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The 2021-2022 Football Thread

Scepticalscribe said:
The best time - and sometimes, the most easily secured points - of the entire season - for a promoted team often occur in August.

Promoted teams can tend to be at their most unsettling, they are still an unknown quantity, after all - and established teams are frequently still a bit tired and stale (especially after international tournaments) and finding their stride, perhaps with new players, in August.

So, no, not a good time to play one of them.
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Absolutely not. They have just gone 2-0 up!
 
Rough result for Arsenal, who face an uncertain season. They are carrying plenty of injuries already, and Arteta seems certain to get sucked into the sack race.

I don't see them having a strong season at this moment, but they are not in Europe, which is, frankly, a plus. I think expectations should be kept low (i.e. qualifying for the Champions League is very unlikely) because the squad looks way behind the league contenders. But it's not all doom and gloom. Spurs and Everton are question marks right now, so if Arsenal can beat teams like Brentford (I know, I know) more consistently going forward, and maybe snatch some draws against the big sides, they have a realistic shot at 6th or even 5th place and maybe a cup run. Which might sound humble, but unless Kroenke is ready to drop 150 million GBP a season on signings the club will simply not be able to to keep up with Chelsea and the Manchester clubs.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Rough result for Arsenal, who face an uncertain season. They are carrying plenty of injuries already, and Arteta seems certain to get sucked into the sack race.

I don't see them having a strong season at this moment, but they are not in Europe, which is, frankly, a plus. I think expectations should be kept low (i.e. qualifying for the Champions League is very unlikely) because the squad looks way behind the league contenders. But it's not all doom and gloom. Spurs and Everton are question marks right now, so if Arsenal can beat teams like Brentford (I know, I know) more consistently going forward, and maybe snatch some draws against the big sides, they have a realistic shot at 6th or even 5th place and maybe a cup run. Which might sound humble, but unless Kroenke is ready to drop 150 million GBP a season on signings the club will simply not be able to to keep up with Chelsea and the Manchester clubs.
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Agreed: I've no argument on dropping £150 million (GBP) - that is not going to happen (and nor should it), but I am still irked - a season later - at selling an outstanding goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez - (we should have dispensed with Leno instead, or at least made Martínez the first choice keeper, as he had wished) to Villa for around £20 million (GBP).

Agreed, too, that not quaifying for Europe is a bonus - fewer distractions (and I held that view all last season, and indeed, the previous season or two as well).

At least Virgil van Dijk - whose loss was really felt last season - should be in a position to return for Liverpool by September, or October at the latest.
 
Imagine if the ESL had gone ahead. We would have been forever robbed of moments like this.
I still think they will go straight back down but I hope the fans enjoy every minute of it they can.
 
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Also makes the fact Arsenal sold Joe Willock even more laughable. He was one of the inform players at the tail end of the season. Youngest player to score in 7 consecutive EPL games.
a great pickup for Newcastle.
 
danny842003 said:
Imagine if the ESL had gone ahead. We would have been forever robbed of moments like this.
I still think they will go straight back down but I hope the fans enjoy every minute of it they can.
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Exactly. I will be continuing to support West Ham and whoever is playing against the greedy six this year. Let’s hope they have more terrible results! Although for me the PL is a two horse race this year. City or Chelsea.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Exactly. I will be continuing to support West Ham and whoever is playing against the greedy six this year. Let’s hope they have more terrible results! Although for me the PL is a two horse race this year. City or Chelsea.
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I fancy this is the year Man U get their **** together again. They might not win it but I believe they’re a real contender.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Just watching the goals from yesterday. Terrible defending by Arsenal. The second was shocking.
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Shocking is a very apt, and fitting, and descriptive term.

And, in this context, entirely appropriate.

And there could easily have been a third.

The thing is, elements of our defending have been "shocking" for at least half a decade; I used to work as a teacher (granted, at third level), but occasionally, in such an environment, you would wonder about what used to be thought of as - and were described as - "slow learners".
 
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Watching Man Utd - Leeds. Thought it was a match again when Leeds equalised, but...

Man Utd, or rather Pogba and Fernandes, both of which have been sensational, struck back with a vengeance.

Maybe it's hope for Everton, who was thrashed by them in the last friendly before the season started, after all...
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Shocking is a very apt, and fitting, and descriptive term.

And, in this context, entirely appropriate.

And there could easily have been a third.

The thing is, elements of our defending have been "shocking" for at least half a decade; I used to work as a teacher (granted, at third level), but occasionally, in such an environment, you would wonder about what used to be thought of as - and were described as - "slow learners".
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Could be worse. After the Utd v Leeds game, you won’t be bottom. I bet @JamesMike is happy! Just wish I’d made Bruno my captain instead of Mo! Oh well.
Think I’ll phone my Leeds supporting friend tonight.
 
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An understrength Man Utd demolish Leeds. I suspect this season may not throw up much drama at the top of the table...Apple fanboy's hopes of a comeuppance for the 'greedy six' is almost certainly a forlorn one. Though, it's still quite possible Man City will fail yet again in Europe. And that would be very funny.

Scepticalscribe said:
Agreed: I've no argument on dropping £150 million (GBP) - that is not going to happen (and nor should it), but I am still irked - a season later - at selling an outstanding goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez - (we should have dispensed with Leno instead, or at least made Martínez the first choice keeper, as he had wished) to Villa for around £20 million (GBP).
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The financial disparities are widening. It's still possible to punch above one's financial weight by being smart, but it's never been harder to do so. Man City are also smart - and they have practically bottomless wealth on top of that.

I was just talking over Arsenal with a (depressed) Gooner friend of mine today and I'm not sure what the fans should be hoping for right now. They can't compete financially anymore with the league contenders but they are in no danger of slipping out of the top half of the league either. The Champions league is at least two seasons away under even the most optimistic assessments, and that would rely on other clubs imploding. Maybe Cup runs? Of course, the club can continue to make a lot of money and raise prices even while winning nothing - such is the state of things.

Arteta may take the fall should results stay mediocre but that would be somewhat of a red herring in my opinion. Like Chelsea, Arsenal gave a young ex-player a shot at managing. Arteta, like Frank Lampard, will probably emerge rather bruised from the encounter. Lampard had a massively talented squad but couldn't deliver results fast enough for a very short-termist, greedy club. And he made the sort of mistakes you'd expect a relatively experience manager to make. That sort of thing is not tolerated at Chelsea, as Lampard well knows form his playing days. Arteta has a different, and arguably harder problem - a big club but still suffering from the ghost of late-stage Wenger, a quesitonable director of football, and a very patchy recruitment program. He's been dealt a bad hand, so it't hard to judge him if he ultimately fails. If he succeeds, it will have been from a position of considerable disadvantage.

On the other hand, there are plenty of indications that the ownership see Arteta as a reasonably effective lightning rod insulating them from criticism about mediocre results. So they may stick with him for some time. At least until the 'Kroenke Out' calls reach a certain decibel level.
 
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