English Premier League 2019-20

[Musketeer Gripweed]

9 hours ago, Jamaldo said:

While you can say that City have been rubbish this season, Liverpool have still won 24 out of 25 league games. A completely unheard of run of form. They'd still be at least 8-10 points ahead of City had they been at their level from last season.

 

 

[54_and_counting]

22 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

 

 

I only saw it on Match of the Day 2 just now but I'm not sure it was a penalty. I don't think the Spurs defender got the ball but I didn't see any contact between him and Aguero - he simply crumpled to a heap under a little pressure. If there was contact it was utterly minimal and not enough for him to go down. I can only presume the VAR was thinking it may have been that way and spent ages looking for an angle (one I've not seen) that showed enough of a touch to make it a foul. Had that been in the first 6 or 7 weeks of the season I don't think it gets overturned, but they've started giving some soft decisions now once they opened the floodgates. Don't think the second one was a penalty either and I think Sterling is fortunate not to get a second yellow for going down before Loris pulls his hands away. Quite why he wasn't sent off for the challenge on Delle Ali (the same thing Aubameyang and the Bournemouth player - Cook? - have been sent off for recently) is another puzzler.



I'm not a subscriber to the Fraudiola theory but... he had the best player of all time at his peak and two of the best midfielders of all time at their peak in the Barcelona team, he took a Champions League holder in Bayern and did as expected domestically but failed in Europe and has inherited a fantastic squad at City and done well but has obvious blind spots. Not replacing Kompany or getting better cover for Laporte than Otamendi and Stones. Relying too much on Aguero and Sterling for goals. Not stopping the penalty nonsense and just telling Aguero to take them if he's playing since he's the best taker they have. Seemingly having no clue how to spot a left back. I know the big focus now is the Champions League but if they get knocked out by Real Madrid, who knows what will happen. 3 months of pretty meaningless games bar the two domestic cup finals? The already poor crowds could drop off a cliff.

 

Said this about guardiola ages ago, in fact a number of us on here said it about him, he may be a fantastic coach in terms of setting teams up and getting them to play, but he seems to be unable to build his own team, for the money spent that city defence is an absolute bombscare

[GordonS]

On 25/01/2020 at 12:06, lpad said:

0.8^14.

The chances of an 80% event happening 14 times in a row.

Statistically, that's how it would work if the events were independent of each other, but they aren't.

You only have to look at the long winning streaks of Man City and Liverpool over the past three seasons to see that in practice.

[GordonS]

Where is this idea that Guardiola inherited a great squad coming from?

He signed Sane, Stones, Jesus, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Laporte, Mendy, Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Danilo and Mahrez. The important players he inherited were Aguero, Fernandinho, Sterling and De Bruyne, plus a rarely-fit Kompany. A great base, sure, but hardly the finished team. Their second-highest league scorer was Iheanacho with 8. 

In the season before he arrived they got 66 points and only won half their games. In the past two season they've had the highest and second-highest points totals in top-flight history, the most goals scored and highest goal difference in a season and the biggest points margin. Nobody can say that's anything less than a huge achievement.

An even bigger achievement if Liverpool go on and break those records, of course. 

[Salvo Montalbano]

Where is this idea that Guardiola inherited a great squad coming from?
He signed Sane, Stones, Jesus, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Laporte, Mendy, Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Danilo and Mahrez. The important players he inherited were Aguero, Fernandinho, Sterling and De Bruyne, plus a rarely-fit Kompany. A great base, sure, but hardly the finished team. Their second-highest league scorer was Iheanacho with 8. 
In the season before he arrived they got 66 points and only won half their games. In the past two season they've had the highest and second-highest points totals in top-flight history, the most goals scored and highest goal difference in a season and the biggest points margin. Nobody can say that's anything less than a huge achievement.
An even bigger achievement if Liverpool go on and break those records, of course. 

Well the squad had finished 4th the previous season and had won 2 of the last 5 Premier Leagues and finishing 2nd on the other 2 occasions. They'd also reached the semi finals of the Champions League (their best ever result) under Pellegrini before Pep took over and had won the League Cup. As well as the 5 you listed (all of whom were still important players last season and apart from Kompany are still vital this season) they had Fernando, Jesus Navas, David Silva, Yaya Toure (all good or great players) and Hart, Sagna, Otamendi, Kolarov etc who were good squad players at the very least. It was a very good squad by the standards at the time and many felt Pellegrini's final season was a bit of an under-achievement even though they won a trophy and made the Champions League semi finals. Yes, he made signings (quite a few actually - £50m on Stones, £37m on Sane, £20m on Gundogan, £15m on Claudio Bravo and £14m on Nolito in the summer then another £27m on Gabriel Jesus in the January window) but the squad was a good one and he has spent a lot on making it better, regardless of whether you think he is a good coach or not (and for the record, I think its obvious that he is).

[Musketeer Gripweed]

On 08/08/2019 at 17:53, Dele said:

Liverpool have done well to get near £3m for Ejaria. 

Can't see why anyone would tip them to win the league, they haven't improved their side at all. 

@Dele. Sorry mate, but that one stuck out like a sore thumb when I was laughing at the pre season predictions on the thread tonight.

Promise I won't dig anyone else up, @Cerberus, some of yours are good as well though.

Sorry guys.

 

[Honest_Man#1]

You get rid of Rab and another one appears. Great.

[Derry Alli]

22 minutes ago, Musketeer Gripweed said:

@Dele. Sorry mate, but that one stuck out like a sore thumb when I was laughing at the pre season predictions on the thread tonight.

Promise I won't dig anyone else up, @Cerberus, some of yours are good as well though.

Yup, one player they've signed, the substitute goalkeeper has made and impact. 

A bold move by Klopp and one he deserves every bit of praise he's getting for. 

Well done to the two (?) posters who tipped Liverpool for the league. Cracking shouts. 

[Musketeer Gripweed]

23 hours ago, Honest_Man#1 said:

You get rid of Rab and another one appears. Great.

Ach, I was bored and decided to amuse myself, please don't put me in the same category as him. You know I am better than that. I will be unbearable, but at least I will actually talk and discuss the football side of things. I don't even steal photos from Twitter.

23 hours ago, Dele said:

Yup, one player they've signed, the substitute goalkeeper has made and impact. 

A bold move by Klopp and one he deserves every bit of praise he's getting for. 

Well done to the two (?) posters who tipped Liverpool for the league. Cracking shouts. 

See, the thing is Liverpool didn't need to strengthen during the summer. It's a problem we all have as football fans, we all like shiny new players that cost a lot of money. Liverpool, as has been well documented on here, had spent a lot of money in the previous year and a half, getting in a young squad, full of quality hungry players. They had just won the European Cup and were 10 millimetres away from going the full of the league season unbeaten. They didn't need to improve the squad. Everyone moaned when they spent the Coutinho money on Van Dijk and Becker, yet when they didn't spend more, you seemed to think they weren't progressing.  I am honestly sorry for calling you out, I just found the progress comment amusing.

The fact that Manchester City have imploded is neither here or there. Liverpool are just so much mentally stronger than them this season. 

Edit : Plus, I was looking for an excuse to post some Andy Robertson gifs, which is pretty immature, I know. Guilty as charged.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Musketeer Gripweed

[The Minertaur]

On 08/08/2019 at 15:30, The Minertaur said:

1. Man City - 2nd
2. Liverpool - 1st
3. Arsenal - 10th
4. Tottenham - 5th
5. Chelsea - 4th
6. Man Utd - 7th
7. Everton - 9th
8. Leicester - 3rd
9. West Ham - 18th
10. Wolves - 8th
11. Bournemouth - 16th
12. Burnley - 11th
13. Watford -19th
14. Aston Villa - 17th
15. Crystal Palace -14th
16. Newcastle - 12th
17. Southampton - 13th
18. Brighton - 15th
19. Norwich - 20th
20. Sheff Utd - 6th

Not a single team right  

[Armand 2]

The arrogance of the Premier League and some of the muppets who earn a crust off it by giving their often unintelligible views was again on show on the radio this morning.

I don't usually mind Talksport on a Friday morning as McCoist is usually on - but today, it was Danny Mills. My first mistake was not immediately turning it off.

Anyway, they were discussing the England World Cup squad where Mills first suggested that it was a close call whether to start with Trent Alexander Arnold or Aaron Wan Bissaka at right back, further asserting that the latter was a much better defender.

But the ignorance came while he ran through options at centre half and why they probably wouldn't be selected; he got to Chris Smalling and said "well, he's abroad" as if that automatically made him ineligible. 

An absolute horse's arse.

He also completely failed to mention Jack O'Connell (probably because he doesn't know who he is) who should be well in contention for the World Cup squad.

[54_and_counting]

On 04/02/2020 at 08:04, GordonS said:

Where is this idea that Guardiola inherited a great squad coming from?

He signed Sane, Stones, Jesus, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Laporte, Mendy, Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Danilo and Mahrez. The important players he inherited were Aguero, Fernandinho, Sterling and De Bruyne, plus a rarely-fit Kompany. A great base, sure, but hardly the finished team. Their second-highest league scorer was Iheanacho with 8. 

In the season before he arrived they got 66 points and only won half their games. In the past two season they've had the highest and second-highest points totals in top-flight history, the most goals scored and highest goal difference in a season and the biggest points margin. Nobody can say that's anything less than a huge achievement.

An even bigger achievement if Liverpool go on and break those records, of course. 

Given what pep has spent, is it not a shocker that his most important players are the ones he had when he arrived

It was the same at barca, when he arrived they finished 7th iirc, the following season they won the CL, 9 of the starting 11 in that final were players he inherited

Guardiola is clearly a fantastic coach, one of the best there has ever been, but as an actual manager, with having to assemble and replace a squad, he has been found wanting twice now

Compare his signings to klopp, the spend etc, City have had a mare in the market compared to liverpool, 

[LondonHMFC]

Pressure looks like it is really starting to get at Gold, Sullivan & Brady. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51405905

Gold trotting out the line that they neither him nor Sullivan take a wage from the club. Yet fails to mention the 7% interest they have on loans that they gave the club, netting them each a cool £4 million per annum. Or a payment of £1 million to GGI International, a company related to Gold. Also £82.5k made from phone lines that the two have interest in. 

Brady working her socks off - she works one day a week. Oh and she got a 25% wage rise for her trouble this year. Nice work if you can get it. 

By chasing Sky for that apology, it seems most outlets are now really starting to turn on the board. Even folk that were previously in their pocket seem to be coming round and asking questions. 

The board have asked for a second time to speak to key members of "Hammers United" the group who are organising protests. Yet both times have stated that they want a NDA to be signed. The group have rejected.

Next seven fixtures include City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs away, with Southampton, Wolves and Chelsea all playing at the running track. 

Things are going to start getting very interesting in the coming weeks. 

 

[Bully Wee Villa]

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are a guaranteed nine points. Those c***s have been conspiring to relegate Villa all season.

[Musketeer Gripweed]

1 hour ago, Armand 2 said:

The arrogance of the Premier League and some of the muppets who earn a crust off it by giving their often unintelligible views was again on show on the radio this morning.

I don't usually mind Talksport on a Friday morning as McCoist is usually on - but today, it was Danny Mills. My first mistake was not immediately turning it off.

Anyway, they were discussing the England World Cup squad where Mills first suggested that it was a close call whether to start with Trent Alexander Arnold or Aaron Wan Bissaka at right back, further asserting that the latter was a much better defender.

But the ignorance came while he ran through options at centre half and why they probably wouldn't be selected; he got to Chris Smalling and said "well, he's abroad" as if that automatically made him ineligible. 

An absolute horse's arse.

He also completely failed to mention Jack O'Connell (probably because he doesn't know who he is) who should be well in contention for the World Cup squad.

The bit I heard this morning was them discussing Messi falling out with Eric Abidal at Barcelona. The automatic assumption was Messi heading to the Etihad this summer. I tuned in to 5 Live there and then.

[Salvo Montalbano]

The bit I heard this morning was them discussing Messi falling out with Eric Abidal at Barcelona. The automatic assumption was Messi heading to the Etihad this summer. I tuned in to 5 Live there and then.

To be fair, the Abidal interview put out the fact that Messi can leave for nothing at the end of the season (he has a clause that he can do that as long as he tells the club by a certain date IIRC) as well as there being this disagreement and the way Barca haven't exactly been setting the heather alight. I don't for one minute think he'll leave, but if he did then Man City with the wages, the manager and the sporting director would seem a sensible place for him to pitch up, especially if he thinks Barca aren't likely to win the Champions League soon.

[Bishop Briggs]

4 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

8 hours ago, Musketeer Gripweed said:

The bit I heard this morning was them discussing Messi falling out with Eric Abidal at Barcelona. The automatic assumption was Messi heading to the Etihad this summer. I tuned in to 5 Live there and then.

To be fair, the Abidal interview put out the fact that Messi can leave for nothing at the end of the season (he has a clause that he can do that as long as he tells the club by a certain date IIRC) as well as there being this disagreement and the way Barca haven't exactly been setting the heather alight. I don't for one minute think he'll leave, but if he did then Man City with the wages, the manager and the sporting director would seem a sensible place for him to pitch up, especially if he thinks Barca aren't likely to win the Champions League soon.

Tbh, I can't see Messi and his family swapping their wonderful life in glorious Barcelona for a grotty dump like Manchester. 

A rift with Abidal is a great negotiation tactic for securing a longer and more lucrative deal. Well played!

[Stevieda]

Tbh, I can't see Messi and his family swapping their wonderful life in glorious Barcelona for a grotty dump like Manchester. 
A rift with Abidal is a great negotiation tactic for securing a longer and more lucrative deal. Well played!

Not sure when the last time you've been to manchester is, and although I'm sure it cant compare to bishopbriggs, it is an absolutely fantastic city. The surrounding Cheshire is a lovely place to live.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

On 04/02/2020 at 14:41, Honest_Man#1 said:

You get rid of Rab and another one appears. Great.

Crabs more like.

[Carnoustie Young Guvnor]

27 minutes ago, Stevieda said:

1 hour ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Tbh, I can't see Messi and his family swapping their wonderful life in glorious Barcelona for a grotty dump like Manchester. 
A rift with Abidal is a great negotiation tactic for securing a longer and more lucrative deal. Well played!

Not sure when the last time you've been to manchester is, and although I'm sure it cant compare to bishopbriggs, it is an absolutely fantastic city. The surrounding Cheshire is a lovely place to live.

Aye not compared to fucking Barcelona though is it.

Its laughable nonsense to suggest Messi will be going anywhere.  No danger.  Plus Man City couldn't afford him anyway.