Looking into the Crystal Football: PL Season Predictions 22-23

67YAZ said:

Golden Boot - Salah. Not going to Qatar is going to be a huge advantage, though def a personal disappointment for many.

Golden Gloves - Lloris

POTY - Salah

YPOTY - Haaland. Had to check the rules. He qualifies by 3 weeks.

1. Liverpool - Klopp prioritizes the league this season
2. City - Pep makes the UCL his top goal. I tinker Haaland starts slow, Pep’s system is complex. But getting to spend the WC break at the club means he’ll explode in the second half of the season.
3. Spurs - Conte magic on defense, but Kane & Son are going to need plenty of rotation to survive. Can they get enough scoring from the rest of the squad?
4. Arsenal - i think they finish a good ways back of Spurs and securing 4th goes down to the last match, but I’m a believer.
5. Chelsea - i feel for the players & staff who have been thrown into disarray because of Russia’s invasion. There’s so much talent on tap, but doesn’t all seem to fit together or with Tuechel’s needs.
6. ManU - it’s going to take ETH some time. Hope he gets it.
7. West Ham - they’re doing good business, but adding Onana would be a boon
8. Villa - have done really good business and we’ll get to see Stevie G’s plan implemented in full.
9. Brighton - Potter does his finest work and then leaves for Chelsea in the summer. Also, Lamptey is one of my favorites to watch.
10. Newcastle - I’m not such a huge Howe fan. They are building a strong foundation, but don’t think Eddie is going to see them through to Europe.
11. Leicester - this is a compromise. If they can keep Tielmans. Fofana, & Maddison they’ll challenged for Europe. Lose all three so late in the window and it could be really rough.
12. Brentford - they know what they’re doing.
13. Palace - still a lot of youth. Have to learn how to finish out matches.
14. Everton - was higher until the DCL injury, still really need those midfield transfers to come through.
15. Wolves - a shark that has stopped swimming
16. Leeds - the real life Ted Lasso stays up comfortably.
17. Fulham - return of Jedi
18. Southampton - I think Ralph has worn them out
19. Forest - 13 new players and counting. Maybe the WC break will be extra practice time they need to gel
20. Bournemouth - might be the worst EPL club in many years

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Kliq said:

We all greatly underestimated Bournemouth.

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Mighty Joe Young said:

Golden Boot - Salah. Missing Qatar will be a huge boost

Golden Gloves - Allison

POTY - Salah

YPOTY - Saka

1. Liverpool - heart over head - 95 points easily wins the league - Nunez pots 20 - Liverpool score a gazillion goals
2. City - Pep screws around too much before the world cup break. Haaland takes a couple of months to settle and then terrorizes the league but its too late.

gap

3. Spurs - Conte - say no more

another gap - next three tossup

4a. Arsenal - could be really good, could fall apart - depending on you know who's legal problems (not to mention a fan backlash - only if he sucks)
4b. Chelsea -too many ill advised incomings , even more ill advised outgoings - still top four talent . terrified at the Michael Edwards rumours
4c: West Ham - excellent window

gap - mid table scramble

7. ManU - Conference league dreams - god what a mess. How the mighty have fallen. Mind you, if Ronaldo gets his wish (god knows where) TH would be better off. If he leaves they could challenge for Top 4
8. Newcastle -big Eddie Howe fan. Surprised they haven't started spending those sweet saudi riyals (of course Madison could be arriving). I'm really torn about this team. I have historically really likes Newcastle - dating back to the Keegan years - but I cant bring myself to cheer for them now for obvious reasons.
9. Brighton
10. Palace
11 Villa
12 Wolves

gap - from here down anyone could face the drop. I think its been awhile since so many teams are in jeopardy

13. Everton
14. Brentford
15. Southampton
16 Fulham - who knows - could be this year's Brentford. Is Mitrovic a AAAA striker or the real thing? (my fantasy team hopes for the the latter)
17. Leeds
18. Leicester - disaster at the King Power - FFP restriction cause havoc - both Tielemans and Madison are sold as they won't re-up. Rogers quits just before the WC break, claiming lack of board room support (before he can be sacked)
19. Forest - classic mistake of promoted teams - too many incomings. Awoniyi should be fun though
20. Bournemouth - relegated by February.

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candylandriots said:

EVERYONE thought Bournemouth were basically the worst team in PL history. It's still not clear to me how they ended up where they did.

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OCST said:

Golden boot - Son
POTY -Salah
YPOTY - Saka
Manager of the Year - Howe


1.Liverpool - have managed to reload enough to supplement their core. The guys in the engine room are showing their age, their back four doesn't have the depth you'd want. They concede more than Pool squads have recently but they score bucketfuls of goals.
2. City - fall just short. Haaland is the best player but doesn't make the team better - they were the best in England without a striker and they never quite figure out how to fit these guys together.
3. Arsenal. Unlike City, Arsenal meshes, and unlike City, they're young and hungry. Probably need to get even better in back and add a depth piece or two to contend for the title. Jesus is worth a dozen divisions in Poland.
4. Spurs. Going to be a dogfight with Arsenal and I love it. I could go either way on these two.

5. Newcastle. I have to have some fun. When healthy, a team with Wilson, ASM, and Trippier is formidable, their attacking energy is off the charts. More money will be spent. Plus I have an irrational love of Jonjo Shelvey.

6. ManU. A year and some acquisitions away.
7. Palace. Ascendant. If they can keep some of these kids around they can build something. A budget version of Arsenal from two years ago.
8. Chelsea. Wheels fall off. Eight attacking players in search of a plan. A bazillion midfielders seems to work for City, but Teuchel has given up his trademark defensive solidity without instilling a consistent attack. Sterling has a good year but too many 3-2 losses and 4-4 draws drive Teuchel out of town.
9. West Ham. Able to compete but not quite enough here to push higher.
10. Leicester. KDH, Barnes, and Maddison are great, but Ndidi's a year older, that back four is sus, and Vardy falls off a cliff finally.

11. Wolves. Meh.
12. Everton. Frank gets it to work with a back 3/5. Mykolenko and Patterson are breakout stars and the Toffees' fullback combo for the next decade. Still not enough stopping power after Mina gets hurt again, but a solid base for growth.
13. Villa. Old. Expensive.
14. Brentford. Some good players here that no one talks about, like Raya, Wissa, Janssen. No stars, but solid enough 1 through 11 under Frank and with a few years playing together.
15. Fulham. I like Marco Silva and was scared that we were going to pass him on the escalator. Mitrovic, the classic AAAA player, too good for the Championship, historically not that good in the PL, silences his critics.
16. Leeds. Young Americans do just enough to keep them out of serious danger.
17. Forest. Keeping them up out of sentimentality.

18. Brighton. Not good enough at any one thing to survive. Mostly here because I forgot to include them in my 11-17 which tells you something.
19. Southampton. In January, Liverpool throws money at their version of the Kansas City A's to grab Ward-Prowse for the stretch run. Ralph can't get them to 40 points again.
20. Bournemouth. May be the worst side in the PL in recent memory.

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