Of course. Luck can and does play a big part. I look at how strong a team is against all competitors domestically and Internationally statistically at a given time.It’s in invariably more complex than that, though. It’s perfectly conceivable that if the most advanced part of Bernardo’s body had been a centimetre the other way, we could have won the lot in 2019. The Quadruple.
That was the apotheosis of a Pep team.
It’s perfectly conceivable that if
I think wwe will miss out due to the tuff away fixtures in the 2nd half of the season. Even Forest and Sunderland away coming up won’t be easy.
Apart from Arsenal maybe, I can’t see us losing another home game this season.
In no order.
Liverpool.
Everton.
Leeds.
Spurs.(we never win there, or not often)
United.(it’s the derby, anything can happen)
Chelsea.
22/33 was the 4-0 against Real. TR3BLE team. They were so-so. Lol.City 23/24 played at a higher level (Real 4:0) and won more.
The Centurions benefited from the league being seriously unprepared for Pep's tactics (due to the perceived failure of Pep's City in 16/17). They wouldn't win 100 pts in this league because Pep changed football in the country (at all levels) and more teams know how to play against possession based teams.
I agree with your overall point as there are so many intangibles, and somewhere along the way either us or Arsenal will be affected by a run of injuries or suspensions, and maybe refereeing injustice or opponents enjoying an unexpected Andros Townsend/Peter Crouch moment and volleying spectacularly from 25 yardsSemenyo, if it happens, would tip a finely balanced PL title race City's way.
City are riding a Cherki wave right now but Arsenal have the upper hand in terms of strength in depth. To win trophies you need numbers because of the intensity of games when you go deep in the CL and FA Cup etc. It's one thing playing 3 games every 7 days and coping in the 1st half of the season, and another playing that frequency when one of the games is a CL knock-out game, or a League Cup semi-final (the Geordies will give that tie everything). Inevitably fatigue and injuries play a part. I don't know if City's interest in Semenyo is real, but it should be.
So, unless the standard of football across the whole continent has dropped then the PL is very strong AND competitive.
Thats true if we want to finish ahead of arsenal but won't guarantee we win the league.We can win the league - it’s in our hands - Match Arse results all the way but best them at home and we are top.(I think we will better Arsenal results tho
It’s an interesting point. I’d say other than Barca, RM, PSG and Bayern most of the World’s best players make their way to a team in the PL now. You have Bournemouth able to outbid AC Milan in the transfer market.The standard across Europe has undoubtedly dropped for me. Too much football, very little tactical innovation (PSG and Kompany doing interesting stuff, at best), no stand out team (PSG were good last year, great even, but outside of them who is close to being as good as they were in the mid to late 2010s?), transfer market has more or less dried up. Euro 24 was pretty poor from a quality or entertainment perspective. As I said up thread, Marcus Rashford is one of Barcelona's best players and Scott McTominay is the best player in Italy.
That’s true and also the reason they should, in theory, start to fade. Let’s see how they get on v Arsenal.Thats true if we want to finish ahead of arsenal but won't guarantee we win the league.
Villa are the joker in the pack.
Getting results that seem above their standard of football.
arsenal and villa appear to have tougher upcoming matches including a game between them. If we can get through Xmas with wins and beat Chelsea on early January we should be top.
You say it’s not a great league but it could also be an incredibly strong league. How the teams fair in Europe is usually a decent barometer.Villa beat City. City are 2nd in what this season is not a great league. Look at the state of Liverpool, Newcastle, Man Utd and Spurs. Even Chelsea are hot and cold. Arsenal are strong defensively but they are still struggling for a no.9. City, as Pep has said, can get better.
Based on…?It's not just that the mid-table has got better. City's recovery is helped by a weak top 6.
I'd say the leaders are miles off the level of the great champions of the past (eg Centurions) but pretty much every team can land punches better than ever before. There aren't many gimmes in this league.You say it’s not a great league but it could also be an incredibly strong league. How the teams fair in Europe is usually a decent barometer.
Based on points per game and the presence of teams like Sunderland in the top 6. Sunderland work very hard. That's it. The PL has depth but the traditional top 6 have largely fallen away, not in my opinion because the mid-table hasgot better but because teams like Liverpool and Chelsea made errors in their team building.Based on…?