Gameweek 35: Money for nothing & relegation-free

teddykgb

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Jul 16, 2005
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It’s not a stonewall if Sterlings yesterday is waved off. But yes it was a penalty.

Silly yellow for Watkins there to earn him a red. That wasn’t simulation and Henderson has a foot up. It’s not a foul on Henderson but I have no clue how THAT is the one the card as a dive
 

Zomp

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To me the difference is Sterling throws himself in the path to shield a ball that isn’t near him. Where as Pogba is trying to control it and gets whacked from behind.

It’s been a fun season. I hope Cavani stays.
Mason Greenwood, most ever goals for a United teenager.
 

Section30

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Amateur hour, NBC. Coverage switch to cable SN channel from Peacock. I move over and watch 3 minutes of commercials and then they join the game 2 minutes in.
 

the1andonly3003

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Jul 15, 2005
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Amateur hour, NBC. Coverage switch to cable SN channel from Peacock. I move over and watch 3 minutes of commercials and then they join the game 2 minutes in.
Came here to complain about that too. it sounded like WSL match was on before and they had to put those commercials in
and they are doing a horrible job promoting WSL, what type of following are they trying to build with tape delayed matches and replays instead of live matches
 

SocrManiac

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That’s after he got hit. Of course it pushed him closer to the ball.
Given the reputation Sterling has worked so hard to earn, that still frame looks like a dive to me. The scream and foot positioning look like pure theatrics. I haven’t seen video and will reserve my opinion, but I don’t think that picture helps his case.
 

Phil Plantier

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I'm (extremely) late paying attention to the EPL this season: what's up with the West Brom kits? They deserve to be relegated for those alone. And I support a team with a kit charitably described as "greenyellow"

Edit: not seen here: the red-orange numbers.

40915
 

The Gray Eagle

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Hey now Willian has an Arsenal highlight reel! It consists of one really good free kick goal at the very end of a meaningless game against a relegated team. Who wants to buy him now? Anyone? Come on, look at that goal! Top corner!
 

the1andonly3003

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Hey now Willian has an Arsenal highlight reel! It consists of one really good free kick goal at the very end of a meaningless game against a relegated team. Who wants to buy him now? Anyone? Come on, look at that goal! Top corner!
he started out real well vs Fulham in GW1 with a beautiful pass to PEA...had to wait 34 gameweeks for his next highlight
 

deconstruction

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Jun 27, 2006
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Hey now Willian has an Arsenal highlight reel! It consists of one really good free kick goal at the very end of a meaningless game against a relegated team. Who wants to buy him now? Anyone? Come on, look at that goal! Top corner!
Hey now, technically WBA wasn't relegated until today's result...which Willian sealed with that goal! A parting gift to Big Sam.
 

Kliq

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Cavani extends for one more year. Brilliant.
Crazy to think a lot of people thought he was going to MLS. He has definitely I think improved his standing with a lot of fans with his performance this year. Not to glamorize the play in the EPL, but its one thing to rack up a lot of goals in Serie A and at PSG, and another to be so effective in England, especially when you consider he is probably a little bit past his peak.
 

SocrManiac

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Crazy to think a lot of people thought he was going to MLS. He has definitely I think improved his standing with a lot of fans with his performance this year. Not to glamorize the play in the EPL, but its one thing to rack up a lot of goals in Serie A and at PSG, and another to be so effective in England, especially when you consider he is probably a little bit past his peak.
The thing that really surprised me about Cavani is how smart he is off the ball. The way he creates his space is incredible. He'll sit on the edge of a defender's vision, wait to see the back of the guy's head, then dive into an area the defender can't cover quickly enough. That's not a skill that's going to erode with age.
 

Kliq

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The thing that really surprised me about Cavani is how smart he is off the ball. The way he creates his space is incredible. He'll sit on the edge of a defender's vision, wait to see the back of the guy's head, then dive into an area the defender can't cover quickly enough. That's not a skill that's going to erode with age.
Yeah, his goals aren't always like, these brilliant solo goals but he clearly has the hardened instincts of someone that has scored 250+ goals in his career. It's all intelligent movement and clinical finishing; when he is able to connect with smart playmakers like Bruno/Pogba, it really opens up a lot of things. Having a striker that really knows how to finish is kind missing with some of the bigger clubs right now. It has certainly let City down at times this year; Chelsea as well. I think Salah and Mane are really great but I know LFC have felt like they've bottled their fare share this year. PSG would kill to have Cavani finishing for them this year.
 

SocrManiac

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I'm biased having grown up watching Serie A, but he reminds me very much of a David Trezeguet Or Pippo Inzaghi. He disappears off the radar and if he can touch the ball in front of goal with some part of his body, it'll be in the back of the net.

That skill, which I would have expected to be a hot commodity in any era, seems to have faded the way the Zidane/Pirlo/Iniesta midfielder has. I wonder if those pure finishers are getting weeded out too early for the same reasons: perceived wrong athleticism or non-explosive skillsets. I feel like there's been a devaluation on purely intelligent players that contribute through personal brilliance vs. purely athletic freaks.
 

Kliq

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I'm biased having grown up watching Serie A, but he reminds me very much of a David Trezeguet Or Pippo Inzaghi. He disappears off the radar and if he can touch the ball in front of goal with some part of his body, it'll be in the back of the net.

That skill, which I would have expected to be a hot commodity in any era, seems to have faded the way the Zidane/Pirlo/Iniesta midfielder has. I wonder if those pure finishers are getting weeded out too early for the same reasons: perceived wrong athleticism or non-explosive skillsets. I feel like there's been a devaluation on purely intelligent players that contribute through personal brilliance vs. purely athletic freaks.
In my lifetime I feel like Karim Benzema has turned from "Guy who gets a lot of goals because he is a striker on a team filled with amazing playmakers" to someone who is an integral part of Real based solely on his clinical finishing and know-how around the goal. His goal against Chelsea in the first leg of the UCL semi-finals was a great example of it; while Werner couldn't kick the ball into the ocean, Benzema got one sniff of the goal and buried it.

I wonder if the Messi/Ronaldo pairing has changed soccer enough where the prolific winger has somewhat replaced the prototypical #9 (and in relation, the classic playmaking #10). After Messi and Ronaldo it feels like a lot of the best attacking players also happen to be wingers in recent years; Salah, Mane, Hazard, Bale, Mbappe, Neymar, etc. There are some true, classic #9s stilling filling up goals (Kane, Lewandowski, Haaland, PEA, Aguero) but it feels like every big club should have one of those guys and yet they don't.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I think there is a little recency bias here. For much of his PSG career, the biggest knock on Cavani was that he was a poor finisher and wasn't nearly clinical enough for a top striker. Its less clear to me whether that reputation was statistically deserved (most player specific XG data is kind of spotty once go back more than a few years and he has outperformed XG in the last four years in aggregate, although not dramatically) or just the product of some big misses in big moments but you can find a billion tweets and articles talking about his shitty finishing in the 2014-2017 period.

He has always been a striker with great off-ball movement and workrate. I think he stands out even more in that respect in a United shirt because that is also the weakest part of Martial's game.
 

Zososoxfan

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Hearing you guys talk about Cavani as a clinical striker are jarring. I admit I haven't watched his every match with MAN U, but the guy's calling card is being a hard working classic CF (hugely valuable alone), but one who misses sitters and generally easy finishes. His history is that of a 'everything but the finish' type of central striker. Like a bizarro combo of Sterling and Werner.

Edit: Thank you @Morgan's Magic Snowplow !
 

the1andonly3003

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old enough to remember the Cavani signing being pilloried and Utd past its prime in securing talent...maybe Ole got what he needed all along
 

67YAZ

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Cagey match between Fulham and Burnley so far. Can only imagine how much a jam packed Craven Cottage would be doing for Fulham today.
 

67YAZ

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Burnley breaks through after a few close misses over the past few minutes. A win secures safety for them and sews up relegation for the bottom 3.

Fulham has to go ALL OUT.
 

67YAZ

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Burnley doubles it! Wood has an acre at the top of the box and smashes it home.

Good night, Fulham, good night.
 

Kliq

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Hearing you guys talk about Cavani as a clinical striker are jarring. I admit I haven't watched his every match with MAN U, but the guy's calling card is being a hard working classic CF (hugely valuable alone), but one who misses sitters and generally easy finishes. His history is that of a 'everything but the finish' type of central striker. Like a bizarro combo of Sterling and Werner.

Edit: Thank you @Morgan's Magic Snowplow !
I suppose it's possible that he could have been a guy who missed a bunch of sitters, but its hard to really make that case with someone whose scored 23+ goals in a season 6 times. It's really hard to bottle your way into 337 career goals.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I suppose it's possible that he could have been a guy who missed a bunch of sitters, but its hard to really make that case with someone whose scored 23+ goals in a season 6 times. It's really hard to bottle your way into 337 career goals.
Its unusual but pretty understandable. He played on PSG teams that were chance creation machines against overmatched domestic competition and his best skill was movement to get on the end of those chances. The PSG years produced a ton of stories and tweets like these (two great pictures btw).

View: https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/1004362279293317122


View: https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/875314446234558465
 

Kliq

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Its unusual but pretty understandable. He played on PSG teams that were chance creation machines against overmatched domestic competition and his best skill was movement to get on the end of those chances. The PSG years produced a ton of stories and tweets like these (two great pictures btw).

View: https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/1004362279293317122


View: https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/875314446234558465
Sure, he had a ton of chances to score due to the nature of PSG's level of competition. That doesn't dismiss the fact that he has been a great goal scorer throughout his career, in multiple different leagues. The players who miss the most chances are ALWAYS going to be strikers on good teams.
 

teddykgb

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Cavani has always been known as a player who wastes but creates many chances. He’s been clinical this season but it’s not his reputation
 

67YAZ

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The real news is that he signed just a one year deal. Boca was offering longer, but Cavani certainly could have found work in a Big 5 league side, probably even a Europa League squad, after the season he’s had. Good business by Woodward.
 
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67YAZ

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fletcherpost

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Scott Parker, you were too beautiful for this league.
His post match interview on Sky was bloody heart breaking. He was gutted. It was always gonna be a tough ask. I hope he's back soon. I love the way he wore a black polo neck under his grey cardigan in last night's post match press conference. He brought an easy laid back sartorial elegance to the league that was classic, retro, but still very fresh. I know we're here to talk about the football but...and his hair, the side flick...it's perfect.

I hope he's back soon.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkrExdNsiVc&ab_channel=MrBeanyman
 

67YAZ

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Parker is a good guy by all accounts, but his tactics were such a mess for a newly promoted side. Playing out from the back but then lumping in crosses for Mitrovic = too many mistakes in dangerous areas and too few high quality chances up top. They had spells of pretty play, but never particularly effective stuff.
 
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Dummy Hoy

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I told you guys this already but I watched Parker in the championship last year, I talked to Fulham fans, I read up on him, and for 48 games (46 plus the playoffs) he was a sub-par manager. Incredible talent on the team but he was tactically rigid, unable to make in-game adjustments, and just generally looked lost. Then in the playoff final he changed formation for the first time all year, stymied Brentford, and then when Frank adjusted, Parker made substitutions that flipped the game back.

And then this year he rebuilt Fulham on the fly and made them a squad that was probably worthy of staying up. Impressive and surprising.
 

Kliq

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Well now or never for Leicester, they should have no trouble with United today, unless they really are doomed to fall out of the Top 4.
 

SocrManiac

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and that would have been a big help to Liverpool’s top-4 hopes, too.

The Guardian had a good piece on Panenkas yesterday. Panenka himself said he took a long run up to see if the keeper would tip his hand early before taking the original shot. It’s not something you decide to try before you see the keeper commit, a mistake many seem to make.
There is no reason whatsoever to consider the goalkeeper for a penalty. I don’t understand why these guys can put a ball on a dime from 80 yards but can’t place a penalty where the keeper can’t physically reach. This is doubly true for a team’s primary taker.