
- Hughes
- Tello/Shaqiri
- Reus
- Caulker
- A.Cole

There's the star power in Reus (to add to Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling). Lallana, Richards, Shaqiri/Tello, Cole and Caulker are all capable at Premier League and CL level. Hughes provides depth with the rest of them.

Would give us:

GK: Mignolet, Reina (probably gone, so will need a back-up)

DEF: Skrtel, Agger, Sahko, Caulker, Kelly, Richards

Fullbacks: Johnson, Cole, Flanagan, Richards, Kelly, Enrique

CM: Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Suso, Lallana, Hughes, Coutinho

Wingers: Shaqiri/Tello, Sterling, Suso, Lallana, Coutinho, Reus

Strikers: Suarez, Sturridge, Reus, Aspas, Borini


These are all affordable and would give us a very good squad. Add another good CM in (and probably a big name) and it'd be even better. This could be achieved through more transfer funds being trusted with Rogers or the sale of some players like Reina.

[Andrew3747]

And MTTY. See above. Its not just about depth anymore. Its about key players. They can't do both in the same window. Money talks bra. They will join even if no CL. United have the money to do so, other clubs don't.

Chelsea and City, i'd say, would both be able to pay more money for a player than United. They can offer CL too. What is to stop them from hijacking any of United's transfers if they are good players? Same thing happened to Liverpool, even with players like Salah.

Why can't they achieve both in a window?

Say we get (example only):

- Lallana
- Richards
- Hughes
- Tello/Shaqiri
- Reus
- Caulker
- A.Cole

There's the star power in Reus (to add to Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling). Lallana, Richards, Shaqiri/Tello, Cole and Caulker are all capable at Premier League and CL level. Hughes provides depth with the rest of them.

Would give us:

GK: Mignolet, Reina (probably gone, so will need a back-up)

DEF: Skrtel, Agger, Sahko, Caulker, Kelly, Richards

Fullbacks: Johnson, Cole, Flanagan, Richards, Kelly, Enrique

CM: Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Suso, Lallana, Hughes, Coutinho

Wingers: Shaqiri/Tello, Sterling, Suso, Lallana, Coutinho, Reus

Strikers: Suarez, Sturridge, Reus, Aspas, Borini


These are all affordable and would give us a very good squad. Add another good CM in (and probably a big name) and it'd be even better. This could be achieved through more transfer funds being trusted with Rogers or the sale of some players like Reina.

I was meaning other clubs can't thing in relation to clubs missing out on european football.

I realise thats an example but it is incredibly unrealistic.

Its like Man Utd fans saying

We can we league if we get

Messi
Ronaldo
Saurez
Kroos
Thiago Silva
Lahm

Lallana will cost 20m, Reus 35m+. Thats 55m right there. You also have to realise wages are a huge factor. Reus will demand 150+, Cole 100+, Shaqiri/Tello 80+. Richards is on 80+ @ City so he will demand around the same maybe a bit less. Liverpool have a huge wage bill already and are in the minus in terms of FPP and profit (althought their total income is very good, wages and transfers over the past few seasons have really cost them).  For those players it will be around 80m and 600k worth of wages. Liverpool don't have that kind of spending power and I would assume they would love comply with the FPP.

[MTTY]

And MTTY. See above. Its not just about depth anymore. Its about key players. They can't do both in the same window. Money talks bra. They will join even if no CL. United have the money to do so, other clubs don't.

Chelsea and City, i'd say, would both be able to pay more money for a player than United. They can offer CL too. What is to stop them from hijacking any of United's transfers if they are good players? Same thing happened to Liverpool, even with players like Salah.

Why can't they achieve both in a window?

Say we get (example only):

- Lallana
- Richards
- Hughes
- Tello/Shaqiri
- Reus
- Caulker
- A.Cole

There's the star power in Reus (to add to Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling). Lallana, Richards, Shaqiri/Tello, Cole and Caulker are all capable at Premier League and CL level. Hughes provides depth with the rest of them.

Would give us:

GK: Mignolet, Reina (probably gone, so will need a back-up)

DEF: Skrtel, Agger, Sahko, Caulker, Kelly, Richards

Fullbacks: Johnson, Cole, Flanagan, Richards, Kelly, Enrique

CM: Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Suso, Lallana, Hughes, Coutinho

Wingers: Shaqiri/Tello, Sterling, Suso, Lallana, Coutinho, Reus

Strikers: Suarez, Sturridge, Reus, Aspas, Borini


These are all affordable and would give us a very good squad. Add another good CM in (and probably a big name) and it'd be even better. This could be achieved through more transfer funds being trusted with Rogers or the sale of some players like Reina.

I was meaning other clubs can't thing in relation to clubs missing out on european football.

I realise thats an example but it is incredibly unrealistic.

Its like Man Utd fans saying

We can we league if we get

Messi
Ronaldo
Saurez
Kroos
Thiago Silva
Lahm

Lallana will cost 20m, Reus 35m+. Thats 55m right there. You also have to realise wages are a huge factor. Reus will demand 150+, Cole 100+, Shaqiri/Tello 80+. Richards is on 80+ @ City so he will demand around the same maybe a bit less. Liverpool have a huge wage bill already and are in the minus in terms of FPP and profit (althought their total income is very good, wages and transfers over the past few seasons have really cost them).  For those players it will be around 80m and 600k worth of wages. Liverpool don't have that kind of spending power and I would assume they would love comply with the FPP.

Not that unrealistic. If Lallana urges Southampton to transfer him, then it'll be a lower price (possibly 13-15m). Reus will definitely be the expensive one, as you've said. He could be tempted to come over, just as Lewandowski and Gotze were. I realise he is a lot more loyal, but I still believe we could get him. However Tello, Richards and Cole (free) can all come at bargain prices in their current situations. Hughes and Caulker are the same, as in they will be cheaper than what they are actually worth.

Could definitely get all of them (Tello over Shaqiri) for 60-70m, so it's achievable there. On wages Tello and Richards are both looking to play football at a senior level consistently. I'm sure we could get them on fair wages. Hughes and Caulker both young up and comers, so won't need to pay them big money right now. Reus I agree will be on huge wages (if we were to pry him away from Borussia).

Take into account that we lose the wages of Moses, Cissokho and probably Reina next season. That has to be a fair amount of wage right there.

[Andrew3747]

Southampton are in a really good situation though. He has a long time on his contract like Shaw/Schneider/Rodriguez and can demand big bucks. 20m is the figure throwing up it could be a little lower but I guarantee it won't be less than 15m. Lewa and Goetze took the big bucks. Lewa 180 and Goetze 170. 200k or so euro. Its fine for them wanting to play football but Richards hasn't started regularly for like 5-6 seasons now. If he was that keen on playing football he would've left. he would rather earn the big bucks. He would not want to drop his wages. Hughes isn't that great, (Shelvey was a stand out too remember) obv has a bucket load of potential. Derby can also leverage too.

We will see after the world cup, but I just don't see them doing everything in one window since king kenny flowered a lot of shower up with his transfers. Its a 2-3 summer window job imo. At the same time continuing top 4 with the same sort of squad when United don't have a brain dead manager. I'm just really looking forward to next season already when we have a possible 5 horse title race. And then 4-5 going for 1 position.

[MTTY]

Southampton are in a really good situation though. He has a long time on his contract like Shaw/Schneider/Rodriguez and can demand big bucks. 20m is the figure throwing up it could be a little lower but I guarantee it won't be less than 15m. Lewa and Goetze took the big bucks. Lewa 180 and Goetze 170. 200k or so euro. Its fine for them wanting to play football but Richards hasn't started regularly for like 5-6 seasons now. If he was that keen on playing football he would've left. he would rather earn the big bucks. He would not want to drop his wages. Hughes isn't that great, (Shelvey was a stand out too remember) obv has a bucket load of potential. Derby can also leverage too.

We will see after the world cup, but I just don't see them doing everything in one window since king kenny flowered a lot of shower up with his transfers. Its a 2-3 summer window job imo. At the same time continuing top 4 with the same sort of squad when United don't have a brain dead manager. I'm just really looking forward to next season already when we have a possible 5 horse title race. And then 4-5 going for 1 position.

All valid points.

I'm looking forward to the competition becoming even closer. I actually think Tottenham could pull it together if they get De Boer as manager. Would love Southampton to keep their players and continue to improve, to the point where they are challenging for top 5-6. Wouldn't mind Everton getting Lukaku and Deulofeu full time either.

[Andrew3747]

Yeah fo sho. No idea why they never used Lamela. Kid is gun

Also, the only way I can see Liverpool doing what you said is by selling Suarez, which I think is a real possibility. Holding on to Suarez and doing that I think is nearly impossible.

[MTTY]

Yeah fo sho. No idea why they never used Lamela. Kid is gun

Also, the only way I can see Liverpool doing what you said is by selling Suarez, which I think is a real possibility. Holding on to Suarez and doing that I think is nearly impossible.

Exactly! Although he played earlier correct? Just had form issues? He and Eriksen could make a pretty impressive combo.

Not too sure about that. Possibly no Reus without selling Suarez. I'd rather Suarez though, even though a lot of his goals were against bottom sides. Still reckon we need Suarez more than someone like Reus.

I also rate Suarez pretty highly as one of the best players in the world. He'd be in my top 5.

[PowerBug]

This was going to be Suarez's last season at Liverpool.... until they did what they did. He is too goo to not play in Europe, and that's what he can do now at Liverpool, I can see him staying for another season. :)