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The Premier League Thread!

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Meanwhile, Liverpool's opponents in the next round of the FA Cup ave been determined. Plucky underdogs™ Havant & Waterlooville have won their replay against Swansea 4-2, setting up a dream tie at Anfield for the non-leaguers.

For the sake of his job, Rafa had better win. ;)
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I think the issue is that Berbatov wants to leave...though I'm just speculating. That's the word among the pundits anyway. If he goes, he'll go to one of the top four and it will be for big money, though maybe not 30 million.
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Officially, he says he doesn't want to leave, so who knows? If the price is high enough, they'd certainly sell him. What I would worry about is how they spent that money afterward. It's a little too early in the Ramos era to guess how wisely they would allocate those resources though.

At any rate, we only have a couple more weeks to wonder about it. It may depend on how well Spurs do in the meantime. If they can rise in the standings, maybe they decide to keep him. But if they are out of both the Carling and FA cups by then (more than likely) then maybe they write off the rest of the season and start hoarding resources for summer signings.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Meanwhile, Liverpool's opponents in the next round of the FA Cup ave been determined. Plucky underdogs™ Havant & Waterlooville have won their replay against Swansea 4-2, setting up a dream tie at Anfield for the non-leaguers.

For the sake of his job, Rafa had better win. ;)
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I'm a Liverpool supporter but a small part of me would love to see them win the upset of the century. Who doesn't love underdogs?

I hope they bring a good fight at least.

I agree about Rafa though - he would never survive a defeat to a non-league side!
 
tefleming said:
Wouldn't we all... ?
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Nope... But for now...
78914108.jpg
 
It's official, Michel Platini is an idiot.

He now wants, and ill quote:

Platini The Spanner Monkey said:
Instead of goal-line technology, the legendary former France playmaker and manager wants officials either behind the line or inside the penalty area.
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Good idea? Maybe, maybe not. Why can't the linesmen do it? Why do we need another 2 assistants? The world is going mad.
 
Markleshark said:
It's official, Michel Platini is an idiot.
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How long did it take to figure that out?

I think they should let him be the "official in the box" and let him get between the ball and the goal when it's being struck by someone like Roberto Carlos, John Arne Riise, Samuel Eto'o, etc. A hard blow to the head can't make things worse, can it?
 
I am against video replays, but goal line technology with a smart ball to say when a goal has been scored will not break the flow of play, slow the game down or interfere in any way. There is NO reason not to use it in any of the top leagues.
 
tefleming said:
Too much americana? (you could have starred SI.com and soccernet - both American, though Soccernet tries to be British).

I've got the Beeb, Guardian, and Sky in there to balance things out. Plus goal.com seems to cover a variety.

But, in seriousness, thanks. I'll give newsnow a shot.
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My bad.:eek: I guess I thought Si.com was http://www.sigames.com, proud makers of Football Manager (worth getting if you dig sports games).
 
grahamtearne said:
Hope Keegans second reign is as good as his first :)
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...But he didn't really win anything then...this is the problem as I see it: Keegan is not a bad manager, and Newcastle could have done far worse. The fans will rally around him and stop calling for Shearer.

But Newcastle are a mid-table team. Even after their current run of bad form they are still mid-table. I doubt that Keegan can make them anything better than mid-table, especially in the face of competition from teams like Manchester City, Everton, Aston Villa and Portsmouth. So while their form might improve under Keegan, I don't see them advancing up the table too much. We'll see.
 
tefleming said:
If Rafa leaves, Torres, Reina, Gerrard will probably also leave.
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This just isn't true. Not that it matters because Rafa isn't going anywhere.

I wouldn't be surprised if several others left. I wouldn't blame them. If Liverpool FC isn't doing everything it takes to get numbers six (European Cups) and nineteen (League Titles) then all the players who thought they were joining a great club should leave.
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Laughable, utterly laughable.
 
scotthayes said:
Any one taking bets on how long it will be before 'King Kev' walks away this time.

I'm going for the end of 2008-09 season...
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Fret not, Nostrajaffus has taken a look at Kevin and his future has been mapped out.

He'll guide them into mid-table this season, the adoring Geordie masses declaring this a huge success following their poor start to the season.

After a summer of big-spending, he'll set his target on securing a UEFA Cup place and/or a cup, and fail spectacularly on both accounts. As the team begins to self-destruct mode, Keegan will very publicly leave Newcastle, declaring that he couldn't go on there after feeling he'd let the supporters down, what with them being so tremendous and they deserve the best.

He'll still continue to be regarded as a hero though, even as Alan Shearer takes his first training session as Newcastle manager...
 
és: said:
This just isn't true. Not that it matters because Rafa isn't going anywhere.
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I think Hicks & Gillette will leave first, but if Rafa does go, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the Spanish players followed.

Jaffa Cake said:
Fret not, Nostrajaffus has taken a look at Kevin and his future has been mapped out.

He'll guide them into mid-table this season, the adoring Geordie masses declaring this a huge success following their poor start to the season.

After a summer of big-spending, he'll set his target on securing a UEFA Cup place and/or a cup, and fail spectacularly on both accounts.
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I agree - just look at the teams they'll need to beat to play European football...and if Shearer gets in there God help them.
 
és: said:
This just isn't true. Not that it matters because Rafa isn't going anywhere.



Laughable, utterly laughable.
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Why is it laughable? I think the current situation is bordering on untenable. Either Gillette/Hicks or Rafa will leave before the start of the next season. (Unless that of course just Hicks leaves: http://www.eatsleepsport.com/articles/680413.html - in which case Rafa will probably stay.)

If Rafa leaves, they'd have to bring in a huge name (a la Mourinho, Hiddink, Riijkard) to show their commitment to the club. I don't think they would pony up all that cash.
 
tefleming said:
Why is it laughable? I think the current situation is bordering on untenable.
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Read your derogatory comments back to yourself, then (without bias) see how far Rafa has taken the team, the success he has bought since he took over and the players he has bought in and then read them back again. You'll soon understand why they are laughable.

There were problems with the owners, we all know that. The problem is even though the owners have given them their backing and the problems have been resolved, biased media and fans can't seem to grasp the reality of the situation.

As for player walking out.... It's pure fantasy, players can't just leave. They have lengthy contracts and are paid massive amounts of money for them. As for our captain leaving... get real.

Opposing fans and the media want to believe the club is falling apart, where the reality is nothing like it. Things are not great, I'm not saying they are but people would have you believe that the manager is getting the sack (despite being backed and problems being solved), the club can't afford transfers (despite breaking transfer records in both of their only two windows), the stadium isn't going to be built (despite the plans being released by the end of the week) and that funding isn't in place (despite the banks having agreed a deal).

People are being sold down the river by the media.... again.
 
és: said:
Laughable, utterly laughable.
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"You can't hide behind excuses. Results haven't been good enough because we haven't been good enough. End of story.
It's not just a question of whether the manager is good enough. The same applies to the players and we all know we have to improve."

Article.

Although it may not be as bad as some say, I wouldn't say it's "laughable".
 
Brianstorm91 said:
"You can't hide behind excuses. Results haven't been good enough because we haven't been good enough. End of story.
It's not just a question of whether the manager is good enough. The same applies to the players and we all know we have to improve."

Article.

Although it may not be as bad as some say, I wouldn't say it's "laughable".
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I don't get your point. If I replied to a statement that read 'results are not good enough' then you'd be right.


But I didn't.


So you're not.

We're talking about 4 draws and a loss (all of which we should have won) - that would have taken us to the top of the table with a game in hand - nobody is more pissed off about it than me, but "thought they were joining a great club" and "should leave" is a whole different kettle of fish.

2 European Cup finals in three seasons, sandwiched with an FA Cup win, a European Supercup win, World club final and Community shield win.. I mean come on. It's pathetic. We are close, much closer than the table shows.

I've certainly not written this season off yet, if not the league, the European and FA cup.
 
és: said:
We're talking about 4 draws and a loss (all of which we should have won) - that would have taken us to the top of the table with a game in hand - nobody is more pissed off about it than me, but "thought they were joining a great club" and "should leave" is a whole different kettle of fish.

2 European Cup finals in three seasons, sandwiched with an FA Cup win, a European Supercup win, World club final and Community shield win.. I mean come on. It's pathetic. We are close, much closer than the table shows.

I've certainly not written this season off yet, if not the league, the European and FA cup.
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It's true that Rafa has brought home silverware as Liverpool coach. But what do you think about the criticism that he's only good in knockout competitions, because he plays conservative formations designed not to lose games rather than to win them? People looking at it from that angle claim that he trys to slow the game down in the first leg and grind out a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 win, and then bring the game back to "fortress Anfield" (this season anything but) to win the second leg. Critics claim that this works for competitions like the Champions League or FA Cup, but not in the Premier League, which is why we haven't won the league in almost 20 years.
 
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