but at the same time it’s not Liverpool’s problem.

I don’t have any concrete diagnosis to why City is not firing on all cylinders, but I can see the bad business of Arsenal, United, Tottenham and to some degree Chelsea in years past that have put them in a their own bind.

One random thought I had: is there any linkage to a decline in league play after the homegrown rule took effect?

Last year, all 4 of Premier League teams advanced to the CL quarterfinals and the final was all English. Additionally, the EL final was all English.

And this year once again, all 7 English teams advanced out of their respective CL and EL groups.

Even within the Premier League the evidence doesn't seem to support a total collapse at the top, the average top 3 finishers over the last 10 years have had the following average point totals with the given ranges:

1) 89 points (100-80)
2) 82 points (97-71)
3) 74 points (82-70)

The current top-3 are on pace for the following finishes:

1) Liverpool - 110.96 points
2) Man City - 77.52 points
3) Leicester - 74.48 points

I think there is something to your point that the next tier of teams has been handicapped either with dumb spending, transfer bans, etc. But is that really different than mediocrity that other big clubs have had at times (Man U before Ferguson showed up, Liverpool in the 2nd half of the Hicks/Gillette era, etc.).

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Not that they are lacking in quality of transfers, but quantity of quality. It’s a drastic difference in where agents will have their players land since the 90s and 00s.

Big money changes in ownership (PSG prime example), agent mark ups have become huge leading some squads unable to meet their demands, loan market shelving signed players etc. this is why I’m wondering if the homegrown rule has worked against their best intentions of resurrecting English ball.

Unless Brexit royally fucks up work visas, I don’t think they’re going down the path of becoming the next Serie A, but definitely seems off compared to other eras.

City has struggled with both chemistry and injuries. Nobody else was going to push Liverpool this year. Leicester has had a very good year, but they were never going to hold up. Tottenham changed far too little to ever have a shot - Jose is making them better, but they need far more changes. United has a loooooooong way to go. Chelsea was both in transition and transfer banned in the summer.

It was basically the perfect storm to have Liverpool shatter records if they could remain healthy, which they have.

I do think they are at risk for the CL simply due to match fatigue - it will be to their advantage to clinch the PL title as soon as possible and maybe NOT focus too much on the unbeaten streak. Who knows with Klopp, though - he may be focusing more on that because they won the CL last year.

edit: Oh, and speaking of match fatigue - tired of beating this drum, but the PL and the FA really need to get their shit together when it comes to scheduling and stop the goddamn replays/2nd legs if they're keeping both cup competitions. It's fucking stupid.

It should be a much closer race than it is. LFC and their fans need to give plenty of thanks Man City has left so many points wanting. They have 5 more goals than LFC - they're still strong as hell poking balls into the net. But, because they have given up 29 goals, they have not optimized their standings. LFC, by contrast has given up only 15 goals. HUGE difference.

So to your question, my thought is Man City has taken a TON of stress off LFC in that regard - it should be much closer.

Leicester's having a good season, but a few head scratchers themselves. They could be putting much more pressure on LFC themselves.

Chelsea's had quite a rebuilding season with many ups and downs. They probably get a pass this season for not putting more pressure on LFC.

Tottenham's been a confusing shit show.

Those squads should have placed the most pressure on LFC. Man City has not been able to get out of their own way, and the rest have had too many let downs through the season to put that pressure on.

Closing thoughts - Championship Teams play like Champions before they are Champions. If we speak only of the PL, LFC's played like Champions all season. They have not played perfectly, they've had some lucky breaks, they've had some near-misses go their way. But not a man loafs, they have their heads in the game at every position, they have a good bench, they have both good D and O, and their goalkeeping has been stellar, even the sub goalie.

So, the combination of lucky having some of the stress taken off plus playing like that stress is still there has lead to such a wide lead from top to second. It will be interesting to see how the season ends, because as many understand regression to the mean nearly always happens. LFC just needs to keep playing like Champions and all will be well.

I think Liverpool are outstanding but that doesn't mean winning the league should have been this easy.

There is a 36 point difference between 1st and 5th, which to me is staggering. Heck, Sheffield United is currently in 6th with Wolves (and ManU) just a point behind.

Just look at the last five matches for the teams behind Liverpool:
L-W-D-W-W
D-W-L-L-W
D-D-L-W-D
W-W-D-L-L
W-L-D-W-L

No one has even been remotely as close to being as consistent as Liverpool has been.

City is a high end power screwdriver running on low voltage.