Gribz

The Dessers v Boyd debate is quite interesting but they are miles different. Boyd couldnt really miss when he got a chance except in big games and his work rate was awful. Dessers for me is a trier and works much harder but he spoons much more chances than he scores but he is still notching goals up. I was very critical of Boyd back in the day for his overall contribution out with goals but for Dessers Im more critical of his technique I.E v Dundee Utd last week there was a chance in the first half he should have taken first time but he waiting way to long. As such Im more realistic in that Boyd was in an era where we had much better players and were financially better off, we had Prso, Darcheville, Cousin and of course Miller around those times so the standard was much higher. Dessers hasnt been helped with multiple squad changes in the players behind him and injuries to Sima and Danilo last season so he's had to carry the can the majority of time. I would be bringing in a top class sharp finisher in the mould of Defoe to work with Dessers on the training ground so he could become a bit more deadly in the box.

They are in trouble. 1 point from 5 games taken from a promoted side! Villa had the Euro hangover in the first half and for the second game in a row they have came from behind at home and left it late.

West Ham were seriously poor and the players arent playing for Lopetegui at all. Liverpool, Chelsea and Brighton all with new managers and have an identity so early days is no excuse. 5 out 8 predictions isnt a bad comeback from last week.

Lets see if last week was just an off day. Villa will be favourites in the midland derby but will they have a Euro hangover? Huge games at Leicester and Southampton. Plus big pressure on Spurs. For the biggy on Sunday I dont see Arsenal going there and attacking. Their defence has been immense but this might be the game where they have a slip up and Haaland bags another hattrick. West Ham 2-1 Chelsea Aston Villa 2-0 Wolves Fulham 1-1 Newcastle Leicester 1-0 Everton Liverpool 2-0 Bournemouth Southampton 0-0 Ipswich Tottenham 2-1 Brentford Crystal Palace 2-2 Man Utd Brighton 1-1 Nottingham Forest Man City 3-1 Arsenal

8 league games could end up causing even more meaningless games. Weeks 6, 7 and 8 could be irrelevant for numerous team. The fixture list is just getting mental. That Club world cup next summer is pointless and should be scrapped, it will just be exhibition matches. I cant see teams taking that serious unless they scrapped the International World Cup. Plus the nations league just wastes a couple of weeks, it should not be a back door for World Cup qualifiers as the WC is a FIFA run tournament with the nations league being UEFA.

I maybe jumped on the Barca bandwagon a bit soon but they did play with 10 men for 80 minutes. Both Man City and Arsenal drawing 0-0 with Italian opposition, are we seeing a turn of the tide again with Italian teams getting stronger or is the Premier League over rated? Atalanta did stuff Liverpool at Anfield last season 3-0 also.

Anyone who bought the Castore kit confirm the quality? There were complaints from teams like Aston Villa last season. I would like to see us go back to Adidas, for me there always produced the best tops.

I'll go with the recent trend Rangers P-P Dundee

Happy for Emery he is a top coach with one of the best win records in Europe. I think only Ancelotti and Pep have more wins since 2010. Im actually tipping Barca for the CL this season, they look good at the moment with Flick in charge.

Hadnt seen this thread until this morning and didnt know Levein was sacked, but would have posted him hands down.

Enjoyed the game, fans made it a great atmosphere for the 90 minutes and very audible on telly for once. There are promising individuals in the team but I cant put my finger on what is still missing, but we were comfortable, Dundee Utd would still be playing now and not scored.

I should have thrown Bolton in. But its interesting. Most of those sides yo-yo through the leagues. Only Everton have been top flight since start of the Premier League and Im not sure if they have ever been relegated, will need to check that. North London Derby was a good ugly match, if it had finished 0-0 it would have been fair. I think if Romero complained about the push then VAR would have chopped it off. But Spurs have a some problems, they were so poor in the final third. Johnson is a good winger but no end product and Solanke looked out of his depth. At least my 2-1 Newcastle prediction finished off a poor weekend of predictions.

Top flight maybe? Id have guessed Notts County, Burnley or Preston would be involved in the oldest fixture of some sort. Anyway, poor days predictions. Ipswich and Leicester both getting away points and Leicester will feel like thats a defeat. Forest winning at Anfield plus Brentford could have been 3 up early on. Everton though, cant be giving away 2-0 leads every week. I still think they will stay up, they will beat teams around them. Hammers leaving it very late, I wasnt convinced by Lopetegui coming in and so far be is Moyes 2.0 with his selections - Kudus on the left when he is awesome in a more central role or the right, continuing to play Soucek and Antonio is poor.

Im not in any fantasy league or anything, I just prefer just having a prediction list. Southampton 0-2 Man Utd Brighton 3-1 Ipswich Crystal Palace 2-0 Leicester Fulham 1-1 West Ham Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest Man City 4-0 Brentford Aston Villa 3-0 Everton Bournemouth 2-2 Chelsea Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal Wolves 1-2 Newcastle

How fast times go. The last time I bought a CL package it was 50 quid in the Club Deck for the 3 games against Bayern, PSV and that cracking Valencia team. Seems a bargain now and considering the team we had it absolutely was.

I dont think its that bad at all, they are not down to the bare bones. They still have Partey, Jorginho, Zinchenko for the holding roles then Trossard, Sterling and Havertz in the attacking midfield role. With that squad they are miles behind City if they worried about missing 2 players for 1 match. Huge game for Man Utd at Southampton but I see them winning there. I worry for Everton, they could get smashed at Villa and its nil-pwa from 4 games.

Yes this is something to think about as well but it looks like we will be more hoping for the Arteta revival than Klopps. With Klopp you could see what he was trying to do and it was a simple case of he needs a keeper and a centre half, once he got that they were top level. With Arteta they stumbled 8th twice then 5th, all of a sudden Saliba comes in the team and they clicked instantly and were a different animal that nobody saw coming. With Clement its a bit of both. For him to even get us in a title race after coming into inherit Beale's mess was remarkable itself and people are probably overlooking this, but since the poor defeat at Ross County and draw at Dundee it seems we havent recovered and its continued into this season. I still think we have a slight hangover from having to climb through the leagues again - and there are reasons for this out of our control like the money Celtic inherited but at the same time appointing Beale and backing him with funds and pretty much all the decision making set us back again.

It could also be some of the players arent capable of buying into Clement's methods for one reason or another. Its hard to teach an old dog new tricks for the old guard and then you could be creating a salad bowl instead of a good blend. There has been a good number coming in the door during the summer and we have had a horrendous injury list again so until that eases and the new players are settled we may not see much developing on the pitch for a while. As such I am still fully behind Big Phil, I think he has been unlucky despite some baffling decisions, however this could be down to trust - he see's things day in day out that we dont.

Im going to have to be pedantic. We didnt wear my personal favourite kit (94-96 adidas written on the neck) in the 93 winning cup final, it was only worn in the 94 defeat against Dundee Utd. Both 92 and 93 finals (Airdrie and Aberdeen) we wore the next best (92-94 kit) - therefore that is the best "Cup Winning" strip. Although I do have great memories of the 96 Laudrup Durie final so that kit was magic also. But they just dont make kits like the used to.

It has to be a thread. Keeping players in the same era is key to answers. Im going to start with this which I still cant work out to this day: Start bench drop Andy Cole, Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand.....

The question was Forest Winger - of course mate. If it was Robertson Hearts Id have been all over it. Good scorer...but not top level. Robertson Forest is a weird one for me - I had never ever heard of him until a few years ago.

Haha clocks....someone who relies on a construct. Roger that - you have a point. This must be the first ever game where (if its Kyiv) that the games will 2 legged be played at neutral stadia. As for your jibe - as someone who doesnt have to worry about clock detail I have pretty good faith in Big Phil. Seriously - why is the mess Ian Beale made so quickly forgotten?

Nah after the draw..- Kyiv or Belgrade....Surely that knocks it down.

Really? Im well into Darts now - could he even get near the level of players?

Very winnable tie. Kyiv in Poland which gives us an advantage or Belgrade. If Scotland can beat Serbia there then we can win for sure. We were in the firat ever Champions League, No reason why we can be in the new structure set up.