Rival watch

  • Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
  • Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!
I find it slightly annoying that Chelsea have directly benefited from their captain being charged with racism. A four game ban for that clumsy oaf could only ever be beneficial for them, bloody FA.
 
I find it slightly annoying that Chelsea have directly benefited from their captain being charged with racism. A four game ban for that clumsy oaf could only ever be beneficial for them, bloody FA.

Yes. Losing our best defender is so beneficial to us <doh>

People wanted him banned and now they don't, what is it?

With Terry in the pitch neither of Spurs goals happen IMO. Luiz was haphazard all game and was brutally exposed for both goals, especially the 1st
 
You can twist stats all you like too, the fact is that we haven't started better than Arsenal. When we have played an equal number of home and away games, which will be after 12 games then we'll see who's started the best.

Er yes we have started better

We have more points than they do

/discussion
 
I agree with HIAG and GHoddle10. For all the criticism directed at Arsenal they've played:

Liverpool Away
Stoke Away
City Away
Chelsea Home

Any side would struggle with those IMO, better to judge Arsenal and Spurs when 10-12 games have been played.

As for Chelsea we've started well, it's clear our front 3 are as good as any in the PL and possibly Europe but how/if they can maintain that level of performance remains to be seen. Once we've come out of November we'll know where teams are really at. If Chelsea beat United next Sunday then even people like TMT would have to admit we are decent team. You don't outplay and beat Spurs and Arsenal away from home if you are as bad as TMT makes us out to be. As much as we can't get carried away with Arsenals bad start, we can't get carried away with Chelsea p's good start either.
 
Let's see where everything stands at Christmas.

It's not beyond Chelsea to screw it all up.

You've been saying this, or words similar to this, since March. Now I'm not saying we won't screw it up, but I can't even count the number of times statements like this have come back to bite you on the backside.
 
Yes. Losing our best defender is so beneficial to us <doh>

People wanted him banned and now they don't, what is it?

With Terry in the pitch neither of Spurs goals happen IMO. Luiz was haphazard all game and was brutally exposed for both goals, especially the 1st

And you mocked a Spurs fan who said we'd have won if we did Bale and Dembele played <doh>
 
And you mocked a Spurs fan who said we'd have won if we did Bale and Dembele played <doh>

There's a big difference between predicting the entire outcome of a match and pointing out costly defensive errors which cost you individual goals, YV.

United fans could easily say they'd have won against Spurs with Vidic and Smalling fit.

My point was WV insinuating losing our best CB with invaluable experience was beneficial to us in any way when evidence suggests otherwise.
 
I'm 99% sure we wouldn't have let the first in with JT playing. 2nd was just something that couldn't be stopped, Lennon shot and unlucky for us it landed straight at Defoe's right foot.
 
Luiz not only conceded the foul by diving in (something JT would never have done) but also lost his marker for the goal (again something JT would never have done)
 
I agree with HIAG and GHoddle10. For all the criticism directed at Arsenal they've played:

Liverpool Away
Stoke Away
City Away
Chelsea Home

Any side would struggle with those IMO, better to judge Arsenal and Spurs when 10-12 games have been played.

As for Chelsea we've started well, it's clear our front 3 are as good as any in the PL and possibly Europe but how/if they can maintain that level of performance remains to be seen. Once we've come out of November we'll know where teams are really at. If Chelsea beat United next Sunday then even people like TMT would have to admit we are decent team. You don't outplay and beat Spurs and Arsenal away from home if you are as bad as TMT makes us out to be. As much as we can't get carried away with Arsenals bad start, we can't get carried away with Chelsea p's good start either.

We've played nearly a quarter of the season, it's natural that they'll have played some tough games. Liverpool away is not the fixture it once was particularly as it was early in the season and we've played Newcastle, United and Chelsea so we haven't had it easy either. It's very simple though, we've both had 8 chances to win points and we've taken the most, if you want to complicate things and look at our playing more home games as an excuse it's also worth looking at how difficult we had it at the start of the season whilst Arsenal had all their signings settled and with a full preseason.

The thing is no one's been getting carried away with Arsenal's bad start(it's not even been that bad), the reaction is more in response to people getting carried away with them when they were playing well.

As for your front 3/4, it's certainly shaping up well but I think Atletico showed you a thing or two about the standard of attacking units in La Liga are. Nothing's clear about how good yours are compared to them yet, as you say, you'll have a clearer picture of just how good you are in a month or so. What is clear is that you've started the league better than anyone else and we've started better than Arsenal, although the teams level on points with us should give a little perspective on how early it is.
 
We've played nearly a quarter of the season, it's natural that they'll have played some tough games. Liverpool away is not the fixture it once was particularly as it was early in the season and we've played Newcastle, United and Chelsea so we haven't had it easy either. It's very simple though, we've both had 8 chances to win points and we've taken the most, if you want to complicate things and look at our playing more home games as an excuse it's also worth looking at how difficult we had it at the start of the season whilst Arsenal had all their signings settled and with a full preseason.

The thing is no one's been getting carried away with Arsenal's bad start(it's not even been that bad), the reaction is more in response to people getting carried away with them when they were playing well.

As for your front 3/4, it's certainly shaping up well but I think Atletico showed you a thing or two about the standard of attacking units in La Liga are. Nothing's clear about how good yours are compared to them yet, as you say, you'll have a clearer picture of just how good you are in a month or so. What is clear is that you've started the league better than anyone else and we've started better than Arsenal, although the teams level on points with us should give a little perspective on how early it is.

Did we? Podolski,Cazorla and Giroud were all involved in the Euro's and two of those three players were part of teams who went as far as the semi-finals. In our first two games of the season, you could see that there was no relationship between the three new players and the rest of the team. Thankfully our defence held up in the first two games of the season, because our attack was still finding there feet because of the three new signings.
 
There's a big difference between predicting the entire outcome of a match and pointing out costly defensive errors which cost you individual goals, YV.

United fans could easily say they'd have won against Spurs with Vidic and Smalling fit.

My point was WV insinuating losing our best CB with invaluable experience was beneficial to us in any way when evidence suggests otherwise.

No there's not it's all speculation with tenuous basis. Firstly you've since blamed Luiz but there's nothing to suggest that Cahill and Terry would've started, infact it's quite clear Terry and Luiz are RDM's first choice so how can you be so sure anything's changed? Secondly your friend Drogs has admitted the second couldn't been prevented.

Two can play this silly speculation game. Lets say Kaboul starts then we don't concede the opener because he'd have headed the ball clear properly and he also doesn't drop deep off the defensive line like Gallas did which takes off one of Mata's goals meaning that we weren't chasing the game and the last goal never happens. 2-1 to us then.
 
Did we? Podolski,Cazorla and Giroud were all involved in the Euro's and two of those three players were part of teams who went as far as the semi-finals. In our first two games of the season, you could see that there was no relationship between the three new players and the rest of the team. Thankfully our defence held up in the first two games of the season, because our attack was still finding there feet because of the three new signings.

Fair enough they did miss a couple of preseason games. We started the season without a complete squad and then had to settle in 3 of our new outfield signings once the season was well underway, one of which hadn't had any kind of preseason. My point was that you had a more settled start even if RVP was on his way out.
 
Yes. Losing our best defender is so beneficial to us <doh>

People wanted him banned and now they don't, what is it?

With Terry in the pitch neither of Spurs goals happen IMO. Luiz was haphazard all game and was brutally exposed for both goals, especially the 1st

<laugh> It really is very easy to push your buttons isn't it, DL?

Pretty sure Terry wouldn't have scored the goal that Cahill did...

Plus there's always the chance that we could benefit from one of these:

You must log in or register to see images


Or perhaps one of these:

You must log in or register to see images


"best defender" <laugh> He's being given the run around here by Jordan Henderson, one of the lesser-mousers!

P.S. I never claimed that the reason you beat us was because Terry wasn't playing, you just imagined it. I merely stated my belief that over the course of the four games you will probably benefit more than you will suffer from his absence.
 
There's a big difference between predicting the entire outcome of a match and pointing out costly defensive errors which cost you individual goals, YV.

United fans could easily say they'd have won against Spurs with Vidic and Smalling fit.

My point was WV insinuating losing our best CB with invaluable experience was beneficial to us in any way when evidence suggests otherwise.

Yes, and speaking of costly defensive errors. I think we can top you there, quite easily!..
 
No there's not it's all speculation with tenuous basis. Firstly you've since blamed Luiz but there's nothing to suggest that Cahill and Terry would've started, infact it's quite clear Terry and Luiz are RDM's first choice so how can you be so sure anything's changed? Secondly your friend Drogs has admitted the second couldn't been prevented.

Two can play this silly speculation game. Lets say Kaboul starts then we don't concede the opener because he'd have headed the ball clear properly and he also doesn't drop deep off the defensive line like Gallas did which takes off one of Mata's goals meaning that we weren't chasing the game and the last goal never happens. 2-1 to us then.

And Parker would have prevented the first one, 2-0 yay!