Premiership Dissapointments this season...

[Canuck]

Which teams did you think would do well that have faded over the season? Who is the biggest dissapointment overall?

Villa? Charlton? Fulham? I had expected these teams to try and make a sustained push for Europe. Villa have looked manic/depressive lately, at the beginning of the season they were brimming with optimism, now they aren't so sure...I remember seeing an interview with Hitzelsperger at season start. He said how happy he was there, but now he wants to go back to Germany! How much longer will Angel stick around if they can't nail down a spot in Europe?
while Charlton always seem to put together a mini-run to try for a top 6 finish but never seem to pull it off. Now they say that Curbs is on the hot seat. Birmingham have done jack squat with all of the players they signed over the summer.
Fulham have to be the biggest flop IMO this season. Sitting 15th only 7 points off relegation at the moment.

Then there's Liverpool's league performances! WTF!
Currently it looks like it's Bolton, 'Pool, Boro, and Spuds battling it out for European spots.

 

[seb_afc]

Southampton have really disapointed me. theyve gone from the fa cup final to relegation battles. everton have impressed me. i thought when we hammered them 4-1 on the opening day of the season that they would go down...how wrong i was.

 

[patrick42uk]

as a whole, the biggest disappointment for me is that everton might make the cl. just makes this league look awful, which it is to be fair.

 

[Mark]

I expected a lot from Birmingham and Fulham who find themselves rather low. I also expected Pompey to do better, they have a pretty good team. I also expected more from Charlton, Villa and Middlesbrough, but recent bad patches messed them up really.

 

[KingReyes]

as a whole, the biggest disappointment for me is that everton might make the cl. just makes this league look awful, which it is to be fair.

Thats very true, lets also not forget that Bolton are right up there as well. Just shows that the standard of football has dropped.

 

[USArsenal]

i cant say that everton are the biggest disappointment for me.. they exceeded all expectations this year, as they were tipped for the drop at the beginning of the season.. now they are really "limping", but they could still hang on to the final CL spot...

the biggest disappointment for me is a toss up between Villa and Fulham... Villa have been a f*cking joke lately, and Fulham has been one most of the season (although starting to look OK the last couple matches).. i mean, how do you lose 5-1 to the Sp**s??? i'm not that disappointed about Charlton because they go through the same thing every season, so its no surprise... (late season slump)..

Soton are pretty disappointing too, but i cant say im all that surprised at their lack of results... Portsmouth have been a little disappointing too... thought they were on their way up the table, fell right back into mid-low table obscurity....

but i think Liverpool have been right up there with the bigger disappointments.. they have better players than their 5th place (and way off the pace) table position suggest... their CL run is completely contrary to their domestic form...

 

[Canuck]

When Everton crash out of CL qualifying against a strong Ukraine or Czech side (or small Italian/French/Spanish side for that matter), that will be dissapointing. I have really been impressed with Evertons players commitment this season. They have done remarkably well after they had been tipped for relegation. But I think it's a one off season, and they won't be able to keep it up next season. They might manage a top 6, maybe, but I doubt it. Certainly a top 10 finish would be realistic for them next year. I have to agree that Everton in the CL will probably reflect poorly on the EPL overall. Same could be said of Bolton. These are teams that could possibly put a good run together in UEFA Cup, and indeed could produce some fantastic physical showdowns with Eastern European teams that aren't afraid to push back. Though let's face it, they will find themselves way out of their depth if they made it to the CL group phase. Outclassed by teams even as unfashionable as Dynamo Kyiv, Sparta Prague, Shakhtar Donetsk, or any of the Moscows...

Soton on the other hand have been fighting against a downward slide for awhile now. Though I will be suprised if they get relegated this season. I don't think anyone really thought they'd bomb that badly. Unlike Everton, they couldn't deal with mainly Strachan and also Beattie leaving. Not enough character in their dressing room. Some individuals who motivate themselves, but can't lift the entire team.

 

[famous no 10]

The whole PL is a dissapointment now, at least from the first 4-5 teams down.

Apart from us, man u, Chelski and perhaps Liverpool, i can't see any other team getting anywhere near winning the title, not in the next few years, they all look like they play in another league.

The rest just look like they're making up the numbers.

 

[slapz]

Our defence between our Old Trafford defeat and when big Phil came into the team

 

[Arsenal316]

Disappointment? Newcastle.....end of story.

 

[Asterix]

The whole PL is a dissapointment now, at least from the first 4-5 teams down.

Apart from us, man u, Chelski and perhaps Liverpool, i can't see any other team getting anywhere near winning the title, not in the next few years, they all look like they play in another league.

The rest just look like they're making up the numbers.

This is generally the case across the top leagues. In Italy Milan and Juve will be top dog for a while to come, with Inter sniffing about but not quite making it. Barca and Real will dominate Spain, with Valencia hanging about too. Bayern dominate Germany and Lyon are doing the same now in France. This is due to money, which flows from the CL (or Abramovich) and astute management.

Newcastle and Liverpool have been really disappointing this season, as have Blackburn. Can we blame Souness perhaps? Boro too haven't quite lived up to their signings, while Charlton's end of season collapse is sad to see.

 

[Aussie]

You cant go past Newcastle. Then again i dont know what i expected from them.

 

[ozgooner]

m/brough...i actually though they would be really close to a cl spot with the players they have

 

[S_McKenzie]

liverppol deffinetly

 

[AFCG7]

THe same can be said of Serie A and La liga and the French League. In Italy.. JUve and MIlan are way ahead of the chasing pack..ROma can be equated to Liverpool's performances..Sampdoria and Udinese chasing the last CL spot.
In SPain its all Real Madrid aand Barca.. Deportivo and Valencia have had shocking seasons and we are left with Villareal Espanyol and Sevilla going for the CL spots.

In England.. Chelsea runaway Champs.. Arsenal and Man U battling for second/third.. while there's a mad scrap for fourth between Everton Bolton Liverpool.

 

[AFCG7]

ops: heh.. Asterix.. i didnt read your post.. same thing basically.

 

[brianfrance]

Everton defended SO WELL as a team when they had the lead. Impressive commitment. I'm not pissed that they'll play CL next season, I'm convinced they can reach something like 1/4 as they'll be very under estimated, like this season in the PL. And the way they keeped the 4th without their main skipper is impressive too.

I expected a lot more from Boro; I didn't really from newcastle, they have a very unbalanced team. Kluivert LOL
Pool has been very inconsistent, it was a cup season for them. Convinced they'll make 3th or 4th next season.

 

[gunnertilldeath]

villa, brum, reyes. disappointments of the season for me personally.

 

[Asterix]

ops: heh.. Asterix.. i didnt read your post.. same thing basically.

great minds etc etc :wink:

 

[Canuck]

You know, I just keep forgetting about Newcastle. They might as well be relegated for all I care. Pathetic...I had a good laugh at them after their collapse against Sporting, but after that they have been pretty much out of sight/out of mind for me.

Good points about most of the major leagues getting shaken up this year. Udinese,Sampdoria/Sevilla, Villarreal/Alkmaar/ Even Hertha Berlin are sniffing around the Bundesliga for a top 4 finish!
Seems like there's been a bit of a changing of the guard lately with teams like Borrusia Dortmund/Kaiserslautern, Valencia/Depor, Roma/Lazio all going for a bit of a slide. I suppose you'd say Newcastle and 'Pool in England but I'm sure Liverpool are far from down and out, (same with Valencia)