Suarez bit a guy in Holland. Pretty good chance he used racist terms with Evra to wind him up. I doubt he is a racist, however.

Newcastle is a breath of fresh air now that they got rid of Nolan and Barton. The need to replace Obertan, however. Speed is of no use if you thoughts move through molasses. Guiterrez is cool to watch. the guy looks like a clutz but is very effective.

Balotelli is THE MAN. That will be all on that.

Man U lost badly, but didn't get beat. There is a difference. They kept on attacking and might have pulled it back if Smalling's header had been lower. Down to 10 men and down 2 goals it was very plausible they could have salvaged something after Fletcher scored. ManC looked shakey at that point. Ferguson will see this, the team will gain confidence from it and be very motivated for the rematch.

Arsenal looks back in gear and will likely continue to improve.

Chelsea hit a bump. I think they'll get rolling soon enough to give evryone a scare as well.

Look out, here come Arsenal.

Yeah, if Van Persey stays healthy and that's a big if. I'm tempted to swap out Suarez for him in fantasy but he's so fragile.

What a great game to watch on Saturday. Not that Chelsea's defending was any better but Arsenal is still pretty suspect in the back. I guess that's never been their best feature (in my memory anyway) but that's probably why they don't have much to show for silverware. Really hoping that Chelsea's performance means that David Luiz will start seeing some playing time. I love that guy. Ivanovich is a stiff.

Bosingwa was terrible that game, left gaping holes for arsenal to run into over and over.
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You will know whether Arsenal are for real by Xmas break. They have an easy run of games coming up with just one top seven side Man City before the New Year. If they do well they will have a very good chance at 3rd or 4th. The big risk for them is Van Persie's health as he has never played a full season without one major injury break. Arsenal will have to buy a striker in January. Another factor in their favor is all the second half games against the big clubs will be at the Emirates. Newcastle will come back to earth as their next run of fixtures will be against all the big boys.
Agree with all the comments regarding Barton. It is a shame because he can be a very good footballer.

spain-england tomorrow at noon. capello is supposedly missing his sons wedding for the trashing they'll probably get.

I was watching the Premier League world show on FSC and the did a segment on an organization that helps athletes with personality disorders and addictions. Barton was a member. He definitely seems to have some person demons including addiction in his past but he came across as a pretty good guy. They showed a handful of his uglier tackles and they made Jamie Carragher's leg breaking tackle on Stuart Hold look like a hug. He is definitely a violent character.

Good effort by England, though Spain didn't play very well.

Barton is a rat, he will instigate all game, then flop when someone retaliates. Lots of ability, no class.
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thanks for not posting the score. just about to watch it. hopefully there were a couple goals at least.

I found that England-Spain game almost unwatchable. It is almost as if Spain is so good in possession that no one dares open up against them. Makes for very dull soccer if Spain does not score first. Too bad more teams don't go at them the way Uruguay did in the WC. Spain looks beatable when pressed high and hard enough to force their midfielders to play deeper. Playing a 4-5-1 against them and hoping for a lucky break makes for dreary stuff. Boo on England.

certainly wasn't pretty, but england isn't nearly skilled enough, especially in the midfield, to be pretty IMO. sadly, they're a team that has to sit back and try to counter punch when they're playing a decent team. they've got decent strikers and a pretty solid defense, but lack any type of creativity and possession skills in the midfield, especially in the center. its been they're biggest problem for a while. there must be something about the football culture and youth development programs over there that doesn't promote that style of play (the same seams true here). all the best central attacking midfielders in the premeir league come from Spain, France, Holland, etc. and have for quite a while it seams.

alot of premier league teams could probably take England apart at this point.

Glad I found this thread!

Good season so far with Newcastle being the obvious surprise. It's great to see them doing well after relegation a few years ago.

I think City or ManU will probably win the title, although it is hard to count out Chelsea. I think Arsenal has actually been a surprise so far, and like somebody pointed out already, Van Persie just won't stay healthy and the fact that he won't discuss a contract with the team until after the season shows his teammates that he is probably ready to move on. They're also a team with definite depth issues. Tottenham will finish 5th or 6th.

Liverpool is my team and I'm not sure they'll finish in the top four. Suarez is brilliant but for strikers it really ends there. Carroll was a waste of money, and given the ownership of the team, I figure there is a good chance he'll be gone by the start of next season. If they can make a move for a proven striker in the January window (David Villa?) Carroll might be gone then. Mereiles was a loss as the midfield really lacks creativity; the biggest mistake Liverpool have made in recent memory is getting rid of Xabi Alonso. I wish Daglish would play Maxi Rodriguez as he showed some promise the end of last season. Gerrard is always hurt. Central defense is weak as well. I'm hoping that they play some summer friendlies here in the next few years....Liverpool FC at Fenway would be pretty cool.

Nice for England to win against Spain but lets face it if there was not unlimited subs Spain would have run them into the ground in the second half. Until England gets someone Rooney can play with up front they will never be much of a threat. With Euro 2012 coming up they have a tough decision in deciding whether to bench the old guard of Lampard, Terry, and Gerrard and go with their younger players to give them experience for the next World Cup.

England is going nowhere fast with the status quo. They play boring reactive football....Capello is the wrong choice as well. But in the end who really cares how the Brit's fair? About to watch the US vs Slovenia match on DVR.....
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Wishing for David villa as a Liverpool fan is pretty optimistic. I think your stuck with Carroll for a while. Liverpool was agressive over the last year, but made some pretty vanilla selections.
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Villa is being VERY optimistic, but one can hope...I'd settle for Eden Hazard though. :)

Looking forward to Newcastle / Man City today

Interesting weekend.

Interesting how tough Champion league games mid-week slow the best teams down just enough to be make things competitive.

Kudos to Liverpool for having a go at ManC and playing them even.
Lessor kudos to Newcastle, who were lucky to survive against ManU, but at least in the first half looked willing to go at them toe to toe.

I'm surprised to see ManU get the bad end of a penalty call, particularly at home. I don't think it is intentional, but unconsciously refs know that a bad call against a top team could have an inordinate effect on the league title, so the top teams get a level of protection against big calls the rest of the teams don't.

Go Canaries, just saying.

liverpool looked good in that game. joe hart looked really good, especially toward the end. probably not city's best starting lineup, but a pretty solid one none the less. I would have had either Dzeko or Ballatelli in the starting lineup if it were me, but that may just be because of my dislike for Nasri. Ballatelli trying to explain what happened to Mancini was entertaining.

mancini's job may be on the line if they don't win a trophy with their likely failing in the champions league, his owner's number one prize.

Balotelli has got some real issues for sure. He was on for what, 10 minutes? Mancini was in no mood for his bs when he came off....funny stuff. :rotf2:

Hoping Liverpool can beat Chelsea today in the Carling Cup...

Ohhhhhhheeeeeeeaaaaaawwwww. My poor little Norwich got crushed. Loved Balotelli's goal, however.

Tottenham is flying again, but I bet they wear down like last year.

Losing Hernandez will hurt ManU, even with plenty of good alternatives, and I bet they lose ground to City. I've been enjoying watching this kid Jones play. Quite an accomplishment for a 19yo.

Newcastle is screwed without Taylor. The transfer window could cost them Tiote, too.

Likewise, methinks Liverpool is screwed without Lucas. That guy was looking like the best holding mid in the EPL.

Chelsea doesn't scare anyone anymore. Bad for them.

looks like 8 games for Suarez. Even if it gets knocked back a few by appeal, that, combined with Lucas, will be a real blow for Liverpool's hopes of a top 4 finish.

wish i could be home today to watch Chelsea v. Tottenham. Really pulling for Tottenham. Hopefully Bale will play, but he's listed as doubtful. He is a ton of fun to watch, just hope he can stay healthy as he seams to take alot of injuries.

I was looking for gifts at Barnes and Noble the other day and spotted a Gareth Bale biography. Really? The guy is 22 and just getting started. Hope Tottenham can hang on to him and he doesn't end up at Madrid or Barcelona.

Game's on....Bale starting and just had a great run at net. I'm on a 1/2 delay due to starting the game late. All Spurs early and no start for Torres or Lampard.

1-0 Spurs....nice feed from Bale to Adebayor. 8th minute
1-1....Sturridge 23rd minute

There is a lot about the Suarez situation that doesn't sit well with me. First, it is one players word against another. and no one should be able to be convicted of anything on heresay. Even the ManU players testified that they didn't hear Suarez say anything to Evra. Also, what about John Terry? Reportedly he was heard making racist remarks to another player (forgot who), so why not prosecute him quickly? I guess the FA doesn't want to prosecute the England captain....what a load of bullsh!t. How are they able to get away with this??
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

If the 8 game ban is upheld, Gerrard remains unavailable, and Liverpool can't land a real top quality striker in the transfer window, top 6 will be about the best they'll be able to do, if that.

terry saved the draw in the extra time... wow great defensive play

Any of you guys have interest in doing a fantasy league for the 2nd half of the EPL season? If you do I'll start a group. I believe the scoring starts from zero in a couple weeks for the 2nd segment of the year.

Sending everyone who's posted in this thread some info.

Might be fun to track our team's progress and talk a little trash in this forum.

I'm game! I don't have a great history in Fantasy Football but I'd be willing to play doormat for the group. :smash:

another suspension for suarez. this won't help with his appeal of the big one.

FA is definately biased toward Brits, its in their interest to be. But also, racism is a huge deal right now after sepp blatter's recent comments. Think they had to make an example and set a precedent.

how good is bale's form right now. that second goal was amazing the other day. so fast and in control at all times.

and how about the end of the Man. City v. West Brom game. Great save and clearance off the line in stoppage time.

I thought Man C was lacking something against West Brom. Nasri doesn't seem to working for them, and Aguero seems off his feed. Balotelli is the MAN, but ManC looked better offensively at the start of the season with Dezko in there and with Tourre playing higher. Their inability to open distance from ManU while ManU is at reduced strength has to worry Mancini.

I agree Liverpool looks like they won't be able to stay with Totenham and Arsenal. I still think the best from Asenal is yet to come.

Looking forward to the opening of the transfer window.
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ballotelli and aguero don't quite seam to mesh. maybe too much ego, or maybe it will just take some time. each seams better with dzeko along side even though he isn't the player that either of them is.

united should get cleverly back soon which I think will be a big boost. they could use someone to play with him in the middle at the transfer window with anderson out, unless phil jones is going to fill that role once they start getting defensemen back from injury, which I'm all for.

ManU's offense is broke without Anderson (hard to believe but true I think). He plays a more forward midfield role than their other inside mids, including Jones. Anderson seems to get Rooney the ball in better positions in particular, but he also interconnects all their attacking players better than their other players.
In spite of a misfiring offense, Man U has kept up there with ManC but it has not been easy. Ferguson must see that he needs another player with Anderson's skill set and I suspect he will buy one this month.....maybe this Danish kid at Ajax (though the little I've seen of him has not wowed me).

Tough day for the top clubs.

Anderson looked rusty, but at least he's getting fit. They deserved to lose just for letting Nani on the field with that hair cut. Need vidic back. Relying on berbatov to mark samba was not pretty.
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And ManC chokes against Sunderland, amazing. Ferguson got his Bday present after all. Interesting time of year in the EPL. Seems like the best teams and weakest teams both hit the wall. The good teams fatigue and hope to get by coasting a little, the newly promoted teams start to run out of the adrenalin that kept them competitive. The mid table teams start to get their act together and that costs the best and weakest teams both.
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That sums it up pretty well.

Don't know if you guys caught the Man Cit/Sunderland match but the ending was amazing. Sunderland's goal was literally in the last 5 seconds of play. To be fair the goal should have been flagged for off sides but it was still awesome to see them win in the last moment of the game.

just watched arsenal vs. fulham. good match up, good game. gary cahill heading to chelsea after his team gets relegated??:)

so are we doing the s-b epl fantasy??

bad performance by united. wow. offense broke without anderson, as numbskull said, and defence broke without vidic. tottenham is right on their heels for the no. 2 spot.

Fear not. ManC will miss Yaya Toure even more. He is the motor of that team.
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Resigning schoals seams a bit desperate to me.
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They are desperate. Happy to see the win today but I didn't feel comfortable even after Company's red card. I hope Sir Alex has something up his sleeve for this transfer window.