Premier League 2018/19

[stokeriño]

Meanwhile, I've just seen that Shirley scored in the other game.  

[MDK]

Just now, stokerino said:

Meanwhile, I've just seen that Shirley scored in the other game.  

Tidy finish too

[Liam]

7 minutes ago, stokerino said:

Meanwhile, I've just seen that Shirley scored in the other game.  

It was the only one of his ten shots to go in >_>

Nah, all jokes aside he was really good today. We look different gravy at times going forward, whilst we look like fucking gravy granules in defense.

[stokeriño]

Who knew that all we needed was some dodgy officiating and an own-goal to make a game interesting?

[Twist]

82% possession?!

Urgh.

[MDK]

45 minutes ago, Liam said:

It was the only one of his ten shots to go in >_> 

Nah, all jokes aside he was really good today. We look different gravy at times going forward, whilst we look like fucking gravy granules in defense. 

Aren't you missing your two centrebacks?

[Liam]

2 hours ago, MDK said:

Aren't you missing your two centrebacks?

Yes-ish. Mawson will probably be out main centreback, but I'm not sure if Ream will be the guy for us in the long run. He was good for the last couple of years, but I feel Le Marchand and Chambers were brought in to fill that spot. 

[FLiam]

Even though I watched the majority of that Newcastle/Chelsea game, it only just occurred to me that Newcastle were the home team. 

What an embarrassing way to play football. 

I reckon Cardiff will manage more at home against any of the top 6. We have them next, so we'll see. 

[Gazz]

They said that last year when we lost 1-0 to Man City and then we had a far superior goal difference to the teams around us that had gone and got dicked by them.

[Matt]

6 hours ago, stokerino said:

I'm still not used to watching Chelsea have this kind of possession. The longer we go in a match without scoring, the more I worry we'll end up in an Arsenal-esque "yeah we dropped points, but...the possession stats..." cul-de-sac.

Yeah tbf what you need to do is dominate possession and absolutely muller teams so that they think they got away lightly with a 3-0 loss.

 

#Bielsasonfireyourdefenceisterrified #WGUAFC

[Liam]

Seri is a ridiculously good player. I mean, you'd expect it at £25 mil, but his touch and passing is something else compared to what I am used to.

[FLiam]

That goal was an absolute belter too.

[Baddar]

Just cancelled my BT Sport subscription - it was 20-odd quid a month when I first started using it, but it's £33 now. Plus I was relying on using the App for it more than anything, so I wasn't getting the full benefit.

But, I'm planning on picking up the new Samsung tablet soon, and if you pay monthly with EE, you get BT Sport for free with them anyway for 2 years. I figure if I'm paying almost £30 a month, I might as well have a new tablet and a data plan out of it to go with the football!

[Colly]

12 hours ago, Gazz said:

They said that last year when we lost 1-0 to Man City and then we had a far superior goal difference to the teams around us that had gone and got dicked by them.

Which proved utterly irrelevant as goal difference wasn't remotely involved in the relegation battle, as per the vast majority of Premier League seasons. I think goal difference has only sent teams down 3 or 4 times from memory. 

This playing for a narrow loss business is nonsensical, I'm not suggesting going 3-2-5 but to have no outlet whatsoever meant that we were always getting beat just like that City game. If either side had been more clinical we could have conceded 4 or 5, but the outcome would still be 0 points. 

[Baddar]

Mignolet isn't happy that Karius has been allowed to leave on loan instead of him.

[Gazz]

1 hour ago, Colly said:

Which proved utterly irrelevant as goal difference wasn't remotely involved in the relegation battle, as per the vast majority of Premier League seasons. I think goal difference has only sent teams down 3 or 4 times from memory. 

This playing for a narrow loss business is nonsensical, I'm not suggesting going 3-2-5 but to have no outlet whatsoever meant that we were always getting beat just like that City game. If either side had been more clinical we could have conceded 4 or 5, but the outcome would still be 0 points. 

Yeah, but that's with the benefit of hindsight. If we'd finished 17th by +1 goal difference to 18th last season, that game would be seen as a masterclass in pragmatic football.

[Colly]

Nonsense. Why would that be the game you looked back to? He rested players for that game, then we failed to score at home to Brighton days later. Had we gone down on goal difference it wouldn't have been the City game I'd be looking at. A "respectable" loss to City gains us nothing. 

[Gazz]

Obviously he's not setting us up to earn a respectable loss, no manager would do that. He's setting us up to not concede any goals and then potentially we could nick a goal from a set-piece or a counter. This was exactly the game plan he employed yesterday. Do I enjoy watching my team concede 80% possession, defend as a nine in the final third and basically see a 0-0 at home as a good result? No. Do I understand why he does it? Yes. Rafa's a pragmatist and he is well aware that in football, if you keep a clean sheet, you're guaranteed a points return from the game.

[Colly]

Also, hindsight my arse. 

His intentions are unquestionably a nil nil-ler, but his tactics aren't going to achieve that and failed to do so every time he tried. It's the fans that see the 1-0 loss as a good result that I have the biggest issue with, but the tactics are terrible and we were fortunate with narrow losses in both cases. In the games where we actually set up with an attacking option we beat Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea at home. 9 points worth far more than the difference between -1 and -5 goal difference. Shut up shop at 3-0 if need be, but not before kickoff. 

[The Lusophone]

I blame Mike Ashley.