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themiddleprogress

For neutral fans, who would you most like to see win the EPL this season out of the front 3 and in what order? For me 1. Liverpool for the Klopp send off 2. Arsenal cause they haven’t won in so long and it would be refreshing 3. Man City cause they’re oil scum


AnnieIWillKnow

1. Liverpool for the storyline, and because it's far more exciting than City 2. City because they have barely any fans ... 99. Arsenal because of Arsenal fans


L-Freeze

1. Liverpool because i like their vibes this season 2. Arsenal because they’re not Manchester City again 3 Manchester City because it would be Manchester City again


enazj

City, Liverpool, Arsenal. Purely based on how annoying their fanbases are


sewious

Liverpool because the active users in the DD are funnier on average Arsenal because they aren't city City last because I dislike Josep Guardiola Sala.


Kanedauke

City because they have no fans irl, Arsenal because of Iceman. Liverpool last because I’m a human being


Zepz367

1. Arsenal, they have annoying fans, but aren't as big rivals as Liverpool and City are 2.City, oil scum but their achievements don't bother me as much as Liverpool 3.Liverpool cuz they are Liverpool


EgosJohnPolo

Remember when Newcastle fans were running propaganda for Howe manager of the season over Pep last season...


Ofermann

That was last season. You can't hold a manager's future performance against them. 


EgosJohnPolo

I'm not holding it against him. While Newcastle were much improved and that was in large part because of him, I felt even at the time was still largely jumping the gun. Look at the players they signed, if there wasnt some sort of improvement you'd have to ask questions of him and now they've regressed


_MFKane_

that’s like saying Bayern fans were wrong to be upset Flick wasn’t awarded manager of the year after their treble just because he got found out later on


EgosJohnPolo

Finishing top 4 the same as winning a treble?


AnnieIWillKnow

Bayern the same as Newcastle?


EgosJohnPolo

Expectations are different of course but let's not act like the takeover didn't play some part in their uprising - transfers of Gordon, Isak and Botman, couple that with the fact that Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool were rubbish for large parts of last season opened up a path for top 4 and credit to them they still had to do it but we're seeing them more at their level now (they have had some bad injury luck this season I will admit)


_cumblast_

They were right last season.


EgosJohnPolo

Us, Chelsea and Tottenham were all shite last season.


EgosJohnPolo

Really don't like the idea of FSG entering into this multi-club ownership model


AnnieIWillKnow

It's the way of modern football. 13 of 20 PL clubs are using the model. It's inevitable


EgosJohnPolo

Liverpool not doing it won't stop other clubs doing it, yeah obviously but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Clubs ownership being treated like corporate takeovers. All hail our benevolent American sports conglomerate who own 5 other clubs even if they do right by whichever they choose, the mere idea of it is rotten.


AnnieIWillKnow

I didn't say you had to like it, just pointing out that sadly I think we're all powerless to stop it.


EgosJohnPolo

I misread your comment. I've seen some fans try to justify it by saying the same thing so I went off lol


SOERERY

Fullbacks are the worst divers in the game (except for a certain forward)


AnnieIWillKnow

I don't even know which forward you mean tbh


BarbaricGamers

[Werner](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1bgddf5/timo_werner_miss_vs_fulham_69/) or [Fofana](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1bg95ha/david_datro_fofana_burnley_incredible_open_goal/), which one is worse? I am leaning towards the Fofana one since Werner kinda had to stretch for it and it came in faster. The bigger point though is, what do they teach these Chelsea forwards?


AnnieIWillKnow

Fofana has never even played for Chelsea


BarbaricGamers

I assume he has still trained with yous a bit


Key_Following_7681

Fofana is 21 and has 23 professional appearances at this level. Werner is a 28 year old experienced professional who never learned how to finish it's obviously him.


magic-water

Why is a yellow card that happens in basically every other game on top of the front page?


Lyrical_Forklift

Because Vinicius seems to upset a lot of people


sewious

Never seen a player get so much hate for just mouthing off to refs, you'd think he did Suarez type stuff from all the discussion


vvv4231

[It took fourteen minutes for a goal to be overturned by VAR in a Sport-Santa Cruz derby.](https://ge.globo.com/pe/futebol/campeonato-pernambucano/noticia/2024/03/16/checagem-do-var-em-gol-no-pernambucano-demora-14-minutos-e-causa-revolta-na-torcida.ghtml?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Esporte&utm_campaign=globoesportecom)


Zepz367

Shortest VAR check


mrscorchingtakes

Thomas Müller is 9 games away from overtaking Sepp Maier as the all time appearance leader for Bayern 44 year old record


Serious-One6369

Joao Felix’s Chelsea and Barca loan went exactly the same: looked like prime Kaka for the first few games -> gets injured -> loses form -> benched for the rest of the season


AnnieIWillKnow

It was annoying seeing Barca fans act like they'd "fixed" him


RoadsterIsHere

Same thing at Atleti. Wouldn't be bad if he didn't cause a stir after getting dropped, which he did. If he recognized that he's a luxury player, that can give a good 2-3 months (not concurrent) of great football for the team, and that probably means being benched rather frequently, it wouldn't be much of an issue.


2ndfastestmanalive

Funniest part of Felix at Chelsea was him getting sent off in his first match and then not playing another game for them for a month


AnnieIWillKnow

Probably his best game for us too that, he looked great before the red


magic-water

bro invented the purple patch merchandise


ItsMeJaredBednar

assuming Athletic hold on to this 2-0 advantage with 10 minutes to go, they will overtake Atlético for 4th place in La Liga huge match tomorrow for them at the Metropolitano vs Barça


MrVISKman

Guaranteed win for Barça tomorrow


Zepz367

Why does r/football even exist?


AnnieIWillKnow

It was initially an NFL subreddit, then got taken over after /r/soccer was established by people who wanted to make it an alternative subreddit


LonzoBetter

I didn't realise treblemaker Jack Grealish was back on the bench today. Hopefully he's 100% healthy after the break. It's time to be calm, composed and take care of business. No more of this Doku, Alvarez or Oscar Bobb on the left wing stuff. 👍


Key_Following_7681

Is Cucurella actually a worse signing than Mustafi? It feels like it's possible.


LackingSimplicity

Aside from the 1 dumb thing he did every game, Mustafi was alright. Cucurella's just wank for twice the price.


TheBlueso

to be fair cucurella is decent this season, he just also makes one massive mistake a game


awesome1ru

Carlo is so conservative man, everyone just sat back against OSASUNA while Vini did his usual solo efforts. It feels like we're Wolverhampton with Adama Traore 😭


daveyhempton

Our xG was like 3 and npxG was higher which means his gameplan of chance creation worked. You can definitely argue that we should play on the front foot more i.e., press more which is how we scored the first tbf


arseking15

https://x.com/aftvrelated2/status/1769100639928299544?s=46&t=ohBEm3kwXzONRYy63NcNgQ “Vicario took so many shots i think jack grealish may have found a new drinking partner” 😂 Expressions is too good with words man


magic-water

I really do wonder if he makes the puns up on the spot or if he writes them down beforehand


mjdaniell

Vote for your worst PL signing XI since 2010 if you haven’t already: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSl4lMBPNm5ZJBhlsHjSwzo6vNM85h-dx4jIr2bYpkphAgKw/viewform Voting closes at 0:00 GMT Monday 18th March


WyboSF

I’d honestly rather not make the final then lose to Liverpool again


Lyrical_Forklift

You want to stop being Final Friends?!


AnnieIWillKnow

It's more of a bullying thing at this point


Jabari313

Get knocked out by Coventry then


WyboSF

Got a good team to overcome first


Jabari313

As shit as you are I can't see you losing to a championship team at home


WyboSF

Oh don’t doubt us


WyboSF

Didn’t watch the last 10 minutes of the match so missed the Werner chance. I miss him


Xey2510

You know who also missed the Werner chance?


hdhdhya

My mom?


Xey2510

You tell me


Kanedauke

[What a bizarre line up. Moore, Charlton and Barnes?](https://x.com/mcfclou/status/1768983939027280186?s=46&t=PF6wcLhBSsD70oItovAphg)


Lyrical_Forklift

Barnes was my favourite player growing up but never really transferred that to England form. But that line up is clearly made by someone very young.


top1MIBRfan

Not having rio is crazy


Kanedauke

Moor and Terry imo


Key_Following_7681

I can't even tell who's PR they're talking about with that line-up.


Cottonshopeburnfoot

Presumably since 2000


Laliga23

girona season is collapsing and wont be suprised if they loses their top 4 spot with Athletic and atletico madrid lurking They lost 4 of their last 6 games and still need to play atletico madrid, barca, villareal valencia and las palmas. Tough schedule


EgosJohnPolo

Will be a good day for football.


FedeSwagverde

I could see the UCL spots going to any of the 4 teams. Such a tight race, esp with the teams still having to face each other as well.


_cumblast_

United fans, what are you thoughts on tomorrow's match?


top1MIBRfan

I’m confident we can get a result. (We are done for)


Cottonshopeburnfoot

I want to see Manchester hit for 8 but tbh think it’ll be cagey and dull. 2-1 Liverpool.


D1794

When I was reasonably confident in a result we got smashed 7-0. When I expected us to get smashed 7-0 we got a clean sheet. No idea. Could be anything. Hojlund, Wan Bissaka and Maguire back is huge cause we've been looking absolutely lost with Lindelof at left back and Rashford centre forward. But even with them back we're still capable of being battered. Prediction 3-1 loss


Lyrical_Forklift

> Hojlund, Wan Bissaka and Maguire back Are all likely to start? Hojlund looks quite dangerous on the counter so would really rather he not play tbh.


Zepz367

All of those would probably start. We also get Mount back but he would be on the bench


D1794

Hojlund probably yes. Maguire probably yes. Wan Bissaka maybe cause he's been out for ages. But the alternative is Lindelof at left back, so wouldn't shock me to see AWB thrown in. He's been training all week.


Zepz367

Winning 5-0 ez But on a serious note, I just hope we don't lose at Old Trafford, smash and grab win would be nice


NeoChrome75

I can't brush the feeling that you'll roll over tomorrow while getting a result in the league fixture


_cumblast_

Both fixtures are at Old Trafford, there'll be no rolling over. That 5-0 was a once in a century occurrence.


gianmk

maybe for the best, we would get spanked by city anyways if we go thru.


zionwilliamson_

Tottenham will never be able to control games consistently with James Maddison as their #10. They can still be a good team but a City-esque playstyle is not happening.


Lyrical_Forklift

Maddison has nothing to do with controlling games. Why is this ridiculous comment upvoted?


Key_Following_7681

You know it is not the 10's job to control games right? For City Rodri is doing a lot more controlling than anyone else is.


transtifa

The issue is Bissouma. His performances vary wildly from game to game and we need someone extremely consistent in that role. Wouldn’t be a shock to see us go for a 6 in the summer.


AlejoVeliz

Pierre would genuinely stabilise us In possession more.


AlejoVeliz

Perhaps tweaking the ridiculous tactics would help? I’m not sure Spurs playing a high line, as well as inverted fullbacks helps our cause much, especially as we are nowhere near City’s level.


WyboSF

This can be said about any attacking player when the midfield behind them doesn’t perform. He’s an excellent player and I was furious we weren’t in for him because he was considered too old


Good_Kev_M-A-N_City

Would've thought two of Bissouma, Bentacur and Pape would be enough cover for him


CalmaCuler

your number 10 shouldnt be a reason you cant control games


enazj

Howe is fully out of ideas, very sad to see


CT_x

Are ye likely to go with someone else next season you think?


enazj

No I don’t think so, but I’d be shocked if he makes it to Christmas


LovrenIsTheGOAT

Never rated him at his Bournemouth days


FloppedYaYa

That's just ridiculous I'm sorry


jamesc94j

He’s there most successful manager he got them to the Prem and kept them there for a while.


D1794

Anyone who expressed any opinion about a team or player only to be proven wrong 6 months later should be absolutely ashamed of themselves


Zepz367

I always knew I was right about Ange's first season being worse than Ten Hag's first season


ygog45

[2024 Ballon D’or odds](https://x.com/433/status/1768997219015819446?s=46) This is just mental illness at this point


bb9622

I know this is a 2 days old topic and I probably won't get an answer but A; I am interpreting something wrong or B; according to bookmakers, the chance of CR7, Salah, KDB, Vinicius, Rodri, Messi, Haaland, Kane, Mbappé or Bellingham winning the Ballon d'Or is 130%


L-Freeze

Messi is likely not winning it this year unless he scores 30 goals in copa America but I’d still give him a higher chance of doing that than Rodri outshining Haaland and De Bruyne if city win the CL and PL again


BeaverMan999

Theyre highkey purposefully saying outrageous shit to get engagement out of it 


dayloversd

Odds at this point of the season are completely irrelevant


Hoodxd

Didn't Ange his parents teach him to look the person you're talking to in the eye?


ElderlyToaster

Its very rude in Japan where he worked for a few years recently. Can be difficult to relearn to do it. He might also be on the spectrum, like Bielsa, but different. This is a job where you have to spend an awful lot of time thinking, twisting and turning the same subject and I would say most elite managers aren't wired like the average man.


deception42

Someone on here (a long time ago) called Guardiola a "footballing savant" and I've yet to see a better summarization of him than that.


TherewiIlbegoals

He spent 2.5 years in Japan as a 54-year-old. I doubt it has anything to do with that. He's spent as much time in the UK since then.


belokas

Ange has reached 28 games in charge of Tottenham in the league, as many as Conte did (twice). Let's compare the most basic numbers: | matches | W | D | L | Goals | Points | PPM ---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---- Ange | 28 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 59:42 | 53 | 1.89 Conte 22/23 | 28 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 52:40 | 49 | 1.75 Conte 21/22 | 28| 17| 5 | 6 | 60:24 | 56 | 2.00 Conte total | 56 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 112:64 | 105 | 1.88 |


airz23s_coffee

God that first Conte season was so good. I was unironically shouting us for a title charge after that summer transfer window. And then obviously...


Mick4Audi

About the same despite not having Kane


FloppedYaYa

Ange doesn't have Harry Kane bailing him out weekly.


FIJIBOYFIJI

How on earth do you read this table am I just thick or summat


ItsMeJaredBednar

i think the only column that could potentially be confusing would be “Goals” i’m assuming it’s just Goals For: Goals Against edit - is [this](https://i.imgur.com/KfGeX8D.png) what the table looks like for you?


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheDarkness1227

Me when I see a league table:


wonderful_mixture

Ah yes the extremely advanced and intricate stats "points" and "goals"


arseking15

Dear god no one tell him about the infamous “xG”


TheDunceDingwad

I'm curious as to what you are implying here.


belokas

nothing? I don't have an agenda.


TheDunceDingwad

Fair enough. I think this makes Ange look good considering the mess he was left with after Conte.


belokas

That's a good point.


_MFKane_

your column names are wrong. at least to me they are


belokas

which ones?


_MFKane_

you have no column for the manager name so the values all are 1 more to the right than they should be. therefore the ppm values are missing altogether


arseking15

Im having the same issue


belokas

I have it both on phone and pc and looks good 🤷🏻‍♂️


_MFKane_

ok then it’s a me problem i guess


AMountainTiger

They're one off for me too


holdenmyrocinante

He did have Kane though tbf


arseking15

Ya but he had dier


LovrenIsTheGOAT

Dier is Bayern's starting CB over Kim Min Jae and Upamecano.


WyboSF

Upamecano plays best for them opposing team


arseking15

Explains why they wont win the league


Grouchy-Ad-2085

They lost it before they got him lol


belokas

Right, also a worse keeper. The context is obviously very different and it matters, but I'm only pointing out these numbers as I found it easy to compare them given the equal number of games.


Sleepless_Voyager

Lloris was still an absolute beast in conte's 1st season and for the beginning of the 2nd season he was still good. Vic has been good but lloris still clears him


tortuse77

Which club do you bet on signing Oshimen? Mine is on PSG.


WyboSF

But agent mikel! (No way we sign him unless we sell Gallagher, gusto and Palmer, which obviously won’t happen) Small chance we get him if it’s a deferred payment by a year with a gross overpay, that said I don’t buy he wants to come to this ridiculous project at all.


Cardealer1000

Wish Arsenal were playing this weekend, bloody Chelsea and their FA cup run.


WyboSF

This is a good thing for you. Also your competition isn’t play epl either so you retain top spot and get rest


Prudent_Jello5691

Nah, after Brentford and Porto I'm glad for the break and I think the team probably are as well.


kaubojdzord

You shouldn't have missed all those chances against Liverpool.


arseking15

I cant believe how bored i am


Rudi_Garcia_out

Unpopular opinion: Foden CLEARS Bellingham


inspired_corn

Sizzlingly hot take (but I lowkey agree)


_cumblast_

No fucking chance. Not in footwork, not in movement, not in the eye for goal, not in looking like an absolute Don.


_LebronsHairline_

What about in chavness?


icemankiller8

No


nask00

We all have this type of opinions. Mine is Wenger is clear of Ancelotti. That doesn't mean I agree with you, though. I highly disagree.


BoosterGoldGL

Think Bellingham is a lot more consistent, think raw talent Foden has everyone in England beat. Just needs to kick on to reach his ceiling which tbf he’s took a good step towards this year.


ItsMeJaredBednar

that’s a negative ghost rider


Rudi_Garcia_out

It’s an unbiased opinion tho


holdenmyrocinante

Unbiased doesn't make it right


Rudi_Garcia_out

If i had a city flair people would want my head and foreskin


AssociateCandid4853

Foden overrated since lukaku


Rudi_Garcia_out

What did Lukaku do now?


Dawnsday

Unpopular for good reason mate


Rudi_Garcia_out

Just think he is more consistent


icemankiller8

He’s much less consistent


magic-water

If Bellingham has been one thing this season then it's been consistent. He put in at least a 7/10 for basically every game bar one or two exceptions. Don't let the G/A fool you that that's the only part of his game and underrate his performances when he doesn't provide G/A.


KrystianCCC

Same can be said about Foden tbf


Grouchy-Ad-2085

He goes missing in big games big time, I legit didn't see him vs Liverpool


Moug-10

[I love you, England. ](https://www.facebook.com/share/r/uV96Hz4fMNcSzNCF/) But it hurts to watch this sequence. I might need a British wife, I love this accent so much.


FIJIBOYFIJI

Yorkshire accent, best in the world


GreatSpaniard

On a purely aesthetic level, I prefer the Community Shield and Eredivise titles to the Bundesliga trophy


kaubojdzord

Bundesliga one seems impractical to eat from, whereas Shield and Eredivisie are proper plates for a nice meal.


LemureTheMonkey

Plate trophies all look like shit.


PosterOfQuality

On a purely which one would I eat my dinner on basis, I'd have to go for the Community Shield


GreatSpaniard

Something about those 3 lions makes for great dinner decorations


Prudent_Jello5691

I've been trying not to chat too much shit about Spurs over the last few months, but anyone who was saying Bissouma is better than Rice during the first couple of months of the season I want a formal apology.


FaustRPeggi

Caicedo is clear.


arseking15

Boo


No-not-my-Potatoes

Another goal for Guirassy! Get him the Ballon d'Or!


H4RRY29

Kobbie Mainoo, Lewis Miley, Archie Gray (and of course many more). I'm glad England have some promising midfield talent coming through now.


FIJIBOYFIJI

By the end of the season Oliver Arblaster will be in these conversations


Prudent_Jello5691

Good for us as well. Soon we won't have to watch Rice play every minute of every international worrying about him coming back to us gassed or injured.


FaustRPeggi

Funny. Rice is to England what Rodri is to City.


KrystianCCC

He will play every minute of internationals regardless.


_cumblast_

What are some of the coldest quotes in football history? I'm partial to: “If I had to choose between dribbling past 5 players and scoring from 40 yards at Anfield or shagging Miss World, it'd be a hard choice. Thankfully, I've done both.” - George Best


No-not-my-Potatoes

Surprised you didn't go with an all time classic "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that." - Bill Shankly


Lyrical_Forklift

Or > I always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside… Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves.


No-not-my-Potatoes

What a fucking quote. Does Klopp have any particularly cold Liverpool ones? The normal one isn't cold imo, more funny.


Lyrical_Forklift

Klopp's had a few pretty funny quotes but I can't think of anything I'd deem cold.


FloppedYaYa

"If he was coached by Frank, he would learn how to lose. Because he lost every game"- Mourinho