Premier League Thread 2015-16

Well Jamie has such in-depth knowledge doesn't he.?

 

Oh dear. FLT [shakes head].

 

Anyone else got a box of tissues close-by? I might blubber having to watch Morgan do his thing for United.

It's gonna take some getting used to.

 

It's funny, Morgan is precisely the type of player that people who don't understand football don't rate. I saw someone on Twitter after their first game moaning that Depay (who did nothing) was taken off and not Schneiderlin.

He's not flashy so he doesn't get headlines, or appreciation from, let's call them "casual fans". But damn, he's clever and effective.

 

1-0 Januzaj

 

Pigsticker off the bench for Carrick, Herrera for Januzaj

 

Just watching a bit of this. Villa don't seem to have the imagination or skill to get through ManU, who are not even having to try that hard.

 

Didn't watch it because of Morgan....just plain wrong.

 

Thought Luke Shaw was excellent tonight

 

That game was poor. Rooney was awful. Villa look like a team that will be happy to just sit back and not concede many. Utd just look meh.

 

So many fans don't "get" football

 

The game by it's nature is objective. People that claim that others don't "get" football always stinks of self righteousness to me. On another note this Barca Bibao game is mental. 4 nill bilbao now and Alves having a mare.

 

Fair enough - I'd put me bang in the middle of self righteous. Some fans just don't get it.

 

From what I saw he played as well as he might have played in a Saints shirt. He's coming back to that standard. Still no end product though and there wasn't a great deal of that when he was with us anyway.

 

I think it's entirely fair to say that some people don't understand what a player like Morgan brings to a team, because they don't understand football very well. That's just a truth. I'm no expert by any means, and there are plenty on this forum alone who 'get' football far more than I ever would or could, purely by having played it at a decent level, or by watching and analysing more. Mikey, FLT, DTLW, Beefy, Tom to name but five. Ronald knows more than all of them put together I'd wager.

Part of the reason I enjoy this forum is learning from those who understand better than I do.

There is nothing wrong with a bit of humility and admitting where your gaps in knowledge are. I don't see people like that as self-righteous, just that they know more. I think you might have been saying that football is subjective (correct me if not). That to me is wrong I'm afraid. It's not.

 

As a Utd fan, I'm delighted to see anyone use the term excellent. Turgid, slow, haphazard, disjointed, unfamiliar, wasted are the adjectives which spring to mind these days.

But I'll go with excellent

 

Apologies if I've misunderstood what you were saying there though SF08, I'm not entirely sure (and I'm not suggesting they're *always* right either! )

 

It's not about being right, I made my statement following on from LTL's about Morgan because it is so true. Here are just a couple of examples over each of the last few seasons where I really believe some fans don't "get" it. Sorry if I sound blasé, big-headed or rude, but it's writing on a forum rather than chatting in a pub, so it may come across wrong.

Examples working back chronologically:

Fraser Forster last season - "He should have got to that" or, "He's not all that." Now he is injured and everyone is missing him. Best defense in the league; nailed on for golden glove if he wasn't injured. That's not luck, that's a top keeper.

Victor Wanyama - first season, first 10 games . His passing was a little askew as he got used to the pace of the Premier League, yet it was clear to some how important he was to our defensive record (best in the league at that point). Vic was playing very well but people moaned because they didn't "see" it. They saw misplaced passes and taking his time on the ball without silky skills.

Jay Rod (or one goal ) - first season back in the Premier League - even though the one goal tag now becomes funny, it wasn't just that line. people slaughtered him on here because he fluffed a couple of chances. I backed him because I could see he had what he needed and it was just a case of putting it together. He did the following season. I also said back then that he'd end up down the middle for whichever club he is at. I still think that.

Jack Cork - Championship Season - I remember with a couple of others (one must have been Lff) defending Jack Cork endlessly. Fans were moaning that he wasn't up to it and didn't do enough. I used to call him our Nobby Stiles and that every team needed one. Nobby didn't do anything fancy, but he won a world cup. Cork was pivotal to Saints in that season. Those fans couldn't see how important his contribution was, sometimes (like Vic) by just filling gaps.

My absolute favourite and this one may surprise some, is from our first season in league One. I took my mate who is a UEFA A License coach (doesn't mean he knows everything but it gives an idea of his football understanding) to a game. He and I were aghast as a lot of people around us were moaning about one of our players for being useless that day. We left the ground shaking our heads at how much stick the player had received and that some fans don't "get" it. I heard it quite often early that season. That player was excellent in the game. That player appeared to me and my mate to be ahead of the game compared to the rest in terms of his movement and positioning. That player didn't score that day and didn't run about too much. That player was Rickie Lambert.

Sorry to go on but these are examples of why I believe some fans don't "get" it. It might sound self-righteous and I don't want to appear like that, but it is my view. Some understand and see things better than others.

If you want to throw something back at me, just sat Gaston Ramirez - I got him massively wrong

Also, don't let LTL kid you, for an ageing old hipster, rocking Dude, he knows his football

 

Every team has a player that plays every week, but isn't fancy enough to attracts plaudits from the fans...yet again and again the manager plays him because he is integral to the team. Used to be called a footballers' footballer. I was interested to note that Oriol didn't talk of impressing the fans, but spoke of making his team mates comfortable playing next to him. His intention is to get the team's confidence.

 

Ageing and old!! The knife goes in, THEN the twist!