Following our Nearest & Dearest Rivals 2019/20

[dkw 23,966]

18 minutes ago, mojo said:

this ref (c**t Kavanagh) seems not to be pleased with Villa leading

Standard reffing with spurs, let's them  go through players all the time, it's so weird. 

[dkw 23,966]

How is that not a penalty from VAR, he's kneed him. 

[mojo 1,840]

f**k off despicable c**ts

[mojo 1,840]

speachless

[Scott Harris 22,758]

Grealish, you're useless. He's been caught multiple times, just clear it you moron.

[Chelsbear 7,947]

Oh well

[abigsmurf 594]

Guess we've had a taster of what to expect from Villa this season. Defend for 90 minutes and hope you get lucky

[Argo 3,335]

17 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

If this is a sign of things to come, then this is going to be another very boring season of football. Seeing City and Liverpool win almost every single game is making this league boring. Last season, I pretty much gave up on watching Premier League football outside of our games and the big games because you could predict how every match would go. The thing that people love about English football is the competitiveness, but it seems to be losing that now.

This "anyone could beat anyone" thing was never really a thing not really, it was just an advertising tool to suck in more punters, apart from that one fluke season in 15/16 it's been 1 or 2 (very occasionally 3) standout teams with about 2-4 very good sides a safe distance behind, it just so happens these standout teams are better than the majority of what's come before them.

A team getting a result at Ethiad or Anfield today is no more a surprise than someone doing the same at The Bridge under Jose 1.0 or at Old Trafford in the CR7/Rooney dynasty era.

As for competing with them, we have the resources but it's upto us to utilize them and get us back up there. A year ago it was "City are unstoppable" now it's "City/Liverpool are unstoppable" because Liverpool and Klopp reacted to the challenge and did the necessary, it can be done.

Edited August 11 by Argo

[Munkworth 4,505]

Reminded of this perfect summary of plastic scousers this morning!

[Scott Harris 22,758]

7 hours ago, Argo said:

This "anyone could beat anyone" thing was never really a thing not really, it was just an advertising tool to suck in more punters, apart from that one fluke season in 15/16 it's been 1 or 2 (very occasionally 3) standout teams with about 2-4 very good sides a safe distance behind, it just so happens these standout teams are better than the majority of what's come before them.

A team getting a result at Ethiad or Anfield today is no more a surprise than someone doing the same at The Bridge under Jose 1.0 or at Old Trafford in the CR7/Rooney dynasty era.

As for competing with them, we have the resources but it's upto us to utilize them and get us back up there. A year ago it was "City are unstoppable" now it's "City/Liverpool are unstoppable" because Liverpool and Klopp reacted to the challenge and did the necessary, it can be done.

It's not so much anyone could beat anyone that I am talking about, just that teams weren't always so easy to beat like they are today. They would compete, but these days, 1 goal quickly turns into 2, 3 or 4. The top teams are beating the rest of the league a lot easier than they used to do.

[Sindre 1,937]

Neymar about to go back to Barcelona.

Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Griezmann is quite the front four.

[Zeta 12,511]

Yeah but we have Giroud, Abraham and Batshayui, so who are the real winners here?

[Munkworth 4,505]

33 minutes ago, Zeta said:

Yeah but we have Giroud, Abraham and Batshayui, so who are the real winners here?

Althetico with Costa & Morata?

[carrickblue 5,092]

Celtic fans throwing bottles and stuff at Cluj players as they celebrate a 4th and winning goal at Parkhead - I've lost count of the fines UEFA have levied on Celtic because of their fans' activities in recent years. 

[brownindian 485]

So City were found guilty by FIFA of the very same thing Chelsea were accused of but instead of handing the same or a lesser transfer ban they were fined pocket money. I rule for Chelsea one rule for the rest of the soccer clubs.

[chef 116]

3 hours ago, brownindian said:

So City were found guilty by FIFA of the very same thing Chelsea were accused of but instead of handing the same or a lesser transfer ban they were fined pocket money. I rule for Chelsea one rule for the rest of the soccer clubs.

They had 2 breaches we had 30. Why should they get the same punishment?

[Boyne 10,777]

10 hours ago, carrickblue said:

Celtic fans throwing bottles and stuff at Cluj players as they celebrate a 4th and winning goal at Parkhead - I've lost count of the fines UEFA have levied on Celtic because of their fans' activities in recent years. 

A great result for Dan's team last night. I was worried when Celtic went 3-2 up with 15 minutes to play but well done to Cluj for scoring two late goals. UEFA will fine Celtic again but doubt if that will put them off again. 

And not only did their first team lose, the U21 side lost in the Scottish Challenge Cup.

 

[brownindian 485]

On 14/08/2019 at 02:25, chef said:

They had 2 breaches we had 30. Why should they get the same punishment?

2 people spoke to a Danish newspaper that they signed for City and played before they turned 18. That does not imply that those were the only 2 breaches. Also, I dont think there were any numbers dallied about as the minimum requirement for punishment. You are right if they have lesser breaches then their punishment should be lesser - like a 1 window transfer ban. But coming away wish a tickle as a punishment is just a farce.

[goose 1,966]

6 minutes ago, brownindian said:

2 people spoke to a Danish newspaper that they signed for City and played before they turned 18. That does not imply that those were the only 2 breaches. Also, I dont think there were any numbers dallied about as the minimum requirement for punishment. You are right if they have lesser breaches then their punishment should be lesser - like a 1 window transfer ban. But coming away wish a tickle as a punishment is just a farce.

I do think that City’s punishment, or lack off, will help us in getting our transfer ban reduced to 1.

Would still be a big punishment as we have missed the summer window but I can see us back trading in the new year.

[brownindian 485]

6 minutes ago, goose said:

I do think that City’s punishment, or lack off, will help us in getting our transfer ban reduced to 1.

Would still be a big punishment as we have missed the summer window but I can see us back trading in the new year.

Good point.

 

For me personally and maybe some of you might agree - This transfer ban is a great way for us to evaluate our existing squad. We can determine which youngsters are worthy of hanging on to. Which of the older players can still do a job for us. What kind of players do we need to make Lamards vision of football successful. Then we can target those players.

[goose 1,966]

Yeah tend to agree that maybe it is a blessing in disguise in respect of accessing the squad and in particular giving the youth a fair chance. 

Unfortunately it has undoubtedly weakened our position and  squad with losing Hazard  and everyone around us buying in with the exception of Liverpool.

Anyone else think that Klopp has been a bit naive in not buying in and strengthening the squad. I know he has a good team but a good length injury to VVD and they will drop lots of points. Would love to see Liverpool struggle for CL spot with all the hype surrounding them.

 

[ducavis 788]

On 15/08/2019 at 21:07, goose said:

Yeah tend to agree that maybe it is a blessing in disguise in respect of accessing the squad and in particular giving the youth a fair chance. 

Unfortunately it has undoubtedly weakened our position and  squad with losing Hazard  and everyone around us buying in with the exception of Liverpool.

Anyone else think that Klopp has been a bit naive in not buying in and strengthening the squad. I know he has a good team but a good length injury to VVD and they will drop lots of points. Would love to see Liverpool struggle for CL spot with all the hype surrounding them.

 

You could argue that we look far more dynamic without Hazard on the team, every move seemed to flow through him with him on our team.

Liverpool is an interesting one but I agree with you. He should have brought in a couple of players in to freshen up the team. Van Dijk, Mane/Salah & Firmino are players you look at and wonder if complacency could set in.

[ducavis 788]

I have a sneaky feeling Atletico Madrid might just sneak La Liga this season. Simeone has a template which might not appealing to most viewers, but it clearly works. He has lost Griezmann, Rodri, Hernandez, Filipe Luis & Godin, but he made some very smart buys in Joao Felix, Trippier, Lorentz, Hermoso & Lodi.

Madrid & Barca are a mess and more worried about winning the transfer spend league without a clear plan on how to put together a team. After spending £200m+ in the market; Zidane is moaning about Perez not buying Pogba for £180m, and will revert to a 5-3-2 formation for this season. The only new signings  that fits into this will be Militao in defence and Hazard (who is out for a month) upfront with Benzema. Barca are just awful. Watched the 1-0 loss to Bilbao last night and it is ridiculous how average they looked without Messi. Griezmann is clearly not a winger, why they have bought him is beyond me. Why he has pushed for the move is more bizarre. He clearly thrives as a secondary striker like Dybala, but he ended up on the wing for Barca. As a winger he is very average as he offers no width, loves to come inside and can’t track the oppositions runs. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sold him after a season ala Coutinho (hello PSG/Bayern). He clearly doesn’t fit in the team, and his situation will worsen when Messi returns to the team and Neymar looks like he might end up back at Barca. He might find himself sat on the bench playing backup to Suarez in the long run.

[dkw 23,966]

So lukaku turned up at inter well over weight and unfit, will miss the first few weeks of the season. That's genuinely disgraceful from a so called professional. 

[erskblue 5,867]

On ‎14‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 03:57, brownindian said:

So City were found guilty by FIFA of the very same thing Chelsea were accused of but instead of handing the same or a lesser transfer ban they were fined pocket money. I rule for Chelsea one rule for the rest of the soccer clubs.

Seems like it !

Sadly !!