2019-2020 International Club Football

[officeglenn]

Time to start a new thread for the upcoming new season of footy. We can kick things off with the announcement of Premier League fixtures for the season: https://www.premierleague.com/news/1240976

 

Also worth noting that Premier League teams are getting a midseason break in February, albeit a short one. From BBC.com: 

 

Quote

The split of matches in February will see five matches take place over the weekend of 8 February, with the other five played on the weekend of 15 February.

 

All five matches on each weekend will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom.

 

At present, all the games are scheduled for 8 February but these will be broken up when the broadcast picks for that period are announced in mid-December.

 

[MrFreckles]

I figured since the transfer window is in full swing we could get the 19-20 thread started. Obviously I’m starting with my Spurs. 

 

First off, after 18+ months of no transfers, Tottenham have signed Jack Clarke (Leeds) and Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) today. Clarke has been loaned back to Leeds for a year. 

 

[officeglenn]

Merged with a thread started a while back to avoid confusion.

[MrFreckles]

21 hours ago, officeglenn said:

Merged with a thread started a while back to avoid confusion.

 

Ah, I missed this one. Thx!

[DS729]

Lampard to Chelsea is apparently a thing as well. Really think this move is very premature, even if Chelsea are desperate. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished tenth this year. 

[MJWalker45]

9 minutes ago, DScruggy729 said:

Lampard to Chelsea is apparently a thing as well. Really think this move is very premature, even if Chelsea are desperate. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished tenth this year. 

I see them finishing anywhere from fourth to tenth, only because I don't know what Manchester United is doing yet. Lukaku and Pgba staying will either be the best thing or the worst thing to happen this season. 

[JayMac]

19 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I see them finishing anywhere from fourth to tenth, only because I don't know what Manchester United is doing yet. Lukaku and Pgba staying will either be the best thing or the worst thing to happen this season. 

I think they have a strong enough club to still finish 6th. There may be a surprise in there but it will probably be the two Manchester clubs, Spurs, Liverpool, and maybe Arsenal finishing ahead of them. All of the other clubs have to prove that they belong in the top 5 or 6.

[DS729]

22 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I see them finishing anywhere from fourth to tenth, only because I don't know what Manchester United is doing yet. Lukaku and Pgba staying will either be the best thing or the worst thing to happen this season. 

United are weird man. Lukaku and Pogba seem to excel playing for anyone besides them. Wan-Bissaka is a good signing but they still need another CB and CM. They’ll probably finish fourth though because Arsenal are treating the transfer market like it’s 2008. 

[MJWalker45]

The English Premier League kicks off on Friday with Liverpool vs Norwich City and ends Week One with Manchester United vs Chelsea. Liverpool is in 7 cup competitions this year. It should be a pretty interesting season for them. That said, I think Manchester City is better prepared to pull the first threepeat in the Prem since Manchester United in 2008-2009.

[MJWalker45]

On 7/2/2019 at 1:10 PM, MrFreckles said:

 

Ah, I missed this one. Thx!

You know you're forgetful when you start a new thread that you've already posted to. Hahahahaha!!!! #retirednotreallylife

[DS729]

On 8/6/2019 at 1:38 PM, MJWalker45 said:

The English Premier League kicks off on Friday with Liverpool vs Norwich City and ends Week One with Manchester United vs Chelsea. Liverpool is in 7 cup competitions this year. It should be a pretty interesting season for them. That said, I think Manchester City is better prepared to pull the first threepeat in the Prem since Manchester United in 2008-2009.

There’s a lot of buzz around Liverpool but I really can’t see them topping City this year. They’ve made no significant signings and City signed a proper DM to replace Fernandinho and will have De Bruyne healthy. They could maybe do the UCL again, but I think their luck is bound to run out in that competition. 

[MJWalker45]

3 hours ago, DScruggy729 said:

There’s a lot of buzz around Liverpool but I really can’t see them topping City this year. They’ve made no significant signings and City signed a proper DM to replace Fernandinho and will have De Bruyne healthy. They could maybe do the UCL again, but I think their luck is bound to run out in that competition. 

7 competitions will hurt too. I could see them finishing 3rd or 4th depending on how things shake out.

[Crabcake]

I still see Liverpool’s floor as second, I think the gap between them and the third best team in the Prem (Spurs) is significant as long as they don’t sign someone huge like Dybala. 

 

I think we have a chance to push City again but I’d still put my money on them if I was a betting man. 

[MJWalker45]

Manchester United losing Lukaku but not getting another forward in has me thinking that 5th is the best they could do this year, unless they bring in a hired gun in January or pull off a miracle signing tonight. 

 

1. Man City - Didn't lose any of their best players and added a few new pieces.

2. Spurs - I think Liverpool has too much on their plate

3. Liverpool - 7 competitions and a mid-season tournament that they'll win but still get beat up in. 

4. Arsenal - Fixed CB position, somewhat, at the last minute with David Luis

5. Man United - Getting younger and faster but will Pogba be there after today? If he is, United can challenge for top four. If he isn't they could drop to 8th.

6. Chelsea - Losing too many good players and one great player. I think this is the best they could do. They may end up in 10th.

7. Everton - Adding younger, more technical players from Italy should help tremendously. Could jump United and Chelsea easily. 

8. Liecester City - People are listing them as a 4th place dark horse, I'm not. 

9. Wolves - Best finish last year, means a slide this year.

10. Burnley - About where they should be.

11. West Ham - Is this too hopeful?

12. Watford - May finish higher or could slide further down.

13. Crystal Palace - Will Zaha be here? If not could be in a relegation fight.

14. Bournmouth - Are they a team that's just happy to be here? I haven't heard much about there signings.

15. Norwich City - Could swap places with Villa

16. Aston villa - I think they looked at what Fulham did by signing a lot of talent, but made sure they fit the system much better than Fulham did. 

17. Southampton -Could swap places with anyone in the bottom three. They've been flirting with the drop too many times. 

18. Brighton & Hove Albion - Could be bottom of the league and all but out by Christmas or New Years

19. Sheffield United - Will the defense keep them in matches or will the offense be forced to chase matches all year?

20. Newcastle - Mike Ashley sucks and should sell this team. Newcastle deserves better. Steve Bruce is a good manager but he's playing catchup with signings and getting the game plan installed, that's a recipe for relegation.

[waltere]

Liverpool playing 7 competitions is a slight misdirect, considering 2 of them are one off matches in August, hell one was the Community Shield last weekend!

[DS729]

Sure I’ll bite. 

 

1. Manchester City - Biggest weakness last year was lack of depth at CDM, and the signing of Rodri fixes this. They got 98 last year despite KDB being out for most of the season, I think they will threepeat. 

 

2. Liverpool - Still will be very good (as in good enough to win in a normal year) but I think City will be about 5ish points better. Liverpool do not have the depth up front and had some very lucky results last year (against City and Everton to name a few). A bad window means they will lose ground on City domestically but they will still be a threat on the continent. 

 

3. Tottenham - The signings of Ndombele and Lo Celso really strengthen their midfield, as well as getting Kane back healthy. Should be improved on last year but I can’t see them in the top two especially given their RB situation. 

 

4. Arsenal - Should score a lot and concede a lot. David Luiz is a stop-gap who is past his prime. Ceballos will improve their midfield and for that reason I’m putting them above Man United though it should be close. 

 

5. Manchester United - Fixed a lot of issues (especially in defense) but their midfield is rather weak and I’m not convinced Rashford is going to be a 20+ goal striker. 

 

6. Chelsea - Transition year where I think 6 is a given. If a team like Wolves, Leicester or Everton had a better window I could see them dropping but I think there’s a lot of talent in the team that will get a chance this year, guys like Zouma, Abraham, Mount, James, etc. Though replacing Hazard’s goal output will keep them from challenging for UCL spots. 

 

7. Wolves - Didn’t make much noise in the window, I think they’ll tread water on last year’s campaign. 

 

8. Leicester - Love the signing of Tielemans, but I think they’re a little suspect defensively without Maguire. 

 

9. West Ham - I think they’ll be more exciting than good but there’s a lot talent in that side even if the midfield is rather suspect. 

 

10. Everton - Losing Idrissa Gueye is going to hurt. His Kanté-esque defensive output will not be easily replicated even by two guys. Any extra goals brought in by Moise Kean up front will surely be lost at the back. 

 

11. Bournemouth - Exciting attack should hopefully return to last season’s form, and the goalkeeping situation cannot be worse than last year. 

 

12. Watford - Don’t think they will surprise like last year, but solid mid-table. Not big on Ismailia Sarr and they are weak at the back. 

 

13. Crystal Palace - Keeping Zaha will ensure another mid-table finish. 

 

14. Southampton - I think their improved managerial position and signings like Che Adams will keep them off the relegation line. 

 

15. Burnley - Their boring but their formula seems to do just enough to keep them in the Prem. 

 

16. Norwich City - I like Farke as a manager but I’m not sold on Pukki as a PL striker. 

 

17. Aston Villa - They’ve spent far too much in the window for what they’ve gotten, think it will be a fight to stay up for Villa. 

 

18. Newcastle United - Steve Bruce is a massive downgrade on Benitez and it will show. Massively overpaid for Joelinton as well. 

 

19. Brighton - Were dreadful at the end of last year and are still reliant on aging Glenn Murray for goals. 

 

20. Sheffield United - I like Chris Wilder but this side is very weak. He did a hell of a job just to get them promoted. I’d be surprised if they got 25 points. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Tottenham's new stadium -- wow!

[MJWalker45]

4 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

Tottenham's new stadium -- wow!

I might take a look at it next month. We'll actually be near Emirates next month. It does look pretty sweet on TV.

[Crabcake]

I know it's (almost) after Gameweek 1 but I'd still like to throw my two cents in (for some of the rankings, anyway):

 

1. Manchester City - They and Liverpool are so very close right now but the additions they made in the summer push them over the edge.

2. Liverpool - CORNER TAKEN QUICKLY ORIGIIIII (on a serious note, they remain one of Europe's elites.  no additions means they don't keep pace with City, but the squad is still good enough that 2nd is their floor).

3. Spurs - New stadium, some really good additions, they will push Liverpool but still are a comfortable third in the Prem right now.

4. Arsenal - The dropoff in quality between 3 and four is significant imo, but Arsenal's front three will just about cover for their paper-thin defense (CB pairing of Mustafi and David Luiz, whoo boy).

5. Chelsea - Lost their best player and have a manager with one year of Championship experience.  Still better than United.

6. Manchester United - Lost Lukaku with no real replacement for him, not enough of the deadwood was sold. 

FIRST TWO OUT: Wolves, Everton

 

18. Aston Villa

19. Newcastle

20. Sheffield United

 

PFA PotY: Raheem Sterling, Man City

PFA YPotY: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool

Golden Boot: Mohamed Salah, Liverpol

Golden Glove: Ederson, Man City

[WJMorris3]

Well, Jack Grealish of Aston Villa has set a Premiership record he definitely doesn't want.

 

The last 19 Premier League games he's played in, he's lost. You have to go back to 2015 and a win over West Ham.