You might find a book about the derby game today soon. https://www.storytel.com/tv/publishers/nilfive-35542
This in the Guardian today Is it naive for a promoted side to play possession football in the Premier League? https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...tball-in-the-premier-league?CMP=share_btn_url
Really good article. The goal kick stars are very telling - there are other teams who dominate the ball (Arsenal) who don’t do the madness we do from goal kicks. That’s an easy fix.
I was surprised at how often Arsenal go long from goal kicks and their pressing in the higher part of the pitch certainly pays off. I actually suggested that we should try doing that a bit more often but I don’t see us as a pressing side anymore, certainly not to the extent we were under Pochettino and Ralph, so it probably wouldn’t be that effective for us.
As Libby pointed out, our boys are not particularly fit so pressing might see us collapse even worse than we have been.
Not sure what the alternative is? TNT's normal slot is Saturday lunchtime and with Spurs playing EL on Thursday that's out of the question. Saturday evening is also unavailable for the same reason. Can't clash with the Sky games on Sunday either so Midday on Sunday is also out of the window in case the match overruns. Not really many alternatives.
The thing is, a Sunday 7pm, I'll probably not go now and just watch on TV. For me, 7pm kick off means leave here at about 5:30pm and get back at 10:30-11pm. Or turn on TV at 6:45pm and go back in the lounge at 9pm. Will probably do the latter.
It's a **** time for a game, no two ways about it. But once TNT Sports selected it for live coverage it's the only possible time to schedule it. I may not bother going myself TBH.
In a nutshell, this is the issue with the Premier League's tie-in to the TV Paymasters - If the TV companies decide to screen a match live, the club benefits hugely. If NO fans turn up for the match, the club will still turn in a profit, and apart from the eerie silence, the game will go on, although possibly with not quite the same intensity. All the time that elite sport is a business, the bottom line will always be 'How can we maximise profit?'. There are no simple solutions to this, we are living in the modern age, where technology means that we don't need to physically attend anything, anymore. Well, almost anything...
That is genuinely one of the best things I have seen for ages. Longy doesnt change, lol. Loved seeing SRL on the pitch and MLT scoring at St Mary's again.
