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

Who's the Chelsea defender that watched the ball sailing past him instead of trying to stop it?

It's infuriating that teams make the same mistake over and over again.

Even limited players like Madueke or Mudryk could've been pivotal here - just one of them on the field with Nkunku would've been enough to stop City from fully dominating in your half, and give you a proper outball that could cut them open at any time.

Finishes 1-1.

Pleased they didn't give a penalty at the end there.

No penalty for the handball because it somehow was in a natural position pulling a player to the ground by the jersey. VAR really is a joke.

I think every fan bar City ones will be happy with today, fair play to Arsenal and liverpool, making it a quality title race

Micah Richards seems to have almost no tactical intelligence.

I'd guess that gets broken into two pieces - is he intentionally handling the ball? No. Is the pull enough for a penalty? Debatable, but they've obviously decided not. There isn't a cumulative effect from two potential issues happening together.

I'm not sure the word tactical is required in that sentence

think he's a city ambassador. should rule him out of doing their games.

Walker was really bad for that Chelsea goal. He just left Sterling and ran away from him and instead just ran towards the Chelsea attacker that was already been covered by Akanji. Left Sterling in loads of space instead.

Walker has always been culpable to brain farts or not being switched on but has used his pace to bail him out of bad positioning.

But for some reason he seems to have gained this mythical 'all round defender' moniker in the last couple years. Maybe cos he's English and they love to overhype their own. Some like to call him the best ever RB in the premier league history, which is funny IMO.

I dunno, think Walker is excellent in most departments.

I miss when Zivchenko played for City because he always gave up chances.

As an aside, have to laugh at Sky headlines that "Haaland shoves camera in frustration". Maybe he just doesn't like a camera in his face panning for a full 360 degrees pan?

Steve Finnan was another in that vain, an incredibly solid fullback who didn't often need heroics because he just kept things locked down. Chipped in on the attack too, and was remarkably two footed for a fella people don't think of as 'technical'.

Wouldn't be too worried about Bradley given his age. He's getting game time at a big club at 20, and he's showing his value. Wouldn't think there would be any consideration of "guaranteed starts" at this point - that's quite a rarity in football contracts outside of loan deals.

Given Trent's clear preference to move into midfield sooner rather than later - and him being in the midst of his own contract negotiations at the moment - Bradley's situation is likely a problem that solves itself.

You hear people talking about Cole as the best left back, I watched a popular video on youtube recently that had him as the best back ever, ahead of Maldini or Carlos or whoever.

People can think what they like, but if I am picking a best PL 11 then Irwin is playing, and and the only reason he isn't left back is if I decide to put him at right back.

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The video was saying that Maldini might be a better defender and Carlos a better attacker, but Cole was the better all round.

Which is a load of bollocks, and while I rated Cole he is severely overrated in these discussions.

While thinking about this, I see that Robertson has the same goals and more assists in 200 less games than Cole did. Thats actually crazy.

What rarely gets taken into account is the manager and teams that players play for.

It's the classic chicken and egg. Is a player great because of trophies? Or do you simply trust your eyes? The answer is a combination of both.

Walker is a PL great, but your eyes tell you his greatness is partly down to Guerdiola's system. He's a brilliant recovery defender, but positionally, as dodgy as most.

Cole is a PL great, and your eyes tell you he's good positionally, with recovery pace, but isn't as good in attack as he should be.

Neville, another PL great, but the eyes tell you he's very disciplined, is extremely coachable, played is Ferguson's team, could cross, but didn't have the pace and raw ability of others.

Irwin is another great, but your eyes tell you he did everything to a high standard, while also hitting a mean set piece.

Don't trust anyone who just uses stats to back up their argument. There has to be an eye test balance.

I do you have to be mindful of the different styles of play when comparing players across different eras too.

From 2016-2022 ish, the PL has the winger type full backs. A lot of full backs now seem to be either covering CBs or inverting midfielders. These players have to be technically excellent and are expected to be an attacking hub in the team.

The 90s had a different mentality with full backs being defenders first. Attacking was not one of the primary concerns. It was much lower down the list. Being solid defensively and not letting your winger beat you was much more important. Show him down the line etc. Neville played as a CB for England in a back 3 if memory serves me correctly, so that showed the mindset that that era of defenders had. Even the full backs just wanted to defend, not just CBs.

The 2005-2015 ish era was a bit of both mixed together. Have to be competent at both, without excelling, so sometimes players like Azpilcueta get overlooked. A bit of the Neville about him and Ivanovic in that they seemed to be more traditional defenders asked to be played as a wide defender.

There was a good piece a few years ago about defenders being born in the wrong era. They used Aaron Wan Bissaka as the example of being a great 90s full back but a poor 20s full back.

Watching MOTD here, some awful VAR calls. Toney should have had a penalty, Neco Williams should as well. And it’s so inconsistent, Schar gets one for clear holding whilst Jota was wrestled to the ground and didn’t get one.

Must be upgraded to a red, and it is.

Holgate with a wild tackle.

I'm aware that players like Timber & Jesus have had their long term injury problems but Arsenal have been relatively injury free this season. Certainly in comparison to other teams.

Raya

White Gabriel Saliba

Rice Odegaard Havertz

Saka Martinelli

Those players are all in their main starting 11, irrespective of who is available and they missed a combined 5 PL games through injury this season. Arsenal having the majority of games with 8/9 of their main starting players having full availability is a major help in the title race, especially at this stage of the season.

I don't think Arsenal are better than Liverpool or Man City but having key players available more frequently is something they have over the other teams.

Mass confusion there, but Brighton have taken the lead.

How did the referee only give a yellow card for that Holgate 'tackle'?

Has to be given more than the 3 game ban IMO. Dangerous, reckless and could do serious damage to Mitoma. The cheek to even complain then.