Nottingham Forest 2 Chelsea 3

[Sciatika]

6 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

So you think the board spent all that money on players they knew were shit and set a target of 50 points?

I shouldn't get into this, but I suspect the board spent the money for results over a number of seasons. The targets for this season would not be the only consequence.

Edited May 7 by Sciatika

[Miguelito07]

Wonder if Poch will stick with the same team that played against W.Ham? i.e. Gusto to come in for Chalobah? 

[NoblyBobly]

1 hour ago, ROTG said:

Done. 
two pints of larger and packet of  crisps 😀

Can we make it two pints of lager and a kitkat? 

[JaneB]

1 hour ago, JonnyCFC said:

As this game kicks off at 5.30pm on Saturday does that mean it’s shown on tv?

As it’s not saying it’s on tv on the Chels website?

 

Exactly and that is where I get my information from.

51 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

its on Sky Sports

Live Football Games - Watch Football on TV | Sky Sports

Thanks, don't know why TOCWS hasn't put it up.  I've amended my first post on here accordingly.

[JaneB]

Ref: Tony Harrington

VAR: John Brooks

[ROTG]

5 hours ago, martin1905 said:

So you think the board spent all that money on players they knew were shit and set a target of 50 points?

No they didn’t because the data presented by the not so dynamic duo to toddles and eggy more than likely said 70pts. However what was not taken in to account and should have been put as a risk, in letting scouts assemble a squad without any input from the first team coach.

I am sure at the end of the season, when the not so dynamic duo do their end of season analysis to toddles and eggy, their highlight slide will focus on where the progress in cup competitions, xG, performance analysis against the top team, trending and KPI’s. 
 

You can also be assured that the slide expectations for next season will somewhere reference all the players who were injured this season as pluses for next season. 
 

very standard management presentation data that will be enough for another season blessing from Toddles, Eggy and creamcakes for Poch and the not so dynamic duo. 

Edited May 7 by ROTG

[Bones]

2 hours ago, ROTG said:

No they didn’t because the data presented by the not so dynamic duo to toddles and eggy more than likely said 70pts. However what was not taken in to account and should have been put as a risk, in letting scouts assemble a squad without any input from the first team coach.

I am sure at the end of the season, when the not so dynamic duo do their end of season analysis to toddles and eggy, their highlight slide will focus on where the progress in cup competitions, xG, performance analysis against the top team, trending and KPI’s. 
 

You can also be assured that the slide expectations for next season will somewhere reference all the players who were injured this season as pluses for next season. 
 

very standard management presentation data that will be enough for another season blessing from Toddles, Eggy and creamcakes for Poch and the not so dynamic duo. 

Not sure I like the nicknames for our owners, but one can be sure it is exactly what will happen out there 😂

[CarefreeMuratcan]

One strange thing. In Italy and Germany there is a chance 6th place will get CL. If Atalanta win the EL and finish 5th and Dortmund will the CL and finish 5th, then they each qualify for the CL via those tournament wins and the bonus 5th CL place goes down to 6th. 

So in an alternative reality where West Ham, Utd, Newcastle or Liverpool are 5th and close to the EL Final, our push for 6th could have been for a potential CL spot. 

In a very weird scenario where a CL winner and EL winner from the same country finish 5th and 6th (and the country has a bonus 5th CL spot) this could make 7th enough flr CL. 

Edited May 8 by CarefreeMuratcan

[My Blood Is Blue]

16 minutes ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

One strange thing. In Italy and Germany there is a chance 6th place will get CL. If Atalanta win the EL and finish 5th and Dortmund will the CL and finish 5th, then they each qualify for the CL via those tournament wins and the bonus 5th CL place goes down to 6th. 

So in an alternative reality where West Ham, Utd, Newcastle or Liverpool are 5th and close to the EL Final, our push for 6th could have been for a potential CL spot. 

In a very weird scenario where a CL winner and EL winner from the same country finish 5th and 6th (and the country has a bonus 5th CL spot) this could make 7th enough flr CL. 

I thought they had a rule that only allows each country to have a maximum of 5 CL places regardless of all the outcomes you’ve mentioned? So the opposite would be true and 4th place would no longer get a CL spot.

I may be wrong on that!

[chiswickblue]

27 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I thought they had a rule that only allows each country to have a maximum of 5 CL places regardless of all the outcomes you’ve mentioned? So the opposite would be true and 4th place would no longer get a CL spot.

I may be wrong on that!

They've updated this, so you can have more CL spots but if you win the EL or CL and don't finish in the CL spots in the league they reduce the EL or ECL spots accordingly.

Additionally, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League titleholders are each guaranteed a place in the league phase even if they do not qualify for the competition through their domestic championships. If the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League titleholder qualifies for the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League through one of its domestic competitions, the number of places to which its association is entitled in the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League is reduced by one.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

38 minutes ago, chiswickblue said:

They've updated this, so you can have more CL spots but if you win the EL or CL and don't finish in the CL spots in the league they reduce the EL or ECL spots accordingly.

Additionally, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League titleholders are each guaranteed a place in the league phase even if they do not qualify for the competition through their domestic championships. If the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League titleholder qualifies for the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League through one of its domestic competitions, the number of places to which its association is entitled in the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League is reduced by one.

 

1 hour ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I thought they had a rule that only allows each country to have a maximum of 5 CL places regardless of all the outcomes you’ve mentioned? So the opposite would be true and 4th place would no longer get a CL spot.

I may be wrong on that!

Yep. The scenario where we knocked Spurs out of the CL by winning the CL can't happen anymore.

[Sciatika]

This post is proof I have no life. I have been looking at the table and the remaining fixtures. Currently, the table shows:

Pos	Team	Pld	GD	Pts
5	Spurs	35	11	60
6	Chelsea	35	11	54
7	Newcastle	35	22	56
8	Man Utd	35	-3	54

The remaining fixtures are 

Spurs - Burnley(H), Man City(H), Sheff Utd (A)
Newcastle - Brighton(H), Man Utd(A), Brentford(A)
Chelsea - Forest(A), Brighton(A), Bournemouth(H)
Man Utd - Arsenal(H), Newcastle(H), Brighton(A)

I aim to figure out how much this is in our hands, so I will assume we win all three of our games and capture a net positive on the GD. I will add 3 to GD, one for each game, assuming a minimum of 1-0.

Let's say Spurs will be beaten by Man City but beat Sheffield. Both results seem likely. However, Burnley, fighting relegation, picks up a win. That leaves Spurs with 63 points and probably not much change to GD because I expect them to be tonked by City. So, I won't change the GD, though, in that scenario, it might be negative.

I expect Man Utd to lose to Arsenal at the weekend. However, the Newcastle game is key. Newcastle is inconsistent, while Man Utd is abject. However, United's key players are returning from injury. Also, the match is at OT, and as we know, all referees are "homers", especially at OT. So, let's say it's a draw. If so, Man Utd's last game against Brighton is fairly irrelevant to the final positions, so I'll put it down as a draw.

Apart from Man Utd, Newcastle have Brighton at home, which they will probably win. If I am right about the Man Utd draw, then, as far as the final positions are concerned, their last result is key. A Newcastle win places them on 63 points, along with Chelsea and Spurs. GD becomes key in the final positions. Newcastle have a big positive GD that places them fifth. But, just for fun, let's assume Newcastle draw the final game. On that basis, you end up with the table:

Pos	Team	Pld	GD	Pts
5	Chelsea	38	14	63
6	Spurs	38	11	63
7	Newcastle	38	22	61
8	Man Utd	38	-3	56

So, assuming we win ALL of ours (long shot), the key fixtures are:

Matchday 36 Spurs vs Burnley (need a Burnley win)
Matchday 37 Man Utd vs Newcastle (need a Man Utd win or draw)
Matchday 38 Newcastle vs Brighton (need Brighton to pick up at least a point)

Come on, you Clarets!

Edited May 8 by Sciatika

[My Blood Is Blue]

@Sciatika I love the positivity, but having been scarred by football and Chelsea too many times, especially this season, I'm fully expecting to mess it all up this Sunday!

Genuinely though, the scenario you set out isn't all that impossible and I actually think Man United might beat Newcastle as well. Spurs losing to Burnley, I'm not so sure about although they have gone full-on Spursy at the moment, so you never know.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

11 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

@Sciatika I love the positivity, but having been scarred by football and Chelsea too many times, especially this season, I'm fully expecting to mess it all up this Sunday!

Genuinely though, the scenario you set out isn't all that impossible and I actually think Man United might beat Newcastle as well. Spurs losing to Burnley, I'm not so sure about although they have gone full-on Spursy at the moment, so you never know.

Newcastle look to have turned a corner like us, so I'm not banking on them dropping points. So my mentality is I'll be happy even if we get Conference League, Europa would be a huge bonus. Set expectations low, no mental scarring.

I'd actually say we are more likely to finish above Spurs than Newcastle based on current form.

Edited May 8 by CarefreeMuratcan

[Ham]

I'd hate us to get conference league.  We'd be trolled mercilessly.

[Mark Kelly]

19 minutes ago, Ham said:

I'd hate us to get conference league.  We'd be trolled mercilessly.

The good thing is , we don't have to accept , it's only an invitation to play in it and we can , given our parlous financial position , refuse to accept the invitation , I think Milan did it a few years back. 

[thevelourfog]

41 minutes ago, Ham said:

I'd hate us to get conference league.  We'd be trolled mercilessly.

Still, we had won every European competition until this was introduced, something nice to rounding that out again.

Think it would kill our league form next season, though.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

I'd hate us to get conference league.  We'd be trolled mercilessly.

I'm not fussed. Trophy is a trophy, a European tour is a European tour.  Get an interesting variety of novel opposition. Plus with us in town stadiums will sell out adding an extra edge to each game. I think it would be fun.

I think we got trolled when we played in the Europa League too, won it both times. That's the difference between us and your Tottenhams (who binned this tournament purposefully) and Aston Villas (I don't see them going through).

Also we are learning with this crop of youth, a learning wheels tournament would be a great warm up act building up towards CL.

 

23 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

Still, we had won every European competition until this was introduced, something nice to rounding that out again.

Think it would kill our league form next season, though.

Less than Europa actually. 6 group games in Conference, 8 in Europa (like CL).

[CarefreeMuratcan]

49 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

The good thing is , we don't have to accept , it's only an invitation to play in it and we can , given our parlous financial position , refuse to accept the invitation , I think Milan did it a few years back. 

Ah yes wasn't there something about using it to serve our 1 year Euro ban, so we are fresh for a potential CL qualification going forward.

[paulw66]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

The good thing is , we don't have to accept , it's only an invitation to play in it and we can , given our parlous financial position , refuse to accept the invitation , I think Milan did it a few years back. 

Is this because the FFP rules are stricter in euro comps?

[Mark Kelly]

4 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

Is this because the FFP rules are stricter in euro comps?

Yes I believe so 

[boratsbrother]

On 08/05/2024 at 09:49, Ham said:

I'd hate us to get conference league.  We'd be trolled mercilessly.

The European Full Members Cup 

💩

[Sciatika]

If we don't do the conference league, how can we sing "we've won it all"?

[Ham]

2 hours ago, Sciatika said:

If we don't do the conference league, how can we sing "we've won it all"?

We haven't won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy either but I can live with that. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 hours ago, Ham said:

We haven't won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy either but I can live with that. 

It’s good to have a dream though