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The 2019-2020 Football Thread

Aren't West Ham now mathematically safe in the Premier League, with goal difference?
I like David Moyes while he was at Everton, and he has had a rough time since. So, it would be nice for him to get a 'win', i.e. staying in the Premier League.

Now, I just need us, Arsenal, to win the FA Cup.
 
tee_cup said:
Aren't West Ham now mathematically safe in the Premier League, with goal difference?
I like David Moyes while he was at Everton, and he has had a rough time since. So, it would be nice for him to get a 'win', i.e. staying in the Premier League.

Now, I just need us, Arsenal, to win the FA Cup.
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Pretty much. Villa would need a 14 goal swing in GD. That would be them winning two games 4 nil and Man Utd putting 3 past us.
Extremely unlikely.
 
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I asked the question because I was reading on Sky Sports, and they alluded to it not being a done deal.
And, here I was like, yes it is...

Apple fanboy said:
Pretty much. Villa would need a 14 goal swing in GD. That would be them winning two games 4 nil and Man Utd putting 3 past us.
Extremely unlikely.
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Tottenham destroy Leicester (3-0), while Southampton defeat Bournemouth by two goals to nil, a result that will leave Bournemouth edging ever closer to relegation.

Elsewhere, in the second FA Cup semi-final, at half-time, Chelsea lead Manchester United by a goal to nil.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Tottenham destroy Leicester (3-0), while Southampton defeat Bournemouth by two goals to nil, a result that will leave Bournemouth edging ever closer to relegation.

Elsewhere, in the second FA Cup semi-final, at half-time, Chelsea lead Manchester United by a goal to nil.
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Bournemouth are gone for me. They need to win their last game 4 nil with both Watford and Villa picking up no more points.
Can’t see it.
 
tee_cup said:
Man Utd 1 - 3 Chelsea. Oops...

Addendum:
Why sack Pearson, with 2 games to go? Can another 'Manager' or interim person save them?
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It does seem rather unfair, as, to a large extent, he has actually managed to turn their fortunes around, &, if anything, they are all but safe now.

Moreover, he is the third manager to have departed from Vicarage Road during the course of this season.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
It does seem rather unfair, as, to a large extent, he has actually managed to turn their fortunes around, &, if anything, they are all but safe now.

Moreover, he is the third manager to have departed from Vicarage Road during the course of this season.
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Ridicules. I think Watford May well stay up regardless. With a 3 point fusion and superior GD, Villa will need a win and a draw. Can’t see it.
I’d have thought you’d wait until the end of the season before making any changes. It’s not like anyone coming in will have the games to make an impact.
 
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Apple fanboy said:
Ridicules. I think Watford May well stay up regardless. With a 3 point fusion and superior GD, Villa will need a win and a draw. Can’t see it.
I’d have thought you’d wait until the end of the season before making any changes. It’s not like anyone coming in will have the games to make an impact.
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Agree completely; it is utterly unfair, very bizarre timing & quite ridiculous.
 
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United was never going to win that FA Cup tie. 48 hours less rest than Chelsea made a big difference, but the United squad is running out of gas again in general. There is still not enough quality depth to go around, but they've got to drag themselves over the hump into the top 4 so they can actually go out on the transfer market and replenish. Put this behind and get ready for West Ham, who on their current form are going to be a tough test.

Once again, does David De Gea have a future at United? Would selling him on the cheap, moving his high wages on and bringing Henderson back next season both improve the defense and give them more cash to spend on inbound transfers? It's strongly worth considering, as De Gea's errors over the past couple of seasons have arguably cost United more points than his spectacular saves have earned them.
 
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I am willing to bet more and more, that David De Gea wished his deal to move away from Man Utd., went through.
The poor guy sat in a hotel for days, waiting to hear about the biggest deal of his career.

Interesting times ahead for him...
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I think that they - Watford - are safe; I can't really see Villa making up what lies between them in points & goal difference before the end of the season.
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It would be very Arsenal-y for the Gunners to lose to Villa tomorrow. And that could make things quite interesting in the Villa v Watford relegation battle. Though, realistically, Watford probably only need one more point (and maybe not even that) to be safe.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
It would be very Arsenal-y for the Gunners to lose to Villa tomorrow. And that could make things quite interesting in the Villa v Watford relegation battle. Though, realistically, Watford probably only need one more point (and maybe not even that) to be safe.
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Unfortunately, (inhales deep breath, exhales audible sigh), yes, it would.

However, I take considerable solace from the fact that under Mikel Arteta, their overall trajectory seems to be both positive & pretty promising.

Moreover, in their last two games, not only did they manage to defeat the two best teams in the Premiership, but they took their chances, robustly defended their lead, & put in an excellent (and solid & sustained) defensive display.

For all of that, I think Watford would have to be spectacularly unfortunate to be relegated at this stage; yes, it is theoretically possible, but rather unlikely.
 
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tee_cup said:
I am willing to bet more and more, that David De Gea wished his deal to move away from Man Utd., went through.
The poor guy sat in a hotel for days, waiting to hear about the biggest deal of his career.

Interesting times ahead for him...
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His problems have not occurred in a United kit alone. He made some memorable gaffes at the World Cup in 2018.

There has been some turnover and recriminations in his coaching staff, and with his unorthodox form, if he's not right mentally then his margin for error is very thin.

I also have to wonder if he's very well suited for modern football. With Spain, he never looks very comfortable playing the sweeper keeper behind a defense holding a high line. It's a bit odd considering his passing and distribution are normally very good. On the other hand, he was never an imposing physical presence in the box, either. Maybe he needs to go to an environment where there's less pressure on him — I don't think things would have worked for him at Real if the fax machine was in functional order, either.

Finally, I look back at Fergie' earlier days and how ruthless he was building out his teams. Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard, and Ben Foster were not allowed many gaffes in goal before being shown the door. Unlike in those days, United already have a readymade replacement in house (on loan), so I think the time is right to make the change.

The problems do not begin and end with the keeper, though: Victor Lindelof is not up to the standard of being a starter on a title contending team. I realize every top team in England is in the market for defensive upgrades, but they need to find a partner who can cover some of Maguire's shortcomings.
 
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HandsomeDanNZ said:
That was a surprising result, for me (Wolves vs Palace)

I thought Palace would've been more competitive than that...
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Not really; as @Apple fanboy remarks, they have little to play for at this stage of the season.

Apple fanboy said:
Not on current form. Nothing to play for.
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Exactly.

This is the easiest time of year (season) to play a mid table team, as they have secured their place in the PL for next season. Relegation is not a threat, while qualification for Europe is not possible, hence, some of them coast.

However, at this late stage of the season, those teams threatened with relegation sometimes play ferociously & fiercely (often inflicting unexpected defeats on supposedly better opponents) as they are fighting for their very lives & football futures, - for membership of the PL is profitable, or, rather, relegation is costly - while their footballers may be motivated to present themselves well - to attract the eye of potential buyers, or purchasers - in the unwelcome light of their inevitably reduced salaries post relegation should they choose to remain with their club, or should the club be able to afford them & their salaries.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Not really; as @Apple fanboy remarks, they have little to play for at this stage of the season.



Exactly.

This is the easiest time of year (season) to play a mid table team, as they have secured their place in the PL for next season. Relegation is not a threat, while qualification for Europe is not possible, hence, some of them coast.

However, at this late stage of the season, those teams threatened with relegation sometimes play ferociously & fiercely (often inflicting unexpected defeats on supposedly better opponents) as they are fighting for their very lives & football futures, while their footballers may be motivated to present themselves well - to attract the eye of potential buyers, or purchasers - in the unwelcome light of their inevitably reduced salaries post relegation should they choose to remain with their club, or should the club be able to afford them & their salaries.
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We certainly seem to fall into that category.
We have played like a different team since the break and all but secured our PL status for this year.
 
Seeing Norwich rooted to the bottom is an absolute joy to see. They've been atrocious since the restart.

Bournemouth are pretty much gonners, then it's a fight between Watford & Aston Villa. Still think Watford have enough to survive in the final week, but the managerial change really could have unsettled the squad. Madness a week before the end of the season.
 
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