EPL 2015/16

[BobHelm]

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[GT93]

Mourinho's loss was mentioned on the Radio NZ news at 7 am this morning. The vultures must be circling if that's happening on the other side of the world in a country with another sport on its mind today.

[Zidane]

Sadly it looks like at least another few days in hiding for the suffering Chelsea fans here in Udon !
Chelsea are beginning to make Moyes' season at United seem like a roaring success in comparison.
But Chelseas woes shouldnt hide another dismal showing by United.One weak shot on target in the whole 90 minutes at Palace.
Why play the one player who offers a threat,Martial,out wide on the wing ? He should be the central striker with Mata playing in the slot behind him....give Herrera the box to box role and either Lingaard or Memphis out wide.Surely that should be better than what we are having to put up with,at the moment.
Rooney has been a great goalscorer for United for a long time but it must be the end for him.He's not worth his place in the team and is as mobile as someone 35 years plus !
Liverpool already improving and now have an excellent manager in Klopp.Things are looking a lot brighter at Anfield now.
Good win for Watford who are by far the most impressive of the promoted teams up to now.

Tonight,Everton v Sunderland at 8.30pm Thai and the South Coast derby between Southampton and Bournemouth at 11pm Thai.

[BobHelm]

Yes Zid some depressing comments after the game from vanG.
He just doesn't seem to have a clue. At the end the United away fans were chanting..

We're Man United, we want to attack

He comes out & says...

"We did not keep the ball. That's a very important factor and because of that we didn't create too many chances.

In the first half they had 70% possession & created 1 chance.
The problem is that the side have no idea how to go forward & create opportunities.
Have to agree with Zid's team selection.
I am just amazed that while the world can see how to resolve the problem, vanG seems blissfully unaware that there is one...

[mathusalah80]

In seasons gone by Chelsea v Liverpool would be a mouthwatering top of the table clash,but not this season !
Chelsea just above the relegation places and Liverpool mid table mediocrity.
I like Klopp and I think he will do well for Liverpool (would have liked him at United,actually) but I think Chelsea will shade it today to lift some of the pressure off their beleagured fans in Udon !
Theres been a lot of focus on Jose Mourinho's behaviour recently....he's seemed like a man possessed,sometimes.....but in fairness to the guy,his father is seriously ill in Portugal which could explain quite a lot.

Zid, OK, since you seem so determined, I will bite, and so relieve your boredom!
There has been a lot of , (very justified),focus on Mourinho's, (aka The Mouth), unacceptable and disruptive behaviour a lot longer than 'recently'. Such behaviour has been unpleasantly evident throughout his current tenure at Chelsea and, historically, resulted in his being sacked by Chelsea, Inter and Real. So also the alarming dip in form of this talent filled Chelsea squad of players, is merely a duplication of what occurred with the equally talented squads of players, under his managership, on those three occasions following a honeymoon period.
Yesterday's defeat at the hands of Liverpool demonstrated to perfection, as have the previous five this season , that The Mouths self described, (aided and abetted by the gullible), tactical genius is a complete myth.
With the wonderful natural attacking talents of Hazard, Oscar & Willian,( amazingly for The Mouth), being allowed free flow, supported by Ramirez going forward, (also amazingly), it appeared, the players, as a team had finally been released from the tightly held restraints dictated by The Mouth's fear of losing, and at last were being afforded the opportunity of utilizing to the full the undeniable skills, flair and wealth of talent they possessed.
During the course of the first fifteen minutes the Chelsea players put on an exhibition of football as it can be played, (AND STILL WIN MATCHES). As a result they quickly were a goal up, and Liverpool were being completely overrun, and seemed set for a real drubbing. Albeit with some disbelief, I sat back ready to enjoy watching this Chelsea team perform as it can and should.
Alas and surprise, surprise!!! Instead of going for the jugular, the players returned to the Mourinho imbedded defensive formation and 'we must not expose ourselves to the slightest danger of losing' philosophy; and in consequence the likes of Hazard, Oscar & Willian were obliged to revert from natural thoroughbreds to the duties of defensive dray horses. Klopp, being a FOOTBALL Manager, therefore with a wealth of tactical know how and adaptability, saw his chance, and the rest is now history.
Of course, to not even the slightest degree, should The Mouth be held responsible for this defeat; anymore than was the case in the previous five! . He would be the first, and usually is, to identify where the blame lies. Predictably, this defeat lies at the door of referee Clattenburg [-o< ./ It seems he should have sent off Lucas, (I agree), and somewhat subjectively, is alleged to have allowed play to continue a few seconds too long, at the end of the first half. Of course, Mourinho and his supporters conveniently ignore the same referee missing the Diego Costa red card offence of kicking his opponent in the chest, and Terry's deliberate handball on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.
Historically The Mouth's solution to the existing problems would be to buy up a couple of world class players. But, with the transfer window still more than two months away this option is unavailable. An alternative would be for him to take responsibility, stop forever seeking the limelight and self aggrandizement, make the Chelsea Football Club and the players his first priorities, and concentrate on the job for which he is being paid an eight figure annual salary. I leave you to decide on the chances of that ever happening!
In conclusion,.it is naïve in the extreme to expect that Mourinho is capable of solving Chelsea's dire problems since, in my opinion, HE is the root cause of such problems, NOT officialdom, other clubs or their players, the media, or even Wenger!
Hopefully Zid the forgoing will make you think twice before 'reawakening me again!

[GT93]

Ripper I loved that post . Some shithead on an eight figure salary is the root cause of the problem. I say fire the *****. If that doesn't happen, Chelsea must be owned by a ******. My first guess would be a billionaire from Russia. One of Vlad's friends? If you're paid eight figures, even in baht, you have to produce the goodies. This bloke isn't good enough to coach Toronto's Varsity Blues.

[Macca]

Yes Zid some depressing comments after the game from vanG.
He just doesn't seem to have a clue. At the end the United away fans were chanting..

We're Man United, we want to attack

:

Chatting with couple of friends this afternoon. They go to all the away matches and reckon yesterday saw a lot of fans hit the "had enough" button.
The frustration is looking at the side and realising it could easily be a few points clear at the top.
My concern with LvG, AGAIN, is he seems to be satisfied with what he is seeing.

Martial exploded on to the scene playing down the middle and is a waste of great talent now that he has been stuck out wide.
The main debate, amongst older fans, is whether United were more boring under Sexton or LvG.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

[quote="GT93"]Still this one is a home game for the Toffees and a biscuit or two would be nice to help silence the doubters.

I doubt it.

[BobHelm]

I doubt it.

Just how wrong do you want to be Uncle??

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Starting to look not so good at the bottom nor for the North East, but Villa would do themselves a whole lot of good with a win away at Spurs tonight.
Bournemouth continue to suffer. It was always going to be hard for them with their frugal spending but they are struggling at this level. After the Saints went 2 goals up they had a man sent off & so played most of the second half with 10 men. Bournemouth still couldn't find a way through...

[BobHelm]

Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa

Villa stay bottom.
It was not a very welcoming game by Villa for new manager, Remi Garde. As he watched from the stands his side were behind after only 3 minutes. Villa didn't improve until after they were 2 goals down but looked a better side when they managed to get one back.
It was Spurs 10th. unbeaten game on the trot & Villas' 7th. defeat.
All really a bit too easy for the home side.

[GT93]

Got you that round uncle.

I better enjoy it while it lasts!

[BobHelm]

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[Zidane]

Some interesting fixtures this weekend,starting with a game where one or both teams could well be playing Championship football next season.
The late kick off is also intriguing but what a bummer it starts after midnight here now !
And Sunday has 3 very good games.....on paper at least.

[BobHelm]

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The Leicester & the Chelsea story just continue. The only surprise is that their positions are not reversed.
United continue to play out clean sheets but at a cost to attractive or entertaining football that is really too much to bear.

Hopefully their will be far less boredom today than currently being dished up at Old Trafford. However I imagine that keeping a clean sheet today will be a Villa priority. If they end up with nothing today then that is already 2 wins away from safety..
London derby will probably be a fraught affair as derbies usually are. So the Pool against Palace game might well bear watching as both managers are attack minded & Palace have been playing some nice stuff - sorry, that probably condemns it to a boring nil all draw..

[GT93]

Uncle must have put ten thousand too many pins into his Toffee voodoo doll. The most glorious football team in the known universe only got one goal this weekend; down from six last weekend when Uncle forgot his voodoo doll because there was too much sport at the University of Toronto.

Well, that's GT's theory. Good to see the Chelsea boofhead (Aussie slang) is still in trouble. I think I recall correctly that Sir Frank Packer used to call the Kxxg of Cricket and Sydney (Kerry Packer) when he was a child a boofhead. If James, Kerry's son, wasn't so interested in robbing Chinese gamblers, he'd probably own an English football team.

[Brian Davis]

.... So the Pool against Palace game might well bear watching as both managers are attack minded & Palace have been playing some nice stuff - sorry, that probably condemns it to a boring nil all draw..

I certainly hope it's not boring. Difficult for me to keep my eyes open that late, particularly after watching Udon and the drive home. I'm a little worried that Palace won't be able to repeat last season's very impressive performance in Gerrard's farewell and the memory of the home fans generously clapping Bolasie off the pitch.

Palace fans will not forget the Pulis contribution in getting the team out of a hole, but it was very much based on defence. United got a dose yesterday. So very much brighter with Pardew, although it has to be remembered that he was given money to spend.

United, of course, don't have to think twice about spending, but problems seem to be with the "Leader's" ideas. I wonder what Giggs, presumably obliged to think the same tactics and Charlton make of it all?

[Brian Davis]

Anyone notice the wonderful night sky last evening? I can assure you the stars were shining even more brightly at about 0100 hours.
Perhaps a positive from what's happened at Palace is that fans shouldn't be surprised so often?
Liverpool will be disappointed after the amount of possession they had and the number of untaken chances created, with Benteke a particular culprit. But Palace always a threat and started the game on fire.

[BobHelm]

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Well despite me jinxing it by tipping it as the one to watch, the Pool v Palace was the only game to reveal a winner..
I am sure that Klopp was already under no illusions that he needed new players if he is going to get Pool to challenge for trophies & this game rather confirmed it. Gerrard watched the match & there are rumours of him returning - Personally I think that would be a huge mistake. Pool need to move on & shift some of the mediocrity out, not hanker after the past.

Important point for Villa, but it also shows that maybe Citi are not the finished article themselves either. Mind you, I don't think any side in the Premiership could miss the talents of Agüero & Silva without it having an impact..

Spurs certainly will be happier with the performance but probably disappointed that the didn't claim all 3 points...

[Zidane]

I dont think Gerrard will return as a player.He'll be nearly 36 at the end of this season.
Villa taking a point off City.....thats another IKTS Banker down the pan !
Theres talk that the Swansea manager,Garry Monk,is under pressure which is a shame as he did very well for them last season.

[kennyguk]

No way with Stevie G's legs now he'd be able to play in Herr Klopps pressing style. i thought Bournemuff were robbed Saturday, totally dominated and Geordies scored with their only meaningful attack.


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