The imaginatively titled Premier League 21/22 Thread

[lejackal]

Yeah think I remember that, he would pretty much carry on playing if you chopped his head off.

Looks like City are lining up £150 million bid for Kane, surely they will have to move a player out if that happens. Lukaku will get 25 - 30 goals in the league for Chelsea, they are crying out for a striker. Again what's £97 million to them, it could be double that and they would pay it if they were aloud and needed to. I've said it before, City and Chelsea have pretty much ruined football for me, they have torn up 150 years of history in the last 15 years by spending, spending and spending. Usually spending well, but still its still bollocks.

They are financially doped for sure but your lot werent exactly known for your fiscal restraint in the 90's and early 00's lol

 

[theforceuk]

They are financially doped for sure but your lot werent exactly known for your fiscal restraint in the 90's and early 00's lol

Yeah but its always been money the club earn't from its brand, not pumped in by wealthy owners. Our owners now take money out!

 

[edd_jedi]

Well I really wasn't expecting that result against City today, probably the most unlikely result of the weekend? I have always thought Spurs have a decent squad but two things stood out for me today, work rate and lack of silly mistakes. As much as I liked Alderweirald I rarely thought he put in a shift, Tanganga on the other hand today is how every defender needs to play if you want a clean sheet. I think today's result was well deserved and gives me a bit of optimism, I've always thought we can (and have) played alright without Harry, and today proved it!

Speaking of the man himself, I don't really see any easy way back for him at Spurs now. OK he might have had to quarantine which delayed training etc but I don't buy for a minute that it wasn't his own doing, if he wanted to play today he would have been home on time and the managers first choice on the team sheet, IMO he's done irrepairable damage to his reputation at the club. So I hope he's feeling at least a little bit stupid for missing out on such a massive win, against the team he apparently wants to go to as well! Poetic justice in action

 

[Snaketibe]

Agreed it was a terrific win for Spurs, who showed real grit and positivity in the face of the current champions. They played well, and they deserved the win! It's too early to be sure, but it does look like Nuno's style of play will finally deviate away from the ultra defensive, boring, ineffective style of Mourinho and Pochettino. When Spurs won the ball today.... they actually ran forward with it! I almost fell off my sofa, I could hardly believe it!

As for Harry, if he goes, he goes. I'll miss him a lot, but if that's what he really wants, then fair enough. However, if he doesn't leave for whatever reason, any disgruntled Spurs fans will soon be won over when he starts scoring goals again

 

[Cazza]

Not many around like Stuart Pearce these days!

I hate the term 'cute' that commentators have started to use when players have cheated their way to a pen/free kick. The Kane one against Villa last season for example. These players are being praised for their cheating. In the euros there was quite a lot of commentary where they said things like 'We need someone to foul them' etc. Awful example for all the kids watching.

As for prices of players... totally ridiculous. 100m for Grealish?! 150m for Kane?! Lukaku looks good value by comparison. He may well be what Chelsea need to win the prem. Apparently they're after Bellingham now as well...

 

[Cazza]

Great win for Spurs - wasn't expecting that. Good show of unity from the squad.

Was very happy with our win (dodgy pen aside). The way we took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and closed out the win was so un-WHU lol! Long may it continue!

 

[lejackal]

You do wonder if that beating City might be a bit like poking a bear. Someones getting the backlash, although they are still susceptible to the counter

 

[theforceuk]

City have lost their last 3 games 1-0, CL final, CS and the Spurs game, they need a striker badly.

 

[Michael Sith]

Spurs played really well, defensively and in attack, they were great on the break, but I won't be writing city off just yet

 

[theforceuk]

Spurs played really well, defensively and in attack, they were great on the break, but I won't be writing city off just yet

Certainly not, they didn't start well last season.

 

[Michael Sith]

No I think City will win again

then there's a few in the mix

i just hope for me as a Utd fan that we get some silverware, will always dare to dream, and hope to run City closer this season ( hopefully as a Utd fan - sorry Weasel - to finish above your lot as well) but we've spent and got the makings of a solid defence, some great attacking players as well, just hope we click, not getting carried away with the Leeds game, always good to get a result like that.

I weirdly think the whole Kane thing contributed to the Spurs team effort against City, hopefully Spurs will keep that ethos going and they can be another in the mix of the top teams.

all makes for a good season, just glad we've got the season up and running, loved watching the Euros, but home league is the one for me

 

[theforceuk]

Yeah pretty much how I feel, I hope Lingard goes to West Ham, he's never getting in the United starting 11 and he needs to be playing football. I'm hoping West Ham struggle so they are forced to paying for Lingard.

On the title, I really hope this is the season where 3 or 4 teams put a title challenge together, would be entertaining.

 

[weasel]

97m for Lukaku. I remember him as an average Chelsea player and pretty good Everton player, but 97m?! I know that seems to be the going rate for any half decent footballer this window but wow.

Yup, hard to see why they have spunked that much on him when 20m ish extra would have got them Kane or Haaland.

Looks like City are lining up £150 million bid for Kane, surely they will have to move a player out if that happens. Lukaku will get 25 - 30 goals in the league for Chelsea, they are crying out for a striker. Again what's £97 million to them, it could be double that and they would pay it if they were aloud and needed to. I've said it before, City and Chelsea have pretty much ruined football for me, they have torn up 150 years of history in the last 15 years by spending, spending and spending. Usually spending well, but still its still bollocks.

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, and I do agree. BUT, they did break Utd's stranglehold on the PL and whilst they have spent ridiculous amounts, Utd, Pool and Arsenal/Spurs did that before those two came along. I guess the difference is that those four did it on the back of sustained success or a huge fan base. In Utd's case on some very astute marketing when the PL was kicing off.
It's well known that Chelsea were weeks away from 'doing a Leeds/Pompey' when Ibramovic bought them. And, well City were equally pish when the Qatari's bought them. Any success those clubs have had is based SOLELY on the money invested and not "earned" the same way it has been at those other clubs (and at their predecessors for decades). Then again, none of the owners of those four, or Leicester, are exactly poor. They just don't hand over blank cheques every summer. And, no, I wouldn't care if I was a fan of Chelsea or City.

For me the problem with them is more what they have exacerbated, the ridiculous rise in player wages and transfer fees. As well as the payments to agents, that now seem to be on top of fees rather than coming out of signing on fees and player wages. Agents get a fee for negotiating a transfer, plus a cut of the signing on fee via their representing the player, AND a cut of his wages every week. For the likes of the Lukaku/Pogba deals those are £10-£20m, plus a chunk of whatever the signing on fee is, plus 10-25% of their wages (so another £20-£100kpw) all for negotiating a transfer both players and clubs wanted. Even "only" £10m for negotiating a transfer is enough to set someone up for life and then some. But these agents have scores and scores of clients and move them about every second or third year. They just leech money out of football.

There's a lot to be said for following the James Milner model, of not having an agent and just getting someone supplied by the PFA to negotiate his contracts and handing over the money (a lot less than agents charge) to the PFA. I think Scholesy did something similar.

But the growth in player wages, transfer fees and agents has been happening for decades. The arrival of City and Chelsea with their blank chequebooks has merely sped it up. The real problem is that FFP has been designed to stop someone else doing what the Qatari's (at City and PSG) and Ibramovic (at Chelsea) have done. So if, say, Bill Gates decided he loved Exeter City and wanted to turn them into a European Super power by ploughing in all his billions..............ehhhh, no can do. FFP stops that.

Until it is overhauled or scrapped, we are stuck with the very exciting status quo. 4-6 "big clubs" in England, 2 in Spain, 1 in France, 1 in Germany, and 1 in Italy. There are a few clubs on the edge of that table, Atleti, Leicester, Sevilla, Inter, AC, Roma, and Dortmund, but none will be able to establish themselves as a dominant domestic or European power as they don't have the financial muscle and their best players will simply be poached.

 

[Snaketibe]

Well, Spurs got away with murder today! I'm glad they won, but Wolves were dominant for most of the game. Yes, Spurs had a few chances to score more than the one goal, but Wolves had more, or at least more dangerous possession in and around the box. Fortunately however, Traore has no end product at all (I really hope Spurs don't sign him!) otherwise it could have been a very different score line. Spurs only started to brighten slightly when Kane came on with 20 minutes to go, but they'd done precious little prior to that. Overall, it was a very weak Tottenham performance and they should count themselves most fortunate to come away with all 3 points.

 

[edd_jedi]

Well, Spurs got away with murder today! I'm glad they won, but Wolves were dominant for most of the game. Yes, Spurs had a few chances to score more than the one goal, but Wolves had more, or at least more dangerous possession in and around the box. Fortunately however, Traore has no end product at all (I really hope Spurs don't sign him!) otherwise it could have been a very different score line. Spurs only started to brighten slightly when Kane came on with 20 minutes to go, but they'd done precious little prior to that. Overall, it was a very weak Tottenham performance and they should count themselves most fortunate to come away with all 3 points.

Yes I didn't enjoy yesterday's game, it didn't take long for Spurs to return to their old ways, the defending was diabolical. Every time we cleared the ball it went straight to a Wolves player, it was like we were trying to lose.

I agree Wolves had a lot of possession but there was no quality in the final third, Spurs definitely had significantly more dangerous chances. That's not to say we played better, but as good as Traore is at powering into the box he's about as good as Sissoko at scoring

Still, six points after two games is a great place to be! And was good to see Kane get a run out too.

 

[weasel]

Traore is a strange player. On his day he is utterly unplayable. But "his day" comes maybe twice a season. He has the power, speed and brute strength to be a superb player, but he looks like he needs properly coached. You do wonder if a Klopp or Pep could make him a much better player, or is he just one of those who will never quite manage to work out how to be harness his talent.

2 silly points dropped for Utd. Apparently VDB has trained all summer and done his best to get super fit, so it's totally understandable that OGS starts the ponderous Matic and then brings on Lingard who has trained 3 times since June.
If I was VDB I would have handed in a transfer request. It clearly doesn't matter what he does, he isn't gonna get a game.

That's also why Utd won't win the PL (or CL) their manager is a novice/tactically not great/shite.


Ohh and Arsenal looked VERY second best against Chelsea. Hard to say if that is Chelsea being great or Arsenal being piss poor, but they (Arsenal) do NOT look like a team that has any chance of the top 4. Or Europe.

 

[lejackal]

Traore is a strange player. On his day he is utterly unplayable. But "his day" comes maybe twice a season. He has the power, speed and brute strength to be a superb player, but he looks like he needs properly coached. You do wonder if a Klopp or Pep could make him a much better player, or is he just one of those who will never quite manage to work out how to be harness his talent.

2 silly points dropped for Utd. Apparently VDB has trained all summer and done his best to get super fit, so it's totally understandable that OGS starts the ponderous Matic and then brings on Lingard who has trained 3 times since June.
If I was VDB I would have handed in a transfer request. It clearly doesn't matter what he does, he isn't gonna get a game.

That's also why Utd won't win the PL (or CL) their manager is a novice/tactically not great/shite.


Ohh and Arsenal looked VERY second best against Chelsea. Hard to say if that is Chelsea being great or Arsenal being piss poor, but they (Arsenal) do NOT look like a team that has any chance of the top 4. Or Europe.

We are some way off challenging for top 4 but we've realistically got a couple of hundred millions worth of players missing from the squad (plus £3.75 worth that we can't sell)
I don't think we're close to Chelsea and I'm not entirely convinced by Arteta but I'm willing to wait for him to have a full strength team before passing judgement this season

 

[theforceuk]

Same old, same old from Man Utd at the weekend, I'm not Ole out yet, but I'm Ole doubt, what was he thinking taking Pogba off for Lingard? Lingard runs in behind the back 4 which is why he struggles when Utd play teams like Southampton that are playing a low block. Really do wander if Ole has any clue. Can see the title race being a good one this year, but realistically I can't see any other clubs than Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool getting close to winning the league.

Southampton will certainly finish in the bottom half of the table this season, they may well go down and their midfield dominated Man Utd's. Shocking, Fred is crap and Matic is finished at that level, not even Jose will take him to Roma, to play in a slower league!

 

[Cazza]

Ole just doesn't convince me... at all!

Cracking performance from us tonight- put Leicester to the sword. Antonio unplayable.

 

[theforceuk]

Yes great result for West Ham, I really hope you get Lingard, he should be playing first team football. David Moyes has found the right job I think, although its safe to say things can change quickly!!