General Premier League Thread 2018-19 Part 2

shamrock55

I think if city don't win the cl nxt year pep will be off

gimli2112

dzer2 wrote: »

Mig cost us points against Arsenal, If karius was even 10% better he would have pushed Mig out. What I am saying the upgrade to Allison is so great he covers up others mistakes which is part of a goalie role as he is the last man as such. Also he gives a lot more confidence to the defence that allows the likes or Robertson and Trent to roam forward. With out him Liverpool would be in much the same position as last yr.

it's funny you mention the Arsenal game. This was the moment I wrote off Migs. Their first goal in particular. It wasn't a bad shot but it seemed like their first attempt and he should have saved it. Not necessarily a calamitous error but the straw that broke me.

GavRedKing

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Your more than likely correct but who would have said Liverpool could make a 22 point improvement ( that's if the win there last 2 )

I think of the chasing pack, Liverpool were the most likely to put it up to City at the start of the year.

Klopps been there years, they've a good squad, he bought well in the summer and the players know how to play his system, if they miss out this year it will be a shame for him but running the greatest PL side ever that close as well as at least making the final and semi final of the CL 2 years on the spin, is unbelievable, although if they do finish 2nd he'll probably be kicking himself as to why it happened.

Spurs, if they spent a bit of money would have been home and dry in 3rd by now as Poch has done a great job there too, if they continue this next year, they could very well be the a challenger but they do need a bit of investment.

They've had a fantastic CL run but as we've seen before with Pool and Chelsea finishing 5th and 6th the years they did win it, PL form means nothing if you're a well set up cup team.

jpboard1

shamrock55 wrote: »

I think if city don't win the cl nxt year pep will be off

He could be sent packing. Long time since he made the semis now, not to mind winning it.

Ordinary man

Will Liverpool's players look for increased wages this summer now that they are competing at the top levels and will the club be able to afford to pay compared to other top clubs around europe?

gimli2112

They are already well paid. The Liverpool wage bill is enormous. Most of them are tied into long term contracts but that's not to say whinging could not start if someone was to offer them crazy money. No one's going to be knocking on doors unless that happens. They haven't even won anything.

yourdeadwright

Ordinary man wrote: »

Will Liverpool's players look for increased wages this summer now that they are competing at the top levels and will the club be able to afford to pay compared to other top clubs around europe?

Fornt 3 all signed contracts in the last year so there grand for another year or so

8-10

shamrock55 wrote: »

I think if city don't win the cl nxt year pep will be off

I think next season will be his last year. Mourinho will go to Bayern to win the Bundesliga and Pep will go to Juve after that to catch-up with a Serie A

Utopia Parkway

Ordinary man wrote: »

Will Liverpool's players look for increased wages this summer now that they are competing at the top levels and will the club be able to afford to pay compared to other top clubs around europe?

Pretty much nearly all the first eleven have received fat new contracts in the past 12 months. I think almost everyone is signed up long term not that that guarantees that nobody will ever leave.

This Liverpool side should be around for a few years yet barring something unforseen. It will probably be sustainable in a way the 13/14 team wasn't. That team fell apart almost instantly after that season. I think they have the 3rd youngest squad in the PL right now. It doesn't look like anyone will be leaving that they don't want to leave and for once they don't really have many very holes to fill in the squad. Some deadwood will depart this Summer and they really only need 2 or 3 quality players to come in to add some depth in certain positions.

Obviously you need a bit of luck as well but they should be fairly regular challengers over the next few years you'd imagine.

ERG89

8-10 wrote: »

I think next season will be his last year. Mourinho will go to Bayern to win the Bundesliga and Pep will go to Juve after that to catch-up with a Serie A

He could probably manage to win Serie A in a part time role tbf it's that uncompetitive now.

gimli2112

How did Juve get so strong domestically? It feels like they've been winning the thing for years. Makes you wonder why they bothered paying off the officials in the first place.

Baggly

Or if they stopped.

PhlegmyMoses

gimli2112 wrote: »

How did Juve get so strong domestically? It feels like they've been winning the thing for years. Makes you wonder why they bothered paying off the officials in the first place.

They just have more money right? When I saw how much they were offering Aaron Ramsey, along with the likes of Ronaldo, Emre Can etc, I would not be surprised to hear of FFP coming knocking. The club is nowhere near the likes of the big Spanish and PL teams globally but are paying serious wages. I could be way off but something smells fishy.

ERG89

gimli2112 wrote: »

How did Juve get so strong domestically? It feels like they've been winning the thing for years. Makes you wonder why they bothered paying off the officials in the first place.

It helps a lot that they own their own stadium and are far better ran than the other sides.
Roma & Lazio are essentially supermarket clubs for richer sides; any good season is rarely built upon when you have to replace key players.
Napoli gave it their all last season but that team will be mostly gone by the start of next season as most players will have left (Reina, Hamsik, Jorginho have already left; Insigne and Allan have both asked to leave and Koulibaly, Mertens will likely ask to go this summer too). The 2 Milan clubs are appallingly ran from top to bottom, both have been sold to the wrong people, barely any success in the transfer market between them and numerous poor managerial appointments too.

correction

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

They just have more money right? When I saw how much they were offering Aaron Ramsey, along with the likes of Ronaldo, Emre Can etc, I would not be surprised to hear of FFP coming knocking. The club is nowhere near the likes of the big Spanish and PL teams globally but are paying serious wages. I could be way off but something smells fishy.

That's precisely why they brought Ronaldo in tbf.

Harry Palmr

Oranage2 wrote: »

Liverpool got lucky this year with their attackers hitting form and the right times, they'll finish second next season 10 points off city but still finish about 10 points ahead 3rd. Same with arsenal, that 17 game run with the strikers hitting unbelievable form is a bit misleading to arsenals actual quality

Next season Liverpool will not have Sturridge or maybe Origi but will have a Timo Werner type signing (plus Rhian Brewster finally!) plus goals from the middle with Keita up to speed, Ox-Cham back and someone like Julian Brandt to work between the lines. Goals will not be a problem.

RollieFingers

Would rather see Pool go for Nicolas Pepe than Timo Werner.

marklazarcovic

Pool are damm lucky to have 91 points and only one league defeat with two to play,damm lucky indeed. Lucky .

ERG89

RollieFingers wrote:

Would rather see Pool go for Nicolas Pepe than Timo Werner.

I'd like to see Leipzig get a nice auction going for Werner before he inevitably ends up signing with Bayern and their press conference to announce him is basically Rummenigge clearing his throat before standing up & sticking his middle fingers up to the gathered press.

8-10

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Next season Liverpool will not have Sturridge or maybe Origi but will have a Timo Werner type signing (plus Rhian Brewster finally!) plus goals from the middle with Keita up to speed, Ox-Cham back and someone like Julian Brandt to work between the lines. Goals will not be a problem.

I'm always down on bringing players through the system, always think there's much better options on the transfer market, but Brewster is a player I am truly excited about coming through the first team.

Woodburn, Wilson, Phillips etc won't make it with Liverpool and we can do much better than them, but Brewster might actually be the real deal.

Harry Palmr

Ken Early

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/ken-early-football-s-new-age-neutralises-philosophies-of-the-past-1.3874358?mode=amp

How do you get close to the ball when it’s moving that fast? You can do what Keane urged the United players to do, “ignore the runners” and “not worry about what’s going on over there and over there”, focus on the ball and try to “get to it, like your life depends on it” – but if you press and your team-mates don’t, then City will pass it around you and make you look foolish, and after chasing them for an hour you will find you can hardly move your legs. And that’s when they’ll start running up the score. Against City you either press as a team, or not at all; against a system like this the individual is powerless.

The rise of system football means that the English league today has less broken play, and more periods of controlled possession. In 2008, Premier League teams averaged almost 24 tackles per game. By 2017-18 the average number of tackles had dropped by almost a third, to just over 16 per game. Huddersfield Town topped the tackle table in 2017-18, with 744.

The team with the lowest number of tackles in 2008 was Reading, with 800 – so the team that made the fewest tackles 10 years ago tackled more than the team that makes the most tackles today. Interceptions have also declined, by about one-sixth. Less broken play means fewer chances for individuals to seize the moment and be the hero.

Interesting article which lays out the changes in the game that Klopp and Pep have bought to the Premier League. Basically there are fewer opportunities for solo heroics and possession based systems are supreme. Which is why the top coaches are on a different planet now. Sure you get games where the side with 30% wins the game but very rarely when playing against the best. Exhorting your charges to run about more and tackle harder no longer add up to a winning strategy - it's now 11 men who are coordinated to within an inch of their lives thinking and acting as one from back to front and across the pitch that raises the standard.

greenfield21

Second best will be as good as it gets for pool. How many trophies has klopp won since he arrived?

Shanotheslayer

greenfield21 wrote: »

How many trophies has klopp won since he arrived?

http://bfy.tw/NR0q

Harry Palmr

He has been in a position to lose three finals Maybe this year will the one. or maybe City could just feck off!

Utopia Parkway

greenfield21 wrote: »

Second best will be as good as it gets for pool. How many trophies has klopp won since he arrived?

I hope the United fans get behind city on Wednesday, how could anybody want us to do Liverpool a favour.

Oh, one of those.

monkey9

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Both keepers are part of the teams so they have improved by 16 points and possible 22 by the end, Its like saying United would be 3rd if De Gea didn't play he does and there not ,

Also I know Karius is brutal but I can't recall him ever costing Liverpool a Premier league game but he came close way to often ,

He probably didn't cost points as such, but he didn't really win us points either which is the difference between bang average goalkeepers like Karius and Mignolet and world class keepers like Alisson.

Think of the save that Alisson made in injury time at Anfield against Napoli. People try to downplay that save because 'it was hit straight at him'. Alisson has a presence that can cause a striker to panic or try to be more precise in where they place the ball and think about it too much.
When people were saying that the ball just hit Alisson, i remember thinking that the ball wouldn't have just hit Mignolet, it would have ended up in the back of the net. If Mignolet played that night when that chance arose, we'd probably have been knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages. But he didn't, Alisson played and now on Wednesday we play Barcelona in the semi finals.

The Gerrard slip against Chelsea, Demba Ba went straight through on goal and slotted it past Mignolet. I never felt at that time that Mignolet would save it and he didn't. Now that's not to say Mignolet was at fault for the goal, he wasn't. But he still conceded and we lost the game. Alisson on the other hand, i'd have more faith in him saving it. Maybe he wouldn't have, but he certainly would have had a better chance to because he's a far better goalkeeper, especially in situations where he has a presence about him and can intimidate the onrushing striker. Mignolet was in goal and we lost and went on to lose the league. If today's Alisson had been in goal that day, he may well have saved it and we'd maybe have got at least the point we needed and went on to win the league.

Both incidents are not goalkeeping errors should they go in so they wouldn't be described as costing points, but the difference in quality of goalkeeper is winning points. That's what a world class keeper gives, not costing points should be a standard.

noodler

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

http://bfy.tw/NR0q

I ike you Shanomac.

One of the good ones.

Frankie Cortese

marklazarcovic wrote: »

Pool are damm lucky to have 91 points and only one league defeat with two to play,damm lucky indeed. Lucky .

According to a blog I read earlier on Twitter we are lucky.

They’ve judged favourable & wrong decisions for every club & re calculated the table accordingly, now I know wrong or favourable decisions can be interpreted differently by every single person so I’m not suggesting it’s based on fact, but, they had City clinching the league at Old Trafford Weds night if the correct decisions as they saw them were given.

They included the offside goals v Watford couple weeks ago, Milner being offside versus Wet Ham etc, they maintain Liverpool have 9 extra points from bad/fortunate refereeing decisions.

Just found it interesting is all.

RollieFingers

Frankie Cortese wrote: »

According to a blog I read earlier on Twitter we are lucky.

They’ve judged favourable & wrong decisions for every club & re calculated the table accordingly, now I know wrong or favourable decisions can be interpreted differently by every single person so I’m not suggesting it’s based on fact, but, they had City clinching the league at Old Trafford Weds night if the correct decisions as they saw them were given.

They included the offside goals v Watford couple weeks ago, Milner being offside versus Wet Ham etc, they maintain Liverpool have 9 extra points from bad/fortunate refereeing decisions.

Just found it interesting is all.

Always find stuff like that a bit strange. Not disputing those incidents, but you could also look at the Mane offside goal against Arsenal that should have stood or the stonewall peno Keita should have got against Leicester. Goes both ways really.

Frankie Cortese

RollieFingers wrote: »

Always find stuff like that a bit strange. Not disputing those incidents, but you could also look at the Mane offside goal against Arsenal that should have stood or the stonewall peno Keita should have got against Leicester. Goes both ways really.

They referenced games including that one but didn’t go into detail or specifics with players, just the instances where mistakes were made, they didn’t reference the penalty incident because I suppose that would subjective to it being scored or not.

A big whataboutery piece is all it was really.

noodler

Frankie Cortese wrote: »

They referenced games including that one but didn’t go into detail or specifics with players, just the instances where mistakes were made, they didn’t reference the penalty incident because I suppose that would subjective to it being scored or not.

A big whataboutery piece is all it was really.

Link it anyway, would ya?

5starpool

Frankie Cortese wrote: »

According to a blog I read earlier on Twitter we are lucky.

They’ve judged favourable & wrong decisions for every club & re calculated the table accordingly, now I know wrong or favourable decisions can be interpreted differently by every single person so I’m not suggesting it’s based on fact, but, they had City clinching the league at Old Trafford Weds night if the correct decisions as they saw them were given.

They included the offside goals v Watford couple weeks ago, Milner being offside versus Wet Ham etc, they maintain Liverpool have 9 extra points from bad/fortunate refereeing decisions.

Just found it interesting is all.

They did something like that last season too I think and Liverpool came out as the unluckiest team iirc.

Over the course of a single season obviously if everything like this was analysed (and penalties given not given are still somewhat arguable is such a system) there will be teams that have been judged to have benefited more than others, but over the course of the longer term I'm sure things would all coalesce towards an average.

Shanotheslayer

We questioned Man City's mentally after getting knocked out of the CL I wonder how the Liverpool players will fare this weekend.

Motivation will be interesting given all the factors. Players surely are thinking they're out of Europe and City will win the league so could be tough to keep spirits up.

Probably not and Liverpool win as per usual though.

noodler

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We questioned Man City's mentally after getting knocked out of the CL I wonder how the Liverpool players will fare this weekend.

Motivation will be interesting given all the factors. Players surely are thinking they're out of Europe and City will win the league so could be tough to keep spirits up.

Probably not and Liverpool win as per usual though.

Was worried about Newcastle even before tonight.

Though I've been saying that for the last ten games in a row be it Everton away, utd away, Chelsea at home, spurs at home, Cardiff away, Southampton away etc etc.

So perhaps I'm just cautious

Shanotheslayer

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We questioned Man City's mentally after getting knocked out of the CL I wonder how the Liverpool players will fare this weekend.

Motivation will be interesting given all the factors. Players surely are thinking they're out of Europe and City will win the league so could be tough to keep spirits up.

Probably not and Liverpool win as per usual though.

Would love to see Benitez do it and get a result but I'm afraid Newcastle already being safe from the drop I don't see where the fight for the points will stem from.

I expect Newcastle to be well beaten

ShamoBuc

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We questioned Man City's mentally after getting knocked out of the CL I wonder how the Liverpool players will fare this weekend.

I guess we'll have to wait until they get knocked out to find out.

Shanotheslayer

ShamoBuc wrote: »

I guess we'll have to wait until they get knocked out to find out.

Maybe you should read the full post and not take things out of context hun x

jpboard1

Will be hugely difficult for Liverpool to get up for the Newcastle game. If they had played badly and lost 3 nil they would be in better shape. But the fact that they bossed that game for large periods and still ended up with that size of a loss will eat away at them.
Very hard to see city drop points at home. This will be on their mind too.

crustyjuggler

Perfect fixture to bounce back for Liverpool vs Newcastle. Not too easy . They'll have to regroup and get over the defeat . This is what happens in football. They'll have to go again next season as well.

Berserker

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We questioned Man City's mentally after getting knocked out of the CL I wonder how the Liverpool players will fare this weekend.

Motivation will be interesting given all the factors. Players surely are thinking they're out of Europe and City will win the league so could be tough to keep spirits up.

Probably not and Liverpool win as per usual though.

I'm expecting a comfortable Liverpool win. Common sense suggests that Newcastle will just go through the motions now that they are safe. A PL title is at stake here, so motivation won't be an issue for Liverpool. Win this and there is nothing more Liverpool can do. If City beat 97 points, people (me included) are just going to have to hold their hands up and admit that City were just that bit more special than we expected. Still think Liverpool will win it, for the record. Leicester or Brighton will take points off City.

yourdeadwright

Newcastle last home game of the season and the late kick off on a Saturday means the crowd will have plenty of booze on board and it'll be a great atmosphere with nothing to lose for Newcastle,

Its a tuff game but also Almiron is injured and Perez is a doubt , they have been there two best players the last couple of months,

IncognitoMan

Newcastle are dreadful, are safe and looks like missing two of their better attacking players.

I think Liverpool will likely have a bit of a European hangover so I doubt they'll brush them aside but I'd guess a fairly comfortable if uneventful win.

There's a chance Leicester do something if they are still holding out hope for Europe. An early goal either way could be the difference.

Most likely both win though.

noodler

Before Huddersfield, when was the last time we had a comfortable win?

Yet ppl keep expecting them!

ERG89

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Newcastle last home game of the season and the late kick off on a Saturday means the crowd will have plenty of booze on board and it'll be a great atmosphere with nothing to lose for Newcastle,

Its a tuff game but also Almiron is injured and Perez is a doubt , they have been there two best players the last couple of months,

Think Rondon has been better than both. They have such a reckless regard towards maintaining possession so someone who can hold up the ball for them and create chances for others is key. As the season has went on its more and more obvious they should make it happen; as long as he doesn't end up like Kenedy who was great in the second half of last season but crap this season

Berserker

noodler wrote: »

Before Huddersfield, when was the last time we had a comfortable win? Yet ppl keep expecting them!

Hmm, Cardiff away, Porto home & away and Chelsea home. All very comfortable affairs and games that Liverpool were never in danger of losing.

sligeach

IncognitoMan wrote: »

Newcastle are dreadful, are safe and looks like missing two of their better attacking players.

I think Liverpool will likely have a bit of a European hangover so I doubt they'll brush them aside but I'd guess a fairly comfortable if uneventful win.

There's a chance Leicester do something if they are still holding out hope for Europe. An early goal either way could be the difference.

Most likely both win though.

I heard a stat that outside of the top 6, Newcastle have won more points since November than of the other teams. Not bad, considering they had 3 points from their first 10 games. Newcastle on a Saturday night, boozy crowd, their last home game and a possibly deflated Liverpool side, won't make this easy.

IncognitoMan

sligeach wrote: »

I heard a stat that outside of the top 6, Newcastle have won more points since November than of the other teams. Not bad, considering they had 3 points from their first 10 games. Newcastle on a Saturday night, boozy crowd, their last home game and a possibly deflated Liverpool side, won't make this easy.

Not a good stat for the rest of the league to be honest. That's a poor Newcastle side that Rafa is working wonders with at times.

There's a lot of championship standard players in their squad, a lot.

Ya never know in football I suppose and the CL defeat could hurt them but I'd be shocked if Pool don't get over the line. I understand their fans not wanting to tempt it but they really should be ok.

noodler

Berserker wrote: »

Hmm, Cardiff away, Porto home & away and Chelsea home. All very comfortable affairs and games that Liverpool were never in danger of losing.

Cannot agree.

One up late enough against Cardiff and they missed a sitter.

Chelsea, after two quickfire Goals, Hazard had three chances.

Porto home.and away I agree.

Kiith

So with a potential Arsenal/Chelsea EL final, what effect does that have on CL places? Is there any way 4th could lose the spot? Not worried or anything...no, not at all :pac:

Kiith

Kiith wrote: »

So with a potential Arsenal/Chelsea EL final, what effect does that have on CL places? Is there any way 4th could lose the spot? Not worried or anything...no, not at all :pac:

Spurs would have to win the Champions league and finish outside the top 4 for it to effect 4th so you're safe from that at least,