19 Mar 2026 07:44:47
PSG beating us 8-2 on aggregate, Real Madrid beating City 5-1 on aggregate, Barcelona beating Newcastle 8-3 on aggregate and Atletico beating Spurs 7-5.
Is the gap really that big? We've recently had convincing victories against both PSG and Barcelona. I'm sure City are capable of beating that Madrid side. Is this more a case of the strains of the EPL hitting our teams in Europe, again?
19 Mar 2026 08:34:19
Yes, the Premier League is tough, and the other leagues do more to help their clubs, with games postponed as well as a mid-season break.
The top of the Spanish league is good quality.
Maybe, the Club World Cup in the summer is coming back to bite us. We have played so many games without a proper break, and the players are starting to look tired.
19 Mar 2026 09:11:35
Spot on, seymns2.
19 Mar 2026 09:33:52
Yeah, you just don't get a week off in the EPL like you do in the other leagues. With all due respect to the bottom half teams in France, Spain, Germany etc., the UCL teams can play at 70% and still get a result, you just can't do that in the EPL.
I don't want to make excuses for our poor performances over both legs (although, that's exactly what I'm doing), but those two games were cup finals for PSG, their sole focus.
For us, they were just another couple of fixtures in a congested calendar.
I agree, CWC is 100% impacting the team negatively.
19 Mar 2026 14:32:39
Excuses, excuses. Perhaps, the top European teams are just better. The much used mantra that any team can beat any other team in the PL is proof that the so-called big teams aren't that good. The Premier League has been dreadful this season: us included.
19 Mar 2026 16:44:10
Absolutely an excuse, but the Club World Cup is a valid excuse nonetheless.
I agree that it is not a vintage year in the Premier League. Arsenal are going to win, and they are not a great side.
19 Mar 2026 18:11:30
There is no doubt that the Club World Cup has put extra pressure on the squad. However, the hierarchy and fitness analysts would have been aware of that. Moreover, we have a significant cohort of players who are constantly injured: Lavia hasn't played a full 90 minutes since we signed him.
Even when 'fit', James and Fofana can't play two consecutive games. These factors add to potential fatigue issues for the rest of the squad.
19 Mar 2026 23:54:33
Jimbo, it's not just us that have suffered with injuries. Spurs & City have had terrible injuries this season, even though Spurs weren't at the CWC, and neither of their squads have the 'injury prone' players such as James/Fofana/Lavia.
The intensity, if not the difficulty, of the league puts so much more pressure on players in the PL. Combined with 2 domestic cup competitions, no winter breaks, it's pretty clear that PL teams have it harder.
20 Mar 2026 07:41:14
Quality in depth within the squad for me. When they bring someone on or rest a player, the player is just as good. With us, we don't have that. We have 7/8 good players, and that's where our weakness is.
20 Mar 2026 10:51:41
Quality players get injured, and it's very rare for any team to have twenty-five so-called "quality players." I find it hard to believe that any manager could keep such a squad happy.
I have no idea how our number of matches lost to injury compares to other clubs.
It could be that it's generally accepted that Premiership teams that play in Europe get more injuries than teams who are not in European competitions.
I think we just expected too much from the last window.
We signed a few untested Premiership players who haven't hit the ground running. This happens at virtually every club. It can sometimes take a player a season to adjust to the Premiership. I think that the newly signed players, not so far being up to speed, allied with key injuries, have exposed us.
The time to truly judge these players, in my opinion, will be next season. Some fans/posters are all too quick to write players off.
20 Mar 2026 12:08:35
Fuser, there is no doubt pl clubs have it harder. However, top clubs want to compete in the Champions League. We willingly participated in the Club World Cup and earned around £100 million. Clubs will be scrambling to join the party when the next one is held. There is no point in clubs complaining; it is in their and the Premier League's hands. They could arrange a winter break; they could reduce the number of clubs in the pl and ditch the League Cup, among other things, but they won't because of the money.
As for Chelsea, most of our days lost through injury are from players who are constantly injured and rarely play, and not because of fatigue caused by busy match schedules. Some posters are too quick to hype players who clearly aren't good enough.
20 Mar 2026 13:30:57
And some posters write of players after just seeing them for a few games.
Give players at least a season or a run of games is my view before making a judgement. That doesn't mean they can't be criticised for playing a bad game or making a mistake.