Premier League Gameweek 34-35

MO_Football92 said:
Extra teams in the mix adds excitement, but it doesn't always translate to a higher overall quality or strength in the league. Generally, the PL has gone backwards in terms of quality and player characters. This shows with Villa being the only English club to remain in Europe.
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I think it is the opposite. The EPL is so competitive week in, week out and there are few walks in the park - this leaves English teams gassed in the latter stages of European competition. Meanwhile, in most years, Germany, Spain, France and Italy - have 1 or 2 teams that dominate and aren't worn down as much in their own league play.

I do think the fact that teams like Brighton, Newcastle, Villa, West Ham, Spurs, Wolves can all scalp the best teams does speak to the overall strength of the league. That is tempered somewhat by the fact that United and Chelsea are much weaker than they have been in the past.
 
We're not celebrating Arsenal's win enough, keeps us in 7th so Conference League spot still in our hands!
 
DJ_21 said:
We both know this doesn’t really mean much. City deserved to go through against Madrid and with better finishing would have and the same for Liverpool. Only West Ham is the team that realistically should have got knocked out. I’m trying to defend your team and you’re knocking me back.
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Chances are irrelevant; every team has poor finishing within a football match. Even Chelsea had opportunities tonight in that first half; if they had a better striker. Ultimately, the PL is in a bad place right now; can you name me 10 elite strikers in the league? Also the playing styles are very predictable. How many coached change their systems?

Leagues definitely weaker
 
Buckie said:
I think it is the opposite. The EPL is so competitive week in, week out and there are few walks in the park - this leaves English teams gassed in the latter stages of European competition. Meanwhile, in most years, Germany, Spain, France and Italy - have 1 or 2 teams that dominate and aren't worn down as much in their own league play.

I do think the fact that teams like Brighton, Newcastle, Villa, West Ham, Spurs, Wolves can all scalp the best teams does speak to the overall strength of the league. That is tempered somewhat by the fact that United and Chelsea are much weaker than they have been in the past.
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Ultimately yes, your right the leagues more physical and intense but that's why there's many injuries. Too much running, counterpressing, where is the actual overrall quality compared to 10 years ago?
 
Wasn't expecting that result. Chelsea looked good against City at the weekend but they completely folded here. Way too easily. Thank goodness Jackson seems to be allergic to finishing. Odegaard MOTM but what a difference Partey makes. We're going to need to win our remaining games to have any shot at besting City, and my confidence has just gone up there if Partey is back to his best.
 
Chelsea really look like Cole Palmer FC,where would they be without his goals this season
 
GoonerGirly said:
Wasn't expecting that result. Chelsea looked good against City at the weekend but they completely folded here. Way too easily. Thank goodness Jackson seems to be allergic to finishing. Odegaard MOTM but what a difference Partey makes. We're going to need to win our remaining games to have any shot at besting City, and my confidence has just gone up there if Partey is back to his best.
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Partey, Odegaard and Rice should be the Arsenal midfield without question. Arsenal supporters calling for the sale of Partey clearly isn't aware of how important he is to Ødegaard and what he does off the ball. With Partey there, he has the freedom to wait in the attacking 3rd for the ball as Partey is so good at breaking defensive lines with one pass. Furthermore, with Rice moving forward and his natural workrate, it's a win win for the midfield setup when Partey is on the pitch.
 
Great result. Hopefully Liverpool and City drop points in the coming weeks to give Arsenal the clear advantage.
 
Chelsea generally get a free pass from the media for back to back midtable seasons despite insane spending. Not like us. They just aren’t that much of a deal I guess.
 
saivet said:
It's weird they may end up third but I think regardless of where they finish Arsenal have been the best team in the league and I think it's a bit of an underachievement if they don't get over the line.
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Yeah deserve to win this,wish we could beat them at Old Trafford but they still win title
 
saivet said:
It's weird they may end up third but I think regardless of where they finish Arsenal have been the best team in the league and I think it's a bit of an underachievement if they don't get over the line.
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Villa game is unforgivable. They had a classic title winning season in that they stayed in touch for the first few months, with some great wins, had a big wobble at the right time then hit top form after Christmas to get them into the right position at a time where it matters. Losing one of your home games in the very final stretch is a real hammer blow though.
 
Offside said:
Villa game is unforgivable. They had a classic title winning season in that they stayed in touch for the first few months, with some great wins, had a big wobble at the right time then hit top form after Christmas to get them into the right position at a time where it matters. Losing one of your home games in the very final stretch is a real hammer blow though.
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If it was a truly a "classic" title winning season then we would have been able to drop those points to Villa and still have the title well in our hands.

I think people forget how often teams in the past slipped up in title races, especially how often it was the case that the winner of the league slipped multiple times in the spring but still cruised to the title with a point total in the low to mid 80s simply because nobody else happened to be all that good or consistent.

The margin for error in the era of Pep is just tiny for anybody else.
 
MO_Football92 said:
Ultimately yes, your right the leagues more physical and intense but that's why there's many injuries. Too much running, counterpressing, where is the actual overrall quality compared to 10 years ago?
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I think you are on to something, but it is a complex topic with multiple variables. There has obviously been an increase in both more rigid tactics and favouring athletic players. We've certainly seen a dearth of creative and expressive players compared to past years, ie. the death of the number 10 that doesn't press and do rigid defensive work as well. There are players that have been able to show flair and creativity within the constraints of the current modern game - De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold - but those do seem to fewer than many of us would like. For me, the lack of quality talented scorers is a mystery and there has to be something with the way players are being developed now. Arsenal, United and Chelsea all need high quality 9's and the options are pretty mediocre both within the league and outside of the league as well. I'm sure Liverpool would also like to have forwards better than Nunez and Gakpo.
 
Il Prete Rosso said:
Partey, Odegaard and Rice should be the Arsenal midfield without question. Arsenal supporters calling for the sale of Partey clearly isn't aware of how important he is to Ødegaard and what he does off the ball. With Partey there, he has the freedom to wait in the attacking 3rd for the ball as Partey is so good at breaking defensive lines with one pass. Furthermore, with Rice moving forward and his natural workrate, it's a win win for the midfield setup when Partey is on the pitch.
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I completely agree but unfortunately Partey cannot stay fit. Last season was an anomaly for him, otherwise he has missed probably half (at least) of our games since he joined. He's also getting on in age so don't imagine any improvement is coming. If he had stayed fit this season we'd have had good options of Rice, Partey and Jorginho and would probably be in a better position. That's the only reason some fans (myself included) feel we need to look beyond him.
 
MO_Football92 said:
We've not been sensational. This is the weakest PL I've ever known. Yes, we've been really good at times; but whenever we face a coached cohesive team, with class players, we've been found out.
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Truly excellent how every word of that post is nonsense.
 
Offside said:
Chelsea generally get a free pass from the media for back to back midtable seasons despite insane spending. Not like us. They just aren’t that much of a deal I guess.
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Ye because they already know there a joke of a club. Only big teams get the most attention.
 
We've made it really tough for Liverpool at Goodison in recent years but think we will have one eye on the weekend game instead. We are down to the bare bones at the moment in terms of the squad so it's a worry.
 
SilentWitness said:
We've made it really tough for Liverpool at Goodison in recent years but think we will have one eye on the weekend game instead. We are down to the bare bones at the moment in terms of the squad so it's a worry.
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End all this nonsense about the title talk tonight and I may even forgive the 4-4.
 
SilentWitness said:
We've made it really tough for Liverpool at Goodison in recent years but think we will have one eye on the weekend game instead. We are down to the bare bones at the moment in terms of the squad so it's a worry.
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Don’t play Ashley Young, the refs will give Liverpool every decision. (In the interests of keeping the title race alive)
 
Firstly, ugh Sturridge. Secondly, how fecking big is Rooney’s head?
 
SilentWitness said:
We've made it really tough for Liverpool at Goodison in recent years but think we will have one eye on the weekend game instead. We are down to the bare bones at the moment in terms of the squad so it's a worry.
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Had to have a look back at your record v them in total.
Ignore that mad behind closed doors season as Liverpool lost 6 in a row at home.

Your last win against them outside of that was 14 years ago. That's utterly ridiculous for a derby involving 2 teams in the same division.

Scraping a few 0-0s at home over the last 6 years seems to be the extent of your hopes.
 
Sandikan said:
Had to have a look back at your record v them in total.
Ignore that mad behind closed doors season as Liverpool lost 6 in a row at home.

Your last win against them outside of that was 14 years ago. That's utterly ridiculous for a derby involving 2 teams in the same division.

Scraping a few 0-0s at home over the last 6 years seems to be the extent of your hopes.
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As Rooney said there is a big mental block at the club regarding it. I think within those 9/11 games that we have drawn in the last games at Goodison we have been unlucky not to win a few of them.
 
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