General Premier League Thread - 2017/2018

grumpymunster

Spurs

ERG89 wrote: »

FYP

I think you will find Swansea were deep in trouble and bottom when Clement took over even with Llorente and Sigurdsson (neither of whom have done anything of note with their new clubs). Losing them has not helped but it is not why they survived last season and failing this, making a profit is the transfer window was more likely the cause.

shamrock55

grumpymunster wrote: »

I think you will find Swansea were deep in trouble and bottom when Clement took over even with Llorente and Sigurdsson (neither of whom have done anything of note with their new clubs). Losing them has not helped but it is not why they survived last season and failing this, making a profit is the transfer window was more likely the cause.

In fairness llorente scored a fair few goals for them last year,he definitely helped them stay up

Lukker-

Swansea have shown zero ambition, the squad is in dire straits. A quick fix ain't always the answer, e.g Burnley could have sacked Dyche to avoid going down but they stuck with him and reaped the rewards. It's up to the board to judge Clement's work but he has very little to use atm.

DeanAustin

Man City

Clement is a good manager. Sacking him would be madness. The current situation is not on him, it’s on the board.

I feel sorry for a good manager like Clement having his reputation damaged by circumstances well and truly beyond his control.

Iused2likebusts

Liverpool

Lukker- wrote: »

Swansea have shown zero ambition, the squad is in dire straits. A quick fix ain't always the answer, e.g Burnley could have sacked Dyche to avoid going down but they stuck with him and reaped the rewards. It's up to the board to judge Clement's work but he has very little to use atm.

It would have been crazy to sack dyche . He had the lowest wage bill the year they went down and they couldn't attract any players to sign. The owners are clued in and knew that they would probably have to go down and hopefully come back up a couple of times to stabilise themselves in the PL. The board and dyche would have been on the same page on this as unlike other clubs like a Bournemouth/even Brighton .Burnley don't have someone pumping their own money in. Even this year they are still having to sign championship players and the only PL player they have signed that is a regular is jack cork who they got off Swansea. Agree that clement doesn't have much to work with.

ERG89

grumpymunster wrote:

I think you will find Swansea were deep in trouble and bottom when Clement took over even with Llorente and Sigurdsson (neither of whom have done anything of note with their new clubs). Losing them has not helped but it is not why they survived last season and failing this, making a profit is the transfer window was more likely the cause.

They sold their best 2 players; who were a huge part of what kept them up and brought in mainly rubbish. Only Abraham looks useful although he has so little service and I bet City couldn't believe they bid money for Bony. Replacing Llorente and Sigurdsson with Bony & Clucas after you nearly get relegated says it all.
Renato Sanches has been a huge failure too to the point that if they sent him back they'd nearly be better off.

grumpymunster

Spurs

ERG89 wrote: »

They sold their best 2 players; who were a huge part of what kept them up and brought in mainly rubbish. Only Abraham looks useful although he has so little service and I bet City couldn't believe they bid money for Bony. Replacing Llorente and Sigurdsson with Bony & Clucas after you nearly get relegated says it all.
Renato Sanches has been a huge failure too to the point that if they sent him back they'd nearly be better off.

Exactly no Premier League team prospers making a profit in the transfer market and I doubt Clement wanted to sell them, Clement was fortunate to use his Chelsea connections to nick Abraham under Newcastle's noses Bony has not looked like a striker in years but as you rightly say there is no service to them anyway.
As said above Swansea are showing zero ambition and deserve to be relegated and perhaps sacking Clement and replacing him with Pulis might work - but in reality would Pulis want the job? I think they may end up like Wolves a few years back who sacked Mick McCarthy then found nobody wanted the job and so Mick's assistant got it by default for the rest of the season.

callaway92

Liverpool

Clement sacked... beyond harsh in my opinion...they're fúcked anyway

DeanAustin

Man City

callaway92 wrote: »

Clement sacked... beyond harsh in my opinion...they're fúcked anyway

Thats a manager who’s taken the fall for the failure of his board. A ****ing disgrace. Hope they go down.

Berserker

callaway92 wrote: »

Clement sacked... beyond harsh in my opinion...they're fúcked anyway

Yep, hard to see them surviving without some serious investment on the pitch. Wonder if Pulis will go for it, given the Welsh connection?

DeanAustin

Man City

Berserker wrote: »

Yep, hard to see them surviving without some serious investment on the pitch. Wonder if Pulis will go for it, given the Welsh connection?

I’ll eat my socks if they appoint Pulis. Style of football wouldn’t suit them or their players.

Loafing Oaf

DeanAustin wrote: »

I’ll eat my socks if they appoint Pulis. Style of football wouldn’t suit them or their players.

His odds for the job have gone right out, must have 'ruled himself out'. Three frontrunners according to the bookies are De Boer, Koeman and Bilic. Are they looking for

Iused2likebusts

Liverpool

I wouldn't be surprised if they went for LVG

GavRedKing

Liverpool

Would LVG want to come back to England after his last stint?

I'd like to see De Boer get it because I think Palace screwed him way too quickly but given where they are in the league and the challenge they face, they'll go for a manager that will give them the best chance of survival.

Rekop dog

Spurs

You'd have thought Coleman would have been a shoe in for that had he not taken the Sunderland job last month.

BullBlackNova

Rekop dog wrote: »

You'd have thought Coleman would have been a shoe in for that had he not taken the Sunderland job last month.

He must be absolutely kicking himself. Since he took that job, West Brom, Swansea and (I think) West Ham all became available. You wouldn't be overly surprised if Stoke was available within the next month too.

Instead, Coleman is languishing at the bottom of the Championship with a team so badly run that it barely matters who is on the touchline.

His goodwill from the Wales job probably won't carry over if he doesn't do much with Sunderland, too, so it'd be a surprise to see him talked about for the top jobs this time next season or the one after if he hasn't gotten Sunderland back in shape which, again, seems unlikely because of the mess of how that club is run, poor transfer strategies and limited cash.

GavRedKing

Everton

GavRedKing wrote: »

Would LVG want to come back to England after his last stint?

I'd like to see De Boer get it because I think Palace screwed him way too quickly but given where they are in the league and the challenge they face, they'll go for a manager that will give them the best chance of survival.

He's already said he want to return to manage in England

Fitz*

I see the official Man Utd club website is complaining about the number of rest days - http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Dec/manchester-united-face-one-of-the-toughest-festive-schedules.aspx

Anyone have that table that was available about rest days between games over the busy period?

Loafing Oaf

BullBlackNova wrote: »

He must be absolutely kicking himself. Since he took that job, West Brom, Swansea and (I think) West Ham all became available. You wouldn't be overly surprised if Stoke was available within the next month too.

Instead, Coleman is languishing at the bottom of the Championship with a team so badly run that it barely matters who is on the touchline.

His goodwill from the Wales job probably won't carry over if he doesn't do much with Sunderland, too, so it'd be a surprise to see him talked about for the top jobs this time next season or the one after if he hasn't gotten Sunderland back in shape which, again, seems unlikely because of the mess of how that club is run, poor transfer strategies and limited cash.

You wonder if he had an older mentor in the game like Fergie was (is?) for David Moyes would he have taken that the job. Like you say, he could easily blow all the credit he built up with Wales if Sunderland goes wrong, and he could be back managing the likes of Coventry in a few years...

GavRedKing

Liverpool

FitzShane wrote: »

I see the official Man Utd club website is complaining about the number of rest days - http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Dec/manchester-united-face-one-of-the-toughest-festive-schedules.aspx

Anyone have that table that was available about rest days between games over the busy period?

The London clubs, because there is so many of them in the league, you've a bloody good chance of playing within London and having less travel days as a result.

That article though is straight from the Castles or Mourinho deflection play book though. :pac:

GavRedKing

Liverpool

I'm aslo nearly positive that during his time with Chelsea the website or Chelsea TV had an article, a guide of games over the xmas and the wording was snarky towards Chelseas fixtures and days between games.

I'll have to try dig it up but I'm nearly certain it happened. A winter break would be good for the league but I cant see it happening any time soon.

Fitz*

He certainly loves a distraction piece or two throughout a season. Didn't he have one at Chelsea too about Chelsea not getting enough penalties?

GavRedKing

Liverpool

FitzShane wrote: »

He certainly loves a distraction piece or two throughout a season. Didn't he have one at Chelsea too about Chelsea not getting enough penalties?

This is what he said back in December 2014, it is not an opinion piece from the website, like Utds one but I'd be willing to bet the Utd article was spun on the back of some grievances.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/12/newsflash--courtois-could-be-back.html

‘Everybody has to play these four matches in this short space of time so
everybody is in the same circumstances,’ he said. ‘Obviously some are lucky to have easier fixtures in this period but that’s a draw and you can’t do anything about that. For us it’s difficult: three matches away and only one at home.

‘Even the one we have at home will be a London derby against one of the best teams in the competition and the three matches away are Tottenham, Southampton and Stoke so it’s difficult for us but we are ready.’

He starts off by acknowledging that everyone has a difficult period but then goes on to say ours is more difficult. :pac:

I'm nearly sure if I go back to December 2013 on the website I'll find a similar article.

citytillidie

FitzShane wrote: »

I see the official Man Utd club website is complaining about the number of rest days - http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Dec/manchester-united-face-one-of-the-toughest-festive-schedules.aspx

Anyone have that table that was available about rest days between games over the busy period?

Table below show the time it takes from start of 1st game on weekend of 22 December to 4th Jan for each team to start and finish there games and the amount of distance they will travel

Team Hours from Start to finish Distance to travel miles
Leicester 213 407
Burnley 215.25 160
Bournemouth 215.25 707
Brighton 215.25 812
Man U 215.25 288
Huddersfield 217.75 664
Stoke 217.75 492
Newcastle 217.75 964
Everton 222.75 720
Liverpool 237 522
Southampton 246.5 653
WBA 246.5 364
Swansea 246.5 724
Palace 246.5 538
Watford 246.75 539
Man C 246.75 706
Chelsea 273 241
Spurs 288.25 896
Arsenal 289.75 266
West Ham 294.75 234

Harry Palmr

Bournemouth 215.25 707
Brighton 215.25 812
Man U 215.25 288

Hmmmm...poor old Utd eh?

Utopia Parkway

FitzShane wrote: »

I see the official Man Utd club website is complaining about the number of rest days - http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Dec/manchester-united-face-one-of-the-toughest-festive-schedules.aspx

Anyone have that table that was available about rest days between games over the busy period?

They weren't complaining when they had an easy fixture list to start the season.

GavRedKing

Liverpool

Burnley have struck gold.

Harry Palmr

BullBlackNova wrote: »

He must be absolutely kicking himself. Since he took that job, West Brom, Swansea and (I think) West Ham all became available. You wouldn't be overly surprised if Stoke was available within the next month too.

Word on the street says if they don't beat WBA Hughes will be gone.

Minderbinder

Mourinho being targeted here because of an article on the club website, while Conte has been complaining all season to the national media about fixture scheduling.

Minderbinder

Everton

Minderbinder wrote: »

Mourinho being targeted here because of an article on the club website, while Conte has been complaining all season to the national media about fixture scheduling.

Careful now, that's not allowed around here

Giggsy11

GavRedKing wrote: »

This is what he said back in December 2014, it is not an opinion piece from the website, like Utds one but I'd be willing to bet the Utd article was spun on the back of some grievances.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/12/newsflash--courtois-could-be-back.html



He starts off by acknowledging that everyone has a difficult period but then goes on to say ours is more difficult. :pac:

I'm nearly sure if I go back to December 2013 on the website I'll find a similar article.

Tbh much better than some Italian conspiracy.

Honestly, it is very difficult to think this is a coincidence,’ said Conte. ‘Once it can happen. Twice it can happen. Then you start to be perplexed. ‘The Qarabag situation was incredible. And I must be honest, it has happened again. Newcastle played on Tuesday, we played on Wednesday and now we play on Saturday at 12.30.

‘It is a strange coincidence. Only 14 games and it has happened four times. I don’t want advantages. I want the same rest as our opponents. Is it difficult to do this? I don’t think so. ‘I want respect for my job, for my club, for the players, for the fans. I’m not stupid, if someone wants to joke with me I am not the right person to joke with.’


‘Every team can have this situation,’ Conte added. ‘I don’t know but, from the start of the season, I see only Chelsea. ‘I spoke with my club and I hope they do something about the situation. I am trying to protect my club, my players, my fans and maybe the Premier League.’

Everyone moans about fixtures, it's nothing new.

Most managers do moan about the fixtures tbf.

It'a just another thing on Mourinho's whinge list.

Giggsy11

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Most managers do moan about the fixtures tbf.

It'a just another thing on Mourinho's whinge list.

Oh yeah, he is the only one who is moaning about refs every week, oh wait that's someone else.

Every manager is same, moaning about refs, fixtrues, money, loyalty and all that bs. Jose takes it too far though, poking someone in the eye. But hey At least he isn't wearing some silly t-shirt to support ridiculous things.

Mourinho's moaning will get worse as the season goes on, especially as he knows he's being schooled by Pep.

When the chips are down his complaining generally increases a lot.

Fitz*

Mourinho gets more attention to his complaining but he has a very long list of continually complaining about everything and anything. Still waiting for him to blame a doctor for being so far behind in the title race.

City are running away with it, 9 points ahead but Mourinho is letting them.

Chelsea (a)
Liverpool (a)
Huddersfield (a)
Stoke (a)
City (h)

Potential for between 7-13 extra points there. Some results like playing Liverpool in their worst form, while United were in their best form and he resorted to the park-the-bus tactics are looking worse and worse as the season goes on.

Giggsy11

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Mourinho's moaning will get worse as the season goes on, especially as he knows he's being schooled by Pep.

When the chips are down his complaining generally increases a lot.

Yeah only Mourinho is getting schooled by Pep, whereas managers like Klopp are holding their own by getting ****ed 5-0.

GavRedKing

Liverpool

Mourinho is great craic when hes in a winning position but when hes in the chasing pack, hes a sour puss.

Thats the way hes always been, hes a winner, most of the managers are the same, its only natural that after the start Utd have made, a start that would usually see you top, that he'd be pissed looking up the league to be 11pts behind one of the greatest teams the league has ever seen.

GavRedKing

GavRedKing wrote: »

Mourinho is great craic when hes in a winning position but when hes in the chasing pack, hes a sour puss.

Thats the way hes always been, hes a winner, most of the managers are the same, its only natural that after the start Utd have made, a start that would usually see you top, that he'd be pissed looking up the league to be 11pts behind one of the greatest teams the league has ever seen.

Absolutely. He just can't take it well.

RoboKlopp

Everton

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Absolutely. He just can't take it well.

For a man with Klopp as part of his username name, you have a weird obsession with Mourinho.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

For a man with Klopp as part of his username name, you have a weird obsession with Mourinho.

I think you don't know the meaning of obsessed

Nothing wrong with pointing out the pure hypocrisy of the biggest crier in the league. Plenty are doing it. With his antics in the past he's deserving of criticism.

Imo, you went for the wrong manager anyway.

deaddonkey15

Everton

RoboKlopp wrote: »

I think you don't know the meaning of obsessed

Nothing wrong with pointing out the pure hypocrisy of the biggest crier in the league. Plenty are doing it. With his antics in the past he's deserving of criticism.

Imo, you went for the wrong manager anyway.

Who should United have gone for instead?

deaddonkey15

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Who should United have gone for instead?

Pretty obvious. Guardiola. Imo of course.

Mushy

RoboKlopp wrote: »

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Who should United have gone for instead?

Pretty obvious. Guardiola. Imo of course.

Wasn't he announced as city manager 4 months prior to lvg getting the boot?

TitianGerm

Liverpool

Mushy wrote: »

Wasn't he announced as city manager 4 months prior to lvg getting the boot?

If United had of tried for Pep before he left Bayern I'd say they would have had a great chance of getting him to join.

Mushy

emmetkenny wrote: »

Mushy wrote: »

Wasn't he announced as city manager 4 months prior to lvg getting the boot?

If United had of tried for Pep before he left Bayern I'd say they would have had a great chance of getting him to join.

Yeah but City would've been a few months ahead of them too, possibly at a time when the Utd board weren't looking. A matter of timing more than want. If they purposefully chose mourinho over pep, well then I'd be speechless. Plus the model city were aiming for suits Pep far more, so would imagine he would've gone there anyway

Agent Coulson

Liverpool

Maybe utd should have gone with Giggs he knows what a utd player looks like.

Giggs: I urged United to sign Jesus and Mbappe

He told the Times: "I watched Gabriel Jesus play three years ago. I watched Mbappe for a year.

"I was watching them with the scout and it was a no-brainer. It was just like, 'Get them'.

"It would have been £5m or something - get them, loan them back - and that's where the recruitment could have been better."

"I know what a Manchester United player looks like.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/1222/929169-giggs-i-urged-united-to-sign-jesus-and-mbappe/

GreNoLi

Liverpool

Expect arsenal to exact revenge on liverpool, 4-1, the Ox to get sent off as well.

Harry Palmr

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Maybe utd should have gone with Giggs he knows what a utd player looks like.

Giggs: I urged United to sign Jesus and Mbappe

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/1222/929169-giggs-i-urged-united-to-sign-jesus-and-mbappe/

Can't we well imagine how their development would be strangled by Mourinho's risk averse tactics?. They have Rashford and Martial performing under-par as it is, two more quick slippy kids won't make them any more dynamic.

ERG89

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Maybe utd should have gone with Giggs he knows what a utd player looks like.

Giggs: I urged United to sign Jesus and Mbappe

He's also starting a career in comedy it seems

https://twitter.com/TimesSport/status/944093395705843712

martyos121

Liverpool

He’s a former player with no proven track record in management, he’s well suited to whoever will have him at this stage, certainly no top clubs. His sense of entitlement is cringeworthy.