Premier League 2023/24

[Szumi]

Maybe asking 37(?) year old Ashley Young to keep up with Luis Diaz was a bad idea, Dyche!? Everton about to bunker down even more now. Think Darwin Nunez is going to be a big impact sub second half for us.

[Baddar]

So not only is the forced Discovery Plus app shit, somebody has decided that Rio Ferdinand should pull double duty and do commentary as well as punditry. Excellent. 🙃

[Adam]

21 minutes ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

Maybe asking 37(?) year old Ashley Young to keep up with Luis Diaz was a bad idea, Dyche!? Everton about to bunker down even more now. Think Darwin Nunez is going to be a big impact sub second half for us.

Young is a more competent and disciplined defender than Patterson, who is the only other option. Stupid of him to get himself sent off like, but that's hardly Sean Dyche's fault.

[Baddar]

 

 

[stokeriño]

Quite why it should annoy me that Gary Lineker has independently made the same joke that I made in a private chat months ago, I cannot fathom. But brains are stupid, so annoyed I am.

[Baddar]

Konate has escaped a 2nd yellow there.

[Colly]

1 minute ago, Baddar said:

Konate has escaped a 2nd yellow there.

Klopp will definitely complain about it given all his refereeing complaints are about the good of the game and not the benefit of Liverpool. 

[Baddar]

That's a handball.

[Szumi]

10 minutes ago, Baddar said:

Konate has escaped a 2nd yellow there.

Eh. That seemed just as much Beto throwing himself into Konate than him actually making a foul. I wouldn't have been surprised if the referee made the decision still, but that was a lot less of a foul than either of Ashley Young's three or four.

 

I do feel bad for Everton though. It's always going to be called a penalty. It was unfortunate for Keane because of how close it was, but yeah, referees are always calling that now.

[The Lusophone]

Konate should absolutely have been sent off. Tsimikas lucky with some of his fouls too. Very inconsistent refereeing.

[Adam]

17 minutes ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

Eh. That seemed just as much Beto throwing himself into Konate than him actually making a foul. I wouldn't have been surprised if the referee made the decision still, but that was a lot less of a foul than either of Ashley Young's three or four.

 

I do feel bad for Everton though. It's always going to be called a penalty. It was unfortunate for Keane because of how close it was, but yeah, referees are always calling that now.

Of course it's a second yellow for Konate. The inconsistency is baffling, I just don't understand it.

No complaints for the penalty mind. Keane's arm is out, that's an infringement.

[Szumi]

Even if it is a second yellow for that, genuinely wouldn't have minded. 10 v 10 was only going to help Liverpool because Everton would have broken their 5-3-1 up. I've seen it one time, it looked a whole lot like Beto throwing himself into Konate, and the commentators on my feed both saying it's not a yellow. Fair play to anyone's opinion. 

[Lineker]

So The Athletic have had a crack at ranking all 20 PL stadiums: 

Quote

Coming to this order has been a long, methodical process involving a working group that broke the scoring into four categories:

• Matchday experience — including seat views, community feel, accessibility and amenities inside and near the stadium (40 per cent of the final total)
• Match atmosphere — with consideration for home and away supporters (25 per cent)
• Transport and location — how easy it is to get to and from the stadium (20 per cent)
• Aesthetics — such as design, character, surroundings, history and other intangibles (15 per cent)

The panel was asked to submit marks out of 10 for each stadium in each category, which were then averaged and weighted as above — giving an objective final ranking.

There are complexities to each category. A ground’s atmosphere can depend on the form of a team, the status of the opposition and whether the floodlights are on.

Equally, your matchday experience can be influenced by how safe you feel or how swiftly stewards deal with an abusive or racist supporter nearby.

As for the aesthetics, stadium architectural historian Simon Inglis said most grounds “are simply an agglomeration of decisions made by different directors over different eras in different circumstances. I hold my hand up to extolling a shambles over a masterplan and prefer asymmetry and quirky angles to a uniform bowl, but I also appreciate that a uniform bowl will almost always be functionally superior”.

Our working panel and consultation included Inglis, our own writers, which includes a broad cross-section of match-going supporters, and guidance from the Football Supporters’ Association.

And here's what they came up with (full breakdown of scoring at the bottom of the article):

Spoiler

20. Vitality Stadium (Bournemouth)
19. Kenilworth Road (Luton)
18. Selhurst Park (Crystal Palace)
17. Turf Moor (Burnley)
16. The American Express Stadium (Brighton)
15. Craven Cottage (Fulham)
14. Goodison Park (Everton)
13. Bramall Lane (Sheffield Utd)
12. The City Ground (Nottingham Forest)
11. Etihad Stadium (Manchester City)
10. London Stadium (West Ham)
9. Stamford Bridge (Chelsea)
8. Gtech Community Stadium (Brentford)
7. Villa Park (Aston Villa)
6. Molineux (Wolves)
5. Anfield (Liverpool)
4. Emirates Stadium (Arsenal)
3. Old Trafford (Manchester Utd)
2. St James’ Park (Newcastle)
1. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Tottenham)

 

[Twist]

Enjoying thinking of all the Bournemouth fans that joined in with the Kenilworth memes when Luton got promoted opening that article and realising where they were ranked.

[DavidMarrio]

Everton looked better with 10 and defended really well. Really smart changes by Dyche

Konate should have gone. Very cynical challenge and got away with one there. 

Salah getting MOTM was funny cause other than scoring he was shite.

Keane, I have no idea what he was doing. No need to have your arm out like that. Basically gave us a gift when we looked like doing nothing. 

[Szumi]

Didn't know there was a thread already, disregard.

[stokeriño]

I feel like in this Chelsea/Arsenal match, Chelsea are either going to do something utterly heroic or get swept aside with barely a whimper. There can be nothing inbetween.

(The fact that Mudryk is starting up front because both Jackson and Broja have some degree of injury puts the odds firmly in favour of the latter.)

[Colly]

I know "Newcastle buying the league with the oil money" and all that goes with that, but again we started today with 8 English players on the pitch, only two of which could even remotely be classed as "big money" signings. All 4 goals scored by English players, as were all the assists (where there was one). The level of coaching under Howe is genuinely absurd, it's one thing to turn Murphy and Longstaff into established quality Premier League players, but he's even got Jamaal Lascelles looking superb. I presume Southgate is somewhere in London.

The assist for Wilson's was absolutely outstanding too.

Apologies for Brexityness of this post.

[lanky316]

To be honest, despite all the money and everything I do like how Newcastle have gone about things. They haven't gone out and spent the money just because they have it, they've actually built a team with the right work ethic. It's unglamourous but they've not gone mad with the money and tried to force in any star who becomes available.

[stokeriño]

MUDRYYYYK