General Premier League Thread 2019-20

Fitz*

eigrod wrote: »

Powerhouses like Swindon, Barnsley, Blackpool, Hull, Middlesbrough, Ipswich etc clearly far better sides than what’s around now.

Oliver Kay had a line on that in the Athletic yesterday.

"The mind tells you it has never been like this before, with so many big teams underperforming at once, but, of course, it has. When Manchester United ended a 26-year wait and won the inaugural Premier League title in 1993, the previous three league champions, Leeds, Arsenal and Liverpool, came 17th, 10th and sixth respectively. Leeds finished two points clear of the relegation zone and Liverpool, though sixth, were only eight points further ahead. Norwich City led the table for much of the season and ended up third, just behind Aston Villa but ahead of Blackburn and Queens Park Rangers."

Just because the big named clubs are performing poorer, does not make it a poorer league. Il

If you swapped the Leicester City name with Chelsea or Arsenal and kept Leicester's players - one of the top right backs in the league in Perreira, one of top performing CBs in the league in Soyuncu, Ndidi, Madisson, Vardy is the top scorer in the league on 17 goals ahead of Salah, Aguero. Add to solid performers like Schneicheal, Evans, Tielemens etc. If you called the club Chelsea, then nobody would bat an eyelid and would be saying that it's a good season by them. Just because a club has a big name does not give you a devine right to be a top 6 or a top 4 team. The league is based on how a team performs over 38 games, not who has the most seats in the stadium or who had the most fans in Asia. And no team knows that more than anyone in the last 15 years than the current leaders and future champions.

Fitz*

It's weird how the name of a club can change your perception of their standing in the league.

Everton are in the mix for European football, and have been before. If they get it ahead of United or Arsenal, it would be seen as something great for the league as the top 6 dominance would be broken. They are traditionally one of the PL's big clubs. But because Wolves or Sheff United are not seen as a traditional big club, it's a bad thing if they break up the top 6 dominance. Doesn't add up.

fwiw I would like Everton to do it, odd as it sounds. I enjoy the banter with their fans and when the two teams are doing better, the derby build up is more enjoyable

The_Kew_Tour

I see the Premier League have confirmed the introduction of a Netflix style service.

10 or 15 quid is much better then what many are paying now

The_Kew_Tour

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I see the Premier League have confirmed the introduction of a Netflix style service.

10 or 15 quid is much better then what many are paying now

Really?

Shanotheslayer

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I see the Premier League have confirmed the introduction of a Netflix style service.

10 or 15 quid is much better then what many are paying now

Whattt?

The_Kew_Tour

Yep the CEO Richard Masters basically saying it’s in the pipeline.

I can’t seem link reports for some reason but talksport and few papers running with it.

Shanotheslayer

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Yep the CEO Richard Masters basically saying it’s in the pipeline.

I can’t seem link reports for some reason but talksport and few papers running with it.

All the wives and husbands that get dragged to things on Saturday afternoon are in for some surprise when we're all watching the match on our phones with a top quality legal stream

Agent Coulson

Premier League’s new chief says Netflix-style overseas service is on cards

Mixture of TV rights sales and new service would lift income
‘We will be ready should the opportunity arise’

The Premier League will eventually sell matches on a Netflix-style channel, its new chief executive, Richard Masters, has said. Masters confirmed that the Premier League had considered launching its own digital service – streaming live games and other content directly – in some countries during the TV bidding process for the 2019-22 seasons.

He confirmed such an option – which would allow the Premier League to charge directly for a “Premflix”channel rather than sell the rights to TV companies – was on the table for the 2022-25 seasons..............

Hopefully Ireland can be considered outside of the UK now for rights thanks to Brexit.

The chances of a “Premflix” channel happening in England, where Sky Sports has around six million subscribers and BT Sport close to two million, are slim. But Masters suggested a two-tiered system – with some countries watching games shown by existing TV broadcasters and others streamed directly by the Premier League – was inevitable. “I’m not saying it will happen in the next cycle or when it will happen but eventually the Premier League will move to a mix of direct consumer and media rights sales,” he said. “It is impossible to say when that will be.”...............

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/08/premier-league-netflix-tv-sports-rights

The_Kew_Tour

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

All the wives and husbands that get dragged to things on Saturday afternoon are in for some surprise when we're all watching the match on our phones with a top quality legal stream

True for many that is the case. But the PL would not be richest in the world without the subs. People do pay.

Cork Boy 53

Any indication of when the postponed Man City-West Ham match will be played?

Martin Tyler AgueroooOO

BT has about a third the subscribers of SKY at 2 million compared to 6 million that is a lot better than I though BT would have to be honest also somehow it seems a very small number for SKY.

Agent Coulson

Juve want Pep at any cost and with money no object being talked about on 5live and Talksport this morning.

marklazarcovic

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Juve want Pep at any cost and with money no object being talked about on 5live and Talksport this morning.

He has that at city in fairness

8-10

marklazarcovic wrote: »

He has that at city in fairness

Very little left to achieve with them though and looks like they're going backwards this season.

City job would be an interesting fit for someone like Pochettino

Fitz*

Pep is a league winning machine. He has won the league 8 times out of 10, soon to be 8 in 11 more than likely.

Maybe he wants to go to Italy and win 2 or 3 leagues there, and then go to PSG and win some there too. Cement his legacy as a league winning manager, as opposed to one who has multiple CLs etc.

Would Pep be the only manager to win back-to-back league titles in the top 5 leagues? Could be something that interests him, although to be fair Pep is not exactly the type of manager to go in front of a camera shouting about what he has won.

bucketybuck

8-10 wrote: »

Very little left to achieve with them though and looks like they're going backwards this season.

City job would be an interesting fit for someone like Pochettino

He could achieve rebuilding a side, has he ever done that? As in, win the league, dismantle and rebuild the side to win it again.

Very different challenge than going into the league champions, spending lots of money and winning more leagues with them.

There is also the small matter of the champions league, which he has again failed to achieve.

8-10

bucketybuck wrote: »

He could achieve rebuilding a side, has he ever done that? As in, win the league, dismantle and rebuild the side to win it again.

Very different challenge than going into the league champions, spending lots of money and winning more leagues with them.

I don't think they will be league Champions come summer. My money's on Inter

8-10

bucketybuck wrote: »

There is also the small matter of the champions league, which he has again failed to achieve.

It's not over yet!

Bandana boy

bucketybuck wrote: »

There is also the small matter of the champions league, which he has again failed to achieve.

I wouldn't back again em this year yet
Tough game again Real coming up , but Real's form has been all over the place recently.
In fact I will be having a small wager on them winning the first leg in Madrid

Drumpot

FitzShane wrote: »

Pep is a league winning machine. He has won the league 8 times out of 10, soon to be 8 in 11 more than likely.

Maybe he wants to go to Italy and win 2 or 3 leagues there, and then go to PSG and win some there too. Cement his legacy as a league winning manager, as opposed to one who has multiple CLs etc.

Would Pep be the only manager to win back-to-back league titles in the top 5 leagues? Could be something that interests him, although to be fair Pep is not exactly the type of manager to go in front of a camera shouting about what he has won.

To be fair any club Pep Manages is a league winning machine, with or without him. He’s a world class coach , possibly the best , but he’s only managed clubs you’d expect to win leagues, regardless of how good he is he has only managed clubs who should be winning leagues and challenging for the champions league.

Shanotheslayer

Drumpot wrote: »

he has only managed clubs who should be winning leagues and challenging for the champions league.

Like most top coaches now a days?

Baggly

Drumpot wrote: »

To be fair any club Pep Manages is a league winning machine, with or without him. He’s a world class coach , possibly the best , but he’s only managed clubs you’d expect to win leagues, regardless of how good he is he has only managed clubs who should be winning leagues and challenging for the champions league.

I dunno - things haven't been as hunky dory at Barca since he left. I think that's the most obvious difference in performance comparatively.

gimli2112

I think managing the clubs Pep manages brings a different kind of pressure because the expectations are so high. You're expected to win everything and when you're not the knives come out quick. I'm just after seeing a headline about Sari over at Juve where he's under pressure now they've been knocked off the top.

Drumpot

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Like most top coaches now a days?

Any manager walks into Barca, Madrid, PSG, Juventus and Bayern and is an abject failure if they don’t win at least one league. Winning a league isn’t necessarily a massive accomplishment for any of these clubs.

Pellegrini and Mancini won leagues with city, are they much sought after top coaches?

Baggly wrote: »

I dunno - things haven't been as hunky dory at Barca since he left. I think that's the most obvious difference in performance comparatively.

Barca have won 5 of the last 7 la Primeras since he left, not exactly a devestating decline to be fair. And I’m not sure clubs are falling over themselves for their league winning coaches either.

Unless you are a club with near unlimited funds in comparison to your rivals in the league you don’t necessarily want Pep as your manager.

eagle eye

Shanotheslayer wrote:

Like most top coaches now a days?

Who else outside of Mourinho would you put in that bracket?

Baggly

Drumpot wrote:

Barca have won 5 of the last 7 la Primeras since he left, not exactly a devestating decline to be fair. And I’m not sure clubs are falling over themselves for their league winning coaches either.

This point seems at odds with the point you made previously in the same post. Winning leagues aren't a big deal for Barca. It's pretty much the bare minimum (thanks in some part at least to Pep)

Quazzie

eagle eye wrote: »

Who else outside of Mourinho would you put in that bracket?

Would you even put Mourinho in that bracket anymore?

It's been a fair few years since he's any really chance at a team capable of winning a league.

marklazarcovic

If poch goes to city in the summer instead of utd it would be hilarious.

ERG89

https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1227261010974633986?s=19

Man City-West Ham has been rearranged for next Wednesday.

8-10

ERG89 wrote: »

Man City-West Ham has been rearranged for next Wednesday.

Liverpool have the chance then to go 25pts clear before they play.

Also puts pressure on their massive game with 3rd place Leicester less than 3 days after the rescheduled game.

Good news for Liverpool I think this one.

Trigger

Martin Tyler AgueroooOO wrote: »

BT has about a third the subscribers of SKY at 2 million compared to 6 million that is a lot better than I though BT would have to be honest also somehow it seems a very small number for SKY.

A grand a year for Sky with the Sports in Ireland and similar enough in UK. That's 6BN a year in subs

POKERKING

8-10 wrote: »

Liverpool have the chance then to go 25pts clear before they play.

Also puts pressure on their massive game with 3rd place Leicester less than 3 days after the rescheduled game.

Good news for Liverpool I think this one.

Personally I think it makes abs no difference to liverpool.

joe_99

ERG89 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1227261010974633986?s=19

Man City-West Ham has been rearranged for next Wednesday.

So much for the winter break. Premier League asked teams not to arrange games during winter break then they actually arrange games during the break. What a joke.

machiavellianme

joe_99 wrote: »

So much for the winter break. Premier League asked teams not to arrange games during winter break then they actually arrange games during the break. What a joke.

By the time this game rolls around it'll be 17 days without a game for City and 18 for West ham. Even between the rescheduled game and the original date, there's a good 10 days.
Assuming that they start training again 3 days beforehand, there's still a week off in between.
That's as good as anyone can hope for at this time of the year. Besides, they're not exactly flat out 9-5 every day of the week.

joe_99

machiavellianme wrote: »

By the time this game rolls around it'll be 17 days without a game for City and 18 for West ham. Even between the rescheduled game and the original date, there's a good 10 days.
Assuming that they start training again 3 days beforehand, there's still a week off in between.
That's as good as anyone can hope for at this time of the year. Besides, they're not exactly flat out 9-5 every day of the week.

That maybe so but their winter break was scheduled up to the 22nd. Players were only able to go on a break from Sunday. Now they will likely be back early to prepare for rearranged game. Premier League promoted winter break as an opportunity for players to recouperate mentally as well as physically

8-10

POKERKING wrote: »

Personally I think it makes abs no difference to liverpool.

Yeah I guess it could be seen to give them sharpness ahead of the Leicester game given that if this wasn't rescheduled before it they would be going into it after having gone 3 full weeks without a game!

This way they'll play West Ham after a 17-day break and then be ready for Leicester

citytillidie

UEFA will not like that, fine incoming for the PL with that being a Champions League night, but then were else can City play it

joe_99

citytillidie wrote: »

UEFA will not like that, fine incoming for the PL with that being a Champions League night, but then were else can City play it

They'll have plenty of time once Real knock them out

Cork Boy 53

citytillidie wrote: »

UEFA will not like that, fine incoming for the PL with that being a Champions League night, but then were else can City play it

As far as I am aware there will no fine for the PL as the original fixture was postponed due to weather conditions, and City already have to rearrange another PL game due to playing in the League Cup final and after next week there are no free midweek slots before the international break at the end of March.

Fitz*

joe_99 wrote: »

They'll have plenty of time once Real knock them out

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

As far as I am aware there will no fine for the PL as the original fixture was postponed due to weather conditions, and City already have to rearrange another PL game due to playing in the League Cup final and after next week there are no free midweek slots before the international break at the end of March.

They more than likely have to re-arrange the Chelsea - Man City fixture too on March 21st. That weekend is FA Cup weekend so games will have be moved from here if either team progress, and that game will have to be re-arranged to a midweek also.

Add in possible CL participation and it reduces the number of possible midweek slots, especially seeing as one rearranged game is Arsenal who are also in European competition with the EL having 2 extra game weeks than the CL.

Playing the game in this 2 week window was the only option really and I know it's not as long a break as other clubs, but they still get their full free week.

Cork Boy 53

joe_99 wrote: »

They'll have plenty of time once Real knock them out

I wouldn`t be so sure that will happen. With the PL title now realistically beyond them City will be throwing most of their eggs into the CL basket. I would give them a reasonable chance of getting past Real Madrid.

yourdeadwright

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

I wouldn`t be so sure that will happen. With the PL title now realistically beyond them City will be throwing most of their eggs into the CL basket. I would give them a reasonable chance of getting past Real Madrid.

City will beat Madrid,
Spanish league isn't as strong as previous years ,

Lucas Hood

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/11932316/ben-gibson-burnley-defender-back-training-with-middlesbrough

Ben Gibson has been given permission by Burnley to train with his former club Middlesbrough.

The centre-half earned Boro £15m when he joined Burnley in 2018 but has played just six times under Sean Dyche.

It is understood Gibson is back training on Teesside, although there is no suggestion of him leaving Turf Moor at this point.

The 27-year-old, who was the subject of interest from Watford during January, is under contract at Burnley until 2022.

This is a weird one.

eigrod

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

As far as I am aware there will no fine for the PL as the original fixture was postponed due to weather conditions, and City already have to rearrange another PL game due to playing in the League Cup final and after next week there are no free midweek slots before the international break at the end of March.

Probably won’t be allowed televise it live, will they?

Edit: seems Sky are showing it

BullBlackNova

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0212/1114860-hakim-ziyech-chelsea/

Chelsea closing in on a deal for Hakim Ziyech. He looked good during Ajax's Champions League run. I was surprised he wasn't picked up last sunmer.

You'd expect him, Van de Beek, Tagliafico and Onana to potentially get big moves from those still at Ajax after the CL run.

Baggly

I saw Onana linked to Chelsea as well. Better backup / actual competition for Kepa.

yourdeadwright

Lucas Hood wrote: »

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/11932316/ben-gibson-burnley-defender-back-training-with-middlesbrough



This is a weird one.

Any idea's what's gone wrong ?

Don't forget sometimes things happen that aren't made public, s t here could be anything behind this

Not saying in anyway its what happing to Gibson but i know in the past rumours have circulated about players failing in house club drug tests and nothing being said public but the player all of a sudden isn't in squads or picks up a unexplained injury for a season ,

There are loads of reason why lads suddenly fall out of favour at clubs ,Like life in general sometimes things happen ,

BullBlackNova

Baggly wrote: »

I saw Onana linked to Chelsea as well. Better backup / actual competition for Kepa.

Hes a good goalkeeper by the looks of it.

I don't really rate Kepa but it's hard to see Chelsea replacing him unless they can sell and recoup a significant amount of cash.

Would be odd to see a world record fee goalkeeper warming the bench each week!!

Fitz*

Lucas Hood wrote: »

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/11932316/ben-gibson-burnley-defender-back-training-with-middlesbrough



This is a weird one.

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Any idea's what's gone wrong ?

Don't forget sometimes things happen that aren't made public, s t here could be anything behind this

Not saying in anyway its what happing to Gibson but i know in the past rumours have circulated about players failing in house club drug tests and nothing being said public but the player all of a sudden isn't in squads or picks up a unexplained injury for a season ,

There are loads of reason why lads suddenly fall out of favour at clubs ,Like life in general sometimes things happen ,

I would harbor a guess that it is something personal and he wants to be closer to home, and is allowed to take a leave of absence from work. Middlesborough are letting him train with them to keep his fitness up perhaps.

Lucas Hood

Others are reporting he's had a bust up with Burnley. He was close to joining Watford on loan before window closed.