Ring master
Player Valuation: £90m
Well, no, not really
Everton are only down when they are mathematically done
Everton are only down when they are mathematically done
Raino85
Player Valuation: £35m
Blue83
Player Valuation: £20m
I would take Barmby, Hutchison and Dunc for our current team, Gary Speed as well for half a season
I know
I was thinking Joe Royle was in charge at the time
It was the 1997 part that threw me.
The Binman
Player Valuation: £8m
We unfortunately have one of the worst premier league managers in history. Until you change who is in control of putting the team together tactically, then id suggest it doesn't matter. WE are and have been for some time a bargain basement team.
I dont even know if Sean Dyche would get better results with this lot in div 1....
He is hope;less. Appreciate the 8 points isn't helping, but what we are watching is dreadful, utterly dreadful. These performances are on a par with that team, despite who we may have as players.
Utterly awful in every way.
Just checked and not quite - because Speed was sold after 24 games, and Stuart after 17.
But the reality is that team you consider our worst, scored more than this team has for years now, and achieved more points.
Tipp blue
If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
This year's team has taken an 8 point deduction and it's still in our own hands.. an 8 point deduction would have comfortably sent us down for about 5 years in a row in the 90s
Don't forget it's relative aswell though the best team in the league in 97/98 was Arsenal and they had that back 4 who were all in their mid 30s and not even that good when they'd been at their peak that team would be lucky to finish top half in the Premier League these days! If theres any sort of argument at all about who would win between our 97/98 team and this team then this one is clearly worse relatively because the quality in the league has increased massively.
As it would the past 2 years, and it still could now.
Preki
Player Valuation: £10m
Not McNeil.
Socistep2
Player Valuation: £100k
Totally correct re: wheels coming off, it was the covid season of course but we were in a strong position mid way through that season, a bit like villa this season, playing well and had a style that got results - after 27 games we were 5th but dropped to 10th, definitely an opportunity missed as we were only 8 points off top 4 and lost at home to Burnley, Sheff Utd and drew with Palace
It felt like that drop continued and we lost too many good players combined with a huge negative feeling about Benitez, reminded me in a way of the drop off when Joe Royle left, we went from a side that finished 6th, being in a strong position at Christmas 96 to nose diving and ended up with a poor manager (at the time in HK3, not HK1) and a poor squad that just stayed up - when you look back then Smith was allowed to come in and recruit to stabilise the ship but without Campbell we'd have gone down in 98-99 as well (we were 18th with 6 to go !) , there are quite a lot of parallels to the current era
Realistically on the field Dyche is doing a 'walter smith' style role in 99-01, we aren't great but are a mid table side, with 35 points 'on the grass' with 6 games to go you've done enough to stay up - however the minus 8 points puts a huge dark cloud over the season and puts us at serious risk of relegation, given the performance in the second half of the season and feeling we are getting progressively worse
richardo675
Player Valuation: £500k
That 1997/1998 squad was poor especially in midfield and forwards with ferguson injured a lot, i think current squad better than 1997/1998 squad
Roachey11
Player Valuation: £5m
Luton may well beat us but which other games are they winning? It's a stretch to think they'll beat Bretnford this weekend. Luton have loads of injuries and Brentford have a fair few key men back in. I'd actually make Brentford favourites in that.
HalfTimeSayers
Player Valuation: £25m
Fulham. All day. If we go into that last weekend still in reach (or behind) we’ve absolutely had it.
