# UK football, season 2008/09, forecasts **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 7, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150 "2008-08-07T12:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/861 "2009-03-22T18:40:50Z")
> [@some idiot whos name is eerily similar to mine](#): > > Well, United are starting to run away with it now. They’ve got the bit in the mouth, and a full head of steam. I’d say you could lay money with confidence on them winning the Premiership. A domestic treble seems highly doable. > > Can’t wait for them to complete the quad by winning the Champions League. That should be pretty amazing, given that they are playing so poorly. 😃 This idiot, posting only a month ago, obviously has no idea of what can happen in football! :smack: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/862 "2009-03-22T19:01:54Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > 1.Liverpool > 2.Arsenal > 3.Chelsea > 4.Man. City > 5.West Ham > 6.Spurs > 7.Everton > 8.Pompey > 9.Newcastle > 10.Villa > 11.Blackburn > 12.Middlesboro’ > 13.WBA > 14.Bolton > 15.Sunderland > 16.Wigan > 17.Hull > 18.Stoke > 19.Fulham > 20. The Rags\* > > - I can only dream Well I may have got a few wrong :dubious: but I still fancy Liverpool for the title ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/863 "2009-03-22T19:47:55Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > There’s no talking to him some days. He doesn’t like fish, either. Fish! How can anyone live without fish? > > Flipping 'eck, it’s 4-0. I really must be dreaming. Helluva dream, ain’t it? 😃 > [@chowder](#): > > …but I still fancy Liverpool for the title Playing around with this [predictor](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/predictor/default.stm) thing is either heartwarming or heartbreaking, depending. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/864 "2009-03-22T22:42:27Z")
Winning the title will be all the sweeter for having let Liverpool get so close. Then next season, the race will really be on to go one ahead! United usually keep their fans on a knife-edge; why should this season be much different? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/865 "2009-03-23T16:10:14Z")
The thing about this seasons premier league that really baffles me. Hull City. This team set off like a house on fire, there was no stopping them, they beat Arsenal at The Emirates to start with and then proceeded to beat some of the top teams on their own grounds. Now look, 3 pts off relegation and have been in freefall since before Christmas. Phil Brown, the manager, had a huge smile on his face and looked happy as a pig in shit some time ago. Now he looks as if some nasty bugger has pissed in his chips ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/866 "2009-03-23T16:22:52Z")
That’s relatively simple. At the start of the season, teams were overlooking them, not giving them enough credit. A team that works hard can surprise some people and get a good set of results in when that is true. But once you are on the radar, so to speak, that free pass ends, and teams are ready to face your energy, etc. When that results in poorer scorelines, the team tends to lose some of that enthusiasm, compounding the slide. For a similar situation, witness Aston Villa lately. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/867 "2009-03-24T08:03:15Z")
I’m not altogether sure that you’re right about teams overlooking them. All teams give the opposition credit and in my opinion will give extra credit to the “unknown” which is what Hull were at the start of the season. A free pass is never given by any team to another, all are out to win. What I think has happened is that Hull’s players have had to realise the harsh facts, they just aint good enough and this in itself will have had an effect on the team. In a word, they’ve bottled it ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/868 "2009-03-24T10:30:30Z")
1. If you think that every team in the League plays every game with the same intensity, you aren’t watching the same league I do. As a general rule, teams quite regularly “overlook” opposition they suppose to be less-highly regarded. 2. If this isn’t true, then please explain how the team that “just ain’t good enough” was winning so many games early on? Either they are good enough, or they aren’t, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/869 "2009-03-24T13:11:03Z")
Of course I’m watching the same league as you are. As a general rule teams _do not_ overlook the opposition no matter how they regard them. Hull City just aint good enough, they may have fluked a few games early in the season but once they started losing they realised that they are not a premiership team. I can’t explain to yours or anyones satisfaction why I think this way, I just do ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/870 "2009-03-24T14:51:40Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Hull City just aint good enough, they may have fluked a few games early in the season but once they started losing they realised that they are not a premiership team. > > I can’t explain to yours or anyones satisfaction why I think this way, I just do Surely squad depth has something to do with it? At this point in the season when everyone’s tiring, teams like Arsenal and Manchester United can pull players like Eduardo and Tevez off the bench to take some quality time and allow the usual starters to rest. Who can Hull bring on? Craig Fagan? I think depth is a reason that Villa’s been struggling lately, too. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/871 "2009-03-28T14:38:32Z")
Peterborough 2-0 Leicester Get in there! I think it’s safe to say we deserved it today. The weather was terrible, gale-force winds, hail/rain/snow storms but with Peterborough 4 points from 1st in League One, what else can you expect? I hope there aren’t any smart criminals in Cambridgeshire because every single police officer/car was in P’boro city centre… The thought that Peterborough could actually be playing Newcastle in the league next year is simply staggering. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/872 "2009-03-29T11:25:33Z")
No premier footie yesterday so I went to watch Rochdale again. 2-2 against Exeter who are also pushing for promotion. It was a good game and Dale should have won, the draw means they drop from 2nd to 3rd in Div 2 but are still in position for auto promo. Up the Dale 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/873 "2009-03-31T23:41:47Z")
Well, either it’s the swiftest April Fool’s ever, coordinated by both the Beeb and the Guardian, or it’s true: Shearer is [taking over at Newcastle](http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/apr/01/newcastle-united-alan-shearer-manager). Maybe Mike Ashley _really_ likes pranks. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/874 "2009-04-01T13:18:01Z")
Obvious April Fool, surely - can anyone debunk it/prove it, now it’s after 12? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/875 "2009-04-01T16:29:55Z")
Unfortunately for Newcastle, it’s 100% of FACT. Although I did think the Guardian were having a laugh today when they described Shearer’s appointment as a “jolt of charisma.” The first word that comes to mind to describe the man’s personality is “thimble”. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/876 "2009-04-01T19:13:45Z")
The Guardian are always having a laugh, you want to read a proper paper, like, er, well, I read The Times actually, maybe I shouldn’t have started this… :). ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/877 "2009-04-01T22:35:33Z")
In all seriousness, I actually think the Grauniad’s sports coverage is pretty decent. Their cricket coverage is top notch - Vic Marks and Mike Selvey usually have something interesting to say, while Lawrence Booth is consistently excellent, and Andy Bull (although usually restricted to the over-by-over commentary) is great value for money. Their football punditry is less good, but that’s true of football punditry in general. And the David Pleat “chalkboard” columns are always good for a laugh. I think he draws the diagrams by spraying silly string at a door. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/878 "2009-04-03T14:44:59Z")
Any Saints fans here? \*looks around, no, guess not ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/879 "2009-04-03T15:08:22Z")
Hopefully, they will be at the very expensive, bankruptcy causing grounds on Saturday. Interesting question will be whether or not the penalty gets applied. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/880 "2009-04-03T15:24:53Z")
What have I missed? What’s going on? Didn’t see anything from a brief look at the Guardian’s homepage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150.md?page=45)