2011/2012 English Premier League

[striperman36]

I missed the game today
Bummer

[luds]

Originally Posted by striperman36

I missed the game today
Bummer

Ya gotta DVR everything and then watch what you can watch. The nice thing about being an american soccer fan is that the scores are not in your face 24/7. You have to go on-line and look for them or put on a soccer channel. I highly recommend not "liking" your favorite team on facebook though. That has ruined a few saturdays for me when the score is the first thing I see on there.

[striperman36]

I have a work buddy I collaborate alot with out in CO.. He would not stop talkin all week about the MU game that was going to happen today.
Most English soccer fans are total fanatics.

[luds]

Originally Posted by striperman36

I have a work buddy I collaborate alot with out in CO.. He would not stop talkin all week about the MU game that was going to happen today.
Most English soccer fans are total fanatics.

I wen to a night club last weekend wearing a liverpool jersey. The door man...an english guy basically screamed at me. "Liverpool for life......you will never walk alone"! Honestly scared me to death. I'm afraid to know what he would have done to me if he knew I liked United better.

[Clogston29]

But everyone has a depth problem when you sit your two top strikers and 3/5 best midfielders (with another hurt) and your best defender hurt. They're not that good. Probably could get away with that against arsenal, but not a top side . Could have probably gotten away with sitting 2 or maybe 3 of them today but not all.

Giggs looks old.

I think they took Liverpool to lightly.

Originally Posted by luds

Did someone say they had a depth issue.

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[numbskull]

I don't think so.

Ferguson has an important Champions League game this week, then Man City next weekend (I think). He will need his best attacking players fresh. He knew Liverpool lacked defensive options in midfield. Charlie Adams, Henderson, and Downing defend very poorly (Henderson is shockingly naive). Gerard was bound to tire having not played 90 minutes in a 3/4 of a year. I suspect he liked his odds playing a defensive 4-5-1 until the last 20-30 minutes, then cutting apart a tired Liverpool midfield with 3 attacking subs.

His strategy may have cost him 2 points ( only because of a wall error), but he still has 6 more crucial points to pick up this week and he has to plan for those while he is picking a team to play Liverpool.

I thought pulling off Lucas was a bad move by Daglish. Even with a yellow card, he is their best midfield defensive player and against a team with ManU's attacking options on the bench, you can't afford to open your midfield and expose the back line.

In any case, the season is a marathon, not a sprint and Ferguson has shown again and again that he knows how to pace his team so he gets the best out of it over the long haul.

[Clogston29]

I hear you. Think we're pretty much saying same thing. I just think Liverpool gave them more than Ferguson expected. Suarez should have scored early and de gea saved them a few times. Can't wait for man city next weekend. Now that tevez (my man crush) is out I'm back to full on hate for city.
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[numbskull]

Mancini is annoying, and Dejong a thug, Nasri a snot, and Barry/Milner/Johnson a bit dull but I could watch Silva, Augero, and Kompany play all day, and I have to admit I've become a Balotelli fan. The guy is talented, amusing, and interesting all wrapped up in one. He had a beautiful goal against Villa, then stared down their fans. The British announcers hate him, which makes it all even better.

The team that is a surprise is Newcastle. They looked the better team today against Tottenham and should have won. Tiote in particular is turning into a first rate player. He reminds me of Makelele, only much better offensively.

[luds]

[Clogston29]

I hate that barton is on qpr. I was excited when they got promoted as I liked them back in the 90s. And I like wright-phillips. But I really can't pull for a team with barton on it. At least I can pull for Newcastle to get the 4 spot now.

Curious to see if anything comes from the Suarez racism accusations. If true, he certainly lost me as a supporter. Don't think he'd fare to well in a fight with evra if it comes to that.
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[numbskull]

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.

[numbskull]

Look out, here come Arsenal.

[luds]

Originally Posted by numbskull

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.

[Clogston29]

Bosingwa was terrible that game, left gaping holes for arsenal to run into over and over.
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[mosholu]

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.

[Clogston29]

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

[luds]

Originally Posted by mosholu

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.

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.

[Clogston29]

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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[luds]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

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.

[numbskull]

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.

[Clogston29]

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.

[Chunkah]

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.

[mosholu]

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.

[Chunkah]

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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[Clogston29]

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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[Chunkah]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

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

[numbskull]

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.

[Clogston29]

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.

[Chunkah]

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.

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

[numbskull]

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.