[Bruvva]

Ah go on then, I'll start this even though there's only about 4 people who come here anymore.

Predictions - top two either Man City or Arsenal. Rest of the top 4, perm any two from Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton or Utd. Out of those 4, I'd be tempted to say Arsenal and Liverpool BUT Liverpool are one injury away from having no one much up front (assuming no one's been signed between now and the close of the window) so the attack could be a bit toothless and Arsenal seem to have strengthened in the areas they were already strong in, still think they need a bit of bite in midfield - their results away from home to the top 5/6 last season were what derailed them really and that was a result of there being no fight there. Utd will benefit from having a much better manager than Moyes but moving from 7th to the top 4 has only been done twice before so while possible, it's tricky, especially as the clubs above them are also improving. Everton haven't brought much in but Martinez is a decent manager so they'll still be around the top 4 I think and I honestly have no idea how Spurs will do.

As for relegation, the 3 who've come up plus Villa and West Ham will be involved come the end of the season I think.

[The Deadly]

I made a silly bet on twitter that too many people have taken screenshots of. I need Chelsea to win the league let's put it that way.

[flyingbadger]

Have either of you gents been drinking this evening?

[The Deadly]

Yes.

[G-Sizzle]

Top 4 -
Chelsea
Arsenal
City
United.

[swaddon1903]

Top 4 -
Chelsea
Arsenal
City
United.

I can't see Leicester finishing third.

[flyingbadger]

Haha.
Lol'd.
Leicester City...
Ahh.
Funny.

Re: deadly's posts cause I cannae be * quoting off the mobile. * knew it champ.
Now I want to know what the tweet was.

[The Deadly]

I've promised to cycle to Exmouth if Chelsea don't win the league by 5 points. I'm a man of my word so I would do it if it came to it. Raise a bit of money for sick kids or something (then embezzle the funds).

[dimtimjim]

Top 4 -
Chelsea
Arsenal
City
United.

I can't see Leicester finishing third.

Oi..! Don't knock mighty-mighty-Leicester. Only 2 days away from us going straight to top of table with an 8-0 win over Everton to open the season.

[swaddon1903]

Top 4 -
Chelsea
Arsenal
City
United.

I can't see Leicester finishing third.

Oi..! Don't knock mighty-mighty-Leicester. Only 2 days away from us going straight to top of table with an 8-0 win over Everton to open the season.

Football Manager is not real life.

[bmstinton93]

Oh, so that's why Worcester City didn't win the champions league last year. Damn.

[Topher]

I've promised to cycle to Exmouth if Chelsea don't win the league by 5 points. I'm a man of my word so I would do it if it came to it. Raise a bit of money for sick kids or something (then embezzle the funds).

How far is that from you?

[The Deadly]

About 190 miles. Not that far in the grand scheme of things. Good opportunity to raise a bit of money if I end up having to do it. Not many nicer places you could cycle to.

[Topher]

How long will that take you do you think?

[The Deadly]

It would depend on how in shape I was at the time. I'd have a fair idea by April if Chelsea are going to win the league by 5 points or not so I'd potentially start training then to do it late July. Google maps says it would take 15 hours but that's of course non stop which I wouldn't be able to do. I would want to do it in one go though so I'd probably start about 5am and cycle til 1pm have a two hour break and then finish it.

[Topher]

Stick the sponsor link on here if you do it (preferably Virgin Money Giving, not JustGiving) and I'll sponsor you if you choose a decent charity.

[chrysostom]

Hope you get to the bookies with that.

So, football is back. Missed it being a background presence in the weekend so much!

[dimtimjim]

Not a bad opening result... So happy Man U lost. Funny shiz.

[Bruvva]

Interesting thing about the Utd result is the reaction to it. Everyone seemed to think that the appointment of a decent manager would instantly see them back to being the team they were under Ferguson but after that game it's pretty obvious that it won't be as simple as that.

As for the other top 4 contenders, too early to say much about any of them. I was impressed with Arsenal being resilient and coming back from behind and liked that Liverpool can still score without El Bitey and that the defence is going to continue to provide heart attacks.

[Yudster]

United had a very good pre-season and looked like they were playing really good football as well as getting the results - but it all means nothing because the way football is played in the Premier League is nothing like anything anywhere else. You have to be able to do both these days.

League 1 blues have commenced by the way.

[Bruvva]

Pre-season games are nothing more than a way for the players to regain fitness, it's silly to read anything into them, for example, Liverpool beat Dortmund 4-0 t'other week, that won't happen should they meet in a competitive match. It's only comparatively recently that such big things are made of the matches, I remember having to scour the back of the papers back in the early 90s to find out that Liverpool had beaten some Norwegian team 1-0 (David Burrows scored, fact fans) , one paragraph in the back of the Mirror was all that was reported.

[Bruvva]

Oh look, the Barcelona transfer ban has been upheld AFTER they appealed and bought Suarez.

[chrysostom]

It's utter bullshit. I hope they get serious injuries and lose everything.

[Bruvva]

Irritating, isn't it? They used the period that appealing bought them and then splurged on players. I can't help thinking that other clubs wouldn't have been given the chance to appeal. Hohum.

Oh, and Liverpool "linked" with Balotelli (reasonably sane journalists are saying discussions are ongoing), probably won't happen but having grown used to having a complete loon up front for the last few seasons, having a new one as a replacement would be quite good

[Topher]

Oh look, the Barcelona transfer ban has been upheld AFTER they appealed and bought Suarez.

Look, I know nothing of these things, but surely - given the nature of the punishment and the permanent nature of being able to circumvent it during an appeal - any ban should have been upheld until after the appeal had been reviewed, no?

Can't they make them and any other clubs involved cancel all transactions and player transfers - just transfer the money back and the players return to their previous clubs?