The Premier League - 2021-2022

Yes, but the entire atmosphete of the club will remain toxic while Ashley is in charge, and maybe after that if the fans don't like the new owner either. Their best players may want out, to join a happier ship.

 

My understanding was that Deulofeu had basically been told he was always leaving that summer (provided the money was right). The way I saw it - he was let down by the Board (for failing to sign the correct players) and the players around him (for being ***** or at least playing like *****). Just like if Hughes or Sarr had kicked up a stink and wanted to move - I would not have begrudged them wanting to get out of the club. We were relegated in spite of them, not because of them.

Pussetto was screwed over by the club IMO - we basically wasted 6 months of his career to move some £££ to Udinese from Watford - cant blame him for the apathy he had towards our relegation fight.

 

I can't really understand why this can't be done at Premier League level, rather than by the clubs individually, i.e. by operating as a true 'league' in the way US sports do.

 

I suspect that is what will happen. You can see the temptation for the bigger clubs to do it on an individual basis because they’ll make a lot more money, but then you get the issue of making the PL uncompetitive. The ESL was a bit of a worry on that respect, but you have to hope and assume the clubs view the PL overall as what is good for the goose being good for the gander. I certainly foresee a situation at some point in the near future where the PL as a collective cut out the broadcasters and go with their own global platform. It’s seems though with Covid everyone is a bit nervous about rocking the boat right now, hence this rollover TV deal which is essentially just pressing pause on things for the time being.

 

There's absolutely no doubt that we will be fighting for our lives with Norwich and whoever else comes up. But we need to be looking at the likes of Palace, Brighton, Burnley, Newcastle they're are the ones we need to have a collapse. Three of those clubs could potentially have new managers this can go either way. Brighton just dont seem to be able to kick on. It's definitely going to be tight but certainly not impossible to be looking at between 13th and 17th.
A decent striker or two and it could go to plan because most teams in the bottom half are in the minus on goals scored.

 

Palace's time is coming. I'm convinced of it.

 

Been convinced of it the past 4/5 seasons. Never seems to happen though. So figured this season I will predict them to win the league.

 

Pudil, not Anya

 

Definitely Anya off. 26 mins.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32362059

 

I was at that match, and for years have been thinking that it was Pudil who was subbed. Now I see he wasn't even in the squad.

Maybe I'm living in a parallel universe. I imagine Watford got stuffed in the Cup Final, stuffed Liverpool and then got relegated. Maybe somebody can tell me what really happpened.

 

A friend of mine is a Charlton fan and shakes his head when he recalls the delight amongst many Charlton fans when Curbishley left, as they didn't think he was capable of "taking them to the next level" after years of mid-table/top half finishes. They were then very quickly taken to the next level.

 

They have steadily improved the squad over the last 2-3 seasons but trod water as all those around them have improved too.

 

Aaaand the next

 

Charton & Curbs will always be the gold-standard example of "be careful what you wish for".

 

Let’s hope Norwich don’t change their approach, then that’s one spot we don’t need to worry about.

Then through the play offs the preference would be:

Swansea
Bournemouth
Barnsley
Brentford

Unfortunately it’s highly unlikely Swansea somehow fluke it but I think they would be zero threat to us if they did. Bournemouth we’ve seen before, no EH and the owner has shown enough signs he won’t keep bankrolling them so I don’t see them as a big threat.

Barnsley is an unknown for me, I don’t know enough about their model but I suspect it would place them in a better position than the above two.

Brentford with a cash injection of £100m would I believe be the biggest threat.

Hopefully it’s not them, then we just need to be better than one established team. The dream is that we see a lot of managers changing roles, Woy, Potter, Dyche, Ralph... possibly even Nuno and less likely Bielsa could be in the frame for Spurs. If at least one or two of those happen it could be enough for us.

 

I've got a fair bit of dosh on Brentford to be promoted so I think that has probably ruled them out the way my luck has been going lately.

 

Have to disagree about Brentford being the biggest threat; definitely Bournemouth for me.

And not just a threat to our survival in the Prem, but also an existential threat to the future of football and to life on earth as we know it.

Flipping cheetahs the lot of them.

 

Proud that my first team Manchester City are leading the way! Looking forward to seeing the players we sign with that additional revenue in action on Sky Sports MNF!

 

I’m not sure they would keep Toney even if they went up, he is too good to playing for Brentford whatever level. Just has the aura of an elite athlete, baffling he didn’t break through sooner.

 

Maybe, I guess it might depend more on the player and what he wants than anything else. For the first time they won’t need to sell a player to fund their model, so I guess it depends on whether they feel they can replace him satisfactorily and still stay up.

 

I think it was the BBC a couple of weeks ago who did a good story on his development and basically how his attitude was not right when he was first at Newcastle and then went out on loan, and the first club that got him firing had to realise the kind of scenario they needed to place him in and the right way to treat him to get him comfortable and firing - he was never in line to be what he is now straight off the bat, it seemed.

 

Here it is:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56868097

 

Agreed about the fixtures but you've obviously got to then get the points on the board! Taking one point from Brighton, Everton, West Ham and Newcastle did for us in our relegation season, whereas the four wins in a row at the start of the previous season meant we pretty much knew we were going to be safe.

 

We'll always have Croatia.

 

Watford FC reveal their new cheerleader kit for the 2021-22 season:

 

You've got to give it to him he's determined to on the pitch somehow next season

 

I can never unsee that.

 

Insert comment about this seasons league being the strongest/weakest in years. Insert inference about Watford’s prospects as a result.

We are one LW away from challenging for Europe / we are almost definitely finishing bottom.

 

It's the most mediocre league for years.

Our prospects are so-so.

We're half an LW away from achieving the dead centre of mid-table next season.

It's semi nailed-on.

 

Bournemouth didn’t surprise me at all, their form during the 2018/19 season shortly after they tonked us was awful. Sheff Utd’s relegation and the manner of it was far more surprising.

Mind you, that didn’t stop the continued media love-in of Muff, like when Phil McNulty wrote an article about their prospects of European football just a few games into last season:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49774330.amp

 

Off the absolute moonman top of my head, didn't Phil McNulty write something aggressively unpleasant/harsh on us with very little justification and generally predict terrible things for us constantly throughout our Prem stay even when it was irrational to do so?

Maybe I'm being incredibly libellous; who knows, eh...

 

I’m pretty sure the first season he predicted we’d stay up, we went down.