Can't see that TBH. Mourinho wouldn't want to run the risk of losing his first game in charge at Man Utd to the man he despises more than anyone.

 

Exactly what I think. 

 

The board may find it easier to sack LVG after a loss at home to Arsenal, and if they happen to win they can probably go with him until summer when a change is easier to make so it's a win-win for them.

 

Plus I don't think a week is enough time for Jose to make that many changes.

great togetherness at spurs going by this clip. i actually don't mind if spurs won the league, especially if it's over arsenal. never had much of a problem with their club or fanbase. just to see the meltdown at arsenal would be hilarious. haven't won the league for 10+ years and been in the top four consistently and spurs can still win it before they can 

 

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/mb38.mp4

I see it like :

Anyone but Arsenal.

Leicester over City, Spuds or Arsenal

City over Spuds or Arsenal

Spuds if needs must.

Would love to see all 3 fail though and Leicester triumph, alternatively City to win it on goal difference on last day over Arse.

Majestic.

Did the Arsenal players really do a lap of honor after the game? I saw the dressing room selfie's but wow, Long way to go fellas. 

arsenal got fecking lucky after seeing that replay of the penalty call. two shocking decisions by the refs yesterday which had big impact on the results. clattenberg is usually, in my opinion, a good, fair ref, but he ballsed up big time yesterday. 

My ideal scenario is that on the final day, Leicester have to beat Chelsea to win the league, or Arsenal win it.

 

It's 0-0 in the 95th minute, JT gets the ball, runs past Courtois, gets on all fours and heads it over our line.

My ideal scenario is that on the final day, Leicester have to beat Chelsea to win the league, or Arsenal win it.

 

It's 0-0 in the 95th minute, JT gets the ball, runs past Courtois, gets on all fours and heads it over our line.

 

.....or Cesc.      

.....or Cesc.      

 

HA! While kissing the Chelsea badge on his shirt!

Saw this at the Oatcake forum. Tony Pulis is a f**king magician; instead of pulling bunnies from a hat, he pulls 40 points out of his baseball cap.

 

@SoccerInsider

This is from the first half:

 

Edited February 15, 201610 yr by offside

Saw this at the Oatcake forum. Tony Pulis is a f**king magician; instead of pulling bunnies from a hat, he pulls 40 points out of his baseball cap.

@SoccerInsider

This is from the first half:

Theres the reason people say Messi couldnt do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke.

Edited February 15, 201610 yr by TheChelseaBlues

Saw this at the Oatcake forum. Tony Pulis is a f**king magician; instead of pulling bunnies from a hat, he pulls 40 points out of his baseball cap.

 

@SoccerInsider

This is from the first half:

 

 

Imagine travelling from Birmingham to Liverpool to see your team touch the ball 21 times in 45 minutes. A win's a win though I guess.

To be honest, it must be pretty tedious to watch that kind of football for entire seasons on end.

 

I can fully respect a footballing philosophy which prioritises solidity, and even playing extremely defensive football on individual occasions which call for it, but to consistently rely on that severe a degree of reactive strategy must really begin to grate. I understand that it guarantees survival for Pulis' teams, but it will also preclude them from ever developing and reaching the next level of improvement.

Edited February 15, 201610 yr by PloKoon13

To be honest, it must be pretty tedious to watch that kind of football for entire seasons on end.

I can fully respect a footballing philosophy which prioritises solidity, and even playing extremely defensive football on individual occasions which call for it, but to consistently rely on that severe a degree of reactive strategy must really begin to grate. I understand that it guarantees survival for Pulis' teams, but it will also preclude them from ever developing and reaching the next level of improvement.

There is probably no manager/coach I am more in awe of than Tony Pulis--not from a football perspective but from a local community perspective.

Tony Pulis is a niche coach much like Pep Guardiola is a niche coach, just two very different niches. Tony Pulis is a genius and maestro in his particular niche, namely teams fearing relegation. In that niche, the level of responsibility on managers' shoulders is immense. Jobs are on the line--I'm not referring to overpaid players. Small businesses are on the line. Whole neighborhoods and communities can rise and fall with league membership.

When you're lost in the woods and emaciated and the only food source around is beetles, you stuff those beetles in your mouth and pray that tomorrow you'll catch more beetles. A steady food supply of beetles will build up your strength, and soon you'll be strong enough to wander further.

Same with teams. Teams facing relegation don't have the luxury of playing to entertain or to advance the game. You do what you have to do to survive. After a few years of steady Premier League cash inflow, you're in a position to move beyond survival tactics.

Pulis's weakness is that his brain is locked into survival mode. Essential when you're actually in survival mode, not so useful when you're healthy. He's a master at playing to his teams' strengths, yet ironically he doesn't maximize his own strengths as a manager/coach. He thinks that once he has solidified a club's Premier League status, he can build upon that. History has shown that he can't. When he continues to manage teams that have already solidified Premier League status, it's almost sad to see because his talent and abilities are wasted, and the talent and abilities of the improved squad are wasted as well.

 

I think about the common people and the small businesses who would be affected by relegation. They desperately need his services, yet he's at a team that, because of his prior seasons, doesn't need him anymore and is turning against him, and it will eventually end badly. It happened with Stoke, and it's happening again with West Brom.

I hesitate to call any sports figure a hero, but for the people and businesses whose livelihoods depend on maintaining league membership, he's about as close as a sports figure can get to being heroic. All heroes have their weaknesses, and Pulis's weakness is not realizing where he can make the greatest positive impact.

I really look forward to see Pep Vs Pullis next season, it will be a battle of 1-7- 2 formation vs 8-1-1. Pep will be so p1ssed when Pullis steals a point.

I watched that Everton game and it wasn't a tactical masterclass from Pulis at all, it was a massive amount of luck that they got out of that match with any points at all. 

I watched that Everton game and it wasn't a tactical masterclass from Pulis at all, it was a massive amount of luck that they got out of that match with any points at all.

I haven't watched the game, so I don't have an opinion of this particular game. Someone on Oatcake made the point that Pulis teams are "lucky" so often that there has to be something more than luck. I tend to agree.

Perhaps they rely on lucky opportunities presenting themselves, but they're especially good at taking advantage of those opportunities?

Edited February 15, 201610 yr by offside

There is probably no manager/coach I am more in awe of than Tony Pulis--not from a football perspective but from a local community perspective.

Tony Pulis is a niche coach much like Pep Guardiola is a niche coach, just two very different niches. Tony Pulis is a genius and maestro in his particular niche, namely teams fearing relegation. In that niche, the level of responsibility on managers' shoulders is immense. Jobs are on the line--I'm not referring to overpaid players. Small businesses are on the line. Whole neighborhoods and communities can rise and fall with league membership.

When you're lost in the woods and emaciated and the only food source around is beetles, you stuff those beetles in your mouth and pray that tomorrow you'll catch more beetles. A steady food supply of beetles will build up your strength, and soon you'll be strong enough to wander further.

Same with teams. Teams facing relegation don't have the luxury of playing to entertain or to advance the game. You do what you have to do to survive. After a few years of steady Premier League cash inflow, you're in a position to move beyond survival tactics.

Pulis's weakness is that his brain is locked into survival mode. Essential when you're actually in survival mode, not so useful when you're healthy. He's a master at playing to his teams' strengths, yet ironically he doesn't maximize his own strengths as a manager/coach. He thinks that once he has solidified a club's Premier League status, he can build upon that. History has shown that he can't. When he continues to manage teams that have already solidified Premier League status, it's almost sad to see because his talent and abilities are wasted, and the talent and abilities of the improved squad are wasted as well.

 

I think about the common people and the small businesses who would be affected by relegation. They desperately need his services, yet he's at a team that, because of his prior seasons, doesn't need him anymore and is turning against him, and it will eventually end badly. It happened with Stoke, and it's happening again with West Brom.

I hesitate to call any sports figure a hero, but for the people and businesses whose livelihoods depend on maintaining league membership, he's about as close as a sports figure can get to being heroic. All heroes have their weaknesses, and Pulis's weakness is not realizing where he can make the greatest positive impact.

 

I'm sorry but I don't buy that argument whatsoever.

 

West Brom are not an established top division power but they're far from the impoverished wretches constantly teetering on the verge of collapse which you are portraying them to be. This is their sixth consecutive season in the top flight; half of the teams in the entire division have been in the Premier League for as many or fewer.

 

Finances-wise West Brom are completely stable. Their turnover isn't enormous, but they have no debt, the 13th-highest wage bill in the division, and spent £30.5m on new players during the summer (the fifth-highest net spend in the division, more than three of the current top four).

Pulis isn't, and never has been, a bargain-hunter who is forced to sniff around for scraps in the lower divisions. Even when he was at Stoke it was the same; in Stoke's first five seasons in the Premier League Pulis spent £80m. To put that into context, only us and Man City spent more during that period.

 

There is no denying that Pulis has a very particular talent, and can guarantee you survival if you allow him transfer money, but it will come at the expense of expansive football, and he will, in all likelihood, leave his successor with a very bloated squad on relatively high wages.

 

The word 'hero' obviously means different things to different people (and I am hesitant to use it about anyone based purely on footballing success), but Pulis would be nowhere near my list of heroes.

 

The 'hero' you describe has dragged his side up from nothing by their bootstraps, has a very close connection to the local community, a community he has personally benefited with his successes on the pitch, keeps his wallet closed unless he spots a bargain or a player he deems absolutely necessary, and occasionally sacrifices entertainment for results. The man you are describing is Eddie Howe. Pulis, for his various qualities, doesn't even come close.

Edited February 15, 201610 yr by PloKoon13

Interesting reading various people's opinions on Tony Pulis and West Brom.

He has a template that seems to work for him and he has put it into practice, certainly at Stoke and now West Brom.

West Brom seem to be a stable club financially and well done to them.

I still want Leicester City to win the title this season.

Now Arsenal and Spurs seem, again to be very confident that they will win it.

I fear for the health of my son if Spurs win the title.  He shares a flat with three Spurs fans, two of whom are season ticket holders.  I think the amount of booze that will be consumed if they win will sink a battleship.  Conversely as they live very close to the Emirates (and probably on the route of any victory parade), an equal amount would probably be consumed to drown their sorrows if Arsenal win it.  

 

Yet another reason (if one was needed) to root for Leicester!

There is probably no manager/coach I am more in awe of than Tony Pulis--not from a football perspective but from a local community perspective.

Tony Pulis is a niche coach much like Pep Guardiola is a niche coach, just two very different niches. Tony Pulis is a genius and maestro in his particular niche, namely teams fearing relegation. In that niche, the level of responsibility on managers' shoulders is immense. Jobs are on the line--I'm not referring to overpaid players. Small businesses are on the line. Whole neighborhoods and communities can rise and fall with league membership.

When you're lost in the woods and emaciated and the only food source around is beetles, you stuff those beetles in your mouth and pray that tomorrow you'll catch more beetles. A steady food supply of beetles will build up your strength, and soon you'll be strong enough to wander further.

Same with teams. Teams facing relegation don't have the luxury of playing to entertain or to advance the game. You do what you have to do to survive. After a few years of steady Premier League cash inflow, you're in a position to move beyond survival tactics.

Pulis's weakness is that his brain is locked into survival mode. Essential when you're actually in survival mode, not so useful when you're healthy. He's a master at playing to his teams' strengths, yet ironically he doesn't maximize his own strengths as a manager/coach. He thinks that once he has solidified a club's Premier League status, he can build upon that. History has shown that he can't. When he continues to manage teams that have already solidified Premier League status, it's almost sad to see because his talent and abilities are wasted, and the talent and abilities of the improved squad are wasted as well.

 

I think about the common people and the small businesses who would be affected by relegation. They desperately need his services, yet he's at a team that, because of his prior seasons, doesn't need him anymore and is turning against him, and it will eventually end badly. It happened with Stoke, and it's happening again with West Brom.

I hesitate to call any sports figure a hero, but for the people and businesses whose livelihoods depend on maintaining league membership, he's about as close as a sports figure can get to being heroic. All heroes have their weaknesses, and Pulis's weakness is not realizing where he can make the greatest positive impact.

 

What a lovely post. It's nice to see an assessment of a coach and his impact on his fans that goes beyond pass completion rates and actually talks about how it affects them in very real terms.

 

People might talk about how much he's spent but look at Newcastle - £70 million spent this season (NET) and in the relegation zone. We might be tourists in this half of the table but for some it isn't a holiday. Each season is a scramble for survival and a few results going the other way and they're in a real fight. Incidentally 4 more points and they're level with Stoke who are being praised for their expansive style yet have spent roughly the same. Not every club has the freedom to take chances.

That was no master class from Pulis.

He got lucky and on another day his team would have been stuffed by 5 or 6 goals.

Couldn't think of anywhere else to post this. An article about a possible connection between 3G pitches and cancer.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35585392

Yeah I read something about that a good while ago, something about the rubber being inhaled causing certain cancers.

Quite scary as many of us have been playing on those pitches for a good while now. (4G nowadays).

HA! While kissing the Chelsea badge on his shirt!

Pulls his shirt over his head to reveal an 'Are you watching Arsenal' daubed vest.