Dark Sith Lord
Grand Master
Cc4rhu said:
Yeah I don't understand why he didn't bring him on at OT on Monday (not that I am complaining of course)
Premier League Discussion Thread 2013/14
- Thread starter Dark Sith Lord
- Start date
Yeah I don't understand why he didn't bring him on at OT on Monday (not that I am complaining of course)
Cc4rhu said:
Absolute insanity. Really worrying sign when your new manager doesn't fancy your best player. For me he was the best midfielder in the league last season and easily Chelsea's best player. WAY better than Oscar, Remirez. I was really worried about Chelsea this season when i thought of that midfield - Mata, Hazard, Lamps, Oscar and one other from Ramirez, Essien, DeBruyne. Very scary. But it seems they've all but decided to get shot of Mata and bought in Willian instead. For me they have weakened their midfield. Tho it's still strong. As a Spurs fan i was really looking forward to Willian's arrival, he seems an exciting player tho is completely untested and an unknown entity fo all intents and purposes but if you offered the choice of Mata instead i'd bite your hand off.
It really is mind boggling.
theslider
Sith Lord
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AVB seems to have bought a whole new side, hope they take ages to gel, but in the long run much better than the chimp who is possibly the most over-rated player for some time!
Let's hope Gollum keeps up his record of never winning at Anfield today! Would not be at all surprised to see him setting out for a draw.
Let's hope Gollum keeps up his record of never winning at Anfield today! Would not be at all surprised to see him setting out for a draw.
rob71
Sith Lord
Difficult to predict, but I reckon Liverpool have a good chance there
Richard_H
Grand Master
I'll take both results. Arsenal v Tottenham was awful. Very scrappy, so many poor passes. Tottenham gave no attacking threat but will / should be good when they settle.
theslider
Sith Lord
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Just back and leathered so forgive the rose tinted view!
United were very poor, but no so more than last season where they won this fixture 2-1 when Liverpool played better than this.
13 years without a win at Anfield for 'the chosen one'. (also 13 years without a win at Old Toilet amongst others as well!)
United were very poor, but no so more than last season where they won this fixture 2-1 when Liverpool played better than this.
13 years without a win at Anfield for 'the chosen one'. (also 13 years without a win at Old Toilet amongst others as well!)
Cc4rhu said:
Yeah we were awful today. No cutting edge up front, gave the ball away way to often and crosses and final balls were diabolical. Walker frustrates. :x
rob71
Sith Lord
theslider said:
Oh yes! Doesn't happen very often so I'm enjoying this.
But it looks like Moyes can't get Fellaini quickly enough on this evidence.Dark Sith Lord
Grand Master
Confirmation from Manchester United that three men who reportedly attempted to negotiate a deal to sign Athletic Bilboa midfielder Ander Herrera were not acting on behalf of the Premier League champions and were, for want of another word, imposters.
"Reports in Spain claim three men dressed in black suits and claiming to be United "representatives" spent an hour at the La Liga offices attempting to negotiate a deal. The move collapsed at the 11th hour
What the ****ing ****? You cant make this up??!! :x
"Reports in Spain claim three men dressed in black suits and claiming to be United "representatives" spent an hour at the La Liga offices attempting to negotiate a deal. The move collapsed at the 11th hour
What the ****ing ****? You cant make this up??!! :x
rob71
Sith Lord
27.5m for Fellaini seems like a panic buy to me (probably becaue they missed out on Herrera). Utd should no sooner have paid that than Liverpool should have paid £35m for Andy Carroll...
Everton did some decent last minute deals though despite losing Fellaini.
Everton did some decent last minute deals though despite losing Fellaini.
Richard_H
Grand Master
Man utd have literally thrown away £4 million due to expiring buy out clause. That's a lot of money and someone should be made accountable.
I'm excited by Ozil but that's not the position we're struggling in. Needed another centre half, a defensive mid (only have an injured Arteta) and a striker!!!
I'm excited by Ozil but that's not the position we're struggling in. Needed another centre half, a defensive mid (only have an injured Arteta) and a striker!!!
rob71
Sith Lord
Ozil is more the player United needed rather than Arsenal. Not that I'm complaining.
looks to me like moyes is overawed by it all, a bit like rodgers buying borini and allen from his old club, they stick with the level that they are used to, it may take him a while to realise he needs world class players for the best team in england
Utd were as flat as i've seen them at Anfield on Sunday. There was no fight or desire at all. Ok, they do normally struggle at Anfield, or at least, not play their best, but Sunday was very poor. I always thought Moyes was an underwhelming appointment and the more i see and hear of him the more i think he's totally out of his depth.
He says Utd played well on Sunday and he would be happy if they played like that all season! This is a club that EXPECTS to be challenging for the PL and the CL. Who were comfortably outplayed by their nearest rivals who are so good they haven't even qualified for Europe. Play like that against Bayern or Barca and it'll be a cricket score!
As for Utd's transfer dealings. JESUS ****ING CHRIST! WHAT a shambles!
Let Fellaini's buy out clause expire so you can pay an extra 4 million for him? WTF? End up buying him for half a million less than you offered for Baines and him? That means either they value Baines at half a million (and no one is that dim) or they were taking the piss with the first offer. At which point you have to ask quite why Moyes felt the need to publicly chastise Everton for declining the initial offer.
The fact that Utd announced Fellaini's transfer fee as "undisclosed" where as Everton announced the exact amount tells you all you need to know about who's happier there!
As for Herrera, who i've gotta admit i'd never heard of, the story i've heard goes as follows. Utd wanted to buy him for 30, Athletic said 'no, we want 35' but he had a buy out clause in his contract for 30 million. There are two types of buyout clause in spain. One that allows the club and player to agree to cancel the contract and the other (what he had) that allows the player to buy himself out of his contract. For him to buy out of the contract Utd would have needed to pay him 30 million yo-yo's, the problem being spanish tax law, such as it is, means that as soon as they transfer the money to him he has 45% income tax to pay on it. Thus Utd were looking at a 45% increase in the transfer fee. Once they realised this, they changed their minds citing "beaurocratic problems" ( i think that's diplomatic speak for, 'we cant read a ****ing contract'). At that point they all decided to distance themselves from the 3 spanish lawyers who they had sent to Bilbao to negotiate the deal. Leaving everyone looking pretty ****ing stupid.
Now if only Utd had had an extra 5 million they could have bought him out right. That Decision to wait on Fellaini looks even ****ing smarter now, doesn't it!
I freely admit to being am ABU, but
Utd are normally the sort of club who do their transfer business in an incredibly professional and private way. This summer has been a lesson in how to **** things up, and i haven't even mention Alcantara, Fabregas, Ronaldo, or Cuntrow. Whoever let Gil and Ferguson retire at the same time really needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Or alternatively get himself down to Liverpool where there are countless people waiting to buy him a pint!
As for the Spuds arsenal game. I thought it was very similar to the Pool Utd one. Two poor sides who never really got going. The better (less bad) side won, but i don't think any of Europe's big teams who watched those games will be worrying about facing any english sides this year.
Spuds will get better when their players gel, but I suspect it will take a few months, by which time they will probably just be left with a fight for 3rd or 4th. Arsenal, i worry about. Paper thin squad and no ball winner.
Still Pool are top of the league, for the second time this season! 8)
He says Utd played well on Sunday and he would be happy if they played like that all season! This is a club that EXPECTS to be challenging for the PL and the CL. Who were comfortably outplayed by their nearest rivals who are so good they haven't even qualified for Europe. Play like that against Bayern or Barca and it'll be a cricket score!
As for Utd's transfer dealings. JESUS ****ING CHRIST! WHAT a shambles!
Let Fellaini's buy out clause expire so you can pay an extra 4 million for him? WTF? End up buying him for half a million less than you offered for Baines and him? That means either they value Baines at half a million (and no one is that dim) or they were taking the piss with the first offer. At which point you have to ask quite why Moyes felt the need to publicly chastise Everton for declining the initial offer.
The fact that Utd announced Fellaini's transfer fee as "undisclosed" where as Everton announced the exact amount tells you all you need to know about who's happier there!
As for Herrera, who i've gotta admit i'd never heard of, the story i've heard goes as follows. Utd wanted to buy him for 30, Athletic said 'no, we want 35' but he had a buy out clause in his contract for 30 million. There are two types of buyout clause in spain. One that allows the club and player to agree to cancel the contract and the other (what he had) that allows the player to buy himself out of his contract. For him to buy out of the contract Utd would have needed to pay him 30 million yo-yo's, the problem being spanish tax law, such as it is, means that as soon as they transfer the money to him he has 45% income tax to pay on it. Thus Utd were looking at a 45% increase in the transfer fee. Once they realised this, they changed their minds citing "beaurocratic problems" ( i think that's diplomatic speak for, 'we cant read a ****ing contract'). At that point they all decided to distance themselves from the 3 spanish lawyers who they had sent to Bilbao to negotiate the deal. Leaving everyone looking pretty ****ing stupid.
Now if only Utd had had an extra 5 million they could have bought him out right. That Decision to wait on Fellaini looks even ****ing smarter now, doesn't it!
I freely admit to being am ABU, but
Utd are normally the sort of club who do their transfer business in an incredibly professional and private way. This summer has been a lesson in how to **** things up, and i haven't even mention Alcantara, Fabregas, Ronaldo, or Cuntrow. Whoever let Gil and Ferguson retire at the same time really needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Or alternatively get himself down to Liverpool where there are countless people waiting to buy him a pint!
As for the Spuds arsenal game. I thought it was very similar to the Pool Utd one. Two poor sides who never really got going. The better (less bad) side won, but i don't think any of Europe's big teams who watched those games will be worrying about facing any english sides this year.
Spuds will get better when their players gel, but I suspect it will take a few months, by which time they will probably just be left with a fight for 3rd or 4th. Arsenal, i worry about. Paper thin squad and no ball winner.
Still Pool are top of the league, for the second time this season! 8)
I agree on Arsenal Spurs. Spurs are going to get way better than they were in that game. We were poor but still only just got beat. Saying that, i agree, the better team one. Tho one way to look at it is it's a massive improvement on out last 2 defeats there (with the mighty Bale).
We have bought some really good players and with any luck they'll start to gel sooner rather than later. I think what these players have on their side is the Spurs fans are right behind them and will give them time. Bale leaving was the best thing that ever happened to us and we are a stronger team across the board without him. Had we managed to finalise the deal with Willian i think we would have been strong contenders for a top 3 finish but as it stands i think it'll be another close battle with Arsenal for 4th place with Liverpool not far behind... but behind.
Özil was a fantastic coup for Arsenal, arguably the best signing of the summer and them signing one of the best half a dozen or so players in the world showed even more how off their game Utd have been this transfer window. Fillaini!... :lol:
Having said that, Arsenal had no problems with their attacking midfield so their problems with having no strikers, no defensive midfielder and no good defenders (and a so-so keeper) have not gone away and will still cause them the same problems as in the last 3 or 4 seasons. After their attacking midfield Arsenal are the weakest they've been in the premier league era. But as i said, still a fantastic signing. Özil will be the difference in possibly finishing 4th rather than 5th but not 2nd or 3rd.
•For me Man City have strengthened. Not only on the field but also in getting rid of their idiot manager who definitely cost them silverware last season.
•Man Utd have not strengthened imo. Their defence is half decent but has holes in. Their defence whist not dazzling is cohesive and Carrick is the kind of player that most other teams don't have but could really do with. Having said that, where are the goals gonna come from?? Fillaini? One or two headers. Valencia- 1 or 2. Young?... nope. As last year they will have to rely on RVP for basically ALL their goals. If he gets injured they're ****ed. That is; unless Rooney gets back to form.
•Chelsea for me have weakened their midfield purely by shutting out Mata who for me was the best midfielder in the premier league over the last 2 seasons. Very strange move. Willian will have to live up to the hype, fast! They have no striker. Torres is awful and lives on a very very old name. He hasn't been a top 4 quality striker in 3 years now. Astonishing he still gets a game. Their defence is good but not great. They leak a lot of goals for a team supposedly favourites for the title.
•Liverpool have had a good albeit fortuitous start to the season. Massively got away with it in their first 2 games but deserved to beat Man U. Their midfield is below par in terms of top 5 quality but if Sturridge can maintain form (something i personally doubt but we'll see) and Suarez comes back raring to go then they have a sniff of a chance of finishing inside the top 5. But only a sniff.
My prediction:
1. Man City
2. RVP
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Liverpool
7. Everton
We have bought some really good players and with any luck they'll start to gel sooner rather than later. I think what these players have on their side is the Spurs fans are right behind them and will give them time. Bale leaving was the best thing that ever happened to us and we are a stronger team across the board without him. Had we managed to finalise the deal with Willian i think we would have been strong contenders for a top 3 finish but as it stands i think it'll be another close battle with Arsenal for 4th place with Liverpool not far behind... but behind.
Özil was a fantastic coup for Arsenal, arguably the best signing of the summer and them signing one of the best half a dozen or so players in the world showed even more how off their game Utd have been this transfer window. Fillaini!... :lol:
Having said that, Arsenal had no problems with their attacking midfield so their problems with having no strikers, no defensive midfielder and no good defenders (and a so-so keeper) have not gone away and will still cause them the same problems as in the last 3 or 4 seasons. After their attacking midfield Arsenal are the weakest they've been in the premier league era. But as i said, still a fantastic signing. Özil will be the difference in possibly finishing 4th rather than 5th but not 2nd or 3rd.
•For me Man City have strengthened. Not only on the field but also in getting rid of their idiot manager who definitely cost them silverware last season.
•Man Utd have not strengthened imo. Their defence is half decent but has holes in. Their defence whist not dazzling is cohesive and Carrick is the kind of player that most other teams don't have but could really do with. Having said that, where are the goals gonna come from?? Fillaini? One or two headers. Valencia- 1 or 2. Young?... nope. As last year they will have to rely on RVP for basically ALL their goals. If he gets injured they're ****ed. That is; unless Rooney gets back to form.
•Chelsea for me have weakened their midfield purely by shutting out Mata who for me was the best midfielder in the premier league over the last 2 seasons. Very strange move. Willian will have to live up to the hype, fast! They have no striker. Torres is awful and lives on a very very old name. He hasn't been a top 4 quality striker in 3 years now. Astonishing he still gets a game. Their defence is good but not great. They leak a lot of goals for a team supposedly favourites for the title.
•Liverpool have had a good albeit fortuitous start to the season. Massively got away with it in their first 2 games but deserved to beat Man U. Their midfield is below par in terms of top 5 quality but if Sturridge can maintain form (something i personally doubt but we'll see) and Suarez comes back raring to go then they have a sniff of a chance of finishing inside the top 5. But only a sniff.
My prediction:
1. Man City
2. RVP
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Liverpool
7. Everton
Dark Sith Lord
Grand Master
•Liverpool have had a good albeit fortuitous start to the season. Massively got away with it in their first 2 games but deserved to beat Man U. My prediction:
Both Pete and Weasel nice detailed posts. The majority of which are decent points but Lpool deserved to beat Man U? Yes we did play piss poor. ( the poorest I have seen us play since the infamous 1-6 reverse against City. But we had Lpool camped in their half for the WHOLE of the 2nd half except for one very late Sterling chance by which time we had pushed almost everyone up. I think 1-1 would have been a fair result.
The thing I am mist frustrated about this Transfer Window accept for the obvious Kherira and Conrau dissapointments is Above all we Didnt offoad Ashley Young! He is ****ing useless! :twisted: :evil: :twisted:
Both Pete and Weasel nice detailed posts. The majority of which are decent points but Lpool deserved to beat Man U? Yes we did play piss poor. ( the poorest I have seen us play since the infamous 1-6 reverse against City. But we had Lpool camped in their half for the WHOLE of the 2nd half except for one very late Sterling chance by which time we had pushed almost everyone up. I think 1-1 would have been a fair result.
The thing I am mist frustrated about this Transfer Window accept for the obvious Kherira and Conrau dissapointments is Above all we Didnt offoad Ashley Young!
He is ****ing useless! :twisted: :evil: :twisted:Richard_H
Grand Master
I don't think Man U will finish in top four.
1. Chelsea
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Spurs
5. Man U - liverpool
1. Chelsea
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Spurs
5. Man U - liverpool
Agreed Pete. WTF is Mourinho thinking freezing out Mata. Ok, if he was someone like Taarabt who refuses point blank to track/mark or do anything that resembles helping his team out when they don't have the ball. But he aint! He's no defensive midfielder, he won't win many tackles, but he works as hard as any other attacking mid, and he creates a dam sight more at the other end than most other attacking midfielders.
It just smacks of Mourinho cutting his nose off to spite his face. Pretty typical of the man though.
As for their lack of strikers, they have Lukaku, who looked a class at WBA last year. Granted it was "only" WBA but he destroyed Utd's defence single handed in the last game of the season. Why not give the bloke a few games to see how he does? Could he be worse than Torres!? Lol
Pool are still a work in progress. 5th would be a massive step forward. Realistically, they are the 6th best team in that league. Given Newcastle's refusal to do anything sensible and Everton's new manager and the players adapting to his style. Though Everton made some impressive signings.
It just smacks of Mourinho cutting his nose off to spite his face. Pretty typical of the man though.
As for their lack of strikers, they have Lukaku, who looked a class at WBA last year. Granted it was "only" WBA but he destroyed Utd's defence single handed in the last game of the season. Why not give the bloke a few games to see how he does? Could he be worse than Torres!? Lol
Pool are still a work in progress. 5th would be a massive step forward. Realistically, they are the 6th best team in that league. Given Newcastle's refusal to do anything sensible and Everton's new manager and the players adapting to his style. Though Everton made some impressive signings.
Richard_H
Grand Master
Lokaku has gone to Everton on loan.
