Will we win the Premier League

[eamonn]

Soz, got it off social media, there was no context of it being old. The position for Bournemouth also looked odd given their "collapse" in recent weeks.

[Sexual Ealing]

Regardless of if we win the league (or are even still challenging by the end of the season), we have consistently been the fourth best team in the country since Emery took over.  Other than C115y, Arsenal and Liverpool (and even they are wobbling now), no other team has done what we've done and been in the Champions League race solidly for the last 3 years (and had Emery taken over earlier we would probably have qualified in 22/23 too).

I think this is what pisses me off about the media coverage most of all - it is just lazy, talk of lack of squad depth and the expectation that we will eventually fall away.  Given the advantages that the three teams named above have had, plus then what the likes of Chelsea, Manure, Spuds and Newcastle should also have on us than what we are doing is remarkable, but it's not an aberration - we are at least the fourth best team in England, and have been for nigh on 3 years now. 

Bang on. I caught a bit of the Stick to Football podcast last week and it really wound me up. There was a Villa fan on it and Carragher’s opening line was ‘are you in a false position?’ 

Like you say, we’ve been in the top 4 best teams for 3 years now and all he can come up with is that ill informed shite.

I saw that and I thought the Villa bloke was embarrassing. He was talking some bollocks about the plans to build a hotel at the training ground as evidence we ought to get more coverage. He came across as a total whingeing twat to me. I was with Carragher when he interrupted him to ask, "what do you want us to say?"

[Stu]

If Villa’s squad isn’t enough to win the prem, which I agree with, then it raises questions about Arsenal’s capacity to cope with injuries if two of their defenders being out means they’re going to drop points. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone making that point about them.

I remember when we lost an entire back line for months - no one gave a shit and no one in the press made excuses for us.

With all of that said, I don’t mind the Villa not being talked up anyway.

[London Villan]

It’s the matches where we get it all wrong (or are totally out thought), rather than close defeats, that will be our undoing.

In particular, examples like this…
Man utd
Palace x3 times
Go Ahead Eagles
Monaco

Stop these anomalies and then we’d be in with a shout. These rarely happen to champions and winners.

[algy]

Recent history suggests you've a better chance of winning the league with a Brazilian called Alysson. He'll be the final piece in our jigsaw.

That's a fact, and you can't argue with facts.

[PeterWithesShin]

Every side is 3 potential injuries away from a derailed season. Apart from Wolves as you can't derail an already wrecked train. That's on fire. Upside down. With emergency services ignoring it.

[PeterWithesShin]

It’s the matches where we get it all wrong (or are totally out thought), rather than close defeats, that will be our undoing.

In particular, examples like this…
Man utd
Palace x3 times
Go Ahead Eagles
Monaco

Stop these anomalies and then we’d be in with a shout. These rarely happen to champions and winners.

Every club has shit results, Liverpool won the league while losing to Plymouth and being made to look like fools by Forest and Fulham.

[LeeB]

Every side is 3 potential injuries away from a derailed season. Apart from Wolves as you can't derail an already wrecked train. That's on fire. Upside down. With emergency services ignoring it.

They can't see it, it's at the bottom of the lake. And it's still on fire.

[dave.woodhall]

Every side is 3 potential injuries away from a derailed season. Apart from Wolves as you can't derail an already wrecked train. That's on fire. Upside down. With emergency services ignoring it.

They can't see it, it's at the bottom of the lake. And it's still on fire.

And Legion is driving.

[Brazilian Villain]

Every side is 3 potential injuries away from a derailed season. Apart from Wolves as you can't derail an already wrecked train. That's on fire. Upside down. With emergency services ignoring it.

Will it feature in Corriedale?

[paul_e]

Those OPTA predictions are based almost entirely on xG and xGA (expected goals and expected goals against), so it does a little calculation based on those numbers for both teams and predicts a scoreline for every game but never adjusts the underlying numbers and it isn't really taking form into account, just the numbers for the entire season.

From what I can make out there is a little more to it but really it's a pretty flawed model that doesn't add much value, and that's without considering the fact that how we've been playing is almost designed to be 2 fingers up to those underlying stats meaning it doesn't really know what to do with us. Similar predictive models have struggled with other teams (and in other sports) where they step a little too far away from following the data blindly.

[usav]

It’s the matches where we get it all wrong (or are totally out thought), rather than close defeats, that will be our undoing.

In particular, examples like this…
Man utd
Palace x3 times
Go Ahead Eagles
Monaco

Stop these anomalies and then we’d be in with a shout. These rarely happen to champions and winners.

Every club has shit results, Liverpool won the league while losing to Plymouth and being made to look like fools by Forest and Fulham.

Not to mention we should have been out of sight in the first 20 minutes against Go Ahead Eagles, so I'm not really sure how that is "getting it all wrong"