Harder in that it requires the best overall roster.
by NDMike2001 (2022-05-23 11:59:56)

In reply to: Congrats to Citeh.  posted by G.K.Chesterton

Post Reply Return to Clark's Pitch

Or a tremendous amount of luck with injuries and such. It's "harder" because most teams do not have the luxury to not only field a starting 11 but also a second 11 that costs more than most other starting 11s. I'm not trying to be snarky, it's just a statement of fact. It also takes some elite level man management to convince the John Stones and Nathan Akes of the world to be backups.

I think the grind and relative parity of the EPL makes it difficult for EPL teams to win the Champions League. But for the other top clubs, they can set their rosters around UCL to ensure their best lineups.

Case in point for Liverpool. Fabinho, VVD, Thiago and Salah are all either in doubt or dealing with injuries picked up during a title race after Real sealed up theirs.





John Stones isn’t a backup
by dwjm3  (2022-05-23 14:21:17)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

In fact he and Ruben Dias we’re the starting CB pair for City last season. 2020-2021

The pairing didn’t start as much this year largely due to injury and lack of form at times.

OK. Laporte cost more than stones. Pick one.
by NDMike2001  (2022-05-23 14:28:14)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Obviously Dias is a lock.
You're not going to get him to be rational about his club
by siegfried08  (2022-05-23 16:30:56)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Step 2 is to trot out the net spend figures for United, Liverpool, and Chelsea. We've been down this path a multitude of times now.

No other club could afford to stick their hundred million pound signing on the bench on decision day, but that's the luxury City have. That squad is just so deep, party due to finances and partly due to some very good business.
Might behoove you to take your cues from Klopp
by dwjm3  (2022-05-23 17:18:19)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

He admitted in his Sky interview yesterday Liverpool had too many draws this season.

If you had beaten Tottenham a week ago you would have won the league. Liverpool didn’t execute in crunch time and City did.

The reality for Liverpool fans is they weren’t successful at winning the Premier League even before Pep got to City. Three teams have 5 or more league titles since the inception of the PL. It isn't like City has completely controlled the league in the PL era.



Maybe one of the more irrational posts I've seen.
by NDMike2001  (2022-05-23 18:45:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

It was a fantastic season. 1 single point separating two giant clubs over the course of the season. Liverpool picked up a couple domestic trophies along the way.

Yeah, Liverpool dropped points to perhaps the hottest team in the EPL not named City or Liverpool four games ago. Three days after advancing in a Champions League semi-final that City did not. Less than a month after advancing in the FA Cup semi-final that City did not.

And apparently Liverpool's crunch time collapse is not as impressive as City's massive draw against West Ham who picked up 5 points from 21 in its last 7 matches of the season. Perhaps it was City's timing that made it that much more impressive.

Congrats to City. They were and are a great team. That being said, I wouldn't be beating my chest about how much more clutch than Liverpool they are! haha

Each club dropped 2 points over the last 7 fixtures
by siegfried08  (2022-05-23 18:50:13)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

But like I said, forget it, he's rolling.
I didn't say City didn't deserve to win the league this year
by siegfried08  (2022-05-23 18:42:49)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I said it's a hell of a lot easier to do so when you can semi-whiff on a 100 million pound signing. If we can't even agree on that, there's no point in having a discourse.

As to your larger point, I'm sure you are aware that Klopp is now the proud owner of the two highest point totals not to win the league in EPL history (the 11-12 United squad is third, funny enough). You don't need to rehash Liverpool's grisly history w/r/t the EPL, but it's a simple fact that the 18-19 and 21-22 squads would have won the league in nearly any other era.

Enjoy watching the final this weekend.