Official Premiership 2008/09 thread

[MGW]

I ahte United! Absoloutly HATE them. now they;ve won 18 league titles, Fergie and the fans are going to be unbearable. It's all come down to the fact that Liverpool couldn;t break teams down whyen they put 10 men behind the ball. What makes it worse is that we've been amazimg this season, absoloutly outstanding at times, probably better than United for most of the season, but once again those jammy bastards nip in and win it.

Not that I'm at all bitter

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Oh please. To think people are actually saying Liverpool have been the best team throughout the season. That's what the fucking league is all about. The best is the team that finishes first and if that's us, that means WE were the best team. I'm not taking anything away from Liverpool, they've been great for a lot of the season, some crazy games at times which have made my jaw drop, they've gave us one heck of a battle. That all said, we've been the best and are the best team this season in England and possibly Europe if the results go our way. I don't see how anyone can say Liverpool have been better or use any excuses on them not winning the title. They were great, just not great enough, that's the truth.

They'll no doubt be stronger next season as well and I believe that'll be an even closer season.

[EddieG]

Am I the only one that sees Man U losing to Arsenal and Hull?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

United fans wll only be as unbearable as Liverpool fans with regards to their league title wins. No biggie. (Y)

[Lowerdeck]

And that's the 2008/09 title race over! A third successive title for Man Utd, which is gonna get even more annoying next season. Somebody, anyone, different next year please. I don't care if it's Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Blackburn or even Wolves, just somebody bloody different.

I lol'ed at this.

But I do agree. Something besides ManU winning would be lovely.

[Whisper]

Can only laugh at anyone who claims we had any type of advantage, when we've played more games than all of the top teams. Not surprised to see some excuses or 'they weren't the best team' thrown out there though, used to that by now.

And also, people said Wigan wouldn't give a shit, didn't come across that way. That's also just another goal that shows Tevez should be staying, hopefully we see sense and get the deal done, amazing goal from him. We love him, he loves us, do the damn deal. And Carrick has actually been a really important player this season, another guy who sometimes doesn't get as much credit as he should. Surely the title race is over now and I'd love to be crowned champions against Arsenal, fantastic season

30 Million for 5 league goals a season? No thanks.

Honestly, it bothers me how everyone jumps on the Tevez bandwagon because of his workrate and "OMG BERBATOV IS LAZY LULZ". Since when did working hard make you a world class player anyway? It's never done much for the likes of Scott Parker. Fact is, Tevez doesn't score enough goals. Yes, he chips in with a few here and there, even some important ones. This would be fine if he created goals the way that Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov do when they aren't scoring. Rooney works just as hard as Tevez, but with his work we get an end product far more often. How often does Tevez score in the big games? You can argue that he hasn't had the chances, but when he's been given a start it's him that hasn't taken the opportunity. No one else. Take the loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford... As awful as we were, at 2-1 Tevez was gifted a great chance and fluffed it. 30 Million pound strikers have to score those. No excuses. When the ball falls to Tevez in the box, I'm nowhere near as confident as I am when its Berbatov, Ronaldo or Rooney. And if it comes to a straight choice between the two, give me Berbatov's class and vision any day.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love Tevez to stay. He's a fantastic squad player, and yeah I admire his workrate. I just wouldn't play him ahead of the others like most United fans seem to be wanting. But you don't pay £30 million for a squad player. Not when that cash could be spent elsewhere. If Tevez really wants to leave, then I don't think it'll hurt us that much. Let him go, bring in a couple of young players and give Macheda, Welbeck etc more of a chance next season.

Edited May 14, 2009 by Whisper in the Wind

[Sam]

Simple fact of the matter is that United have 86 points from 36 and Liverpool have 80 points, if this Liverpool team have been playing so much better than us why aren't they top? Arsenal play great football but they aren't winning things. United play great football but they also know how to grind out a result and that's what wins titles. Wins over United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Villa etc. are all good but unless you're beating the Stokes and Wigans of the Premier League you don't deserve to win the title. If Rafa is as great as is made out he should have figured out how to combat the 10 men behind the ball because it happens to Fergie and United just as much.

[stokeriño]

You only need to look at how a mere 3 points separate Liverpool and Chelsea, when Chelsea have absolutely sucked balls against the other top teams.

I wonder, if we had drawn against Liverpool in one game instead of losing (which would have us both on 78 points right now), whether anyone would seriously claim that we had been playing great all season?

Edited May 14, 2009 by stokeriño

[therockbox]

I don't think any of the top four have had a great season. Arsenal are only 4th because Villa threw it away, Chelsea were lucky they got Essien back just as Drogba decided to go into one of his badge-thumping spells, we've been excellent against the rest of the top four but poor against some of the mid-table teams and Man Utd have won a fair amount of games by the skin of their teeth.

[Farmer Reil]

That's what the fucking league is all about. The best is the team that finishes first and if that's us, that means WE were the best team.

Cue Eff Tee.

I'm not a Man United fan by any stretch of the imagination (in the Premiership I'm an Arsenal fan more than anything), but... QFT. United have won 27 games, Liverpool have won 23. That's why United are top. Playing well != being a better team. If it did, Arsenal would have won the title weeks ago.

[Big Red Fury]

Anyone one else think Whelan's pre-match comments that it would be a disappointment if Wigan were to beat United were a little questionable and disgusting. Even if you think that, you can't come out and say that it would be a disgrace if the team you own won a match. Wigan continue to be the closest thing to sure points for United every season.

[Baddar]

Wigan's players do not lie down and let United beat them. Fact.

[therockbox]

Wigan's players do not lie down and let United beat them. Fact.

Not entirely true, they just do what the majority of teams of that 'standing' do against Man Utd (and the rest of the top four). Defend on the edge of their 18 yard line and hope to nick a goal on the counter attack. Problem with that is that the top four are all capable of breaking down packed defences, Man Utd more than the rest.

[Hobo]

Since I'm more lucid than last time.

Whatever about the rest of it, I still will maintain that Liverpool playing as they have this season in any of the other Premier League seasons, probably would be winning the league. I remember hearing a point made a few times in games recently about how no team had only lost two and not won the Premier League. No team, I think it was, had seventy two points as it was at that certain stage and not won the league. It just so happened United have had the rub of the green. A Macheda here, a Howard Webb there. Earlier in this season it was Liverpool who had that luck. Once again too many draws cost. United may have won more games (which as has been said is key), but they have an inferior goal difference to and lost more than their nearest rivals. Which is just as fair a claim, I feel, as to showing how good Liverpool have been all season. If United go on to seal the deal on Saturday, it will not be down to a sole season of excellence on their part. Talk all you want of trebles, quadruples and such, this United side are not where they are because they are invincible, paragons of the game but rather the rub of the green. However it turned, whatever force determined the change in the winds. I do not fully know. What I do know is that to say United have been 'excellent' would be to stretch the truth. To say that Liverpool have, by recent standards, been greatly improved (especially against top four sides) is true. If it is all said and done now, Liverpool have been unlucky not to have won a nineteenth league title this year.

[Baddar]

Utd have had the rub of the green in some games, yeah.

"A Macheda here..." is a valid point I guess, but then it's not like Liverpool haven't been run close in games this season. Benayoun saved your arses not so long ago at Fulham.

EDIT: And before you reply, I do understand that the goal he got was fully deserved, as Liverpool bossed the game. It was just one of those things that tends to happen late on. "This league, hahaha", as Andy Gray would say. ¬_¬

Edited May 14, 2009 by Baddarmir Kozlov

[therockbox]

Utd have had the rub of the green in some games, yeah.

"A Macheda here..." is a valid point I guess, but then it's not like Liverpool haven't been run close in games this season. Benayoun saved your arses not so long ago at Fulham.

Not a great example, those games were entirely different. Villa had scared Man Utd shitless until they shat themselves, we should have scored four or five against Fulham.

[Baddar]

Yeah, I did edit my post to kind of clear things up a little.

I do recall late goals against Portsmouth and Man City as well though. I didn't see the Man City game so I can't comment on what you deserved out of it, but the Pompey game could've easily gone against you.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Liverpool have been just as lucky because ten teams this season have been utterly AWFUL which is why when Hull stopped scoring ANY points months ago, it's taken until NOW for them to fall into the relegation zone.

[Farmer Reil]

I still will maintain that Liverpool playing as they have this season in any of the other Premier League seasons, probably would be winning the league.

That's a perfectly valid argument, and one I'm inclined to agree with (perhaps not any other season, there was a pretty good Arsenal team a while back, remember? Unbeaten in how many was it?...), but it's certainly been the best Liverpool team for ages. But being the best Liverpool team doesn't make you the champions. You have to beat other teams too.

That's not the point you were making though. You were going on about playing more games and thus having games in hand meaning United had an advantage, which is bullshit.

And as for trying to suggest that goals like Macheda's were undeserved and lucky... you support a team that STEVEN FUCKING GERRARD plays in. If EVER there was a personification of "lucky last minute goal", surely it would be him. You have so little room to talk on that particular subject I'm surprised you can breathe.

Edited May 14, 2009 by Farmer Reil

[therockbox]

There's more positives than negatives to take out of this season for Liverpool. Ferguson said this is the best squad he's ever had and yet it's taken them until the penultimate week of the season to wrap the title up (unless Arsenal pull off a massive surprise), we've pushed them all the way and have beaten them twice. And we've done all this with one of the best strike forces in the country only having played together 14 times in the league because of injury. The draws have killed us, but there have been signs in the second half of the season that we're starting to find it easier to break teams down, and we'll bring in players that will help us do that on a more regular basis in the summer (providing we don't sign another Keane).

I know people say we've 'blown our best chance' because Arsenal and Chelsea will improve next season, but I think there's as much scope for improvement with us than there is with them. Chelsea will probably have a new manager and could have a high player turnover, and Arsenal aren't going to grow a backbone overnight. We've got the spine of a title winning team, if we can add someone like Lavezzi or Silva we'll go even closer next year.