March 14-15 EPL Gamethread
- Thread starter candylandriots
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HUGE win for Burnley, might make the difference to help them stay up in the PL.
And I think the title is all but Chelsea's.
And I think the title is all but Chelsea's.
Snakebauer007 said:
Obviously City doesn't have the tactical prowess or positional understanding that Chelsea does.
Aye the league's done and dusted. Second place is up for grabs. City are not playing well at all. There will be big changes in the close season.
What a fuckin result for Burnley. And they do say it evens out over a season.
What a fuckin result for Burnley. And they do say it evens out over a season.
It's worth noting that there's never been any clamour for Dyche to get canned. I watched some pundits talking about him at the start of the season talking about how highly regarded he is, at Burnley and around the game and that his job was safe even if Burnley went down, as they were favoured to do. They have spent buttons this year. They'll get TV money and if they go down parachute payments for two years. They have a low wage bill, and are in decent financial shape. If they stay up he's a stick on for manager of the year.
Three top half teams for Burnley in their next three games. If they can avoid a let down and take some points in those games, they have a favorable schedule after that, with the Manchester and Chelsea games all behind them. With Sunderland looking on the verge of collapse, Burnley has a good shot to stay up.
City haven't played well since like December. Burnley deserved the points today but the remaining schedule looks too difficult.
Edit: and that was a penalty against Zabaleta but fuck the entire squad for needing a stoppage time penalty to even draw. I said months ago that top 4 was not secure and now City are stuck fighting for it
Edit: and that was a penalty against Zabaleta but fuck the entire squad for needing a stoppage time penalty to even draw. I said months ago that top 4 was not secure and now City are stuck fighting for it
For someone who see most of their games, why does City dominate possession but regularly commit the majority of the fouls?teddykgb said:
So pure a strike. Moving ball before hit but less than half a rotation over 40 yards. Nike should be pleased with their logo being the marker...
As an aside,I don't watch Ligue 1, so I really didnt know all the players. I watched an interview with Zlatan, that dude is nuts.
Snakebauer007 said:
Ref conspiracy, obviously.
It's really strange to me. City really don't play a lot of tacklers and as you said they play with the ball. With the way City pushes the fullbacks forward, the midfielders are often forced to "professional foul" a fair amount and they are often having to try to break up very dangerous counters.
I'd add that in with the fact that the team really doesn't have a lot of speed -- only Navas really provides it, and it probably correlates with the overall performance of the squad, which has gotten older. Players don't usually just fall off a cliff, but losing a bit of speed and sharpness probably manifests itself in this way. On any given night, at least 3 of the following are on the pitch: DeMichelis, Kolarov, Yaya, Dzeko, Fernando... you could arguably include Nasri on this list. Not all of these players are slow, but I would describe them as at least lacking a short space agility which results in a lot of fouling.
Ivanovic is giving Costa a hard run for the biggest cunt on Chelsea if not the entire league.
Edit: wrong etre.
Edit: wrong etre.
If there weren't such a campaign against Chelsea, Ivanovic could have been booked for simulation.
....aaaaaaaand an extra two-armed shove on Mané as the halftime whistle goes, just for an extra frisson of cuntiness.
Soton look dangerous playing against Chelsea's high line. They just don't quite have enough quality in the front line though.
I'd like to see a replay of that block on Tadic's shot. Looked like hand ball.
Chelsea are playing like garbage, again.
I'd like to see a replay of that block on Tadic's shot. Looked like hand ball.
Chelsea are playing like garbage, again.
There was a handball, I think on Terry, in the box, that looked to me to be intentional.Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Not strictly game related but beIN Sports just showed a video of Wayne Rooney getting knocked the fuck out while boxing with ex teammmate Phil Bardsley during its halftime show.
More confirmation that Rooney is best in attack, no matter what LVG might think.
More confirmation that Rooney is best in attack, no matter what LVG might think.
The Chelsea back line really can't handle pace at all. How have other teams not taken more advantage of that this year? I know Spurs did when they won 5-3 but I can't think of many other examples.
United XI vs Spurs: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Rooney.
Only two real defenders in this squad. Is Blind or Carrick playing as a defender in a back 3? Are they playing Young and Valencia as true fullbacks in a back 4? An odd lineup.
Spurs with a much more conventional side, playing their standard 4-2-3-1: Lloris, Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend; Kane.
Only two real defenders in this squad. Is Blind or Carrick playing as a defender in a back 3? Are they playing Young and Valencia as true fullbacks in a back 4? An odd lineup.
Spurs with a much more conventional side, playing their standard 4-2-3-1: Lloris, Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend; Kane.
Rooney got knocked out on a jab? His chin is softer than...I'll let Liverpool fans finish this one.
Watching the other game. Burnley's win seems to have lit a fire under Lukaku. He's everywhere. Doesn't like them being this close to the drop zone.
ifmanis5 said:
"Rooney for Manchester United,fabulous!.....ohhhhh.....cheeky as well" Great call on top of it.
United didn't actually create that much. Spurs have just been awful, especially in midfield. They can't deal with pressure and this isn't a good pressing team either, with the likes of Fellaini, Rooney, and Mata.
So this game has been a tactical masterclass from Van Gaal. He's ditched the back 3 experiment, plus he's playing Rooney and Fellaini as sort of twin false 9s. Both are dropping into midfield and neither is playing up against the centerbacks. The result is to give Man Utd greater numbers in midfield -- he's basically sacrificed both a CB and and CF for two extra central midfielders. There is no space in midfield anywhere for Spurs, every time a Spurs player gets the ball in the center of the pitch he's immediately under pressure from multiple angles. For a while, Spurs had 2-3 central players United had 4-5 (Carrick, Herrera, Rooney, Fellaini, Mata). Not surprising that Spurs couldn't keep the ball and Utd always had a free man.
Spurs like to press too, but they don't have anyone with the physical presence to counter Fellaini. So when under pressure Utd can just hit diagonal long balls at Fellaini and Fellaini is winning every ball. Utd might be vulnerable to pace in behind with this setup, but Spurs haven't had the time on the ball to play throughballs very often, and when they have Kane has been offside. It's been a great system from Utd and perfect execution.
To his credit, Poch realized what was happening quickly and sacrificed a winger for a midfielder after 30 minutes to help even up the numbers in the center. But by then they were already 2-0 down and then they gave away a silly goal to Rooney right away. Too little too late.
Spurs like to press too, but they don't have anyone with the physical presence to counter Fellaini. So when under pressure Utd can just hit diagonal long balls at Fellaini and Fellaini is winning every ball. Utd might be vulnerable to pace in behind with this setup, but Spurs haven't had the time on the ball to play throughballs very often, and when they have Kane has been offside. It's been a great system from Utd and perfect execution.
To his credit, Poch realized what was happening quickly and sacrificed a winger for a midfielder after 30 minutes to help even up the numbers in the center. But by then they were already 2-0 down and then they gave away a silly goal to Rooney right away. Too little too late.
Also, "tactical masterclass" is a great phrase that we need to use more with other sports.
And, a shot attempt! Yes, it was miles off target. But Spurs had no shots in the first half. Not no shots on goal, no shots period.
And, a shot attempt! Yes, it was miles off target. But Spurs had no shots in the first half. Not no shots on goal, no shots period.
coremiller said:
I think its mostly just horrible execution by Spurs. United might have surprised them by pressing more than usual and dropping a forward more into midfield but its nothing the players haven't seen before and United isn't particularly effective in pressing, given their lack of quickness up front. And LVG has been using knockdowns to Fellaini as the squad's primary outlet when in possession for months now.
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