Bournemouth v Everton

[Goaljira]

Hate when people say the league is full of “dross”

It’s by far the best quality league in the world and it’s so tight because the teams outside top four are all really competitive.

It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen. We’ve just nearly had Fulham draw 5-5 with Man City after being 5-1 down.

It's weird because it doesn't feel like its as good as it was 20 years ago because theres no 'stars' at the levels of your peak Henry, Bergkamp, RVN, RVP, Shearer, Beckham, Scholes, Lampard, etc, but when you see so many players come into the league who have torn it up elsewhere struggle to even get games you have to start believing that it is the top of the top.

[StirlingBlue]

Hate when people say the league is full of “dross”

It’s by far the best quality league in the world and it’s so tight because the teams outside top four are all really competitive.

It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen. We’ve just nearly had Fulham draw 5-5 with Man City after being 5-1 down.

Yeah pretty much 90% of the league has one or two Champions League level players

[superpull]

I was worried about Bournemouth this year, didn't think they could replicate their trading model.
Sold 3 important defenders.

But it seemed they raced out of the blocks and we're gonna be fine again.

But they were (and now are again) someone I think are gonna get terribly close to that trap door this year

[Audrey Horne]

Amazing league this year. Best one in living memory for me so far. Can't remember a season where everyone can beat everyone and there's such fine margins between teams.

Brilliant isn't it.

In one week we had the high of old Trafford, despair against Newcastle and pure joy last night.

No fucking wonder I have bipolar.

[Shogun]

The league is close but it's not good imo. We're 14 matches in and 9th despite the fact we have about 4 players at most that you'd describe as good and one of those is the keeper. Meanwhile we have two terrible strikers and two crap fullbacks (whoever might be playing there).

You can't tell me this Arsenal team is one of the best the Premier League has ever seen. You only have to look at the team we had that finished 5th and the players in it like Baines, Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Barry, Mirallas, Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu... The squad is absolutely nowhere near that currently and yet we're currently only 1 point off 5th.

[CorkyOnTour]

This is such a good point..the standard across the league is extremely poor compared to historical PL years.
Arsenal have a stoke city style tactic and they are clear at the top.

[VBlue]

Brilliant isn't it.

In one week we had the high of old Trafford, despair against Newcastle and pure joy last night.

No fucking wonder I have bipolar.

Haha - a new discovery in the world of mental health - football induced bipolar

[Gash]

The league is close but it's not good imo. We're 14 matches in and 9th despite the fact we have about 4 players at most that you'd describe as good and one of those is the keeper. Meanwhile we have two terrible strikers and two crap fullbacks (whoever might be playing there).

You can't tell me this Arsenal team is one of the best the Premier League has ever seen. You only have to look at the team we had that finished 5th and the players in it like Baines, Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Barry, Mirallas, Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu... The squad is absolutely nowhere near that currently and yet we're currently only 1 point off 5th.

Yeah, I've said for a couple of seasons I don't think it's a particularly good league. It's great this year that it's all fairly close but that doesn't mean that the football is good or the players are superstars, in fact it feels like there's less and less really top players in the game these days. You only need to look at the lack of open play goals, the amount that are set pieces and how long throws have become a tactic. Potentially a good, exciting league but there's also going to be a lot of very forgetable games.

[Bumble]

The standard of the league, in fact football as a whole, has dropped so far that we now just have a congested middle of the road league with every team capable of producing a result simply through the other side not being that much better. Makes it entertaining as games can go either way but when the top team has Gjokeres and Trossard instead of Henry and Pires it is clearly levels below what we used to recognise as talent.

[TheRam]

I think people vastly underestimate just how good this arsenal team is.

[4evablu]

Quick update….my free full English gluten free vegan brekkie was suuuuuperb….
Didn’t know whether to eat it or take it home and frame it as it was first….

[Bluedylan1]

The league is at an outrageously high standard.

People think back to great players off the early 2000s, and great teams, but if you look at the league back then you tended to have the top 4 set in stone, a couple of decent teams flirting with European football (us, Spurs, the odd Bolton here and there) and then the rest of the league was pretty much garbage. I mean really terrible. Go back and watch some of them. It would barely pass for Championship football now.

You look at the squad depth of teams like Forest (currently 16th), Bournemouth (14th), Newcastle (13th) and it's light years ahead of those early 2000s teams. Back then outside the top 4/5 teams, every squad had a couple of good players and then a load of average journeymen playing for them.

Last season the Europa League final was contested by the teams who finished 15th and 17th in the Prem. It's insane. The concentration of money, and top managerial and player talent in the Prem in absolutely off the scale.

[Gash]

I don't think it's anywhere near outrageously high, it's pretty competitive this season, that doesn't mean the standard's great.

Man Utd and Spurs were shite last year, it's more a poor reflection on last year's Europa League that they even made it to the final rather than the standard of the PL was high and they hardly came up against a top team on the way, I mean Bodo/Glimt made the semi final.

We've just come off back to back seasons where the teams coming up have gone straight back down and although they've all a game in hand the bottom five teams are already in danger of being cut adrift (obviously Wolves already are) and collectively between them over their last 6 games they've won seven, drawn two and lost 21 so the lower end of the league is still pretty crap. Never mind 40 points for safety, 27-28 would see you safe the last couple of season.

[Audrey Horne]

It's the best league because anyone can beat anyone.

Would way rather this than Spain or germany etc where same teams win every game.

[Cozzie]

It has for some time and still is the best league in the world.

For competitiveness anyway