0-2 to the Hammers now. I think Utd are saving themselves for the EL final (as are Spurs apparently who also are losing by 2 goals.
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The 2024-2025 Football Thread
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Yes, from a tactical (and strategic) perspective that makes sense, and I agree with you.
Doubtless, the Hammers will also be happy with this result.
Indeed. As it stands we leapfrog both of the CL potential winners next season. Reward indeed for finishing 16th and 17th potentially.
The bit in bold, ex United player Paul Scholes had made the exact same comment about United as to why they have been losing PL games because the club had been focusing on the Europa league hoping to get into the champions league via the back door (winning the Europa league) hence why United have put out better and stronger teams in the Europa games than they have in the PL games.
Getting beat by West Ham 2-0 is evidence of that. Their player wages and transfers have been quadrupled that of West Ham and yet West Ham beat them 2-0. If United's gamble of putting priority over winning the Europa league instead of winning PL games fails then I think the club and Amorim is going to face a huge backlash from fans. Prior to the club getting relegated to what was from the old league one to league to back in the 70's, this will be United's 2nd worst finish in the league in it's history. ETH got sacked because of the teams poor performance in the league. Amorim has come in and made it worse. Many other PL clubs over the years have sacked a replacement manager for doing worse than the manager that was sacked before him. Amorim should be sacked, simple as.
Okay, scoring (many) goals from play has been an issue for Arsenal for at least the past two - if not, three - seasons.
Moreover, ever since Gabriel Magalhaes has been absent through injury, we have found it difficult to score from set pieces - which used to be our specialty, and which used to be about the only way we could actually put the ball in the net.
However, and however, and however: Once upon a relatively recent (not a distant) time, we used to be quite good at defence. In fact, there was a time when our defence was considered among the best in the division.
No longer, alas.
Conceding two goals to Liverpool in a little under two minutes does not - not remotely - constitute something approaching a good defence.
This is embarrassing. Excruciatingly embarrassing.
Arsenal are now two goals down to Liverpool, as the score reads Liverpool 2, Arsenal 0.
Looks like it is increasingly likely that we won't manage to finish second, after all.....
Moreover, ever since Gabriel Magalhaes has been absent through injury, we have found it difficult to score from set pieces - which used to be our specialty, and which used to be about the only way we could actually put the ball in the net.
However, and however, and however: Once upon a relatively recent (not a distant) time, we used to be quite good at defence. In fact, there was a time when our defence was considered among the best in the division.
No longer, alas.
Conceding two goals to Liverpool in a little under two minutes does not - not remotely - constitute something approaching a good defence.
This is embarrassing. Excruciatingly embarrassing.
Arsenal are now two goals down to Liverpool, as the score reads Liverpool 2, Arsenal 0.
Looks like it is increasingly likely that we won't manage to finish second, after all.....
I'm not normally one to attack a referee, but two - at the very least - rather strange actions by Liverpool players, actions that could have - and should have - been classed as fouls (and dealt with, accordingly) have been dismissed, or ignored, by the referee.
(Robertson grabbing - almost choke-holding Saka, - and earlier, van Dijk addressing Odegaard so forcefully that the latter's shirt was ripped, requiring him to don a fresh shirt).
(Robertson grabbing - almost choke-holding Saka, - and earlier, van Dijk addressing Odegaard so forcefully that the latter's shirt was ripped, requiring him to don a fresh shirt).
A cracking Barcelona v Real Madrid game, Barca win it 4-3. Barca now 7 points clear with 3 games left. I cannot see them losing or even drawing all 3 of them. One win and they win the title. No trophy for Real Madrid this season and I think that means the manager Carlo Ancelotti will be sacked at the end of the season because there is no way the fans are going to accept a trophyless season. The Real Madrid ultra's will go mad over a trophyless season. The clubs senior management would be to scared to keep Ancelotti because they would be worried was the Ultra's would do to them (threats, harassment, intimidation stuff like that).
Our players clearly don't want to be there. They've just gone out of Europe, and are 'forced' to give a guard of honour to the league winners. I have no sympathy for them though, because players, manager and board deserve this and need to hold it.
Liverpool on the other hand look to be trying to make some sort of 'statement' which i guess fair enough, if they want to. But seems pointless to have extra energy today when you coasted and lost 3-1 to Chelsea last week after winning the title
But Champions can do whatever i suppose.
Liverpool on the other hand look to be trying to make some sort of 'statement' which i guess fair enough, if they want to. But seems pointless to have extra energy today when you coasted and lost 3-1 to Chelsea last week after winning the title
But Champions can do whatever i suppose.
Ancelotti will be Brazil's manager at the end of the season, and Xabi Alonso to take over at Madrid. All but confirmed.
EDIT: Thats an embarrassing response/reception from Liverpool fans to TAA.
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Arsenal have scored twice in (a much improved performance in) the second half, and are now level with Liverpool, at two goals apiece.
I won't argue that the Mikel Merino red card was entirely undeserved (although Liverpool certainly deserved reprimands in the form of coloured cards for actions earlier in the game), but I do have to wonder about Arsenal's judgment, - fired up and motivated (I'd imagine that they received a rocket or two at half-time), is one thing, but losing all sense and judgment is quite another, and their weird desire to commit some sort of mad, moronic form of football suicide.
Right: We are now down to ten men, playing away to the team that has already been crowned with the Premier League title, having grimly clawed two goals back to draw level at two goals apiece.
And we are now into stoppage time, hanging on by fingernails and toenails.
Right: We are now down to ten men, playing away to the team that has already been crowned with the Premier League title, having grimly clawed two goals back to draw level at two goals apiece.
And we are now into stoppage time, hanging on by fingernails and toenails.
A hard-fought, well-earned, deserved - and exceedingly welcome - point clawed from Liverpool (at Anfield) by Arsenal, who fought back to claim a draw (two goals apiece, having gone two goals down in the first half), and playing the last ten minutes (plus five added minutes of stoppage time) with ten men.
You are not the only person to have made this point.
However, as well paid professionals, - and, moreover, to ensure that they maintain their position in second place - they owe it to themselves, their fans, their employers, their pride, to perform.
Alas, PSG were the deserved winners over both legs.
Arsenal's problems are not new, and they have yet to seriously address them.
At this stage, given what happened in he second half of the season, I am not so sure that the decision to let ESR - who was a homegrown player, and passionate about Arsenal - go last summer was an entirely wise one.
This is an area where I have no sympathy with any such complaints, and not just in the interest of sportsmanship, and showing respect for yourself, your opponent, and the competition.
More to the point, if the roles were reversed - in other words, had Arsenal won the title at a canter a month before the end of the season, and had the runner-up team failed to give us a guard of honour in a late season clash - there would have been a war-dance and howls to the online ether from aggrieved fans and commentators.
We would have expected - nay, demanded - such a display of respect.
Thus, we need to give it, and do so with dignity and grace.
Indeed.
Agreed.
Well, at the end of the 90 minutes - plus a further five or six - I think that Arsenal actually played well; they also did well to claim a point in such circumstances.
I read an article a couple of weeks ago I believe from a BBC sports writer about this very subject. It was mentioned that giving a guard of honour to the PL champions elect is purely a decision down to the club. Neither the FA or the PL have it written anywhere that a club is required to give a guard of honour. It is 100% the clubs decision. It was mentioned that a number of clubs have not given a guard of honour but I forget which clubs it was.
Reading articles about the Liverpool v Arsenal game regarding fans booing Terence-Trent Arnold with many of the articles coming to TTA's defence, I think those coming to his defence have forgotten his words about Liverpool, saying it was a joy to join the club and that Liverpool is now his life and he is going to stay to help them be the best they can be (or words to that effect) but as soon as Real Madrid came calling he couldn't get out of Liverpool fast enough. It proves everything he said about Liverpool is a lie, it was just words to appease the fans and the club sponsors. This is why you will find why Liverpool fans was booing him because he lied to the fans faces about wanting to stay at the club.
He didn't "lie".
Much though I applaud and admire the idea of a player (someone such as, Jamie Vardy, or Matt Le Tissier, for example) who chose, or chooses, to spend most of their professional career with one club, these days, this has become increasingly rare.
There is no reason for him to wish to remain at Liverpool for the rest of his career; loyalty doesn't always cut both ways, and the club - for all of the sentimentality attached to supporting it - has long been quite ruthless in discarding - or selling, or off-loading - players who were deemed, for one reason or another, no longer necessary to whatever plan, or vision, or system, the manager may have had in mind.
In any case, I think that the treatment meted out to him by fans was deplorable, and entirely undeserved.
Mind you, it served to distract Liverpool to allow Arsenal - who played far better in the second half, in any case, - back into the game, enabling them to create (and convert) sufficient chances to draw level and claim a point.
However, I do think that Trent Alexander-Arnold might have been better served had he prudently given some small thought to the idea of keeping his mouth shut, kept his plans to himself, and refrained from (all too loudly) announcing his intentions to depart from the club until (after) the end of the season.
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It is a courtesy, showing honour, and one that clubs should continue to respect, in my view.
For one thing, it shows respect for yourself, your opponent, and the competition, and it gives a good example of dignified conduct, of showing that one can lose with grace.
Moreover, were the respective roles reversed, - and Arsenal the title holder, the Premier League champion, who had cantered to claim the title with around a month to spare, - I can only assume that Arsenal would expect that this particular honour be extended to them.
This was an interview TAA gave to magazine GQ in 2020 and in it is a reply to a question which is one of the things Liverpool fans do not forget. (source: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/trent-alexander-arnold-interview_)
I've been trying to find the social media posts he made about loving the club and about his love of the city and love being a scouser and not wanting to be with any other club.
If a player has no intention of seeing out their career at their club then they should not being making posts on social media about how much they love their club and have no intention of leaving or give interviews where they say they do not intend to leave their club. Do not be two faced about it, be honest with the fans, the fans who pay to see the player play week in week out.
And?
Things change.
He was born and brought up in the city of Liverpool, and is a graduate of the club's academy, where - if what I have read is correct - he started at the age of six; of course, his ties to Liverpool are deep, and, I would argue, his feelings of love are quite genuine.
However, to have spent twenty years of his life at one club is more than enough, not least, given the relatively short career that most footballers experience.
Most don't, not nowadays.
These days, all players have to been seen (and heard) to give voice to such sentiments, even if (and when) they don't mean a single syllable of the selfsame sentiments.
Notwithstanding that, I believe TAA's declaration of feeling for Liverpool to be quite genuine.
I beg to differ.
Above all, this is not "two-faced" in the case of TAA.
However, I will argue that he might have been more prudent and discreet and held off making such an announcement until after the season had ended.
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Just read a news article that says Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP preferred move is to Arsenal but that he would consider moving to Man United if they get into the champions league. Both clubs need a good striker and he is a very very good striker but in my view I would not want him at either club because his mentality is not right. I am always brought back to a comment the great Sir Bobby Charlton once said in an interview a few years ago discussing the attitude and mentality of a the whole United team (this is when they were doing badly in the league), he said that is takes more than just skill to be a United player, it takes heart as well. This is something many players lack and is why many of them do not perform well for their club because whilst they have the skill they do not have the heart to be at their club. A player must want to join a club because of who the club is and not what the club can give them. Which is why I say in my view Viktor is the wrong type of player for Arsenal or United because he appears to be only interested in joining a better club that can give him champions league football.
Basically he would only give the amount of effort his wage demands. A player with heart would give so so much more.
Basically he would only give the amount of effort his wage demands. A player with heart would give so so much more.
The days of one club players are long gone. And the game has moved forward in a different direction.
Players now want to earn money first, then trophies second. There are exceptions but thats all they are...exceptions.
The TAA reaction is baffling to me. Sure LFC might have wanted a transfer fee but TAA is under no obligation to provide that. He gave 20yrs to the club, won everything and decided to move to a more prestigious club in a city with better weather. Objectively, it makes total sense.
You can love a club, serve a club, and want to move on. Player careers are incredibly short so i don't begrudge them for wanting to maximise their experiences/time.
I only begrudge them when they complain about anything else, given the level rewards they get for their 'efforts'
Re - Gyokeres, i can understand players being tentative about joining Utd given the recent headlines, culture etc. I'm sure the only reason he's even considering them is Amorim.
Very few players have 'heart' nowadays. Its all about personal branding, bigger salaries, and perceived prestige wherever that may lie. Then trophies as a bonus.
Players now want to earn money first, then trophies second. There are exceptions but thats all they are...exceptions.
The TAA reaction is baffling to me. Sure LFC might have wanted a transfer fee but TAA is under no obligation to provide that. He gave 20yrs to the club, won everything and decided to move to a more prestigious club in a city with better weather. Objectively, it makes total sense.
You can love a club, serve a club, and want to move on. Player careers are incredibly short so i don't begrudge them for wanting to maximise their experiences/time.
I only begrudge them when they complain about anything else, given the level rewards they get for their 'efforts'
Re - Gyokeres, i can understand players being tentative about joining Utd given the recent headlines, culture etc. I'm sure the only reason he's even considering them is Amorim.
Very few players have 'heart' nowadays. Its all about personal branding, bigger salaries, and perceived prestige wherever that may lie. Then trophies as a bonus.
I suppose my flaw is that I am still lost in the romance of how it used to be with players. Over the many many years I have watched interviews and read autobiographies of ex-players who talk very fondly and with passion the days at clubs with legendary managers such as Don Revie, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Brian Clough, Matt Busby, the players desire wanting to play for those managers, to experience the clubs fans, being in awe of the clubs football ground, the passion and pride they got pulling on the club jersey time and time again. Yes money and winning trophies did matter to them but back then it was not the most important thing for them. That sort of mentality has gone from players of today. They know they have skill and they will sell it to the highest bidder. That is how it is today. That is why I have immense respect for players like Steve Bull, Matt Le Tissier, Alan Shearer, Jamie Vardy, Ryan Giggs, all stayed at their boyhood clubs, wanting to help them to win things, players who were time and time again approached to join bigger more successful clubs but them saying no.
That is the football that I grew up with and that is what I loved about the game but as you rightly say everything has changed now, the game is not what it used to be. Now it's all about how to make the most money.
Alan Shearer?
Southampton
Blackburn
Newcastle
I know what you mean though. I think some players will always be loyal even in the modern game. Others will disappear off to Saudi for their 30 pieces of silver as soon as they get the call.
The Europa league final is big news in the UK press and the issue of it being contested with two of England's worst performing premier league teams got me looking to the teams involved in the semi final, Bodo/Glimt and Athletic Club.
Bodo/Glimt play in Norway's top division and are currently 7th in the league and over two legs they got thrashed by Spurs who are currently 17th in the premier league. Athletic Club play in Spain's top division and are currently 4th in the league and over two legs they got thrashed by Man United who are currently 16th in the premier league. Now considering where in the leagues the opposition teams are situated and both getting thrashed by the premier leagues 2 worst performing non relegation teams, could it be argued that the premier league is so strong that even it's worst performing teams can beat top opposition from other top European leagues or is it just a case that both United and Spurs still have strong enough teams and is just they are having a one season blip which is why they are struggling in the league but are able to beat top opposition teams from other European leagues?
Throughout the Europa league competition, both Spurs and United only faced one team that was mid table in their leagues, one was 12 and the other 15th, every other team they faced was no lower than 7th in their league. So, is this a case of this year being an anomaly because it happens to involve two of the premier leagues normally strongest teams who are having a blip or is it a case that premier league teams are much stronger and better than the majority of Europe's top performing teams?
Bodo/Glimt play in Norway's top division and are currently 7th in the league and over two legs they got thrashed by Spurs who are currently 17th in the premier league. Athletic Club play in Spain's top division and are currently 4th in the league and over two legs they got thrashed by Man United who are currently 16th in the premier league. Now considering where in the leagues the opposition teams are situated and both getting thrashed by the premier leagues 2 worst performing non relegation teams, could it be argued that the premier league is so strong that even it's worst performing teams can beat top opposition from other top European leagues or is it just a case that both United and Spurs still have strong enough teams and is just they are having a one season blip which is why they are struggling in the league but are able to beat top opposition teams from other European leagues?
Throughout the Europa league competition, both Spurs and United only faced one team that was mid table in their leagues, one was 12 and the other 15th, every other team they faced was no lower than 7th in their league. So, is this a case of this year being an anomaly because it happens to involve two of the premier leagues normally strongest teams who are having a blip or is it a case that premier league teams are much stronger and better than the majority of Europe's top performing teams?