Premier League 2023/24: Race for the Title

[Dynamic]

Delusional to think Mikel gives up on one of the competitions. We go all in and live (or die) with the outcome.
Welcome to the big clubs' club, that's how April schedule looks like.

 

[Bucephalus]

You're right, we can't realistically go for both the PL & CL. If we beat City, Luton & Brighton all within 7 days, then I would have to reassess what I have told @SA Gunner because we can actually win the PL from there, provided that we don't exert too much effort in the Bayern games.

But Arteta would be under so much pressure to play full strength against Bayern anyway regardless of the results in the PL. The key players would never accept being rested in those CL fixtures and much of the fan base will expect a strong line-up. That's my concern in that scenario. I don't think Arteta is strong enough to make that decision.

Maybe it's not realistic. But we should go for it anyway.

I might be weird, but trophies aren't the important part for me. It's the journey, it's the chance, it's the fight. A heartbreaking crashing out of the CL on penalties at the Bernabeu followed by coming up three points short in the PL is ok. Losing is ok, it's why we love real sport, not professional wrestling. Cynically binning a competition is not ok. Go for it, and dream big.

 

[db10_therza]

Maybe it's not realistic. But we should go for it anyway.

I might be weird, but trophies aren't the important part for me. It's the journey, it's the chance, it's the fight. A heartbreaking crashing out of the CL on penalties at the Bernabeu followed by coming up three points short in the PL is ok. Losing is ok, it's why we love real sport, not professional wrestling. Cynically binning a competition is not ok. Go for it, and dream big.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the journey > trophies for me, but I echo the sentiment about binning a mega trophy like PL or CL.

That would be unconscionable for me. I don’t care what the circumstances are. You don’t build a winning mentality by binning the biggest trophies.

 

[Gooner Zig]

Delusional to think Mikel gives up on one of the competitions. We go all in and live (or die) with the outcome.
Welcome to the big clubs' club, that's how April schedule looks like.

Exactly this -

 

[drippin]

You don’t build a winning mentality by binning the biggest trophies.

Klopp didn't bin UEL in any form, and ended up binning FA Cup.

And built sore loser mentality as a result.

 

[Tnegs]

I don’t think fixture congestion is such a big deal we’ve been playing 1 game a week so far this year and we had 2 weeks off in the winter. We have about 15-16 players that Arteta trusts which should be enough to handle one month of heavy fixtures. If the players can’t get it up for a title challenge and a CL quarter final against Bayern then we have no business being champions.

 

[fute]

I don’t think fixture congestion is such a big deal we’ve been playing 1 game a week so far this year and we had 2 weeks off in the winter. We have about 15-16 players that Arteta trusts which should be enough to handle one month of heavy fixtures. If the players can’t get it up for a title challenge and a CL quarter final against Bayern then we have no business being champions.

It is a big deal.

You can be up for the challenge, but still be mentally + physically drained and lack enough to compete at optimal level.

These are still human beings. Even the greats have ceilings to what they can do after a grueling schedule.

Managing is tough.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

I was one of the strong proponents of binning the EL off last season to concentrate on the PL because it was a secondary trophy.

This is the CL though, you can't do that with such a prestigious trophy and the PL is of a similar calibre .

We need to gamble and go full throttle for both.

 

[Tnegs]

It is a big deal.

You can be up for the challenge, but still be mentally + physically drained and lack enough to compete at optimal level.

These are still human beings. Even the greats have ceilings to what they can do after a grueling schedule.

Managing is tough.

I wouldn’t imagine playing 90 mins of football every 3 days for 18 days is something that would be pushing the limits of human endurance. Teams can make 5 subs as well it should be manageable for a group of ultra fit young adults.

 

[2Smokeyy]

Not that worried about Liverpool even though their fixtures look easier on paper. Remember last season when the media kept on saying the Europa League (Thurs/Sun) schedule would eventually catch up to us lol I’m surprised the same hasn’t been said about Klopp’s side or do they think pashun will pull them through the remaining games?

They’re definitely dropping points within the set of fixtures below. OT, Craven Cottage and the London Stadium will be tricky:

 

[Sanchez11]

Not that worried about Liverpool even though their fixtures look easier on paper. Remember last season when the media kept on saying the Europa League (Thurs/Sun) schedule would eventually catch up to us lol I’m surprised the same hasn’t been said about Klopp’s side or do they think pashun will pull them through the remaining games?

They’re definitely dropping points within the set of fixtures below. OT, Craven Cottage and the London Stadium will be tricky:

View attachment 22533

Think utd and fulham beat them tbh.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Not that worried about Liverpool even though their fixtures look easier on paper. Remember last season when the media kept on saying the Europa League (Thurs/Sun) schedule would eventually catch up to us lol I’m surprised the same hasn’t been said about Klopp’s side or do they think pashun will pull them through the remaining games?

They’re definitely dropping points within the set of fixtures below. OT, Craven Cottage and the London Stadium will be tricky:

View attachment 22533

All W's here.

 

[dashsnow17]

We’ve been a good team for 2 years, but we’re still not a champion team. We need to win something this year. After a point you need to convert it all into trophies, otherwise it disintegrates.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

We’ve been a good team for 2 years, but we’re still not a champion team. We need to win something this year. After a point you need to convert it all into trophies, otherwise it disintegrates.

This is a good point, it's extremely rare that teams can keep up being competitive year after year without there being a drop off sooner or later, I think we probably have another year left in us but there'll always be a drop-off. City are the exception in recent times but even they had their 19-20 season which was a massive drop off for them.

Liverpool challenged in 19, won the league in 20 then fell off massively in 21 before having to come back again. That's just how things work. Cycles don't last more than 3/4 years maximum. The only exceptions are were there's a Fergie style dynasty created but that's only done through constantly winning.

 

[fute]

I wouldn’t imagine playing 90 mins of football every 3 days for 18 days is something that would be pushing the limits of human endurance. Teams can make 5 subs as well it should be manageable for a group of ultra fit young adults.

Easier said than done.

 

[Artemis]

Maybe it's not realistic. But we should go for it anyway.

I might be weird, but trophies aren't the important part for me. It's the journey, it's the chance, it's the fight. A heartbreaking crashing out of the CL on penalties at the Bernabeu followed by coming up three points short in the PL is ok. Losing is ok, it's why we love real sport, not professional wrestling. Cynically binning a competition is not ok. Go for it, and dream big.

My friend, I'm just being practical. This isn't about dreaming big or anything like that.

It's just a brute fact that (for example) Ødegaard cannot start every 3 days for 21 days straight in the PL and CL. That's never going to happen. And if he somehow was forced to do that, then you can expect his performances to fall off a cliff.

The players will need to be rotated. Again, it's not down to opinion. It's just a fact. You can't expect Arteta to run these boys into ground.

So if they are going to be rotated, the question of priorities is unfortunately inevitable. It cannot be escaped.

You mentioned losing to Madrid in the Semi-Final and going within 3 points of the PL as a great season - and I totally agree with you. But that's not even realistic if Arteta doesn't manage the players well.

Good luck going within 3 points of the Title and going to the CL Semi final when Saka, Ødegaard etc are dead on their feet or injured.

 

[Gooner Zig]

No offence what's this "need to win" bollocks? We're facing a financially doped up super team in City; we are not on a level playing field. Think we need some perspective on what actually an achievement winning the PL actually would be. I rate Klopp was one of the greatest modern day managers and he only won it once in his entire tenure at Liverpool.

 

[drippin]

This is a good point, it's extremely rare that teams can keep up being competitive year after year without there being a drop off sooner or later, I think we probably have another year left in us but there'll always be a drop-off. City are the exception in recent times but even they had their 19-20 season which was a massive drop off for them.

Why drop off for a full season, when you can drop off for a part of the season?

Liverpool challenged in 19, won the league in 20 then fell off massively in 21 before having to come back again. That's just how things work. Cycles don't last more than 3/4 years maximum. The only exceptions are were there's a Fergie style dynasty created but that's only done through constantly winning.

What is your logical explanation that this dropping off happens to every club?

Why would a team drop off in level, if the team is young, talented and hungry? And the more they play together, the better the team work naturally becomes?

 

[SA Gunner]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1769786567424381378

Some good news at least, looking at Dechamps on the left, we can be confident that Saliba is gonna get some rest.

 

[2Smokeyy]

All W's here.

I can’t see them riding their luck through that. The problem is I see us dropping points along the way too.

Brighton away is going be really tough for us. IIRC they haven’t lost at their ground since August…shades of Villa again.