The imaginatively titled Premier League 21/22 Thread

[edd_jedi]

Arsenal have requested to postpone the North London Derby on Sunday, I heard they were stuggling for players although they didn't seem to do too badly last night, save for Xhaka's 37th red card of the season

 

[lejackal]

I mean everyone else seems to be at it so when in Rome and all that

 

[theforceuk]

Apparently no covid cases in the Arsenal camp???? Not sure why they think the game should be postponed?

 

[lejackal]

There is at least one case because Odegaard tested positive so missed Thursday. The PL guidelines are not limited to covid though.

As the guidance shows, the Board will consider the following principal factors when making a decision:

1) The impact of COVID-19 infections on a club’s squad, as well as injuries, illness and those isolating, and the number of players available on the squad list and any Under-21 players with appropriate experience. Where a club cannot field 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper either from its squad list or its appropriately experienced Under-21 players, the match will be postponed.

We have 12 outfield players (assuming only Cedric isn’t available from Thursday) plus u23’s & u18’s

 

[theforceuk]

There is at least one case because Odegaard tested positive so missed Thursday. The PL guidelines are not limited to covid though.

As the guidance shows, the Board will consider the following principal factors when making a decision:

1) The impact of COVID-19 infections on a club’s squad, as well as injuries, illness and those isolating, and the number of players available on the squad list and any Under-21 players with appropriate experience. Where a club cannot field 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper either from its squad list or its appropriately experienced Under-21 players, the match will be postponed.

We have 12 outfield players (assuming only Cedric isn’t available from Thursday) plus u23’s & u18’s

Yeah completely within the rules/guidelines, interesting that last weekend when it was FA Cup 3rd round weekend every team had enough players. lol

 

[lejackal]

Yeah completely within the rules/guidelines, interesting that last weekend when it was FA Cup 3rd round weekend every team had enough players. lol

Haha, yeah, I think the FA said play or forfeit

 

[edd_jedi]

Well that's one way of staying above your rivals for a few more days it's a massive game to have 'in the bank' for both teams though, I won't be looking forward to the rearranged fixture if it's at the end of the season!

Interesting stat - Spurs would now have more points than Chelsea, and at least for the time being be second in the league, if we won all our postponed fixtures (currently four games behind Chelsea.) Not bad for a team having a disastrous season.

 

[edd_jedi]

And Norwich have just beaten Everton, surely that's Benitez finished!?

 

[weasel]

Interesting stat - Spurs would now have more points than Chelsea, and at least for the time being be second in the league, if we won all our postponed fixtures (currently four games behind Chelsea.) Not bad for a team having a disastrous season.

Not unless you won those four games by 34 goals! Pool's GD would keep you third. Pool also have a game in hand.
But I do agree with your last sentence.


Not sure about that Arsenal postponement. It sort of sums up the way the covid postponements are going now. Arsenal have 3 or 4 away at AFCON, have just loaned AMN to Roma and have Xhaka suspended. Unsure on injuries, but add in ONE covid case and they get it postponed. Hmmmm.
It is within the letters of the rules, but it kinda feels like it is against the spirit of the rules.
That's not a dig at Arsenal, they are just the latest club to do it. I said something a week or so ago about Newcastle and Burnley getting games postponed for questionable reasons, and Pool had the issue with the false positives, albeit the players who tested positive were still ineligible due to PL rules until after the negative tests came in which was the day after the game in question.
It is getting a bit farcical now when ONE covid case is enough to get a game called off. The PL have made a rod for their own backs here. They should turn round now and say, play with u21's or u18's to make up the numbers and only allow exceptions if the whole club has covid (or no fit keepers), but they won't and we'll end up with some club playing Tues, Thurs, Sun for two weeks at the end of the season cos they still have 12 games to play before the final weekend.

I was thinking earlier, if these rules were in place last year, Pool wouldn't have played a game from October until May. They had a few COVID cases and 3 CB's out, along with a procession of other players. I think it was 11 or 12 at one point. That would have been interesting. Trying to finish a season when you have 20 postponed games and a WC starting in a few weeks.

 

[lejackal]

Arsenal have played games with more impact from covid, this is the first time our squad has dropped below the 13 player threshold set by the league and yet we’re wrong for making use of the rules. I didn’t see a shitstorm from the other postponed match this weekend, just the NLD. I’d agree the rules are wrong but you’d be stupid not to use them when your competitors have all done the same already.

 

[weasel]

I don't disagree. I'm not having a dig at Arsenal per se, they are just the latest in a long line. Albeit their case is one where the impact from covid, appears, to be the smallest. But it is getting ridiculous now. The PL need to do something, before clubs really start to take the piss.

 

[edd_jedi]

Apparently Rooney and Lampard are in the picture for Everton, what could possibly go wrong!? Is there ONE example of a team appointing a previous player rather than an actual experienced manager that has ended well?

 

[theforceuk]

I agree @edd_jedi especially with the younger managers they get a coaching badge and all of a sudden said manager is running one of the biggest clubs in England. Where is the experience. I can see if Gerrard does well at Villa for a sustained amount of time him getting the Liverpool job one day. That is more like it, as it would mean he's had two jobs and excelled in them both. But Lampard and Rooney for Everton is just going to end badly and probably quickly. I could be wrong with either, Rooney may turn out to be a good fit for Everton, but I can't see him taking Everton to the next level. He doesn't strike me as being a tactical genius!

 

[weasel]

I do agree, I hate the traditional football logic of ‘he was a great player so he must be a great manager‘. It’s the same as co-commentators/studio “analysts” 95% of the ex pros have less insight than you would find down the pub. Yet they get paid a fortune, I think Shearer is on 3 or 400kpa to do MOTD.

Playing and management/analysis are totally different things. Time to wheel out my old favourite analogy, would you rather have a brain operation from a trained surgeon, or Dave who has had three full frontal lobotomies!? Replace “brain op” with ‘appoint a manager’ etc. and if you are a football Chairman you're passing the contract across the table to Dave and welcoming him onboard.

Apparently Rooney and Lampard are in the picture for Everton, what could possibly go wrong!? Is there ONE example of a team appointing a previous player rather than an actual experienced manager that has ended well?

Although, to completely counter my previous points, ehhh Barcelona once appointed a guy called Pep Guardiola. He did ok.

 

[edd_jedi]

So last night makes one win from seven for Chelsea in the PL. Why do they always play so well against us!?

 

[Snaketibe]

Incredible end to the Leicester Spurs game. Spurs definitely deserved to win it overall, but my god they left it late!

 

[edd_jedi]

Incredible end to the Leicester Spurs game. Spurs definitely deserved to win it overall, but my god they left it late!

In the 95th minute I wrote a sour grapes comment on here and had to delete it when I saw the final score on the BBC website serves me right for not watching the end!

I was about to say we deserved to win that game, so as ridiculous as those last couple of minutes were, it was justice in my opinion! Especially as Leicester were time wasting and the fans were singing "Tottenham Hotspur, it's happened again"

 

[theforceuk]

Incredible end to that game, that’s football never over until it’s over.

 

[weasel]

In the 95th minute I wrote a sour grapes comment on here and had to delete it when I saw the final score on the BBC website serves me right for not watching the end!

I was about to say we deserved to win that game, so as ridiculous as those last couple of minutes were, it was justice in my opinion! Especially as Leicester were time wasting and the fans were singing "Tottenham Hotspur, it's happened again"

I assumed that's what the deleted message said. I did see Spuds had 10 shots in the first 20 mins or something like that, so it does sound like they probably deserved to win.
I also heard Brentford battered Utd in the first half and should have been ahead at the break, sadly all I saw was from the second Utd scored to take the lead. Still not sure what is going on at OT there just doesn't seem to be any progress made.

I wonder will Arsenal have enough fit players to field a side tonight!? (Joke). Although Partey is back from ACON, I think. I assume whoever tested positive for Covid is still out and Xhaka is still suspended. I have seen conflicting reports that kolasinach (spelling, obv) has been sold and Pablo (?) Mari has been loaned out. It would be strange for a club that is struggling to field to offload two players, assuming they are both fit.

It does also sound like the Arsenal postponement will be the straw that breaks the camel's back with regard to forcing the PL to change the rules. Not a dig at Arsenal, although I did say I thought what they did whilst with in the framework of the rules was probably against the spirit of them. But, I guess you could argue the same for a couple of other postponements (looking at you Newcastle). I don't think too many people will be upset if club's are now forced to play if they have 14 fit players (inc a keeper) or if only covid cases count towards absentees. Here's hoping City have a massive out break affecting all of the 1st team, the squad players, the u23's and even the u18's. Meaning they have to field the tea lady, Pep, and Scott Carson. That's about the only way we will get anything close to a title race.

 

[lejackal]

Odegard (covid) is fit again and in training, Mari has gone to Udinese and Kalashnikov has gone to Marseilles. Partey finished Afcon Tuesday evening so I assume won’t make the team tonight but who knows. From the training pics released yesterday theres no Saka, Smith-Rowe or Gabrielle. Xhaka is suspended and we’ve recalled a bunch of loan players, most of which are still at Arsenal until at least next week, including the Cats cousin/nephew(?) so expect plenty of this up front tonight….