***Official English Football Season 2021/22***

[wpdavid]

I've never particularly disliked Lampard at any point in his career, including now. And yet the desire to see him fail and Everton be hilariously relegated is so strong. I'm not even sure why, but it really is.

Ditto, and I don't even dislike Everton really.

 

[Pothas]

Agreed on all counts. Looking at the table tonight, it's not hard to envisage someone being relegated with 40 points this year. Burnley have improved since sacking Dyche, and Everton look better than they did, even allowing for the effect of playing a derby match. I'll be sitting more comfortably if we can beat Leeds tomorrow, but they've improved a lot under their new manager.

Definitely going to be higher this year but still no way someone goes down with 40 points. Palace got decent fixtures anyway, think you might end up top half.

 

[wpdavid]

Definitely going to be higher this year but still no way someone goes down with 40 points. Palace got decent fixtures anyway, think you might end up top half.

Looking at reports of yesterday's game, having not watched it properly at the time, I probably over-rated Everton's performance at Anfield. And their run-in is tough. But I can see Burnley reaching 40 points now, so maybe it depends on whether Everton can raise their game in desperate times. Palace? I know we should be OK but 1993 and all that takes a bit of shaking off.

EDIT
I know my tales of 1993 bore people, and understandably so. In my defence, it was four relegations from the first ten seasons of the Prem League, including finishing 4th from bottom one year and the afore-mentioned 49 pointer a couple of years earlier. So we tend to not sleep easy until we're mathematically safe.

 

[Pothas]

Bees fans also have a horror story from 93 actually, first year back in the 2nd tier for decades and were not far off the play-offs at Christmas. Ended up being relegated. Obviously quite a few thought that was happening again this year but think even the most pessimistic are feeling OK now.

 

[wpdavid]

Bees fans also have a horror story from 93 actually, first year back in the 2nd tier for decades and were not far off the play-offs at Christmas. Ended up being relegated. Obviously quite a few thought that was happening again this year but think even the most pessimistic are feeling OK now though.

Yes, your boys look safe as houses. Not just the 40 points, but on a great run since Eriksen arrived.

I know whether you followed Brentford in 1993, but you must have been young. Maybe a similar age to me when Palace were first relegated from the top flight in 1973. That was a mess too.

 

[Pothas]

As it happens Brentford also got screwed over by the shrinking the Premier League thing, finished 2nd in division 2 that year but didn't get automatic promotion and of course lost the play-off final.

 

[Pothas]

Yes, your boys look safe as houses. Not just the 40 points, but on a great run since Eriksen arrived.

Leeds are surely the only team other than Everton and Burnley that could go now.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Leeds are surely the only team other than Everton and Burnley that could go now.

I hope so, given who's next in line...

 

[wpdavid]

As it happens Brentford also got screwed over by the shrinking the Premier League thing, finished 2nd in division 2 that year but didn't get automatic promotion and of course lost the play-off final.

I'm afraid that all passed me by at the time. Back in 1995 (I think) when we were the 4th side being relegated I was of the view that we should have been included in the play-offs, but obviously I was a tad biased. I think they did use to do that back in the 1980s.

 

[wpdavid]

I hope so, given who's next in line...

Someone did mention Villa the other day, along the lines of the Gerrard bounce having faded somewhat. And Coutinho seems less of a presence than he did a couple of months ago.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Someone did mention Villa the other day, along the lines of the Gerrard bounce having faded somewhat. And Coutinho seems less of a presence than he did a couple of months ago.

I'm not too worried just now, but more due to points on the board than how we're playing at the moment. Don't seem to have a best XI or even a best system worked out. We should be fine, but...

 

[GIMH]

I'm afraid that all passed me by at the time. Back in 1995 (I think) when we were the 4th side being relegated I was of the view that we should have been included in the play-offs, but obviously I was a tad biased. I think they did use to do that back in the 1980s.

Yeah I think the first 3 or 4 play-offs included one team fighting to stay up against three fighting to go up. Two-legged finals. Then around 89/90 they settled on the format that still stands to this day.

Going down 4th from bottom must have been painful. We suffered that as standard from League One in 2014 (L1 has been four down as long as I can remember) and a year later dropped out of the league altogether. In 95 we finished 5th and got turned over by @fredfertang 's mob in the play-offs, having done the regular season double over them. So I suppose we weren't really screwed by it but the one auto place really affects the dynamics (and again have experienced this as standard in the conference). We might have kept our composure better if it was a standard top two to go up. But really it was such a collapse that I am not sure it made a difference.

Reading of course having finished 2nd also lost the final, and I think they'd gone 2-0 up in that too. Bloody B***on....

 

[Uppercut]

Looking at reports of yesterday's game, having not watched it properly at the time, I probably over-rated Everton's performance at Anfield. And their run-in is tough. But I can see Burnley reaching 40 points now, so maybe it depends on whether Everton can raise their game in desperate times. Palace? I know we should be OK but 1993 and all that takes a bit of shaking off.

EDIT
I know my tales of 1993 bore people, and understandably so. In my defence, it was four relegations from the first ten seasons of the Prem League, including finishing 4th from bottom one year and the afore-mentioned 49 pointer a couple of years earlier. So we tend to not sleep easy until we're mathematically safe.

You have a good team though. 14th is probably a bit below the level you’ve played at this season. I reckon you’ll end up 11th or so.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah feels weird that they only have 8 wins. They could easily end up 9th though.

 

[wpdavid]

Yeah feels weird that they only have 8 wins. They could easily end up 9th though.

Newcastle and Leicester will take some catching though. And the 8 league wins all season tells you something, if only that we aren't statistically likely to win most of our games in hand. But we're not bad, and I'm sure that the neutrals wonder why on earth I'm even discussing this.

 

[Pothas]

I am just so happy that I can spend all my time thinking about what happens in mid-table rather than relegation. Don't think I have ever cared in the slightest about who would come 10th in the Premier League before.

 

[GIMH]

I am just so happy that I can spend all my time thinking about what happens in mid-table rather than relegation. Don't think I have ever cared in the slightest about who would come 10th in the Premier League before.

Wanker

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I'm really pleased Jacko is doing so well but simultaneously baffled after his short spell in charge with us last season. Flibberty may be similarly confounded.

It is ridiculous. Was terrible with us and we got relegated and hardly won a game.

 

[sledger]

Yeah feels weird that they only have 8 wins. They could easily end up 9th though.

Yeah, I've only really watched them on the occasions they played Arsenal, and on both I thought they looked really quite good. Though I suppose some of that might be down to Arsenal being Arsenal.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Burnley will probably appoint him until the end of the season and then give him the job permanently if they stay up, and then be relegated by a metric mile next season.

I just rather worryingly got 10/10 in the Neil Warnock quiz.

Neil Warnock: Test your knowledge on the retired managerial legend - BBC Sport