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The 2016-2017 Football Thread
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I think so , though Barnsley have sacked their coach over a reported bung exposed by the Telegraph, and it looks like their certainly could be other fallout. This could get much, much bigger.
EDIT: A quick op-ed from the Guardian commenting on the threat of greed and the failures of self-policing in the sport.
We all know there is a huge amount of corruption, racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia in world football - the sport is governed and controlled by and large as a good-'ol-boys-club consisting of autocrats, political strongmen, career bureaucrats, petro-billionaires, media tycoons, slick agents, legal sharks, fraudsters, profiteers, corporate interests, and all the old-fashioned machismo that pollutes those groups.
It's not hard to find what's wrong with the game - but since the problems are at least partially structural, the self-policing status that FAs and FIFA enjoy means that reform is just not going to happen until they are called to account by outside parties.
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Excellent article and thanks for linking it; in nay case, Simon Jenkins is always well worth reading as he writes intelligent, thoughtful, well researched pieces in a tight, elegant prose.
A mixed bag from Liverpool today; poor overall in the first half - sluggish in the attack, poor finishing and leaked a goal. But a great response in the second half, where the team showed that they can press hard the whole match, and in the end they got the job done.
The biggest worry remains the fact that opposing teams know they will always score at least once against Liverpool. In order to be a true contender a team must keep clean sheets at least some of the time, or wins turn into draws and that is two points lost.
Karius had a shaky performance, failing to command his area. To be fair, he's coming off a significant injury and has no previous experience in England, so he deserves some patience. But at the moment he's showing the same failing that got Mignolet dropped and replaced by Karius in the first place.
Both Lallana and Lovren picked up injuries, but with an international break coming up they could get some needed recovery time if Klopp can keep them from getting called up.
The biggest worry remains the fact that opposing teams know they will always score at least once against Liverpool. In order to be a true contender a team must keep clean sheets at least some of the time, or wins turn into draws and that is two points lost.
Karius had a shaky performance, failing to command his area. To be fair, he's coming off a significant injury and has no previous experience in England, so he deserves some patience. But at the moment he's showing the same failing that got Mignolet dropped and replaced by Karius in the first place.
Both Lallana and Lovren picked up injuries, but with an international break coming up they could get some needed recovery time if Klopp can keep them from getting called up.
A draw for the hammers against Boro. A game I'd have expected to win at the start of the season, but on current form I'll take it!
Man City v Spurs tomorrow should be a good game. Given how many points City already are amassing, I think I'll be chearing on the Lilly whites!
Man City v Spurs tomorrow should be a good game. Given how many points City already are amassing, I think I'll be chearing on the Lilly whites!
Spurs still look good defensively, but if they want a result they need to put Man City's defense under pressure. Guardiola teams always look a tad suspect in defense - but their attacking prowess usually more than makes up for it. But as Celtic showed, they can be fallible. No Kane or D Bruyne, so each team will be missing a key attacker.
I'm the last person to want to give Man Utd due credit, but I think it's fair to say they were unlucky to draw today. Having said that, I remember all the times Liverpool hit the bar in their "almost" title-winning season in 2013-14, so I can't be too sympathetic. You have top put the ball in the back of the net.
Stoke have been terrible this season and while they were lucky today, you could also say they played very well in stretches and a few players had standout performances (Allen, Grant).
Pogba...his confidence must be rock-bottom if he's missing chances like that. Mourinho still has a lot of work to do.
Stoke have been terrible this season and while they were lucky today, you could also say they played very well in stretches and a few players had standout performances (Allen, Grant).
Pogba...his confidence must be rock-bottom if he's missing chances like that. Mourinho still has a lot of work to do.
For the cost of Pogba, I expect more. Yes, he just came back to the Premiership and all that. But...
Well done, Stoke. They took their chances, whereas Manchester United failed to convert theirs.
Actually, I am not all that sorry for Manchester United: In their pomp, they were notorious for bullying referees to add three, four, five minutes after the standard 90, - not a mere one or two - and then proceeding to use this to eke out a 1-0 win.
As a team, they haven't gelled, and I am delighted that Mr Mourinho is not enjoying his more usual effortlessly successful start; the man would be insufferable and excruciatingly insulting were he to enjoy the success that used to accompany his arrival at a fresh club.
As for Pogba, it is nice to see demigods brought to earth; adulation and extortionate sums of money need to be justified, and while he may have cost the earth, it is clear that he has yet to prove himself in this setting. At the end of the day, he is a professional, and thus far, his performance has not justified either his salary or his reputation.
Now, by way of striking contrast, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already demonstrated why he is still a force to be reckoned with in his mid thirties.
Agreed.
[doublepost=1475419345][/doublepost]Spurs two-nil up against Manchester City, but I cannot believe they have just missed a penalty and blew the chance to make it three nil.
[doublepost=1475421105][/doublepost]And Spurs have defeated Manchester City 2-0 in a hard fought match; this is a superb result for them.
Well, Liverpool's previous draw with Spurs looks all the better in light of Tottenham's swatting of Man City today.
Spurs look like real contenders again this year - I know, it's the choking at the end that will supposedly do them in, but at the moment they are certainly a team to be reckoned with.
Man City looking a little shaky just now, but I expect them to snap out of it in their next match.
Spurs look like real contenders again this year - I know, it's the choking at the end that will supposedly do them in, but at the moment they are certainly a team to be reckoned with.
Man City looking a little shaky just now, but I expect them to snap out of it in their next match.
We scraped that in the dying seconds! Say what you like, we came to play football, Burnley came to park the bus...
I support Arsenal, but Burnley have a right to scrap - and play to a shape - that suits their limited resources and, - to be fair - they defended brilliantly. In fact, - in all honesty - for a defensive display of that sort, they would have deserved a point from the encounter.
While I am massively relieved at this Arsenal victory (and am huge fan of Mr Wenger) let us not be ungenerous; Burnley were unlucky to lose, and Arsenal most fortunate to snatch victory at the death - and that in somewhat dodgy circumstances.
Having said that, the ability to ground out bleak victories is a mark of teams with serious aspirations, and thus, this is a valuable victory for Arsenal.
Hm. Not sure that this will happen under the mercurial Mr Mourinho.
However, what is of some interest is the fact that he has rarely started out in a fresh appointment so poorly and with such a ragged and not quite coherent sense of organisation in the deployment and preparation of the team.
Moreover, it is telling to me that he is publicly criticising his players after barely two months as manager. Normally, the toxic elements of his personality only come to the fore after a successful first season when the wheels start coming off sometime in the second, or - in the past - third, seasons. This is unusually early for dressing room - and other - tensions to have emerged, and I doubt that it will endear him overly much to his players.
Bob Bradley becomes the first American to manage a Premier League team.
It's a brave (or foolhardy) move. Swansea are struggling, and with Swansea owners being American there will always be accusations that the move was not made on merit. On top of that some people will always be disgruntled that he was hired over Ryan Giggs.
With that being said, Bradley is a decent manager. He is not flashy though, so Swansea fans should not expect a flowing passing game. He has also never hung around long - his 2006-2011 gig for the USMNT was his only job lasting more than two years. I'm not sure what target Swansea have for him but anything above mid table is highly unlikely. Staying up is a more realistic goal.
It's a brave (or foolhardy) move. Swansea are struggling, and with Swansea owners being American there will always be accusations that the move was not made on merit. On top of that some people will always be disgruntled that he was hired over Ryan Giggs.
With that being said, Bradley is a decent manager. He is not flashy though, so Swansea fans should not expect a flowing passing game. He has also never hung around long - his 2006-2011 gig for the USMNT was his only job lasting more than two years. I'm not sure what target Swansea have for him but anything above mid table is highly unlikely. Staying up is a more realistic goal.
So Villa haven't gone straight to the top of the Championship so what do they do? Sack the manager of course.
When will clubs learn, a period of consistency is better than changing every five minutes?
I also read some press suggesting Slaven Billic may also be under pressure. Hope this is just lazy reporting and there is no truth in it.
We need to give him time to turn things around.
When will clubs learn, a period of consistency is better than changing every five minutes?
I also read some press suggesting Slaven Billic may also be under pressure. Hope this is just lazy reporting and there is no truth in it.
We need to give him time to turn things around.
I hear we choked last season but i'm not sure how when we were never leading the Premier League? What did we choke exactly?
The choking remark was a bit tongue in cheek - a sarcastic reference to a stereotype. Though, I think it's fair to say that Spurs looked tired at the end of last season and missed a few good opportunities to make the title race even closer than it was. Mind you, if Spurs choked Arsenal were arguably even more guilty in that regard.
Pochettino is one of the best managers in the league, and under him they could become a more regular top 4 finisher, especially if Chelsea and Man U continue to struggle (not to mention the transition period Arsenal face post-Wenger).
Pochettino is one of the best managers in the league, and under him they could become a more regular top 4 finisher, especially if Chelsea and Man U continue to struggle (not to mention the transition period Arsenal face post-Wenger).
You got pipped to 2nd by your worst enemy when it all but looked set in stone?
Agree that Mr Pochettino is one of the best managers in the league.
This year is already shaping up to be an intriguing contest between mangers.
This is a test where experience, skill, judgment, temperament and basic issues of character will all be examined closely and where how the respective managers approach their respective situations will prove to be one of the most fascinating elements of the Premiership this season.
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