Ourselves and Man City aside, do you think there's anybody else who has a realistic chance of winning the league. And if you do.....who and why?
Chelsea main reason our injuries will mean nobody gets 90+points this season. Their keeper looks very good so far, he'll make a huge difference. Thiago Silva is a very very good defender Chilwell is decent also. They'll score goals for fun. If they don't finish top 2 its because Lampard isn't good enough in my opinion
Spurs. Jose has them bedded into his old style. Sit back defend and counter attack. Bale hasn't got going yet. Kane will score 20 odds goals. Plus they seem be OK without injuries, although kane a doubt this weekend but that's Jose minds games.
Spurs and Chelsea. Spurs because they have Jose who knows how to win. They don’t have a bad squad either, but a injury or two to the likes of Kane and Son and they could be in trouble. They are some how managing to handle the Europa league and the league well at the moment. Although it mightn’t be nice on the eye, they are getting the points. Chelsea have a good squad and back up in most positions. They are playing some nice stuff and I think they will only get better as they get to know each . The only issue is see is Frank Lampard.
Agree with all the above, spurs and chelsea. Jose with his experience been there and done it, but is there squad good enough to see out the season up at the top?..Chelsea have a strong squad, silva looks settled at the back now, and obviously the new keeper has done well. Rest of the season is goina be interesting.
On a very broad scale I would have said that the very obvious favourites are ourselves and City, City finished 15 points clear of their nearest rival last season and we were 18 points clear of them but I think City probably trailed away more last season as the chances of winning it were so marginal that it was hard to keep up with our unrelenting pace. City look about the same as last season so far to me, they will drop points and they will win games by massive scores, they're not the dominant force of 2018/19 that nobody could get at but in terms of regressions we've definitely slipped more from last season than any of the rest. Losing VVD in isolation was probably manageable but with the ever growing list that we have a the moment we just need to see how we can manage out the Christmas period. Any of Tottenham, Chelsea and Utd could conceivably win it if everything went their way but I really don't see any of them finishing above both Liverpool and City, the gap is too big for them to make up with both of us falling massively. What City finished on last year looks a reasonable mark to win but it might be less with the injuries mounting and hectic fixture lists piling up.
Kane has had a big injury every year for at least the last 3. Jose will run him into the ground so its 99.9% certain he will miss 2 months. Even with him they are short so I'd rule them out. Lampard is reminded me of Zidane. Assemble good players and leave them at it. Thiago organises the defence , Kante keeps it tight in the middle and they have goals up front. They are challengers. Still think we win it by 7 or 8 points from City.
Agree with the posts above... Think City are still our biggest rival following Chelsea and spurs. If we can get our squad back from injury after Christmas I can see us putting another winning streak of 13 to 15 games. It'll be alot closer this year
If they weren't in the Europa League,I'd give Spurs a chance due to the fact Mourinho teams don't run a lot. This season that could be a big advantage but with the extra games and as Bob says,Jose overplaying his main men I think they'll be a fair distance off and will be happy with top 4. Chelsea imo would need us and City to go lower points per game than we have for the first 10 games because they're performing above their overall level at the moment,and I don't see both teams doing that.But for me Chelsea are the most realistic challengers. At the same time I wouldn't be overly surprised if Chelsea finished outside the top 4. They'll hit a bad patch and its tough to know how they'll react to it.
Hi, I think our old friend Brendan Rogers, would be terribly upset, if he knew that he wasn't getting a mention here. For what it's worth, I think he might get 6th, marginally behind Ollie I see the top 4 contenders just like everyone else here - although I think Spurs and Citie will be within a few points of us, come May, with Chelsea a good few points behind, in fourth. When you look at our injuries to date, we're extremely fortunite to be where we are, on the table. There's a benefit for us, with some players going to come back almost fresh, post injury - but for me, the absence of VD, will mean that we'll be extremely lucky, if we can win the league again this year. Citie are my key concern
If we had our full squad (or even normal injuries)we win the league out of sight. With the squad Chelsea have they should be challenging us and city...I think Lampard is their weakest link. Spurs are decent but don't think their defence is up to it over the course of a full season.
I wouldn't fully write off united simply because they get more penalties than everyone else by a large margin. I would consider them a dark horse more than a contender. I feel same about spurs but for different reasons. Also I think Mourinho will be all in for the cups which will hinder them later in the season.
It all depends on injuries. This season will put a massive strain on squads and Liverpool and some extent City will come back to the pack. Chelsea and Spurs have done ok injury wise so far this season. Kane or Son get injured, Spurs are in Europa League spots again. If they stay fit, they would be cert for top 4 and could trouble LFC and City. Chelsea invested pretty well during the summer but the run of games they have had lately has not been the hardest. Lampard strikes me as a manager who would things are going well is chirpy and gets along with his players but once a few Rocky results come along, he could throw a few under the bus.
Us and City at the moment but we'll have a clearer picture come January. We really need to see player's returning not the opposite which is the case because it will get to the point where too much will be asked of this team. Chelsea can't be ignored for the quality and depth of squad and I rate them as higher potential challengers over Spurs because of this. Other than the 4 mentioned Utd and Leicester the best of the rest.
Jose definitely has an air about him that suggests he reckons they're in with a shout this season. Its a different Mourinho than we've been getting in press conferences the last few years. Even the "little pony" analogy has been thrown out by him again. In a way it's admirable,you don't win as much as he has without backing yourself like that, but the bigger the expectations with him,the bigger the meltdown when things start going badly,and we know by now how that ends.
He was living in a hotel on his own for a couple of years so it probably no surprise he tried to sabotage his own job to get fired. Now he is back in the family home he should be more like himself. To complete the perfect storm he's got a condensed season which has to suit teams that don't run more than those that do. Standing on your 18 yard line and moving no more than 6 yards in either direction has to be good for conserving the legs. The problem he has is the players required to run are his most important and they are falling down at some stage.