Premier League 2018/19

[stokeriño]

Dominate the half, but only 1-0 up. Pretty standard these days. Currently pretty confident we won't fluff it.

Dat Hazard goal tho.

[DavidMarrio]

Hazard needs to bore off scoring goals like that before you lot play us... if there anyone who loves playing against Liverpool it's that prick:( 

Stunning goal though. Absolute filth

[MDK]

Really nice pass by Barkley there and a nice finish from the Real Madrid player

[stokeriño]

If that game doesn't exemplify how fucked we'll be once Hazard's gone, nothing will.

[MDK]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/danny-drinkwater-arrested-suspicion-drink-14267092

Quote

Chelsea and England footballer Danny Drinkwater is in police custody tonight after being arrested on suspicion of drink driving following a crash.

The 29-year-old had reportedly left a party in Greater Manchester shortly before his Range Rover crashed into a Skoda at around 12.30am.

Drinkwater was reportedly with a female who he had met at the party in Hale when he allegedly crashed in Mere, Cheshire.

The duo were both treated for minor injuries, it is claimed, along with a female Skoda driver.

Debris was left strewn across the road following the smash.

He had been at a charity event at a plush bar named Victors, where revellers were urged to dress "like chavs".

Urge to pun rising...

[stokeriño]

So far as I can tell, since becoming largely estranged from the Chelsea matchday squad, DD has spent most of his time out on the lash. Obviously the initials DD potentially now stand for drink-driving as well, the utter pillock.

He should count his lucky stars that he's not Raheem Sterling/Ashley Cole/insert other favourite target of the tabloids here.

[Hobo]

Quote

He had been at a charity event at a plush bar named Victors, where revellers were urged to dress "like chavs".

 

Nothing says charity event like cosplaying poor people and getting pissed 

[MDK]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/04/11/harry-kane-miss-remainder-spurs-season-uefa-nations-league-final/

Quote

Harry Kane to miss remainder of Spurs' season and Uefa Nations League final

Harry Kane is expected to be out for up to three months with his latest ankle injury.

The ligament damage means that he will not only miss the rest of Tottenham Hotspur’s season but will not lead England at June’s Uefa Nations League final in Portugal which will be a huge blow to Gareth Southgate.

England’s first fixture takes place against Holland on June 6 and the manager will be desperate to have Kane there.

Kane suffered what Spurs called a “significant lateral ligament” injury to his left ankle during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Manchester City at home on Tuesday.

The injury was sustained as Kane tackled City’s Fabian Delph by the touchline in the second-half with the striker immediately limping off in pain and not even attempting to continue.

Bugger.

[DavidMarrio]

Spurs have looked better without him a lot of the time from games I've seen. 

Son has had a cracking season. Could be a blessing in disguise. 

[Adam]

Is it too late to get Son in the England team as well?

[Nerf]

2 hours ago, DavidMarrio said:

Spurs have looked better without him a lot of the time from games I've seen. 

Son has had a cracking season. Could be a blessing in disguise. 

That's what I'm thinking. Spurs (and arguably England) just seem to play more coherently when he isn't the focal point. I don't think it's a coincidence that they've gone from challenging the top 2 to fighting for anywhere between 3rd-6th since he returned from injury. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they pushed on from here.

[Colly]

Honestly I think it is coincidence to an extent. It's a good first team but after that there's a good few players who are alright but not massively productive (I like the look of Moura but he's been hot and cold when I've watched him). I think there's a fair bit of burnout amongst a team of players playing an awful lot of games, and less of a plan B than say City and Liverpool. Not helped of course by not signing anyone.

Outside looking in, I could be talking nonsense...

[Gazz]

55 minutes ago, Nerf said:

That's what I'm thinking. Spurs (and arguably England) just seem to play more coherently when he isn't the focal point. I don't think it's a coincidence that they've gone from challenging the top 2 to fighting for anywhere between 3rd-6th since he returned from injury. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they pushed on from here.

I don't think that's the case at all. Five league games before he got injured, he had five goals and two assists and Spurs scored fifteen goals.

In the six league games since he's come back, he's scored three. They just had two horror away shows (an at the time inform Burnley and a resurgent Southampton) and then games against Arsenal at home and Chelsea and Liverpool away.

They'll probably kick on now without him because they've got six games left against five teams that are allergic to defending.

[Lineker]

3 hours ago, DavidMarrio said:

Spurs have looked better without him a lot of the time from games I've seen. 

Son has had a cracking season. Could be a blessing in disguise. 

The stats actually back this post up. We are better without Kane this season, technically. It's also a bit shit timing as Dele fractured his hand in the same match.

As long as Son keeps firing, we should be shutting Kane down until August. No rushing back this time.

[Adam]

You're not really better without him though, a slightly higher win percentage without him in 8 games is not significant when set against the 39 games he has played.

I don't think we can really say Spurs will be better off without Harry Kane in their team. They have however proven they can compete without him, thanks in no small part to how good Son has been this season.

[Lineker]

Son has been class for the last three seasons. Indispensable. 

[Colly]

Massive.

[TCO]

Basically safe now. Need to get Rafa signed up or it's all for nothing.

I've maintained all year Spurs should sell Kane. He'd command an astronomical fee + the Levy blinder bonus that would pay a fair chunk of that stadium off and allow them to flesh out their squad. He's an unbelievable striker but I's still sell up if I were Spurs.

[Jimmy]

Selling him would be the most ridiculous thing. 

He is the beating heart of the team. He's Tottenham through and through. It's amazing having a player come through the academy be this good. If anything, this season, he feels like he's turning into a more complete player, he's getting more assists, he drops deeper to dictate play and turn playmaker (like he does for England). And he's one of those players that lifts the team around him when he's in it. 

I'd very prefer if we didn't rush him back from injury so often. I wish he wouldn't be thrown straight back into the first team when he comes back (like we did with him against Burnley). But he's a great professional, great role model and one of our own.

If we sold him, other players would want out. We'd also probably blow all the cash on some shit players. 

[Adam]

11 hours ago, TCO said:

Basically safe now. Need to get Rafa signed up or it's all for nothing.

I've maintained all year Spurs should sell Kane. He'd command an astronomical fee + the Levy blinder bonus that would pay a fair chunk of that stadium off and allow them to flesh out their squad. He's an unbelievable striker but I's still sell up if I were Spurs.

The old "sell your best player to buy lots of other players" is something I see a lot from football fans, even in reference to their own team. It's rather silly in my opinion and I think comes from playing too much Football Manager (in general, not meaning you with that one TCO!).

The aim is surely to cultivate the best squad possible, and, in Harry Kane, Spurs have one of the premier strikers in world football. If they sold him, their team would get weaker no matter who they signed to replace him. You can count on one hand the forwards actually better than him and none of them are viable signings for Spurs.

In fact, Spurs are a good example of where selling your best player for a shedload makes you weaker - they sold Gareth Bale for a world record fee and proceeded to blow the money on a load of players who, by and large, didn't cut the mustard. It took them a few seasons, and unearthing gems like Kane and Alli, to hit the point they're at now.

In 1999 or 2000, if someone had suggested Newcastle sell Alan Shearer for loads of money so you could sign a bunch of other players, would you have taken it?