EPL Discussion Thread 2008/9

[smithy]

Not happy !
LFC with 5 man midfield,, Keane on the left,, Lucas next to masch and alonso.
Torres off with a twinge after 30 mins before being replaced by N'Gog.
So N'Gog up front and Keane stays left FFS..........

Hello !

Ryan Babel on the bench?????????

Lucas Leiva is getting more and more UN-impressive everytime I see him.

He just passes to the closest team mate immediately rather than weighing up options or trying to be productive and after that he doesn't seem to move,,,, just jogs on the spot.

I hope in the 2nd half Babel and the impressive El Zhar come onto the pitch and make an impact

[devilsadvocate]

Exactly Smithy. 30m quid worth of strikers in Keane and Kuyt, your regular front man is off the pitch, so Rafa goes for a rookie (effectively) and leaves the money men in midfield. WTF is going on at Liverpool.

Another shitehouse display with no Stevvie G or Torres to rescue a point at the back.

[devilsadvocate]

All I can say on this super Sunday is COME ON YOU SPURS!

Great to snare our first point at Stamford Bridge. Woodgate is the BEST CB in England at the moment...if not on the planet. He was immense. It was great to see Ledley King play a full 90 mins, but no doubt that'll be it from him for September as he'll be on Ice until his 1 game in Oct against the scum. Hureleo 'Octopus' Gomes is solid as a rock and commands his area like no other keeper I've seen in a Spurs shirt. Makes a hell of a difference to Robbo.

One to watch is Chris Gunter, who showed he has a future.

Good to have a point going into our game against Villa in a fortnight, which I'll be at with bells on!!!

[devilsadvocate]

Sunday, 31 August 2008
Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool - Nothing to see here.
Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham
Sunderland 0-3 Man City - Old new boy Shaun Wright Phillips with a brace and looked like a different player.
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle - Van Persie with a brace and looked brilliant in the process (despite being made of biscuits! ). The scum looked back to their entertaining best unfortunately, but at the end of the day, they were only playing the Geordies.
Bolton 0-0 West Brom - Nothing to see here.
Everton 0-3 Portsmouth
Hull 0-5 Wigan - Back to reality especially at the hands of Wigan
Middlesbrough 2-1 Stoke
West Ham 4-1 Blackburn - Curbishley buy himself a couple of weeks of breathing space. Looks like this could be a trend for Blackburn this term - in for some thumpings away from Ewood IMO.

It's now a fortnight until the EPL resumes do to World Cup qualifiers. Good luck to the Footballroos in Eindhoven!

[Footy Smart]

Yeah i would like to thank Joey Barton for his excellent effort of making himself look like the crim he is and then Keegan for making himself look like a bigger tool for backing Barton up. I think the Gunners made him look like a fool after that challange on Nasri.

[RoosterMarty]

All I can say on this super Sunday is COME ON YOU SPURS!

Great to snare our first point at Stamford Bridge. Woodgate is the BEST CB in England at the moment...if not on the planet. He was immense. It was great to see Ledley King play a full 90 mins, but no doubt that'll be it from him for September as he'll be on Ice until his 1 game in Oct against the scum. Hureleo 'Octopus' Gomes is solid as a rock and commands his area like no other keeper I've seen in a Spurs shirt. Makes a hell of a difference to Robbo.

One to watch is Chris Gunter, who showed he has a future.

Good to have a point going into our game against Villa in a fortnight, which I'll be at with bells on!!!

Gunter looks alright, ex-Cardiff City boy.

Fantastic effort by Spurs to get a point at the Bridge, brilliant pass to set up Bent

[Bully]

didnt see the game but spurs fans must be pleased with the result

[cyclops]

Why is Ryan Babel not used as a striker?
can any of u soccer experts tell me this,and why is he always used of the bench,i cant remember the last time he got a full game,or maybe its just that i know f#k all about soccer,i dont know.

[RoosterMarty]

didnt see the game but spurs fans must be pleased with the result

You should be happy, very good result for Arsenal as well matey... Spurs fans would be delighted.

I crashed with 20 to go, Spurs were going ok. They got a bit of luck but Chavski's goal was lucky also.

[devilsadvocate]

Why is Ryan Babel not used as a striker?
can any of u soccer experts tell me this,and why is he always used of the bench,i cant remember the last time he got a full game,or maybe its just that i know f#k all about soccer,i dont know.

No expert, but Babel isn't used as a striker because Rafa is dumb as dogshit. Worst manager in the EPL.

[devilsadvocate]

didnt see the game but spurs fans must be pleased with the result

OK, so what has your crappy side managed to do at the Bridge recently? In fact I remeber well - last season after leading and looking to establish a clear lead at the top of the prem, your lot shipped 2 late goals - 1 to Anelka - and managed to LOSE which combined with the previous week's loss to BIRMINGHAM (who if I recall correctly are now RELEGATED) put the Gooners out of contention for the title.

Chavski have a 100+ game unbeaten streak at home. Taking a point isn't to be sneezed at, especially after the start we'd had. Further, to play so badly - not being able to string together more than 2 passes - and still get a point at the toughest place to do so in the prem is reason enough to be pleased with the result. Not pleased with the performance, but pleased with the result.

Glass houses.....

[devilsadvocate]

Yeah i would like to thank Joey Barton for his excellent effort of making himself look like the crim he is and then Keegan for making himself look like a bigger tool for backing Barton up. I think the Gunners made him look like a fool after that challange on Nasri.

I agree 100%, but Nasri did flatten Barton behind the play to spark the whole incident.

Brave by Nasri, personally I'd be staying well away from Barton the psychopath!

[cyclops]

Why is Ryan Babel not used as a striker?
can any of u soccer experts tell me this,and why is he always used of the bench,i cant remember the last time he got a full game,or maybe its just that i know f#k all about soccer,i dont know.

No expert, but Babel isn't used as a striker because Rafa is dumb as dogshit. Worst manager in the EPL.

say how u really feel mate.

[devilsadvocate]

Why is Ryan Babel not used as a striker?
can any of u soccer experts tell me this,and why is he always used of the bench,i cant remember the last time he got a full game,or maybe its just that i know f#k all about soccer,i dont know.

No expert, but Babel isn't used as a striker because Rafa is dumb as dogshit. Worst manager in the EPL.

say how u really feel mate.

No disrespect to Liverpool, but Rafa is taking the piss. They'll never be title contenders while he's there.
No Gerrard and Liverpool aren't the same side.

[RoosterMarty]

Rafa is good in Europe but completely clueless in the EPL. They will never, ever win a title under that hack manager. Too scared to go for a win so he plays strikers like Keane and Kuyt in the midfield, it's like he doesn't care about the title and only has eyes on Europe.

Liverpool are nothing but a cup team.

[JK]

Europe is Rafa's only source of decent $$ so I often wonder whether that influences his style as we know he's constantly at odds with the club about the lack of funds at his disposal.

Whilst I have had (and still do) concerns of my own over Rafa's style in the EPL, he's never had a list as good as the other 3 anyway so hard to put the blame on his feet ... Ridiculous call to suggest he's the worst manager in the comp.

[devilsadvocate]

Yeah, got a bit carried away with that one CP .
Kuyt's goal last week to secure CL at Anfield this season was worth 16m quid to the club. So agree that Rafa's focus on getting there is warranted. However, Most fans I'm sure would far rather see the Reds challenging for the EPL title.

Also agree that Liverpool just don't have the list to do that at this stage and until they spend some coin, that's not going to change.

[JK]

However, Most fans I'm sure would far rather see the Reds challenging for the EPL title.

Oh for sure, no argument there whatsoever mate ... We're a long way off that though and unfortunately in the current era, I don't think the gap will ever be bridged until we develop an income stream to rival the big 4 (particularly the top 2), but sadly that's at least 5 years away at best, hence the bewildering decision to sell the club to the Yanks instead of the DIC who it's believed would have been more likely to throw some decent bikkies at big name players ala Romanovich with the Grinners.

One thing Rafa has done, and I like this, is buy good kids in recent years ... As rare as it is, unearthing some youngsters that rival the ability of say Ronaldo or Rooney or Fabregas might be our best chance of taking some extra steps.

[devilsadvocate]

However, Most fans I'm sure would far rather see the Reds challenging for the EPL title.

Oh for sure, no argument there whatsoever mate ... We're a long way off that though and unfortunately in the current era, I don't think the gap will ever be bridged until we develop an income stream to rival the big 4 (particularly the top 2), but sadly that's at least 5 years away at best, hence the bewildering decision to sell the club to the Yanks instead of the DIC who it's believed would have been more likely to throw some decent bikkies at big name players ala Romanovich with the Grinners.

One thing Rafa has done, and I like this, is buy good kids in recent years ... As rare as it is, unearthing some youngsters that rival the ability of say Ronaldo or Rooney or Fabregas might be our best chance of taking some extra steps.

In the link in the transfer thread to the Man City takeover, the DIC have stated that their goal is to win the Premier Leage title and take Citeh into the top 4 this season .

It's going to take probably a £250m+ investment in players to get to an EPL winning stage.

Would have been much cheaper and easier at Liverpool given the likes of Stevvie G and Torres to build a team around. Citeh have....um......errr.....?????

[Bully]

didnt see the game but spurs fans must be pleased with the result

You should be happy, very good result for Arsenal as well matey... Spurs fans would be delighted.

I crashed with 20 to go, Spurs were going ok. They got a bit of luck but Chavski's goal was lucky also.

yes very happy but a certain player ( Joey barton ) seems to have some issues lately