General Premier League Thread 2023-24 Mod Note in op 27/6/23 And 21/05/24

Fitz*

Liverpool needed that screamer from nothing tonight. They weren't creating the high quality chances, consistently, like in previous games that they've won by a single goal. Not an impressive performance in my eyes but a win is a win.

The MacAllister goal will get the headlines but the Gakpo goal was a real quality goal in terms of build up, cross and finish.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976699#Comment_121976699

So you keep saying every few weeks.

Through gritted teeth and teary eyes no doubt.

sligeach

That's awful from a Chelsea perspective, but completely in line with their season.

ShamoBuc

Savage pass by Antony in fairness, 2-3

McFly85

lol what does Pochs data say now?

Mushy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976880#Comment_121976880

Theyre crap?

Necro

Chelsea blessed with two very very soft penalties tonight

TitianGerm

Booo Chelsea.

Ottoman_1000

What are they checking this peno, he cleanly fell in on top of him as he was just striking the ball?? What do they think happened him?

Fitz*

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977041#Comment_121977041

David Coote.

ShamoBuc

Brutal by Dalot, penalty awarded, no idea why VAR were looking at it so long, blatant penalty.

3-3 Palmer had to wait way too long for such a simple decision but he looked very composed in fairness.

LuckyLloyd

LOL!!

I cannot get over Utd fans being beat into this guy. They are so so tactically unaware it's hilarious.

Royale with Cheese

That is fairly hilarious.

sligeach

VAR took 2 minutes to review that penalty decision. 😐

eigrod

wow

ShamoBuc

They've only gone and won it !

Chelsea 4-3

sligeach

Wow! Just wow! Chelsea have been awful and yet they've somehow won, from the jaws of defeat.

IrishOwl...

UTD are noting if they're not entertaining....

Brilliant end to that game.

eigrod

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977066#Comment_121977066

Coote. Quel surprise.

citytillidie

Game week 31 table

70	Liverpool (94/42)
69
68	Arsenal (92/48)
67	Man City (91/38)
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59	Villa (80/17)
58
57	Spurs (81/18)
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48	Man Utd (72/-1)
47
46
45	West Ham (66/-5)
44	Newcastle (68/12)
43	Brighton (70/6)	Chelsea (70/3)
42	Wolves (66/-4)
41	Bournemouth (65/-9)
40
39	Fulham (60/-3)
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30	Palace (54/-16)
29
28	Brentford (49/-13)
27
26	Everton (50/-11)
25	Forest (46/-14)
24
23
22	Luton (43/-21)
21
20
19	Burnley (40/-34)
18
17
16
15	Sheff Utd (39/-52

Patrick Mahomes

That’s as crazy an ending to a game.

Both managers will be gone in the summer.

Regards,

P.

McFly85

It’s almost impressive how 2 teams that are so expensive can be so brutal at the same time.

IrishOwl...

Also WTF was that VAR check about, 2 minutes to decide on one of the most blatant penos you will see. Like what to do think happened?? How did he fall over as he was just about to pull the trigger??

Dr. Bre

what a signing Palmer was for Chelsea!

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977161#Comment_121977161

Firing a machinegun accuracy isn't necessary…

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976699#Comment_121976699

In fairness there's not too many have such well worn catch phrases on here, especially ones as weird as this 😅

AdamD

I presume we're now allowed to say that Ten Hag is quite clearly out of his depth. The owners of the club don't run training

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121975939#Comment_121975939

Well I prefer what I see than let stats decide anything. I've seen loads of both and Martinez has been a far busier keeper than Raya. What's in front of you is very important and Villa have been missing players quite a lot from the back line.

I have no doubt that Martinez has been by far the best keeper in the league this season.

Same as when I say that Douglas Luiz has been the best player I've seen this season. I'm sure stats won't back that up and he's not from one of the big clubs and he's not English so he's not going to get any credit.

I guess I'm sounding like a Villa fan now.

Anyway we all have our own opinions.

The one thing you can be sure of is that when it comes time for awards in the Premier league it's going to be top performers from big clubs only and English players that will fight it out for the awards.

Outside of Mahrez I don't think there's been a winner that wasn't from City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs since the turn of the century.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977525#Comment_121977525

Well is it the coach or has there been a bigger problem at the club since Alex Ferguson retired? Fergie had full control of football matters, no United coach has had that since then.

When you've had Di Maria, Schweinsteiger, Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Casemiro and Varane fail to perform at the consistent world class level they did before they got there during different managerial periods then you've got to wonder if there's a bigger problem at the club. I've only mentioned proven top class performers at big clubs before they came to United.

You can look at others like Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho, Martial, Antony, Van de Beek, Fred, Matic, Depay and Fellaini who were all big money signings and none of them worked out. That's too many that haven't and it's been at different times with different managers.

Can you honestly lay the blame for all those not performing at the level they did at their previous clubs on the managers?

LuckyLloyd

https://twitter.com/ThreadmanChaza/status/1776006070269358300

You can squarely blame the manager for this, Absolute delusion on here all season arguing the case for ETH. The coach is the biggest influencer on results and directly impacts the amount of tactical control the team exerts in all stages of the game.

Utd got their lead yesterday and there was nothing done to try and slow the game down, tighten up, manage the clock, etc. Either the manager didn’t think of it or the players don’t listen to him. But the stats speak for themselves, indeed the eye test of watching Utd and looking at the amount of control they exert.

Time to sack another manager, long past time infact.

doc_17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977714#Comment_121977714

I think you’ll find that the problem is that the managers have had too much control.
Ten Hag has been failed by the club in the sense that he’s been left to pick the players and there are aren’t many successful signings there at all. Look at the scrap he’s brought in, Amrabat, Regulon, Malacia and Antony. Add to that the players that were over the hill, Casemiro, Evans, Eriksen. Then big money on Onana, Martinez, Hojland, Mount. How many of that little group have been a success? That’s 11 players off the top of my head. He’s had too much control.
Utd need a reset. A DoF type figure, a new manager, a stats department. When they get that right they will do better.

Kiith

What an absolute farce if true. City's lawyers licking their lips.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13271249/Premier-League-eyeing-ABOLISHING-points-deductions-introducing-NBA-style-luxury-tax-fears-stars-leave-rules-restrict-pay-Everton-Nottingham-Forest-lost-points.html

Suvarnabhumi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977945#Comment_121977945

That change won't save city. The PSR rules didn't even exist in some of the seasons they're accused of breaking rules, and they're accused of fraud, not just overspending.

sligeach

I don't read The Daily FAIL.

Premier League will not scrap points deductions despite backlash

The Premier League is set to keep points-deduction penalties for breaches of the financial rules but is considering having a tariff that would impose only fines on clubs for lesser offences.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sport/football/article/premier-league-keep-points-deductions-nottingham-forest-everton-kjd9vj8hk

Not that it matters but none of these are penos btw

https://twitter.com/TenHagEra/status/1776162234856542317?t=bKcHqLaanDZDZ4UoB7F0pA&s=19

The daily fail will always try to spin something. It's a wonder they aren't blaming those pesky foreigners for taking our jabs etc.

Tbf, it's aimed at a certain demographic. Lesser intelligence, right leaning, pro brexit types.

Best avoided.

505_

Utd are terrible. But I’m a little surprised at the lack of hype around Garnacho. He’s only 19 and he’s really improved this season. Looks like he’ll be a player. But considerably less hype around him than Mainoo and our own Evan Ferguson even. Maybe it’s because he’s been around a little longer than them.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978333#Comment_121978333

I really like him, has some level of confidence for his age and any time I've seen him has played well. Lot of potential with him, Mainoo and Hojlund. I hope their development won't be held back too much by playing in such a dysfunctional set up.

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978316#Comment_121978316

I can't stand that rag either but I did here Kieren Maguire mention something similar and he's usually on the ball when it comes to this type of stuff.

Fitz*

The CL spots race, with how the teams are looking with games played/remaining.

doc_17

Mainoo looked tired last night. I’d agree with that the second one wasn’t a penalty, but the first one appears to show contact between Antony’s thigh and Cucurella’s leg. Soft though.

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978787#Comment_121978787

Yeah I can see why both are given but they are very very soft ones to get. The type that definitely don't get overturned by VAR but also don't get given if ref doesn't call them.

Liam O

Penalties in general are a bit of a sham in the last few years. This has benefitted United as much as anyone but the move to football being a non contact sport means that even the slightest contact that can be shown on camera can be enough for a penalty. They talked about a higher bar but like anything that is subjectively applied.

Players have now grown up with the idea that you can nearly get a free goal by exaggerating any contact in the box. Not to say it hasn't been the case for a good while now and there is no real way to fix it bar letting more go which creates it's own problems.

But this isn't a peno so how could any of the above be? Really irritating, 2 non penos and another deflection

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977939#Comment_121977939

Isn't this the same thing we've heard every two years with every manager over the last twelve years?

Antony was his signing, I have no doubt about that as he came from Ajax when he did. It's quite possible he had a big input into signing Onana. Was Casemiro his signing, was Erikson, Mount or Hojlund?

Why have you Amrabat, Reguilon and Evans in that? Two loan signings and a freebie who I'm sure isn't on big money.

As far as I'm aware Malacia wasn't an expensive signing? It looked to me like he was signed to back up Shaw, a low risk with potential for high reward signing. Again I'm not sure if Ten Haag had any input into that signing.

The way I look at things is that the consistency of proven world class players not performing at United over the last twelve years and other big money signings, most of them, not working out suggests that the problems at the club can't be on the manager as it's happened consistently through five managers, I'm not including interim/caretakers. Two of those managers had won league titles in their last full season at their previous clubs.

So you've a new man running things now. I think a director of football is the most important start to a new era. A football man in charge of transfers. A man who'll tell players where to go if they come complaining about trivial stuff.

I could be completely wrong in what I'm saying but when you've had so many signings fail through five managers it just feels like something else stunk at the club.

CSF

I think the problem with those kinds of scenarios, is that depending on one’s perspective, the good signings end up being the managers, and the bad signings end up being above his head. Or viceversa, if someone is looking to bash the manager instead.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978911#Comment_121978911

The last word I'd use to describe Utd's season to date is "unlucky". They've actually ran really well in terms of game to game variance, and are still where they are. Your faith in ETH was misplaced I'm afraid.

Liam O

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121979162#Comment_121979162

I don't think you can say that so much with the clear links between himself and most of the players who have come in under his watch. He didn't negotiate the fees but given he shares an agent with his big money striker signing he must have had an idea how much of his budget would be taken by that particular one at least.

LuckyLloyd

Utd have structural problems that need to be fixed, I think everyone and their mother agrees with that. But the manager is the biggest single point of influence on results after raw budget, over and above all the other things like DoF / individual players / backroom staff / youth systems / etc. You can confidently say Utd have not had the right manager since Ferguson because you can look at every single one of Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho and Ole and see that they haven't done anything better since they left. ETH will be the same, make no mistake. So what is there really to debate?

I get it, Utd fans hate this process repeating but it will repeat and repeat until you get the right one. You can have chicken and egg arguments till the end of time, but in the mid 80's Utd were known to have a banter squad of talented underachievers under a flashy manager before the GOAT was identified and came to create the "United way".

FSG were considered a failing entity when Hodgson, Dalglish and Rodgers were the managers. The debate raged around budgets, transfer committees, individual signings, value for money and on and on and on. 4 years of Klopp later and the New York Times is doing lengthy magazine pieces on how forward thinking the data analytics department is and how the club is run like clockwork.

It's the budget and the manager, they are the biggest component of sustained success in football. And it was always thus.