The weekends other games

[donaldo]

Probably get slaughtered for this but Chavs remind me a bit of Arsenal c2002.

Agree. Was thinking something similar myself when I was watching them this afternoon. Although they were a good, solid team last season with a superb defence and a great forward in Drogba, now that they have all that attacking threat they can create more, dominate position and counter attack like the very best in the world. Strongest squad in the league and probably best starting XI as well. Thought they were impressive against us and even more so against Spurs. Worst thing of all is that I'm actually enjoying watching them play!!

Chelsea had a bad season last season only winning the CL and Fa cup .So Roman bought Oscar and Hazard to play alongside the excellent Mata. Their only weakness is Torres and a back up keeper

Still think its between Citeh and Utd who keep winning even though they both havent hit form yet

[SteveO 35]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

Just take your coat and walk through the door, you sorry excuse of a manager. If you openly admit to your side having an attitude problem against Norwich, despite tripping out the same lame comments at least half a dozen times every season against shit clubs, then it's clear there's only one change that needs to be made. As Paul Ince once allegedly said to Glenn Hoddle after another Ing-er-lund shambles - "Have you ever thought it might be you?"

[SteveO 35]

And good luck to Everton today too. I am enjoying watching a bloke who the Wengerites sneer at putting together another credible challenge for the top four on a budget a fifth of the size.

Amazing what a bit of tactical awareness and motivational skill does as a coach eh ?

[Eboue-Why?]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

Just take your coat and walk through the door, you sorry excuse of a manager. If you openly admit to your side having an attitude problem against Norwich, despite tripping out the same lame comments at least half a dozen times every season against shit clubs, then it's clear there's only one change that needs to be made. As Paul Ince once allegedly said to Glenn Hoddle after another Ing-er-lund shambles - "Have you ever thought it might be you?"

Steve, I would love it, love it if he looked himself in the mirror this morning and thought, 'Mmmm maybe I am the problem after all'. A motivator wouldn't let his team perform like that time after time. A tactician would have changed things at half time yesterday and an honest man wouldn't continually try to pull the wool over our eyes by saying we are a top team who can compete with the best.
I was reliably informed that there were fans squaring up to each other again last night in the ground, clearly disagreeing with where our problems lie. Is that what we've become?

[armchair]

Sunlun 1-1 Barcodes
Demba Ba og.

[armchair]

Steve, I would love it, love it if he looked himself in the mirror this morning and thought, 'Mmmm maybe I am the problem after all'. A motivator wouldn't let his team perform like that time after time. A tactician would have changed things at half time yesterday and an honest man wouldn't continually try to pull the wool over our eyes by saying we are a top team who can compete with the best.
I was reliably informed that there were fans squaring up to each other again last night in the ground, clearly disagreeing with where our problems lie. Is that what we've become?

Yes mate thats what Wenger has done to us. His lingering presence is dividing the fans. He should walk so the fans can be united again
Surprising though it is there are still mostly Wenger supporters at aways and you can usually hear that sickening "One Arsene Wenger" chat every time.

I go to aways alone and have been challenged a couple of times by other gooners for my, lets say, "voiceiferous criticism" of Wenger and certain players.
Never got to the point of "squaring up" though enough to make me feel a little uncomfortable.

[armchair]

QPR 1- 0 Toffees
Hoilett

[SteveO 35]

1-1 come on Everton

Show the old Self Harmer how to play winning, determined football with the right attitude at places like QPR with a fifth of the budget. Show up the Rangers defence for the shambles it is before they have the chance to put in a 'very good defensive performance' next week against the one-paced plodder playing up front on his own. Hey, its just like last season if RvP didn't play....just substitute the name Chamakh with Giroud

[g88ner]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

You're being silly now, mate.

You can big up West Brom and co. as much as you want, but we both know it won't last. They'll inevitably disappear down the table as we inevitably climb back into top 4 contention.

You hold these minnows up as proof that budget can be overcome, but deep down you know order will be restored, just like every season.

Chelsea, United and Citeh WILL fight for the title. Arsenal and Sp*rs WILL fight for 4th... if you disagree and think an Everton, West Brom or Fulham will spoil the party, then fair enough - but deep down, I reckon you know it's bollocks.

Look, I'm as frustrated and annoyed at Wenger and the club as most people, but that doesn't mean I'm going to switch my brain off and think West Brom being 6th and Fulham being 8th (2pts ans 1pt ahead of us, respectively) means anything special.

[SteveO 35]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

You're being silly now, mate.

You can big up West Brom and co. as much as you want, but we both know it won't last. They'll inevitably disappear down the table as we inevitably climb back into top 4 contention.

You hold these minnows up as proof that budget can be overcome, but deep down you know order will be restored, just like every season.

Chelsea, United and Citeh WILL fight for the title. Arsenal and Sp*rs WILL fight for 4th... if you disagree and think an Everton, West Brom or Fulham will spoil the party, then fair enough - but deep down, I reckon you know it's bollocks.

Look, I'm as frustrated and annoyed at Wenger and the club as most people, but that doesn't mean I'm going to switch my brain off and think West Brom being 6th and Fulham being 8th (2pts ans 1pt ahead of us, respectively) means anything special.

So you've spotted I was having a laugh about those two

But you know that Everton really do have a good chance of finishing top four this season - why not? They have usually suffered from awful starts but have started well this year and are playing determined winning football. In Jelavic they have a striker who will be more prolific than anything we've got, they defend properly and will make Goodison a very difficult place to get points this year

Write them off at your peril

[g88ner]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

You're being silly now, mate.

You can big up West Brom and co. as much as you want, but we both know it won't last. They'll inevitably disappear down the table as we inevitably climb back into top 4 contention.

You hold these minnows up as proof that budget can be overcome, but deep down you know order will be restored, just like every season.

Chelsea, United and Citeh WILL fight for the title. Arsenal and Sp*rs WILL fight for 4th... if you disagree and think an Everton, West Brom or Fulham will spoil the party, then fair enough - but deep down, I reckon you know it's bollocks.

Look, I'm as frustrated and annoyed at Wenger and the club as most people, but that doesn't mean I'm going to switch my brain off and think West Brom being 6th and Fulham being 8th (2pts ans 1pt ahead of us, respectively) means anything special.

So you've spotted I was having a laugh about those two

But you know that Everton really do have a good chance of finishing top four this season - why not? They have usually suffered from awful starts but have started well this year and are playing determined winning football. In Jelavic they have a striker who will be more prolific than anything we've got, they defend properly and will make Goodison a very difficult place to get points this year

Write them off at your peril

I'm not writing Everton off - good side but I reckon ultimately, they'll finish behind us and Sp*rs, and be 6th at best.

I just don't think they have the squad depth to challenge us for 9 months... which isn't a surprise, as Sp*rs and Arsenal have a larger budget.

[SteveO 35]

When Everton beat QPR today we'll be six points off the top four before the end of October !!!!

Still, poor old Arsene. How could he possibly compete with the huge budgets that Everton, Fulham and West Brom operate with

You're being silly now, mate.

You can big up West Brom and co. as much as you want, but we both know it won't last. They'll inevitably disappear down the table as we inevitably climb back into top 4 contention.

You hold these minnows up as proof that budget can be overcome, but deep down you know order will be restored, just like every season.

Chelsea, United and Citeh WILL fight for the title. Arsenal and Sp*rs WILL fight for 4th... if you disagree and think an Everton, West Brom or Fulham will spoil the party, then fair enough - but deep down, I reckon you know it's bollocks.

Look, I'm as frustrated and annoyed at Wenger and the club as most people, but that doesn't mean I'm going to switch my brain off and think West Brom being 6th and Fulham being 8th (2pts ans 1pt ahead of us, respectively) means anything special.

So you've spotted I was having a laugh about those two

But you know that Everton really do have a good chance of finishing top four this season - why not? They have usually suffered from awful starts but have started well this year and are playing determined winning football. In Jelavic they have a striker who will be more prolific than anything we've got, they defend properly and will make Goodison a very difficult place to get points this year

Write them off at your peril

I'm not writing Everton off - good side but I reckon ultimately, they'll finish behind us and Sp*rs, and be 6th at best.

I just don't think they have the squad depth to challenge us for 9 months... which isn't a surprise, as Sp*rs and Arsenal have a larger budget.

I know your post was challenging this idea that you can compete on a budget, but I'd like to see a league table based on last seasons wages... I reckon it would probably mirror fairly well with actual league position... especially at the top end of the table. Could be wrong.

In terms of the overall shape of the table you're probably right but there's always a couple of teams that punch above their weight and a couple who fall below. For example, the Chavs finishing 6th when they and City have unlimited resources shows what a fuck up Paperboy AVB managed to achieve, and Dalglish's Liverpool also spent more than the Spuds and Newcastle on wages by some distance. Equally, I'm pretty sure Swansea and Norwich would have overachieved against say Aston Villa in terms of league position vs spend

So, whilst you can bet that usually everything takes care of itself it only needs one season of letting standards drift too deeply and you can be bitten on the ass big time. Of course I don't believe Fulham and West Brom will last the pace, that was tongue in cheek, but Everton (like the Barcodes) are a side that have the potential with a decent run of injuries and a slice of luck that could knock us off that top 4 trophy perch. Lets remind ourselves that Newcastle, a team 2 years previously playing the Championship, lasted the distance last season - it can happen. Its normally only one team, but it can happen. Starting with 2006 we've had a few occasions now where we've scraped through and barring the one man horror show from the Baggies keeper on the final day last year we could quite easily have fucked it again.

I genuinely think that we have allowed Spurs, Newcastle and Everton to somehow develop teams that are not far away from us over 38 games now, and I also think, not this year but next, that Rodgers will genuinely turn the Mickeys into a top four contender once more.

Gone are the days when we can put the feet up and just let 4th place happen. Of course, if we'd have invested the £40m we had available plus the proceeds from the Summer sales and signed a good quality second keeper, a natural holding midfielder (yes, I know about Arteta but watch what happens when he's out) and a £20-£25m striker instead of the French Lee Chapman, natural order would be restored. But we didn't so now we walk the same tightrope that we did last year

[armchair]

The value of good, solid goalkeeping options evidenced once again as Tim Howard makes a great save possibly saving a point for the toffees.

1-1
Toffees down to 10 men and holding on for a point

[mcdowell42]

12 mins of injury time in city game against swansea and of course a week later

[northbank123]

Haha he may be a twat but I found Suarez's celebration hilarious, as if Moyes needed any encouragement to whinge.