95-96 vs 04-05 vs 07-09 vs 13-15

toffeemax · December 5, 2015

jags lescott partnership was unreal

dholliday · December 5, 2015

Boss_Blue said:
I agree, recent seasons have been the best chance we've had for a long time to make the champions league and I include this one in that as well.

aye, since Martinez' arrival coincided with Alex Ferguson retiring we've had a realistic chance of making top 4. Dropping 2 points last week is indicative of how this current team might not always compare well with 04/05, which has no love in the poll even tho' it's the only one to do that particular bit of business.

If 04-05 (incl. peak Gravesen) played our best 11 now it would be very tight, might even be a 1-0'er thanks to the difference in goalkeeps and defensive discipline.

zirc · December 5, 2015

dholliday said:
Disagree with that. The league's a poor standard now, back on 07-09 English clubs were dominating the Champs League, we had Man Utd with a firing Ronaldo & Rooney winning titles plus a very strong Chelsea where the likes of Lampard & Terry were at their peak. The fabled Big Four had their most dominant time in this period...it was impregnable.

The top four aren't as strong but all the midtable sides are much, much better. There weren't any Palaces, Leicesters, Sotons, or West Hams.

DrEFC · December 5, 2015

09 team was better balanced, just not really got the potential of this one- Moyes always wanted a mega playmaker such as Riquelme, Moutinho, or Arshavin and never managed to get them in. But the prem was less competitive due to the quality the sky 4 had. How many of our players would be coveted by the sky 4 then compared to now?

dholliday · December 5, 2015

zirc said:
The top four aren't as strong but all the midtable sides are much, much better. There weren't any Palaces, Leicesters, Sotons, or West Hams.

Instead we had between City of the Thaksin era with Villa being consistent top 6 and Blackburn & Bolton quite decent. Middlesborough reached the UEFA Cup final. Add the everpresent Spurs to the mix and you've got competition about on-par with yer Palaces, Leicesters, Sotons, or West Hams now.

Then compare the Big Four who were, as you say, back then stronger than now and you see it's not easy to defend your argument.

dholliday · December 5, 2015

DrEFC said:
09 team was better balanced, just not really got the potential of this one

Potential is something not yet happening, may never happen. We talked a lot about potential back in 2008 too, it has an annoying knack of not turning out like you expect it too.

TGW89 · December 5, 2015

13-15 the best? Nuts!

I think I've mentioned it before, but there were some matches in the 07-09 era that I approached in a chilled manner because I KNEW we were better and KNEW we were going to win.

That has never been the case under Roberto.

For instance, before Jo's debut match I just knew we'd rip the pish out of Bolton, and I was right - we kept them quiet and 3-0 flattered them. It should have been 10.

Since when would it be that straightforward under Berto? And don't say Villa 2 weeks ago, because at least that Bolton team under Megson had SOMETHING to fight for. Villa don't.

DrEFC · December 5, 2015

dholliday said:
Potential is something not yet happening, may never happen. We talked a lot about potential back in 2008 too, it has an annoying knack of not turning out like you expect it too.

The age of our important players is much younger in this group I feel.

mitchell1996 · December 5, 2015

TGW89 said:
13-15 the best? Nuts!

I think I've mentioned it before, but there were some matches in the 07-09 era that I approached in a chilled manner because I KNEW we were better and KNEW we were going to win.

That has never been the case under Roberto.

For instance, before Jo's debut match I just knew we'd rip the pish out of Bolton, and I was right - we kept them quiet and 3-0 flattered them. It should have been 10.

Since when would it be that straightforward under Berto? And don't say Villa 2 weeks ago, because at least that Bolton team under Megson had SOMETHING to fight for. Villa don't.

if the 07-09 team were so much better why is our record points total in 13/14? theres not much in it between the two sides

dholliday · December 5, 2015

mitchell1996 said:
if the 07-09 team were so much better why is our record points total in 13/14? theres not much in it between the two sides

Because the top 4 were stronger back then, we took less points off them.

Woolly Blue · December 5, 2015

I went for 04-05, we've had more talent in the squad now, both today and 07-09. However, it's one thing to have talent, it's another thing entirely to get all of that talent playing as a team. If it was purely about enjoying us playing ace footie then 04-05 wouldn't get a look in, but it's not and that team grinding out results gave me a huge amount of pleasure

zirc said:
... but the league is so much more challenging now compared to then that it's not readily apparent.

Depends how far you go back, but I think there's a lot of truth in that. The athleticism and skill in today's game compared to the 80's and 90's is massively different. Darren's right that the best of the English teams can't hold a candle to the best of the European teams, but some of that's due to the fact that the Europeans have improved ( relatively ) recently while we've pretty much stood still

TGW89 · December 5, 2015

mitchell1996 said:
if the 07-09 team were so much better why is our record points total in 13/14? theres not much in it between the two sides

Simple, because the standard outside the top 6 in 13-14 was pyar gash

tsubaki · December 5, 2015

13-15. Lukaku is the best forward we have had in years, Deulofeu is the best winger we have had in years, Stones is the best CB we have had in years, Coleman is the best right back we have had in years. The one weak spot is the keeper.

dholliday · December 5, 2015

TGW89 said:
Simple, because the standard outside the top 6 in 13-14 was pyar gash

aye, and considering we finished 11th last season and are still outside the top 6 this season it does seem a stretch to call the Martinez team the best we've had. Shows what a couple of sexy through-balls can do to the rational mind.

dholliday · December 5, 2015

Woolly Blue said:
I went for 04-05, we've had more talent in the squad now, both today and 07-09. However, it's one thing to have talent, it's another thing entirely to get all of that talent playing as a team. If it was purely about enjoying us playing ace footie then 04-05 wouldn't get a look in, but it's not and that team grinding out results gave me a huge amount of pleasure

nicely put...pretty underrated the 04/05 side. I loved that insane run of 1-0's!