All Things Football - Random Chat

[KanKeano]

Leicester down and probably understandable when you consider they have had 4 managers in the last 12 months.
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"The biggest regret of my whole football career was leaving White Hart Lane in 1970.....I was heartbroken" - Jimmy Greaves. Greatest ever English striker, bar none [464 goals in 657 matches for club & country]

[thewish]

We deserved it KK, if ever there is a classical example of mis management from top to bottom that's Leicester this year. No excuses and a very sad end to a proud record of never been out of the top two flights Be interesting to see what is left and who is still around come august time. My daughter turned 8 this year, the day after she was born i was was watching us lift the Carling cup, seems an eternity ago now, and to be quite honest, part of my is kinda glad we went down just to act as a kick up the backside that is needed.

also well done to Stoke on a fantastic achievement, Tony Pullis is a cracking manager IMHO. Hope Hull do it now in the playoffs.


Yours realistically
Wish
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Luck never gives; it only lends. ~Swedish Proverb

[betking]

Congrats to Stoke, but how long until the bookamkers release a "More or less points than Derby?" market for them for next season?

Also glad Southampton finished safe, hopefully next year the boardroom BS will be over with and the team can kick on.

[KanKeano]

[fastal72]

Been having a gawp at the Championship tables stats from the last ten years and it doesn't look good for any of the three coming up which is a real shame.

West Brom are the "worst" champions in 10 years. They have made the lowest points total as winners since the 1997-98 season and their total of 81 points this year would have only got them into a best place 3rd in the last ten seasons. More worringly still they have the lowest win ratio to games played at just 50% and have conceeded 55 goals during the season, more than any other Championship winner in the last decade.

It'll be interesting to see what signings are made over the summer but I reckon it's the 3 to go up are the 3 to go down at the moment.

[KanKeano]

[fastal72]

Yeah you could look at it that way and the league was certainly competitive this year KK and it made for an exciting season, but a stronger league than in recent years? Not so sure about that personally - watched a lot of Championship football over the years and I can't say I've noticed a leap forward in the general play of the Championship sides this time around, but the gap in quality between this league and the Premiership is still very much in evidence I feel. If the champions of the second tier fail to win half their games then what hope for the Premiership?

Never usually think that the three to go up from the Championship will be the three to go back down but think they might turn out to be lambs to the slaughter this time around. Hope not though!

[Inatimate1]

Personally I think West Brom will survive and Bolton will go down next season, really have struggled since selling Anelka, have hit a run of form in their last 4 games with 10 points but it was reported that Megson will have a clean-out this summer, and personally I don't see him as anything more than a mediocre Championship level manager, who will probably bring in a lot of players who perform well at Championship level, and as the saying goes, if you have a Championship squad, you will be a Championship squad.

In all honesty, I've been saying that the gulf between the lower levels of the Premiership and the teams in the Championship is fading away, many clubs in the Champ are being bought in big money deals, and money doesn't seem to be much of an issue for clubs of this level, but finding quality players potentially is. The Top 4 are leagues ahead of everyone else and probably will be for a long time. I would have thought that a gulf would have been formed as a result between the Championship and League One, but it hasn't been the case at all. Bristol City have charged up the table this season, and Luton have been pretty dreadful this season after last season's relegation, finishing dead last and a second successive relegation.

And talking shocks over 2 successive seasons. Leeds and Leicester both went down when they were a lot shorter in odds to gain promotion.


Who's been everyone's most impressive teams in terms of performance and expectations this season?

In the Premiership for me it has to be Man Utd, been brilliant to watch at times and I must admit they actually remind me a lot of the Arsenal team of a a few seasons ago that dominated the Premiership season and played brilliant football in the process...

Barring the "Big 4" I would have to say Man City in all honesty, Money has been a big factor in their performance, but they have played some dogged stuff at times this season, and Elano has been great to watch as well...

In the Championship I would say Palace or Hull. Palace have stormed through since the Warnock Revolution, but Hull have been a solid team all season and defied all expectations by performing well in big games.

League One = Swansea, despite their dip towards the end, they were constantly running wild and thoroughly deserved their promotion this season, even when 2-0 down after 75 minutes you could never rule them out.

League Two = MK Dons. Climbing back up the leagues, and Incey looks set to rise up to the plate of one of the biggest managers of the future. Great managerial job last season with Macclesfield and great job this season with MK Dons, can't wait to see how they fare next season, but wouldn't be surprised to see them promoted again...


Let Downs for me have been Spurs from the Premiership, Southampton from the Championship, Luton from League One, and Bradford in League Two.


I could just imagine Kamara saying something like this when reflecting on the season in all honesty
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7th Overall In The WC 2006 Competition

[bottomlesspit]

Nani here, or Nani there, did anyone see Tim Wiese's (Werder Bremen) Kung-fu kick last weekend?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXaQiQHECQA

Now that's what I call a proper foul.

[spider2097]

Jackie Chan, he is not

In terms of pluses & minuses from the season, it's a toughie...

Pluses

Premiership : Man City - it's arguable that their amazing start to the season put them in a false position but you considering the state they have been in the past few seasons, it's a great acheivement.
Torres - I am on record as saying that I thought Voronin would be the surprise signing by the waiter & wasn't sure about how Torres would fit in, but it goes to show how wrong I can be An outstanding first season in English football and still not anywhere near the peak of his talent IMO. Of course, if he IS at the peak of his talent, we'll find out next season...

Championship : Stoke - who says you can't be successful with a physical, direct style? True, without some decent investment & adapting their style of play, it's likely they'll be straight back down but that does not diminish the fact that very few people thought they'd be contenders for even the play-offs this year let alone gain automatic promotion.
James Beattie - The PieMan cometh He doesn't half take some stick this man. The striking (ahem) thing about his move was obviously the price tag, but in terms of goals I'd say it was a shrewd purchase. Very much a Championship player of superb quality - or you could say an average Premiership player - instead of moaning about dropping down a league, he got stuck in & proved he was worth the £4m in my view. Of course, Everton fans are still amazed they managed to get that for him (so is everyone else, I think) but it has turned out to be a good bit of business for all concerned.

League 1 - Leeds - I don't like them being honest, but after starting on -15pts & getting to the play-offs I do have to admit they've been an asset to the division. Strangely enough, they also feature in my minuses section as well, but I'll come to that later. It all fell apart after the departure of Poyet & Wise otherwise I'm pretty sure they could've taken automatic promotion
Shane Sherriff - I know, you're all screaming "BIAS!!! You're a Tranmere fan!" and yea I'll take that "criticism" which isn't criticism in my book. I'm proud to be a Tranmere fan Saved my betting bank on many occasions this season. IMO, the best name for a football player, in fact he chould be captain because of his name A true attacking defender with an eye for goal but spent a good part of the season playing out of position in midfield. A revelation.

League 2 - MK Dons - again a team I can't say I really like but you can't take away their acheivement. Can't say I go along with Inatimate1's view that they'll gain successive promotions, but a marvellous season for them all the same.
Paul Ince - Due to the above really and I do agree with Inatimate1 here. As long as he doesn't get taken up too quickly, I can see him becoming a true top class manager in a few seasons. Great in front of the camera & seems to have a measured air of assurance about himself which bodes well for his future (and his health )

Minuses

Premiership - Derby - I really did not expect them to be as poor as they were, am glad I didn't take the handicap on them to win the Premiership The way they treated Billy Davies earns them a black mark too.
Transfer fees breaking the boundary of common sense - £16m for Darren Bent? <add your own examples> Torres might've justified his with over a goal for each £1m paid for him (all competitions) but still £26m for a relatively inexperienced foreign striker defies logic IMO.

Championship - Charlton - Thought these would be coming straight back up to the Premiership, instead sold most of their best players (admittedly, they did quite well from the sales) & never really looked like serious contenders IMO.

League 1 - Leeds Utd - Constant moaning & whining about the fact they started with -15pts. Get over it. Moaning when teams didn't lose to them - you sound like Chelsea. Shut up & concentrate on the football. Maybe if you had concentrated on the football you would've gotten that automatic spot you thought was rightfully yours.

League 2 - Chester - Should've been a contender, instead narrowly missed relegation. Boardroom turmoil, management changes & apathetic players didn't help but their fall down the league must've been scary for the fans.

General - Fans suffering "Instant Success Syndrome" - Might sound like a broken record here, I've been banging on about it for ages. Never going to happen - even if you change your manager, especially when you replaced him in the summer as well. Look at the top 5 teams. With the exception of Chelsea (where Grant had been involved for a couple of years already anyway), their managers have been there for at least 3 years. Forget Liverpool's fluke of a Champions League win, they've always been a good Cup/European side. So you lose to Pompey away - Fratton Park is a tough place to go to. Give your manager time & maybe you'll see a gradual improvement. Above all, remember there's 20 teams in the Premiership & 20 places, not all teams can be in 1st place.
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November 2007 Premiership Challenge Winner

[KanKeano]

Some breaking news... Wigan are reporting that 100 envelopes containing tickets for today's crucial game against Manchester United have disappeared in the post and are thought to have been stolen. The Wigan fans involved are turning up the game regardless but are being denied entry, despite having proof of purchase.

Lets hope the team doesn't disappear today!
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"The biggest regret of my whole football career was leaving White Hart Lane in 1970.....I was heartbroken" - Jimmy Greaves. Greatest ever English striker, bar none [464 goals in 657 matches for club & country]

[dorrian3]

yea agree with you trader1204 think there will be around 10,000 manutd fans will be there