Official Premiership 2008/09 thread

[Bryan Blade]

Because they've gotten away with injuries and suspensions for the most of the season..don't get me wrong i'd love to see Villa in the top 4....at the expense of chelsea though

[IAceI]

Every team in the Premiership right now has an agenda which is much bigger than any FA Cup can be.

Teams are challenging for the title, trying to get into the top 4, avoiding relegation. While you can argue teams like Wigan, Fulham etc. are probably not fighting for much, I guess there's still always the possibility a couple of results could see them back in the scrap. That 7th place won't get you Europe will it this year - if it does then count all them teams right back in with something to play for.

With the title this close teams have more to focus on than an FA Cup run, if it was more spread out then I think teams would take it more seriously.

[alldaws1]

Because they've gotten away with injuries and suspensions for the most of the season..don't get me wrong i'd love to see Villa in the top 4....at the expense of chelsea though

So they've had less injuries and suspensions than Arsenal therefore they deserve to lose some games? Good teams play through injuries and suspensions, Arsenal have failed miserably with that. Doesn't mean everyone else in the league should be given a few broken legs and red cards.

[ONO]

Because they've gotten away with injuries and suspensions for the most of the season..don't get me wrong i'd love to see Villa in the top 4....at the expense of chelsea though

Which is absolute balls. We've had less injured players and less suspensions so Arsenal deserve it more?

Aye, that makes sense.

[Baddar]

Utd are 1-0 up.

Scholes with another "corner goal". Someone might mark him one of these days, because Utd try it every time he plays. Granted, he's only scored a handful of them, but you'd think with his shot, they'd just put someone on him.

Schwarzer should've saved it, though.

EDIT: 2-0, Berba.

Edited February 18, 2009 by Baddar-bing!

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Wow, Scholes is having his est game in a long time, just a master class from him out there. Just makes it all look so easy. Just dominating in the game. Hopefully Rooney gets at least half hour.

[AJ]

Why is it when you're listening from the start of the match they seem to mention the score every 30 seconds but when you tune in half an hour in you feel like you're waiting ages til they let you know.

Another v.solid win. I would love it, LOVE IT if they went the rest of the season without conceding. Not gonna happen, and will be sad when the run is broken, but it's awesome while it lasts.

[Baddar]

Zamora came close to ending it twice this evening.

Still, 5 points clear, and the Blackburn game on Saturday is huge. After this weekend's round of games, Liverpool will play twice (Boro away, Sunderland home) before we do again (Newcastle away), so even though we'll have 2 games in hand, by the time we play Newcastle, Liverpool could be top again.

If we win away at Newcastle, the last PL game before we play Liverpool, I'm confident we'll win the league. It's just the fixtures coming up prove that Liverpool can easily put the pressure on, and close the gap rather quickly.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I'm really not sure whether I'd rather a lower team be the one to stop the run or for it to actually e a big team. There's the downside of the bigger teams gloating if they do, but the upside is that the record would of been beaten by a top team.

Either way, MOTM performance from Scholes tonight. I'm loving this stuff between he and Giggs, both of them pulling out amazing performances in recent weeks and rolling back the years.

[AJ]

Just seen Scholes' goal. Schwarzer perhaps should've done better but such was the power of the strike he couldn't hold it. Absolutely magnificent volley though.

[Adam]

That 7th place won't get you Europe will it this year - if it does then count all them teams right back in with something to play for.

I believe it will if Man Utd win the Carling Cup and one of the top 6 finishers wins the FA Cup, as the runners-up in those competitions no longer get the spot (Im not sure if the Carling Cup runners-up ever did, actually). So, if Man Utd beat Spurs next week, and say Chelsea win the FA Cup, then 6th & 7th will qualify for the UEFA Cup Europa League.

[Dynamite]

Paddy Power is paying out on Manchester United as winners of the Premier League, FA Cup and Carling Cup - the first time any bookie has paid out early on a team winning more than one trophy in a season.

With United's goal impregnable in their last 14 league games and Arsene Wenger's admission that the champions are 'untouchable' Paddy Power is not only declaring the title race over but all domestic trophies for this season.

The bookie will pay out on all bets on United winning the three domestic trophies as well as any bets on the domestic doubles and the treble.

United are already just 1/6 to retain their title, 2/5 for the Carling Cup and 7/4 for the FA Cup, with Paddy Power looking at an early payout of over £1 million.

Paddy Power, head of communications for the bookie, said: "We know and punters know the race for trophies is all but over for another year so why wait for the formalities?

"If none of the opposition are able to even score a goal against United what chance have they got of actually beating them to silverware? We just hope someone can do us a favour and stop them in Europe.

"However, paying out on all three is a gamble. Football has a way of biting teams on the backside when they least expect it so we could yet end up with egg on our faces and not for the first time.

"Paddy Power are famous for being the first to call title races over, even paying out on Chelsea after just seven games of the 2005/06 season. But we haven't always got it right, famously paying out on Arsenal in the 2002/2003 season only to have to pay out again when Manchester United pipped them to the title."

Paddy Power are also waiting on the outcome of this season's relegation fight having paid out on Stoke, currently 2/1 on for the drop, after their loss on the first day of the season.

I'm a United fan and even I can see this is stupid. The whole "the opposition can't score against them" argument won't necessarily be true in the Carling Cup final where VDS will probably be rested and maybe one of Vidic or Ferdinand as well. Then there's the FA cup, a tournament which still has Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton in it where pretty much anything can happen. I can see us winning a double of some sorts but paying out for a domestic treble already is purely the result of PaddyPower believing the media hype a bit too much.

[Scott McFly]

Shit, I'm betting with the wrong bookies clearly. Paying out on the Man Untied treble is silly enough, but they paid out on Stoke being relegated after the first day of the season? Come on.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Spurs and Derby are pretty much the only teams in ages who have scored against United so the Cup Final isn't a forgone conclusion yet.

[Matt]

Everyone should bet with Paddy Power in future, they pay out anything.

[Adam]

I can kind of understand paying out on the title and the Carling Cup (although they do have only a five point gap) but paying out on the FA Cup when they still have to win three, possibly four, matches? Portsmouth knocked them out last season, anything could happen.

[Pesci]

Paying out on Stoke getting relegated on the first day is hilarious. Imagine if they'd have done that for Hull. Admittedly they could get relegated now but they'd have been shitting themselves for a good while. And they keep doing this shit after they already fucked up a few years ago? Shocking.

[Matt]

Why do they pay out early? Surely all they're doing is potentially costing themselves money. :/

[stokeriño]

Why do they pay out early? Surely all they're doing is potentially costing themselves money. :/

I presume they stop accepting new bets for it as well? If they think X eventuality is going to be a sure thing, then even if they pummel their given odds into the ground they'd still lose a tiny bit of money every time someone new made the (apparently sure-fire) bet.

Even so: ridiculous.

[Hobo]

Now I have extra will for United to fall, so PaddyPowers will be owned.