# English Premier League and Football in General - 05/06 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779 "2005-08-05T20:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/41 "2005-08-13T13:56:35Z")
**Man Utd. 2 - Everton 0** Well…That certainly didn’t turn out very well. Van Nistelrooy scored near the end of the half making it 1-0. Then just 30 seconds into the second half, defender Joseph Yobo makes a major mental error - he passes the ball across the back right to Kevin Rooney of Man Utd. - 2-0. That seemed to take the wind out of the sails of Everton and they really didn’t do anything the rest of the game. Not the kind of start I was expecting, as Man Utd. definitely could have been beaten. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/42 "2005-08-13T16:45:40Z")
Aston Villa 2 - 2 Bolton Everton 0 - 2 Man Utd Fulham 0 - 0 Birmingham Man City 0 - 0 West Brom Portsmouth 0 - 2 Tottenham Sunderland 1 - 3 Charlton West Ham 3 - 1 Blackburn **eponymous** its **Wayne** Rooney ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/43 "2005-08-14T01:05:34Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > **eponymous** its **Wayne** Rooney D’Oh! I knew that - don’t know why I typed Kevin. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/44 "2005-08-15T14:57:53Z")
Did anyone see the Chelsea-Wigan game? I’m just looking for a brief synopsis as to why Chelsea played so poorly. It should’ve been a 4-0 victory, right? Glad to see that the Gunners got off to a win. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/45 "2005-08-15T17:12:36Z")
Saw highlights of the Wigan-Chelsea match - Wigan played pretty well and actually had a chance to win in stoppage time (had a nice counter-attack that they couldn’t finish). Crespo’s goal about 30 seconds later sealed the match. In other news - Michael Essien of Lyon (French League) will be joining Chelsea on a 47+ million transfer. The rich just keep getting richer… ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/46 "2005-08-15T18:06:06Z")
Quite a weekend for London, 16 out of a possible 18 points. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/47 "2005-08-15T23:24:23Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Predictions for the weekend :- > > Saturday > Villa v. Bolton - Villa may prove too strong for Bolton at home, 1-0 > Everton v. Man U - Interesting one this, can the Toffees keep up the work of last season, can Man U improve? 1-1 > Fulham v. Birmingham - could be a close one - 0-1 > Man C v. West Brom - City could be good one week and dire the next last season, some consistancy and they might do well, 2-0 > Middlesborough v. Liverpool - Pool lost this game 2-0 last season, but Cisse, Morientes and Gerrard seem to be scoring for fun at the moment, 0-2 > Portsmouth v. Spurs - Can spurs play their weight this season? 0-1 > Sunderland v. Charlton - the newcomers v the not so newcomers, Charltons experience may be the deciding factor, 0-1 > West Ham v. Blackburn - another close one, 1-1 > > Sunday > Aresenal v. Newcastle - Aresenal at home, Newcastle with problems, 2-0 > Wigan v. Chelsea - What a game to start you campaign in the permiership with, 0-3 mmm, one right and 9 wrong. Remind me not to ask you which numbers you fancy for the lottery 🙂 Chelsea were lucky to get away with a win this time against Wigan but over the season as long as the champion’s league doesn’t interfere I just can’t see who’s going to topple them. Unless they try to “tap up” someone again and get punished by a massive points deduction. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/48 "2005-08-19T11:06:40Z")
Here’s a link to a fairly pessimistic article in the Guardian on the state of football in the EPL. There’s plenty of journalist-bleating involved, but I think he basically gets things right. [link here](http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1551650,00.html) We’re idiots! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/49 "2005-08-19T15:53:52Z")
Very good article. A Real Madrid season ticket is only 200 quid? What a bargain, except you probably have to sit with their subset of skinhead racist supporters. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/50 "2005-08-19T17:02:04Z")
> [@Myler Keogh](#): > > Here’s a link to a fairly pessimistic article in the Guardian on the state of football in the EPL. There’s plenty of journalist-bleating involved, but I think he basically gets things right. [link here](http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1551650,00.html) > > We’re idiots! :smack: Interesting article. In most American sports there is the idea of a salary cap and revenue sharing, which makes for a more competitive balance. Not sure how (or if) that’d work in a promotion/relegation scheme. We have a similar problem with baseball, which may be the only US sport without some way to manage parity, but that sport is a game of percentages, so there’s usually a top team at the end with a low or middle payroll. National television money is shared here in all sports, AFAIK, but most teams maintain local broadcast rights (radio and television). A problem is that football is obviously not just limited to the UK market, so if the EPL isn’t doling out top salaries (and keeping ticket and other prices high) then you lose talent to other leagues, whereas that’s not really a problem for American football, baseball, etc. On a separate note, no predictions for this weekend’s matches? ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/51 "2005-08-19T21:18:34Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > On a separate note, no predictions for this weekend’s matches? I predict that there will be matches played 🙂 I’m starting to worry that Everton’s season a year ago was a fluke. Or rather, they were lucky last season and didn’t suffer many injuries. Now with Carsely out for about 4 weeks, Beattie out for about 2 weeks, Kroldrup out until end of September, Naysmith still hurt, Everton’s prospects in the near future aren’t looking good. There’s talk of bringing Mark Viduka from Middlesbrough, but he’s had a history of injury problems. Rumours keep swirling about Moyes’s attempts to sign other players, but many of them turn out not to be very concrete. Everton definitely needs more players to bolster the squad (especially a proven goal scorer). Maybe I should stop reading the Everton fan sites/messages boards. Quite a bit of critical commentary that’s starting to make me feel pessimistic. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/52 "2005-08-19T21:28:48Z")
Addendum: Simon Davies is also having slight problems with shin splints. I should also point out that it is heartening to read in the press that the team is till quite upbeat and optimistic, despite the results against Villareal and Man Utd. It’s also heartening to read about how supportive the players have been with one another (several players can to the defense of Yobo after his gaffe against Man Utd.). So it appears (at least from press reports) that the Everton spirit is still there (and the reason why I became a follower). So while I’m still a bit pessimistic, there’s still hope. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/53 "2005-08-19T22:09:45Z")
After my abysmal showing last week? Lawrensen’s predictions :- Man Utd 2 Aston Villa 0 Blackburn 1 Fulham 1 Charlton 2 Wigan 1 Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0 Newcastle 2 West Ham 0 Tottenham 2 Middlesbrough 1 West Brom 1 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham 2 Man City 0 Bolton 1 Everton 1 Chelsea 1 Arsenal 0 Ok then, mine :- ManU 2 Villa 1 I think it will be a close game Blackburn 1 Fulham 1 I will bow to Lawrensen on this one Charlton 2 Wigan 1 And this one Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0 Liverpool need to score, they have the players Newcastle 1 West Ham 1 Newcastle are floundering a bit Spurs 2 Middlesborough 0 Middlesborough were outplayed last week West Brom 2 Portsmouth 0 A good start for West Brom, Portsmouth are going to struggle Birmingham 1 Man City 1 The teams are about equal at the moment Bolton 0 Everton 0 Bolton are a good team, Everton won;t break them down Chelsea 0 Aresenal 2 Chelsea were lucky last week, should be a very interesting one **Vetch** I’ve never won the lottery either. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/54 "2005-08-19T22:33:35Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > So it appears (at least from press reports) that the Everton spirit is still there (and the reason why I became a follower). So while I’m still a bit pessimistic, there’s still hope. See how we get on against Bolton, **eponymous**. We’ve lost two games to two excellent teams, our season won’t be decided on whether we can beat ManU. It will be decided on beating teams like Bolton, so we need something out of Sunday’s game. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/55 "2005-08-19T22:38:07Z")
**Myler** , I agree - although Bolton is a pretty decent squad. If we can win at Bolton, then my presimism will lessen. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/56 "2005-08-19T22:42:38Z")
Lawrensen’s predictions :- Man Utd 2 Aston Villa 0 Blackburn 1 Fulham 1 Charlton 2 Wigan 1 Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0 Newcastle 2 West Ham 0 Tottenham 2 Middlesbrough 1 West Brom 1 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham 2 Man City 0 Bolton 1 Everton 1 Chelsea 1 Arsenal 0 **Rayh** ’s :- ManU 2 Villa 1 I think it will be a close game Blackburn 1 Fulham 1 I will bow to Lawrensen on this one Charlton 2 Wigan 1 And this one Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0 Liverpool need to score, they have the players Newcastle 1 West Ham 1 Newcastle are floundering a bit Spurs 2 Middlesborough 0 Middlesborough were outplayed last week West Brom 2 Portsmouth 0 A good start for West Brom, Portsmouth are going to struggle Birmingham 1 Man City 1 The teams are about equal at the moment Bolton 0 Everton 0 Bolton are a good team, Everton won;t break them down Chelsea 0 Aresenal 2 Chelsea were lucky last week, should be a very interesting one Shibb’s Man Utd 3 Aston Villa 1 Blackburn 2 Fulham 0 Charlton 1 Wigan 2 - What the hell!?! Liverpool 4 Sunderland 0 Newcastle 1 West Ham 0 Tottenham 1 Middlesbrough 1 West Brom 0 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham 1 Man City 1 Bolton 2 Everton 1 Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 Truly random, uneducated blathering… we’ll see how that goes against people with a sporting interest. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/57 "2005-08-20T03:56:43Z")
What the heck - I’ll give it a go… Man Utd 2 Aston Villa 1 Blackburn 2 Fulham 2 Charlton 2 Wigan 1 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Newcastle 1 West Ham 1 Tottenham 2 Middlesbrough 1 West Brom 1 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham 1 Man City 1 Bolton 1 Everton 1 Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1 ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/58 "2005-08-20T04:31:33Z")
Since we’re caught up in prediction mania, check out the [predict the three to drop thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=330912) and give yourself a chance of winning fabulous prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/59 "2005-08-20T04:34:32Z")
OK, my dartboard can’t be any worse than anyone elses: Man Utd 2 Aston Villa 2 Blackburn 0 Fulham 1 Charlton 2 Wigan 1 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0 Newcastle 3 West Ham 1 Tottenham 4 Middlesbrough 3 West Brom 0 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham 1 Man City 2 Bolton 2 Everton 0 Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779/60 "2005-08-20T15:32:06Z")
Only result posted so far: Man Utd 1 - Aston Villa 0 Also, Leeds are leading Wolves at the half on a score by American Eddie Lewis. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-premier-league-and-football-in-general-05-06/315779.md?page=4)