I was glad to see Utd drop points. Keeps us in front if they win their game in hand.
Good win for Norwich to sees them climb to 18th. Still think they’ll go down though.
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The 2021-2022 Football Thread
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Good win for Norwich to sees them climb to 18th. Still think they’ll go down though.
Not just not very good, nor not just terribly unmotivated, but - and this is also key - an extraordinarily unbalanced team; this is not a club where the sum of the (often talented, indeed gifted) parts comes to anything but the sum of those parts; the whole does not exceed the sum of those parts.
For example, this evening, it is not a coincidence that Bruno Fernandes had a rather good game in the absence of CR.
I know we usually focus on the PL on this thread, but if you get a chance have a look at the two goals Tim Lawrence scored for Derby. Both were stunning!
Benitez is a good manager, but Evertonians see him as a red. If he was delivering good results they might forgive him. I think they’ve had a lot of injuries which hasn’t helped.
Meanwhile we manage to lose to Leeds. Not surprised.
Meanwhile we manage to lose to Leeds. Not surprised.
Liverpool managed well against the Bees, not surprising given the rough patch of form Brentford are in at the moment. But even if Liverpool win out the season it may not be enough to keep the title challenge alive.
Watched the replay of Villa - Man Utd, as the Liverpool match is unavailable for me.
Dreadful howler by the Villa keeper for the first Man Utd goal. It was a back and forth match, but Man Utd were doing enough to edge it and at 2-0 there was an opportunity to control the match. But Villa always looked in it and Coutinho got his chance for glory.
Watched the replay of Villa - Man Utd, as the Liverpool match is unavailable for me.
Dreadful howler by the Villa keeper for the first Man Utd goal. It was a back and forth match, but Man Utd were doing enough to edge it and at 2-0 there was an opportunity to control the match. But Villa always looked in it and Coutinho got his chance for glory.
Top drawer stuff. I especially liked the first, you don't see long dribbles result in a goal as often these days.
Some of the abuse Rafa has gotten at Everton was simply beyond the pale, and Everton's problems extend way beyond Rafa. But it had become clear that the fans were never going to accept him, results were genuinely bad, and the squad was unsettled. Had to happen. The question for Everton fans is, how much of a difference is this going to make? Things were not always sparkling under Ancelotti either (and he bailed at the first good opportunity), and transfer business has been poor.
I preferred the first goal to the second as well. Very good control.
As for Everton, realistically they are behind the greedy six. So all that leaves is competing with the likes of us, Villa and Leicester. The fans think they should be signing too draw players. That’s just not going to happen unless you can offer CL football and titles. Whoever they get to replace him will just have the same issues.
The new world order is state clubs - Man City, PSG, and now Newcastle. Even Abramovich's billions, FSG's hedge fund wealth, and Man Utd's massive consumer goods sponsorship portfolio play a distant second fiddle to the resources of entire nations. So even the five 'poorest' members of the 'greedy six' are being gradually left behind. For clubs like Everton, I'm not sure what the expectations should be. Barring a Leicester-type miracle, there will be no more league titles. There will be no Champions League. And their last handful of managerial appointments are a real grab-bag in terms of differing philosophies. The ownership are not exuding competence.
The best such a fan can hope for in their lifetime is maybe a few League Cup or FA cup final appearances (to get blitzed by Man City), or some success in the Europa league (to get blitzed by some Spanish also-ran). With the right scouting network you could become a feeder club like Dortmund - that at least gives you the chance to see the world's best players in your shirt for a season or two at the beginning of their careers.
But if you want to win the big silverware these days, you need to have your club be purchased by a middle-eastern authoritarian state looking for some good PR...or be Real Madrid, who must be printing money somewhere since they never run out.
EDIT: and right after posting I see that Johnathan Wilson, a favorite football curmudgeon of mine, has made a couple similar points in his piece on the sacking. Everton have wasted a lot of money and have no overarching plan by the looks of things. Benitez is an extremely convenient scapegoat; sacking him this week might even have been the right move, but most of the club's failings right now have little or nothing to do with him. And anyway he's gone now.
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BIG upset today in the AFCON as Equatorial Guinea beat Algeria 1-0. I'm sure COVID and general fatigue are playing their parts, but thus far none of the 'big' teams has really laid down a marker in this tournament. But there is plenty of football left to play.
I personally think the Premier League title race is probably over, so it would be great to see Mane or Salah triumph with their national sides, I would not begrudge them that one bit.
I personally think the Premier League title race is probably over, so it would be great to see Mane or Salah triumph with their national sides, I would not begrudge them that one bit.
Just watched our highlights. West Ham looked very tired. Some poor defending. Leeds had one of their good days. They looked good and deserved their three points. Hopefully Zouma will be back for the Man Utd game. Diop looked terrible today.
Fatigue is an issue with every squad right now. Except Man City's.
Your hatred for them runs so deep. I wouldn’t say that was true. Some teams have played a lot less than others.
I think it's effecting everyone, but some more than others. As for Man City...I wouldn't say my hatred runs deep....but I'm no fan of their ownership model, demonstrable financial doping they escaped punishment for, and the fact they are now turning the Prem into La Liga, where you need 95 points to win the league.
That's United academy graduate Tom Lawrence. I appreciate it when our youth products do well, even if in the Championship.
As for City not being affected by fatigue, they could run out their bench as a Man City B entrant in the PL and still finish in the top 4 with them. Their depth is absurd.
Meanwhile, United are hemming and hawing about buying another midfielder when clearly it's a glaring need. Honestly not sure how much a Denis Zakaria or Amadou Haidara will move the needle, but if someone can come in and move Fred to the bench and/or keep Matic from playing, surely it's an improvement.
Chelsea drop points again today, further shrinking their chances of any sort of title challenge. Barring a quite sizeable slump by Man City (AND Liverpool winning virtually all of their remaining matches!), it's all over. Lukaku, without playing terrible, was once again less than what he needed to be.
The league 'competition', such as it is, is now for that final Champions League qualifying spot (as I doubt Chelsea, for all their struggles, will slump out of the top four). And, of course, the relegation battle, where just about everyone is hoping to see Newcastle go down one last time for good measure before they begin their future period of domination.
The league 'competition', such as it is, is now for that final Champions League qualifying spot (as I doubt Chelsea, for all their struggles, will slump out of the top four). And, of course, the relegation battle, where just about everyone is hoping to see Newcastle go down one last time for good measure before they begin their future period of domination.
Theoretically, I think Saints are still in with a shot at the title this year.
Obviously need to win every game from now on and there needs to be a lot of dropped points above us, but I see it as do-able.
Obviously need to win every game from now on and there needs to be a lot of dropped points above us, but I see it as do-able.
If Saints pipped Man City (and Liverpool) to the title this season, I would be completely OK with that.
I actually don't know if my constitution could take it. I'm so used to mediocrity...what does one do with success? Laud it over others? Boast online about it? Wear the team's colours brazenly in public? All sounds very tiring.If Saints pipped Man City (and Liverpool) to the title this season, I would be completely OK with that.
On a far more serious note...looks like Ralf Ragnarok is being touted as the next to get the axe.
what would that mean, realistically, for Man U? They have a plan built around him being the interim manager and then becoming DOF or similar.
You surely couldn't install him as DOF after sacking him as a failed manager, could you?
Would they then go on a manhunt for not just a long-term manager (Poch) but also a DOF (Sam Allardyce, anyone?).
They aren't looking any better at the moment than before Ole was sacked. In fact they seem to be going backwards.
And as for Lord Showpony; you can't fault his dedication to the sport, but he's not helping much, is he?
what would that mean, realistically, for Man U? They have a plan built around him being the interim manager and then becoming DOF or similar.
You surely couldn't install him as DOF after sacking him as a failed manager, could you?
Would they then go on a manhunt for not just a long-term manager (Poch) but also a DOF (Sam Allardyce, anyone?).
They aren't looking any better at the moment than before Ole was sacked. In fact they seem to be going backwards.
And as for Lord Showpony; you can't fault his dedication to the sport, but he's not helping much, is he?
Depends on your personality I suppose. I got to see Columbus win two league titles and Liverpool one. If I never live to see another I'll still feel lucky.
Or you could be a Real Madrid fan and consider a treble to be the bare minimum for a successful season.
That's a path to misery.Sacking Rangnick would be ludicrous - he's supposed to be steadying the ship for a bit and then taking on a consultancy role at the club. Presumably that would make it expensive to sack him AND it would blow up any semblance of a long-term plan for improving the football side of the club's structure.
Nothing's impossible when it comes to how football clubs are run, but I don't see it happening right now. They are targeting fourth but even failing at that would be a pretty flimsy excuse, given that Rangnick is a temporary appointment anyway.
But having said that I'm all for it, especially if it can pave the way for a second Mourinho stint.
EDIT: Their match against Brentford has gone similarly to Liverpool's - 3-0 over the hapless Bees after a series of second half goals. Rangnick IN!
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At least my Man U team got the win today, happy about that considering how the season is going.