Premier League 2020/2021 Thread

[weasel]

I agree with you both. That's partly why I was so pissed with Spurs a few weeks ago. They are a good team, especially in an attacking sense, so why do they sit so deep. I frustrates me as a non Spurs fan, albeit one who hates Jose, god only knows what it does a Spurs fan.

Ps [mention]edd_jedi[/mention] have you seem Pool's record against the bottom six? Beat SU 2-1, drew with WBA, drew with Fulham, drew with Brighton, drew with newcastle and het to play Burnley.
7 pts from 5 games. Title winning form right there :lol:

 

[edd_jedi]

I don't even really feel like we sat deep last night, if we had 10 players behind the ball and somebody scored from 30 yards out, you can't really argue with that. But last night we had loads of chances, decent possession, but the goal was a defending blip. As Jose said in the post match interview, an avoidable mistake. There's no doubt that getting that 2 or 3 goal cushion is an advantage, but it is possible to win a game 1-0 playing well, Spurs just haven't managed it recently.

 

[weasel]

I haven't seen any of the game so can't comment. I'm basing it more on the Arsenal, Palace and Pool games.

 

[weasel]

That was pish. Pool with all the cutting edge of a blunt spoon. Again. One goal in four PL games since Palace. I'm ignoring the FAC as beating Villa's under 11's hardly counts.

Saw chunks of spurs game. Looked pretty comfortable. SU really are a poor side. They would struggle in the Championship. Spurs never really got above 3rd gear, but they didn't need to to be a class above.

Gonna be a very tight league by the looks of it.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yeah it's great that it's so open, looks like City will be top if they ever play their game in hand. Liverpool do seem to be going through a bad patch. Spurs result today was good but it's exactly what they should have got from their last few games, frustrating to think what could have been. You can't really argue that any of the top 6 are not in the title race currently, I wonder how long that will last.

 

[edd_jedi]

On another note, Villa are now 4 games behind many other teams, if they can't play City on Wednesday that will be five. At what point do the PL decide this is getting silly and start forfeting the games? I feel a bit sorry for them because they were playing well and probably having the best season they've had for 30 odd years, but the table is starting to look a bit meaningless with such a big difference in games played for several teams.

 

[theforceuk]

Villa will get their games played, out of the FA Cup no European games. This is football, money talks.

 

[weasel]

I suspect you're right. They can play sat mid week every week until the season is out. Or Mon, Thurs, Sun.

I do agree with [mention]edd_jedi[/mention] that the fact they are so far behind everyone else is ridiculous, but you can't really turn round mid way and start making them forfeit games. Unfair on them to change the rules and unfair on the teams who have rearranged games with them to play. Why should (say) Newcastle have to rearrange a game with them when whoever the next side they can't field against, gets 3pts!?

It is a tricky one for the FA. You can't force clubs to play, but had the 'play or forfeit' rule been in at the start we wouldn't have this problem. But we may have a different problem, of a side fielding players who later test positive and risk spreading it. Or a club staying up/going down on GD caused by them playing when weakened by Covid, or cos someone else played a side with an entire squad out with covid and won by a cricket score.

No easy solution.

 

[theforceuk]

Yes it's a tuff one, there is an argument for vaccination of all the players and staff. Some are saying the amount of testing it is taking to keep football going it would be cheaper and safer to vaccinate everyone involved sooner rather than later.

I don't know though, if my Mum and Dad were to catch it weeks before they are due to be vaccinated and all The Premiership players had already been vaccinated I wouldn't be to happy. Not sure vaccination of the PL would change much in terms of the general public getting the jab?

 

[weasel]

Sean Dyche said Footballers should be vaccinated as a priority. He did say after the elderly and vulnerable, and also that the money saved should be given to the NHS. Hard to argue with his logic, given every PL club tests its players and coaches two or three times a week,

 

[edd_jedi]

Yeah considering that the entire PL players, refs, coaches, medics etc would be under 1000 people, hard to argue it's going to massively impact the rollout to the needy.

 

[theforceuk]

Well it was nice being top while it lasted, over to Leicester now! Lamps is getting sacked in the morning. lol

 

[edd_jedi]

The problem is City have been 2 or 3 games behind everyone else all season, so we know who is really top once they catch up. Chelsea seem to be on a downward spiral after a decent start

 

[edd_jedi]

Did anyone see this in the Wolves v West Brom game? How the hell is that not handball, but hitting Dier's arm while he's looking the other way is? These double standards are scandalous.

 

[weasel]

I did see that game, and it looked a pen in real time, but I think it deflects so....
I do agree the Dier one, and the Joel Ward one where utterly ridiculous, thankfully the rules have had an ounce of common sense added to them since then. But it does still mean teams have had the benefit of nonsense decisions, like them.

As for Chelsea, bizarre. They have a great squad, on paper, looks like fat Frank is struggling to get a settled/best eleven though. OBVIOUSLY buying Haaland is exactly what they need to do. :roll:

 

[theforceuk]

Chelsea bought to many payers and expect them to click over night, Lampard needs time. That said they should be doing better.

 

[edd_jedi]

I've just noticed that we're 19 games or exactly half way through the season with all of the top four on 30s points totals. So if it continues like this, it could be a low winning total this season, in contrast to the 90s we have had in previous seasons. Liverpool are nearly 20 points short of their total at this point last season.

 

[weasel]

Yeap, cos they have dropped silly pts against Brighton, Newcastle, WBA, and Fulham, been spanked by Villa, out played by Saints and robbed by VAR against Everton.

Last season was near perfection from them, this season they are nowhere near those levels.

I suspect it's a combination of bad luck or lack of good luck. Depending on how you wanna look at it. Newcastle and WBA keepers both had blinders, on another day, they don't and Pool win. The injuries Pool have had this season have been unreal. Maybe that is a catch up from 2 years of high tempo football or maybe it's just a quirk of fate, but I don't know any club that would manage to cope with that injury list. Then we get to everyone's favourite, VAR. I do think VAR should even itself over a season, roughly. You will get a few stinker decisions, and you will get a few lucky one. So far Pool have had their stinkers (Everton away in particular), but I struggle to think of many VAR decisions that have gone for them.
Regardless, there has been a drop off in the level of their footy this year, particularly in the last 6 weeks.

Keeps it interesting for everyone else.
Not that that makes it much fun for me, I much prefer watching them win every week. Weirdly! Lol

 

[weasel]

Anyone see the City game?
**** me, that is one of the most shockingly shite decisions I have ever seen.

This, is ONSIDE

https://twitter.com/SLBenficaYouth/status/1351978015828430848?s=03

Yes, he is FIFTEEN YARDS offside.

VAR looked at it and said it was fine.


APPARENTLY, as soon as Mings touches it offside resets, and thus even though Mings only touches it cos Rodri is behind him, and Rodri is STILL offside ehhh Rodri can't be offside and thus that's a goal.

Utter utter BS.

Between decisions like that and the handball nonsense I am getting sick of football. The rule changes are killing the game, VAR is only exacerbating that as the same incompetent idiots who make the rules are the ones who preside over VAR.

The City pen was also pretty soft. Yer man's hand is up but he is jumping and it's hardly a massively unnatural position. One of those, if it isn't given you understand why.

That non offside is scandalous though.

 

[theforceuk]

I agree it is slowly DESTROYING the game, complete piss take. The top dogs dont give a **** because they don't answer to any one and are made for life, plus don't care about the game, how can they?

Fulham game was bad, Pogba got booked for diving and it was a clear pen!