I've been told,but haven't confirmed it yet,that in Colombia a drug lord who owns a soccer club there,has had it's manager's head removed and left it in front of his wife's house for losing a game/s. The PL's not that bad yet....is it?
So who can win the title then? Arsenal - no doubt they can with their best team out and in form. But we say that every season and they either drift off the pace or blow it in style. Chasing the game yesterday, they brought on Bendtner and Gnabry. Says it all really - even the Palace bench is stronger. Liverpool - destroyers of the mediocre this season but they don't have enough in midfield or defence for me. Last season they conceded goals for fun, especially away. 2 and 3 goals time after time. Are they that much better that they can make up the 30 point gap (or whatever it was)? Southampton - can't get 80+ points surely? Chelsea - all the problems from the last two indifferent PL seasons are still there. Jose doesn't know his best team, they haven't got the fight needed week in, week out and someone will be throwing the toys out of the pram soon whether it's the chairman, manager or a high profile player United - can self belief, determination, two class forwards and a hard working defence do it for Moyes? It was enough for SAF last season, but Utd's midfield is woeful and papering over the cracks is becoming a full time job. Everton - top four is likely to be beyond them never mind the title. Spurs - if AVB started using the right tactics and the players found some cohesion soon then Spurs have a big squad and a solid defence and could put a run together. But it's a big if.... City - bullied into submission away from home last season and even worse this time. You can't win the title on your home form. You need to grind out results away. 30+ points minimum needed away from home, which City don't look like achieving. If Pellegrini does sort it, they should win it....
I had City down to win. Interesting assessment LDL, not least because it's the first time I've ever seen you write anything remotely critical of United. To be fair to Arsenal, they've still got a few injuries to come back into their side, their bench looks a lot stronger than it has in recent years, they can only get better as Walnut, Chamberpot etc return to the fold. Unless of course, they get more injuries *touches wood*
Arsenal have been doing well with the injuries though. Chelsea still getting the luck as last Saturday showed but being behind at home is a very bad sign for them. Liverpool were rock bottom last season and now look where they are but they are losing to top teams. Man U are inconsistent and beat a mediocre Arsenal. They normally beat Arsenal at Trafford so nothing exceptional there. Everton couldn't beat a bad Spurs at home or a bottom Palace away so they won't win it. Southampton???????????????????????????????????????????. City are getting beaten away and too much of it will mean goodbye to Pellegrini and turmoil. Right about Spurs Luke, must get another striker to play alongside Soldado and then we have a chance. But who's going to win it is anybody's guess. It was Krul who saved Newcastle last week and the result was bad for us but we are still only 5 points from the top and with Chelsea wobbling as they do every season we still stand a chance of top four. I have been saying since the opening match of the season that our wins are not good enough ie penalties. We were lucky against Hull to get one and we only managed a draw against a side Southampton thrashed so our form is rubbish. We are scoring fewer at home in the EL than away which was another sign that things are not right. Surely if we win by 5 goals away then we should win by more at home but no. Sheriff we scored two but at home we conceded one making it a narrower home win than away. Cobblers to anybody who thinks that that's alright."We did enough to win it" is a crap attitude as Bill Nicholson said"It's important to win well" and we aren't. We are getting scratchy rubbish wins and have been since the opening day of the season as I've said and now what I feared is happening. The earlier results are an indication of how the later results will pan out and I was told I was talking gibberish. We have to wait and see how we do against City because I haven't a clue. We've become a badly unpredictable team playing crap. I hope AVB can sort it out. I said he wasn't a Spurs type man and then I said he was the best young coach in the PL and now I'm reverting to my original idea so I just don't know. I'm hopelessly confused and even more so by the attitude of those who were happy with the way were were getting the results. You totally baffle me.
LDL , good summary. Out of that bunch, the most likely are the team that sits top now and that is what worries me most-ANYONE but them. As for Southampton, Last year it was the baggies and the year before Newcastle. As soon as teams don't open up for them like Hull did on Saturday they will struggle.
You are talking gibberish. I'm sorry but a number of posters on here, me included have pointed out the obserdity in your logic. Arsenal lost to Bayern at home last year, and beat them away. We beat utd away, and drew at home. There are so many other factors surrounding those games, peoples approaches etc that you are simply not taking into account. In the first game we scored 5, now if you conceded 5 at home to a team, are you going to go to there place and play the same way....absolutely not. We can all see we are playing badly. Stevie wonder can see that we are rubbish at home because we use one striker, and teams sit in there own half and counter us. Away they don't do this so much, so we have more chances to score. Don't try to make out you saw something in the tea leaves, that no one else could, when we can all see the actual reasons for our bad home form. Away results and home results have no direct corrolation on form - or at least not in the way you are suggesting.
I obviously saw things in the tea leaves long before you or anybody else did then Guru because I've been saying this since the opening match of the season. It's not gibberish. I don't know why you bring in other teams as an example, I'm talking about Tottenham and our form and not scoring as many at home as away does have a direct bearing on form, you're the one talking gibberish unless you just lack insight.
I think it's still too early to say. Why? Because saying that Liverpool are losing to top teams isn't strictly true, We've won against United, and lost against Arsenal. That's all we've had so far. Will be much clearer after our next run of games that includes Spurs, Chelsea and Everton. If we are still in the top 4 at Christmas I will be much more confident of finishing in a cl spot as we always improve in the second half of the season and we will strengthen this January (unlike the goons who have spent their transfer budget for the next 10 years on Ozil)
Yes Sir Red, I'd prefer to be in your position than ours I must admit. You've improved enormously. Fancy selling us your manager?
I have a theory about our performances which I will start a thread about, probably not today. Meanwhile I reasonable assessment by LDL. The thing that will upset me most is that in a season where everyone can beat everyone else, it makes it even more important that factors that appear to be (i.e. should be) outside of the control of the team should be applied equally fairly (or equally unfairly!) to all teams. I am referring again to the refs. In an even contest then clearly any team that has the benefit of such an influence is going to benefit more than otherwise. I am worried that Chelsea will win the league, following which all the man-love for him who shall not be mentioned by the media will say everything about what a great manager he is and conveniently forget that refs are not just making wrong decisions, but making wrong decisions that affect match results, and ultimately potentially the whole PL result.
I don't see how you can ever have refs which don't make mistakes, its practically an impossible scenario, as I don't believe we appreciate how difficult the job is, regardless of experience, to be on a football pitch and have to make a call instantly and then have an assistant who is as unsure as you AND have players screaming, crowd going mental, its means poor decisions will happen. We probably need to look at the hiring of refs, and how they are trained, as certain personalities cope with pressure better, yet because all decisions need to be instant then teams will benefit from wrong decisions.
Since the opening match of the season (away) you've been worried about the fact we were about to score more goals in an upcoming away match, then we do in the upcoming home fixture? Makes sense. What i'm saying is that going off the goals scored does not tell us anything, and therefor you cannot derive any sort of conclusion, which is what you are saying you were able to do. Now we are 11 games in, we can see the many reasons for our struggles at home such as a lack of service to the strikers, the rigid formation ie players not interchanging like at Arsenal or Chelsea, the slow build up of play, a striker not making runs, teams sitting back and hitting us on the break because of our slow build up play and high line etc. You can get all this from the games, from observation - not from looking at 5 goals scored away, and 2 at home. We've actually scored more goals at home this year in the league.
The thing I and most people can't stand though is the bias. Chelsea and utd over the years have had many favourable decisions go there way, Chelsea were always going to go down easily in the box at 90mins when losing 2-1, and the ref should have known this. It was a dive, a blatent blatent dive and everyone knows it. To counter this, Bale got booked last year, for legitimately loosing his footing when tackled. If you get brought down, it may not be a foul/pen but it doesn't mean it was a dive or card worthy. I feel like they wanted to make a point with Bale, but then suarez and young were winning pens left right and centre.
Blind optimism at it's best We've spent approx £23m net in the last 3 years. Liverpool have spent approx £90m net in the last 3 years. Arsenal have a larger, more profitable stadium. Arsenal have CL income. Arsenal have proven they can spend money and attract world class players like Ozil. Liverpool have proven they can spend money and attract players like Toure, Aspas, Illori, Borini, Allen and Alberto. But yes, Liverpool will definitely the team out of the two that have tons to spend in January and attract top players while Arsenal will be broke So tell me... Liverpool will strengthen their squad with who? Who will be available, keen to move to Liverpool mid-season and improve your team? And what happens if Suarez leaves?
Not quite Guru, I've been saying since the opening match of the season that we have been winning the wrong way and our play isn't effective enough. Last minute and luckily given penalties and struggling against part timers. SINCE THE START OF THE SEASON not just recently and not just away. What I said then was that the ineffective football would have a detrimental effect on our future play which as we can now see is happening. I said that i was screaming for us to score more goals in the second half against a certain team. The fact that we didn't was enough to tell me then that things were not right. We all have our own ways of detecting these weaknesses etc Guru. But as I've said I think we can put it right.
I completely get that, just this is what happens when weak people are hired in pressure jobs, they are easily lead and swayed into making the wrong calls. If the refs where given more help, such as video replays or they had someone watching the game via video link (and a mic to the ref) who can instantly watch a replay, then this would take away much of the pressure of trying to make an instant call without any assistance. The big teams in every league tends to get the decisions, always have done and I can't see that changing unless more technology is used.
Ok, well I think we can all now see where the team is good and bad - even if it would apear the management cannot If you saw it from that result then fair play to you, but I just don't see how.
