English Premier League EPL Thread

[thecorsair]

What interest do you actually have in football exactly?

All you seem to do is show up and take petty potshots at anyone who makes any critcism of United so you're really the last person to be questioning anyone else.

But as it's the holiday period I'll be a little more patient than usual and attempt to explain,

I have been a fan of United since the mid 80's but think that the quality of the squad has severely declined in the last couple of years and I question whether the manager is still the right man for the job as his refusal to recognise the obvious weakness in the midfield and defence is taking the club backwards.

United are still better than most teams in the Premier League but they won't win another Champions League without giving the squad a major overhaul, to the tune of 6 or 7 players to replace the has beens and never will be's that plague the present squad.

So it's that, along with a general waning of my intrest in the EPL has lead me to the present point where I only watch United games out of habit.....I may stop watching altogether before the season is out.

I have no obligation to watch international football, especially the cringeworthy antics of the increasingly pathetic England team.

Watching that overpaid shower of **** consistently fail at basic skills like taking a penalty may be fun for some, but it got very tedious for me a long time ago so I decided to stop watching.

 

[axecutioner18]

So you are not really a fan of the game itself, as in you like the kind of football we used to play in school. No referees, free for all... as for cheating 'imports' last I knew Ashley Young/Ashley Cole etc all represented England. And if you are talking about 'cheating' in a different context Rooney, Giggs, Terry can all respond to that...

Some part of me feels you have some issues against anything thats non-English... you hate imports blaming they are ruining the game but then the explanation you gave justifying Cantona was hilarious to say the least, im guessing if I bring up Schmeichel, Solksjaer, Yorke, Staam your reaction will be similar...

 

[thecorsair]

So you are not really a fan of the game itself, as in you like the kind of football we used to play in school. No referees, free for all... as for cheating 'imports' last I knew Ashley Young/Ashley Cole etc all represented England. And if you are talking about 'cheating' in a different context Rooney, Giggs, Terry can all respond to that...

Some part of me feels you have some issues against anything thats non-English... you hate imports blaming they are ruining the game but then the explanation you gave justifying Cantona was hilarious to say the least, im guessing if I bring up Schmeichel, Solksjaer, Yorke, Staam your reaction will be similar...

Wrong.

I like the game when it's played in an honest manner....it still happens in the lower tiers of the game in this country.

I only have issues with the foreign players that habitually cheat and that is IT....your suggestion of racism on my part is as laughable as your claims about Barcelona revolutionising football.....they just got lucky and produced 2 or 3 quality players in the same generation and have made the most of it, just as many other teams have done throughout the history of the game.

I like the game on my own terms, there are no rules for what being a "proper" fan should be and no obligations for what I should and shouldn't watch.

 

[dino76m]

Fergie really going senile lol.ashley williams tried to murder RVP. just a couple of weeks after RVP himself was accused of a violent elbowing of Cabaye

 

[thecorsair]

Fergie really going senile lol.ashley williams tried to murder RVP. just a couple of weeks after RVP himself was accused of a violent elbowing of Cabaye

He is now as much of an embarrassment to the club as several of his players.

Instead of accepting that Swansea fully deserved a point he chose to try and deflect attention from this by blowing a nothing incident out of proportion.

The sycophantic element of the United support will inevitably defend the prat but I think the Glazers should give him his retirement before he takes the club out of the top 4 as at this point it's inevitable within 2-3 seasons.

Maybe he'll finally wake up when Ronaldo & co destroy them in the New Year but it's probably unlikely as he's done little to improve things after the following,

2 CL finals where the team were completely out of their depth.
A 6-1 humiliation on their own turf by City.
A team outside La Liga's Real/Barca monopoly breezing past them like they weren't even there.

 

[dino76m]

i dont think United can afford too may top tier players at the same time, their squad is big enough to field 2 experienced sides in the PL alone
the problem is If Ferige spends more money on bringing 2-3 players at a very high salary, it would affect the balance of the team
he would definitly have to sell some squad players..
I dont think Ferigie is ready to do that as he knows its this depth that is keeping united ahead in the league atleast
an injury to a key player can be easily replaced , u didnt miss Vidic Smalling or Jones , all 3 who missed a lot of games this season because there were players in attack score goals, at times there were welbeck, rooney, RVP and chica on the field at the same time
an injury to nani can be overcome by playing Valencia or young
similarly in midfield u have kagawa,cleverly, giigs scholes, carrick, keanem all rotated to keep the players fresh and hungry for each match,
the only way he can go about is buying players on the cheap and developing them like Ronaldo, ANderson, NAni..and keep the faith in them, he has a good record of doing that,

 

[dino76m]

of course cup games are a different game... where squad depth doesnt come to play , only the desire and determination to win on the day counts,some teams definitely up it for the occasion,,

 

[thecorsair]

i dont think United can afford too may top tier players at the same time, their squad is big enough to field 2 experienced sides in the PL alone
the problem is If Ferige spends more money on bringing 2-3 players at a very high salary, it would affect the balance of the team
he would definitly have to sell some squad players..
I dont think Ferigie is ready to do that as he knows its this depth that is keeping united ahead in the league atleast
an injury to a key player can be easily replaced , u didnt miss Vidic Smalling or Jones , all 3 who missed a lot of games this season because there were players in attack score goals, at times there were welbeck, rooney, RVP and chica on the field at the same time
an injury to nani can be overcome by playing Valencia or young
similarly in midfield u have kagawa,cleverly, giigs scholes, carrick, keanem all rotated to keep the players fresh and hungry for each match,
the only way he can go about is buying players on the cheap and developing them like Ronaldo, ANderson, NAni..and keep the faith in them, he has a good record of doing that,

You can only have strength in depth if you have a lot of good players but United don't.

Having Young or Valencia as a replacement for Nani solves nothing because they're just as useless as was proven AGAIN in the Swansea game....they should be the first 3 players to be shown the door.

Being top of the league should theoretically make me more optimistic about the squad but I don't think they deserve to be there and it's inevitable they'll blow it as they did last year which is good news for City fans.

Now they've overtaken Liverpool's number of league titles the other record I want United to beat is their 5 European Cups but without a major overhaul of the squad and possibly a new manager 3 more CL wins are about as likely as Welbeck beating Messi's record for goals scored in a year.

If the Glazers want to continue to use the club's profits as a cash machine in the long term they'll have to loosen the purse strings a fair bit to ensure the club remains competitive as if they aren't the profits will dip which they probably won't like.

 

[axecutioner18]

A team outside La Liga's Real/Barca monopoly breezing past them like they weren't even there.

Most fans of other league's specially EPL think clubs other than Barca/Real are crap. Jose Mourinho had said something very sensible for once which was 'If Barca and Real were in any other league in the world, it would again be a 2 horse race'. Those who dont watch La Liga have no idea how good the teams are. On an average a club like Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia and Bilbao can get the better of the top names in other leagues be it Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, PSG, Marseille, Leverkusen, Dortmund, Bayern etc etc

Its not a coincidence that when these clubs want big talent on the cheap they shop at La Liga. aka Alonso, David Silva, Juan Mata and many more. Falcao and Isco seem to be next if rumours are to be believed. It is sad because by buying away these players they actually weaken the teams and their chances to challenge Real/Barca at the top.

 

[thecorsair]

Most fans of other league's specially EPL think clubs other than Barca/Real are crap. Jose Mourinho had said something very sensible for once which was 'If Barca and Real were in any other league in the world, it would again be a 2 horse race'. Those who dont watch La Liga have no idea how good the teams are. On an average a club like Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia and Bilbao can get the better of the top names in other leagues be it Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, PSG, Marseille, Leverkusen, Dortmund, Bayern etc etc

Its not a coincidence that when these clubs want big talent on the cheap they shop at La Liga. aka Alonso, David Silva, Juan Mata and many more. Falcao and Isco seem to be next if rumours are to be believed. It is sad because by buying away these players they actually weaken the teams and their chances to challenge Real/Barca at the top.

I didn't say teams outside the top 2 were crap, I was pointing out that Slur Alex has talked several times of his desire to catch Barcelona, yet his present squad can't even put in a convincing performance against a team that usually finishes lower than Barcelona or Real.

 

[axecutioner18]

I didn't say teams outside the top 2 were crap, I was pointing out that Slur Alex has talked several times of his desire to catch Barcelona, yet his present squad can't even put in a convincing performance against a team that usually finishes lower than Barcelona or Real.

I wasnt pointing on anyone specific. Most football forums where the fanbase is more EPL and whose fans tend to have an attitude like all the competition and great teams belong to the EPL in a majority and La Liga has only two noteworthy teams of Real and Barca... They place teams like Spurs and Newcastle over those of Valencia, Sevilla or Atletico... which is nothing more than ignorance.

Bilbao were in fantastic form that season playing the Bielsa brand of football that Guardiola always advocated for, and they had convincing performances against Barca and Real too and reached the Europa and Spanish Cup finals too...

 

[gypsycatcha]

I wasnt pointing on anyone specific. Most football forums where the fanbase is more EPL and whose fans tend to have an attitude like all the competition and great teams belong to the EPL in a majority and La Liga has only two noteworthy teams of Real and Barca... They place teams like Spurs and Newcastle over those of Valencia, Sevilla or Atletico... which is nothing more than ignorance.

Bilbao were in fantastic form that season playing the Bielsa brand of football that Guardiola always advocated for, and they had convincing performances against Barca and Real too and reached the Europa and Spanish Cup finals too...

Im a spurs fan and Id never put us above those sides. Just have to look at how far and how consistent they feature in the champions league to see that.
Infact, I remember watching a very good Seville side play us in the Uefa cup when Ramos was in charge and they totally outplayed us.
They nearly wont he league that year but went all out to win the uefa cup.
Another good test will be our games against lyon. I dont fancy us to go thru but will be a great game followed by Inter in the next round if we made it.

 

[thecorsair]

I wasnt pointing on anyone specific. Most football forums where the fanbase is more EPL and whose fans tend to have an attitude like all the competition and great teams belong to the EPL in a majority and La Liga has only two noteworthy teams of Real and Barca... They place teams like Spurs and Newcastle over those of Valencia, Sevilla or Atletico... which is nothing more than ignorance.

Bilbao were in fantastic form that season playing the Bielsa brand of football that Guardiola always advocated for, and they had convincing performances against Barca and Real too and reached the Europa and Spanish Cup finals too...

I steer clear of football forums because of that type of thing, the overly biased fans of EPL clubs including those of United are delusional to say the least.

My intrest in other leagues is zero but I have no illusions where the English game stands in relation to the rest of the world, the national team is a lost cause and the top teams do OK in Europe on the back of imported players....the end.

Anyway,

Man United 4-3 Newcastle

Yet another scrambled result which will continue to keep some fans in a false sense of security about the quality of the squad but the lack of defence should be a major cause for concern....if Newcastle can score 3 against them on their own ground what will Madrid do?

City lost so the lead is now 7 points but there's a long way to go yet.

 

[dino76m]

i dont rate epl teams higher than spanish sides, but the problem , apart from watching the 2 horse race there , its gets kinda predicable, whereas in EPL each matchhas its significance on each others results,

 

[dino76m]

I steer clear of football forums because of that type of thing, the overly biased fans of EPL clubs including those of United are delusional to say the least.

My intrest in other leagues is zero but I have no illusions where the English game stands in relation to the rest of the world, the national team is a lost cause and the top teams do OK in Europe on the back of imported players....the end.

Anyway,

Man United 4-3 Newcastle

Yet another scrambled result which will lull the hardcore fans into a false sense of security about the quality of the squad but the lack of defence should be a major cause for concern....if Newcastle can score 3 against them what will Madrid do?

City lost so the lead is now 7 points but there's a long way to go yet.

madrid will 4, utd will score 5 , thats seems the theme nowadays

 

[thecorsair]

madrid will 4, utd will score 5 , thats seems the theme nowadays

It'll be something like 10-9 over the 2 legs....it can go either way

 

[axecutioner18]

i dont rate epl teams higher than spanish sides, but the problem , apart from watching the 2 horse race there , its gets kinda predicable, whereas in EPL each matchhas its significance on each others results,

Yeah a league which has been having one winner predominantly since the time I started watching it, interspaced by some club winning a couple of times in the middle before it goes back to the same club. In that way the EPL is a 'one horse race'. In any league every match has a significance, I dont get your logic of how results of la liga fixtures dont matter for the title race? In fact who wins it for Barca and Real are technically more dependent on how the other clubs perform against each other and them... Barca and Real have lost the title most of the time due to fixtures with other clubs...

 

[dino76m]

Yeah a league which has been having one winner predominantly since the time I started watching it, interspaced by some club winning a couple of times in the middle before it goes back to the same club. In that way the EPL is a 'one horse race'. In any league every match has a significance, I dont get your logic of how results of la liga fixtures dont matter for the title race? In fact who wins it for Barca and Real are technically more dependent on how the other clubs perform against each other and them... Barca and Real have lost the title most of the time due to fixtures with other clubs...

i meant there are 2 only matches worth watching,in the spanish league every week and i think tv viewership rights prove that, i just think the BPL provides far more excitement as far as league tables are concerned where every week the tables can change significantly, liverpool are 5 points away from 4th and 5 points away from 15ht, how much more exciting can it get

 

[Wanderer]

Man United 4-3 Newcastle

Yet another scrambled result which will continue to keep some fans in a false sense of security about the quality of the squad but the lack of defence should be a major cause for concern....if Newcastle can score 3 against them on their own ground what will Madrid do?

City lost so the lead is now 7 points but there's a long way to go yet.

Thank you for your ever enlightening commentary captain obvious.

Annnnyways ... There's no denying we'll get new batty creases ripped haemorrhaging goals the way we're doing. Despite this and the negative bile from the likes of my mate Coursehair above, top of the league by 7 points ain't too shabby really

 

[axecutioner18]

i meant there are 2 only matches worth watching,in the spanish league every week and i think tv viewership rights prove that, i just think the BPL provides far more excitement as far as league tables are concerned where every week the tables can change significantly, liverpool are 5 points away from 4th and 5 points away from 15ht, how much more exciting can it get

No tv viewership rights prove nothing as such that way. The EPL is the worlds best marketed league... you have more ManU supporters in some Indonesia/Malaysia etc etc than UK itself. The EPL being a well oiled publicity machine is what has brought it to light. Face it for you and me in India EPL was the only league other than the Champions League which was diligently brought live whereas the La Liga games were telecast live sparingly with most matches being shown recorded.
Plus the whole David Beckham marketing meant suddenly there were Liverpool, ManU, Arsenal supporters all over the world. Where it was the individual that decided the team they would support, and his change from a club meant a shift of allegiances. And people started believing that the EPL was like a powerhouse of great football.

Its these stupid ideas about EPL that also gave rise to a new bunch of fans in these countries... England. England in my lifetime have never played football good enough to attract any kind of appreciation, and that is why I was always a Brazil fan - though Brazil have ruined the way they play and have opted for a more 'European Approach' and in no way seem to be the flair and beauty I used to love from the days of Romario, Bebeto, Cafu, Ronaldo, Rivaldo etc etc. In Europe I always supported Germany simply because they embodied teamwork and collective discipline even with the lack of natural talent and flair. Germany as expected hasnt let me down. I can never say they played badly and looked out of depth (Except maybe the 2001/02 period and the WC then)

You say about how a league table can shift, same thing happens in La Liga, Valencia were close to relegation zone for quite some time and have crawled back out somehow, Atletico ar still second. Its nothing about tumultousness... its about familiarity. You are used to and familiar with the EPL, you can name the starting XI of more than 5/6 teas therefore you have the energy to watch a clash between two teams you dont support. Im familiar with the Bundeslig and La Liga that way...

EPL being more competitive than other leagues is one of the worst adages I hear - specially from fans who arent English and based in Asia/Africa who support clubs from there, The Bundesliga and The La Liga have better 'football' skill and discipline'wise IMO... its just the marketing mechanic of the EPL that makes you believe that there is 'excitement' in the EPL. All leagues have excitement as long as you are interested in following them...