English Premier League
 

I thought I'd start a thread for EPL fans to talk about their favorite teams and how they're doing. Hopefully it's not just me.

Anywho, my team ,Arsenal, have been on and off all season, mostly because of injuries as always:censored:, but they look like they're on the upside again next test for them will be Aston Villa and I think if they beat them then Arsenal should be considered well back in the race for the title this year being that they're only 6 points back with a game in hand. I'm also hoping they'll pick up another striker and central defender just incase anyone else gets hurt. GO GUNNERS!!!

Most people I know here in the UK would be very happy if anybody apart from Chelsea or Man U won it again - it does get very tedious the same sides winning the Premier League every year. In fact, I know a lot of people who don't even concern themselves with it much now, and watch games in the lower leagues instead. It seems to have become very much a money-making exercise now and and the fans are often forgotten if they haven't got deep pockets.

Liverpool are my team, not a good season for us! Hopefully we'll get some money soon and buy some more decent players, all we seem to have at the moment is Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt and Benayoun doing all the work. But I'll stick by Liverpool through thick and thin :)

i have been a manchester fan since i was a young sissy boy about 6 years old in 1988 when i started playing soccer. It was the red uniforms that did it red is my favorite color. My favorite player is Wayne Rooney. I think losing ronaldo is a huge lose but manuntd always seem to be start slow.

jenniferparisfan i love cesc fabregas he is a cutie. did i spell his name right lol?

Yeah you spelled that right lol, and he was looking playing really good 2day with 2 goals in 21 minutes off the bench, hopefully his injury isn't too serious cuz I don't think Arsenal can survive for long without both RVP and Cesc.

It does seem like its getting better now though, with Aston Villa, Man City, and Tottenham all getting better. Hopefully its only a matter of time before theres more irregularity at the top of the table.

i like tottenhams chances to be in the top 4. i also like city now that roberto mancini is in charge he will help them get established better.

Big wins for Man U and Arsenal last night, following on from Liverpool's last-gasp winner at Aston Villa the night before means it's going to be an interesting new year. It's the FA Cup 3rd round this weekend though - watch out for the Man U - Leeds match on Sunday...

Big week for Arsenal comin up with 3 games in 9 days (counting FA Cup) with the chance to move into 2nd place or even 1st if Chelsea either loses or ties, let the games begin

The Scum are out of the Cup...
 

Biggest possible upset happens in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup: Man Utd 0-1 Leeds Utd:cool:

Leeds didn't kick them off they park, they played a great game and had more than 50% of the posession.

Late in the game, rather than sitting back Leeds pushed forward and created more chances. With about 15 minutes to go Beckford nearly scored his second goal for Leeds, shooting inches wide of the left post. A couple of minutes later a near perfect Leeds free-kick hit the crossbar.

Whilst Man Utd created a few chances late in the game the Leeds defence managed to block everything. Even the added 5 minutes of stoppage time (or "Fergie-time" as the cheeky Leeds fans were chanting) weren't enough for Manchester to score.:lol:

On the day the best team won. Well done Leeds.:respect:

It's just typical that the Man Utd manager is too much of an a:censored:hole to graciously accept a deserved defeat. As usual he didn't do the post match interview, what a tosser.:lol::lol::lol:

But when he did speak, he had the gall to complain about the 5 minutes of injury time...

"That is an insult to the game and the players out there," he said. What was the ref supposed to do? Keep playing til Man Utd equalized - like they usually do?

I also enjoyed Man Utd's defeat. Ha ha.
 

A great result, all non-Man U fans love it when they lose. I hope Fergie does an interview later, I wonder what gripes he has about the game, obviously the referee screwed up and it was unfair that Leeds kept the ball too much.:p

It's funny that the Leeds fan were mocking Fergie with their chanting. He looked pissed off that they only got 5 minutes stoppage/injury time.:lol:

At least Fulham won 1-0 against Swindon yesterday:), we may only have beaten a League One side in a fairly close match, but who cares, a win's a win. And remember Leeds are also currently a League One side.

I also missed that interview, I'll catch it on the highlights show later tonight.

And you're right, Fergie does believe that the referee must delay the final whistle until after Man U have at least equalised. Even then he still won't be happy and he'll moan that there wasn't enough time for them to score a winner.:p

A bit of bad luck for Leeds drawing Tottenham away in the 4th round. That's a tough way to reward them for beating Man U.

Liverpool fan here, but i'm not really into the football thing, but they are my home team and i have to support them! hopefully we will do better next time round xD

Shut up Fergie
 

:lol: It's funny how all non-Manchester Utd supporters are sick of Fergie's post-match moans and winges about the referee being unfit or the lack of injury time.

He can't expect the seven minutes they got against Manchester City earlier this season every week.

Fulham have been even better this season than last and that's with all the injuries. We have been one of the best teams in the league in the last couple of months. If everybody is honest Zamora has been one of the top forwards in the league in that same time frame.


Things got better today too as Stefano from Roma looks like he will sign on a loan deal. Things are looking good!

Haha i love all the united haters. My friends akways seem to call me when they lse but when they win they all seem to forget my number. Even wenger said them losing is better for them so they can focus on the premier league and champions league. The 2 trophys that matter. Who cares about the fa cup. Although doesnt manu have a few of those trophys to

The second half of the Premier League season should be interesting this year. Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal to battle for the title and fill the top 3. But Liverpool are going to have a tough time fighting for 4th place against Spurs, Man City and Aston Villa.

Man U fans shouldn't go knocking the FA Cup. If it wasn't for their win against Crystal Palace in 1990 Fergie would surely have been sacked following 5 trophy-free seasons. Twenty years of success have been made on the back of that FA Cup win.

Now Wenger finds himself in a trophy drought, but I don't think that the board at Arsenal would sack him quite yet. In other news Arsenal-Bolton game was postponed today, if Arsenal would have won they would have moved past Man U into 2nd place and would have been just a point behind Chelsea.

The Bolton fans who travelled down to London for the game were angry that the "health and safety brigade" were behind the postponement of the match.

The snow in Bolton had been much heavier than it was here in London. The pitch was fine to play the game on, but as with other matches this year the game is off just in case a fan slips over on their way to the stadium. If those Bolton fans can get to the Emirates Stadium I'm sure the Arsenal fans can make it.

Did you see the weather at the Bills-Colts NFL match last weekend, over 6 inches of snow fell during the game and that didn't stop them, I've no idea how much snow had fallen before that game, but in the UK when the weather turns bad the country shuts down.

I wonder how many more games will be called off this weekend?

Ah I'm a Manchester United fan here too and this year seems like it'll be a close one with more teams wanting the top 4 spots! But to be honest I would want Arsenal (if not United do it) to win the league this year. They do deserve to win something this year :D

the catalyst was more like the mark robins header away at notts forest that saved his job - one goal changed it all, he was 7 mins from getting sacked. cant win an FA cup if you are sacked ;)

Only 4 Premier League games left and only 7 others left in the rest of the football league - mind you it is the coldest winter now since 1963 so they may have an excuse.

On edit: Make that 5, as I forgot about the Man City - Blackburn game on Monday

Thanks sammi although i was to young to remember that game when it was played i hAve watched it before

Speculation about Fergie's job ran throughout the season and I bet finishing the season 5 pts above relegation at 13th place in the league didn't make him feel safe. Then trailing 3-2 in extra-time to Ian Wright's second goal he must've thought he'd dodged the bullet for the last time. Trust Mark Hughes to score the equaliser and force the replay.

It's such a shame Crystal Palace couldn't convert any of their chances in the replay. I was in a bar at university watching both games hoping, along with most of the other drinkers, that Palace would beat the Scum, and Fergie would lose his job (he was a total :censored: back then too). But no luck.

Looking back the amazing thing about that final is the make up of the two teams.
- Palace had 11 English starters and 2 English subs.
- Man U had 8 English, 2 Scots and 1 Welsh, plus a bench of Robins (Eng) & Blackmore (Welsh).

The only change in the replay, Man U's goalie Leighton (Scottish) dropped for Sealey (English).

Only 3 non-English players involved. Can't believe it was only 20 years ago.

This heath & safety crap is the reason the games are getting called off, the pitches are fine, except for the 6th game off at Wigan where the undersoil heating has supposedly failed.

They had no trouble with the West Brom-Notts Forest game last night.

The games in the Scottish Cup are still on, snow and ice near the grounds is being cleared away.

In Cincinnati where they've had snow (probably at least as much as in the UK) ahead of their NFL Wild-Card game heath & safety won't stop that match.

me to but my familys scouse so get a good footy education by default even if i was wearing me mums knickers at the same time... rofl..

Ah yes, football did exist before the premier league, selling TV rights to Mr Murdoch etc...!! and how different it was :)

Only 2 out of 10 Premier League ties survived the weather this weekend. But with Arsenal and Man U dropping points it hasn't all been bad news.

As usual :censored: Fergie managed to get 6 extra minutes in a second half without that many delays. It clearly wasn't enough, do you think he'll ask for 10 minutes next weekend?

A newspaper item this week said the stats show Man U get on average between 90 seconds to 2 minutes more time added on if the are looking for an equaliser or winner compared to when they are leading after 90 minutes.

I see he also had his usual moan about the ref - basically, he's doing a good job if the decisions are going their way, such as giving the 'controversial' equalizer (I haven't seen it yet, so don't know if it was or not) but then he's doing a bad job when they're not - such as sending-off Fletcher.

According to the papers today, it seems that he could be having a player clear-out as well, with Berbatov set to be the first out the door.

It was a soft second yellow card for Fletcher. Whilst I enjoyed seeing them reduced to 10 men, I was surprised the ref thought it was worth a booking. Earlier in the game he failed to book Paul 'Dirty Bast:censored:rd' Scholes for a tackle that was much worse.

Unfortunately the replays did show that the Man U players behind Scott Dann were onside in the run up to Dann's own goal. The 'controversial' aspect was the referee overruling the linesman who raised his flag as the goal was scored. The ref went over to the linesman for a few words before confirming the goal. I wonder what they said? ["Did you get the envelope of cash from Fergie at half-time?" "Yeah." "OK, it's a goal.";)]

If they do have a clear out, I wonder how much of a loss Man U will have to swallow on Berbatov? No one will pay anything like the ?30M he cost. Surely a loss is covered by the Ronaldo profit, and if their finances are really stretched they can always sell Rooney.:lol:

Pity that you all don't talk about the championship. I still support Newcastle united and the number one club. I am so laughed so hard at Manchester united's loss in the face cup.

What a big headed team they are, and I think fergie should better get an retirement package very soon.

Fergie is no idiot, whinging about injury time to the media dusts over the fact they really are struggling without Ronaldo, highlighting how he carried them for the last two seasons - fact.

It also papers over the "100 games+ of fergie rotating players", something that Rafa got publically "media raped" for... even when Rafa was winning..:P

Its pretty much nailed on that most of the money Man Utd get from a clear out will go the same way as the funds from our sale of Robbie Keane, Alonso and the current Anfield "mini clearout" went... to pay off ridiculous interest.

Hicks, Gillette, Glazer and co really need to be driven out of football.

Ahemmm. x

Sammi i am from america and also wore moms underwear but no one in my house was a fan of soccer as we call it here. I played sinc i was 6 till igraduated college. No way would rooney be sold he is a red devil for life. Fergie let ronaldo leave.

I would take tevez over berbatov any day. Ronaldo complained alot and dived but almost everyone dives. Mourinho even said he told his players to stay down if they fell lol look at drogba if a gust of wind comes he goes flying across the field.

Players like Ronaldo don't need to moan and dive. And last season he clearly kicked out in retaliation and connected with the opponent twice (a red card offence) and got away with it both times. Once against Spurs, the other team I can't remember.

When you see Drogba really play, riding challenges and fighting off defenders, it makes you wonder why he bothers with all that diving.

Yet when a player is punished for diving (Eduardo getting the penalty for Arsenal against Celtic) they appeal and the punishment gets thrown out.

Post match reviews of video evidence should be used to punish cheats. That might stop some of the play acting.

I actually really like drogbas skills. Diving is a big part of the game unfortunately. In regards to him kicking a player thats messed up but he isnt the only one guilty of that.

First Man U lose in the 3rd Round and now Liverpool.

For the first time in 50 years both Liverpool and Man U both fail to win a game in the FA Cup.

OK, it was a soft penalty for Reading, but there was 'contact' before the Reading player went down, and as most football pundits seem to say nowadays, "there was contact, so it had to be a penalty".

:cool: Reading's winner was a beautiful goal, nice work by Brynjar Gunnarsson on the right wing when he nutmegged Emiliano Insua before crossing for Shane Long to glance in a header from six yards.

The injuries to Gerrard and Torres, turned what was a bad night for Liverpool into a dreadful one.

The problem is, both players have been carrying injuries all season but Benitez always hurries them back too soon and then they break down again. If they need 4 weeks to recover he should give them the full 4 weeks.

i hope rafa does not get sacked

Would be a big mistake to sack him I think..

Anyone see his Stoke pre match conference? Defiant, made a "fachts" joke aimed at the media - made me laugh. Did not go down to well in the conference but what joke/banter does when no one else in the room likes you?

he had a twinkle in his eye, he looked broken after reading...

I've seen his Stoke pre-match interrogation, pulling the sheet of paper out of his pocket - copying what he did 12 months ago when he had the infamous Fergie rant.

He spent most of the time trying to suppress a smile, and I don't blame him for being a bit mischievous with the media. How many times does he have to face those morons asking him about his losing his job?

It would be difficult for Liverpool to sack him now, both financially (compensation) and because we're half way through the transfer window and a new manager wouldn't have much time to sign anyone.

However failure to finish in the top four will probably cost him his job in the summer.

But that won't be too much of a problem for him, since Juventus (& their new boardroom member) appear to be interested in his services.

Stoke 1-1 Liverpool

Liverpool stunned by Huth's late equaliser and then gutted by Kuyt's even later missed header.

Sammi Valentine, what did you think of Rafael Benitez's post match comment:
"The fans are amazing and if I decide to stay it will be because of them."

That's the first time that he has hinted that he may leave the club. Maybe he fancies that move to Juventus in the summer.

It was a bad translation of what he really meant :) The "london" press are all to keen, misqute and to jump on any anti liverpool/scouse bandwagon, as poor rafa has found out. That SKY journalist is so - lol.

Great Away support yesterday (me unlce said lol) and it sounded good on sky. A fighting performence, roll on wednesday!!

Arsenal defeated Bolton today 2-0, now they're one game away from their toughest stretch of games this season starting at Aston Villa, then home against Man U, at Chelsea, and then back home to face Liverpool. This stretch of games will probably make or break Arsenal's season. But first we have to make sure we take care of Stoke and not get ahead of ourselves. Gunners for life!

William Gallas
 

I can't believe William Gallas didn't get sent off for his stamp on the ankle of Davies (Bolton) in the lead up to Arsenal's second goal on Wednesday night.

And Wenger's defense of Gallas for a challenge that could've left Davies with a broken leg was a joke. Especially after what happened when Eduardo's leg was broken against Birmingham couple of seasons ago.

If Wednesday night's foul had been committed against Gallas, Wenger would have shot out of the dugout and paced up and down the touchline crying at the officials like the f:censored:g hypocritical a:censored:hole he has become.

He gets more and more like Fergie all the time. Next he'll start ranting and raving about the lack of stoppage time added on at the end of the match.

Manchester City fan here, starting to get worried by Liverpool's resurgence.

As long as the top 4 gets broken up I'll be happy. But I would obv prefer it if we got in.

I agree that the foul was bad and Gallas should probably have been booked for it, but i don't understand why people get so mad at Wenger when he says stuff like "I didn't see it so don't ask me". Either he calls out his own player in the press or he insults the ref for not seeing it. Im sure he told Gallas and the rest of the team what he actually thought about the foul, which is much better in my opinion then basically going behind his back and telling the press first.

Then again I am an Arsenal fan so I do have a bit of a bias.

Tough break for you today jenniferparisfan arsenal had me worried in the begining. Although i'd still let cesc fuck me lol. Nani was the it factor today. I thnk sir alex should play him and valencia as the 2 wingers. Defenses can't keep up with both at once.

Yeah, I really wish Wenger would get rid of Almunia already. Now we absolutely have to beat Chelsea next game if there's even a chance for us to win the league, which doesn't look to likely at the moment.

The furst goal was his fault but rooney and parks goals not many goalies could have saved

HUH! You should try following Scottish Fitba ......

(If that's what you could call it ..... !)

At least you can say there is usually some excitement at the top of the league between 4-6 teams ...... even if they do start to fall away at the end of the season.

Can't you take the weegies off our hands? I doubt they'ed even do well in the championship though .....

Kirsty
xxx xxx

Hi there Kirsty, pleased to see you on here :kiss: I've seen a few pictures of you around the net and you do look very sexy...

Ha, yeah, I suppose the Premier League must look more interesting than the SPL - and no, very few people south of the border really wants Celtic or Rangers (they only want to get their snouts in the trough to save themselves from bankruptcy anyway).

I doubt they'd even cut it in League One nowadays :)

Tgirls that talk football = AWESOME.

:drool:

I agree :turnon:

I mean no one can stop Chelsea :yes:

Hi Natalie,

Thanks for the welcome .... and the compliment. Very much appreciated ....

Go on please take the Glasgow clubs off us ..... stick them in the Blue Square Premier League ..... The supporters will think they have joined a European Super League ..... :innocent:

And of course T-Girls like football ..... I mean fit guys in tight shorts .... and better when they take off their tops to celebrate ......

Apart from Wayne Rooney that is ......

Anyway ..... what shoud I do if I think John Terry has made me pregnant .... ?
Perhaps he can come to Aberdeen on loan, now that he has burnt his bridges, at least until our child is born .....

Seriously ..... what does everyone think of him getting sacked as England Manager .... I think it's pathetic. Not a football matter and at very least they could have spoken to him off the record and let the man step down as captain .....

Kirsty
xxx xxx

I think they made the right decision by taking the armband away from him.

The media witch hunt made it inevitable imo.The fact he tried to hide it all by getting the injunction made it even worse.
He should have stepped down the moment the story got released. It will undoubtedly cause some aggro in the dressing room, especially if Bridge (or any City player) gets a called up.

All this because he didn't have the will power to keep it in his pants. Rather pathetic imo. 3 billion women in the world and he had to go for the mother of a team mates son & with a family at home.

Hey gurls. I support Man United, yay. Might as well say something bout John Terry. Personally i think they shouldnt have taken the captains band away from him. its only one silly affair and this shouldnt affect football... demoting him isnt helping. i dont know full details of it and it was obviosly in thr past... this obviously hasnt affected the relationship between Terry and Bridge as we havent heard or seen of a conflict between them... they r being professional about this situation (as far as i know)... yes hes a rolemodel but a woman shouldnt affect his status as one. i think this situation has been blown up too much by the fact that this affair was hidden from the public. :kiss:

Boo United! ;) City fan here.

There has been various stories about Bridge saying he would never be in the same room as Terry, let alone the same team.

If one of them has to be left out, Bridge would be the obvious choice. So for him it's international retirement or Terry gets dropped. One of those isn't going to happen.

No problem Kirsty, hope to see more of you on here...

The only fair way to admit Scottish sides into the English league would be to let them all in, right down to Elgin and Montrose and let them scrap it out for a while. However, the increased financial pressures that some clubs are coming under mean that there'll very likely be a few spaces in the higher leagues in the next year or two. I can't see Portsmouth lasting much longer...

As for John Terry - there's been a few allegations of extra-marital affairs and general drunken unpleasantness before, so I'm not surprised by this recent stuff. Although he personally strikes me as a nasty little man (and one not worth any sympathy) I think the press have gone out of their way to 'get' him and hitting them with gagging orders has just made it worse for him.

Replacing him as England captain with Ferdinand, however, is a poor move - though I'm not sure who else I'd pick.

Tgirl anna nice to know i am not the only united fan here. Good win for us today btw

yay United. and 5 nil to us .. tho couple those were own goals.. but no matter

You were quite right - is that the end of Arsenal's title hopes? Making up 9 points now seems unlikely.

Barring some amazing and very unlikely results I don't think we can get any better than 2nd or 3rd now :no:, oh well maybe we can pull some type of miracle off in the Champions League...maybe;)

Nani is playing really well at the moment and who cares how many own goals they created. I wish they'd try rooney and owen as the 2 upfront instead of berbatov

Really don't think we (City) can get into the top 4 now. :(

I totally agree ...

In fact if I were John Terry .... I'd follow Vinnie Jones example and leave football for a career in acting ...

He'd be ideal for the lead in a Bridge too far ....

Kirsty
xxx xxx

Fergie has already said somewhere that he's reluctant to start the two of them together as they are both similar types of players and they would get in each other's way. He's hardly going to drop Rooney right now, so Owen will be warming the bench for a while longer I think. So much for moving to United in order to get his England place back...

Thing is, Ferguson must've known that when he signed Owen, as it's exactly the same thing that happened when the two of them played for England. A cynic might suggest he grabbed Owen just to make sure nobody else got him...

They did get Owen on a free transfer so it was pretty much a win win from Fegie's point of view. Definately wish Wenger would have signed him up first oh well.

Thats the spirit!..

"You'll never walk alone!"

It is the same thing that happened for England .... Fergie may have thought he could find a position for both of them in the team ...... one on the wing or one behind the other in the middle ..... but more likely, for a free transfer he was looking to strengthen his squad.

Let's face it with the length of seasons that the top teams have including the European games, players need rest and pick up injuries (and we all know that Owen acquires a lot of them) ..... so he has to look at strength and depth in every position. If Rooney gets injured ... he gets to bring on Owen ....

That's where the Aston Villas, Spurs, Evertons, and even to some extent Arsenal and Liverpool can't keep up with Man. Utd and Chelsea .... Not because the first team isn't up to scratch .... but when they are struck by a spate of injuries they don't have the same quality to take off the bench ....

God I feel like such a hypocrite talking like that when I support Aberdeen ..... who were basically a fluffer club for Fergie .... We got him ready for action when he headed south ..... ;)

Kirsty
xxx xxx

I know I'm repeating myself here, but Tgirls talking footy is one of the hottest things ever!

It's because tactically it's just like sex .....

Organising 11 men into whatever position is going to satisfy me and get the result I am hoping for, I am looking for effort and performance, a game of big tackles, plenty action in the box, I want my guys to be exploiting any opening at the rear, closing up any gaps, pushing hard all the time and shooting on target.

Kirsty
xxx xxx

Will you marry me and have my babies? :inlove:

How many babies do you have?

Kirsty
xxx xxx

None.... yet. ;)

You must really like rugby then, Kirsty. There is lots more groping, shoving, and moving as one involved in that than in football. :)

Surprised chelsea lost today and manchester was unfortunate tohave nani sent off. That was only a yellow card. Owen on arsenal would be weird for me to see

Great day for Arsenal today. They beat Liverpool 1-0 and were lucky enough to have Chelsea lose to Everton 2-1 and Man U tie Aston Villa 1-1. Having said that we looked like we still need a true striker that can finish off attacks and score some goals. We have to wait till next season to get Van Persie back and apparently Chamakh from Bordeaux, for now we have to rely on Bendtner and Arshavin playing up top until Eduardo gets healthy.

oh my liverpool
 

crappy day for liverpool:censored:!..we lost..we had a good unbeaten streak from just before Christmas..and we lost it..much credit to the guys though..i honestly think they played really well...i don't think arsenal deserved to win yesterday..their game was completely lacklustre...liverpool were definitely the better team i'd say..
..oh well:(

No it wasn't, I clearly remember seeing the ref wave his little red card in the air.;):lol:

But seriously, even when Fergie was questioned about the two-footed challenge he said, "It was a red card. It was a naive tackle," and Fergie hardly ever agrees with red cards shown to his players.

Sure I like Rugby ....... I thought I'd make a good Hooker at one point .... but I kept forgetting to charge my visitors ....

Those scrums also remind me of some of the parties I have had ..... when I have had 10-11 guys all around me ....

I am enjoying the 6 Nations at the moment I have to say ..... key match this weekend between the Irish and French.

Kirsty
xxx xxx

A good day for the whole league ..... keeps it tighter at the top and a bit more excitement for a bit longer ....

Kirsty
xxx xxx

City v Liverpool is next weekend.

Huge game.

Play-off for 4th Champions League spot...
 

Friday's main story:

The Premier League is considering a proposal to introduce a play-off for the fourth Champions League place. The teams that finish from 4th to 7th could play a mini-knockout competition.

At least 14 of the 20 clubs would have to approve this change and due to existing TV deals the play-offs couldn't be introduced for at least another three seasons.

:cool: Surely we already have a play-off for Champions League qualification... it's the 38-game Premier League. :yes:

England should be represented in Europe by our best teams, and after 38 games the top four are obviously the best qualified.
Spanish, Italian, German and other European sides would love it if England sent one weaker team into Europe.

Over the 17 Premier League seasons the 4th placed team has finished an average;
* 4.7 points ahead of 5th
* 10.6 points ahead of 7th

Last season 4th placed Arsenal finished on 72 points...
* 9 points clear of Everton (5th)
* 19 points clear of Fulham (7th), with a record of 14 wins, 11 draws and 13 losses; hardly a record to worry Europe's big teams.:no:

It's a nice idea to have different clubs in the Champions League, but they should qualify by finishing in the top 4. Anyway, this season it looks like one of the 'Big Four' might miss out on Champions League football next season.:yes:

Then there is the problem an extra 2 or 3 games would cause for the four teams in the play-offs, especially in World Cup and European Championship years. How would the play-off games be squeezed in around the FA Cup Final before the players had to be released to join up with their own National Squads. These play-offs wouldn't just affect England's National Squad, but roughly half the Countries represented at a World Cup. And if a top international player was injured during these play-offs and missed the World Cup, the Premier League would be crucified.

It just looks like the Premier League are looking for another way to make more money, remember the PL's previously proposed '39th Game' has rightly been blown out of the water.


An afterthought: Imagine if this proposal is accepted and in it's first season Everton, Aston Villa, Spurs or Man City finish 4th and then lose the Champions League spot to one of the 'Big Four' in the play-off. The Chairman of the club that came 4th, but still failed to land Champions League football, would wish he'd never voted for the :censored: play-offs.

It sounds like an interesting idea, but as you said they already play enough games. For instance if Arsenal was in the "playoffs" then we would probably end up losing another 2-3 players for the beginning of next season, which is always fun.

In non Premier League news, Lyon defeats Real 1-0 in Champions league!

Obviously it works in the Championship before they are thiking of adopting it for the Premiership .....

As long as teams know at the start of the season the squad size and tactics can be taken into account .... for instance if teams in 4th or 5th can't catch up the top two but are guaranteed a place in the top 4 they can rest players .... give other squad players a chance to get match fit etc .....

However, It would really be more devastating for the likes of say Everton finish in that position .... which they probably won't sustain they next season and then lose the play off's ..... the fans would be gutted.

However, it takes away from the "The Champions League" even more than it already is ..... if teams who finish 8th .... just above mid table get to play in it.

The need to do something to make the Uefa Cup more interesting .....

Kirsty
xxx xxx

Kirsty
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Helping the UEFA Cup, n.k.a. the Europa League...
 

Helping the UEFA Cup, or Europa League (as they have started calling it this season)...

I suppose they could award the Europa League Champions a place in the Champions League for the following season.:yes: It's a prize the teams will want to fight for, and they won't pick weakened sides like Aston Villa did in Europe this season.

And they should stop adding the teams that finish the Champions League Group Stage in 3rd place to the knockout stage of the Europa Cup.

Note:
* If Fulham make it to the Europa Cup Final it would be their 19th European football match of the season. :eek: That's too many.
* While the Champions League Final would only be Chelsea's or Man Utd's 13th and Arsenal's 15th Euro fixture of the season.

Another great weekend for Arsenal after a disappointing performance against Porto. We moved to within 2 points of Man U after they lost 3-1 to Everton, and Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0. The way things are going right now we might be able to steal 2nd place or even 1st. And how about Everton, after starting their season off with a 6-1 loss against Arsenal, they've now beat the top 2 teams in the league 2 weeks in a row :respect:

Will anyone going to a Portsmouth game please start throwing money at the players .....

But if you are going wrap up warm it's going to be -9 there.



Kirsty
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Unfortunately that usually gets a fan ejected by the fuzz. :yes::innocent:;)

No need to throw money at the players - the club have been doing that for years. That's one of the reasons they're in this mess. :)

Well Arsenal beat Stoke 3-1, but now Aaron Ramsey has a broken leg, from very hard but legal tackle by Shawcross. Thats 3 players (Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey) in 5 years at Arsenal who have had broken legs. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery.

Ramsey's injury looked bad, and by the reaction of players from both teams (who looked nauseated) the break probably sounded horrendous.

Seeing a freeze-frame of the incident it looks like Ramsey will be very luck to be fit for the start of next season. He may not play again in 2010.

Shawcross looked inconsolable after the incident, he was probably hoping the referee would show him a red card.

I agree with you, it was a very hard, but legal challenge for the ball. Maybe a bit clumsy or over-enthusiastic, but definitely not malicious.

Meanwhile stupidity rules at news.bbc.co.uk/sport/, a post match reports states that "Ryan Shawcross was sent off for a tackle which left Aaron Ramsey with a suspected broken leg".

"Suspected?!?" I think everyone knew it was broken the moment it happened. After the game Arsene Wenger confirmed Ramsey had "a bad fracture, that probably requires emergency surgery".

Following the game Fabio Capello apparently delayed (by 40 minutes) the announcement of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against Egypt. He wanted to have a final discussion with his assistant about whether it would be OK to include Shawcross in the squad following the incident at the Britannia Stadium.

Good win for united today. If young fell down after the shirt pull by vidc instead of keep running vidic would have been shown a red card. I am happy he only recieved a yellow today

Common sense in the Premier League.
 

The Premier League Clubs' chairmen have decided not to pursue a four team play-off for the 4th Champions League qualification place. The idea was scrapped mainly due to time constraints within the football calendar, especially in World Cup and European Championship years.

But a much stronger argument to stop any plan for play-off should have been; the teams that finish in the top 4 after 38 games deserve to play in the Champions League. Those 38 games are surely a good enough play-off, there is no need to play extra games to determine who qualifies.

However I'm sure the stupid idea of play-offs for a 4th Champions League qualification place, will be recycled at some time in the future.

Well thats good, I recently read an article that they were thinking of getting rid of the offsides rule, but I'm sure its complete hogwash.

How about this weekend in the Champions League? First Arsenal destroys Porto 5-0, and Bayern loses to Fiorentina 3-2 but make it to the next round thanks to a wonderful Robben goal. Then Man U beats AC Milan 4-0 and Rooney gets a brace, and then in probably the most shocking upsest of the Champions league so far Lyon ties Real Madrid 1-1 and knock Real out of the tournament. Looks like all that money in summer transfers still doesn't guarantee you a Champions League final.

I didn't see the Arsenal game, but the result surprised me. I thought the second leg would be a lot closer, but for once Bendtner converted some of his chances, unlike the previous weekend against Burnley when he missed at least three really good ones.

Last night AC Milan were disappointing. Before Man U scored their first goal, Milan had a couple of chances, before Rooney scored his first goal against the run of play. Milan only looked like scoring again once Beckham came on as a sub.

I don't think Lyon beating Real Madrid is as big a shock as people are thinking. Lyon won the French title 7 consecutive seasons before missing out in 2008/09 and they are in the top 4 again this season. They played a really good 1st leg and last night managed to stay in the game before scoring the all important away goal. Real Madrid may have spent 200M Euros on players last summer, but they failed to spend enough on their defence, and if Lyon hadn't beaten them I'm sure Man U, Bayern or one of the other top European sides would have found their way through the Madrid defence.