PL 2018-2019 Thread

[edd_jedi]

Nice one Spurs, what happened to the team that played in the last two games? Zero creativity today, it was like watching a different team. It reminded me of that 5-1 loss to Newcastle a few seasons back, they were so desperate to score (goals they wouldn't have needed if they could defend to save their lives) that every time Wolves got the ball it was a 1 on 1. For ****'s sake Poch, you will never learn.

I also can't figure out how Wolves' second goal went in, I could have knitted a sweater in the time between the ball leaving his foot and going in the goal, too many mince pies over Xmas Lloris? :roll:

 

[Snaketibe]

A truly **** second half performance by Spurs saw them deservedly beaten by Wolves. In the first half Spurs were positive, making multiple attacking runs forward, dominated possession and took the lead. Wolves were no real threat and all looked well for Spurs. But in the second half, Spurs came out looking like they thought they'd already won the game, and started sitting back, happily surrendering possession and stopping doing everything they'd been doing right in the first half. They started all the side-to-side then back passing bollocks that drives me completely mad, as it never EVER works (and yet none of those imbeciles apparently seem to realise this), and even continued doing this when time was running out and they were supposedly looking to try to salvage something from the game. They made lots of lazy, poor passes which gave away possession, put no crosses into the box, attempted no shots (I don't think Spurs had a single shot in the second half) and were zero threat for Wolves. And of course Wolves leaped at the easy chance presented to them and started making attacks of their own and eventually got the goals they deserved.

This was exactly the kind of lazy, lacklustre, dim-witted second half performance from Spurs which they are still more than capable of curling out, and leaving steaming in the middle of the pitch. If they can't eradicate this kind of feeble nonsense they might as well hand Liverpool the title right now and invite City to leapfrog them at the same time!

 

[lejackal]

As much as I'd like to take the piss I suspect my evening is about to take a turn for the worse so I'll respectfully keep my mouth shut

 

[edd_jedi]

But in the second half, Spurs came out looking like they thought they'd already won the game, and started sitting back, happily surrendering possession and stopping doing everything they'd been doing right in the first half

You see this is my problem, Poch has no plan B. He has one way of winning a game, and if it doesn't work we lose. Notice Spurs are the only team in the league without a draw - if he cannot beat a team, he will lose trying to beat them.

I strongly think any half decent manager should have noticed 5 minutes in to the second half that the mince pies and mulled wine was starting to kick in and his team were looking ****, and play accordingly. But no, full steam ahead still like the Titanic. Two of Wolves three goals would not have been possible if there were a few defenders behind the ball, it's as simple as that. Poch needs to learn when things are not going his way to swallow his pride and grind out the result. But three years later, no sign yet.

 

[Cazza]

As much as I'd like to take the piss I suspect my evening is about to take a turn for the worse so I'll respectfully keep my mouth shut

:lol: I think you could be right...

 

[lejackal]

As much as I'd like to take the piss I suspect my evening is about to take a turn for the worse so I'll respectfully keep my mouth shut

:lol: I think you could be right...

We're going for a dramatic comeback

 

[Cazza]

I like a bit of optimism :lol:

 

[weasel]

Jesus, Arsenal can't defend for shite. Pool did get 2 slightly soft pens, the second in particular (though the ref was well placed) but Arsenal were shambolic at the back. They have a load of injuries but **** me, some of that defending was pish. They got Lichsteiner for free and I still reckon they over paid. Yonder fella is utterly useless.
The score line flattered Pool a bit, but they were comfortabaly head and shoulders better than Arsenal. Though Arsenal are a work in progress, it will take Emery a year or two to complete his turn round there.

I did see a stat that Aubamayang completed a massive 10 passes before he was subbed after about 65/70 mins. Six of those passes where kick offs. :shock:

As for Spuds, how often do you see a side score a bucket load two games in a row and then draw a blank or in Spuds case, drop silly points!?

 

[weasel]

Well, the old Utd are back. Baily kicks a Bournemouth player in the head, in the box, in full view of the ref and it's "play on." Two mins later Utd score to make it 4-1 when it could/should have been 3-2 and them down to ten men.
Apparently the goal was offside, I havent seen it, I was distracted by a crying child. But how the **** Baily got away with that boot to your man's head I will never know. Zero consolation that he got sent off 5 mins later as the game was won by then and Bournemouth should have had a penalty.

I said it at the time, and every time something similar has happened since, Mane's red at City for a high foot is still the only time I have seen a red for that in the PL. I wouldn't mind if it was the start if a new crack down, but it wasn't. Not like it changed that game either :roll:

 

[theforceuk]

The Baily thing was a funny one, worse than Nani's in the Champions League for sure, but it was a follow through after he had kicked the ball. If he hadn't have kicked the ball first I'm sure he would have been sent off. I remember the Mane one against City and that was a bad decision in my opinion.

Anyway it shouldn't detract from the fact Man Utd completely outclassed Bournemouth and fully deserved to win 4 - 1. Unbelievable what Jose did to those players, how wrong was I about him!

 

[weasel]

I only have vague memories of Nani's red. I remember laughing as it fooked Utd but not a lot else. I agree Bailly got the ball first, but these days that doesn't matter. His follow through gets yer man in the face. That's a red card. Good to see MOTD didnt even mention it in their post game "analysis" :roll:

I do agree Utd deserved to win. Solskjaer has been slightly lucky in that he took over with four very cushy fixtures first up. Jose's Utd would probably have won most if not all of those games. BUT Utd have looked a hell of a lot better since Jose left. The movement off the ball is massvely improved. In fact that's an understatement, there was none before, now there is tonnes of it. They even try to pass forward as well. Jose wouldn't like that. I hope he has watched some of these games and realised that his brand of defensive, wait for a mistake football, is now stale and dated. But knowing Jose he will just blame the players and not look at himself. It's never his fault after all.

Another thing is the massive up turn in Pogba's performances. We all know he hated Jose and vice versa, but that is some turn around. I'm not sure Pogba deserves credit for it though. Surely professional pride would mean you don't allow your performace level to dip as low as his had? Also, it's three games against PL cannon fodder, for 90m I'd be expecting him to dominate those games. Still an improvement but he has a long long way to go to justify that price tag.

For me the jury is still out on 'new' Utd. Are they playing well cos Solskjaer has given them a massive confidence boiost/is a tactical genius? Are they playing well cos Jose has finally gone and can no longer suck the joy out of everything? Or are they playing well cos they have cushy games and they are all quality players?
My money is on mainly number 2, with a chunk of number 3. Tho Solskjaer does deserve a little credit

 

[theforceuk]

Only time will tell, but the fact that we have won 3 league games in a row for the first time this season and 28% of Utd's league goals scored this season have come in those three games says it all really. As a fan I'm still annoyed with the players ok you don't like the manager because he's a nutter, your still getting paid and expected to do a job. How many other professions would get away with not doing their jobs correctly because you didn't like the boss?

That squad is a lot better than 6th no doubt IMO.

Same old Utd, we win and we're the only team to do so because the ref was on our side.

 

[weasel]

Oh aye, Utd do look a lot better since Jose went. No doubt about that. His teams would never have won those games by the margins that Solskjaer's did either. It's just too soon to tell if the up turn is due to Jose going, easy fixtures or whatever sweet nothings Ole is whispering in the players ears.

That squad is a lot better than 6th no doubt IMO.

Yeap. That squad came second last year. So, at a bare minimum it's a CL spot (ie top 4) squad.

Same old Utd, we win and we're the only team to do so because the ref was on our side.

Dunno if that's aimed at me or not. I don't think I said Utd only won cos of the ref. I saw most of the game and they were the better side, but at 3-1 they should have been down to ten men and facing a penalty. That makes it a different game. The fact Bailly got sent off 5 mins later is irrelevant as they were 4-1 up then and the game was over.
They did deserve to win mind.

 

[theforceuk]

Oh aye, Utd do look a lot better since Jose went. No doubt about that. His teams would never have won those games by the margins that Solskjaer's did either. It's just too soon to tell if the up turn is due to Jose going, easy fixtures or whatever sweet nothings Ole is whispering in the players ears.

That squad is a lot better than 6th no doubt IMO.

Yeap. That squad came second last year. So, at a bare minimum it's a CL spot (ie top 4) squad.

Same old Utd, we win and we're the only team to do so because the ref was on our side.

Dunno if that's aimed at me or not. I don't think I said Utd only won cos of the ref. I saw most of the game and they were the better side, but at 3-1 they should have been down to ten men and facing a penalty. That makes it a different game. The fact Bailly got sent off 5 mins later is irrelevant as they were 4-1 up then and the game was over.
They did deserve to win mind.

It's not aimed at anyone Weasel, if it was aimed at you I would have quoted you. It's aimed at everyone outside Man Utd because everyone loves to hate Man Utd more than they love their own club. This bull **** that Man Utd get preferencial treatment is annoying just like comments that the present City team and Liverpool team is better than the Fergie teams that won 13 league titles and 2 european cups (3 league titles in a row twice) down to refs giving us special treatment. If you share that opinion then fine but I will argue it! The same as many friends, it's just banta.

Beckham, Keane, Scholes and Giggs, that midfield would compete with any team I've seen to date just like the Liverpool team of the 70's 80's and Arsenals invincibles. All those teams defended better than any present team!

I don't agree that if Bailly had given a penalty away and it had gone to 3 - 2 it would have been a different game, we were still by far the better team with 10 men and when Jones came on because Bailly got sent off we looked even stronger at the back and much more comfortable as a team.

 

[Stuart Skinner]

Oh aye, Utd do look a lot better since Jose went. No doubt about that. His teams would never have won those games by the margins that Solskjaer's did either. It's just too soon to tell if the up turn is due to Jose going, easy fixtures or whatever sweet nothings Ole is whispering in the players ears.

That squad is a lot better than 6th no doubt IMO.

Yeap. That squad came second last year. So, at a bare minimum it's a CL spot (ie top 4) squad.

Same old Utd, we win and we're the only team to do so because the ref was on our side.

Dunno if that's aimed at me or not. I don't think I said Utd only won cos of the ref. I saw most of the game and they were the better side, but at 3-1 they should have been down to ten men and facing a penalty. That makes it a different game. The fact Bailly got sent off 5 mins later is irrelevant as they were 4-1 up then and the game was over.
They did deserve to win mind.

It's not aimed at anyone Weasel, if it was aimed at you I would have quoted you. It's aimed at everyone outside Man Utd because everyone loves to hate Man Utd more than they love their own club. This bull **** that Man Utd get preferencial treatment is annoying just like comments that the present City team and Liverpool team is better than the Fergie teams that won 13 league titles and 2 european cups (3 league titles in a row twice) down to refs giving us special treatment. If you share that opinion then fine but I will argue it! The same as many friends, it's just banta.

Beckham, Keane, Scholes and Giggs, that midfield would compete with any team I've seen to date just like the Liverpool team of the 70's 80's and Arsenals invincibles. All those teams defended better than any present team!

I don't agree that if Bailly had given a penalty away and it had gone to 3 - 2 it would have been a different game, we were still by far the better team with 10 men and when Jones came on because Bailly got sent off we looked even stronger at the back and much more comfortable as a team.

You sound like a typical Man Utd fan :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[weasel]

This bull **** that Man Utd get preferencial treatment is annoying just like comments that the present City team and Liverpool team is better than the Fergie teams that won 13 league titles and 2 european cups (3 league titles in a row twice) down to refs giving us special treatment.

"Big" teams get preferential treatment. That includes Utd and Pool. Heck it even includes Spurs :wink: :lol: . My gripe with the Bailly boot to yer man's head wasn't that it was Utd or that they get preferential treatment. It was the fact Mane got a red for something very similar and Bailly's was just the most recent example of another player not even getting booked for it. I was moaning about the stupid inconsistencies of refs rather than Utd getting away with one.
I do think the game would have been different if the ref had given a pen and a red. Rather than being 3-1 up and cruising, soon to be 4-1 up, they would have been (probably) 3-2 down and a man down. That would have been a test of Utd's new found confidence, rather than a nice gentle cruise to 3pts. I still think they would have won, they were the better side, but we'll never know what affect it would have had on a Utd's players, the crowd and also Bournemouth.

As far as how this Pool or City team compare to any of Fergie's sides or the great Pool teams from the 70's or 80's, my own opinion is you can't really compare them. For a start the teams from the 70's and 80's were out drinking twice a week and would be horrendously unfit compared to modern teams. They would also all be sent off inside 5 mins as the tackles they considered routine are now straight red cards. I also think the early PL sides Fergy had would struggle too as football has moved on so much. Watch reruns of any PL games from 10+ years ago and you'll be amazed by how **** the football was. Sure it was top level then, but things move on. Personally I think the Fergy side of Keane, Beckham and Scholes would probably be no more than midtable in the current PL, but we'll never know. Unless someone has a time machine!?

 

[theforceuk]

That midfield won the league by 18 points and stopped playing in April 2000 because they were never motivated by records, only trophies. I can't take this discussion seriously with mid table comments about a midfield that won 5 league titles in 6 seasons.

It's good fun this but it's all a matter of opinion and how you view the game which we are miles apart on.

 

[weasel]

Yeah, but football in 2000 was a lot different to football now. That's almost 20 years ago! And "midtable" for me is 7th-12th. I reckon they would be just outside the top six.


Ohh and I'll be saying the same thing about the current top PL sides when compared to the top PL sides in 2039

 

[lejackal]

For what it's worth I think the invincibles and Mourinhos first Chelsea side would be hard pushed to make top 4 but both are far better defensively than most, if not all, of the current top flight

 

[Richard_H]

Course they would those guys are in their 40s now