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Can’t see Poch leaving Spurs anytime soon. If he walked out himself, he’d get no payout (with no obvious immediate job to walk into). It he was to be sacked I doubt Levy wants to pay him off. Both Levy & Poch have somewhat locked themselves together.
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Yet this appears to say otherwise, saying of the 7 million Sky & BT subscribers, the average viewing figures per game are just 1 million in the UK.
Another eg: an estimated 7 million+ homes in the UK subscribe to pay-TV that shows PL football (Sky's football and BT Sport) but any given match will average around 1m viewers … and that's in the country which, by definition, is THE most interested in PL
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) July 18, 2019
As for the generosity of some owners that’s undoubtedly true. But I’d still argue it was the conditions of the new premier league set up in 1992 that created the culture we have today, i.e. of much richer clubs and, which exacerbated and culminated in the kind of dog eat dog attitude where clubs have become increasingly ruthless in winning at any cost and if some teams like Bolton, Leeds, Bury, etc almost go out of business, so be it. These are all symptoms of a game in moral decline.
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It’s only since City acquired Guardiola that they’ve become particularly dominant. Liverpool would probably have beaten the other non Guardiola City title winning sides. At the end of the day, what is making all this money takeover sustainable and keeping the top 6 unchanged is the core fans are paying the TV broadcasters an awful lot of money for an awful lot of games in which they only watch a fraction of (i.e. games involving their own team). So long as they keep doing that (which they will), on it will go. Like the owners of the clubs, the broadcasters have them over a barrel. Murdoch knew this all too well years ago.
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Liverpool (1). For Liverpool, the motivation should still be high to go for the league. I still think Klopp was experimenting somewhat last season in finding the balance between being a bit more conservative and going for the press and the win. Indeed one might argue Klopp went a bit too conservative last season, as harsh as they might sound given how close it was. (In some ways Liverpool were half challengers and half champions last season). So you’d expect Klopp to have learned a bit more last season. So either Liverpool go for the press a bit more this season or they become more clinical (which is where City had the marginal edge on them last season). Or they do both. Do that, and luck with injuries, they can do it. Keita needs to have a big season (assuming we don’t bring anyone else in). Ox is a welcome return. Origi should only ever play up top, never on the wing. But Klopp does have an incredible charisma and humour about him, and that will continue to do wonders for the players and keep them fresh mentally. In contrast Guardiola is quite serious, which can wear thin after a while.
Man City (2). It will be fascinating to see if Guardiola can make it 3 in 3 seasons. He’d be the first non British manager to do so if so, and that would mark his greatest achievement because to maintain the motivation for 3 in 3 is extremely difficult, though Guardiola is obsessed with winning and he’s still at his peak with his team. He is the best technical and balanced football manager in world football, and probably that there’s ever been. Can he still translate such an obsession though, through to his team? Will the players feel as hungry? Will he target Europe more? Either way it could be ridiculously close once again.
Spurs (3). As for the rest of the challengers, I think Spurs have generally had the next most cohesive together team out of them, and have somewhat strengthened. Just still think they lack the ruthlessness of the two sides above them and the personality to play off the cuff. If injuries did affect the other two sides though, they could potentially apply some pressure.
Man Utd (4). I don’t think Solskjaer will last the season and fully expect someone like Allegri to come in. (That will also help Pogba). This somewhat has the feel of Rodgers last season at Liverpool when he was basically running on fumes and there was a feeling of when he was going to be axed, not if – I just don’t think Solskjaer is a strong enough character. However, Man Utd have a stronger squad than Liverpool did back then, and Allegri could well get them going and could bind the team together again, and make the big calls that will need to be made.
Chelsea (5). I expect Lampard to have a reasonably good start, but question whether he has the experience and courage to play it his way, dropping big names if need be. At the same time, he can’t be too firm given what’s happened to previous Chelsea managers. It’s a hell of a balancing act at Chelsea, which is why they’ve been through so many managers (albeit successfully). Indeed they are a team built on a strategy of buying well with strong short term managers to install a temporary but effective cohesiveness to the team. Now they’re trying to play the patient, longer game. I expect a somewhat difficult season.
Arsenal (6). Whilst Arsenal appear to have bought some good players, I think they are the least cohesive team in the league, and Emery, as clever a manager as he is, just lacks the personality and charisma to do much about that in my opinion. As I pointed out last season, they were very strong at home (3rd in the league based on home games) but very poor away from home (8th in the league). I’d still expect to see similar in the new season ahead. Emery did well to get to the EL final last season, but cups and leagues are two completely different things.
1 = Liverpool
2 = Man City
3 = Spurs
4 = Man Utd
5 = Chelsea
6 = ArsenalNot really followed much of the rest of the pack but will go for either Leicester or Everton for 7th. I’ve never predicted Liverpool to win the league in recent decades, hope I’m not jinxing things. But I have made some assumptions that very much need to be adhered to! Brewster may well need to exceed expectations too (or they may need to dip into the January window). If not, City will be more than ready to mop up again.
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Could things not change for Pogba when Allegri replaces Solksjaer in a few months? He’s also worked with Mandzukic.
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Keita needs to score some goals this season. Also if/when Origi plays, it should be up top, never on the wing.
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Incredible from Walker – that really wasn’t easy to do.
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Think City knackered themselves out first half. Conversely Liverpool woke up.
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HH, City are wearing a one off retro shirt for the Community Shield to celebrate their 125th anniversary. Hence no sponsor.
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But Zlatan did somewhat put you back on the map and drew people in again which I think did help the long term.
To answer your question, who else is out there with the proven record (assuming the scouts haven’t missed anyone) is that Maguire, in theory, is the right player at the right time for Man Utd but his acquisition and cost is telling of Man Utd’s predicament. And more crucially – will the benefits he brings be counteracted by Man Utd’s deeper mentality problems? This is still largely the same Man Utd side that ended last season so woefully. Maguire is a very good solid defender who will improve you. No question about that. But does he have the presence and mentality to really lift you the way Zlatan briefly did? At that price he has to.
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Actually, I thought Zlatan was one of your better signings in recent years. And he lifted the team as a whole because he still had a lot of top draw quality. And that’s my point. You bring in top quality (even in its twilight) and it lifts everything and draws both fans and players in.
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I read a comment somewhere that Maguire is not worth £80 millon but that to Man Utd he is worth £80 million. I think that’s about right, but it does epitomise the somewhat increasing desperation of Man Utd in recent seasons to try to solve all of their problems all at once as opposed to planning for the long term, which is the main point I’ve sought to make in all this. The real question here is whether, in 3 years time, Man Utd will be close to a title or as far away to it as they are now.
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Man Utd still spending big each season. Gross spending since Fergie left:
13/14: £70 million
14/15: £174 million
15/16: £140 million
16/17: £166 million
17/18: £179 million
18/19: £75 million
19/20: £145 million (so far)I’d argue Man Utd’s big resources as as much of a weakness as they are a strength. Just because you have the money doesn’t mean you need to always spend it. Yet Man Utd keep spending big because they constantly feel they need to “do something”. As Adlab has said above, City, the current back to back champions who also need a CB again decided to let a target pass them by to their local rivals. Man Utd need to be less hasty. They constantly seem to be planning for just one season ahead.
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Generally agree with that Nine (and didn’t mean to sound curt in my response) but just saying what with the rivalry between the two sides now, it’s hard to view it as a friendly. Any time these two face each other now, they’ll want to lay down a marker and say ‘we’re better than you!’
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There’s a lot of needle between these two sides now. So I don’t see how it could be considered a “friendly”.
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Quite so Mak. As I said at the time, mentally speaking, Liverpool didn’t cope as well leading the league as they did when they were chasing. And no player epitomised that difference more so than Aguero. He scored in the big moments. That was the difference, and that was as much about mentality as quality. And interesting that what pulled us over the line last season to stay in the title race and win the CL was the big game scoring moments of Origi. Nobody saw that coming. Indeed Origi has arguably changed everything. No Origi – no finishing to within one point of City and no CL win, which would undoubtedly have put more pressure on Klopp, and we’d now have bought some attacking players in this transfer window. All this has put the club on a completely different footing for the plan of the new season ahead.
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“…and he was too upset to travel to Munich for Tuesday’s Audi Cup match…”
I’d be upset at missing out on £1 million per week I suppose.
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What all this is rooted in, is how clubs have steadily become more privatised over the decades – they are now the play thing of rich individuals, who may or may not serve their clubs well. So far as I could see, the “fit and proper person test” for prospective owners boiled down to one question of “how much money have you got?” And why are such owners drawn to the league? Money, unsurprisingly. And the money in the game is now more than ever, thanks in large part to the TV revenues. And yet, because all PL & CL football is now pay per view, the viewing figures are probably as low as they’ve ever been. There is the problem in a nutshell as I’ve said before. The core fans who will always support their club no matter what, are the ones making all this sustainable (even if they’re not getting value for money paying for all 380 PL games yet watching only a fraction of those, ie those only involving their own team). So nothing changes. Football means too much to the core fans. And the money makers from players, managers, owners, broadcasters, and bookmakers, know this all too well.
Interesting thread and discussion below:
Just noticed the official Premier League worldwide in-home TV audience figures for 2018-19 (https://t.co/iG03btduDz). Cumulative live global total of 1.35bn = an average GLOBAL live TV audience of 3.55m per match. This will probably surprise many people.
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) July 18, 2019
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Threeps, I appreciate our difficulties with players being late back and that it’s not always easy finding the right players to bring in, but I’m just saying if there is not enough of a lift to the squad soon, I can see us wobbling a bit in the new season. Preseason, if it’s about anything, is about building confidence and momentum to take into the new season – so it’s just as much about results as it is performance for me. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen so often in the past where a poor start to the season follows a poor preseason. And to expect some of the tired returning players and/or a very young Brewster to provide the necessary lift to the squad strikes me as clinging to a lot of hope (though be delighted if Brewster can).
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Threeps, are we not getting too hung up on “fitting players to the front 3”? We surely can’t become too dependent on them, we need to be more flexible than that. When they first signed, Mané & Salah went straight into the team because they were good enough and had the attributes Klopp liked. Can we not find similar again? City too have the same problem with players returning back late. If we could find an edge on them early on, we could take advantage.
Unless Klopp has identified several in the youth set up who he feels are ready to step up.
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