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The 2018-2019 Football Thread

At this stage, I have little faith in Arsenal's abilities or ambition.

Actually, privately, I did not expect them to be able to snatch a victory today, not after their two recent defeats; three consecutive defeats? - that is absolutely disgraceful.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
At this stage, I have little faith in Arsenal's abilities or ambition.

Actually, privately, I did not expect them to be able to snatch a victory today, not after their two recent defeats; three consecutive defeats? - that is absolutely disgraceful.
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Third consecutive game you’ve let in three goals as well. Not a good result.

Where’s Tony Adams when you need him! Trouble is you will struggle to attract top players if you don’t have CL football to offer.

That and the chance to win trophies. Neither of which Arsenal are in a position to offer.
 
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Apple fanboy said:
Third consecutive game you’ve let in three goals as well. Not a good result.

Where’s Tony Adams when you need him! Trouble is you will struggle to attract top players if you don’t have CL football to offer.

That and the chance to win trophies. Neither of which Arsenal are in a position to offer.
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Top players are one thing; a good scouting network to attract players who will become top players is quite another, and is something that Arsenal used to have.

But that defence is brutally bad, and is an absolute and excruciating embarrassment.
 
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Burnley did as well as could be expected, but there is no stopping the richest club in the world (except, of course, when facing Spurs in the CL...). Call the engraver.

Crucial match for Man Utd and Chelsea. Arsenal and Spurs are both spurning numerous opportunities to lock down their top four spot, keeping things interesting.

If Man Utd qualify for the CL it will be down to the extreme incompetence of their direct rivals.
 
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It has been twenty years since my team won the three championships in one year, hopefully, they can draw on that to spur them on against Chelsea today. I want some professionalism today!

Lord! De Gea is having a horrible time, he needs to get it together.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Burnley did as well as could be expected, but there is no stopping the richest club in the world (except, of course, when facing Spurs in the CL...). Call the engraver.

Crucial match for Man Utd and Chelsea. Arsenal and Spurs are both spurning numerous opportunities to lock down their top four spot, keeping things interesting.

If Man Utd qualify for the CL it will be down to the extreme incompetence of their direct rivals.
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Excellent post. Couldn't agree more.

I didn't expect Arsenal to win today; in fact, I thought that they would lose.

Yes, Holding and Bellerin are both injured (and have been for months, a serious blow and considerable loss) but that doesn't excuse the inept, unimaginative and entirely unambitious - and embarrassing - farce that the defence have become in recent weeks.

Three consecutive games where we were defeated, and defeated comprehensively, leaking three goals per match (and the goalkeeper - Leno, - who played a blinder today, - is not at fault for having been left so exposed by his useless defence).
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Excellent post. Couldn't agree more.

I didn't expect Arsenal to win today; in fact, I thought that they would lose.

Yes, Holding and Bellerin are both injured (and have been for months, a serious blow and considerable loss) but that doesn't excuse the inept, unimaginative and entirely unambitious - and embarrassing - farce that the defence have become in recent weeks.

Three consecutive games where we were defeated, and defeated comprehensively, leaking three goals per match (and the goalkeeper - Leno, - who played a blinder today, - is not at fault for having been left so exposed by his useless defence).
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I think Arsenal fans have every right to be frustrated with this late-season collapse, the squad are milling about aimlessly in some crucial matches.

On the other hand, I opined last summer that this season should be a free hit for Emery and I haven't changed my mind. While managers occasionally do show up and win titles in their first go, that is an exception to the rule - and when is the last time a manager served over 20 years in the same team in a top division and his successor waltzed in and won a trophy in their first season?

Emery needs this offseason to take stock of things and truly begin the rebuilding process in earnest. There was bound to be a dip in performance (that trend started years ago anyway).

Given Man Utd's recent struggles I think we can see where this is headed. Arsenal are still looking for a technical director if I recall - bringing in a good person in this role could be an important move.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
I think Arsenal fans have every right to be frustrated with this late-season collapse, the squad are milling about aimlessly in some crucial matches.

On the other hand, I opined last summer that this season should be a free hit for Emery and I haven;t changed my mind. While managers occasionally do show up and win titles in their first go, that is an exception to the rule - and when is the last time a manager served over 20 years in the same team in a top division and his successor waltzed in and won a trophy in their first season?

Emery needs this offseason to take stock of things and truly begin the rebuilding process in earnest. There was bound to be a dip in performance (that trend started years ago anyway).

Given Man Utd's recent struggles I think we can see where this is headed. Arsenal are still looking for a technical director if I recall - bringing in a good person in this role could be an important move.
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Excellent post, and I am largely in agreement with you.

Candidly, I think it excessively and ludicrously ambitious to expect trophies of any description in the first season - I assume that Mr Emery will require at least four transfer windows to craft and mould the team he hopes to have play for him.

Actually, I'm not concerned about not being in the running for trophies; my ambitions are a bit more realistic than that.

However, I am incandescent at this excruciating late season complete collapse when claiming fourth place (or even, third, all going well) actually lay within our grasp.
 
No idea what Arsenal has been doing as of late or even this entire season. Brings a whole new meaning to "you'll never walk alone."

Yes, because you'll be there with them, ya twits.
 
Classic Bielsa in that match, with the rare deliberately conceded (well, deliberate except for Jannson) goal. Bielsa is one of the greatest managers of our era - the perfect example of why you should never judge greatness or influence by trophies alone.

The "putting the ball out" debate is as tiresome to me as the pre-match handshake debate or the nauseating poppy discussions. A man falls down in the middle of the pitch, possibly injured but without any evident head injury - if the ref deems there wasn't a foul or chooses to play advantage, it's the players' own fault if they stop playing and are scored on.

I applaud the concept of sportsmanship that underlies the players kicking the ball out on their own initiative, but these days the whole thing is being taken to an absurd extent. If the Aston Villa players and staff felt that Leeds playing on was a serious breach of sportsmanship, how ought we to judge their own decision to start an unseemly brawl immediately afterwards?
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Fulham with a big win today - largely irrelevant for them, but a major blow for Cardiff.



Spurs are in a tight spot. They have a thin squad, lost their key attacking player to injury, and are fighting a very close battle for Champions League qualification.

On the other hand, they have a winnable tie in the Champions league, and it would be ludicrous to suggest that qualification for next season's CL is more important than this year's semifinal tie. They have no choice but to go for it, both in the league and in Europe.
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Spurs fan incoming......

It was going to be Sod's law that we lose to West Ham, I almost put money on it. Yet again we create many chances but just aren't clinical enough.

I honestly wasn't phased when Kane went out injured. Obviously he's our main goal scorer but we seem to spend too much time trying to set him up that it shackles the likes of Lucas and Son. We won 5 out of 7 games without Kane (and Son for a few for that matter), so him being out isn't really an excuse.

The 2 players I've been really disappointed with are Trippier and Dele. Trips has been poor since his fame at the WC with "that" free kick. Dele just grinds me.... so much talent but he's beginning to believe his own hype. Too many times he tries the stupid flicks and tricks and invariably hands over possession and leaves us vulnerable.

As for the CL, I can feel it in my water......
 
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MrGimper said:
Spurs fan incoming......

It was going to be Sod's law that we lose to West Ham, I almost put money on it. Yet again we create many chances but just aren't clinical enough.

I honestly wasn't phased when Kane went out injured. Obviously he's our main goal scorer but we seem to spend too much time trying to set him up that it shackles the likes of Lucas and Son. We won 5 out of 7 games without Kane (and Son for a few for that matter), so him being out isn't really an excuse.

The 2 players I've been really disappointed with are Trippier and Dele. Trips has been poor since his fame at the WC with "that" free kick. Dele just grinds me.... so much talent but he's beginning to believe his own hype. Too many times he tries the stupid flicks and tricks and invariably hands over possession and leaves us vulnerable.

As for the CL, I can feel it in my water......
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Can’t help it when you come up against real quality. If you play the same in the CL you’ll be knocked out for sure.
Kane is quality and you miss him massively.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Classic Bielsa in that match, with the rare deliberately conceded (well, deliberate except for Jannson) goal. Bielsa is one of the greatest managers of our era - the perfect example of why you should never judge greatness or influence by trophies alone.
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Excellent post.

Actually, I thought that Bielsa was very impressive the way in which he dealt with the situation.

MrGimper said:
Spurs fan incoming......

It was going to be Sod's law that we lose to West Ham, I almost put money on it. Yet again we create many chances but just aren't clinical enough.

I honestly wasn't phased when Kane went out injured. Obviously he's our main goal scorer but we seem to spend too much time trying to set him up that it shackles the likes of Lucas and Son. We won 5 out of 7 games without Kane (and Son for a few for that matter), so him being out isn't really an excuse.

The 2 players I've been really disappointed with are Trippier and Dele. Trips has been poor since his fame at the WC with "that" free kick. Dele just grinds me.... so much talent but he's beginning to believe his own hype. Too many times he tries the stupid flicks and tricks and invariably hands over possession and leaves us vulnerable.

As for the CL, I can feel it in my water......
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An interesting piece of history for Spurs fans: I have been reading about the extraordinarily impressive Walter Tull (who was an outstanding footballer, and who played for Spurs pre WW1, - where it seems he endured or faced racist abuse, which he treated with dignified disdain - and, moreover, was the first mixed race individual to be commissioned as an officer in the British Army during the First World War).

One of his mentors was Herbert Chapman, who later served as an outstanding manager for Arsenal in the 1930s.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Excellent post.

Actually, I thought that Bielsa was very impressive the way in which he dealt with the situation.
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He got a little chippy with Brave John Terry toward the end of the incident (who tried to shush him...fancy that, Terry shushhing Bielsa!), but what decent, upstanding human is not incensed at the sight of John Terry - England's version of Dirty Sergio Ramos? He gets a pass from me on that one.
 
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Rio Ferdinand is reportedly in the running for Director of Football at Man Utd.

It is interesting to see just how much influence these former playing stars have. My instinct is that great players do not necessarily make great pundits, technical directors or managers - and being good at any one of those things does not necessarily make you good at any of the others.

It could work out, but I see no strong evidence suggesting it will. Moreover, the fact that Woodward seems to think it's a good idea would lead me to suspect it is NOT a good idea.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Rio Ferdinand is reportedly in the running for Director of Football at Man Utd.

It is interesting to see just how much influence these former playing stars have. My instinct is that great players do not necessarily make great pundits, technical directors or managers - and being good at any one of those things does not necessarily make you good at any of the others.

It could work out, but I see no strong evidence suggesting it will. Moreover, the fact that Woodward seems to think it's a good idea would lead me to suspect it is NOT a good idea.
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The converse is true, too.

Very few great managers were great players (although, as always, there have been one or two exceptions - Kenny Dalglish comes to mind).
 
Bad result for Spurs. They conceded an away goal and are behind on the tie. It's hardly over, but Ajax go into the second leg with a real advantage. Spurs will have to push.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Bad result for Spurs. They conceded an away goal and are behind on the tie. It's hardly over, but Ajax go into the second leg with a real advantage. Spurs will have to push.
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An unfortunate result for Spurs; this is the time of the season when injuries and a lack of strength in depth in the squad - and plain old fatigue - tend to play an increasing role.

Nevertheless, it will be difficult enough of them to overturn this result in the second leg of the tie.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
An unfortunate result for Spurs; this is the time of the season when injuries and a lack of strength in depth in the squad - and plain old fatigue - tend to play an increasing role.

Nevertheless, it will be difficult enough of them to overturn this result in the second leg of the tie.
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I suspect Liverpool will suffer more this evening! 4-0 maybe?
 
Apple fanboy said:
I suspect Liverpool will suffer more this evening! 4-0 maybe?
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No.

Liverpool have tradition and pedigree in the Champions' League; remember, they reached the final last year, which was no mean achievement.

I expect Liverpool to be able to give a very good account of themselves this evening; they have lost but once all season in the PL, and they are superb when attacking.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
No.

Liverpool have tradition and pedigree in the Champions' League; remember, they reached the final last year, which was no mean achievement.

I expect Liverpool to be able to give a very good account of themselves this evening; they have lost but once all season in the PL, and they are superb when attacking.
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Barcelona undefeated in 32 home European ties. If I was a Liverpool fan I’d take a 2-0 loss right now.
 
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