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The 2016-2017 Football Thread
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Brazil are flying again since they got rid of Dunga, and they even have their flair back. David Luiz seems out of favor as well.
I think Argentina should be able to qualify even without Messi, but it could come down to the wire, and I don't see them as serious contenders at this point. But there is a lot of time left before the WC, so things may change.
No Adam Lallana or Jordan Henderson for Liverpool's match against Everton. I expect it to be a difficult game with plenty of cards. Coutinho and Firming just flew back from Brazil, so they are going into the match on short rest.
I think Argentina should be able to qualify even without Messi, but it could come down to the wire, and I don't see them as serious contenders at this point. But there is a lot of time left before the WC, so things may change.
No Adam Lallana or Jordan Henderson for Liverpool's match against Everton. I expect it to be a difficult game with plenty of cards. Coutinho and Firming just flew back from Brazil, so they are going into the match on short rest.
Liverpool continue their dominance of the local derby, but Mane's injury could cost Liverpool points over the next few weeks if it proves serious. He is the player Liverpool miss the most when he is absent.
Coutinho had been a little flat lately, but he played well for Brazil and brought his form home with him, which is encouraging.
Liverpool's run-in: Bournemouth, Stoke, West Brom, Crystal Palace, Watford, Southampton, West Ham, Middlesbrough. On paper it is very favorable, but these are just the kind of teams Liverpool struggle against - teams where Mane's speed is especially useful.
Coutinho had been a little flat lately, but he played well for Brazil and brought his form home with him, which is encouraging.
Liverpool's run-in: Bournemouth, Stoke, West Brom, Crystal Palace, Watford, Southampton, West Ham, Middlesbrough. On paper it is very favorable, but these are just the kind of teams Liverpool struggle against - teams where Mane's speed is especially useful.
No, @Apple fanboy, as Spurs won, Chelsea's lead has been reduced to seven points (Spurs at 62, and Chelsea at 69).
Wonderful tenacity by Palace - and a perfectly ludicrous ten minutes (rather than the seven minutes initially flagged) extra as stoppage time, meaning that the match was played over a hundred minutes. Well done Palace. (And Liverpool, and Spurs).
Manchester United somewhat underwhelming, Leicester having rediscovered their brio (though I still haven't forgiven them for their treatment of Mr Ranieri), and - yes - West Ham with their fourth straight defeat. Not a good time of the year to get into that particular bad habit.
I loathe Pulis, and am not particularly fond of Big Sam either - so while these are great results from a Liverpool perspective, I cannot applaud the kind of football that produced them. Of course, I also can't help enjoying it when Mourinho is stymied by the exact same kinds of defensive tactics he often resorts to himself. It was horrible stuff to watch.
The race for the top four has tightened up a bit. Even if they win both of their games in hand, Man Utd will now only just be level with Liverpool on points, with a substantially inferior goal difference - and that means they'll still be fifth, or potentially even sixth if Arsenal win tomorrow. Mourinho's men also still have matches against Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea coming up.
Speaking of Arsenal, tomorrow's game is HUGE for Wenger's men. They need a win badly if they want to stay in the race for fourth, and they need Man City to drop points just as badly.
Leicester could still conceivably finish in the top 10. Or be relegated, though you'd have to say the clubs going down will almost certainly be one of the bottom 5-6 at this point, with Sunderland and Middlesbrough nearly certain to be relegated.
As for Ranieri, yes, I am still annoyed about it. To those who say that Shakespeare's performance justifies Ranieri's sacking I'd reply: in the short term it might have been the best option to stave off relegation - but Shakespeare will never win the league with Leicester, something Raniri has actually done. If that feat could not buy Ranieri time this season, it proves that the time modern managers are given to build and train a squad, or to fix an ailing one, is now measured in weeks rather than seasons, as it once was. Win now or get sacked, regardless of any past achievements.
The only thing Shakespeare could do to eclipse Ranieri would be winning the Champions' League.
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Well, it may not have been pretty, and am not consumed by admiration fro Mr Pulis myself, but, nevertheless, I will put that to one side as I loathe Mr Mourinho, and love to see him stymied, and struggle to handle unexpected stumbling blocks. Nevertheless, I'd be surprised to see Manchester United higher than sixth.
At this stage, I'd be surprised to see Leicester relegate - they have recovered their confidence and brio to some extent, and have rediscovered the habit of winning; not least, they have won their last four matches, and I doubt a collapse of confidence will return.
Yes, tomorrow is important for Arsenal; while I love Mr Wenger, I'm getting a little tired of the brittleness and lack of mental strength Arsenal seem increasingly prone to.
However, they do have a number of games in hand.
Nice to see Chelsea taught the lesson that they are but human, and prone to error. And yes, the contest between the top four teams - or five, or six - is extraordinarily interesting, though no less intriguing than the battle between the styles, characters, and strategies - not to mention resources and how they are deployed - of the respective managers of those top six teams. This contest of character, philosophy, ambition, strategic understanding, and deployment of pieces - or players - is nothing short of fascinating.
Middlesbrough's recent form has been grim, - which bodes ill for them, - but - until recently - they have had a surprising number of draws - the second highest in the Premiership, - and also have a rather good goal difference. They are hard to beat, but cannot score for toffee.
Palace, like Leicester, have strung a series of victories together to haul themselves out of immediate danger, whereas Sunderland have been so catastrophically, consistently - embarrassingly, and excruciatingly - awful, they deserve to relegate.
And, while Swansea and West Ham are discovering the losing habit at the wrong time of year, Hull may yet clamber out of the danger drop zone, as their current form may allow them to engineer an escape.
Sorry, @JamesMike - and my late father also supported Manchester United so I do recognise and acknowledge an emotional tug - but, as long as Mr Mourinho remains in charge at the club, I will cheer every setback that comes their way.
And again, today his conduct spoke for itself: Instead of graciously saluting an excellent tactical response to the possible threat posed by Manchester United, he sneered at how WBA chose to play.
This gentleman is a very nasty piece of work.
Just watched the highlights of our game. There weren't many. What I don't understand is how Billic (a good defender) and his assistant Dicks (a decent left back) can't get the team to defend?
Hull are not exactly prolific in front of goal, but we couldn't mark or clear the ball. As such you just invite pressure.
Very worrying. I don't believe we will go down, but we need a win or two to get the confidence back.
Hull are not exactly prolific in front of goal, but we couldn't mark or clear the ball. As such you just invite pressure.
Very worrying. I don't believe we will go down, but we need a win or two to get the confidence back.
Four straight defeats strikes me as something that may have become habit forming.
What I can't understand is the lack of motivation, discipline, intellectual curiosity (in wishing to want to learn how to be better, and studying how others who are better manage to do this) and mental strength in players who are 1) paid obscene sums of money to 2) do a job that they actually love and are usually preternaturally good at.
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That's alright. The trick is to finish 6th to come up in the playoffs. It's never the third place team.
Dropped to 7th...
Dropped to 7th...
Quite a few names there, that used to grace what is now the Premiership at one time or another.......
And yes, agreed, seventh is exactly where you do not wish to find yourself.
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Rarely the third placed team, agreed; sometimes, though, it is the fourth, fifth or - and not as often as people seem to think - sixth. (Now, the detailed statistics of this would make for an interesting study).
There are days in my life when I want to kill Arsenal. As of now, today looks like being one of them.
And now, I am mopping my brow. With relief.
Arsenal, why do you put me through such emotional turmoil?
Well, at least they did not collapse, and - twice - clawed back a goal, having conceded the lead - twice - yes, stupidly. So, some degree of fortitude and mental resilience displayed.
Having said that, Chelsea will be more than a little relieved.
Arsenal, why do you put me through such emotional turmoil?
Well, at least they did not collapse, and - twice - clawed back a goal, having conceded the lead - twice - yes, stupidly. So, some degree of fortitude and mental resilience displayed.
Having said that, Chelsea will be more than a little relieved.
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It's okay. Your next game will most likely be an easy win.
No.
At this stage, I don't trust Arsenal to preserve their mental strength and resilience.
Now, while I greatly admire, esteem and respect Mr Wenger - and Decent Brother has been teasing me about "blind spots" - and "not learning from mistakes" and "failing to provide a sturdy enough defence" - and do not wish to see him shafted, I do wish that he would admit the possibility of occasional errors in his approach. Such as his - um - blind spot - on defensive matters.
Arsenal really needed to win that game. Neither Manchester club took three points this weekend either, however, so everything is still tight.
A good weekend for Spurs and Liverpool. Chelsea are going to win the league so their loss is irrelevant (as is West Brom's win; they are the definition of mediocrity in the context of the Premier League - neither good nor bad).
Man City face Chelsea on Wednesday - a draw will see Man City tied with Liverpool on points, but with an inferior goal difference, with the same number of games played. If they win, they'll leapfrog Liverpool.
Man Utd and Arsenal will now feel a great deal of pressure to win their games in hand over Man City and Liverpool.
A good weekend for Spurs and Liverpool. Chelsea are going to win the league so their loss is irrelevant (as is West Brom's win; they are the definition of mediocrity in the context of the Premier League - neither good nor bad).
Man City face Chelsea on Wednesday - a draw will see Man City tied with Liverpool on points, but with an inferior goal difference, with the same number of games played. If they win, they'll leapfrog Liverpool.
Man Utd and Arsenal will now feel a great deal of pressure to win their games in hand over Man City and Liverpool.
Arsenal needed to win that game, agreed, but - even more - given the horrible habit they had begun to build up of losing - they needed to avoid a defeat. That, they did - though not without sweating. (Boo, hiss).
But, yes, things are getting extremely interesting in the No 2 to No 6 slots, or spots, in the Premiership.
Re Chelsea, I have a feeling that they will have a point to prove on Wednesday; certainly, in the wake of Saturday's defeat, I would not care to have to face them this coming Wednesday.
But - this contest of character, - let alone strategy, tactics, - between the managers (all of them intelligent articulate, informed) of the top - ah, six - teams, makes the Premiership an exceedingly interesting - from an intellectual perspective - challenge & contest this year.
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