Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The 2018-2019 Football Thread

Lord Blackadder said:
Liverpool dominated the midfield today. The third goal was clearly offside, but I think it is fair to say Liverpool did more than enough to win the game.

West Ham have made more changes in the offseason than Liverpool, starting with a managerial change. Pellegini is trying to drill the team to his system, so I think they need more time to bed in. I expect them to improve going forward, once the manager has more time with the players.

Liverpool look to be picking up right where they left off.

Watching Arsenal-Man City...Man City are definitely getting the better of it so far. Shame to see Maitland-Niles have to go off, I hope he hasn't picked up a serious injury.
Click to expand...
Yes it was clearly offside, but made no difference to the result. Bring on the next game (Bournemouth).
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Liverpool dominated the midfield today. The third goal was clearly offside, but I think it is fair to say Liverpool did more than enough to win the game.

West Ham have made more changes in the offseason than Liverpool, starting with a managerial change. Pellegini is trying to drill the team to his system, so I think they need more time to bed in. I expect them to improve going forward, once the manager has more time with the players.

Liverpool look to be picking up right where they left off.

Watching Arsenal-Man City...Man City are definitely getting the better of it so far. Shame to see Maitland-Niles have to go off, I hope he hasn't picked up a serious injury.
Click to expand...

Liverpool look strong and confident.

Re Arsenal, really, I think it is something akin to the same situation as Chelsea and indeed, West Ham: A new manager, a new system, some new players and the need for around a year to allow the system, players and manager to bed in and blend in well together.

Both Klopp and Guardiola took well over a year to be able to blend what they had (and were able to skilfully acquire elsewhere) into a formidable team.

I would expect the same from Arsenal this year - a steep learning curve, and the need to banish some horrid old brittle habits.

Arsenal will do well to retrieve a point from today's game - winning it would be most unexpected, and - frankly - extremely unlikely.
[doublepost=1534091283][/doublepost]Damn.

But a necessary and salutary lesson: About gulf in class, about defending, about playing coherent, cohesive football.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Liverpool look strong and confident.

Re Arsenal, really, I think it is something akin to the same situation as Chelsea and indeed, West Ham: A new manager, a new system, some new players and the need for around a year to allow the system, players and manager to bed in and blend in well together.

Both Klopp and Guardiola took well over a year to be able to blend what they had (and were able to skilfully acquire elsewhere) into a formidable team.
Click to expand...

"Systems" managers like Guardiola or Klopp take longer to get going than "firefighter" managers like Mourinho or Allardyce. If Emery is more of the former, it will take a full season or more before you really see his ideas being implemented the way he intends. Emery's job this term is really just to keep things together enough to buy himself time to get his system working next season or the season after. This isn't going to be an instant transition.

I'd say that, barring some sort of total disaster, we need to hold our judgment on Emery this season and give him a chance to bed in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
Clearly I do not know as much as I thought, about football.
Well, at least there are still 37 games to go, and Arsenal can do and get better.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
"Systems" managers like Guardiola or Klopp take longer to get going than "firefighter" managers like Mourinho or Allardyce. If Emery is more of the former, it will take a full season or more before you really see his ideas being implemented the way he intends. Emery's job this term is really just to keep things together enough to buy himself time to get his system working next season or the season after. This isn't going to be an instant transition.

I'd say that, barring some sort of total disaster, we need to hold our judgment on Emery this season and give him a chance to bed in.
Click to expand...

Agree completely; transforming that team will take - at an absolute minimum - a year, - and, given Klopp and Guardiola's achievements, more likely two or three years to get a new system smoothly operating, and effortlessly internalised.

But, it is a salutary wake-up call to the "Wenger Out" brigade, that salvation will not and cannot come immediately; it is also a useful reminder to fans and players of the gulf in class that currently exists between the top two teams (Manchester City and Liverpool) and the chasing pack.

Personally, I think Arsenal and Emery will do well - very well - to take fourth place this year, and yes, it will be a long haul, and he will need both time and tolerance to do it.

It is also useful for him to see how what he has to work with actually perform on the pitch.
 
Kevin de Bruyner out for up to 6 months. I might have to rethink my Premier League prediction, as he is the catalyst at Man City.
I still think they will be there or there abouts, but I'm sure Klopp is happier for the news.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Kevin de Bruyner out for up to 6 months. I might have to rethink my Premier League prediction, as he is the catalyst at Man City.
I still think they will be there or there abouts, but I'm sure Klopp is happier for the news.
Click to expand...

Hm, a source (the Guardian) that I read last night suggested three months, while today''s Telegraph thinks four, rather than six.

Either way, it is a considerable blow for City.

While I still think they are the best team in the division, and would consider that they have an excellent chance to claim the title again, I do not see them (even before de Bruyne's injury) as likely to do so with one hundred points in the bag.
 
Officially out for 3 months. There goes my fantasy team. I dont even know why i bother every year. I always get screwed with injuries.
 
I dunno who to replace him with that's a guaranteed starter in the City team. I'll probably end up picking Mahrez
 
When fantasy teams meet the real world......

However, while it is very unfortunate for De Bruyne (and City), that, along with the improved Liverpool squad, virtually guarantees a genuine contest for the Premiership title this year.
 
Ouch.

Arsenal.

Well, at least Mr Emery is seeing first hand what the team he inherited is capable of, and - for that matter - not capable of (such as defending).

Something tells me that there will be quite considerable changes over the coming weeks in the composition of the Arsenal team.
 
ivanwi11iams said:
Well, clearly this Arsenal match isn’t going according to plan...
Click to expand...

We forget that Pep Guardiola, and Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp all took a few years to build and craft their teams into something resembling what and where they wish them to be.

Unai Emery will need at the very least a season to begin to address the defensive rot and psychological brittleness that have attended Arsenal performances for the past while.

And, despite the summer purchases, he needs to give the established players a try-out, a chance, an opportunity to prove themselves, to let them see if they can perform (or not, as the case may be) so that when the time comes to jettison them, or ease them out, they have little excuse or argument against such a decision.

Of course, he needs to build a fresh team, and from the back, but this is a process that could well take the best part of least a season or two.
 
The important question is will Stan Kroenke back Emery in the upcoming window...i doubt it.

Its early days but no way Chelsea win the title for me...on today's performance.
 
An exciting match. Both Chelsea and Arsenal fans have plenty of ammunition for both positive and negative assessments here. Both teams can be said to be in some form of rebuilding stage, and have some obvious vulnerabilities, but both have played good football at times here.

Arsenal really drew the short straw when it comes to the fixture schedule. They just need to dust themselves off, get a few wins against lesser opposition, and try to build some momentum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back