Relegation Battle

[Honey Honey]

On paper consistency is better, in reality it makes you emotionally dead to the world.

Arsenal and Chelsea fans can barely muster up a cheer when they win a trophy. Man City fans look increasingly bored of winning as well. 

The way some of their fans go on you'd expect them to cheer louder if Tony Adams, Gianfranco Zola or Shaun Goeter walked out onto the pitch than if the actual first team walked out with the FA Cup in hand. Those clubs are dead, they are not making memories they're just collecting office bragging rights.

When you are 15th and then suddenly 6th you are on cloud nine. When you are 4th, 3rd, 5th, 4th then finish 4th again there's less emotion.

[LFCMike]

First club to have 18% possession at home in a Premier League match. That 'firsts' lists that Everton love just keeps on growing

[RandoEFC+]

3 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

First club to have 18% possession at home in a Premier League match. That 'firsts' lists that Everton love just keeps on growing

Obsessed is best.

[LFCMike]

1 minute ago, RandoEFC said:

Obsessed is best.

Come on mate, I'm trying to back you lot up here on what you've offered to the Premier League

[RandoEFC+]

Just now, LFCMike said:

Come on mate, I'm trying to back you lot up here on what you've offered to the Premier League

Yeah. We've also saved thousands of Liverpool fans like yourself from needing to find a hobby because you can just spend your time on the internet posting about Everton. Add that one to the list too .

[LFCMike]

12 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Yeah. We've also saved thousands of Liverpool fans like yourself from needing to find a hobby because you can just spend your time on the internet posting about Everton. Add that one to the list too .

I'm sure you would if you could

[Smiley Culture]

7 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

It used to be mildly amusing seeing people trying to argue that Everton are somehow on a par with the likes of Stoke and West Brom but now I'm getting worried that some of them actually think that.

The highlight of those clubs recent histories is finishing in the top half which Everton do every year. Here we go, tell me there's no medals for finishing consistently in the top half. No there isn't but there's also no medals for being boring yoyo clubs aside from the off Playoff final medal but anyone who wants to pretend that that's worth more than just staying in the Premier League in the first place needs to go and give themselves a slap or two.

Love how people like to try and measure everything by trophies too. So what Wigan won an FA Cup. Congratulations on that and getting relegated to League 1 within three years. Swansea have also won a League Cup in recent memory. The question is, are either of those sides more likely to win another major trophy next season than Everton? No.

The same arguments could be made about Liverpool and Tottenham. Liverpool have won one League Cup in the second half of my life and Spurs have won something like two League Cups in twenty five years? Their fans could say yeah well we've finished top four in 7 of the last 10 seasons or whatever and people could go yeah well there's no medals for doing that, like they used to do to Arsenal until they won three FA Cups in four years.

Winning trophies is the most important thing in football but doing so doesn't automatically make you better than any team who hasn't won a trophy since you last did.

As for teams offering something to the league, I've gone on about this a lot because the amount of stale shite in the bottom 14 teams has gotten excruciating.

Trying to be neutral, Everton haven't offered that much to the league in terms of really upsetting the apple cart but to expect us to have done that is pretty unrealistic. We still finished 5th three seasons ago, we still have an academy churning out at least one England international every few years and I think most people agree we still have some character as a club even if right now it's at an all time low for my lifetime.

Leicester have recently won the league and remain capable of upsetting the big teams, they still have something about them in general and I'd say they've got plenty to offer.

Burnley have developed themselves well, offer a pretty unique challenge at the moment as one of the only reasonably well organised teams outside the top six and have earnt their place for the next couple of years.

Newcastle are a huge club who shouldn't be operating under the conditions that they are. I'm glad they look likely to stay up.

Huddersfield and Brighton are hard to distinguish from the rest of the bottom half right now but they're newcomers to the league and deserve a chance to show what they're about so I'd be disappointing to see either drop just yet.

West Ham I don't like at all and I'd laugh if they went down but at the same time I think they have potential to get back into the top half if they can sort out the huge issues they've got going on. They're not at the top of my list for teams who need to fuck off.

I may be biased in setting Palace apart from the others I'm about to lay into but I hope they stay up. They have entertainment value in the way they play, the talent of Zaha etc. and the atmosphere at Selhurst Park.

Bournemouth have gotten boring for me. They don't seem to do much besides be involved in a load of high scoring, disorganised matches that could go either way and get enough points on the board by the law of averages to finish 14th.

Watford have become one of my biggest pet hates. Aside from Troy Deeney that club is literally just an assortment of random obscure players and managers coming in and out of the revolving doors. Really don't get their direction, especially now that they've sacked Marco Silva.

Swansea I'd agree with what others have said this season, they've lost their identity as a club and have been in a downward spiral since Laudrup replaced Rodgers. They tried to get back to what they were with Monk but it didn't work. Looks like they've lucked out of it this season.

Southampton used to be impressive in that they'd have their manager poached but replace him well and no matter how many players they lost there always seemed to be enough to replace them from the transfer market and the academy. They obviously have potential as a club as evidenced by their recent top half finishes, but this season they got the appointment wrong and the talent well seems to look a bit sparse for the first time in a while. This is what will always eventually happen though if the model by which you run your club is to sell your first team players so often.

West Brom are the definition of stake, less said about them the better.

Stoke are West Brom but with slightly more quality in the form of Shaqiri.

Hopefully Stoke and West Brom get flushed with any one of Southampton, Bournemouth or Swansea joining them.

Are some of those sides more likely to win a trophy next season than Everton? No, they’re all on par with each other, IMO. 

[LFCMike]

[Marc]

I haven't seen a fan base this rattled on here since Tottenham dived their way to a win at Anfield.

 

Everton have achieved fuck all in the last 20 years, why do they have such a high opinion of themselves? You're watching Allardyce football every week, is that what's got to you? The 1 time they did 'achieve' something, they finished 4th and lost in the champions league qualifying rounds.

Success is relative and success it not finishing 7th in the Prem. Leicester have achieved far more than Everton in recent history and their fans would've had so much more excitement and fun. Imagine the emotion of dropping down to league 1 then winning the prem a few years later and having a proper European cup run. Just imagine Everton fans.

Everton have sold their two best players from last season, hired allardyce and your fat captain is a player you've been abusing for the last 10 years.`

[RandoEFC+]

6 minutes ago, Marc said:

I haven't seen a fan base this rattled on here since Tottenham dived their way to a win at Anfield.

 

Everton have achieved fuck all in the last 20 years, why do they have such a high opinion of themselves? You're watching Allardyce football every week, is that what's got to you? The 1 time they did 'achieve' something, they finished 4th and lost in the champions league qualifying rounds.

Success is relative and success it not finishing 7th in the Prem. Leicester have achieved far more than Everton in recent history and their fans would've had so much more excitement and fun. Imagine the emotion of dropping down to league 1 then winning the prem a few years later and having a proper European cup run. Just imagine Everton fans.

Everton have sold their two best players from last season, hired allardyce and your fat captain is a player you've been abusing for the last 10 years.`

People have an odd idea of what the word "rattled" means on here these days.

Nowadays as soon as you disagree with someone but can't be bothered responding to their calm and reasoned argument with one of your own just call them rattled a few times then if they waste their time challenging you on it pretend you were fishing. Welcome to TF365 in 2018.

[Dan+]

14 hours ago, Any O'Brien said:

We have a shocking record at your place and you tore us to shreds up here. Second most impressive side I've seen here this season.

We have been picking up points on the road this season (and last) that you wouldn't normally expect us to get so you never know.

I am excited for our future if Rafa stays and Ashley backs him/fucks off.

You were unlucky to play us when you did in all honesty, that was easily the best run of ours all season and we've been a bit up and down ever since about a week after that game.

The last few home games we've been unable to break down pretty negative sides and it's been frustrating, and I'd imagine you'll set up similarly.

We've got the quality I think to win the game but whether we'll show it is another question.

I still think we'll improve as a side under Puel in the long-run but for now we're a bit hit and miss. I'm inclined to say 1-1.

[Dave]

8 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

People have an odd idea of what the word "rattled" means on here these days.

Nowadays as soon as you disagree with someone but can't be bothered responding to their calm and reasoned argument with one of your own just call them rattled a few times then if they waste their time challenging you on it pretend you were fishing. Welcome to TF365 in 2018.

Any reply at all is being 'rattled' according to some people. 

[Guest]

On 01/04/2018 at 23:31, Cannabis said:

We have memories and have been the longest serving club in the Premier League. The objective is to be the best and we've consistently played in the top flight of English football amongst the best. Much better than yo-yoing around like some clubs do, it's a pointless existence being stuck in the lower leagues.

Longest serving? I can think of five clubs at least that have been in it since the beginning?

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Should have said top flight.

Arsenal have been in the top flight the longest but you have the most time in the top flight

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

?

You have had more seasons in the top flight overall but we have had the most consecutive seasons 

[Stan]

9 minutes ago, Gunnersauraus said:

You have had more seasons in the top flight overall but we have had the most consecutive seasons 

not sure what was so hard to understand about that! @Cannabis

[The Artful Dodger]

Arsenal were corruptly put in the top league to begin with, didn't earn promotion fairly.

[Stan]

Just now, Cannabis said:

Two fantastic clubs @Gunnersauraus. How many years have you had uninterrupted in the top flight @Stan? Must be getting near a fantastic three or four now?

We've done more in the Premier League in those 3 or 4 seasons than you have in your entire time in the Premier League

 

[Stan]

 

 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, The Artful Dodger said:

Arsenal were corruptly put in the top league to begin with, didn't earn promotion fairly.

Yeah we got elected after WW1 despite not finishing top

[Dave]

I can't believe we have gone something like a third of games without a striker and we could still stay up. This club is a mess and needs a complete restructure behind the scenes to compete next season.

[Stan]

2 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

I can't believe we have gone something like a third of games without a striker and we could still stay up. This club is a mess and needs a complete restructure behind the scenes to compete next season.

epitomises the standard of teams in this league, no disrespect to you.

It's similar in the way that Burnley went 2 months without winning from December to Feb and still stayed in 7th (and still have a chance of catching Arsenal). 

 

[Dave]

Just now, Stan said:

epitomises the standard of teams in this league, no disrespect to you.

I think it's a combination of that and how good Zaha has been. He's missed quite a bit of football over the last two seasons and in that time we've picked up zero points.

With clearly a poor medical team, regular injuries at training on a turf we've been warned about, an academy that was playing at goals, several first teamers our of contract, Zaha outgrowing us and Roy possibly retiring. You have to imagine we will finally go next season as it's too much to change in one summer.

[Stan]

17th, 18th and 19th currently as it stands is Swansea, Southampton and Stoke. And they all have to play each other still. Lovely. 

 

[Stan]

Oh and Palace (16th) still have to play Stoke.

West Ham as well. They're not totally safe and still have Arsenal, City and Utd to play...