2011/2012 English Premier League

[luds]

AVB

[numbskull]

Quite the spectacle, Suarez/Evra. The game itself sorta sucked. Liverpool looked sloppy, ManU a bit dull. But the sideshow was worth the admission.

This will be fascinating to see what the FA does.

The more I read about it, the more I doubt they will act against Suarez. It seems refusing to shake hands is not unheard of in the EPL. Still, I suspect they are going to be very tempted to punish him again because this mocks them as much as it mocks Evra.

[Chunkah]

The FA is a friggin joke. The double standard shown by them regarding these two cases is ridiculious. Who knows if Suarez, when he called Evra a "negrito" meant it in a negative manner, but by his account, and many others familiar with Central American culture, he likely did not. Evra is a scumbag, he proved that at the last World Cup, and has cried wolf in this manner before; this time it just happened to stick. I wouldn't shake his hand either.

[Clogston29]

Originally Posted by mosholu

Well there are reasons why Suarez and Terry cases are being treated differently. In Terry's case the police were informed about the alleged conduct by a fan which prompted them to be involved in the investigation which has led to the current charges. Once the police were involved the FA decided to not conduct their own investigation concurrent with the police one. If Terry is convicted the FA will then suspend him.

The Brits have been very hostile to Brit coaches that have not had success. Look at Gordon Taylor and Bobby Robson both had a torrid time while in charge.

"Once the police were involved the FA decided to not conduct their own investigation concurrent with the police one." - I guess that's the part I'm questioning. Would they make that same decision if it was not an England international? I doubt it, but its just my opinion. In either case, there seams to be alot more evidence against Terry than there was Suarez.

And i agree on the coach thing in the past, i just wonder if Harry might get a bit for slack. Maybe not.

I think Evra and Suarez are both pricks, but in the interest of moving on Suarez should have just gone ahead with the hand shake IMO. You have to shake hands with guys you hate sometimes, just a fact of life.

lots of boring games this weekend.

[mosholu]

The issue with the FA is that if they went ahead with their own hearing Terry's legal team would not let him participate because you can not risk having him say something that will come back to haunt him in the criminal case. In a way that leaves the FA with not much to do. That turns out to be a blessing for Chelsea as they get the player for the rest of the season as they fight for a CL spot where Liverpool lost its top striker for 8 games.

As an Arsenal supporter I thought this w/e went rather well as everyone around us dropped points. Will be interesting to see if the return of Gervinho means Walcott goes to the bench (hopefully). The Mertsacker injury is worrisome. All in all I think the schedule does not favor us getting a fourth place finish.

[Chunkah]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

in the interest of moving on Suarez should have just gone ahead with the hand shake IMO.

I agree.

On another note....

[Chunkah]

Just in case anyone missed this...

[Clogston29]

he has come right out and said that he sees himself as sir alex's replacement. there are some rumors that united may try to push him toward retirement if mourinno really is available. personally, i hope not. i don't enjoy his strict, defensive style (neither do most of his players). that, along with gigg's retirement, would probably be enough to push me toward being a tottenham fan.

[spence]

Carling Cup was fun to watch

Does this count as a Red Sox win?
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[Chunkah]

Originally Posted by spence

Carling Cup was fun to watch

Does this count as a Red Sox win?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Great win for Liverpool....Cardiff played great. I'd like to see a rematch in the FA Cup final....and no...eff the Sox.

Man U & Arsenal pulled out some classy wins today too....hate those guys.

[Chunkah]

AVB fired by Chelski....a team in trouble!!! This brings me joy.
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[spence]

Originally Posted by Chunkah

AVB fired by Chelski....a team in trouble!!! This brings me joy.
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Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

[mosholu]

Originally Posted by spence

Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

No matter what they do that squad is going to be broken up at the end of the year. Hard to say if any big name coaches will accept Chelsea's management by committee set up. Rafa may be good for Torres. They had a pretty good understanding at Liverpool

[Chunkah]

Originally Posted by spence

Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

DVR is set!
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[numbskull]

The plot thickens.

Now we find out what ManC is made of. Kudos to ManU for forcing them to crack.....but if and how ManC responds should be interesting and telling. Good teams take on the personality of their manager and that is probably ManU's advantage.

Tomorrow's Arsenal/Newcastle game is also fascinating. Tottenham must also be starting to get nervous.

[mosholu]

Next few weeks are going to be great. Chelsea play Man City and Spurs back to back. Arsenal have Man City and Chelsea in April. Spurs look to have the easiest run in after they play Chelsea. CL fourth spot may be decided by the Arsenal Chelsea game at the end of April.

[Chunkah]

I think Benitez would want much more control than he'd get there.
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[Chunkah]

Awful stuff today...

Muamba 'critically ill' | Bolton Wanderers News, Fixtures, Results, Transfers | Sky Sports
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[Chunkah]

Pathetic loss by Liverpool today....
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[Clogston29]

liverpool sucks. screwed me in fantasy this week. every time they start to look alittle better, they do that. i'm done with them, except maybe skrtel.

[Chunkah]

A whole new low for LFC today. Andy Carroll is a POS and needs to be sold....sad times.
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[mosholu]

Although the Suarez suspension hurt Liverpool season really went downhill when they lost Lucas and Agger to injury. I agree with you all regarding Carroll. May go down as the worst transfer in the history of the EPL. In fact most of the moves King Kenny has made up to now have not panned out (Jordan Henderson is another one - Enrique was a good signing though). The thing that made the Carroll signing for such a large fee strange for me was he had a lot of off field issues while at Newcastle which showed him to be a bit unstable.
As for Arsenal it was hard to watch. Chance to put Spurs under pressure for third and they just did not show up and QPR pushed and bullied them all over the park. Thought when the equalized a bell would go off but they were asleep at the wheel. Makes next w/e game against Man City tough to call because both teams are playing poorly.

[Clogston29]

what makes the andy carrol signing so bad, at least to me, is that it was so predictable. i don't see how they thought he would thrive a liverpool. he never really even showed signs of being worth that kind of money. if they wanted that type of player, they could have gotten crouch (who I'm not a big fan of) for alot less money. i think liverpool was just desperate to make a splash.

at least some of the other recent big busts, like fernando torres, looked good on paper.

[numbskull]

Credit to Newcastle they have been the biggest surprise in the EPL this year. Very entertaining side they have now with Ben Afra pulling the strings for Cisse and Ba, Tiote and Guthrie stonewalling the midfield and Cabaye tying things together. Whoever is finding players for them is doing the best job in the entire EPL right now. Their defense is thin, but with a little luck they could yet end up 4th. It would be nice to see them hold onto Ba and Tiote come summer. They are not far away from putting a scare into the EPL elite.

[mosholu]

Agreed. Pardew should be a top contender for Manager of the Year. However I have a lot of time for David Moyes of Everton who despite the fact that he never has any money always finds a way to keep them in the top ten close to the European slots. If they finish above LFC Merseyside will be a real interesting place over the summer. Newly promoted Swansea and Norwich have also done quite well.

[numbskull]

Pardew gets credit, but it is really whoever at Newcastle is finding the players for him that deserves the praise.

Agreed Moyes is a class act. It would be interesting to see what he could do with some $$$ backing him.

The guy I admire most is Lambert. He would get my vote for manager of the year. The team he has built plays way above the sum of their individual skills.

[Clogston29]

cisse looked great again, second goal was great. very interested to see how they handle ba in the off season, especially if Liverpool come calling as is rumored.

looks like city can't take the heat. mancinni will lose his job for backing, and failing to rein in, Balotelli, Tevez and the rest. Its a shame, because Balotelli has so much skill, but he was an embarrassment this weekend. The chosen one is probably already house shopping in Manchester, which would remove any doubt about Balotelli's future there. love the soap opera stuff.

meanwhile united just chug along. got a bit of a gift in that game, but I think they would have taken 3 points even without it. what a run of form by scholes at his age. i thought that move was pure desperation and would never work out, should not have doubted sir alex on that one.

[luds]

I love these mid week league games. Just called my wife at home to have her set the DVR for the City and United games this afternoon.

[Chunkah]

That United Wigan game was great!
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[numbskull]

As was the Arsenal-Wigan game. Gotta love watching Wenger dissolve in frustration. That Moses guy was a handful. I'll be surprised if Wigan can hold onto him.