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Post by greenboy on Sept 1, 2021 13:09:03 GMT
So with the transfer window now shut, what's people's thoughts on the business done? In terms of the best business, I think Villa & West Ham have done some good business getting in some strength in depth especially for West Ham with their Europe League campaign. Chelsea signing Lukaku is smart though the Saul transfer makes little sense given they're sufficiently stocked there already. I think Liverpool doing very little business may come back to haunt them, they have a mostly ageing squad that is prone to injuries as we saw last season with very little significant back up. Man Utd's business is mixed - Sancho is a good signing and Ronaldo will stir the nostalgic itch but Varane is not the player he was about 2-3 years ago no matter how many ex United players say so and he won't have Ramos holding his hand either. Our business isn't as bad as it's been described by some pundits but it certainly could be called mixed - Odegaard, Tavares & Sambi Lokanga are good signings at good value, never heard of Tomiyasu before but he comes with good things said about him however White & Ramsdale were ones I wasn't keen on. We also didn't move on all our deadwood - Xhaka is still here due to Roma's stinginess, Kolasinac didn't get that offer from Fenerbache whilst Nketiah's move to Palace fell through due to valuation and terms but at least Willian, Runnarsson, Nelson & Bellerin are off the wage bill for the season with the former permanently off it through his good gesture. The biggest issue now is potentially losing Nketiah & Lacazette for nothing. I still worry for Newcastle & Southampton though the latter has picked up a couple of precious early points. I'm happy that Man Utd signed Ronaldo, better than him going to City. City could have done better with no Kane nor Ronaldo, but it will be interesting to see how they perform. City's been on fire since Guardiola's been at City, so I expect that to continue, and will probably win the league again. Chelsea's signing of Lukaku is also good but let's see how he plays. He didn't do that well for United a few years back though. Will be interesting to see how Harry Kane performs in the coming months now that he's staying in Tottenham I can't help wondering whether City were really interested in Ronaldo and whether it was more his agent trying to get them interested to force United's hand, it's a lot of money for a 36 year old. Obviously early days but Lukaku has done well in first two games and Harry Kane is really going to have to produce the goods if he still wants his move. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2021 13:13:17 GMT
I'm happy that Man Utd signed Ronaldo, better than him going to City. City could have done better with no Kane nor Ronaldo, but it will be interesting to see how they perform. City's been on fire since Guardiola's been at City, so I expect that to continue, and will probably win the league again. Chelsea's signing of Lukaku is also good but let's see how he plays. He didn't do that well for United a few years back though. Will be interesting to see how Harry Kane performs in the coming months now that he's staying in Tottenham I can't help wondering whether City were really interested in Ronaldo and whether it was more his agent trying to get them interested to force United's hand, it's a lot of money for a 36 year old. Obviously early days but Lukaku has done well in first two games and Harry Kane is really going to have to produce the goods if he still wants his move. The Utd fans would certainly be fuming if Ronaldo went to City, certainly because he played for United before |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 1, 2021 13:40:50 GMT
I'm happy that Man Utd signed Ronaldo, better than him going to City. City could have done better with no Kane nor Ronaldo, but it will be interesting to see how they perform. City's been on fire since Guardiola's been at City, so I expect that to continue, and will probably win the league again. Chelsea's signing of Lukaku is also good but let's see how he plays. He didn't do that well for United a few years back though. Will be interesting to see how Harry Kane performs in the coming months now that he's staying in Tottenham I can't help wondering whether City were really interested in Ronaldo and whether it was more his agent trying to get them interested to force United's hand, it's a lot of money for a 36 year old. Obviously early days but Lukaku has done well in first two games and Harry Kane is really going to have to produce the goods if he still wants his move. You've actually not far off when it comes to Ronaldo & his agent because it was the pair of them who began setting up the City move - according to many respected sources, once Juventus decided to let go of Ronaldo, his agent rang many of the big clubs up in Europe and City decided to explore the signing. Even Ronaldo was very happy to go which is why the night before Man Utd moved in for him, "GlazersOut" was trending massively and people were burning Ronaldo shirts calling him a traitor. This why I find his instagram message laughable in relation to proclaiming the love for United when he was happy to go to their rivals but also one particular part which sums up the move where he mentions he is happy with attention his move is getting - he wanted to be relevant & talked about even though his and Messi's relevance are being taken over by Mbappe & Haaland |
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Post by ServerKing on Sept 1, 2021 21:59:35 GMT
I think it was an interesting one. A transfer window full of many surprises. It now highlights the main issues at Barcelona with their financial woes. For Arsenal seeing Ramsdale there has made me shake my head as he's been a part of a relegated team three times in a row which is a shocking stat. Let's hope arsenal is not the fourth. In regards to Liverpool I'm going to say they are maybe 3-4 injuries away from their whole season being a mess again. Prime example was VVD when he was out for a chunk of last season and I think matip was out for an extended period too. Firmino for a while now has been underperforming and not scoring as much goals as he once did so it will be interesting. Tottenham apart from Manchester City has not been fully tested in terms of fixtures so it will be very interesting to see how they fare up against the rest of the top sides. In terms of who I think could win the FA Cup I reckon it will be between Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and maybe Arsenal (if they get a lucky run). Who I think will win the Premier league this season. I think it will be between Manchester United and Chelsea. I see only Chelsea or City winning the league. Liverpool need to keep everyone fit in order to challenge whilst Man Utd’s manager is out of his depth and will cost them any chance of a trophy alongside a few individuals. Arsenal won’t be relegated, it’s just the anti Arsenal agenda in the media who are hoping this happens The Top Flight without Arsenal is like a bus with no wheels. It doesn't make sense  Just a shaky start to the season, hardly Norwich... Spurs have had a good run, but like an ageing 144 bus on Muswell Hill, things may get harder if they don't keep their foot to the floor. Seeing Levy overspend like Croydon Council has been an eye opener, as well as keeping Kane in his kung-fu grip. West Ham, starstruck with going to Europe (for them, a trip to Europe is a booze cruise to Dunkirk  ) will unravel like a Tesco sweater once the toll of domestic and international games wear down the squad. Brentford will survive the drop but I think Villa or Newcastle may go down. Glad Man City didn't get Kane, and it leaves the title race more open for others in the big six. Top 4 finish for Arsenal I reckon (Spurs will be first or second ) |
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Post by busman on Sept 1, 2021 23:13:21 GMT
I don't blame him. Arsenal is a sinking ship. Under Unai Emery was bad, but soon as they were going for Arteta I knew it was a bad move. Not because he was assistant to Pep Guardiola and Man City won the league, means he would have work wonders at Arsenal. It started out bad for Solstar at Man Utd but he now seems to have got to grasp. IMO Arsenal needed a manager with experience and Arteta could not do that. He does not even have the team working with him, it could be easily seen. The cracks were there from the fallout with Ozil. Arsenal seems to be getting a few players with big names but they do not seem to be playing well at the club at all. The defence is weak for years and the players do not seem to have a bond with Emery and even worse Arteta. I feel Willian would have performed much better under a different manager, it was the same as happened with David Luiz. As a Utd fan I hope Solsjaker is allowed to stay at least until the middle of the decade. I think given time, Man Utd could become title contenders/winners in maybe 2 or 3 years time Couldn’t agree more. Ole inherited an ageing team and a toxic situation from Jose. Ole has transformed the mentality of the team and we are both difficult to beat and entertaining to watch (at times). I didn’t enjoy watching us at all during the Moaninho years. Ole seems to be an excellent man manager and trusts youngsters with opportunities in the first team. We’re heading in the right direction under Ole, having finished 3rd then 2nd in the league and reached European finals in each of those seasons. Also his signings have mostly been excellent. Donny VDB is the obvious exception to that….for some reason he doesn’t seem to be able to excel under intense pressure to perform. Funny how rival fans were pleading for Ole to stay when we finished third, now they’re all screaming for us to sack him for no good reason 😂 Arteta is under more pressure right now. Spent more than any other PL club in the transfer window, decided to keep Xhaka rather than cash in on his Euro performances, and have fewer points than Aaron Wan Bissaka 😁 |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 2, 2021 2:10:23 GMT
As a Utd fan I hope Solsjaker is allowed to stay at least until the middle of the decade. I think given time, Man Utd could become title contenders/winners in maybe 2 or 3 years time Couldn’t agree more. Ole inherited an ageing team and a toxic situation from Jose. Ole has transformed the mentality of the team and we are both difficult to beat and entertaining to watch (at times). I didn’t enjoy watching us at all during the Moaninho years. Ole seems to be an excellent man manager and trusts youngsters with opportunities in the first team. We’re heading in the right direction under Ole, having finished 3rd then 2nd in the league and reached European finals in each of those seasons. Also his signings have mostly been excellent. Donny VDB is the obvious exception to that….for some reason he doesn’t seem to be able to excel under intense pressure to perform. Funny how rival fans were pleading for Ole to stay when we finished third, now they’re all screaming for us to sack him for no good reason 😂 Arteta is under more pressure right now. Spent more than any other PL club in the transfer window, decided to keep Xhaka rather than cash in on his Euro performances, and have fewer points than Aaron Wan Bissaka 😁 Maybe Ole should actually try playing Donny and you might actually see how good he is rather than benching him constantly. I didn't plead anything, have said for a long while how Ole is out of his depth and if you think continually bottling semis and finals is no good reason, then Man Utd have fallen a long way. No trophies in 5 years and TBH, I don't see that changing this season - my team is garbage and you guys haven't beaten us in the last five meetings because Ole is tactically inept as he was against Villareal, Wolves & Southampton. Btw, you reached one European final under Ole, not two - remember, he bottled the one against Sevilla in the semis. Arteta is obviously under pressure due to the terrible start and will likely be sacked because I don't trust my club to make the right decision but he has actually won something at least. Xhaka was only kept because Roma was stingy - we clearly asked for £15m which is £5m below his market value and they wanted to sign him for less than 10. Once that happened and with no one else interested, he was going to be kept no matter how much of a liability he is. Like I said, enjoy our plight whilst it lasts - we all know you want us not to exist like many pundits and fans  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2021 5:02:21 GMT
I see only Chelsea or City winning the league. Liverpool need to keep everyone fit in order to challenge whilst Man Utd’s manager is out of his depth and will cost them any chance of a trophy alongside a few individuals. Arsenal won’t be relegated, it’s just the anti Arsenal agenda in the media who are hoping this happens .Top 4 finish for Arsenal I reckon (Spurs will be first or second ) You're joking right? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2021 5:10:46 GMT
As a Utd fan I hope Solsjaker is allowed to stay at least until the middle of the decade. I think given time, Man Utd could become title contenders/winners in maybe 2 or 3 years time Couldn’t agree more. Ole inherited an ageing team and a toxic situation from Jose. Ole has transformed the mentality of the team and we are both difficult to beat and entertaining to watch (at times). I didn’t enjoy watching us at all during the Moaninho years. Ole seems to be an excellent man manager and trusts youngsters with opportunities in the first team. We’re heading in the right direction under Ole, having finished 3rd then 2nd in the league and reached European finals in each of those seasons. Also his signings have mostly been excellent. Donny VDB is the obvious exception to that….for some reason he doesn’t seem to be able to excel under intense pressure to perform. Funny how rival fans were pleading for Ole to stay when we finished third, now they’re all screaming for us to sack him for no good reason 😂 Arteta is under more pressure right now. Spent more than any other PL club in the transfer window, decided to keep Xhaka rather than cash in on his Euro performances, and have fewer points than Aaron Wan Bissaka 😁 The problem with Moaniho is that he plays boring defensive football, something that would send people to sleep. I think he passed his sell by date in that disastrous 2015/16 season with Chelsea and hasn't been good since. Hope he doesn't come back to the Premier League, they won't miss him |
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Post by ServerKing on Sept 2, 2021 18:03:43 GMT
.Top 4 finish for Arsenal I reckon (Spurs will be first or second ) You're joking right? Arsenal will bounce back. West Ham will return to their mid table form after the jolly to Europe ends. Teams not caught up in European action will have more energy to deal with the domestic league. They have to drag Arteta off the bus first and get someone more competent behind the wheel |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2021 18:36:27 GMT
Arsenal will bounce back. West Ham will return to their mid table form after the jolly to Europe ends. Teams not caught up in European action will have more energy to deal with the domestic league. They have to drag Arteta off the bus first and get someone more competent behind the wheel That's true about Arsenal's lack of European football, but I don't expect them to get top 4 this season. Especially with Arteta around, losing to Chelsea and Man City was understandable but losing to a promoted team is shocking. Top 4 this year I think will be City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, probably in that order though the latter 3 could switch around a bit. |
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Post by MKAY315 on Sept 2, 2021 20:04:17 GMT
Arsenal will bounce back. West Ham will return to their mid table form after the jolly to Europe ends. Teams not caught up in European action will have more energy to deal with the domestic league. They have to drag Arteta off the bus first and get someone more competent behind the wheel That's true about Arsenal's lack of European football, but I don't expect them to get top 4 this season. Especially with Arteta around, losing to Chelsea and Man City was understandable but losing to a promoted team is shocking. Top 4 this year I think will be City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, probably in that order though the latter 3 could switch around a bit. To be fair to Brentford they're not a pushover team. Especially watching them in the championship they can do damage on their day. Given the fact they had near misses in the last few seasons and they finally hit the jackpot they will have a point to prove. I just hope they don't go down the path Sheffield United went especially with the second season syndrome. |
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Sept 2, 2021 21:17:03 GMT
Arsenal will bounce back. West Ham will return to their mid table form after the jolly to Europe ends. Teams not caught up in European action will have more energy to deal with the domestic league. They have to drag Arteta off the bus first and get someone more competent behind the wheel That's true about Arsenal's lack of European football, but I don't expect them to get top 4 this season. Especially with Arteta around, losing to Chelsea and Man City was understandable but losing to a promoted team is shocking. Top 4 this year I think will be City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, probably in that order though the latter 3 could switch around a bit. It's really not Arteta's fault, he's being limited in a lot of what he can do to improve the club. The Brentford loss was effectively an Arsenal B team playing, Arsenal played Brentford again in a friendly with its first team and smashed them. |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 2, 2021 22:24:43 GMT
Arsenal will bounce back. West Ham will return to their mid table form after the jolly to Europe ends. Teams not caught up in European action will have more energy to deal with the domestic league. They have to drag Arteta off the bus first and get someone more competent behind the wheel That's true about Arsenal's lack of European football, but I don't expect them to get top 4 this season. Especially with Arteta around, losing to Chelsea and Man City was understandable but losing to a promoted team is shocking. Top 4 this year I think will be City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, probably in that order though the latter 3 could switch around a bit. Personally, I think it will be City & Chelsea for the top two places with Liverpool & Man Utd battling for the other spots. I’ve already spoken about United whose manager as well as lack of really good number 6 are their biggest problems whilst Liverpool’s biggest issue is the strength in depth beyond the first team outside of centre backs where they probably now have too many. City are City sadly & Chelsea look strong especially now they’ve sorted the striker situation. And in case busman thinks I hate United, don’t worry because Mancheating City exists and it would please me to see them falter no matter how unlikely. I just think United fans are kidding themselves when it comes to Solskjaer and certain players at your club - England’s biggest club can and should do better especially given their history |
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Post by busman on Sept 3, 2021 15:42:54 GMT
That's true about Arsenal's lack of European football, but I don't expect them to get top 4 this season. Especially with Arteta around, losing to Chelsea and Man City was understandable but losing to a promoted team is shocking. Top 4 this year I think will be City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, probably in that order though the latter 3 could switch around a bit. Personally, I think it will be City & Chelsea for the top two places with Liverpool & Man Utd battling for the other spots. I’ve already spoken about United whose manager as well as lack of really good number 6 are their biggest problems whilst Liverpool’s biggest issue is the strength in depth beyond the first team outside of centre backs where they probably now have too many. City are City sadly & Chelsea look strong especially now they’ve sorted the striker situation. And in case busman thinks I hate United, don’t worry because Mancheating City exists and it would please me to see them falter no matter how unlikely. I just think United fans are kidding themselves when it comes to Solskjaer and certain players at your club - England’s biggest club can and should do better especially given their history Dude, I don’t know if you hate Utd or not….that’s entirely up to you! I just don’t have time to listen to fans of other clubs saying we should sack Ole, when he is doing a good job. I started supporting Utd when we were winning nothing and Liverpool were destroying everyone season after season in the old division 1. Arsenal were also right up there. We don’t have a divine right to win the league and trophies each year, but as long as we’re good to watch and competing for the league and trophies, we’re heading in the right direction. Look at our previous 3 managers: We had Moyes - small club mentality from day 1 with his words and tactics. Route one football, vulnerable at the back. Fellani. Enough said. Then we had Van Gaal - Great for the youngsters, but too many sideways passes. Unlucky to get sacked after winning the FA Cup. Then the Special One. Never in my life have I disliked a Utd manager, until Moaninho. Horrible football to watch, publicly threw his own players under the bus when things go wrong, alienated key players, blamed the rest of the world when results go bad. Toxic is the only word. I was so happy when we sacked him. Now we have Ole. From day 1 he walks and talks like he knows what it means to be at Utd. We play attacking football and we try to win every game. Even when we play the likes of PSG, we raise our game and give it our best shot. He doesn’t moan when we get beaten, has the team playing for each other and has finished third then second in the league. Better record than any other manager since Fergie. Is he really any worse than Pocchetino? I don’t think so. Maguire, Ronaldo, Pogba, Cavani, Sancho, Verane and others would not choose to sign or stay if Ole was so bad. One person who deserves more credit is Mike Phelan. The guy is under rated, but seriously respected as a coach. Ole made a smart move in appointing him as assistant manager. Ole also has the likes of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in his set up, so he has made some smart hires on and off the pitch. Onwards and upwards for Ole. Rome wasn’t built in a day and he had a huge task to repair the damage Mourinho had done. Back to topic…. I agree with the shout for City, Liverpool, Utd and Chelsea for the top 4. A lot could depend on injuries throughout the season and which teams are best at grinding out results during poor periods of form. Liverpool were tremendous at doing that, the season before they lost Van d**e and Matip to injury. On paper, City should win the league to to their ridiculous squad depth….but anything can happen in the Premier League! If Ronaldo sticks 25 plus goals away this season, we will be contenders 😁 |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 3, 2021 16:00:09 GMT
Personally, I think it will be City & Chelsea for the top two places with Liverpool & Man Utd battling for the other spots. I’ve already spoken about United whose manager as well as lack of really good number 6 are their biggest problems whilst Liverpool’s biggest issue is the strength in depth beyond the first team outside of centre backs where they probably now have too many. City are City sadly & Chelsea look strong especially now they’ve sorted the striker situation. And in case busman thinks I hate United, don’t worry because Mancheating City exists and it would please me to see them falter no matter how unlikely. I just think United fans are kidding themselves when it comes to Solskjaer and certain players at your club - England’s biggest club can and should do better especially given their history Dude, I don’t know if you hate Utd or not….that’s entirely up to you! I just don’t have time to listen to fans of other clubs saying we should sack Ole, when he is doing a good job. I started supporting Utd when we were winning nothing and Liverpool were destroying everyone season after season in the old division 1. Arsenal were also right up there. We don’t have a divine right to win the league and trophies each year, but as long as we’re good to watch and competing for the league and trophies, we’re heading in the right direction. Look at our previous 3 managers: We had Moyes - small club mentality from day 1 with his words and tactics. Route one football, vulnerable at the back. Fellani. Enough said. Then we had Van Gaal - Great for the youngsters, but too many sideways passes. Unlucky to get sacked after winning the FA Cup. Then the Special One. Never in my life have I disliked a Utd manager, until Moaninho. Horrible football to watch, publicly threw his own players under the bus when things go wrong, alienated key players, blamed the rest of the world when results go bad. Toxic is the only word. I was so happy when we sacked him. Now we have Ole. From day 1 he walks and talks like he knows what it means to be at Utd. We play attacking football and we try to win every game. Even when we play the likes of PSG, we raise our game and give it our best shot. He doesn’t moan when we get beaten, has the team playing for each other and has finished third then second in the league. Better record than any other manager since Fergie. Is he really any worse than Pocchetino? I don’t think so. Maguire, Ronaldo, Pogba, Cavani, Sancho, Verane and others would not choose to sign or stay if Ole was so bad. One person who deserves more credit is Mike Phelan. The guy is under rated, but seriously respected as a coach. Ole made a smart move in appointing him as assistant manager. Ole also has the likes of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in his set up, so he has made some smart hires on and off the pitch. Onwards and upwards for Ole. Rome wasn’t built in a day and he had a huge task to repair the damage Mourinho had done. Back to topic…. I agree with the shout for City, Liverpool, Utd and Chelsea for the top 4. A lot could depend on injuries throughout the season and which teams are best at grinding out results during poor periods of form. Liverpool were tremendous at doing that, the season before they lost Van d**e and Matip to injury. On paper, City should win the league to to their ridiculous squad depth….but anything can happen in the Premier League! If Ronaldo sticks 25 plus goals away this season, we will be contenders 😁 I did say 'thinks' rather than actually explicitly saying you did As for your three previous managers, that is the result of having Ed Woodward running your club and if we look at David Moyes, he has some mitigating circumstances. Firstly, he got nowhere near the same amount of money which brings me on the second point which is Fergie only retired because that team he had was coming to it's end of life and it showed the following season. Thirdly, 9 months for the next manager was always unrealistic regardless of the situation - Rome wasn't built in a day in your words Moyes did find Januzi who promptly was mucked about by the next two coaches Van Gaal & Mourinho I agree with you on though things both got right was winning trophies & Lingard who progressed underneath both coaches whilst simultaneously ruining Januzi. Ole has moaned many times when he got beaten just like most managers do and he says some quite stupid things at time alongside Klopp such as the recent one where he likened football to rugby despite Jack Stephens brilliant challenge on Bruno Fernandes. Attacking football should be a given for any top side and his decision making and tactical decisions have been very questionable throughout his spell. Finishing 2nd & 3rd doesn't get you trophies, those with short memories forget the jibes Wenger got for saying that finishing fourth is like winning a trophy. A better record than other managers means nothing - I can't stand Mourinho and I'm not keen on a Van Gaal but both can point to trophies they won at United and it's now 5 years without any trophy, even my garbage team has won something in that time. Mike Phelan does deserve credit and he has my upmost respect, no bad words about him. |
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Just a shaky start to the season, hardly Norwich... Spurs have had a good run, but like an ageing 144 bus on Muswell Hill, things may get harder if they don't keep their foot to the floor. Seeing Levy overspend like Croydon Council has been an eye opener, as well as keeping Kane in his kung-fu grip.
) will unravel like a Tesco sweater once the toll of domestic and international games wear down the squad. Brentford will survive the drop but I think Villa or Newcastle may go down. Glad Man City didn't get Kane, and it leaves the title race more open for others in the big six. Top 4 finish for Arsenal I reckon (Spurs will be first or second 
