2010/2011 Premier League Thread

[d_phaneuf]

ya almost looking forward to next year all ready, I have been optimistic with getting it this year because I just think they are flat out better than city everywhere but at striker, but it just doesn't seem like it's going to happen this year

the stupid thing is if they had turned the draws with Wigan/West Brom/West Ham/Wolves in to wins (which they all should have been)

they would be at 63 points and pretty much free and clear for 4th and fighting Arsenal for 3rd, and thats not even including being the only team to lose to Blackpool since January or something

it hasn't been city being better, they have beat themselves

[d_phaneuf]

its an easter miracle!

Torres scored haha

[rubecube]

A little late because I was in Vegas but that was one of the worst games Dawson played in recent memories.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by KTown

you're all class by the way. apparently hanging onto a post from over a week ago.

The two posts are 5 days apart, hardly over a week apart. I understand the frustration, but I felt that Liverpool getting an equalizer in that wacky match hardly 'handed the title' to United, or destroyed Arsenal's season.

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

its an easter miracle!

Torres scored haha

Torres scores for Chelsea, and Joe Cole scores for Liverpool on the same day.

[Locke]

Arsenal have to get a goalkeeper and some defenders who can actually defend.

Bolton have cracked them wide open probably 4 times, and so far, both CBs are MIA, and a poor decision, a super save and a dubious offside are the only reason they're not down 4-0 instead of only 1.

[d_phaneuf]

they wont get a goalie, Wenger thinks Szczesny can be world class

CB who knows

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

they wont get a goalie, Wenger thinks Szczesny can be world class

CB who knows

Hes made some big saves but oh man are those two CBs terrible. Often out of position, they gave up a really awful penalty that thankfully for Arsenal, wasnt converted. They just suck.

[Locke]

And there you go. Djourou is terrible. Hes been out of position at least 6 times, hes given away a penalty, albeit a soft one, and was very timid in making that challenge allowing the second goal.

Wow. Arsenal's defence is paper thin.

[d_phaneuf]

[d_phaneuf]

I do think they buy some help this summer, I imagine Cesc is gone (and at this point I don't think that will even hurt their midfield, Nasri and Wilshere can do fine) and they use the 40m quid or whatever it is to buy some CB's and maybe a midfield destroyer

they would be a better off team with the money from Cesc (if it's spent) than with Cesc in my opinion

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

I do think they buy some help this summer, I imagine Cesc is gone (and at this point I don't think that will even hurt their midfield, Nasri and Wilshere can do fine) and they use the 40m quid or whatever it is to buy some CB's and maybe a midfield destroyer

they would be a better off team with the money from Cesc (if it's spent) than with Cesc in my opinion

I agree, Cesc and RVP look really dejected and I think they have a right to be. Their attack, their midfield are all good, doing their jobs and playing well. But man oh man that defence is terrible and the goaltending is inconsistent.

And I'd bet Fabregas is gone this summer, and Don Balon will be the ones to break the story I bet.

[NBC]

Arsenal have become a bit of a joke as of late. Wenger is far too arrogant to acknowledge his side's massive shortcomings. And I head a few days ago that he's not making changes this summer. He seems to be ok with 4th place and a few CL games. Not sure their fan base is though.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by NBC

Arsenal have become a bit of a joke as of late. Wenger is far too arrogant to acknowledge his side's massive shortcomings. And I head a few days ago that he's not making changes this summer. He seems to be ok with 4th place and a few CL games. Not sure their fan base is though.

And this is ridiculous to me. I mean, lets face it here, Arsenal are a really good team, they're in third place with really poor defending.

And, while the shortcomings are massive, they are also relatively easily fixable. Go out, and buy yourself two world class CBs, spend 40 million quid, buy them, and you've got yourself a really good title challenge.

I dont know how anyone can be so arrogant as to blind themselves like that. As a manager and a coach when your team has problems you ask yourself 'where are the problems, how do we fix them?'

That whole Arsenal team know that their back 4 are terrible, you can see it on their faces.

[d_phaneuf]

also nice to see Cohen not get booked for taking his shirt off, was a tribute to his father who died, showed that the ref had a bit of sense in him

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

also nice to see Cohen not get booked for taking his shirt off, was a tribute to his father who died, showed that the ref had a bit of sense in him

Well, yeah, but whatever, if he had been booked who cares? He should have been booked because that rule is non-discretionary, the ref will book him and life goes on. So long as hes not on his second or anything.

[d_phaneuf]

it has no bearing on the game or anything, just nice to see the ref distinguish between some idiot trying to take his shirt off and someone in an emotional moment making a tribute to his father

and its a rule that when someone takes his shirt off that its a yellow, so nice that the ref took a bit of a stand

[NBC]

Word is that there isn't the £ available for him to spend on anything. If they made £40 million from selling Fabregas, it is highly likely that it would go to paying off the stadium and not on squad improvements. Goalkeeper, at least 1 CB, midfielder and a decent striker are all requirements and there isn't the cash for many if any.

I could be wrong though.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by NBC

Word is that there isn't the £ available for him to spend on anything. If they made £40 million from selling Fabregas, it is highly likely that it would go to paying off the stadium and not on squad improvements. Goalkeeper, at least 1 CB, midfielder and a decent striker are all requirements and there isn't the cash for many if any.

I could be wrong though.

Then if thats the case then people should be laying off of Wenger. Its not his fault if theres no money.

I didnt think there was a cash crunch at Arsenal, but people are blaming Arsenal's shortcomings as Wenger's arrogance or shortsightedness and thus his refusal to change his strategy.

[d_phaneuf]

there is no way there should be a cash crunch there

their stadium with the huge amount of luxury boxes that it has, and being in London, is a license to print money

And they were 5th in average wages in England last season (Chelsea/City/United/Liverpool/Arsenal/Newcastle/Pompey/West Ham/Spurs in order if anyone was wondering, from an ESPN story that was released a few days ago)

there is no way they shouldn't be able to spend, bad ownership if it's true, they have sold out their building (I know it doesn't sound like the stadium is full of fans but it is) and they have gotten CL money every year

[d_phaneuf]

here is the list of wages in case everyone is wondering

Rank - Team - League - Average Annual Salary Per Player (£)
1 Barcelona La Liga £4,775,894
2 Real Madrid La Liga £4,441,368
3 Chelsea Premier Lge £3,634,860
4 Inter Milan Serie A £3,622,122
5 Manchester City Premier Lge £3,539,981
6 Bayern Munich Bundesliga £3,489,735
7 AC Milan Serie A £3,409,606
8 Manchester United Premier Lge £3,082,739
9 Liverpool Premier Lge £2,979,884
10 Arsenal Premier Lge £2,872,666
11 Juventus Serie A £2,491,967
12 Aston Villa Premier Lge £2,323,264
13 Schalke 04 Bundesliga £2,128,494
14 AS Roma Serie A £2,042,868
15 Newcastle United Premier Lge £2,034,949
16 Valencia La Liga £1,767,531
17 Portsmouth Premier Lge £1,736,275
18 Werder Bremen Bundesliga £1,694,661
19 Stuttgart Bundesliga £1,609,928
20 Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga £1,599,760
21 Atletico Madrid La Liga £1,563,494
22 West Ham United Premier Lge £1,520,085
23 Sevilla La Liga £1,466,221
24 Hamburg Bundesliga £1,440,462
25 Tottenham Hotspur Premier Lge £1,427,671
26 Everton Premier Lge £1,343,005
27 Sunderland Premier Lge £1,262,957
28 Blackburn Rovers Premier Lge £1,259,546
29 Fiorentina Serie A £1,250,840
30 Fulham Premier Lge £1,229,770
31 Wolfsburg Bundesliga £1,186,263
32 Genoa Serie A £1,183,226
33 Bolton Wanderers Premier Lge £1,125,082
34 Wigan Athletic Premier Lge £1,121,211
35 Hertha Berlin Bundesliga £1,084,583
36 FC Cologne Bundesliga £1,084,346
37 Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga £982,903
38 Napoli Serie A £980,388
39 Villarreal La Liga £977,481
40 Celtic SPL £970,454
41 Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga £949,010
42 Palermo Serie A £946,582
43 Lazio Serie A £912,775
44 Athletic Bilbao La Liga £901,559
45 Hoffenheim Bundesliga £881,224
46 Hull City Premier Lge £847,204
47 Torino Serie A £845,162
48 Middlesbrough England (D2) £831,109
49 Hannover 96 Bundesliga £828,690
50 Stoke City Premier Lge £825,668
51 Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga £822,588
52 Rangers SPL £767,878
53 Real Betis La Liga £763,953
54 Cagliari Serie A £743,743
55 West Bromwich Albion Premier Lge £730,103
56 Espanyol La Liga £723,620
57 Sampdoria Serie A £709,936
58 Catania Serie A £676,129
59 Bologna Serie A £642,323
60 Mallorca La Liga £631,092
61 Karlsruher FC Germany (D2) £629,458
62 Siena Serie A £625,420
63 Lecce Serie A £608,517
64 Osasuna La Liga £595,504
65 Racing Santander La Liga £576,523
66 Deportivo La Coruna La Liga £552,798

Figures for season 2009-10.

each team has around 33-35 players, so for example Arsenal spends 50m more on wages than Spurs do in a season