Premier League 22/23 Thread

[weasel]

I saw bits of the Spuds game last night. That first one was PROBABLY a foul but **** me Harry Kane doesnt half go down easy/dive at every opportunity. Yes, most forward's do, Salah is as bad, but Kane seems to get away without much being made of it.
It probably was a foul, but Pickford should have held the initial shot. He really is a piss poor keeper. How he gets to be Engerlund number 1 I will never know. He's barely PL standard when he plays for Everton.

More good news for Pool, Konate is a doubt for today. So it's either Gomez continues at RB and Nat Phillips against Haaland, Gomez shifts across and Milner plays against Phil Foden. What's the PL record defeat, 9-0? It could be beaten today.

 

[lejackal]

I saw bits of the Spuds game last night. That first one was PROBABLY a foul but **** me Harry Kane doesnt half go down easy/dive at every opportunity. Yes, most forward's do, Salah is as bad, but Kane seems to get away without much being made of it.
It probably was a foul, but Pickford should have held the initial shot. He really is a piss poor keeper. How he gets to be Engerlund number 1 I will never know. He's barely PL standard when he plays for Everton.

More good news for Pool, Konate is a doubt for today. So it's either Gomez continues at RB and Nat Phillips against Haaland, Gomez shifts across and Milner plays against Phil Foden. What's the PL record defeat, 9-0? It could be beaten today.

Please address him with his full title…..His lordship sir Harry "England captain" Kane of Tottenham. When you do that it soon becomes clear why nothing is said

 

[weasel]

I agree 100%, I think I have previously implied that's the reason he gets away with so much, I just don't want to sound like a broken record bleating on about it.


Praying for snow or a massive Covid outbreak to get the game this afternoon postponed.

 

[edd_jedi]

Come on that was about as clear cut a penalty as they come Pickford should have been sent off, he had no intention of getting the ball. Show me one striker that wouldn't fall over if a keeper grabbed their legs!?

 

[edd_jedi]

One penalty missed and another overturned, I see Lady Luck is still on your side @lejackal ! How long can it last

 

[lejackal]

One penalty missed and another overturned, I see Lady Luck is still on your side @lejackal ! How long can it last

Ha, I've not seen it yet so can't comment really but I'm not complaining- you need a bit of luck sometimes

 

[edd_jedi]

Bet you enjoyed that @weasel! Haaland looks genuinely gutted to discover he won't score a hat trick every match

 

[lejackal]

I think I had more faith in Pool getting something than @weasel

 

[weasel]

I had so much faith in Liverpool that I took the kids out at 4pm, turned my mobile data off and then turned my phone off when I got home. I only found out the final score when the wife went "Ohh Liverpool were playing" and I told her I didn't want to know the score, to which she replied "You might actually you know."

I have seen the goal and ehh that's it. Seen pictures of 'non foul' on Salah by Silva that Klopp got sent off for. Definitely not a foul at all. You're allowed to pull people's shirts then fall over in front of them, so I have no idea why he got pissed off that the lino who was, literally, 3 yards away didn't give it.
Also heard that the disallowed goal was fair enough as Haaland (?) did foul Fabinho and then kicked the ball out of Alison's hands. The BBC said they had it confirmed that if VAR hadn't disallowed the goal for the foul on Fabinho it would have been disallowed for the foul on Alison. So, I'm assuming that makes it a fair one to chalk off. Pep disagrees.

Now watch Liverpool drop points against WH or Forest.

 

[theforceuk]

Liverpool only 10 points behind City with a game in hand, were they not 13 points behind them last season and took it to the last 20 minutes of the season!?

 

[weasel]

Ehhh something like that, it might have been 14, BUT they had two games in hand so it was effectively 8.
Broadly similar to the situation we have now, but I don't see them going on another huge run like that. Sadly.

 

[theforceuk]

I would be the same if it was my team, but looking from my view, they have the same coach and pretty much the same squad. When they have struggled it's been because Liverpool weren't very good, not because the other team out classed them.

 

[weasel]

True, although City didn't have Haaland last season. I suspect he is worth 5-10pts alone

 

[theforceuk]

Very true, although I still think he's a tap in merchant.

 

[weasel]

His touches per game is woefully low. He does FA for 85mins in most games.

The problem is when he does touch it, it normally results in him scoring. A team like City can carry someone like him, easily, if his 5mins of contributions result in 2-3 goals.

 

[edd_jedi]

Well that was the best United performance I've seen since... their game against Spurs last season! It's amazing what a difference Maguire being injured makes to the team, and looks like leaving Ronaldo out was the right decision too.

Saying that Spurs were abysmal, couldn't string a pass together. I think Conte made too many changes, and we're REALLY missing Kulusevski.

 

[theforceuk]

Personally I don't think the result changes whether Ronaldo starts the Spurs game or not, impossible to say I know but Man Utd don't create many chances for the main striker, haven't done for years, remarkable he scored 24 goals last season feeding off scraps in the worst PL Man Utd team ever. Your City wander kid would struggle to score in a team that doesn't cross the ball! Rashford missed some good chances last night that Ronaldo may have buried, who knows? As for the argument that Ronaldo doesn't press, well neither do any of the other forwards.

As for him walking out you could see that coming a mile off. Whether you think he should be at the club or not, like him or not, what he's done is completely wrong but I have to say again you have to blame the Glaziers. He wanted to go in the summer there were offers on the table and Ten Hag agreed to let him go as long as they got him a replacement striker, the glaziers said no chance on a replacement because they had just over spent by about £60 million on 3 players and they weren't willing to sell him without a £10 million fee, which none of the interested clubs were willing to pay because of his wages. So Ten Hag is left to pick up the pieces. I've always said the special relationship between Man Utd and Ronaldo is bollocks and a bit to much one sided a bit like the so called special relationship between the UK and USA. A special relationship isn't one side demanding this and that and then throwing the toys out of the pram when you don't get what you want. But that's for another thread.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yeah it was a terrible decision to bring him back, has tarnished his reputation for sure. Sadly owners rarely sack themselves

 

[lejackal]

It's time…..

 

[theforceuk]

Who would have thought the UK would have more prime ministers than Chelsea have managers in the same season.

 

[weasel]

Who would have thought the UK would have more prime ministers than Chelsea have managers in the same season.

Season's not finished yet!

 

[weasel]

I heard Spurs were poor last night, or Utd were good, delete as appropriate.

Though someone on the radio was saying Spurs havent actually been playing that well. But have just ground out a few results or been on the right end of a few narrow wins.
Worse habits to have than winning when playing badly though.

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes on one hand being third in the table while playing badly isn't the worst thing in the world. But since Kulusevski got injured it's like watching a different team, we've gone back to Jose football.

 

[weasel]

I didn't even realise he was injured until the other day. How long is he out for?

 

[Michael Sith]

I agree that Ronaldo should have thought first before leaving the bench and going down the tunnel, but come on he is the best player we've ever seen, if he had started last night he would have converted at least one or two of the chances that rashford fluffed, and the ones that Fred fluffed, FFS start him then bench him! Rashford had chances, but did he score… no.
look at Haaland against the scousers, didn't get a look in, but Pep won't bench him
drives me mad that Ronaldo gets so much flack, give him the ball in a scoring opportunity and he will score … simple as that

i think United bossed the game last night and pressed, closed down and harried spurs, didn't give them a second on the ball, so I'm happy with that all day long.
let's see how we do against Chelsea, as that will be a different game, but if we play the pressing game, close players down and play with passion and get beat, I can live with that.

 

[theforceuk]

That's Gerrard sacked, only two wins this season not really surprising. Would have liked to see him get more time.

 

[edd_jedi]

The problem with Ronaldo is the effect he has on the rest of the team. It doesn't matter how good you are if you don't respect the other 10 players on the field or your manager. He should take up golf or something where he can be the main man.

 

[weasel]

Now confirmed that Ronaldo refused to come on against Spuds before walking off in a sulk.

I can't agree @Michael Sith.

Ronaldo may have scored those chances, we will never know, but the question is 'would have had the legs to get into those positions?' Given he was apparently pretty anonymous against Newcastle, and hasn't exactly looked great when I have seen him play, I would be inclined to say 'no'. He may have been the best player Utd has ever had, though his best days were at Real not Utd, regardless those days are gone now! He is 37 and needs an entire team build around him. No major club is going to do that in the era of high intensity high pressing. Ten Haag certainly doesn't want to build his team around an ageing super star, and rightly so. OGS did it, probably not by choice, and look what that did to Utd. Ronaldo scored loads of goals, he is a goal scorer, but when the rest of the team have to press with one man less they get picked off and thumped.

And yeah, fat maguire playing then didn't help. I freely admit that. Ronaldo is far from Utd's biggest/only problem, but they are a better side without him in the team. And he knows it, hence his sulking. He likes nothing more than media attention. It's hard to get that on the bench, unless you throw a hissy fit and make it all about you to try and force your way back into the team. Fair ***** to Ten Haag for basically telling him to **** up. People should have said that to the little narcissist a lot more often a LONG LONG time ago.

 

[lejackal]

Refused to do his job for *checks notes* four hundred thousand pounds a week.

I can acknowledge he's was great and has been a real monster in training to stay in the shape he has but that's worth nothing of you refuse to play.

Guys a cnut

 

[theforceuk]

Ronaldo probably the fittest player in the Utd squad, like I said before our number 9's don't get service, Haaland would have struggled to get 24 goals in that team last season. I'm not defending him but you shouldn't get how much of a **** he's being with how he's performing on the pitch confused. Look at the stats, Newcastle put more crosses into the box than Man Utd. Even Rashford only scores when he's a wide forward. Ronaldo should have been sold in June. He didn't have a pre season that's why he's not as sharp, he will get a move and bang in goals at another club for the next couple of seasons at least. As for the other players being up set at him, sums up the mentality of that squad, I don't like one of the best players ever because he's won everything at club level multiple times and has told me how crap I am and it's not good enough. Those players need to be sold in January as well!!! Right Ronaldo off and he will prove you wrong, he's been doing it for 20 years.