Fortunately, I was doing something else and did not see this mess. I have to say that we looked as though we were riding our luck for stretches this season, and the team's mentality was worth a lot of points. But eventually, injuries took their toll, and form was lost. It was another late season collapse. When a team beats you fairly easily three times in one season, as City did us, it's time to acknowledge that they're just better and deserve to finish above you. The good news is that we were better than everyone else.
Brighton was full of energy, constantly attacking, and outplayed Arsenal all the way. Arsenal looked tired and lifeless. Nonetheless, Arsenal does clearly outclass everyone but MC.
ReplyDeleteOver the season, yes. It's the way they're limping off the stage that's disappointing.
ReplyDeleteHere's a better summary than I could give
Deletehttps://thefootballfaithful.com/premier-league-awards-brilliant-brighton-gundogans-genius/
Great Teams operate on a fine tuned balance. Things can turn sour for subtle reasons not easy to understand. Do you recall how awesome Liverpool was, back in early 2020, right before Covid first surfaced, rolling over everybody, but suddenly turned into just another good team after a normal playing schedule resumed?
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the balance. A lot of that is the steadiness of the owners and the intelligence of the manager. Then there's injuries. I've got confidence in Arteta, and in Edu, the guy who is in charge of our transfer business. Our academy has produced some excellent talent. But as much as we've net spent over the last few years (less than Chelsea and Man U, but more than anyone else), we'll have to acquire more depth in key positions to improve. We overachieved, due to Arteta's improving as a manager and our young guys like Saka and Martinelli blossoming. We need a big center forward; we never replaced Giroud. Partey and Xhaka will fade as they age and we have to bring in understudies or outright replacements. Some long term injuries have to heal.
DeleteCity is a machine. Guardiola is a football genius. Only the FA can stop them by punishing their financial shenanigans. On the field, they're the best and I think they'll stay the best for a couple years.
Totts are not playing well, Liverpool seems to be on the rise again. MC faces Real Madrid in a couple of days. Lots of flux.
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