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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 7:59:05 GMT -5
This is a thread to discuss anything Premier League.
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Post by stevieg on Nov 9, 2014 9:17:04 GMT -5
No thanks. LOL
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Post by zizou on Nov 9, 2014 9:28:19 GMT -5
Ha. Understandable from your perspective. I am curious whether you think Balotelli deserves the criticism he is receiving. The games I have seen, like 3 total, he has not been that bad, and actually seemed to be more effective than most of their attacking players in getting the ball into dangerous positions, especially from wide positions. Now what I will say is that he seems to be playing more like an attacking mid or a winger than a striker. I did not understand why he was taken off as early as he was a few times. He was not performing worse than anyone else, and probably better. Of course, I could be totally wrong given what they try to do. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 9:46:54 GMT -5
stevieg, you prefer la liga huh |
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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 9:52:03 GMT -5
Balotelli, hasn't that bad. I'm sure he will probably score more goals when they combine him, sturridge and sterling together upfront. Liverpool's main problem is in the back imo.
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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 10:17:42 GMT -5
There was a thread about refs and how ref calls don't affect games. I do agree its a very hard job and for the younger kids we should cut them a bit of slack, however I have seen particularly in PL how bad officiating can kill games quickly. Some refs even have grudges with particular players, coaches or teams. it gets ridiculous some times....Whether a team deserves the win or not bad call is a bad call. I'm glad they decided to bring in the goal line technology because it helps the ref job to be easier on those close calls. primary example the Gary Cahill goal and handball from liv v che game yesterday
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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 10:31:02 GMT -5
My thoughts on season so far. Man-city are the biggest flop of all. Arsene wenger has big issues. LVG has to buy the title, Moyes wasn't the problem after all. Pochetino not great either. The true coach is Ronald Koeman, great job so far. Save the best for last, I have a little bias, however Mourinho is truly one of the best man-manager ever to do it. Not too much credit though as his performance so far was expected. I do think he had some great signings, Matic is just incredible, fabregas and costa are impact players. I can type all they about the team he put together and the way he is managing them right now.... just fantastic
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Post by stevieg on Nov 9, 2014 10:44:43 GMT -5
Ha. Understandable from your perspective. I am curious whether you think Balotelli deserves the criticism he is receiving. The games I have seen, like 3 total, he has not been that bad, and actually seemed to be more effective than most of their attacking players in getting the ball into dangerous positions, especially from wide positions. Now what I will say is that he seems to be playing more like an attacking mid or a winger than a striker. I did not understand why he was taken off as early as he was a few times. He was not performing worse than anyone else, and probably better. Of course, I could be totally wrong given what they try to do. I think they need to play with two strikers and then we will know whether Balo is a success or failure. Until then, he's just a convenient fall guy. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 9, 2014 13:51:44 GMT -5
A few thoughts on the Balotelli situalion. Balo is a good striker with high work rate and skills. Should be in a team where the coach understands fully that he is a maverick if he is your #1 option. BR has him on a very short leash and yet the media want to criticize and nit-pick his form under #1 option criteria, analyze every thing he is doing. This is the same thin AC milan was doing before he was traded.......yet ACM is not better without Balo. Chelsea have a balanced team now and want to stay below ffpl limit if not, they could use him as a 4th option....point is under right system he would succeed....he is only 24 yrs....until then he a good the fall guy for anyone trying to point fingers... Really maybe we need to see if BR or the ACM coach can succeed at a high level?
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Post by zizou on Nov 9, 2014 22:28:35 GMT -5
Just to reveal how I feel about quality of MLS, I used some precious soccer watching time on Crystal Palace v Sunderland the other night rather than the MLS playoffs. Recorded it because I always hope Jozy gets some minutes. It was mind numbing football by the way. But besides that, the thought that kept occurring to me is "How bad must Jozy Altidore look in training for Connor Wickham to get his minutes?" I mean, this is the most lumbering oaf of a professional footballer playing in a league of this quality that I have ever seen. He has nothing to recommend him except size. And this guy is holding out of re-signing with Sunderland so he can talk with all the other Foreign sides who surely will be clambering for his invaluable services? A dose of reality might be needed for this dude. Anyway, on a positive note, Jozy was subbed in for Wickham at end of the game, and the Black Cats promptly scored two goals and cruised to a 3-1 victory.
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Post by jack4343 on Nov 10, 2014 6:32:41 GMT -5
I just started watching the Premier League this year and the quality of soccer played there is incredible compared to other leagues, especially MLS. I think there are good teams in other leagues but not as consistently good top to bottom like the BPL. I tried watching some of the DC United vs. NY RedBulls playoff game and the quality of soccer played is way off. I think the MLS can get there eventually as long as the money and efforts continue with the league but they aren't there yet.
By the way, I'm an Arsenal fan so I'll be holding my comments on how bad Balotelli is with Liverpool and the train wreck that seems to be Man U and Man City. I've got my own issues. LOL
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Post by special1 on Nov 10, 2014 8:14:15 GMT -5
I have tried watching MLS games, but its tough to do. I do watch the highlights though. prefer watching NBA or NFL than MLS. However the MLS quality is improving, if they can pump money, and efforts as jack4343 said.
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Post by reinalocura on Nov 10, 2014 10:49:00 GMT -5
My take on MLS - Take the esteemed traits of your favorite NFL players (size, strength, bravado, etc) and create soccer teams with these people to attract the fan base we have here in the USA - biggest, meanest, noisiest athletes are the best - so that commercial sponsors can sell their (insert product here) and make money. (Aside - I don't care that corporations want to make money).
That being said - at least people are watching / attending soccer matches.
Anyway - what I'm saying is the current sports paradigm in the USA is not "finesse" but more brute strength (how far can you hit that home run ball? how hard can you check that guy into the boards? how high can you jump for that dunk? how fast is your tennis serve?). Kinda hard to "dance" with the ball if you are built like "The Rock". ;-)
Edited - I just watched the LA Galaxy - RSL highlight post. There's your name player - Robbie Keane feeding beautiful assists all night. FINESSE! :-)
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Post by Soccerhouse on Nov 10, 2014 10:54:45 GMT -5
you need players that people know, that's the greatest challenge. hopefully former euro/south american players continue to come. look at henry, his assist on saturday was a thing of beauty, unreal that he is still playing at that level.
for me its like trying to watch a lower level premier league game, i'm not as familiar with the players and hence have waning interest.
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Post by sidelinemama on Nov 10, 2014 11:07:52 GMT -5
We watch a lot of soccer in our home, and my least favorite is MLS. We really don't watch it at all.
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Post by special1 on Nov 10, 2014 11:42:34 GMT -5
US has a lot of resources to produce world class homegrown players. However, youth level academy soccer is very expensive, and rec level isn't competitive/equipped enough to produce intelligent world class players. I do agree that MLS would be more popular if we import world class players. Henry is doing pretty good for his age. They should have got Ronaldinho and Etoo.
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Post by special1 on Nov 10, 2014 11:44:38 GMT -5
Liverpool fans should ask Gerrard to come over to the MLS, he isn't looking too good on that team. maybe the new Atlanta team?
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Post by stevieg on Nov 10, 2014 13:39:27 GMT -5
Liverpool fans should ask Gerrard to come over to the MLS, he isn't looking too good on that team. maybe the new Atlanta team? Interesting you mention that. Just listened to an interesting discussion about Gerrard on a Liverpool podcast. I think we would be better off using him more sparingly off the bench and the occasional start, like Lampard last season. His set piece delivery is still great and could be a boost late in games when pressing for a goal. |
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Post by zizou on Nov 10, 2014 14:31:38 GMT -5
Liverpool fans should ask Gerrard to come over to the MLS, he isn't looking too good on that team. maybe the new Atlanta team? Interesting you mention that. Just listened to an interesting discussion about Gerrard on a Liverpool podcast. I think we would be better off using him more sparingly off the bench and the occasional start, like Lampard last season. His set piece delivery is still great and could be a boost late in games when pressing for a goal. That deep-lying playmaker role worked great for Gerrard when Suarez was at the other end of those long balls. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 10, 2014 16:04:53 GMT -5
Suarez was such an important player for Liverpool last season, he covered a lot of deficiencies. BR will be lucky if they make fourth spot.
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Post by special1 on Nov 20, 2014 18:14:46 GMT -5
Sturridge is out 6 weeks Is it safe to say Liverpool won't make top 4....stevieg?
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Post by special1 on Nov 20, 2014 18:20:34 GMT -5
Signing Sanchez was the one good move Wenger made. They should beat Man U this weekend. Some journalists are saying Arsenal will sign Cech in January, I think thats a good move for Arsenal if it happens that way
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Post by stevieg on Nov 20, 2014 18:24:10 GMT -5
Sturridge is out 6 weeks Is it safe to say Liverpool won't make top 4....stevieg? Not if ManU Spurs and Arsenal keep up their current form. Still in with a chance. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 20, 2014 18:38:58 GMT -5
I don't see how that will happen....They are playing in champions league and FA cup as well. You still have swansea, southhampton, stoke only playing PL
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Post by mamampira on Nov 21, 2014 14:14:14 GMT -5
My thoughts so far on the league (some echo others here): Chelsea are miles above every other team. They have a 99% chance of going undefeated while winning nothing less than 3 trophies including the Championship League. Man U is top heavy but weak in the back. Recipe for a bad year. LVG does not have the temperament to grind it out. Entire staff expecting a quick fix hence the unbalanced team on display. Yes, Moyes was not the problem. Arsenal,  are just wretched. Wenger has lost the plot. His job is done. The stadium is built and books are in order. He should have left after winning the FA Cup. Very possible they will not make the Championship Leaugue this year unless they understand the objective that every match must be a Win. Man City, disappointing so far but I expect them to finish a strong second. Need to look for a new manager. Southampton, surprise team so far but the next 4-5 matches will really clue us all into how good or lucky they have been. Odds are they will make Europe next year. Spurs, another one that is wretched, overrated and over hyped. Everton, slow start but I expect them to finish well. Liverpool, too many holes in the team and too much blame placed on Balotelli for a poor job on transfer dealings by club. Rodgers and his staff have not figured out how best to maximize on Balotelli. Once they do that and pick up a few additional players in next transfer window, they could very well make top four again. As long as Stevie G is still hungry. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 21, 2014 14:57:58 GMT -5
My thoughts so far on the league (some echo others here): Chelsea are miles above every other team. They have a 99% chance of going undefeated while winning nothing less than 3 trophies including the Championship League. Man U is top heavy but weak in the back. Recipe for a bad year. LVG does not have the temperament to grind it out. Entire staff expecting a quick fix hence the unbalanced team on display. Yes, Moyes was not the problem. Arsenal, are just wretched. Wenger has lost the plot. His job is done. The stadium is built and books are in order. He should have left after winning the FA Cup. Very possible they will not make the Championship Leaugue this year unless they understand the objective that every match must be a Win. Man City, disappointing so far but I expect them to finish a strong second. Need to look for a new manager. Southampton, surprise team so far but the next 4-5 matches will really clue us all into how good or lucky they have been. Odds are they will make Europe next year. Spurs, another one that is wretched, overrated and over hyped. Everton, slow start but I expect them to finish well. Liverpool, too many holes in the team and too much blame placed on Balotelli for a poor job on transfer dealings by club. Rodgers and his staff have not figured out how best to maximize on Balotelli. Once they do that and pick up a few additional players in next transfer window, they could very well make top four again. As long as Stevie G is still hungry. I hope you are right about chelsea getting all 3 trophies. Madrid isn't going to hand the CL trophy to them, they will have to take it. that will be best finals to watch. I'm a little skeptical whether JT's age is catching up but so far he has been solid. As for Man U, I'm not sure if they are really strong anywhere or if LVG understands how difficult the PL is. He traded Welbeck who is actually a good young striker, that just needs more playing time and confidence from coach and club to get an injury laiden Falcao on a loan deal. RVP is slowing down, he plays Januzaj and the other young guy inconsistently,Di Maria and Blind just picked up injuries and Mata is inconsistent. Defensively Rojo is injured and the rest of the guys are being rotated too often. In short its going to take the whole season to figure out the mess, not to mention de gea is injured now. Arsenal needs a strong guy in the middle to help them hold things together like Viera did. Until they do so, Wenger is happy with 4th place and first round CL. Sanchez is making up for a lot of their inconsistencies and i'm sure he would be getting a bigger check sooon. For southhampton, their coach is solid and the players are working hard, Pella was a very good signing. I totally agree that Spurs are overrated. Everton are getting back on the right track. With Ross barkley back from injury and Tim howard/Lukaku getting their form back. they should make top 4. Liverpool are in trouble. This is where we will see what BR is. BTW its always good to hear Ladies talk soccer (assuming you a lady) |
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Post by stevieg on Nov 21, 2014 17:08:17 GMT -5
My thoughts so far on the league (some echo others here): Chelsea are miles above every other team. They have a 99% chance of going undefeated while winning nothing less than 3 trophies including the Championship League. Man U is top heavy but weak in the back. Recipe for a bad year. LVG does not have the temperament to grind it out. Entire staff expecting a quick fix hence the unbalanced team on display. Yes, Moyes was not the problem. Arsenal, are just wretched. Wenger has lost the plot. His job is done. The stadium is built and books are in order. He should have left after winning the FA Cup. Very possible they will not make the Championship Leaugue this year unless they understand the objective that every match must be a Win. Man City, disappointing so far but I expect them to finish a strong second. Need to look for a new manager. Southampton, surprise team so far but the next 4-5 matches will really clue us all into how good or lucky they have been. Odds are they will make Europe next year. Spurs, another one that is wretched, overrated and over hyped. Everton, slow start but I expect them to finish well. Liverpool, too many holes in the team and too much blame placed on Balotelli for a poor job on transfer dealings by club. Rodgers and his staff have not figured out how best to maximize on Balotelli. Once they do that and pick up a few additional players in next transfer window, they could very well make top four again. As long as Stevie G is still hungry. I hope you are right about chelsea getting all 3 trophies. Madrid isn't going to hand the CL trophy to them, they will have to take it. that will be best finals to watch. I'm a little skeptical whether JT's age is catching up but so far he has been solid. As for Man U, I'm not sure if they are really strong anywhere or if LVG understands how difficult the PL is. He traded Welbeck who is actually a good young striker, that just needs more playing time and confidence from coach and club to get an injury laiden Falcao on a loan deal. RVP is slowing down, he plays Januzaj and the other young guy inconsistently,Di Maria and Blind just picked up injuries and Mata is inconsistent. Defensively Rojo is injured and the rest of the guys are being rotated too often. In short its going to take the whole season to figure out the mess, not to mention de gea is injured now. Arsenal needs a strong guy in the middle to help them hold things together like Viera did. Until they do so, Wenger is happy with 4th place and first round CL. Sanchez is making up for a lot of their inconsistencies and i'm sure he would be getting a bigger check sooon. For southhampton, their coach is solid and the players are working hard, Pella was a very good signing. I totally agree that Spurs are overrated. Everton are getting back on the right track. With Ross barkley back from injury and Tim howard/Lukaku getting their form back. they should make top 4. Liverpool are in trouble. This is where we will see what BR is. BTW its always good to hear Ladies talk soccer (assuming you a lady) I think Chelsea will waltz to the PL title, but they are not strong enough to beat out Bayern, RM or Barca for the UCL. If Liverpool stay within touching distance of top 4 by Jan, the club will bring in reinforcements to push for 4th. |
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Post by special1 on Nov 21, 2014 19:35:54 GMT -5
Barca have fallen off and arent as good as you think RM and Bayern will always bring it. Barca got thrashed by RM, and PSG and lost to subpar teams in la liga.
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Post by mamampira on Nov 21, 2014 21:38:57 GMT -5
Re: the CL: The one thing Mourinho has shown over the years is that he knows how to prepare his players for the big games against the big clubs. And I agree that the RM-Chelsea final (which should have happened last year) will definitely be a great encounter. RM is stronger up front than Chelsea, but Chelsea's midfield is strong and they have a better keeper. Both clubs like to counter attack. And the two managers have managed both teams. Bayern is definitely good but I am not sure if they have been thoroughly tested this year. They are running away with the domestic Bundesliga but what happened to them last year may happen again this year. No challenge in the league and then they will into stiff competition in the knock out stages of the championship league. Liverpool definitely needs reinforcements. Yeah, Barcelona is not the same Barcelona of Pep G's era. The intimidation factor is gone. In those days, with all the mystique, most teams lost before they started...And they have weaknesses in the back. Without Puyol, it is not the same team. Everton is def getting stronger as the season goes on. Martinez is a very good coach and I will not be surprised if he does fulfill his promise to get Everton into the CL. That said, I will also not be surprised if in the near future he becomes the next Arsenal or Barca manager. And finally, yes, in response to the question: I am once, twice, three times a lady!  |
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Post by jack4343 on Nov 23, 2014 18:28:35 GMT -5
Read a great comment from an Arsenal fan yesterday in reply to Arsenal's latest loss... "When I die I want the Arsenal players to lower me into the grave just so they can let me down again on last time." Classic! Too bad I'm suffering with him...Arsenal just can't seem to finish their chances. Blew way too many opportunities against ManU.
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are just wretched. Wenger has lost the plot. His job is done. The stadium is built and books are in order. He should have left after winning the FA Cup. Very possible they will not make the Championship Leaugue this year unless they understand the objective that every match must be a Win.