| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb 08:52 - Oct 13 with 2325 views | muccletonjoe |
But it does appear we have entered a Premier league where many teams are struggling for consistent form and heads will start to roll in the coming weeks I am sure. Established teams have relied upon the championship arrivals to cushion their relegation fears. It would be nice if that was removed this season. |  | | |  |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:13 - Oct 13 with 2222 views | squiz |
Be interesting to see how Europe impacts teams too. That starts in earnest this week. You can't imagine going Thursday-Sunday will be good for Sunderland, Palace and Bournemouth. |  | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:22 - Oct 13 with 2162 views | _CliveBaker_ |
Happened last season as well with Leeds and Sunderland staying up comfortably. Its good for the league if a couple of the promoted sides can stay up, probably good for our prospects beyond this season if we could stay up with both Cov & Hull, and we're joined by a couple in the Boro / Swansea / Millwall type.
Can't see all 3 avoiding the drop though. I still think Hull will drop down as the season progresses, not sure they have the depth or quality needed. Said the same last season though to be fair, yet Jakirovic seems to find a way to get results. They've done incredibly well to be fair to them. |  | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:25 - Oct 13 with 2148 views | EdwardStone |
I do think we were perhaps a tiny bit unlucky in our last Prem foray
It looked like a couple of teams were struggling a bit and were flirting with relegation zone
Unfortunately for us they recovered from their wobble and stayed safe from the drop
Hopefully this time they won't be quite so lucky |  | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:31 - Oct 13 with 2123 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:25 - Oct 13 by EdwardStone |
I do think we were perhaps a tiny bit unlucky in our last Prem foray
It looked like a couple of teams were struggling a bit and were flirting with relegation zone
Unfortunately for us they recovered from their wobble and stayed safe from the drop
Hopefully this time they won't be quite so lucky |
The problem with some of these is I just can't hand on heart see them going down. Too big to fail, deep pockets, able to just fire the manager and have the pulling power to attract another. Drop £150m in Jan on 3 players to get them over the line. Perhaps not the case for all of them and the likes of Fulham or Sunderland, but Spurs or Villa simply aren't going down. Man City are more likely to than them IMO.
Would feel a bit better about things if Hull and Cov were stinking the place out in 19th and 20th, alongside some of the more established clubs. | | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:16 - Oct 13 with 1985 views | Guthrum |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:31 - Oct 13 by _CliveBaker_ |
The problem with some of these is I just can't hand on heart see them going down. Too big to fail, deep pockets, able to just fire the manager and have the pulling power to attract another. Drop £150m in Jan on 3 players to get them over the line. Perhaps not the case for all of them and the likes of Fulham or Sunderland, but Spurs or Villa simply aren't going down. Man City are more likely to than them IMO.
Would feel a bit better about things if Hull and Cov were stinking the place out in 19th and 20th, alongside some of the more established clubs. |
I'm not convinced by the "too big to drop" argument.
Spurs spent an eye-watering sum of money in the summer - and still they are struggling. There's no guarantee they can either afford to spend yet another enormous slice in January, or that it would make much difference.
As for managers, they've had a string of top-rated men in the job over the last three years, none of whom have really managed to get a tune out of the squad.
I would suggest that club was artificially propped up for nearly a decade by the sheer goalscoring ability of Harry Kane and they don't really know what to do next. |  |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:29 - Oct 13 with 1932 views | Guthrum |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:25 - Oct 13 by EdwardStone |
I do think we were perhaps a tiny bit unlucky in our last Prem foray
It looked like a couple of teams were struggling a bit and were flirting with relegation zone
Unfortunately for us they recovered from their wobble and stayed safe from the drop
Hopefully this time they won't be quite so lucky |
One difference this time is that, having got off to a much better start, we have a genuine cushion over those teams. Last Prem season, we only had a point or two over those teams, if not just behind and hoping to catch them up.
Thus by the end of January 2025, altho Wolves were still in trouble (but level on points), the likes of Spurs, Everton and Palace had opened up a significant gap (6-11 points) in their turnarounds. If we were jogging along in the bottom pack currently, it gives no leeway for others' improvement.
It's most important that we make so much hay as possible while the sun is shining, to keep our heads above water if and when those down the bottom make changes in an attempt to revive their hopes.
Boost and cruise, in vehicular engineering terms, rather than having to be engine-busting flat out in the final straight. | |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:40 - Oct 13 with 1885 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:16 - Oct 13 by Guthrum |
I'm not convinced by the "too big to drop" argument.
Spurs spent an eye-watering sum of money in the summer - and still they are struggling. There's no guarantee they can either afford to spend yet another enormous slice in January, or that it would make much difference.
As for managers, they've had a string of top-rated men in the job over the last three years, none of whom have really managed to get a tune out of the squad.
I would suggest that club was artificially propped up for nearly a decade by the sheer goalscoring ability of Harry Kane and they don't really know what to do next. |
Perhaps not too big, but too good IMO. They've got an enviable amount of proven quality in their squad and I think they're too good to go down. I just think a squad like that is capable of sticking 3 wins together on the bounce and pulling well safe, which I can't say for a Hull or Cov when we get into winter and the real business end of things. I would feel quite susceptible if its those bigger clubs hunting us down with 15 - 20 games left vs. the so called lesser ones. Its important we're ahead of Cov and Hull, and we've got a really big 6 game block after Man City that sees us play both.
Time will tell of course on Spurs, just can't see it myself. [Post edited 13 Oct 10:40]
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:46 - Oct 13 with 1857 views | Guthrum |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:40 - Oct 13 by _CliveBaker_ |
Perhaps not too big, but too good IMO. They've got an enviable amount of proven quality in their squad and I think they're too good to go down. I just think a squad like that is capable of sticking 3 wins together on the bounce and pulling well safe, which I can't say for a Hull or Cov when we get into winter and the real business end of things. I would feel quite susceptible if its those bigger clubs hunting us down with 15 - 20 games left vs. the so called lesser ones. Its important we're ahead of Cov and Hull, and we've got a really big 6 game block after Man City that sees us play both.
Time will tell of course on Spurs, just can't see it myself. [Post edited 13 Oct 10:40]
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But also Spurs and Bournemouth in that block. We really want to be taking points from them, too, while they're struggling. | |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 11:18 - Oct 13 with 1783 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:46 - Oct 13 by Guthrum |
But also Spurs and Bournemouth in that block. We really want to be taking points from them, too, while they're struggling. |
Quite, and Forest and Villa both at home. Without being too OTT about it that's a big 6 game block that takes us from game 8 to 13, and could go a long way to setting up the rest of the season. | | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 11:57 - Oct 13 with 1686 views | Guthrum |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 11:18 - Oct 13 by _CliveBaker_ |
Quite, and Forest and Villa both at home. Without being too OTT about it that's a big 6 game block that takes us from game 8 to 13, and could go a long way to setting up the rest of the season. |
Another three wins from those six would be excellent, anything above that outstanding. | |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 13:36 - Oct 13 with 1439 views | Illinoisblue |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 09:13 - Oct 13 by squiz |
Be interesting to see how Europe impacts teams too. That starts in earnest this week. You can't imagine going Thursday-Sunday will be good for Sunderland, Palace and Bournemouth. |
I think Europe will be a very significant distraction for our relegation rivals. That and our much improved squad - and relatively deep bench - makes me cautiously optimistic we can stay up. |  |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 13:54 - Oct 13 with 1392 views | Sharkey |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 10:40 - Oct 13 by _CliveBaker_ |
Perhaps not too big, but too good IMO. They've got an enviable amount of proven quality in their squad and I think they're too good to go down. I just think a squad like that is capable of sticking 3 wins together on the bounce and pulling well safe, which I can't say for a Hull or Cov when we get into winter and the real business end of things. I would feel quite susceptible if its those bigger clubs hunting us down with 15 - 20 games left vs. the so called lesser ones. Its important we're ahead of Cov and Hull, and we've got a really big 6 game block after Man City that sees us play both.
Time will tell of course on Spurs, just can't see it myself. [Post edited 13 Oct 10:40]
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Agreed. I thought Spurs looked miles better than Man U the other day. Can't see why anyone would talk about Spurs as relegation possibilities and not Man U. |  | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 14:23 - Oct 13 with 1324 views | homer_123 |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 13:54 - Oct 13 by Sharkey |
Agreed. I thought Spurs looked miles better than Man U the other day. Can't see why anyone would talk about Spurs as relegation possibilities and not Man U. |
I think you can legitimately talk about both being candidates.
Unless Spurs find a way to turn their football into goals and points, they'll struggle and the longer it goes on, the harder it is. That Man U game is a case in point - by any metric except the final result, they should have won and won easily. They didn't.
Man U have a longer standing deeper problem, which will result in Carrick leaving in the not too distant. What they brings is unsure but at the moment they are a team that look awful, play poorly and struggle to win.
I'll add Newcastle having watched them last night. They have more holes in it than a Man City case against the Prem League. |  |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 14:23 - Oct 13 with 1323 views | Guthrum |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 13:54 - Oct 13 by Sharkey |
Agreed. I thought Spurs looked miles better than Man U the other day. Can't see why anyone would talk about Spurs as relegation possibilities and not Man U. |
If ManU don't pull their socks up, they could get sucked into a relegation scrap. Their only win has come courtesy of a slip, a dubious decision and an individual performance by Bruno Fernandes. | |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 14:50 - Oct 13 with 1267 views | homer_123 |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 14:23 - Oct 13 by Guthrum |
If ManU don't pull their socks up, they could get sucked into a relegation scrap. Their only win has come courtesy of a slip, a dubious decision and an individual performance by Bruno Fernandes. |
"...individual performance by Bruno Fernandes."
Which was frustrating to say the least....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/fo | |
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| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 00:27 - Oct 14 with 1035 views | armchaircritic59 |
I forecasted before the season started that there would be 6-7 teams in the relegation " scrimmage ". Very early days for that, but at least it's looking promising for now. |  | | |
| Still in the foothills of this seasons climb on 07:24 - Oct 14 with 843 views | bluefunk |
This season’s relegation scrap has the potential to include several more clubs than usual. There are an unprecedented number of clubs with new managers and/or in their first season in Europe. Arbeloa showed his naivety on Saturday, Bournemouth sit towards the foot of the table with a European campaign just getting going (and several games without Alex Scott), Sunderland likewise, Glasner can’t get Forest going, Newcastle have yet to convince. While they won’t all struggle, this isn’t what usually happens, and the relegated clubs have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. There is definitely cause for optimism, but no room for complacency, keep the foot on the gas as we have been doing, and we could go into the January window looking to consolidate rather than looking nervously over our shoulders. |  | | |
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