Premier League 2022/23 (Part 1)

Pitchside - Football Forum
4148

To be honest, I’d be more than happy if our academy regularly produced players for all the other positions and we had to buy only forwards for the first team!

Their academy forwards have been so, so good it’s ridiculous (if Elanga is the least good of all them, you know they are onto something - Greenwood would have been on another level but the likes of Garnacho and Shoretire are very talented indeed). I think that Williams wouldn’t have been sold had he had a chance to play for Ten Hag, too.

That said, I think that Man City’s academy will be the one to beat in terms of players they produce - sadly (or not) for those kids, not many of them will get the chance to play for Man City but they’ve come to the point where their players are bought by Premier League clubs and pushed straight into starting XIs.

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4149

So, so good it’s ridiculous.

Who?

That would apply to Owen and Fowler, not Rashford, Greenwood, Elanga and Garnacho.

They’re producing a lot of good quality forwards but none of the level of those two, or someone like Foden.

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4150

Claiming Garnacho as theirs like claiming Sterling/Gordon/Doak as ours…

4151

So they’ve produced Rashford, a rapist (allegedly) and a bang average Elanga.

Not to mention the gun toting lunatic Ravel Morrison.

I’m hardly dying of envy over here.

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4152

61 points out of 72 possible in the last 24 games of last season.

Hope we can repeat that.

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4153

FIFY

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4154

We‘ll be champions if we surpass that.

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4155

That would still need both Arsenal and City to drop a fair few points.

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4156

I would be willing to bet they would, but with the PGMOL all bets are off…

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4157

Yep. As I’ve stated many a time, it isn’t a level playing field.

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4158

Arsenal are playing against Brighton, Newcastle, Spurs and ManU their first five games after the break. Some bad results and it could be the start of a downward spiral.

Two or three injuries in midfield and attack and City would be fucked.

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4159

Their success has also been predicated in Granit Xhaka playing like a pseudoelite midfielder. That surely cannot go on for too much longer.

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4160

Sure, I know they won trophies in the past. Everton, too. Is there any reason why Villa was not one of the clubs to find a rich buyer and get to the next level more recently? Just seems Like Birmingham would have at least one such club while Manchester has two and London has two and a half, if you count Tottenham.

4161

I was going to say that it’s because Birmingham is a dump. But then so is Manchester. :man_shrugging:

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4162

Haven’t Villa spent a stupid amount of money in recent years as well?

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4163

Win our game in hand and we are five points off third spot, with 23 games to go.

That has to be the first target when we resume. I tend to think the title is beyond us, but never say never.

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4164

I say categorically never. I don’t belive in Santa Claus either.

4165

Eeeer, what? What have any of their forwards done to deserve such praise? Rashford could have been brilliant, he’s developed into just about passable, Greenwood had all the hype but also hadn’t done anything truly spectacular despite it. Elanga, what? As for the others, a cameo here and there and one winning goal isn’t an indication of them being world beaters.

I think you’ve still got PTSD from Frédérico Macheda Nikola me old codger. They’re far closer to the likes of him than they are to elite talent.

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4166

I think 90 points might be enough to win it this season, so we would have to win 22 of our remaining 24 games and draw the other two.

Not going to happen.

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4167

Agree.

Top four will do for me. See what happens with ownership, strengthen the squad, especially midfield, and go again next season and fight for the title, with strikers now integrated.

Top four, and with a fair wind, a trophy or two… not giving up hope of CL.

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