***Offical Summer Transfer Thread*** - Page 55

archangel · #**541** 07-22-2007, 08:17 PM

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I would say team rankings would go Manu > Chelski >>> Liverpool >> Arsenal >>>> The rest with all 4 teams having a shot at winning the league.

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I'd like nothing more than to believe Arsenal is a credible threat to win the league this season; with or without Henry, another 4th place finish would be a disappointment.

ThaSaltCracka · #**542** 07-22-2007, 08:22 PM

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I would say team rankings would go Manu > Chelski >>> Liverpool >> Arsenal >>>> The rest with all 4 teams having a shot at winning the league.

[/ QUOTE ]Personally I think Chelsea has the better team going into the season. I think the gap between Arsenal and Pool is much closer than that. The rest makes sense. Seriously, Arsenal took 11 of 18 possible points against ManU, Pool, and Chelsea. Only one of those games Henry played in, I believe.

ManU took 8 out of 18 points from the same games.
Chelsea took 7
Pool took 6.

I may have made a mistake in my counts, but I think its right.

To me thats a meaningful stat. Arsenals main problem last year was falling apart to crappier teams. Moving to a new stadium was also a big factor. However, the results against the leagues other top 3 teams shows a lot IMO. If someone disagrees please explain why.

ThaSaltCracka · #**543** 07-22-2007, 08:30 PM

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Asked a different way, do you think he truly believes Arsenal is a BETTER team without Henry, as he said?

[/ QUOTE ] I think that Fergie, Wenger, and Jose all think differently than fans. They have to actually. A legend only helps your team if he plays like one. The Arsenal board I frequent was filled with people who felt Arsenal looked really flat in most of the games he played in. That could be due to the injuries, or it could be that he's past it. Arsene does have a track record of selling players when they are past it.

I mentioned earlier that I think they have tons of quality. They have some injured players coming back (RVP and Theo). They brought in two strikers, one who was on loan. They signed two new defenders and a eventual replacement for Lehman. Honestly, they only thing that Arsene didn't get was an outright winger. Maybe Reyes isn't going to Spain, maybe he is.

There are so many great young players that played well more than a few times last year, such as Denilson, Clichy, Hoyte, and Diaby. Don't trip man! 1st is probably not likely, but who knows. I looked at their first 10 games and IMO all are winnable.

THAY3R · #**544** 07-22-2007, 08:33 PM

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To me thats a meaningful stat. Arsenals main problem last year was falling apart to crappier teams.

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Don't you think this has a whole lot to do with team depth?

I think that's the main reason why Chelsea and ManU are so far ahead of the others in the first place.

archangel · #**545** 07-22-2007, 08:36 PM

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Asked a different way, do you think he truly believes Arsenal is a BETTER team without Henry, as he said?

[/ QUOTE ] I think that Fergie, Wenger, and Jose all think differently than fans. They have to actually. A legend only helps your team if he plays like one. The Arsenal board I frequent was filled with people who felt Arsenal looked really flat in most of the games he played in. That could be due to the injuries, or it could be that he's past it. Arsene does have a track record of selling players when they are past it.

I mentioned earlier that I think they have tons of quality. They have some injured players coming back (RVP and Theo). They brought in two strikers, one who was on loan. They signed two new defenders and a eventual replacement for Lehman. Honestly, they only thing that Arsene didn't get was an outright winger. Maybe Reyes isn't going to Spain, maybe he is.

There are so many great young players that played well more than a few times last year, such as Denilson, Clichy, Hoyte, and Diaby. Don't trip man! 1st is probably not likely, but who knows. I looked at their first 10 games and IMO all are winnable.

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I appreciate your thoughtful reply but since you didn't actually answer the question posed, is it still resaonable for me to assume that 1) you do believe Sir Alex honestly believes that Arsenal is better off w/o Henry and 2) you agree with him?

ThaSaltCracka · #**546** 07-22-2007, 08:36 PM

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To me thats a meaningful stat. Arsenals main problem last year was falling apart to crappier teams.

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Don't you think this has a whole lot to do with team depth?

I think that's the main reason why Chelsea and ManU are so far ahead of the others in the first place.

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I don't think it had a lot to do with depth. If you watched those games(I'm assuming you didn't since you are a ManU fan), you could tell there was a lack of concentration. Even in games where we had most of our starters. It was like they players thought it would be easy.

I agree with you that ManU and Chelsea's depth are what have to make them favorites. I just hope both teams actually get some real draws in CC and FA cup. Arsenal got [censored] every round in those tourney. Prem teams every round in each competition.

archangel · #**547** 07-22-2007, 08:38 PM

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To me thats a meaningful stat. Arsenals main problem last year was falling apart to crappier teams.

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Don't you think this has a whole lot to do with team depth?

I think that's the main reason why Chelsea and ManU are so far ahead of the others in the first place.

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I do believe it's directly related to team depth - when your best players are overworked and/or injury prone, having a significant fall off between starters and reserves can lead to dropping points against non-elite clubs.

ThaSaltCracka · #**548** 07-22-2007, 08:39 PM

Ok, tell you what, I don't know if he is telling the truth, but I agree with it. Or I suppose the right answer would be that I think they have the potential to be better and I wouldn't be surprised either.

I saw somewhere that the winner of the Prem needs probably 90 points this year. Amazing number. I wouldn't be surprised to see Arsenal with 75ish.

archangel · #**549** 07-22-2007, 08:43 PM

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Ok, tell you what, I don't know if he is telling the truth, but I agree with it. Or I suppose the right answer would be that I think they have the potential to be better and I wouldn't be surprised either.

I saw somewhere that the winner of the Prem needs probably 90 points this year. Amazing number. I wouldn't be surprised to see Arsenal with 75ish.

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I agree that a healthy Arsenal squad has the potential to post better results than last year's injury-riddled squad. However, I don't agree that a healthy Arsenal squad without Henry is better than a healthy squad with him.

That said, I'm eager to get the new campaign started.

ThaSaltCracka · #**550** 07-22-2007, 08:51 PM

well here's a question, suppose he is healthy, does that mean he would be beneficial? What if he has lost his pace? Their offense is predicated on speed. You couldn't plug a healthy Viduka in there and expect similar results.

I am purely speculating. I think a lot of us will be watching Thierry at Barca to see if he still has it. The sciatic nerve issue is not one that goes away and it can seriously effect a players entire body.