'Even allowing for inflation, this thread is not worth 198 Terry Francises' - EPL 2017-18

This is a great and very welcome reminder.

Even leaving AFC out of it, 4th place has always meant a qualifying round, and 3rd place hasn't - that's quite a big difference, if it still applies.

It doesn't anymore. From next season's CL (i.e. based on this season's final places) all of the Top 4 from Spain, Germany, England and Italy go straight into the Group Stages.

https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2499801.html#/

Crikey, that's big news - the kind of thing that determines what goes in sport, but also goes under the radar.

O'er here it was reported quite a bit, through Dutch eyes: the big countries get more spots, the smaller ones less. The Dutch champions won't even enter the group phase any more, and need to qualify. Which will be nearly impossible. The gap's gotten too big.

I agree -- anything that is bad for equality and open competition, bad.

Real vs Juventus tie reminded me of their meeting in the 2nd round in 1986 -- when it was all knockout rounds and when two European Giants could randomly be drawn against each other at that stage. Eventual winner: Porto.

Sam Allardyce sums up the Merseyside Derby pic.twitter.com/QSme634OhS

— Anthony Martial (@EliteMartiaI) April 7, 2018

looking at newcastle's squad compared to leicester's it's amazing how close they are

I don't think Kane touched that.

what was mourinho's team talk like i wonder

Good Kompany

Appalling Smalling

Holy shit, Gundogan

xp lol

united getting absolutely rinsed. liverpool need salah much more than city need de bruyne

they could have played Toure today

hapless

that assist was the tits

LOL

fuck yes!!!

holy shit! Pogda is totally in the zone.

well

I can't find a single fucking pub showing the football and now I'm actually annoyed about it.

amazing. mb they could do w a bit of kev

LOL worst player on the park in the 1st half

Fucking hell chrissy boy!

Really don't want these pricks to win the league at Wembley.

wtf!

Actually I just realised they can't win it at Wembley if the score stays like this.

Pogba going full macgregor

Holy shit that save

Ugh five minutes of ET

I love football :)

half time they were dead and in the cave then smallsy rose again from the transfer list and rolled away the stone

SOUNESS IS FUMING. HOW MANY TIMES ARE PUNDITS GOING TO WRITE OFF TECHNICALLY GIFTED BLACK PLAYERS LIKE THIS??.....#POGBA pic.twitter.com/2z3a4mg32l

— Titi (@Yaga_yawww) April 7, 2018

Not sure Graeme would recognize technically gifted if it lunged in and broke his leg

I love football :)

can't stop watching this wellbz miss

Arsenal Standards by Danny Welbeck pic.twitter.com/l0Gm9rIwzX

— Özilinho (@WoolWitchGooner) April 8, 2018

Top 4 certainly all over now

I will be quite happy if that bottom 3 remains unchanged, looking at Southampton's run-out I don't think they'll get more than 6 pts, so perhaps we are just one win from safety.

(xxp) Go on to Youtube to look up that Welbeck miss and you could be there for a while looking at numerous other howlers from him.

Giving Kane that goal is, with no exaggeration, the most disgraceful decision in the history of the sport

Well tbf it's either that or we kill his daughter

I like it, seeing as footballer's kids will be the next gen of Tory brats, liquidate 'em as early as poss!

that's a particularly wild post

kane jr will renounce her trappings and become a professor of archaeology

just a bit of child execution humour, chill!

Child execution is fine just as long as we're not getting all political about

fair, from now on only completely apolitical child execution humour on this thread.

Not sure what the ILX Spurs Massive (and it is massive) will make of this.

Smaller than it has been. I feel like Lloris is deliberately fucking up each week to tempt Darragh back.

Southampton two up. Chelsea aren’t really playing like they’ve stopped trying. There is plenty of energy, they just look kind of useless.