Will we win the league this season?

[dubblue]

The 25/26 title winners will be the worst champions since Leicester. Whether that’s Arsenal, Villa or us. Just very average sides when compared to what’s gone before. Our 17/18 side would get 100 points again with this level of competition.

Very good chance they’d go unbeaten too.

 

[mayo31]

How seriously should we take Aston Villa?

Villa are on a club record winning run of 8 games. It includes results such as:

Villa 2-1 Arsenal, Brighton 3-4 Villa, Villa 4-0 Bournemouth, Leeds 1-2 Villa.

Chelsea were looking strong a fortnight ago or so and blew up. But Villa's run is impressive. How seriously should we take them? Are they on the threshold of a new force in English football, or just on a crest of a wave.

The BBC have an article on them after their win in Basle: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cy078djkzjkt and that is what sparked my thought. I am up early today to catch a train to London.

They are at West Ham on Sunday. I hope they crash. The last thing we need is another team coming in to crash the party, although it would make it very interesting.

Take everyone up there seriously

Do not underestimate or disrespect anyone

 

[Gorbachev]

Yet the English teams are the best in Europe and have won 9 from the last 10 games vs Spanish teams.

The league is better than ever in terms of the quality of midtable and bottom half teams. Any game is a potential banana skin. Arsenal are top in the CL with 6 wins from 6 games and struggled against the worst team in the PL.

The team that win the league this season will be far better than Leicester.

The mid-table is better, but there is a serious lack of quality at the top end, and that goes for around Europe too.

Look at the top European teams of 5 years ago let alone 10 and they would all walk the current CL.

La liga in particular is the worst I have seen it probably since the days of Juande Ramos at Real Madrid and the back end of of Rijkaard, and even those teams walk all over the current Madrid and Barca teams.

Serie A is a joke. Mctominay is the best player.

Bayern team is good but isn't a patch on the 2020 let alone Heynckes and Peps Bayern

Paris are a standout to be fair.

Peps 4 in a row team, centurions, Klopps Liverpool, Conte and Jose's 2014 Chelsea and Pellegrini's 2014 and Mancini's 2012 team would walk this current PL.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

Yet the English teams are the best in Europe and have won 9 from the last 10 games vs Spanish teams.

The league is better than ever in terms of the quality of midtable and bottom half teams. Any game is a potential banana skin. Arsenal are top in the CL with 6 wins from 6 games and struggled against the worst team in the PL.

The team that win the league this season will be far better than Leicester.

The standard of the Spanish sides is also the worst they’ve been in a long time, so I dont read too much into that.

People have been saying the same thing about the quality of the Prem for as long as I can remember. IMO, the quality of the mid-table teams is looking better because the sides at the top aren’t as good/dominant as previous sides. It makes for a better competition for sure but I don’t think Arsenal, City and Liverpool are “struggling” because the rest are much better than what’s gone before. I’m not having Arsenal struggled tonight because Wolves are actually a really good side, who are just unlucky that they’re in an ultra-strong PL. Wolves would be considered absolute dump in any PL era.

I think given the number of times we’ve won it recently, we City fans are in as good a position as anyone to judge the quality of previous champions. Leicester won it because they were the best of a very bad bunch that season. This years winners won’t be that bad but they certainly won’t be anywhere near as good as our previous title winning sides, or Liverpools and I include City in that assessment, should we manage to win it again this season.

 

[Danny Tiatto]

I think more and more people are starting to come around to what I have been sprouting in this thread for weeks and a lot of those blues who are arsenal admirers are becoming quieter and quieter.

Let’s just not lose our shit if the result at Palace doesn’t go in our favour. Yes it would be great to win but if we draw or even lose no panic because this is a long game.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

The mid-table is better, but there is a serious lack of quality at the top end, and that goes for around Europe too.

Look at the top European teams of 5 years ago let alone 10 and they would all walk the current CL.

La liga in particular is the worst I have seen it probably since the days of Juande Ramos at Real Madrid and the back end of of Rijkaard, and even those teams walk all over the current Madrid and Barca teams.

Serie A is a joke. Mctominay is the best player.

Bayern team is good but isn't a patch on the 2020 let alone Heynckes and Peps Bayern

Paris are a standout to be fair.

Peps 4 in a row team, centurions, Klopps Liverpool, Conte and Jose's 2014 Chelsea and Pellegrini's 2014 and Mancini's 2012 team would walk this current PL.

100%. I think the number of games they've squeezed out of this generation of players since COVID has finally caught up with everyone. Just a poor season across Europe. CL is as wide open as the premier league imo.

 

[Nevizade]

It’s ours if we want it enough

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

The standard of the Spanish sides is also the worst they’ve been in a long time, so I dont read too much into that.

People have been saying the same thing about the quality of the Prem for as long as I can remember. IMO, the quality of the mid-table teams is looking better because the sides at the top aren’t as good/dominant as previous sides. It makes for a better competition for sure but I don’t think Arsenal, City and Liverpool are “struggling” because the rest are much better than what’s gone before. I’m not having Arsenal struggled tonight because Wolves are actually a really good side, who are just unlucky that they’re in an ultra-strong PL. Wolves would be considered absolute dump in any PL era.

I think given the number of times we’ve won it recently, we City fans are in as good a position as anyone to judge the quality of previous champions. Leicester won it because they were the best of a very bad bunch that season. This years winners won’t be that bad but they certainly won’t be anywhere near as good as our previous title winning sides, or Liverpools and I include City in that assessment, should we manage to win it again this season.

Marcus Rashford is currently one of Barcelona's best and most important players. I rest my case, your honour.

 

[urban genie]

The 25/26 title winners will be the worst champions since Leicester. Whether that’s Arsenal, Villa or us. Just very average sides when compared to what’s gone before. Our 17/18 side would get 100 points again with this level of competition.

The league is at it's most competative ever, and about time.

fuck going back to the sale 4 teams dominating the top 4 spots.

our 90+ point run of years were an exception set by a squad managed by the best you will ever see, kudos to klopp also for pushing his team to achieve such points too, but it was never going to last and the league would eventually even out. It was an exception not the norm

Personally I prefer it if no one knows who can finish where from 1st to 17th and we haven't a stale season from christmas onwards where european places and relegation is pretty clear.


The idea that no top teams dominatimg equals a poor league/season is always spouted by fans of teams that have dominated or believe they should win trophies, we used to laugh at that thinking.

 

[alexmcity]

The mid-table is better, but there is a serious lack of quality at the top end, and that goes for around Europe too.

Look at the top European teams of 5 years ago let alone 10 and they would all walk the current CL.

La liga in particular is the worst I have seen it probably since the days of Juande Ramos at Real Madrid and the back end of of Rijkaard, and even those teams walk all over the current Madrid and Barca teams.

Serie A is a joke. Mctominay is the best player.

Bayern team is good but isn't a patch on the 2020 let alone Heynckes and Peps Bayern

Paris are a standout to be fair.

Peps 4 in a row team, centurions, Klopps Liverpool, Conte and Jose's 2014 Chelsea and Pellegrini's 2014 and Mancini's 2012 team would walk this current PL.

Half of those PL teams were poor in Europe. The quality of the bottom half teams in the PL back then was far worse than it is now.

Arsenal have had many injuries so far, and City are in transition and without Rodri. Wouldn't be surprised if both teams were much better in the 2nd half of the season, perhaps Liverpool too.

Those generalisations about the quality of the top teams based on 15 games are premature. I'm sure many on here didn't think much about the Treble winners before mid February 2023. Actually, many thought the squad lacked quality lol.

 

[Groke]

The 25/26 title winners will be the worst champions since Leicester. Whether that’s Arsenal, Villa or us. Just very average sides when compared to what’s gone before. Our 17/18 side would get 100 points again with this level of competition.

Not sure liverpool were any better last year

 

[colin's bell helmet]

All utter horseshit.....March/April when the table needs looking at. If Arsenal are our main challenge then we're winning this league by at least 6pts coz they're shit.

 

[Coatigan]

I really thought Arsenal would have enough but they look fucked in early December.

Should have won easy tonight and they've limped over the line.

They're so poor from open play that it really isn't sustainable.

I'd rather they played well and lost, myself.

 

[Danny Tiatto]

I'd rather they played well and lost, myself.

Whilst that is ideal If you need a last minute winner at home to defeat the 20th place team in the league that means that any match is a potential slip up. How are they going to handle a run in where they might have to win 5-6 matches on the bounce to seal the title? With a level of pressure from their fans that will massively exceed what they are feeling right now.

I would be quite worried if I was an arsenal supporter

 

[Danny Tiatto]

Arsenal will win it with a similar points difference as we had with United in 2021.

They will romp it by 12 points.

We are a good team, but miles off winning anything major any time soon.

Still think Arsenal will romp it by 12 points or perhaps did you overreact in the heat of the moment during a poor result?

 

[Danny Tiatto]

Arsenal will win it as I always thought they would. Their defence is incredible.

Incredible seems a bit of a stretch

 

[Danny Tiatto]

Still think Arsenal are going to do it and imo they'll do it relatively easy.

We're playing better but we need to be consistent for 90 minutes. Too many times we've stopped playing. Feel we're another 12 months away and will fall short. Hope I'm wrong.

Hmm they might do it but I don’t think they are going to do it easily

 

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

Arsenal are clearly favourites but I see a City side with hunger in the belly again. Pep has that glint in his eye. I just feel that today will be pivotal.
Win and I think we will be top by New Year, Lose and we are still only 5 behind. Draw-Not the end of the world.
Tarquins have some real tough fixtures coming up. They were really really poor yesterday. Make no bones about it, they literally struggled to beat the worst team in Premier league history.

 

[Marvin.]

Arsenal got hit yesterday by panic and it's only December.

If City are there in the end game, it looks like Arsenal might crumble. They look like the same Arsenal with the same flaws, and Gyokores is unconvincing.

 

[chris85mcfc]

I think more and more people are starting to come around to what I have been sprouting in this thread for weeks and a lot of those blues who are arsenal admirers are becoming quieter and quieter.

Let’s just not lose our shit if the result at Palace doesn’t go in our favour. Yes it would be great to win but if we draw or even lose no panic because this is a long game.

Saw enough last night in terms of emotions, to know that id still give us a very good chance even if we get beat today.

Crazy to see such emotions 15 games into a season, dread to think how they'll cope in another 15 games time.