The imaginatively titled Premier League 21/22 Thread

[theforceuk]

Completely agree @edd_jedi which is why I said last season a striker isn't top of the shopping list or shouldn't be. What's the point having one of the best number nines in the world if you can't get the ball to him, he's feeding off scraps all season and still has 18 goals. Nobody who watches football can argue that Ronaldo is the problem, neither is he the answer. As said before Ronaldo has bailed us out more than once this season and he's been doing it for the last 15 years at other clubs. So the argument that if he wasn't playing someone else would take his place I struggle to see. Especially when our other strikers are Cavani (never fit), Greenwood and Martial. Who all played last season and went out in the group stage of CL.

 

[weasel]

My point is he simply isn't the problem at Man Utd as many journalists and football fans would argue.

I agree. He's not perfect, and I don't think he can press like most teams do now, but he's pretty low down the list of problems at Utd. Your owners would be far and away the biggest problem, and the fact Utd is now run for money rather than to try and win trophies. Fat Maguire would be miles above Ronaldo on that list too, as would your lack of a DCM (or decent CM).

The argument that if Ronaldo hadn't been playing then someone else would have, er who???? Cavani is only fit when an international break is around the corner and that's it. Their is know one else. Your pretty much saying that this Man Utd team has the players to replace Ronaldo who most people would probably agree is in the top 10 players of all time. Last season we didn't have him and we ended up in the Europa league. First time we've been in the knock out stages of CL since 2017 and he's the difference this season no question.

My point was more, the second a game starts with a different player in place it becomes totally different. He will make different runs, he may drop deep when Ronaldo would have run in behind, he may track back when Ronnie didn't, or vice versa. The entire game would be different. As I said, Utd may well have won without him, you did seem to be play better a team last year than this, or you may well have lost (and by more). We will never know. Unless someone here has a time machine? In which case I have better uses for it lol.


Sounds like VAR had another stinker yesterday, Haverts could have been sent off (and would have struggled to score the winner from the dug out), Newcastle denied a fairly obvious penalty too. As before, it's not the system that is the problem, it's the piss poor refs who are working it.


Everton look to be in a world of trouble now. They have a stinking run in too. Newcastle, WH, Utd, Pool, Chelsea, Leicester, Brentford and Arsenal to play, plus games with Burnley, Leicester, Watford and Palace TBC.
There are two massive 6 pointers with Watford and Burnley, the rest you wouldn't put money on them winning. MAYBE Leicester (twice) and Palace, or Brentford, but given the form Everton are in.

I saw this stat,

Brentford - 6 points in the last 2 games
Burnley - 9 points since the start of Feb
Leeds - 10 points since the start of 2022
Norwich 7 points since Jan 15th
Watford - 7 points in the last month


Everton - 9 points since SEPTEMBER

That is appalling. They deserve to go down for that. Still, at least they listened to the fans and appoint Frank Lampard as manager, as guy who took the 4th best team in the championship to 4th in the champions, and who took European and world champions Chelsea to 9th in the PL. He is a much better choice than that other fella who had won trophies all over the world.

 

[weasel]

Well, that was unsurprisingly pish from Utd. You knew exactly what Atleti would do and Utd had no answer. Not hugely surprised, and TBF losing now may well save them a proper beating in the next round, but that doesn't change the fact that was a poor effort from Utd.
**** me Atleti really are a dreadful side to watch though. As soon as they go in front it's time wasting left right and centre, EVERY SINGLE player dives and rolls about the ground, they call for a card even if the "foul" was the most trivial thing and they **** stir and try and get a reaction, or react, to every little thing to break up momentum and waste more time. The antithesis of a good watch. A thoroughly dislikeable team.

I hope Pool don't get them in the knock out stages, they had them in their group and played them 2 years ago so it's someone else's turn now. Chelsea would be my choice to play them, City/Bayern will have too much for them and Benfica/Villareal will probably lose to them.
Given a choice for Pool's next opponents, I'd take Benfica/Villareal all day long. I never want to draw another English side as we see them play twice a year anyway, it's nice to play someone different. What was the stat wheeled out during the worthless cup final, that was the 74th meeting between Pool and Chelsea this millennium? That's more than 3 times a season, year in year out. It's no wonder I hate Chelsea.
I'd also prefer not to play City (if Pool draw City it will be 3 games in a row as the 2 CL Quarter finals are either side of the City Pool PL game) and Bayern for the obvious reasons. And Atleti for the reasons explained above.

City Bayern would be nice!

Also nice to see Juve hoofed out. As one of the clubs still keen on this European Super League they have been beaten in the 2nd round for the 3rd year in a row. Beaten by the European power houses of Lyon, Porto and Villareal. Slap it right up them.

As for last night's game, Arsenal can feel hard done by, they didn't deserve to lose 2-0. Martinelli made TAA look like a right footed Moreno. Arsenal maybe just lack a little cutting edge up front, but they totally dominated the first 55 minutes. That miss by Odegaard was the turning point. 5 minutes later Ramsdale (who I have never rated) leaves a big auld gap at his near post and Pool go in front. Fair do's to Arsenal and Arteta though, that team/club have improved massively and are definitely headed in the right direction. They really should get 4th from here and that should allow them to strengthen in the summer, they need a few more numbers across the park. They still have Chelsea, Utd, WH and Spurs to play. Four cup finals. The race for fourth, or the race to avoid fourth as it has looked at times, is gonna be very interesting.

No Chelsea fans at the quarter finals. I wonder will those arrogant ******s try and invoke "sporting integrity" again to claim they should be allowed fans!?

 

[edd_jedi]

Never mind the race for fourth, the title race is back on! The game between City and Liverpool next month could decide it.

 

[lejackal]

Semantics and all that but I prefer "Alison save" rather than "Odegard miss"

 

[weasel]

Never mind the race for fourth, the title race is back on! The game between City and Liverpool next month could decide it.

Hhmmm, my money is still massively on City, home advantage and a point lead. I think they have slightly easier games too. The title is theirs to lose. Stranger things have happened, but this City side are a class act.

Semantics and all that but I prefer "Alison save" rather than "Odegard miss"

Fair one, he should have scored though

 

[weasel]

Great result for WH last night.

I got my wish on avoiding Atleti.
Pool Benfica with a semi for the winner against Bayern or Villareal.
Chelsea Real with the winner playing City or Atleti.

 

[lejackal]

All Spanish final then

 

[theforceuk]

Fantastic from West Ham, really hope they win the Europa League.

UCL all set for a City Pool final. Bayern won't be easy in the semis, they are hard to predict as it's hard to tell how good they are. The last descent team they played was last year against PSG who spanked them.

Guess we will find out when/if they get through to play Liverpool. All English final is likely.

 

[Cazza]

Was an amazing performance last night and the place was rocking! So pleased for Yarmo- what an impact he's had in the last two games. Lyon in the quarters looks doable, but you never know at this stage...

Yeah, agree about the UCL- could well be an all English final.

 

[weasel]

Looking like the EL is WH's best shot at the CL now. I think that result at the weekend has killed off any realistic chance of a 4th place finish. It's a shame in a way, I would like to see WH (or Leicester in previous years) make the CL.
As you say, Lyon is winnable, there are a lot of sides who are much of a muchness in the EL. The winner could come from a group of about 6. WH are one of them though, so fingers crossed.

International fortnight now, brilliant...........said no one, ever.

International footbal ruins the ******* football calendar. Play it all in the summer, either end the season early or late and give the internationals a month to do what they want. Rather than 2 weeks here and 2 weeks there, rejig the season, end it in mid May then let the internationals play mid may to June and give them all July to recover before starting back for pre season in August. The months are obviosuly flexible, and that only works in a non WC/Euro's yr but who the **** would miss the meaningless friendlies and that glorified waste of time the league of nations bollocks.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes the international breaks are particularly annoying when it's only friendlies. And it's not like there isn't a whole summer to prepare for this forthcoming winter World Cup!

Big result for Spurs on Sunday, I don't think West Ham are out of the running for 4th yet, there are four teams trying their best to f**k it up and with 9-10 games to go, anything can happen! Arsenal have a couple of big teams to play still, but with Spurs beating City and losing to Middlesbrough in recent weeks I've stopped looking at upcoming fixtures as it seems to make no difference who we are playing, just whether we turn up or not. The rearranged Spurs v Arsenal game is going to be a biggie now though!

 

[weasel]

With Spurs it's win, lose, win, lose, and repeat. So you're losing your next game, sorry!

 

[edd_jedi]

With Spurs it's win, lose, win, lose, and repeat. So you're losing your next game, sorry!

Well it's actually WWLWW, so you may be right that we'll lose our next game but if we can keep winning 4 out of 5 I won't complain! It reminds me of Poch's time in charge at the moment, he never drew matches.

 

[theforceuk]

I would love to see West Ham win the EL only problem is Barcelona, Xavi has got them back on track and I can't really see anyone else winning it.

 

[weasel]

Well it's actually WWLWW, so you may be right that we'll lose our next game but if we can keep winning 4 out of 5 I won't complain! It reminds me of Poch's time in charge at the moment, he never drew matches.

View attachment 174004

I stand corrected, I was going by what I heard on the radio, who would have thought Talksport got things wrong/talked *****!?

Win, win, lose, win, win, lose is even better from a spurs fan's POV.

I would love to see West Ham win the EL only problem is Barcelona, Xavi has got them back on track and I can't really see anyone else winning it.

Yeah, I saw bits of the Classico. It was like watching Utd Arsenal. Two sides who ain't what they were. Plus Benzema was missing. Barca are still good, and do have players who are better than those at WH. But WH play the kind of direct physical style that Barca teams have struggled against. Previously they had Messi to beat 15 players and stick one in the top corner.
I would still fancy Barca to beat WH, but I don't think it would be a gimme. I could see WH causing them problems.
Plus Barca where utter dog **** earlier in the season, any confidence they have will likely be fragile.
Do WH meet them in the semi's, if both win?

 

[theforceuk]

Yeah West Ham have got Barca in the semi's, they have a chance, Barca are only going to get better IMO. I watched the first half of the Madrid game and they were pretty dominant. I agree West Ham will cause them problems.

Looks like Man Utd could be going for Ten Hag, hopefully they will back him and try to build a team rather splashing out £80 million plus for 'proven' talent, usually English.

 

[edd_jedi]

Looks like Man Utd could be going for Ten Hag, hopefully they will back him and try to build a team rather splashing out £80 million plus for 'proven' talent, usually English.

I love how the BBC article about it this morning quotes his greatest success as "only being one minute away from a CL final." Yet if you ask anyone whether Spurs achieved anything for actually being in the final, the answer is always no. We need to win trophies to be successful apparently

 

[theforceuk]

I've not read the BBC article, I certainly think Spurs should have won something under Potch. I'm not saying he did a bad job but Spurs are a big club with a rich history throughout the decades. I think most football people believe what Spurs did under Potch was an achievement, the fact that it's not looked at as being an out right success is a compliment to how big a club Spurs are.

I certainly think Potch has hit his ceiling and is yesterdays news. A manager on the decline, I may be wrong but if Liverpool or City lost there managers tomorrow I don't think Potch would be on eithers short list, but Ten Hag probably would be.

I'm happy we are going for Ten Hag, it's a risk but any manager is for that club and the owners are a bigger problem. I certainly think Ten Hag is a coach with a lot still to achieve.

 

[weasel]

Yeah West Ham have got Barca in the semi's, they have a chance, Barca are only going to get better IMO. I watched the first half of the Madrid game and they were pretty dominant. I agree West Ham will cause them problems.

Looks like Man Utd could be going for Ten Hag, hopefully they will back him and try to build a team rather splashing out £80 million plus for 'proven' talent, usually English.

I saw the last half hour, I missed the good bit!

And as for proven English talent at £80m...............you leave wee Harry alone! He's doing a superb job at Utd, he should be rewarded with a contract for life!


Agreed on Ten Haag, he would be a better appointment for Utd IMO. Though I hope they 'give it giggsy' or bring back Big Ron etc. I'm enjoying Utd being *****.
I saw someone talk about how Simeone would be a great appointment. The football would be eye gougingly bad, but he would sort the **** storm that is Utd out. Not sure he would leave Atleti though, and if he did I don't know if he would be dumb enough to take over Utd. Granted Atleti where a shambles when he got the job but he has an affinity for that club, Utd are just another big club to him.

 

[theforceuk]

I wouldn't worry to much about Ten Hag going to Utd, apparently some influential board members are still insisting on interviewing Potch, mean while Real Madrid and other big European teams sniffing around Ten Hag.

What is wrong with the board, are they really that stupid to go for Potch. He is what the Glaziers would love as he will probably get top 4 2 or 3 times and keep the sponsors happy. Probably sign Harry Kane for £100 million and improve the social media activity. BUT the fans will not give him any time. Potch is basically a pound land prime Jose. That's the other thing, the club clearly have no plan going forward as they are interested in 2 managers with completely different playing styles.

Even if we diid get Ten Hag and they allowed him to bring his own coaching staff in and have him control of players in and out, he would still need 2 or 3 seasons to rebuild the team.

Still a complete pantomime.

 

[edd_jedi]

So let me get this straight, the team that beat England in the Euros final just got knocked out of the World Cup qualifying play-offs by North Macedonia. Have I ever mentioned before that supporting England is exactly the same as supporting Spurs!? You couldn't make it up.

 

[theforceuk]

Think Italy had 32 shots to Macedonias 4! It is unbelievable.

 

[weasel]

So let me get this straight, the team that beat England in the Euros final just got knocked out of the World Cup qualifying play-offs by North Macedonia. Have I ever mentioned before that supporting England is exactly the same as supporting Spurs!? You couldn't make it up.

Try supporting Northern Ireland FFS!

We've qualified for 3 tournaments in my life time, and two of them I was under 7 so had no clue what football was. England may choke in tournaments but at least you ******* qualify.

As for the Utd manager farce, it just shows how little football know how there in that club. A sensible club wouldn't have an interim manager in the first place, but if they did it would be cos XYZ wasn't available until the summer and as soon as the summer came round he would be announced. Utd are still picking names out of a hat. They have learnt nothing.

 

[theforceuk]

I know, they sacked OGS over 3 months ago and still haven't decided who they want, what club wrights off a season in November!?? Bonkers, the fact they are even thinking about Poch shows how backward thinking they are.

 

[theforceuk]

Talking of England and Harry Maquire playing well for them, we're playing Switzerland with a back 5. Southgate is a back 5 merchant and these England players are wasted with him as coach. Rant over.

 

[lejackal]

Yeah, I don't think any of them play a five at the back for their clubs, certainly not with any regularity. Not that I'm even watching it to be honest

 

[theforceuk]

So boring, you didn't miss anything just more Southgate ball, sitting back at home to Switzerland in a friendly at Wembley. Luke Shaw goal was good, but he had a dig at Man Utd after the game. Harry Kane scored his 49th penalty, I mean goal for England.

 

[weasel]

I know, they sacked OGS over 3 months ago and still haven't decided who they want, what club wrights off a season in November!?? Bonkers, the fact they are even thinking about Poch shows how backward thinking they are.

It's not even the lack of a name that is the scary bit, quite a few of the names being discussed play very different styles of football. You could understand the delay if they were looking for the ideal candidate for their desired style of play, but they have no idea what way they want to play. Or probably even what style the players they have are best suited to. It's an utter shambles.


As for England, has anyone seen the video of the Engerlund boys doing a 'rondo' (I think that's what it's called) in training? Basically, it's a dozen or so guys stood in a circle one touch passing, trying to keep it off two men in the middle. You can hear Jordan Henderson counting the passes as they go along, "37, 38, 39, 40, 41….." and then someone passes to Harry Maguire. He takes, one touch, and then another and then a third and THEN looks up to pass. Jordan Henderson just looks at him and says "what are you doing?"
It just sums up Harry Maguire.

 

[theforceuk]

Yes I have seen it, is Harry Maguire just really that unintelligent or just not that talented, probably a bit of both.

That video doesn't just sum up Harry Maguire, it also sums up the golf between Liverpool and Man Utd. The Liverpool captain and the Man Utd captain. The difference in attitude is incredible.