Who will stop Liverpool in the EPL 2002-03?

[Lextx97]

I think the title to this thread reads all wrong. It should actually read:

Who will stop Arsenal in the EPL 2002-03?

1.Arsenal
2.ManU
3.Liverpool
4.Leeds
5.Newcastle

[LiverpoolFanatic]

We lost the title during the flurry of matches at Christmas time.

[Martin Henry]

Originally posted by LiverpoolFanatic
We lost the title during the flurry of matches at Christmas time.

United lost the championship during that terrible spell when we ended up something like 25 points behind Liverpool...

I am confident that United will get the trophy back again this season, since The Premiership started we've never gone two years without winning it...:)...

It would be a good year for another treble...;)...

[flmls]

We are so boring to watch. I wish we would stop buying strikers and buy some attacking mid. Since we bench our best player every game (jari), we need some attacking flare that will stay healthy all year. I hope we win, but we need some serious creative help.

[Liverpool_SC]

Check out my companion thread (Surprise teams in the EPL?)

[paulocesar]

I hate ManUre so much because of Fergie...but I think he finally realized (took him long enough, eh)that his defense was the reason for total failure last season, and more importantly for him and his legacy, the Champions League these past few years.

However, I don't think they'll win the Champions League...(teams that host the final never make it and win it...i guess, too much pressure), but the League and FA Cup (if they ever take that seriously again) are very, very likely for their prospects this season.

Liverpool, for now, is the strongest team on paper...but that doesn't count for sh!te!!! The little teams always seem to frustate them and steal a few points from them here and there throughout the season. As we've seen, those games are vital too.

Arsenal fully deserved the double last season, able to go through adversity through injuries and expulsions...plus their away form was outstanding, mind you they only lost 3 games in league play. For them to mimic that again, though, would be very very difficult. I think Bergkamp gave his all last season, and he was vital for their championship run. Having Pires and Lunjberg not at 100% from the beginning of the season hurts their English prospects, but I think when they get these key players back, they can make a good run in the Champions League. Arsenal at Old Trafford come May??? Who knows....

As far as the others, ie Chelsea, Spurs, Leeds, Newcastle,etc., i think they are too busy cleaning up their closets with the mess they've been making these past years. The Big Three seems too strong now for any outsiders to cause damage, but if any fans deserve a trophy comes season end, its definately the Toon army. I'd like their team to pull a good run in the FA cup and win it (with Shearer of course injured along the way!!!!). Hah.

[BenReilly]

Originally posted by Bauser
People shouldn't mix money with success on the field all the time. Look at Barcelona over the years. A 115,000 capacity stadium with big name stars unmatched anywhere in the world and they still can't boast more titles in the European Cup than Red Star Belgrade or Steaua Bucharest.

Who says Man Utd will continue to win when Sir Alex one day steps down and retires? How will they cope with a new man in charge after almost 20 years with the same manager? How many promosing youngsters have they produced there since the Beckham generation? Did last season's performances indicate more success this year?

Football is an unpredictable game. Just ask AC Milan what happened in the mid-90s when success suddenly dried up after dominating for a long time. In 1994 when they outplayed Barcelona in the European Cup final people talked about total domination. They had 7-8 successful seasons behind them and looked destined to conquer everything and be unbeatable for many years more. A couple of years later, there was nothing left.

You can't plan to far ahead in this game and predictions that say United will overtake Liverpool's all-time hegemony within a given number of years are worth squat.

Money helps a great deal. It is ludicrous to ignore such an important factor. It's a matter of odds.

Regarding Barcelona, I wouldn't look solely to European Cups. Are you going to say that Forest is as succesful as Manchester United? Barcelona usually finishes at or near the top of the table.

[BenReilly]

Originally posted by paulocesar
I hate ManUre so much because of Fergie...but I think he finally realized (took him long enough, eh)that his defense was the reason for total failure last season,


And having £30 million to do something about it helps a bit. Can everyone at least agree on that?

Does it mean they will be champions this year? Of course not (and I hope not!). However, in the long run, if you can throw £30 million at any problem, it will translate into victories.

[Real Ray]

Originally posted by BenReilly
Money helps a great deal. It is ludicrous to ignore such an important factor. It's a matter of odds.


Yeah it does help, but to be fair, I think when we debate this point you first have to seperate the pretenders from the contenders: look at the clubs who because of their resources, can toss their hat into the ring and compete at the highest level. If you look it from this vantage point, there are quite a few "big clubs" who spend loads of cash, but fail. Having money is a big advantage-it's a no-brainer. But being smart is a greater advantage.

There is no better example of this than Bayern Munich. Yes, they are a "big club," but look at what they spend vs the Italian, Spanish, and some EPL clubs like Manchester United or Chelsea. Not only do they spend much less, they actually make a real profit. They are always a contender/favorite to win the domestic title, and have had a very good run in Champions League. For Ballack, they paid $5 mil-compare that to what other teams in Europe pay for their top talent. Paulo Sergio at $7.5 mil is their record transfer fee-peanuts compared to the Real Madrids of the world.

[Doctor Stamen]

Originally posted by BenReilly


However, in the long run, if you can throw £30 million at any problem, it will translate into victories.

Errr, no. Kevin Davies, Nathan Blake, Christian Dailly and Ashley Ward cost from £3.5m-7.5m each, and all were s__t.

[MUFCSucks]

The main thing about this season for liverpool and Arsenal is to stop united winning the championship.

This will finally break the evil spell that has plagued the premiership for the last 11 years and bring order back to english football.

It will also be the end of fergie and the current united squad will be hacked up as uniteds shares hit the crapper!

[BrianCappellieri]

Nice sockpuppet but there is no such club as MUFC. :D

[lion]

Hey Brian,
How did you manage to get rid of the yellow card? Just curious.

[lion]

One thing that will stop Liverpool dead in its tracks is if Houllier dies or falls sick again.
Remember, his cardiovascular system is not in very good shape -- he very nearly died of a burst aneurism last year.
This may sound so morbid, but it is something that we have to be cognizant of.

[Matt Clark]

Actually, the prognosis that followed his operation was that the affected area is, if anything, stronger now than it was prior to the problem arising. And he has a much reduced workload, so the notion that his health represents a factor in this coming season's title race is, yes, morbid. And wrong.

As to the title of the thread, United are favourites and rightly so. Until Arsenal prove that they can win and win again then they have no right to be considered more likely contenders than United. Liverpool have a strong squad and we have reinforced well, but until we play with the consistent authority to match the other two, we will be the outsiders what, nonetheless, is a three-horse race from the start.

[wjschaefer]

Originally posted by Matt Clark
Until Arsenal prove that they can win and win again then they have no right to be considered more likely contenders than United.

Keep in mind that Arsenal finished strong last year and do not constantly change personnel other than through the necessity that injury brings. We have the basic core players in tact and everyone is on board with the system and knows their roles within the squad. I don't believe this to be true with ManU. I actually consider Liverpool a bigger threat to Arsenal than Manchester. ManU haven't won anything with their current lineup...

[Motterman]

Originally posted by wjschaefer
ManU haven't won anything with their current lineup...

And yet, they are still favourites for some "strange" reason.

[MUFCSucks]

because united have a realistic chance and have a huge fan base, their fore the bookies have taken lots of loyalty bets from their fans.

simple isnt it.

It certainly isnt because their the best team!

[wjschaefer]

Originally posted by Motterman


And yet, they are still favourites for some "strange" reason.

Strange thing that they were the favorites last year even though they completely renovated their squad and changed their whole system...

[Motterman]

Originally posted by wjschaefer

Strange thing that they were the favorites last year even though they completely renovated their squad and changed their whole system...

Losing 6 games at home. That was strange and there is little to no chance that will happen again any time soon.

Strange that we were so bad last year (supposedly) and we were still only 1 goal away from the Champs League Final.