English Premier League 2018/19

A bit of chatter that united is to appoint a technical football director. Apparently former spurs TD is the frontrunner.

This could be top four right here if Man U don’t win today.

Down a goal and to 10 men so getting a point is the best we can hope for.
Exactly the reason you don’t extend managers contracts until seasons end

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#MoldeIn

With nothing to play for it would be a shame to “play dead” against City :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m always happy when Utd lose, more so today. If they actually harbour any desire to finish top 4 from here on in they can’t afford to play dead v City, mind you I don’t believe Man U are good enough to trouble their superior neighbours. What will be will be, Liverpool just need to take care of their own business because what City does is out of their control…

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Fulham officially relegated after losing 4-1 to Watford.

I think the top 3 are almost locked in now. Spurs most likely for 4th. Manure & Chelsea to just miss (:clap::clap::clap:). Without CL action, those sides may struggle to attract all the players they have their eyes on.

If Chelsea keep getting gifts from the refs like they did on the weekend they will finish higher than us.

No gifts at Anfield in a couple of weeks, please. :grin:

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The non CL stuff is a bit of a myth. Players don’t just join clubs to play in the CL. United will attract players no matter what just as others have over the years.
Anyway it will be fun to see Arsenal back stinking up the CL again, been too long :stuck_out_tongue:

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In some ways yes it is a myth. I think teams like us, you and littlepool will have less concerns attracting players once it is clear that the juggernaut that those clubs are/have been and can be is being demonstrated at the time. Teams like chel$■■■ and city don’t have to worry too much about not making the CL as they have financial streams that are practically bulletproof so the player can go to the oil clubs for a retirement boost or whatever and it is only ambition or lack of that makes the decision for them. Liverpool and United and to a lesser extent Arsenal have the drawing power, especially now that the Liverpool giant has awoken.

It would hit a side like Tottenham far more. If they don’t have the CL carrot then that can seriously hurt who they can attract and whether they are seen as a destination club, (Arsenal are only precluded from this discussion in my opinion because we have sorted out our finances since the move and are living reasonably comfortably within our means as well as being able to break our transfer records now with recent signings like Auba, Lacaz and Ozil), now we just need to keep making the top 4 to consolidate our finances and being in the window as a destination club.

In all seriousness I fear for Spurs if they miss the CL places for a few seasons because the extra 20+ million pounds each season would help put a large dent in their loan. I refer to Arsenal’s move to the Emirates where I think the total cost of our ground was (from memory) 400-500 Million and we had the move come shortly after the invincibles season and losing the CL final, there was plenty of optimism (that largely went down the toilet, granted). That translated in to large numbers of spectators, television presence and interest. Spurs in comparison have less of that now than we did then, they have plenty of optimism but no real success on field comparatively.

I believe Spurs new ground costings to be around 1 billion pounds (around twice as much as the Emirates was) but in their favour they do have the NFL deal and some other agreements to bring in some extra revenue. I think they will certainly need to keep their young stars as I believe they will have to have some severe financial constraints regarding signing players (as we did) and ended up selling our best players such as Vieira, Henry, Rvp just to help balance the books. Remember Spurs debt is probably twice what ours was and I am not convinced they will sell out their stadium week in week out either.

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A lot has to do with the manager. Nobody of note signed for Liverpool under Rodgers (he did sign Firmino but he was not a massive name back then), even after we came so close to winning the title. Alexis Sanchez was offered to us in a part-exchange deal for Suarez and he rejected us and opted for Arsenal because he saw them as more stable (consistent CL football) and had a better and more experienced manager. Ultimately his decision was correct as BR was gone no more than 18 months later. Working with Klopp is a big lure now for players, as well as the squad we already have. That’s why I would question appointing Solskjaer on a permanent basis. Yes it’s Manchester United, and so it was under Moyes, and the only players he managed to sign were Fellaini, one of his boys from Everton, and Mata, who was surplus to requirements at Chelsea. Would any world-class players want to sign for a manager whose only experience is managing in Norway and relegating Cardiff? The jury is still out on that one, especially if they’re in the Europa League. It might be a look and see year. See what OGS can do in a full campaign before any big signings commit…

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One thing about missing the CL is that if you are going to attract a big name you are likely going to have to pay the overs to get them in the door. This makes it more difficult to balance the books. One or two years with no CL action may be acceptable but it gets harder to attract and also retains stars the longer it goes.

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See above (RB & Smooth).

Give us a spell.
First time you’ve been above us on the ladder in ■■■■■■■ ages.

3rd-6th are split by 3 points, so much to play for, plus the title race between Liverpool and City will go down to the wire. The relegation scrap is pretty much done though, I expect Cardiff to join Fulham and Huddersfield in the Championship next season.

Nice to have our home again and nice to have a win again.

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