Welcome back everyone after a bit of a winter hiatus from the PL game. Not much point in rehashing all the results from the festive period as there were a lot, but maybe we could have a little chat about how the league table now looks.
The major news, and a simple place to start is at the top. Man City had a little stumble and Liverpool took advantage to jump in front. Their advantage was then cut when Man City won at the Etihad in the top-of-the-table clash but it presents a quandary for those neutrals.
On the one hand, Liverpool are a well run club, showing an organic evolution on the pitch with a highly competent back office/leadership structure who have transformed themselves in the space of a few years in a relatively self-sustaining fashion. They are a traditional* power house who have been through a prolonged lean spell and ,for footballing romance reasons do we want them to succeed? Man City are well run, but also well run with 1) evil 2) evil money 3) illegal and 4) basically cheating, although tbf, no more so than several other clubs.
On the other hand, it's Liverpool who are frankly, the single most irritating set of fans in the history of the world. We all think our club is special but there's ultimately, usually, a degree of objectivity or irony in it. I might be overegging the pudding a little here, but if there's a Scouser who doesn't genuinely believe that Steven Gerrard was the second coming of Kenny Dalglish then I'll eat my butter pie. All clubs can generate a decent atmosphere at times, and most big clubs struggle with atmosphere at others (for numerous, well understood reasons) but no other club manages to perpetuate a myth of magical atmosphere based on 90 seconds of singing before a game and then at the end should they be winning. It's a bit weird and frankly would be unbearable should they win it. Man City fans on the other hand, are just about still pessimists expecting Steve Lomas and Nicky Weaver to run out the tunnel and also we can write off their success as cheating.
As I said - a quandary.
Of course we can all unite behind the fact that in 3rd place in Spurs who are allegedly a well run club, but are actually a homeless shambles who have now played more than half a season on somebody's pull out bed, drinking their milk straight from the bottle and putting it back in the fridge and answering the door in their pants when the neighbour's come to drop off the amazon package delivered next door by mistake. Guys - it's time to go home, and if you don't have a home, then frankly you should forfeit the rest of the season. Then Poch can go to Man Utd in the summer, Eriksen to Real Madrid, Alli to prison and Harry Kane can be mounted on a wooden plaque on the wall with a button that you press and make him sing.
Chelsea, Arsenal & Man Utd now (should NEVER have sacked Mourinho, I always said he was doing a great job) are in a competition to see who can be the least flawed for a few months to earn all that filthy CL lucre. Obviously, I think in the spirit of the New Year and wanting to give according to need not want, Arsenal should get it given the place as we have the least cash. Seems only fair. Obviously, when UEFA ban Man City for financial doping, a 2nd place opens up, and if Arsenal or Chelsea win the EL, then another place, so everyone could be happy except for Sheikh Mansour and probably Harry Kane. A life lesson there...
Below the top 6, there are some other clubs, but truth be told, I've spent long enough writing this drivel, so will skip to the relegation zone.
Huddersfield are rubbish and done. Well done for being honourable to Wagner, and hopefully they take the PL £ and rebuild to be a yoyo club for a bit. Fulham have not really seen a new manager bounce, but will be hopeful that Cardiff continue to drop and then it's one from Newcastle, Burnley (one can only hope), Southampton (one can only hope) and themselves. Unfortunately, I don't think they'll have enough. So calling it now - Fulham, Cardiff & Huddersfield to go down.
*a debate I had with a Liverpool supporting former-housemate - does a standout decade of sustained success count as a purple patch or powerhouseness? ie in the future would Liverpool in the 70s-80s be thought of as Chelsea in the first 10 years of Abramovich? Versus say Man Utd or Arsenal who have had multiple periods of success mixed with periods of (relative) mediocrity or Leeds, or Newcastle who had a single period of success with subsequent flashes of excitement, with periods of agony? Answers on a (digital) postcard
That's enough of that for now:
Let's get massively statty:
Matchday 18
20 people played
Most popular predicted result: Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea Man City & Man Utd WINS (20/20)
Most disputed result: Huddersfield vs Southampton & Everton vs Spurs (2-6-12 split)
Highest odds: Doron Salomon 381/1
Lowest odds: Steven Daniels 355/1
Average odds: 368/1
Best predictor: Feneley & Joni Kleiman (7/10)
Worst predictor: 4 of you (4/10)
Average score: 5.3/10
Best predicted result: Liverpool, Arsenal & Man Utd WINS (20/20)
Worst predicted result: Leicester & Crystal Palace WINS (0/20)
Matchday 19
22 people played
Most popular predicted results: Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd & Spurs WINS (22/22)
Most disputed result: Burnley vs Everton (7-8-7 split)
Highest odds: Doron Salomon (427/1)
Lowest odds: Steven Daniels (281/1)
Average odds: 354/1
Best predictor: Joe Abbott (7/10)
Worst predictor: 4 of you (3/10)
Average score: 4.55/10
Best predicted result: Liverpool, Man Utd & Spurs WINS (22/22)
Worst predicted result: Leicester WIN (0/22)
Matchday 20
25 people played
Most popular predicted result: Leicester & Spurs WINS (25/25)
Most disputed result: Brighton vs Everton (Toffee hat-trick) (0-11-14 split)
Highest odds: Steven Daniels (680/1)
Lowest odds: Doron Salomon (349/1)
Average odds: 515/1
Best predictor: 4 of you (6/10)
Worst predictor: 5 of us (3/10)
Average score: 4.48/10
Best predicted result: Man Utd WIN (24/25)
Worst predicted results: Brighton, Cardiff & Wolves WINS (0/25)
Matchday 21
23 people played
Most popular predicted results: Arsenal, Spurs & Chelsea WINS (23/23)
Most disputed result: Bournemouth vs Watford (10-5-8 split)
Highest odds: Nobody bet...
Lowest odds: See above...
Average odds: Surely you get this by now...
Best predictors: Loads of us (5/10)
Worst predictors: Dagmar, Will O'Doherty & Joseph Machta (3/10)
Average score: 4.35/10
Best predicted result: Arsenal & Spurs WINS (23/23)
Worst predicted result: Chelsea vs Southampton DRAW (0/23)
And now to the leaderboard (>2/3; 15/21 - FinkTank has now left us :( )
This week's predos:
West Ham vs Arsenal - ARSENAL
Brighton vs Liverpool - LIVERPOOL
Burnley vs Fulham - BURNLEY
Cardiff vs Huddersfield - DRAW
Crystal Palace vs Watford - CRYSTAL PALACE
Leicester vs Southampton - LEICESTER
Chelsea vs Newcastle - CHELSEA
Everton vs Bournemouth - DRAW
Spurs vs Man Utd - SPURS
Man City vs Wolves - MAN CITY
Good luck guys
