It’s noticeable this year that Leeds aside the 2 promoted clubs are really struggling and the 3 sides who have come down are up the top of the championship.
The gap is widening I feel.
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Bottom 4 clubs have played 35 games between them and they only have two wins.
Was only one up until Burnley’s win this weekend
It’s noticeable this year that Leeds aside the 2 promoted clubs are really struggling and the 3 sides who have come down are up the top of the championship.
The gap is widening I feel.
Leeds are dropping down the table, and will be lucky to stay up.
In the Championship, the three sides that came down are in the top four.
The gap is getting wider all the time.
I disagree with you on this Pedro. Brighton have played some excellent football this season, far better than anything you'll see in the Championship but have been unlucky not to have picked up the points their football has deserved. The bottom 3 however are pretty dire. Fulham may pull away if they can sort out their brittle defence because they've acquired some really good players but I wouldn't bet on it.
I want Leeds relegated
Yesterday
I think these things come and go. Both us and Fulham went back down in a season where we were close contenders to Wolves, who did more than ok. Villa and Sheffield Utd survived in the top flight last season while none of the relegated trio threatened automatic promotion. We were a tad fortunate even to get a playoff spot in what was a strange season.
This season it's been a little unusual for there to be no relegated side in the Championship that has struggled.
11 of the teams come from London, Manchester, Liverpool or inner Birmingham. There is a huge amount of investment going into these clubs because of international recognition for areas they come from, as well as the huge catchment areas for picking up young talent and filling their stadiums. If Fulham manage to stay up this year then they can spend another £100 million in the summer, as Villa have just fallen short of, which we would never have been able to do even if staying up.
The exception to the rule are teams like Wolves who have partnered with a super-agent to capture Portugal's best stars and Leicester who had a miracle season when others were in a down year and have invested well since, but these are exceptions with a small 'e' as their success is so far cut short of winning trophies or repeatedly qualifying for champions league.
The premier league is harder than ever but also harder still if you're from outside one of those four big cities.
I just had a look at the 2018/19 EPL table after 9 games. City had just picked up their first win (against Fulham) and were fourth from bottom on five points. Newcastle United were bottom on two points. They eventually finished in 13th place. However, the teams who were 17th (Cardiff), 18th (Fulham) and 19th (Huddersfield) were all relegated.
Sheffield United, bottom at the moment on one point, have been a bit unlucky so far and have played fairly well in a number of recent games, but they'll have to start winning very soon. West Brom look very weak, while Fulham look decent going forward but their defence is very fragile.
I think Leeds could get dragged into the relegation battle given their cavalier attitude to games, but Burnley have scored very few goals this season and Newcastle are far from great, so I'm sure they'll both be in the mix. From what I've seen so far, Brighton will be fine.
The top of the table could be really exciting this season. Liverpool's injury list is an obvious handicap, Man City are not clicking at all, Spurs look solid in defence and excellent going forward, Chelsea are looking more than decent, while Leicester, Southampton and Everton are all decent too. It's really hard to call.
I'm in agreement with your Leeds synopsis. They don't look great at the back and they leave themselves open to those vulnerabilities. I'm sure Bielsa will have to tighten the reins a bit but that may not work in their favour.
If he can find the right formula, they have the ability to be a comfortable mid table side. The danger is that if they get drawn into a relegation battle, I fear they'll try and attack their way out of it and make things worse.
Either way, it won't be a dull season with them in the PL! Dare I say it, but I have a sort of begrudging admiration for the way they've had a go this season. One can only speculate as to what might have happened had Warnock been a little more positive in the opening months of the season....
Spurs look the best side this season to me, but they definitely should have four more points because they threw away wins over Newcastle and West Ham and you wonder whether they'll have the belief to see it through come the end of the season - Liverpool looked ominously good on Sunday despite all of those injuries.
I agree about West Brom, Sheffield United need to rediscover their spirit of the previous three seasons Under Wilder, but I don't think they've got the goals in them and I'm not sure Burnley have either, but I'd go for them to stay up at Fulham's expense - they're a better side than they were two seasons ago, but, as you say, their defence doesn't look up to it.
Lack of home support affects the 'smaller' clubs more than most..