PL 2016-2017 Thread

[Cazza]

Thankfully didn't watch yesterday. Sounded like a complete debacle from every aspect: we were atrocious, the ref was atrocious, our tactical change was atrocious... and Ayew's finishing was atrocious.

So glad I was at Wembley watching the mighty FGR storm into League 2. A fabulous day out that my boys and I will remember forever 8) To top it off, my youngest scored on the FGR pitch in a tournament semi final on Saturday. He rarely scores and is one of the unsung members of his team, so it meant the world to him (and me!).

 

[weasel]

Is the FGR Chairman some new aged hippy dude? Saw some headline about him using them to help push the message of sustainable living or some other tree hugging BS.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yeah apparently he's working on a wooden carbon neutral stadium :lol:

 

[weasel]

:roll: Ohh FFS

Ps, I didn't trealise just HOW bad Sunderland were until I watched bits of their "game" with Arsenal last night. Dear god they were worse than abysmal. That "team" will struggle to stay in the Championship next year. There is no discernible style of play, I have no idea how they plan to score goals. They haven't even reached the "hit it to defoe and hope" stage, it's just pass it, pass it, lose it, ahhh well.
Their passing is woefully bad, I ost track of the number of times they passed it off the side of the pitch when under no pressure or criminally over/under hit balls. At one point three of them had an Arsenal player in a triangle, the kind of piggy in the middle thing you used to do at school. Any half competent, ie non league, side would isolate the man and get the ball to the most advanced or best placed player. Not Sunderland. The Arsenal player easily walked away with the ball and the three Sunderland players literally stood and watched him run in on goal. They also don't seem to be able to tackle, either in the cynical 'breaking it down' way or in a genuine attempt to get the ball. Arsenal just walked through the middle of them time after time, and it wasn't silky passing and moving from Arsenal it was 1 player carrying the ball straight through the middle of Sunderland's midfield and back four. Then there was the movement off the ball, I have already pointed out how little effort they made to track back but when they did get the ball and pushed forward those players ahead of the ball stood and watched their team mate carrying it. Not once did any of them move. They don't have to move in an attempt to get the ball, although that would help, but if they run their man has to go with them and that opens space for yer man with the ball. But, no. They just stood and watched and soon enough the ball was lost and Arsenal went on the attack again.
I know they are down and have been a broken club for a while, but I have not seen a team that bad in a long long time. They weren't even going through the motions and that is a disgrace for any "professional" side.
Moyesy was one of the dumbest appointments of all time he has as good as admitted them were down from the opening week of the season, but **** me surely a professional should be able to manage the basics of marking, passing a ball over 10 yards and you know running!?
As for Moyes himself, if after a year (near enough) with a team they are THAT bad you need to take a long hard look at yourself and realise you are not cut out for football management, do the decent thing and resign and never go near another club again.
Hand on heart, with zero footballing experience (I've never even played a competitive 11-a-side game) I could coach Sunderland better than Moyesy has.

 

[edd_jedi]

And Watford sack another manager despite staying up again. I think the owners got mixed up with what team they bought, it's Watford not Chelsea. Three consecutive seasons in the PL is good going for such a small club.

 

[weasel]

Agreed. Though we all knew it was coming. Even mattzani knew it was coming. That's probably why he didn't bother learning much English. Though apparently he does speak it in training just not to the press, go figure.

 

[lejackal]

Well unless 'pool do something spectacularly stupid that's my Thursday nights sorted (until about February )

 

[edd_jedi]

Pleased for Harry Kane winning the Golden Boot two seasons in a row, and again having had quite a few weeks out. Can't wait to see what he delivers in a full season! I've just looked up how many points have been required to win the PL since it started, slightly gutted that Spurs' total of 86 points and massive goal difference would have won the title a whopping ten times, but that's just the kind of luck we have. Overall a very positive season for Spurs and I am looking forward to next season, I think 13 goals from the last two away games disproves any nonsense about Spurs not being able to play away from WHL.

 

[weasel]

Yeah Spuds were on fire in the last 2 weeks. I know what you mean about their points total, from memory when Liverpool/Gerrard slipped up I think their final points total would have been enough for the title in quite a few of the previous seasons. It's frustrating but FA u can do about it.
Saying that I think Arsenal amassed the highest ever pts total to NOT get CL footy. I'd say it is more of indictment of just how bad the lower reaches of the PL really are.
The 2 sides directly above the drop got 40pts, the two above them got 41. That's a piss poor return for a season.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yeah it's quite amazing that there were only six points between 8th and 17th, I think I saw that one team yesterday could have finished anywhere from 16th to 10th depending on results!

 

[weasel]

Shows just how poor the mid and lower reaches of the PL are.

 

[weasel]

End of season awards


Manager of the year - Has to be Conte really, to take a broken Chelsea and make them champions and to get the second highest pts total is not to be sniffed at, especially in his first season in PL. Runner up, your boy at Hull. He had them playing some not bad football and they almost almost looked like doing it. If only they hadn't been dumb enough to appoint Mike Phelan.

Player of the year - Kante for me. The guy is a freak and a one man midfield. When you consider Arsenal paid just as much for Grant x-unpronounceable it puts in context what a bargain he was. Runner up, Ibrahimovic. Amazed at how well he did for a 35 year old playing his first season in a much more physical and high tempo league, especially as he had no winter break and his team were underperforming.

Team of the season - Chelsea for me. Dung until they changed formation then all but unstoppable.

Worst Managerial appointment - David Moyes. Sucked any life out of a struggling club, spent money on players who would have been called "has beens" three years ago and then has the cheek to act as if him sticking around is doing Sunderland a favour. Honourary mentions to Mike Phelan at Hull and Bob Bradley as Swansea. They miss out cos their clubs wised up and ****ed them out.

The Mario Ballotelli award for Worst signing/WTF where you thinking!? - Simone Zaza more for THAT penalty than anything else.

Anyone got any others they wanna add?

 

[lejackal]

Player of the year - Kante for me. The guy is a freak and a one man midfield. When you consider Arsenal paid just as much for Grant x-unpronounceable it puts in context what a bargain he was.

Why we didn't put more effort into signing him and why does Wenger keep trotting out the "we were close to x,y,z player as if it's a good thing - it just makes us and him look even more incompetent.

 

[edd_jedi]

Moyes resigns, no surprise there! And Spurs fans may be in luck - Looks like some dodgy betting going on with Terry's 26th minute substitution:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39999708

Hopefully they can prove it was done as a betting scam and Chelsea are docked 10 points :lol:

 

[weasel]

That's probably the last managers job Moyesy will ever get in the UK anyway. No one will be dumb or desperate enough to appoint him after his last three jobs. The fact he got progressively WORSE after leaving Utd and the degeneration sped up during his Sunderland tenure says it all.
A man for whom football has moved on as he stayed lodged firmly in the early 2000's.

As for JT's send off that was one of the most self centred egotistical things I have ever seen. "Here boys on 26 mins i'm gonna b pe subbed and you're all going to give me an honour guard and applaude me off."
My response would have been to tell him to **** off. Before a game or after a game, possibly, but during it!? ****ing wise up. You're a retiring footballer/utter **** not ****ing jesus, for once in your life TRY to show some class.
Moyesy should have told his boys to play on, and the ref shouldn't have indulged it either.

 

[theforceuk]

I agree the John Terry substitution was a complete joke, that's what you get for banging one of your team mates girlfriend!

It seemed more important to him than actually winning the league, I'm afraid we're going to see a lot more of him as he's planning on going into management. Suppose it's better than him becoming a pundit. :?

 

[SAVORY100]

End of season awards

Manager of the year
Winner - As much as it pains me, Conte has turned round a bunch of overpaid superstars acting like babies that should've been in this position LY, but they let their fans and manager down by being petulant idiots. Argument could be the they should've been moved on or a swathe of newness drafted in, but he stuck (mainly) with what he had and got them playing again and playing extremely well.
Runner up - I'm going with Poch, almost pushed him into the winners award, but despite what he is building, and the progress made, its not quite built... start the season winning rather than drawing and he will be the one... To be fair, he has developed that team from scratch and in many cases brought a lot of them through from the youth/B team, so his approach is different to Conte's reason for winning.

Player of the year
Winner - Wanyama, outstats Kante across the board and has been the significant difference for Spurs this season in a young and growing team, so for me that gives him the edge.
https://www.premierleague.com/players/4816/Victor-Wanyama/stats?se=54
https://www.premierleague.com/players/13492/N'Golo-Kanté/stats?se=54
Runner up - Kante, close but not quite there for me as the players around him have more experience etc.

Team of the season
Spurs; played as a team throughout, scored the most, conceded the least, in Alli, Son and Kane had three great goal threats and the best keep in the league in Lloris too.

Worst Managerial appointment
Moyes - Totally agree with every word that Weas has written oaths one!

The Mario Ballotelli award for Worst signing/WTF where you thinking!?
Sissoko - Sorry, this has been a very Spurs based response, but dear lord.. if Wanyama was the best signing of the season (IMO), this guy is the total opposite... what a waste of money and time for all involved.

 

[weasel]

Yeah Sissoko was in the runner for me too. And Spuds were runners up in the best team. I just CBA to write anything about them cos it would look like I had defaulted for the top two.

Two more awards,

Egotistical **** of the year award - John Terry. That needs no explanation.

And, "For the love of god man, just GOOOOOO!!!!!". Not sure who wins it between Wenger for sticking his head in the sand and dragging Arsenal slowly but surely back into mediocrity and Wazza for not being able to see that he is now not even a pale imitation of what he once was and he actually hinders Utd every single time he plays. Too fat/slow to be a striker now so he......moves into midfield!? That's up there with Susan Boyle giving up singing to try and become a playboy bunny.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes I can't really think of anything Sissoko has done this season, I couldn't understand why Poch kept bringing him on. Should probably be sold over the summer.

 

[weasel]

Any Utd fans wanna stick their necks out and make a score prediction?

Utd should win fairly comfortably, but they have been utterly stinking for the last, well, season so I could see them making hard work of it. On paper it should be fairly routine. Ajax aren't a bad side but if you were to pick a side to play in a final that dictated how well your entire season went you would pick Ajax over someone like Sevilla (as Pool had last year), decent enough that it's not quite a matter of turning up, but not so good that they are likely to hump you.
Will it be Wazza's final game in a Utd shirt?