English Premier League EPL Thread

[dino76m]

I wont say anything about City because honestly they have talent but they lack cohesiveness...

Chelsea... all that you said, really shouldnt be a factor as such. The difference between a 'great team' and 'one which won a championship' is exactly that... previous UCL winners too had tough schedules like that. Barca faced a grilling schedule like that and won everything not once but twice 09 and 11... it is EXPECTED of Champions to do well in every tournament so I dont see stuff like that as an excuse...

and poor performance in the UCL was expected as last years win took its toll!! What kind of excuse is that!! A team which loses desire/steam to fight to remain champions are not a great team... they are just one which managed to win a cup... thats it... Champions are always hungry...

have u any idea how many trophies chelsea have won over the past 6-7 years and how many times they reached the semis and finals of the UCL in last 6-7 years ..one of the reasons they didnt do well , apart from mata, other older players were out of form , left or injured, they depended on new signing like Moses, hasard and oscar ,, had a good start and then faded out, it was basically a new team this season , not to forget their main striker Torres was horribly after form, most teams after one winning season go on a slump the following season and then start winning again following year, United won nothing last year, Chelsea won 2 cups.but not without its effect on their league standings, finished 6th in the league , if i remember

 

[gypsycatcha]

have u any idea how many trophies chelsea have won over the past 6-7 years and how many times they reached the semis and finals of the UCL in last 6-7 years ..one of the reasons they didnt do well , apart from mata, other older players were out of form , left or injured, they depended on new signing like Moses, hasard and oscar ,, had a good start and then faded out, it was basically a new team this season , not to forget their main striker Torres was horribly after form, most teams after one winning season go on a slump the following season and then start winning again following year, United won nothing last year, Chelsea won 2 cups.but not without its effect on their league standings, finished 6th in the league , if i remember

I think alot of chelsea's problems lie with the board and a very poorly run club.
To put a manager in there that is hated by your fans is suicide.
Rafa could walk away with the europa cup and leave chelsea outside the top 4. With the abuse he has taken, I wouldnt blame him. Infact I hope he does.
They keep hiring and firing thinking they can lure any manager in. pep guardiola didnt fancy it. Peegrini doesnt look like he fancies it either.
I hope they get Glen Roader on a 7m a year contract

 

[RagingBull]

Game over in Barca. Bayern are one up

 

[RagingBull]

3 nil Bayern. 7 nil aggregate, humiliation time

Arsenal have been poor this season but at least we beat Bayern 2 nil while going out on away goals & that's about as good as our season has been

Barca will bounce back from this stronger though. All the giant teams have there blips

 

[bumblebee]

That was total domination for Bayern!

 

[axecutioner18]

have u any idea how many trophies chelsea have won over the past 6-7 years and how many times they reached the semis and finals of the UCL in last 6-7 years ..one of the reasons they didnt do well , apart from mata, other older players were out of form , left or injured, they depended on new signing like Moses, hasard and oscar ,, had a good start and then faded out, it was basically a new team this season , not to forget their main striker Torres was horribly after form, most teams after one winning season go on a slump the following season and then start winning again following year, United won nothing last year, Chelsea won 2 cups.but not without its effect on their league standings, finished 6th in the league , if i remember

I do, and Im sure its not as much as Barca...

 

[dino76m]

Pep is a smart man, jumped shipped at the right time, his cv will remain intact , most overated manager ever

 

[axecutioner18]

Pep is a smart man, jumped shipped at the right time, his cv will remain intact , most overated manager ever

Barca did recapture the league, so dont see what it has to do with him jumping ship... greats like Pirlo, Nesta and all were and are dying to work with him... Gotze's jumping ship is also a result of him.
https://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5381?cc=5901

Its a good thing his 'overrated ness' is expertly judged by fans and not the players and administrators at clubs... ball boy, youth player, first team, captain, youth coach, head coach... thats Pep Guardiola for you. Legendary Spanish midfielder and a coach who has written himself in the history of the game in 4 years of his managerial career... lets see what he can do with Bayern.
He did something most managers can probably never do... win everything possible in a debut season... plus revolutionised the game and brought a dominance that hasnt been seen in a decade or so... and even forged a style which led to dominance even in the national team level...

Dont think a lot of coaches impacted the game football like that... Rinus Michels, Sacchi, Cryuff these guys are at that bracket... for the impact and changes they brought in the game, their may have been more successful managers in the game, but the lasting impact they made in terms of tactics and strategy... Dont see that in any old or current coach in the scene today. Guardiola pushed himself there...

And hey legendary Liverpool these days are trying to emulate that of all things so yeah maybe most overrated coach over?

 

[RagingBull]

The foundations were all there for Pep at Barca it wasnt like he just came along all by his self & changed the game, yeah he played a big part but at the same time there's no denying he's an amazing manager. One of the things that makes him so good is that if things arent going his way he has a B plan & C plan etc. Bayern isn't going to be much of a challenge as the team is already amazing & the scary thing is there going to be even stronger next season.

So unless he completely dominates the German league & Europe anything else would be a failure

I would of been much more impressed if he took over a team like Valencia or Liverpool for example. You know a giant team that's underachieved for so long & turned them around.

 

[axecutioner18]

The foundations were all there for Pep at Barca it wasnt like he just came along all by his self & changed the game, yeah he played a big part but at the same time there's no denying he's an amazing manager. One of the things that makes him so good is that if things arent going his way he has a B plan & C plan etc. Bayern isn't going to be much of a challenge as the team is already amazing & the scary thing is there going to be even stronger next season.

So unless he completely dominates the German league & Europe anything else would be a failure

I would of been much more impressed if he took over a team like Valencia or Liverpool for example. You know a giant team that's underachieved for so long & turned them around.

See thats exactly what I feel! Most guys say Pep didnt have to do anything, the squad was so good... they forget that it was the same squad of Messi, Eto'o, Henry, Xavi, Iniesta etc etc and including Ronaldinho and Deco that he got and which had won NOTHING for 2 seasons... Ive been a Barca fan long enough and Im lucky to have seen them in their probably best ever period... I have seen Barca we perennial underachievers for a decade or so... what Pep brought to this team was one thing... discipline, and a sense of working for the collective good.

Ill be honest, when he was announced as head coach way back in 2008 I had thought to myself that 'there goes all hope, in any case we are trophyless and now a coach who has no experience of handling a team of this stature'. I loved Guardiola as a player but knew nothing about his coaching.
Then the next bit of news is he sells off Ronaldinho, Deco, Zambrotta!! Ronaldinho and Deco! The 2 biggest names in the club then! And justifies it by saying he thinks they have become too big for the club and werent in his plans! We were already struggling and he sells of two of the best players in the club! Barca were playing a very odd style then, they held the ball a lot more, didnt lump it into the penalty box as soon as possible.. the wingers disappeard and they played more in the middle... it looked nice but ineffective.

Then we lose the first match of the season! against newly promoted sides! Next match is a draw! I was already convinced this would we the worst season of Barca Id ever seen... much worse than that one with Luis Enrique, Saviola, Kluivert etc etc

Then they won everything...

Guardiola did what great coaches did... he brought the best out of the potential talent he had. There has been times when bad coaches have wasted talent...

The thing I would like to see Guardiola do in Bayern is wether he imposes his style or will he use Bayern's usual style and adapt himself to bring the best out of it. In ways Guardiola's system formed the basis of the Spanish national sides side success... recently The German National team has started playing with Gotze in the similar false No. 9 that Barca/Spain employ... Guardiola's insistence to bring in Gotze makes me believe that will be his plan.

Also I think he will rid the team of players who feel they are the bosses of the dressing room and have too much riding for their individual glory (eg Robben) and players who are tirelessly hardworking will be rewarded (Muller)

Im sure Guardiola has a plan of coming to England in the future... and like mentioned he would probably want the Arsenal job.

 

[dino76m]

U can always ask Chlesea too, how they rate RDM there

 

[gypsycatcha]

Yes he did inherit an awesome squad but there is no denying he did a great job. The thing that realy sticks out for me is under pep, when Barca didnt have the ball, they would hunt it in small triangles unti they quickly got it back. Thats why even against the great sides, they statistically dominated possession.
I actually think they might take this quite hard and have a bit of a clear out. Villa's better days are gone and Sanchez hasnt showed the form he can produce. I wouldnt be shocked if Fabregas was sod off aswell.

We done Bayern. Brilliant all round side and deserve to be there again.

Although il route for Dortmund

 

[axecutioner18]

Pep was dynamic even on the games he would change formations and tactical nuances during the match to suit the situation so well... Tito is not Pep... Tito Id say has inherited a great squad but he doesnt have the game reading skills nor the sheer authority or charisma that Pep had...

Pep had laid out a plan for the subsequent seasons... like sell off Dani Alves whom he thinks isnt giving his best, bring in Javi Martinez (now in Bayern) and if required sell of Fabregas to bring in more local talent... he was pretty ruthless... the board couldnt handle this, so he resigned. In any case the fact that he never liked the current president Rossell and was a supporter of the previous one Laporta was known too all... and the feeling from Rossell was the same regarding Guardiola...

 

[RagingBull]

Flip-in heck this is a whole different Chelsea from the 1st half against Basle. Luiz just scored a great goal

 

[thecorsair]

Good news on the financial front for United,
https://www1.skysports.com/football...reveal-record-third-quarter-turnover-of-91.7m

Bad news on the playing side of things,
https://www1.skysports.com/football...s-striker-Danny-Welbeck-despite-lack-of-goals

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Great win for Chelsea, but disgusting they will only get 9,800 tickets for the final, if thousands of tickets are going to sponsors, they need to hold finals at grounds with greater capacity.

 

[heon123]

Danny Welbecks a joke and so is Hernandez who's nothing more but a impact player so that money raid should give us enough to get a better forward. I've seen Zaha's clips on Youtube, he had flair but not like Ronaldo at 21. Just watched a Classic Match during the 04/05 season and although United lost 3-1, he (Ronaldo) was ripping through Chelsea defense like butter, then you look at Nani, Valenica and Young and then you ask yourself, are they really wingers?

Dont mean to spam but I uploaded a new vid and like would be great, cheers freaks

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O7QUP3zDxY&lc=EK0J4Hn3bKlJdGH6fUGZAekK6Z1MKHyP3AcS0ckF4Vs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O7QUP3zDxY&lc=EK0J4Hn3bKlJdGH6fUGZAekK6Z1MKHyP3AcS0ckF4Vs[/ame]

 

[thecorsair]

Danny Welbecks a joke and so is Hernandez who's nothing more but a impact player so that money raid should give us enough to get a better forward. I've seen Zaha's clips on Youtube, he had flair but not like Ronaldo at 21. Just watched a Classic Match during the 04/05 season and although United lost 3-1, he (Ronaldo) was ripping through Chelsea defense like butter, then you look at Nani, Valenica and Young and then you ask yourself, are they really wingers?

Welbeck is a joke but Hernandez is the real deal, he's got the best ratio of goals per minutes played in the Premier League.

If Ferguson gave him a consistent run of starts in a front pairing with RVP with Rooney or Kagawa just behind them then his impact would be even greater.

But because Ferguson won't do that, I think the best thing for Hernandez is to move somewhere else where his talents would be fully utilised ie Spurs or Arsenal in the Premier League or a top club in another country.

Zaha may not be Ronaldo but at this point anyone is worth a chance at the expense of Nani, Valencia or Young because the 3 of them haven't contributed a damn thing.

And the rumors about the actual Ronaldo returning with cash assistance from Nike aren't going away....I'll be massively suprised if it happens but even though I disagree with a lot of his team selections I still wouldn't put it past Ferguson to pull off one more spectacular transfer deal before he finally retires.

 

[greygoose]

And the rumors about the actual Ronaldo returning with cash assistance from Nike aren't going away....I'll be massively suprised if it happens but even though I disagree with a lot of his team selections I still wouldn't put it past Ferguson to pull off one more spectacular transfer deal before he finally retires.

Nike are going to pay the transfer fee for Ronaldo to come back to United?

 

[thecorsair]

Nike are going to pay the transfer fee for Ronaldo to come back to United?

As Nike already sponsor United they're rumored to be willing to put together a package with the club to bring him back as they could pay part of his wages via a new sponsorship deal which would get round the FFP rules.

The revenue from shirt sales would likely recoup their investment and would also stick a middle finger in the direction of their rival Adidas who currently make the kit for Real Madrid.