I’m getting a paywall on this article before it reaches the section on us.
Oh, balls. I thought it was a free article. To summarize, the order is:
8th - Yanited
7th - Saudi Public Investment Fund
6th - Chelski
5th - Shit
4th - Villa
3rd - Liverpool
2nd - Assna
1st - CitehSome interesting tidbits:
- Yanited and Tottenham are overperforming their underlyings, but the latter looks like it might actually result in real improvement
- Villa are simulated to have the best shot at grabbing the 4th place spot
- Daily reminder that Arsenal have the best non-penalty xG difference in the league (23.8, Liverpool - 15.9, City - 19.8)
No worries. And hey, really appreciate the summary!
I still think the spuds are going to fade as the season goes on. Maybe just wishful thinking, but their squad quality is a bit lacking in some areas, and their squad depth definitely is lacking. I am impressed with their coach though. His ability to squeeze blood out of that stone is troubling.
I think Villa are in a similar position. Some very good players in some areas but not others, dubious bench depth, but a solid manager. I wonder if they will follow the same fate as we did under Emery: really good first about 18 months and then a slow disintegration.
Will be interesting to see what happens to Yanaited. If Ten Haag is given time to clear out all the deadwood, I could see them coming back strong. Hopefully he isn’t given time though, and they continue to struggle at least for a few more years. It’s nice not having those insufferable arseholes strutting around all the time acting like they are better than everyone else.
I’ve been on this ride too often to count out the universe absolutely bending over for Sp*rs. I think they’ll regress to the mean but I’m not sure it’ll happen before the end of the season.
I actually think that Emery will last longer at Villa just because the expectations are lower - I’m very interested to see what happens if he does get them into the Champions League; will they start aiming higher and start trying to sign higher-profile players?
First of all, Yanited fans will strut and bleat even when their team is in the dumpster, so I doubt there’ll be any change on that front. I’m not particularly convinced by Ten Hag and I don’t think the team suits him, but yeah, if he gets a big cash infusion from the new ownership he’ll probably immediately blow it on someone who might end up killing it for them. Their attack looks good, but everything else is just inshallah.
If I’m worried about anyone, it’s Chelsea, honestly. They seem to have done a good job of gaming the system with all their shady financials, staying out of Europe and then pulling the ladder up behind them by lobbying to have loopholes closed. In a universe where even the historic top 6 are handling FFP with kid gloves, Chelsea are a fucking kid in a sex toy shop, you never know what’s going to happen next.
