Premier League 22/23 Thread

[edd_jedi]

Yeah the first half was neck and neck but they just imploded in the second half. Although saying that all three of Son's goals were incredible, not much any keeper could have done about them, he had a point to prove after being benched. Glad he's scoring again. As you say still the same leaky defence though, it seems no change of manager/players can fix that at Spurs.

Brendan's got to go this weekend surely? It's like Scott Parker at Bournemouth al over again, you can't sulk about a lack of investment, getting the best out of the players you already have is literally your job.

 

[theforceuk]

Yes this season is a farce IMO. Surely Brendon Rodgers will get sacked today?

 

[weasel]

I do have sympathy with auld Brendan, he has been shafted with lack of investment and Schmeichel was a big player for them. I still can't get my head round how he was only worth 1m, and no one else/bigger wanted him. He's not a world beater but he is better than that.
As you say though Edd, his job is to make the most of what he has got. He should be doing a Jose and starting the whole "it's us against he world" BS to try and get some sort of reaction from his team. They just look devoid of confidence ATM. Like all teams at the bottom, they seem to be shafted by constant individual errors and luck seems to have deserted them (that third Son goal was very close to being offside, on another day…). But their inability to defend set pieces is 18 months old. Any decent manager would have found a way to sort that out by now.

I suspect the Board at Leicester don't want to pay Brendan's supposed pay off, rumour has it that it's 10m+. If things are really tight, you can see the logic, but that club is headed for relegation and that will cost them more than 10m. Obviously there is no guarantee sacking Brendan saves them, and his replacement may well want money in Jan, but changing manager is the quickest and easiest way to try and turn things around.

If things are that tight then relegation will see an exodus of players and the limited budget will hardly help them get back up. But then, have they not applied to expand the Stadium?

 

[weasel]

If City win today can we just give them the title and call it quits now?

Another shocker from Pool, Brighton are a good side and Pool struggle against them, but you can't keep giving teams a head start. Pool have shipped the first goal in 7 of their 9 games this season and kept CS's in the other two. Two CS in 9 is poor, 3 wins from 9 is equally bad for a side who are supposed to be PL and CL contenders. Zero chance Pool win the title from here, and I can see them dropping points against Rangers this week and or next.
Still two easy games either side of Rangers. Arsenal away and City at home.

 

[edd_jedi]

City look pretty unstoppable at the moment, Halaand is an animal! Not looking forward to playing them.

 

[lejackal]

Fortunately we don't have the pleasure until after the World Cup, until then we need to carry on as we are pretty much.

Naturally it'll all come crashing down but until it does I'm enjoying it

 

[edd_jedi]

Amazing bit of insight from Gary Neville:

Trent Alexander-Arnold can be one of the world's best ever right-backs if he works on his defending, says Gary Neville.

Would Lloris be the world's best keeper if he saved more shots? Maybe Brendan Rodgers would be the best manager if he won more games!

 

[weasel]

You can't buy insight like that!

 

[theforceuk]

Yeah GN talks some bollocks and is contradictory a lot of the time.

Man City were good on Sunday, but Man Utd were poor and we seem to be getting smacked up like that to often. On one hand Ten Hag has got his work cut out against a Man City side that has got one of the best coaches ever with an open cheque book for the last 6 years.

But you have to put some blame on Ten Hag for not picking Casemiro in a game like that, he basically picked 3 number 8's as the midfield 3! We probably would have still lost but at least we would have had a midfield.

 

[weasel]

That midfield 3 beat Pool and Arsemal did it not? Granted City are a class above, but I can see his logic.

 

[theforceuk]

I think it's bad judgment if you think McTomany is a defensive midfielder and you leave one of the best defensive midfielders in the world on the bench against Man City. We were lucky against Arsenal and Liverpool IMO, and you can't rely on luck against Man City. I'm backing Ten Hag all the way I think he has an almost impossible job getting Man Utd in the top 4, but it doesn't mean I will agree with every decision he makes for the sake of it.

 

[lejackal]

McTwat is a thug and nothing more, he should be sent off most games yet somehow gets away with it

 

[weasel]

McTwat is a thug and nothing more, he should be sent off most games yet somehow gets away with it

Ever see Scholesy play? Lol

Great player, and seems like a reasonably down to earth bloke, but **** me he should have had 20 red cards in his career. How he got away with some of those "tackles" is beyond me.

 

[lejackal]

I mean Arsenal circa 1997-2003 were hardly angels, and I do miss a little bit of the physicality that came with matches from that era, but McTwat takes the piss in the modern game

 

[theforceuk]

I would put McTomany in the same bracket as P.Neville, Nicky Butt and Darren Fletcher. A good squad player to have as back up and use him in certain games. He seems to be looked at as a Roy Keane, Micheal Carrick or Paul Ince type player as far as ability goes he's no where near them in my eyes.

 

[Cazza]

I agree- he's much more of a Fletcher type player. Decent, especially to fill out the squad, but surely Man U can do better? McT wouldn't start for West Ham.

 

[weasel]

I missed most of the game, I saw from just before Pool's goal up to HT and it looked like Pool dominated but didnt create many clear cut chances. No idea how the second half went, sounded like Arsenal dominated though.

I have seen, on Twitter, the Pool non penalty in the first half (for hand ball) and the Arsenal winning pen. Not much between them for me. I would expect that Pool one to be given more often than not, his hand isn't exactly down by his side. But I have seen them not given. It's probably one you get six and a bit times out of ten. I can't find many decent angles of the Arsenal one but it looks a bit soft to me. There is contact, but from the **** angles I have seen I can't tell who hits who and if it's really enough for a grown man to fall over. That pen looks like one of those that when you get it, you feel a bit lucky to get it, and when things are going against you it gets given against you.

I am biased but to have one not given and the other given is a bit unlucky in my mind. Arsenal may well have deserved the 3pts, I havent seen enough to say one way or the other, but those two pens had a huge bearing on the outcome.

Add in TAA and Diaz both off injured and apparently neither "looks good" according to Klopp, and that is just an utter disaster of an afternoon for Pool.

2 wins from 8, worst start to a PL season in 10yrs, 4pts above the drop zone……and City up next! It doesn't get any better.

 

[lejackal]

Can't wait to play someone decent to really see where we are

 

[theforceuk]

You have done and we destroyed you.

 

[edd_jedi]

You mean play someone decent and not have penalties/red cards/own goals go your way

At least we've had an interesting start to the season, just hope it lasts.