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2016-2017 English Premier League

Who will win the Premiership 2016-2017


  • Total voters
    16

Andalublue

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Maybe it's a bit early, but people clearly want to discuss how the new season might pan out, so here it is. Now then, last year we had a 0/19 correct predictions of the Prem champions. Can we do better this time? Have at it footie fans!
 
Maybe it's a bit early, but people clearly want to discuss how the new season might pan out, so here it is. Now then, last year we had a 0/19 correct predictions of the Prem champions. Can we do better this time? Have at it footie fans!

I won't vote till the end of summer and any summer signings take place, but I would be really pleased if NONE of the teams in the shortlist are at the top again. A much more entertaining season awaits that way.

I suppose as a neutral, that's who I want to win - entertainment.
 
I suppose as a neutral, that's who I want to win - entertainment.
Cop out!

I voted already, because I just wanted to see unanimity on the vote for a while. I'd never vote any other way in any case, unless I were a 'neutral'.
 

Haha!

No point putting my name down against a team where there's still a whole summer to see sackings / resignations etc etc - speculation this morning Giggs walks away from Man U as Mourinho brings his own team in so that shows why I can't vote yet...
 
Not voting till the transfer season is done. Next season will depend fully on which club best plugs the holes in their team..

City signed a big name today, but also a big name with a poor injury record. Hope it goes well for Gundogan. Yaya is done as Gundogan is a direct replacement.
 
City signed a big name today, but also a big name with a poor injury record.
Yeah, that's a worry for me, but presumably Pep knows what he's doing.

Hope it goes well for Gundogan. Yaya is done as Gundogan is a direct replacement.
I think everyone's been aware for months that Yaya's on his way out. I wonder whether he might stay, see out his contract and have an easy life for a season or two warming the bench. I get the impression he's not one of those players who chew the carpet to play every game. I think that slightly detached, less than 100% commitment attitude has shown in his performances this last season. It might be more likely that City take the initiative to sell him than he takes the initiative to leave.
 
Yeah, that's a worry for me, but presumably Pep knows what he's doing.

The thing is about injuries.. if you dont have the staff that have the experience and knowledge then you are ****ed. For example. AC Milan. Their medical staff and system (copied by Barca btw) is second to none. They rarely have long term injuries and their players keep playing well into their 30s. Also when they do have injuries, the players get over the injuries faster plus often dont repeat them. A good example from Barca and Pepe is Messi. Barca copied AC Milans medical system in the early 1990s I believe or later.. but the point is, when Messi started his rise in the game, he was plagued by muscle injuries. The reason was simple.. he had that "midget disease" that Barcelona had been treating since he was 13, and one of the problems with the treatment is that muscles and bones grown faster than normal and that causes issues. So when Pep became manager, he saw quite quickly that Messi had a problem. He basically took Messi "off-line" (to quote a computer term), and set up a special training system in conjunction with the medical staff, to build up Messi's muscle and bone structure so that the injuries could be avoided as much as possible. That worked. Messi has had quite few injuries so far in his career (especially with the beatings he gets in games), and those he has had have been muscle related and only taken him out for max 3 months or so.

Of course it wont work for everyone, as we have seen with Vermalen .. but lets be fair, and state that his injuries started at Arsenal, who have a horrible record on long term injuries and frankly a pathetic medical staff.

So if Pep fixes Cities medical system like the Milan/Barca one, then I have a lot of faith that any player with the injury history like Gundogan, can remain relatively injury free. Now the problem is that City does not have a history of a good medical staff, so I suspect that Pep might start here in his clean out. There has been a lot of strange injuries and long term injuries in the City squad over the years... well that happens actually with many teams in the BPL. Frankly, if I was Pep, then I would go and get Eva Camiero, since of all the BPL teams, Chealski has always had a very good record when it comes to injuries and long term injuries (when she was there). There is also a Dane, who Jens Bangsbo, who is wildly regarded. He use to be the head physio at Juventus and is now the Danish national sides physio. Point is, you need the right people in the right system, and for my point of view most English top teams simply dont have that.

I think everyone's been aware for months that Yaya's on his way out. I wonder whether he might stay, see out his contract and have an easy life for a season or two warming the bench. I get the impression he's not one of those players who chew the carpet to play every game. I think that slightly detached, less than 100% commitment attitude has shown in his performances this last season. It might be more likely that City take the initiative to sell him than he takes the initiative to leave.

Was one of the reasons that Pep got rid of him in the first place.. he is a very lethargic player.. and that is sad, because he certainly has the talent.
 
Last time I voted for Chelsea right when the season ended and we've all seen what happened. I'm not voting until the league opens, but right now I tend to go with Manchester United.
 
Last time I voted for Chelsea right when the season ended and we've all seen what happened. I'm not voting until the league opens, but right now I tend to go with Manchester United.

Mourinho is good, but he needs to buy players first before Man U can go for the shambles of last season to be title contenders :)
 
Mourinho is good, but he needs to buy players first before Man U can go for the shambles of last season to be title contenders :)

Rooney, Martial and Rashford are a great offensive power. If they get Zlatan too ManU will be the most dangerous team in the premier league. De Gea is IMO the best GK in the BPL. What they really need to do is to get their defense improved. They need a good defender, a young one preferably, like Stones from Everton, it won't be cheap seeing that Barca want that guy as well.
 
Rooney, Martial and Rashford are a great offensive power. If they get Zlatan too ManU will be the most dangerous team in the premier league. De Gea is IMO the best GK in the BPL. What they really need to do is to get their defense improved. They need a good defender, a young one preferably, like Stones from Everton, it won't be cheap seeing that Barca want that guy as well.

Well, despite Rooney, Martial and Rashford United scored 22 fewer goals than the league's top scorers, guess who. City are apparently thinking of making a big bid for Griezmann, who would be a much more powerful addition to any squad than Zlatan.

Of course it's in defence that City need to spend big, so let's hope Pep has some ideas up his sleeve for that. I'm hoping that that doesn't involve Stones, who I think is waaay over-rated.
 
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Well, despite Rooney, Martial and Rashford United scored 22 fewer goals than the league's top scorers, guess who.

Well I didn't say those three together are the most powerful offense in the BPL, I said that together with Zlatan they would be, which is a huge difference you know Zlatan being the goal scoring machine that he is.
Regardless if ManU will have a better year next season and actually make a run for the title their forwards will be scoring a lot more goals than they have this season, it's hard to judge a good player in a team that's having a terrible season.

City are apparently thinking of making a big bid for Griezmann, who would be a much more powerful addition to any squad than Zlatan.

For the long term I agree, but I figure Griezmann will be staying in Madrid, I don't see him hurry up to pack his stuff and move to England.

Of course it's in defence that City need to spend big, so let's hope Pep has some ideas up his sleeve for that. I'm hoping that that doesn't involve Stones, who I think is waaay over-rated.

You can't do much better than Stones though. Hummels was the best CB of those who were leaving their clubs this transfer window but he's been grabbed by Bayern before the season even ended. Murqinhos perhaps?

Oh by the way there's one name I'm following for a year now and I remember I read some story linking him with City about a month ago, Aymeric Laporte, this guy is a huge talent and it's only a matter of time before he plays for one of the top level clubs in Europe.
 
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The Jose factor is just to big to ignore for me. He will have that talented squad playing like champions and will not doubt strengthen them.
I'm sorry Andy but I think Pep could get found out at Man City. The guy has always inherited great squads, not this time though.
.
 
Copa America also starts tomorrow.
 
The Jose factor is just to big to ignore for me. He will have that talented squad playing like champions and will not doubt strengthen them.
I'm sorry Andy but I think Pep could get found out at Man City. The guy has always inherited great squads, not this time though.
.

So, you don't think the fact that Mourinho got 'found out' big time at Chelsea will have any bearing on it?

And Pep hasn't inherited a great squad? :lamo CL semis, League Cup, fourth place and league's top scorers? Yeah, they're rubbish. If only he'd inherited United's squad of world-beaters, eh?

We'll see, Higgins. We'll see.
 
Problem for City is that even with Pep they will have a hard time attracting players from the top clubs. City has one thing going for it and that is massive wages so for a player like Marquinos who is on massive wages already at PSG, and wanted by clubs with lots of tradition like Barca and Man United... well them you have a problem. Laporte is a different problem as he wants to stay in Spain.

So what City should do is go for players like the one they just signed... players who have shown ambition, have talent and would never be too attractive to the real big traditional clubs.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
Problem for City is that even with Pep they will have a hard time attracting players from the top clubs. City has one thing going for it and that is massive wages so for a player like Marquinos who is on massive wages already at PSG, and wanted by clubs with lots of tradition like Barca and Man United... well them you have a problem. Laporte is a different problem as he wants to stay in Spain.

So what City should do is go for players like the one they just signed... players who have shown ambition, have talent and would never be too attractive to the real big traditional clubs.

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Ha ha! Sure. No one else wold have wanted Agüero, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling or...Gundogan. You boys can remain in your little, nostalgic Nineties la-la land where the 'Big Four' is still a meaningful term, Mourinho and Wenger are still geniuses, and United and Liverpool haven't been asset-stripped out of relevance. Clearly United will return to greatness with Mou's parked bus tactics, Klopp will receive hundreds of millions to spend and no one will be attracted to the Etihad by anything other than money.

Unsurprisingly, I don't really take your opinions (although they are clearly baits rather than opinions) seriously since Pete voted City for champions only after we'd won our first 5 games, and Higgins thinks Mou is still a genius, but that Pep is a fraud. Tee-hee!:lol:
 
Ha ha! Sure. No one else wold have wanted Agüero, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling or...Gundogan.

I think you miss-understand me or something. Aguero was not a "big named" player, nor was Silva, and certainly not De Bruyne or Sterling and frankly not Gundogan and none of them came from the big traditional European clubs. Take Aguero. Yes he was a massive talent, who was at A. Madrid. He got a lot headlines, a lot in part because he was banging Maradonas daughter. Time came where he was too big for A. Madrid (would not be today btw), so he had to move on. He had his pick of clubs some what, but none of the "big" ones like United, Barca or Bayern wanted him at the time. He could not move to Real because that would have started a civil war in Madrid. So it was City he went too and that because of the British media and his performances in the PL, made him the "superstar" he is today.

Or Silva. He was at Valencia. The 2 big Spanish clubs had looked at him for a long time but did not pul the trigger. That left the rest of Europe open and City won, not because it was City, but because City offered a lot of money and the Man Us of the world were not as interested.

What I am talking about, is City going to say Bayern, Real or Barca... hell even Juve and the Milan clubs and going for one of their top stars. Chances are they wont get them unless they offer insane money in wages. PSG is also out of the question because PSG is already paying their benchwarmers more than most first team players get in the top clubs around Europe.

So it kinda limits the "top top player" buys for City. Not that this is a bad thing mind you, because there are tons of talent out there which are not in the headlines and can be gotten relatively cheaply. Gundogan is a great example (if he stays fit).

You boys can remain in your little, nostalgic Nineties la-la land where the 'Big Four' is still a meaningful term, Mourinho and Wenger are still geniuses, and United and Liverpool haven't been asset-stripped out of relevance. Clearly United will return to greatness with Mou's parked bus tactics, Klopp will receive hundreds of millions to spend and no one will be attracted to the Etihad by anything other than money.

If Liverpool had gotten CL football next season then they could have signed almost anyone they wanted (with in their budget).. because Liverpool is a much bigger club than City. You might not like hearing that, but fan wise and PR wise, Liverpool wipes City off the floor and that is despite Liverpool not winning anything since 2005 or a domestic championship for 20 years. Like it or not, there are a few teams that have a nostalgic historic pull for many fans. They are Liverpool, Man U, Barca, Real, Juve, AC Milan and Bayern...that is just how it is.

Unsurprisingly, I don't really take your opinions (although they are clearly baits rather than opinions) seriously since Pete voted City for champions only after we'd won our first 5 games, and Higgins thinks Mou is still a genius, but that Pep is a fraud. Tee-hee!:lol:

No I voted for City after 5 games because the transfer window closed there. And based on last seasons transfers in the PL, City should have won it hands down, but you cant predict Kompany going down for most of the season and the other problems City had during the season.. like Pellegrini saying he was leaving months before the season ended.. that really killed City off in the title and CL race imo. Absolutely idiotic move by Pellegrini.

Pep is no fraud. In fact I would say Pep is the perfect manager for City, based on the fact that City from the start of the oil money stated that they wanted to create a "Barca-like" system where the academy provided a large part of the players over time. I absolutely admire that.... I detest the "buy to win" mentality of so many teams.. from Real Madrid to Chealski and so on. That you had managers that did not play the academy players is well.. Pep has a history of doing so. Mou on the other hand..
 
Ha ha! Sure. No one else wold have wanted Agüero, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling or...Gundogan. You boys can remain in your little, nostalgic Nineties la-la land where the 'Big Four' is still a meaningful term, Mourinho and Wenger are still geniuses, and United and Liverpool haven't been asset-stripped out of relevance. Clearly United will return to greatness with Mou's parked bus tactics, Klopp will receive hundreds of millions to spend and no one will be attracted to the Etihad by anything other than money.

Unsurprisingly, I don't really take your opinions (although they are clearly baits rather than opinions) seriously since Pete voted City for champions only after we'd won our first 5 games, and Higgins thinks Mou is still a genius, but that Pep is a fraud. Tee-hee!:lol:
When was the last time city won the title vs when was the last time Jose won it?
 
When was the last time city won the title vs when was the last time Jose won it?

I mean it's 1 year apart I wouldn't call that significant.
 
When was the last time city won the title vs when was the last time Jose won it?

We won it the previous season and finished second to Chelsea. Where was Chelsea when Mou got sacked. Hint: it wasn't second. Mou was found out. Pellegrini wasn't. He exited our club, unfortunately IMHO, as the most successful manager in our history.
 
We won it the previous season and finished second to Chelsea. Where was Chelsea when Mou got sacked. Hint: it wasn't second. Mou was found out. Pellegrini wasn't. He exited our club, unfortunately IMHO, as the most successful manager in our history.

Chelsea fell apart because José obviously didn't want to be there anymore and he lost the dressing room because of it. United is a team he has talked about for years, that " big club".

- He inherits some great young stars with Rashford, Martial, Jesse Lin, Luke Shaw, Blind. As well as experienced players like Smalling, Basti, Rooney etc.
- They have probably the bets goalkeeper in the world right now.
- Defensively they were strong last year.
- They have money to spend.

All ne needs to do is buy a couple of midfielders and that is a very dangerous side especially going forward.
 
What in the world?

Arsenal fans divided over Arsene Wenger future in AST survey

Arsenal fans remain divided in their opinion of Arsene Wenger and whether the Frenchman should stay at the club beyond next season, according to an annual survey conducted by the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST).

Arsenal fans divided over Arsene Wenger future in AST survey - ESPN FC

I obviously have some enquiries to make of my North London friends and family.
 
Zlatan to sign on a one-year contract with ManU according to Sky.
More reason to believe that next season it's ManU all the way.

The bad news: No Zlatan in the Champions League next season.
 
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