Big Willie wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:
With all of our players fit, I think you could make a very strong case for Perreira, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison and Vardy all starting for us. Schmeichel and Evans would have weaker arguments, but they're both good players that are on a similar level to Leno, Koscielny/Sokratis.
You mean to tell me you believe 7 Leicester players in 7 different positions are better than our strongest starting XI when everyone is fit.
And not only that, but two more in Schmeichel and Evans are on a similar level (meaning there is no doubt about the previous 7 by the way) to our two respective players?
So that's 9 out of 11 Leicester first team players are either on a similar level or better than their equivalents fron our first choice XI.
I know we're all pretty depressed at everything going on at the club now however come on, get real, that's absurd. Wouldn't have expected such kneejerking from you Ricky.
I elaborated on the specifics above, but I would like to add that it absolutely would not be a kneekjerk reaction by me. Half of Wolves' team would start for us too in my opinion.
I think fans are confused by points totals. We have more serviceable players than Wolves or Leicester in our squad. As indicated by our much larger wage bill, which is not always a guarantee of a greater number of quality players but in this case it clearly is. Over the course of a long season, because of injury, form and fatigue, that advantage is decisive nearly every time. Hence wage bills correlating directly with final league position with great frequency.
A best XI, or the XI that's actually fielded on the day when two teams meet, however, is a different story. You can have all the 90k+/week international squaddies that you want (Cech, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Holding, Monreal, Elneny, Torreira, Ramsey, Iwobi, Welbeck etc.), and you can still only field XI players. Pad Leicester or Wolves squad out with those players or players of similar quality and experience and they would get a lot more points over the course of a season.
Squads determine points totals, not a team's best players. City have an incredible squad: A 100 point squad or thereabouts (as proven by the previous 2 seasons), but their best XI gets sent packing in the Champions League by a far inferior Tottenham squad because the only thing that matters on the day is XI players that start the match and any subs that are brought on.
With City, it seems people think: 100 points = incredible team. It's just incorrect. They simply have lots more good players in their squad than the rest of the League. The only team that comes close is Liverpool, and they have needed luck beyond expectation just to keep up: A ludicrous number of late winners and incredible luck avoiding any injuries to their key players. You could replay this season 10 more times, City would get 95+ every single time, Liverpool would do very well to get that total again, in my opinion. The quality of the squad is that decisive.
It is not a disgrace when this season the team Arsenal fields loses to the team Wolves or Leicester field. Especially away from home. And pointing to the League table, as I have seen on here and everywhere else, as some sort of proof that it is, is nonsensical.
Just look at the XIs and, if you can't see it yourself, ask how many knowledgeable neutrals would pick how many Arsenal players in a combined XI. Better still, look back on games from previous seasons, with players that are long gone, that you're now objective about, and look at games where you were outraged we got beaten. Look at the starting XIs and you'll see that our team had no business beating their team on the day. It might not have felt like that at the time but that's the way it is.
