English Premier League

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samhain
A thread to discuss the new season of football in England.

Only the first round of games so not too much to read into just yet but it looks like Huddersfield are going to struggle to achieve what they did last season, they're in danger of relegation I think.

My predictions:

1st - Man City
2nd - Liverpool
3rd - Man Utd
4th - One of Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham, I can see all 3 struggling to match the consistency of the other 3 in the so called 'Big Six' but if I had to pick one to pip the others to the final Champions League spot I'll go for Tottenham, they are the first side ever to make no signings during the summer but I think the mood and the squad unity at Spurs will see them over the line

Relegated - Cardiff, Brighton and Huddersfield are my picks, in that order most likely, as in, 20th, 19th and 18th respectively.

Surprise packages - Wolves

Underachievers - West Ham and possibly Everton, West Ham have spent a lot of money and they may struggle to justify it, Pellegrini is a good coach as a title winner with Man City but it didn't click straight away for him. Everton because the quality of the squad is good but they played so poorly last season and have a new coach so they're in a bit of a no-man's land in terms of expectation (that can turn out badly IMO) Silva appears to be a good coach but hasn't been anywhere long enough to prove it in the long term yet.

Top scorer - Tough one but I'll plump for Mohammed Salah again. Just the way Liverpool seem to play suits him so much, he'll get so many opportunities to score, Kane and Aguero will be contenders as well.

1st managerial sacking - Chris Hughton, Warnock's personality and the fact that Cardiff are so bad that everyone knows it should keep him in a job for a bit longer than Hughton at Brighton where they've built up a tiny bit of expectation.



Agree, disagree, 'don't care hate football I'm just trolling'? Come at me.

walshy
Could probably just use the football thread to talk about it but Cardiff's probably gonna shock the footballing world and win the league. Everyone is writing Cardiff off and that's great that'll just spur them on. Same thing happened last season and they finished runners up.

I am interested to see how arsenal do, cech almost scored an own goal yesterday, would've been hilarious if it actually went in

samhain
As much as I'd like to see Cardiff do well, I just don't see it, I think they'll finish rock bottom. Warnock is a savvy old manager but with the new blood and new ideas of guys like Guardiola and Klopp he might just find that the game has moved past him for the most part. Same thing happened to Dave 'Harry' Bassett in the '90s. Then again Hodgson is still around.

samhain
As a Liverpool fan, it's great to see Utd lose. Mourinho has generated so much negativity around the club it seems like his '3 seasons and gone' rule will continue, perhaps his head has been turned by PSG or Bayern or someone.

Arsenal lost again, they played well and could have snatched a draw but Chelsea were the better team over the game and deserved the win.

walshy
It's hard to see anyone but man city winning the league. Maybe Liverpool can step up if Salah has a season like last. I was happy Cardiff got a point, and saved a penalty in the last minute, at end of the season that point could keep them up

samhain
It's only been 2 games but yeah, City look pretty good already. I doubt Salah will have as good a season goals wise than last year but he doesn't necessarily have to to have a good season. Be interesting to see how City do over the next few months without KDB, they're that good we probably wont even notice he's gone.

samhain
Didn't expect Utd to lose 3-nil at home to Spurs, more of what I was saying earlier about Mourinho's negativity.

I've decided that each season I'm going to pick a freshly promoted side to follow for the season after my own club of course. Last year it was Huddersfield, this year I'm opting for Fulham, some really good signing from them and I don't like Chelsea.

-Pr-
I couldn't believe what happened during the Spurs match. United were solidly the better team in the first half; Shaw and Lingard stood out as being particularly good. And yet, the inability of what are obviously talented players to play together cohesively in a way that leads to goals is just staggering.

And then there were those three minutes in the second half when United's defense yet again fell apart. Smalling, Jones and Lindelof just aren't with it. Bailly, even with those mistakes last week is still by far the best CB United have, and partnered with someone a bit better, he'd do well.

I just really wish they'd go back to a back four.

samhain
Seems like Mourinho isn't happy. His last season at Chelsea wasn't great because he had lost the respect of the players after his treatment of that female physio. He might be on that slippery slope yet again with the Utd lads.

-Pr-
It's that third-season curse all over again, it seems.

I'll admit, I didn't want him when he first came to United, but after last season and how well United did, I was expecting better this year.

Oh well.

samhain
The funny thing is, it's not really a curse, Chelsea are the only team to fire him, around the 3 season mark, twice. The other teams he left of his own volition, it could be argued that he orchestrates events somewhat, in order to make his position at a club untenable. We know he thinks like that. I've got a sneaky feeling he wants the Bayern Munich job or the Paris Saint-Germain job. He's probably sick of England, he's pretty much spent a decade of his life here.

-Pr-
I dunno, I still feel like you can call it a pattern, whether he leaves of his own volition or gets shown the door. It's hard to argue with his success, but when that success starts to falter, you're left with someone that seems to cause problems wherever they go.

Putinbot1
He is arrogant, he is an ass, but he is also an incredible talent. I admire Mourinho greatly... but everything you say on him is right Pr, he does seem too tricky sometimes, although Sam, I am not going to discount your theory he wants out, he may, and it may all just be him choosing to manipulate the situation. With a mercurial man like Mourinho, who knows. But who could you get as good to replace him?

samhain
Undoubtedly the man knows how to win trophies, replacing him would be tricky. Realistically, Utd would want someone with a high profile, with a proven Premier League pedigree and a no-nonsense attitude who could come in and win trophies straightaway, the irony is that only Mourinho fits that bill. I think they'd make a move for Simeone or Pochettino. I'd like to see them hand an ex player the job, Barcelona took a chance on Guardiola and look how that worked out for both of them.

-Pr-
Mourinho obviously isn't happy. He's shown that enough times to make me think that he wants to go as much as the chairman wants him out, so I say let him go. Finding a replacement isn't easy, no, but there are managers out there.

Whatever happens, I'm ****ing quaking with the draw United got in the CL. I don't expect them to come out of that group the way they're currently playing.

samhain
I think Spurs and Liverpool got the toughest CL draws of the English teams, City's group looks so easy they might as well just let them through now. Watford continued their perfect start with a win against Spurs today, didn't see that coming TBH. Have to have a closer look at Watford to see what Gracia is doing right.

Alisson made his inevitable first mistake at the weekend, glad it didn't cost Liverpool any points though, might work out in Liverpool's favour as it could be a lesson learned for free for him.

walshy
international break 2 weeks into the season awehawe
happy wales got revenge against ireland tho

samhain
I actually have begun to see the benefit of having an international break at this point in the season. It gives players on the fringes of the first team at their club a chance to get some match fitness. Most managers will say the season doesn't really get under way until this stage which might have something to do with them having a training ground full of fit players for possibly the first time in months.

samhain
After an awful start, West Ham appear to be turning it around. Beat Everton (jury is still out on Everton), drew with Chelsea, scored 8 in midweek with their 2nd string team playing and now beating Man Utd at half time. Seems inevitable that Mourinho will be gone soon.

-Pr-
United were shite. West Ham took their goals well (and got a bit of luck), but United were so damn poor at the same time.

Something drastic is needed.

samhain
That might be the worst first half performance by Utd I have ever seen, and that includes the time they wore that famous grey kit against Southampton.

walshy
Either pogba or mourinho has to go. I'd find it funny if they both left.

-Pr-
I honestly wouldn't be too disappointed if Pogba left too. He's been far too inconsistent, and while I would like to think he and guys like Sanchez would improve under a new manager, I'm not holding my breath for either of them to be the world beaters they were, or were once considered to be.

samhain
I reckon Mourinho will be gone before Pogba, they may both eventually go but I don't see them selling him in January and I doubt Jose will last the season, they're most likely thinking about getting a new boss and see if he can get the best out of Pogba and the rest before seeing what Pogba wants during the summer.

samhain
Liverpool V Man City today. Huge game. Actually don't mind if Liverpool lose as long as it's a pulsating game. Although I'd prefer it to be a poor game that Liverpool win.

walshy
Originally posted by samhain
Liverpool V Man City today. Huge game. Actually don't mind if Liverpool lose as long as it's a pulsating game. Although I'd prefer it to be a poor game that Liverpool win. you must've jinxed it

It wasn't really boring but did expect at least one goal. Have to laugh at Mahrez missing another pen

samhain
Originally posted by walshy
you must've jinxed it


LOL yeah, both teams actually kind of sent out a better statement than if the game was 5-5. They can both turn around and say that they're good enough to stop the other team from scoring, there wont be many teams who can reduce City and Liverpool to a couple of shots on target.

samhain
Derby Day today. Chelsea v. Fulham, Arsenal v. Spurs and of course Liverpool v. Everton. Off to load up on food and rum for all this.

Insane Titan
As a Liverpool fan, gotta say we was lucky to beat Everton. They at LEAST deserved a point.

samhain
Yeah, they did deserve a point if I'm being honest, anytime a game is that tight though it can just take one moment and the game is over. Mane would have had a hat-trick on another day, although you could argue that Walcott could have got himself a brace as well. Everton played well and it was a decent game of footy which needed a bit of drama or something noteworthy, fortunately for us it went our way.

Putinbot1
Much as I hate Arsenal, the changes going on there are exciting.

samhain
Originally posted by Putinbot1
Much as I hate Arsenal, the changes going on there are exciting.


Agreed, think people made too big a deal out of the fact they lost their first 2 games, considering it was Man City and Chelsea. Emery appears to have done some good business under the radar as well which has allowed those lads to settle in easier, seems to be getting his style and message across quite quickly.

samhain
Also noticed that this current Tottenham team is getting a bit arrogant. Ever since they and Leicester battled it out for the title 3 years ago, they have a tendency to get a bit full of themselves at times. Still not as arrogant as past Arsenal teams though.

Insane Titan
Agree on the Arsenal points , going forward they look great. Still everyone is playing for second place behind Man City.

@putinbot, who do you support mate ?

Putinbot1
Originally posted by Insane Titan
Agree on the Arsenal points , going forward they look great. Still everyone is playing for second place behind Man City.

@putinbot, who do you support mate ? I am a South East London boy, I could have supported Palace like my mum, Charlton like my uncle but my dad took me to the Den and I have followed Millwall ever since. What a mug I am.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
Agreed, think people made too big a deal out of the fact they lost their first 2 games, considering it was Man City and Chelsea. Emery appears to have done some good business under the radar as well which has allowed those lads to settle in easier, seems to be getting his style and message across quite quickly. good analysis Sam.

Insane Titan

samhain
Went to the Millwall-Liverpool cup game back in 2003 or 2004. The one where the seats were getting ripped up, don't remember it spilling out onto the streets or pubs afterwards though, it was a decent atmosphere.

Putinbot1
@IT and Sam, the last time I was present to be truly embarrassed by my Millwall brothers was in Cardiff in the late 90's, the city got wrecked.

samhain
Originally posted by Putinbot1
@IT and Sam, the last time I was present to be truly embarrassed by my Millwall brothers was in Cardiff in the late 90's, the city got wrecked.


Grew up in the Stanley Park area of Liverpool, right between Anfield and Goodison park during the '80s, me and my friends wouldn't even be allowed out of the house on match days when certain teams were in town, West Ham and Leeds in particular. Glad things have calmed down a lot since those days. You still get lots of aggression whenever a smaller European team is visiting, fans of mid-table Italian teams mostly, they're psychos.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
Grew up in the Stanley Park area of Liverpool, right between Anfield and Goodison park during the '80s, me and my friends wouldn't even be allowed out of the house on match days when certain teams were in town, West Ham and Leeds in particular. Glad things have calmed down a lot since those days. You still get lots of aggression whenever a smaller European team is visiting, fans of mid-table Italian teams mostly, they're psychos. worst fans I've come across are the Turks when I lived in Istanbul. They are mental.

samhain
^Yeah, Galatasaray fans definitely.

Good result on Saturday for literally every other team in the league bar Man City. I think City really needed to lose that game for any other team to stand a chance, they may go on to win the title regardless as they're on another level particularly in terms of mentality and focus but it should make the Xmas period a bit more interesting when you consider City and Guardiola tend to take their foot off the pedal around this time of year.

walshy
I'd love Liverpool to win the league over man city. Still feel bad for them not winning it that one year with Suarez and Gerrard. Also they could do an arsenal and go the whole season unbeaten but I doubt it tbh, they did lose in champs League to red Star or whoever some amateur side basically

Anything other than man city running away with the league, and Cardiff staying up and I'll be happy

samhain
Don't think they'll run away with it, least I hope not anyway. For all the plaudits City have been getting this season Liverpool are a point above them and they haven't hit full stride yet, so if Liverpool aren't sitting on top as the season draws to a close, they'll be close enough to City to have them looking over their shoulder I reckon. Looking like a 2 horse race ATM though.

-Pr-
I don't want Liverpool to win it. Though I'd prefer them over Tottenham. That said, I don't think either of them has it in them to actually win the league.

City... Not sure. Come January it'll be interesting to see what they come up with. They desperately need to buy a couple of players, at the very least to shore up their defence.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
^Yeah, Galatasaray fans definitely.

Good result on Saturday for literally every other team in the league bar Man City. I think City really needed to lose that game for any other team to stand a chance, they may go on to win the title regardless as they're on another level particularly in terms of mentality and focus but it should make the Xmas period a bit more interesting when you consider City and Guardiola tend to take their foot off the pedal around this time of year. Good postSam, agreed on all round. I'd like to see Brighton get some wins over Christmas as I have two small rental flats with students in to pay the mortgages there and I love an underdog.

samhain
Originally posted by -Pr-
I don't want Liverpool to win it. Though I'd prefer them over Tottenham. That said, I don't think either of them has it in them to actually win the league.


There will always be doubts over a teams ability to win the league until they actually do it. Same thing happened at Chelsea and Man City and even Arsenal if you go back 20 years. The only real doubt you can have over Liverpool is the fact that they haven't won the league in 29 years but that's not as important as people seem to think it is IMO, it's not as big a factor particularly on a game by game basis.

Interesting that Man City haven't kept a clean sheet in the PL for 6 games, that'll grate on Pep a little bit.

England's El Classico tomorrow, Liverpool v Man Utd, still the biggest fixture in world football I reckon, but only just. Everyone is expecting Mourinho to play for a nil-nil, but he'll love the challenge of being the first to beat Liverpool in the league this season, anything could happen. A real hiding could be on the cards for Utd if Liverpool want it badly enough.

samhain
Great day sipping single malt watching Liverpool beat Man Utd quite convincingly, no great effort from Utd to snatch a winner after drawing level, Liverpool never looked in danger of losing it.

Insane Titan

Putinbot1
@IT that does sound awesome ha, I'm quite jealous of him.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
Great day sipping single malt watching Liverpool beat Man Utd quite convincingly, no great effort from Utd to snatch a winner after drawing level, Liverpool never looked in danger of losing it. i enjoyed it too lol

samhain
thumb up


Speaking of Boca and River Plate, I saw a news article once about how one of the supporter gangs offer a 'go to the game with a hooligan gang leader' kind of package day trip where you would walk to the stadium surrounded by hooligans and sit and watch the game next to the leader surrounded by his fellow hooligans. It may have been a Brazilian team but I'm almost certain it was an Argentinian team.

Insane Titan
Ha , f*ck off mourinho

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
There will always be doubts over a teams ability to win the league until they actually do it. Same thing happened at Chelsea and Man City and even Arsenal if you go back 20 years. The only real doubt you can have over Liverpool is the fact that they haven't won the league in 29 years but that's not as important as people seem to think it is IMO, it's not as big a factor particularly on a game by game basis.

Interesting that Man City haven't kept a clean sheet in the PL for 6 games, that'll grate on Pep a little bit.

England's El Classico tomorrow, Liverpool v Man Utd, still the biggest fixture in world football I reckon, but only just. Everyone is expecting Mourinho to play for a nil-nil, but he'll love the challenge of being the first to beat Liverpool in the league this season, anything could happen. A real hiding could be on the cards for Utd if Liverpool want it badly enough.

Well, there's the lack of titles and my belief that, like Tottenham, they'll bottle it or run out of steam long before then.

Originally posted by samhain
Great day sipping single malt watching Liverpool beat Man Utd quite convincingly, no great effort from Utd to snatch a winner after drawing level, Liverpool never looked in danger of losing it.

I don't think either team was particularly good in the second half, but I did feel kind of annoyed that it was two deflected goals that won it for Liverpool.

Originally posted by Insane Titan
Ha , f*ck off mourinho

It's the best time for it too. Now we see who takes his place.

Insane Titan

samhain
Zidane or Pochettino seem the only likely candidates. And Poch would arrive with question marks I think.

samhain
Originally posted by -Pr-
Well, there's the lack of titles and my belief that, like Tottenham, they'll bottle it or run out of steam long before then.


I think Liverpool could do with another striker personally, a lot of defenders injured right now but there's good depth in the squad, I just think we'll need another striker by the time the January window shuts to take some of the pressure off. Not saying he has to be top level and I'm not even sure who's out there TBH.

Insane Titan

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
thumb up


Speaking of Boca and River Plate, I saw a news article once about how one of the supporter gangs offer a 'go to the game with a hooligan gang leader' kind of package day trip where you would walk to the stadium surrounded by hooligans and sit and watch the game next to the leader surrounded by his fellow hooligans. It may have been a Brazilian team but I'm almost certain it was an Argentinian team. Haha brilliant

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
I think Liverpool could do with another striker personally, a lot of defenders injured right now but there's good depth in the squad, I just think we'll need another striker by the time the January window shuts to take some of the pressure off. Not saying he has to be top level and I'm not even sure who's out there TBH.

Firminho seems to have gone off the boil this season too, sadly. He was great last year.

Putinbot1
The special one is sacked.

samhain
^And he'll pocket millions for it too.

Wolves v Liverpool tonight, tricky one for the reds that, Wolves play some good stuff against good opposition, their result against Chelsea showed that.

Bring on the insanely congested fixtures for the next month!

samhain
Thought Wolves would be a potential banana skin for Liverpool, Liverpool win, then City and Chelsea both lose!

samhain
Originally posted by samhain
should make the Xmas period a bit more interesting when you consider City and Guardiola tend to take their foot off the pedal around this time of year.


Called it.

City's goal difference superiority has been obliterated now as well, it was double Liverpool's goal difference about a month ago now they're both on +36. No clean sheets for a while for City now either, I'm wondering what's going on with their defence considering Laporte is good enough for any team in the world. I think Ederson isn't having as good a season as he did last year, he doesn't have to I suppose in the same way Salah doesn't have to exceed his figures for last season to have a good season this time around, Ederson was far and away the best keeper, he won a lot of points last year.

walshy
Man city 2-1 Liverpool

I'm not a Liverpool fan but would've been cool to see them go whole season undefeated. It'll probably happen again some time. Still hope they win the league

samhain
Really close game that could have went either way, Liverpool fans always knew a defeat was coming, glad it was to the defending champs really. A defeat was inevitable, it's all about how Liverpool bounce back. Funny thing is, next game is an FA Cup game against Wolves, so I would have liked him to play a second string team, but if Klopp does that and Liverpool lose a second game in a row the media vultures will all come out. So our 3rd round FA Cup tie to Wolves is almost a must-win now.

-Pr-
Really good match; United and Spurs were all over each other. Solskjaer passes yet another test.

samhain
Rashford is fast becoming the best English striker in the league, he's developing a ruthless edge that most guys don't get until they hit their mid-20's, love watching him play.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
Rashford is fast becoming the best English striker in the league, he's developing a ruthless edge that most guys don't get until they hit their mid-20's, love watching him play. I agree, he is possibly going to be thought of like Shearer one day.

samhain
Originally posted by Putinbot1
I agree, he is possibly going to be thought of like Shearer one day.


Unless he leaves England to join Barca, which has been in the rumour mill for a while now. Can't disagree though, the fact that Mourinho used him so much in spite of his poor track record in using/developing youth players should be a strong indicator of his talents, even Mourinho couldn't say no.

samhain
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11704/11616453/search-and-rescue-mission-to-find-emiliano-sala-and-pilot-david-ibbotson-ends


Been off the grid for a couple of days so I didn't see this until last night. Really tragic news.

walshy
Yeah, horrible. I've heard a voice message he sent his family on the plane which is just creepy to think about. I think he was gonna be Cardiff's record signing, wonder if we'll get a refund.

Putinbot1
Yeah as depressing as it gets tbh.

samhain
Skin of their teeth for Utd tonight, Solskjaer-time doesn't quite have the same ring to it though. Surprising win for Newcastle against Man City, up to Liverpool tomorrow to go 7 points clear against Leicester, threadbare defence of Liverpool vs Jamie Vardy, who can't stop scoring past Liverpool, could be a tricky one even though City's defeat gives them a freebie of sorts.

Shadow_King
Looks like Brendan Rodgers exile from the premier league has come to an end and will lead Leicester to finish 7th place and entry to Europa only to leave for a "bigger" club, such as Chelsea or Tottenham

samhain
^Tottenham I could see, he was in the running for that job until Liverpool came in for him and he has roots at Chelsea having worked there under Mourinho.

Merseyside derby tomorrow! How many red cards do you reckon? LOL.

samhain
4 English teams in the last 8 of the European Cup. Would love to see Utd V City.

Shadow_King
Leicester city gave another great performance, Wes Morgan playing his way back to the starting team, maybe Leicester should give maguire to Manchester United for 90 million.

Need wolves to lose the next match.

Ole Gunnar solsjar given the permanent job at Man utd seems a bit too premature, think they should've waited till the end of the year.

walshy
Cardiff need 6 points from chelsea tomorrow and man city next week to get out of relegation zone.. aweherm well at least we did better than huddersfield

Insane Titan

walshy
WE GOT SCREWED

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2_sdrPWsAEbsA-.jpg

bring in VAR asap

its ok though it's only man city next week

samhain
That really was an awful decision, here's hoping it gives Cardiff the motivation to do City in a couple of days!

samhain
Liverpool getting the job done yet again, as they've been doing all season to be fair. Incredible to think they won 3-1 considering Southampton were awesome in the opening 30 minutes, they carved Liverpool open a good few times they were unlucky not to get a second goal before Liverpool equalised. Saints were running on empty in the final 10 minutes though as evidenced by Liverpool's 2 goals.

samhain
Great result for Liverpool beating Chelski yesterday. City must have been hoping Chelsea would win as that's Liverpool's hardest remaining game on paper (last 2 games are Newcastle away and Wolves at home, I'd expect Rafa wouldn't mind rolling over but does he want Klopp winning a trophy at Liverpool that he couldn't? And Wolves are well capable of coming to Anfield and getting something.)

City's next fortnight of football is; Tottenham in the CL on Weds (Tottenham are 1-0 up.), Tottenham again in the league on Saturday, Man Utd away on Weds and Burnley away on the following Sunday. Tough games tightly packed together, if City can navigate those games, they'll win the league.

walshy
Well Cardiff are relegated 😢 can't see I didn't see it happening but would've been nice to take it the final day at least. Also considering everyone and every pundit predicated us to finish bottom with record low points, we did alright. Prem is rigged now anyway, championship is the real top league.

samhain
Feel sorry for Cardiff due to the whole Emiliano Sala tragedy, hope they bounce back up.

Anybody catch Liverpool's epic comeback against Barcelona tonight? Everybody knows Anfield has seen some epic European games over the years but I think that one will take some topping considering the quality of the opponent.

walshy
I loved it it was epic, not a Liverpool fan but i was right behind them tonight. It'll be all the more amazing if they can win the champs league and premier league although i can't see anything but a man city win against Brighton

samhain
I was hoping our late winner against Newcastle would gut punch them a bit against Leicester but it wasn't to be. Brighton are guaranteed safety now as well so nothing to play for really, but you never know, strange things happen in the Prem all the time.

Insane Titan
YNWA! Amazing performance.

walshy
Man city won then

I was hoping for Liverpool but maybe they can get the champions league

Putinbot1
All ends with a whimper, glad Brighton stay up!

samhain
Well congrats to Man City, they and Liverpool amassed 195 points between them which is astonishing when you think about it. Now for a boring summer of outdoor drinking as the sun sets.

-Pr-
Renamed the thread as we might as well use this one.

That VAR is going to cause some nonsense this year. I expect at least a few huge decisions to cause some trouble.

samhain
I think there will be a lot of teething problems with it.

There also seems to be a lot of rule changes too, involving goal kicks, drop balls, etc. I've a feeling this is going to be a weird season.

-Pr-
That offside against Sterling was awful, imo.

samhain
He was offside though, perhaps only by a hair but offside. His goal in the community shield was offside and that stood, so perhaps these things really do balance out.

Don't think Chelsea deserved to lose 4-0, they could have been 2 up inside the first 20 minutes. It seemed like a case of one manager has had a few months in charge and money to spend and the other manager has had neither of those things. I'd like to see Lampard do well at Chelsea, (relatively speaking) hiring ex-players who are freshly retired is not something English teams, especially the big ones tend to do. Obviously Chelsea's decision was facilitated by the transfer embargo but it's nice to see.

I remember a team that plays on the continent who hired one of their former players not long after he retired even though his experience was limited, think his name was Josep Guardiola.

walshy
New handball is ****ing ridiculous

I don't want man city to win the league again but they should've had that goal against spurs

samhain
Originally posted by walshy
New handball is ****ing ridiculous

I don't want man city to win the league again but they should've had that goal against spurs


Not sure if anyone's equipped to stop City TBH, the best hope is that they are distracted by the European Cup. At least in regards to the handball rule they are applying it consistently it would seem. Traditionalists tore their hair out when the backpass rule was brought in, changing the game forever, now nobody cares.

Ultimately, it added a layer of controversy at the end of a decent game between two top sides, the sponsors and the advertisers are delighted.

samhain
Looking like a two horse race again isn't it? City and Liverpool are pushing each other to new levels, it's like when Fergie was at Utd and Wenger was at Arsenal, it was just those two and everybody else beneath them fighting for scraps. The injury to Aymeric Laporte has given Liverpool a chance this season as City can't buy a replacement until January and by that time he'll only be a couple of weeks away from a return possibly. Guardiola is quite savvy defensively, he won 2 European Cups with Mascherano playing as a centre half, Stones and Otamendi are very reckless players though.

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
He was offside though, perhaps only by a hair but offside. His goal in the community shield was offside and that stood, so perhaps these things really do balance out.

Don't think Chelsea deserved to lose 4-0, they could have been 2 up inside the first 20 minutes. It seemed like a case of one manager has had a few months in charge and money to spend and the other manager has had neither of those things. I'd like to see Lampard do well at Chelsea, (relatively speaking) hiring ex-players who are freshly retired is not something English teams, especially the big ones tend to do. Obviously Chelsea's decision was facilitated by the transfer embargo but it's nice to see.

I remember a team that plays on the continent who hired one of their former players not long after he retired even though his experience was limited, think his name was Josep Guardiola.

Even if it's a rule, it's a stupid rule imo.

==

I used to think VAR just favoured Liverpool and Spurs, but now I'm thinking it just plain hates Man City.

Shadow_King
Another win for Leicester!! 6 points away from 3rd and 9 points from 4th, hopefully they can keep this win streak going.

Shadow_King
This team looks a lot better than the 2016 winning team.

Brendan Rodgers doing such a great job, guess those years with Celtic and winning trophies has rubbed off on the Leicester players.

Jamie Vardy looking even better than 2016, he is 5 goals ahead of 2nd place and if he continues his scoring pace he could finally get that golden boot. He has scored in the last 8 consecutive premier league games if he can tie his record of 11 goals in 11 games.

Maddison is just amazing, Tielemans, Barnes and Perez are good but still room for improvement.

N'didi is great, he is no 2016 Kante, but he is on his way.

The defense is just brilliant, the least amount of goals conceded only 9 goals allowed, Soyuncu looking better than Maguire, Soyuncu will cost Man.Utd 100 million, Evans looks to be a steal and Ricardo and Chilwell are great.

Last but not least Schmeicel, don't think he has had to make that many saves but when called upon he has done a good job.

Granted only 16 matches have gone by and a lot more of the season left to play, the whole team could crumble but I trust in Rodgers to make sure that doesn't happen.

samhain

Shadow_King
I dont see liverpool dropping enough points to be overtaken, this team feels different, with the likes of salah, mane, trent, henderson, allison, bar major injury these guys will grind out the wins.

Hope I am wrong, if Liverpool win the prem I hope Leicester can take 2nd, if we can beat Man City in a few weeks and go into the new year with a 9 point gap, that would be amazing

samhain
Well this is more or less over already isn't it? Days after flying out to Qatar to play 2 games in a matter of days to become World Champions, Liverpool head to the home of their nearest rivals for the title, who have one of the most in-form defence and attack and blow them away 4-0. Not like Leicester played badly either, they got past the back line and into the Liverpool box on numerous occasions in the first half and played some really good football, they still couldn't muster up a single shot in the first half though and Liverpool just dominated the second half.

The 2020 title race is as over as it can be considering it's still 2019, Liverpool have a couple of big games in January, Everton then Spurs followed by Man Utd, but with a weeks rest in between all those games, the squad will have some much needed freshness back.

walshy
If Liverpool somehow don't win the league now it'd go down in history

Maybe the pressure of them being almost certain league winners will make them lose a couple games but that won't do much damage

-Pr-
Liverpool might win the league, sure, but I wonder, did any of you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Keegan the Wise? 12 points ahead in January, he was, with a team that seemed like they were going to steamroll the Premiership.

-Pr-
Also, VAR is a ****ing cancer. Being "in-line" used to actually be a thing.

samhain
That Newcastle team was too gung-ho, too inexperienced both with playing staff and with Keegan, were being pursued by a team playing top class football and didn't have anywhere close to the defensive qualities this Liverpool team has. They were great to watch don't get me wrong, but their defensive frailties and their lack of a fitness regime took it's toll in the end. Liverpool have neither a lack of a fitness regime nor a worrying defence and are hardly being pursued by a team playing at their best. (Liverpool aren't even playing their best)

It's not the VAR decisions that I have a problem with really, it's the fact that players are claiming it be used for everything on the pitch, 80% of goals get disputed by the opposition, you can see them demanding the ref take a look, generally speaking that's a waste of time. The rules need to be sorted out properly too.

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
That Newcastle team was too gung-ho, too inexperienced both with playing staff and with Keegan, were being pursued by a team playing top class football and didn't have anywhere close to the defensive qualities this Liverpool team has. They were great to watch don't get me wrong, but their defensive frailties and their lack of a fitness regime took it's toll in the end. Liverpool have neither a lack of a fitness regime nor a worrying defence and are hardly being pursued by a team playing at their best. (Liverpool aren't even playing their best)

It's not the VAR decisions that I have a problem with really, it's the fact that players are claiming it be used for everything on the pitch, 80% of goals get disputed by the opposition, you can see them demanding the ref take a look, generally speaking that's a waste of time. The rules need to be sorted out properly too.

I don't necessarily agree, but I still think that it's incredibly premature to say the League is won when it isn't even January yet. I'm not going to pretend I want Liverpool to win, but the worst thing those players can do is start to believe that it's in the bag and get complacent.

I have a problem with it all. I genuinely think the League was better off without it.

samhain
I don't think for a second that any of the Liverpool players think this is done and dusted, they know there's a lot of hard work ahead, they still have to play everyone else again (except Leicester) and anything can happen, that's why we keep tuning in , game after game, year after year. But, barring divine intervention, Liverpool will win the league. The Fabinho injury is going by unnoticed, the 2nd choice keeper (who didn't even get offered a new contract by West Ham at the end of last season) was in goal for the first 2 months of the season and they still went undefeated.

I'd be interested to see some data on VAR at the end of the season, in terms of how many decisions it's gotten wrong versus right and maybe some comparative data on how many referee overturns it got right versus wrong. It's still in its infancy and apparently the EPL has its own set of guidelines when compared to UEFA, etc, which I don't think helps in the slightest TBH, according to Shaka Hislop England are the only country that are having any kind of problems with it.

-Pr-
It doesn't help that the EPL has had problems for a while now with some shocking refeering standards. I suppose it was naive to think that wouldn't carry over in to the implementation of VAR. Even the new rules... They just seem so, so wrong to me.

samhain
Have you spotted how they've changed the kick-off rules? I noticed it a year or so ago, used to be that you had to kick it into your opponents half, hence why you would see 2 players at kick-off, one would roll it into the opposition half then the other would quickly snap it back into their own half, now we see just one player in the centre circle who is totally free to kick it into his own half. Just kind of crept up on me that one.

-Pr-
I had noticed that, but I had no idea it was an actual rule. Damn.

samhain
I'm just assuming it was a law change but it has to have been surely. Like I said, the old rule was that you had to kick it to your opponents and now no-one has to do that.

samhain
Just Wikied it, the restriction on the ball moving forward at kick-off was removed in 2016. Also, the same page says that if an own goal is scored directly from kick-off, then it's given as a corner and not a goal, I'd like to know how and why that rule was implemented.

samhain
I mean, they're just not letting up are they? 20 wins from 21 games, the records they could break this season is astounding, not worth the 30 year wait TBH but this team can be a sheer joy to watch at times (as a Liverpool fan).

samhain
I might just start crying now to get the emotion out of the way, just don't see how anyone else can catch up to this team right now, they're ridiculously ruthless.

Putinbot1
I got sent the worst Manchester United, Isn Huntly joke on Wattsapp. Too sick even for me to laugh at...

samhain
That the one about how to repair torn Man Utd kits? Heard that about a week after it happened from my brother's friend, he's a sick fvck, as a matter of fact he's the only guy I've ever seen that actually went the distance on The People Vs. Jerry Sadowitz, Jerry was actually hugging him and telling him he was a top man by the end, you need to be a real sicko to accomplish that.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
That the one about how to repair torn Man Utd kits? Heard that about a week after it happened from my brother's friend, he's a sick fvck, as a matter of fact he's the only guy I've ever seen that actually went the distance on The People Vs. Jerry Sadowitz, Jerry was actually hugging him and telling him he was a top man by the end, you need to be a real sicko to accomplish that. Nah, it's the one with the girls in the kits where he's saying, he did them a favour seeing how bad man u are now they'd have topped themselves anyway. I actually left the "bantz" group after sending a message which read, "you unfunny, sick c u n t".

samhain
Yeah there are far more tasteful ways to declare you think Man Utd are terrible, no need to disrespect 2 dead children.

Putinbot1
Originally posted by samhain
Yeah there are far more tasteful ways to declare you think Man Utd are terrible, no need to disrespect 2 dead children. Exactly! To be honest I belong to two football based wattsapp groups both based around Sunday pub teams I turned out for long ago (I shit at football really, but I am tall can tackle and head... or could) both spend zero time talking about football and mainly consist of things like videos of women shitting and black guys with big cocks. We English speaking people are strange I won't say british as Irish, South Africans, Canadians and Aussies are also in those groups.

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
Just Wikied it, the restriction on the ball moving forward at kick-off was removed in 2016. Also, the same page says that if an own goal is scored directly from kick-off, then it's given as a corner and not a goal, I'd like to know how and why that rule was implemented.

Ah okay. Cool.

==

You really can't blame Solskjaer now if they don't buy anyone in January. This squad just can't cut it with such lacklustre midfield options.

Leicester and City dropping points (though it still feels like whoever is in the VAR office hates Man City big-time).

samhain
The right 2 or 3 players could still see Utd finish in the top 4, it'd still be a long shot but they have a chance and then being in the CL next season helps them to attract more players. Not sure who they could get that would have an impact though, Grealish is good but I'm unsure of his ability to stand out in a top team, Maddison would be a better option right now but Leics don't want to sell in January and they'd still need a top tier defensive mid.

samhain
Liverpool are 10 league wins away from the trophy now too, provided City don't drop more points. If that happens (City and Liverpool winning their next 9 games each) that 10th game will be at the Etihad.

-Pr-
Originally posted by samhain
The right 2 or 3 players could still see Utd finish in the top 4, it'd still be a long shot but they have a chance and then being in the CL next season helps them to attract more players. Not sure who they could get that would have an impact though, Grealish is good but I'm unsure of his ability to stand out in a top team, Maddison would be a better option right now but Leics don't want to sell in January and they'd still need a top tier defensive mid.

At the start of January, if United had actually bought players, I wouldn't have called a top 4 finish a long shot at all. Now, though, with them after losing Rashford and seemingly no incoming players this window, I'd be worried about even Europa League football next year.

Honestly, as much as I like Grealish and Maddison, I don't see them being the kind of top tier players that United should be chasing. Better than what they have, sure, but that's not saying a whole lot. And I still can't believe they spent 50 million on Fred. I mean, I like the guy, but he's not a 50 million euro player.

At the very least, I'm glad to see more and more people blaming Woodward and the Glazers than Ole.

Originally posted by samhain
Liverpool are 10 league wins away from the trophy now too, provided City don't drop more points. If that happens (City and Liverpool winning their next 9 games each) that 10th game will be at the Etihad.

City and Leicester just aren't challenging them the way they should be. All credit to Liverpool though; for every hammering they give someone, they're still grinding out the kind of 1-0 wins that makes champions.

samhain
Originally posted by -Pr-
At the start of January, if United had actually bought players, I wouldn't have called a top 4 finish a long shot at all. Now, though, with them after losing Rashford and seemingly no incoming players this window, I'd be worried about even Europa League football next year.

Honestly, as much as I like Grealish and Maddison, I don't see them being the kind of top tier players that United should be chasing. Better than what they have, sure, but that's not saying a whole lot. And I still can't believe they spent 50 million on Fred. I mean, I like the guy, but he's not a 50 million euro player.

At the very least, I'm glad to see more and more people blaming Woodward and the Glazers than Ole.



City and Leicester just aren't challenging them the way they should be. All credit to Liverpool though; for every hammering they give someone, they're still grinding out the kind of 1-0 wins that makes champions.


Yeah not a good window for Utd really, doubt they'll make top 4 now. Ighalo might do a good job in the end but that signing screams of desperation.

As I've said, the jury is still out on Grealish and Maddison for me personally, they are however both better than Henderson was at their age, and look at the plaudits he's finally starting to receive now, Hendo will turn 30 by the start of next season, Maddison has only just turned 23 and Grealish is 24.

Ole has done as well as he could have done given the way things appear in the Utd boardroom.

Maybe City and Leicester aren't challenging but how do you challenge what is almost perfection? Liverpool have dropped 2 points all season, if they had beaten Utd at Old Trafford in October then we'd be talking about them having a perfect season so far. There's not really a great deal City or Leicester can do in the face of that.

-Pr-
So, and I mean this in the nicest way possible... Do Liverpool fans feel like god hates them at this point?

samhain
Lol, we've waited 30 years, a bit longer won't hurt. Truthfully, we're as used to not winning it now as fans were used to winning it in the 80's. Pales in comparison to tackling a pandemic really.

Still a bit fvcking irritating though. whistle

-Pr-
I wonder how hard it'll be to keep the momentum going next season. Obviously I don't want them to, but I am curious as hell to see if they can keep going, or if they'll be another Blackburn or Leicester.

One thing I am confident in, though, is how beneficial Bruno Fernandes will be for United. He's been largely great since he arrived, and the team plays better in general with him in the lineup.

johncarner
I'd love Liverpool to win the league over man city. Still feel bad for them not winning it that one year with Suarez and Gerrard. Also they could do an arsenal and go the whole season unbeaten but I doubt it tbh, they did lose in champs League to red Star or whoever some amateur side basically

samhain
Also, they lost to Watford in the league, so definitely no unbeaten season on the cards.

-Pr-
A few sites now are saying that June 17th is the official start date for the resumption of the season.

samhain
Yeah, June 17th for the 4 teams that have to play their game in hand (City V Arsenal and Villa V Sheff Utd) everybody else will play on the 19th/20th, it's going to be like a mini World Cup with multiple games a day at varying times, minus the people in pubs that is.

samhain
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53065806


I like this kid more and more, good on him.

Can't wait for the 2 games tomorrow, I'm even going to watch the Sheff Utd V Villa game as well!

-Pr-
Only took them 45 mins for a shaky decision. Brilliant.

Old Man Whirly!
Originally posted by samhain
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53065806


I like this kid more and more, good on him.

Can't wait for the 2 games tomorrow, I'm even going to watch the Sheff Utd V Villa game as well! thumb up top notch li e sport returning to my tv is managed from heaven tbh.Originally posted by -Pr-
Only took them 45 mins for a shaky decision. Brilliant. Did you honestly expect anything else?

-Pr-
Honestly no. I just thought it was hilarious how soon it happened.

samhain
Can't say I'm surprised at how boring most of the games have been so far, will likely take another game or two for the tempo to increase.

samhain
Yeah that decision in the Sheff Utd/Villa game was silly. That has nothing to do with VAR though that should have been covered by goal-line technology and that was introduced a few years ago now, no reason for it not to work.

samhain
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-Pr-
We'll see you ****ers next year!

Insane Titan
Finally, champions !!

samhain
Originally posted by -Pr-
We'll see you ****ers next year!

samhain
Chelsea seem like the only team that are capable of getting near Liverpool or City at the minute, they need to improve defensively though IMO. Will be a strange and interesting transfer window this next one I feel.

walshy
LIVERPOOL w00t

Old Man Whirly!
Weirdest season ever?

-Pr-
Originally posted by Old Man Whirly!
Weirdest season ever?

Yup.

Blakemore
Chelsea to win FA cup! I know it's a diff comp but goddamnit I think they will.

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