EPL 2015/16

[Zidane]

Just back from a bracing evening at the Centara Beer Garden watching Manchester City v Leicester.
The weather reminded me of sitting outside a pub in England in March with your mates and waiting to see who would break first and suggest sitting inside.
Also watched Liverpool v Sunderland (currently 0-0) before cool winds and sleet made us head home !

But what a result for Leicester.....Manchester City 1 Leicester 3.....fully deserved,although Leicester rode their luck at times......Leicester now 6 points clear at the top,although that will be reduced if either the Spuds or Arsenal win.....and what a goal from Mahrez to make it 2-0......Huth,amazingly,scored a couple to repay me for demoting him to the subs bench of my FF team !
Looking at some of the latest scores,I see Stoke 0 Everton 3......surely a misprint on the teleprinter !

[BobHelm]

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Spurs go second. Newcastle out of the zone, Norwich in.
Starting to heat up in the Premiership but Leicester still seem to carry on regardless.
If (& it is still a big IF) they win it then they will have certainly won it on merit.
Next Sunday, The Gunners away at high noon.. the same score there will do them very nicely..

[Zidane]

Tonight its Bournemouth v Arsenal at 8.30pm Thai and Chelsea v Manchester United at 11pm Thai,two decent enough fixtures on paper.
But if you are watching the games outside wrap up warm as its going to be pretty chilly with a low of just 8c.....dont just go out in your short sleeved Chelsea top with "Terry" on the back !

[GT93]

Misprint on the teleprinter? Zids must write some of John Clease's scripts.

[BobHelm]

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The Gunners score twice in the blink of an eye to finish off Bournemouth half way through the first half.
They are on joint points with second placed Spurs - but a mile behind them on goal difference.

Chelsea score with almost the last kick to equalise & keep Hiddink's unbeaten run going. They were mostly second to United in the game though - which is something few teams have been this season!!! United cement 5th. spot (& so just about Europe ) with The Hammers losing. Realistically that looks about as good as they will get though!!
Chelsea are still in 13th. place & 6 points away from any danger as they just look to run out a dismal season & get a new man in to restore winning ways..

[Zidane]

Disappointing for United to concede in injury time but its not over till the fat lady sings etc etc.
Though United have played more entertaining football the last 3 games those 2 dropped points will make it very difficult to qualify for the Champions League now.
If they only end up up 5th will LVG be shown the door ? However,am I right in thinking that the winners of the Europa League qualify for the Champions League now ?? If so,probably Uniteds best chance.

[samster]

Yep, winners of Europa League go into Champions League. As a Leeds fan, I have an inbred hatred for all things Manc but, liked LVG psychology when he put Luke Shaw in the Europa League squad last week. He said that it wasn't for the next round but for the final to give him something to get fit for.

Yuk, said something nice about Mancs - better go and have a cold shower now!!

[Zidane]

Its very sad to see a once great club like Leeds United languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship.......well,maybe not :-"... but at the start of each season I pray that Manchester City,Chelsea and Liverpool will join them,but it never happens.....guess I've not earned enough "merit" over here yet !

[Zidane]

This guy is aged 28.....played 12 times for England,also for Manchester City and,up until yesterday,Sunderland in the Premiership.
He must have been on 30k GBP-40K GBP per week.....he could have had any woman he wanted.....what on earth makes him dabble with under age girls,although I see the word "child" mentioned so maybe he's a p e d o ??
Anyway,he will have plenty of time to reflect as the player manager of Strangeways FC.....

Adam Johnson has been sacked by Sunderland after pleading guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one charge of grooming.
The 28-year-old footballer's contract was terminated hours after he was dropped for Saturday's Premier League match against Manchester United.
He will stand trial on Friday on two further counts of sexual activity with a child, which he denies.
Sportswear firm Adidas has cancelled its contract with the midfielder.
After Johnson's arrest in March 2015, the club suspended him, but then lifted the ban following talks with his representatives and the Professional Footballers' Association.
In his last appearance for the Black Cats, England international Johnson - who played while on bail - scored in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
Johnson, who was born in Sunderland, began his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Manchester City and then to Sunderland for £10m in 2012.
When asked about the winger's future at a news conference earlier on Thursday, Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce said: "He'll not be available for this weekend. We will see how it goes after that."
Johnson's trial, to be held at Bradford Crown Court, is expected to last two weeks.

[BobHelm]

Apparently was on a salary of £2.5M a year - so 50K a week..
Also has a very attractive 26-year-old girlfriend, Stacey Flounders.

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&, more worryingly given the nature of the charges, a 1 year old daughter, Ayla Sofia Johnson.

[Zidane]

Apparently the girl he "groomed" was aged 15......lets hope thats all he's done.
What a jerk.....he had everything and has thrown it all away now....he's another guy with a self destruct button.

Anyway,pick of the matches this weekend must surely be Arsenal v Leicester which is at 7pm Thai time Sunday.An excellent early kick off time so people can enjoy a beer or two at a decent hour.Also on Sunday there is Manchester City v The Spuds but thats the late kick off at 11.15pm Thai.

[BobHelm]

Nice set of fixtures this weekend - especially tomorrow when all 3 games look worth watching..

[BobHelm]

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[Zidane]

After a dodgy first 15 minutes,during which they conceded early,I thought United came back into the game well and got a deserved equaliser from Martial.
With the score 1-1 at half time I thought United would go on to win the game but,no......the 2nd half was a complete shambles,no desire,no fight,no passion,no cohesion....in fact,nothing at all !
When Van Gaal subbed Lingard why on earth did he put Memphis on the left and move Martial to the right ?
Martial was always a threat down the left and the Sunderland right back had already been booked,so under pressure.
When Martial moved to the right he wasnt involved at all,he's left footed for christs sake !
No chance of a Champions League spot now and we wont win the Europa League as a lifeline.They sacked Moyes in a similar position to this and he hadnt been allowed to spend 250 million GBP.
Get Van Gaal out now and give a new manager 10 weeks to settle in and make his player choiced for next season....pre-season will be/should be very busy on that score.
Its worse than being a Palace,Everton or Newcastle fan this weekend,which is saying something.
Anyway,two cracking matches on paper tonight,Arsenal v Leicester and Citeh v the Spuds.....in between,Villa v Liverpool....absolutely desperate for points and a rare win....no,no,I mean Villa not Liverpool.....although....

[GT93]

That's a good prayer Zids.

It's disappointing Everton isn't currently top of the EPL.

Let Adam Johnson be a lesson to other sportsmen. What a dick. He might have been a potential Rolf Harris. I see Harris is facing some more charges.

[mathusalah80]

[quote="ZidaneGet Van Gaal out now and give a new manager 10 weeks to settle in and make his player choiced for next season....pre-season will be/should be very busy on that score.

Come on now Zid; climb down off that fence WHO? Give us your first and second, (available), choices and reasons.
NB. You need to act quickly, before the Glaziers, in their football naivety, capitulate under the avalanche of "Rumours" being orchestrated by The Mouth, & his equally unprincipled Manager!

[Zidane]

Come on now Zid; climb down off that fence WHO? Give us your first and second, (available), choices and reasons.

Latest odds to replace Van Gaal......
Jose Mourinho 1/5.....the Mourinho of 6 years ago yes,the Mourinho of 6 months ago no.
Mauricio Pochettino 4/1....he would be my favoured choice as he has done well with 2 clubs in the EPL....cant see him leaving the Spuds,though.
Ryan Giggs 8/1...no
Sir Alex Ferguson 16/1.....interim manager till he turns 80.
Diego Simeone 22/1....done a fantastic job at Atletico Madrid but no EPL experience.
Mark Hughes 22/1....ex United and couldnt be worse than what we have at the moment.
Manuel Pellegrini...22/1....badly treated by City but would he join their main rivals.
Ronald Koeman 28/1...no
Fabio Capello 28/1....for Gods sake no.
Claudio Ranieri 33/1....no,but he's done brilliantly at Leicester and I'm sure most neutrals hope they win the title.
Gary Neville 50/1...no
Rafa Benitez 60/1...b l o o d y hell no
Alan Pardew 66/1...no
Jurgen Klopp 80/1....I wouldnt have minded him before he joined Liverpool but theres no chance now.
Brendan Rodgers 80/1....my head hurts
Steve McClaren 100/1....I'd prefer socksy,actually.
David Moyes 100/1...ha ha.
mathusalah80 100,000/1.well,youve got more football knowledge than some of those,not that thats saying much :-"

[Macca]

Latest odds to replace Van Gaal......
Jose Mourinho 1/5.....the Mourinho of 6 years ago yes,the Mourinho of 6 months ago no.
Mauricio Pochettino 4/1....he would be my favoured choice as he has done well with 2 clubs in the EPL....cant see him leaving the Spuds,though.
Ryan Giggs 8/1...no
Sir Alex Ferguson 16/1.....interim manager till he turns 80.
Diego Simeone 22/1....done a fantastic job at Atletico Madrid but no EPL experience.
Mark Hughes 22/1....ex United and couldnt be worse than what we have at the moment.

The board have screwed up twice now. They never gave Moyes the support or time he needed, they've given LvG far too much of both, the next call has to be a good one.......but who.
Please please not Jose. He will destroy what little club ethics remain after the Dutch **** leaves.
Pochettino, young, smart and full of energy so perhaps a good call.
Giggsy. Heart says yes but head says no. Though with a good side kick and Fergies guidance it could work
Fergie has retired and best left in the stands with a guidance roll
Simone. NO
Hughes has fallen out with Fergie too many times so I doubt would have any interest in the role.
Pelligrini gets my vote. Experience in EPL and Europa Cup (if we improve there is still chance to qualify next season)

I said before the start of last season United would never win a thing as long as LvG is in charge. Sadly it is proving to be a rare occasion were I am correct. I really don't know why he didn't walk before Christmas. I can only assume the board just don't know what to do next, but as it stands we are seeing the chances of next seasons CL money pot fade away game by game.

BTW LvG said yesterday he was surprised by the result as United were on a good run............. REALLY

[Zidane]

Its Valentines Day....time to take your wife and grand daughter out to somewhere special....and,also,most romantic of all its Arsenal v Leicester live in the EPL.
So,where better,than the Share restaurant near Nong Prajak.Live EPL football,decent food at a good price and,most interesting to all,some absolute beauties waiting on !
We had an absolute stunner waiting on at our table....maybe took away some of the excitement of the footie......

Arsenal 2 Leicester 1.....the winner came in the 4th minute of injury time against 10 man Leicester.....so sad.
For Leicester it was a backs to backs against the wall performance,similar to 747man in Boyztown,Pattaya last night.
Sadly they just failed to make the draw....Arsenal jammy cnuts but had by far the majority of possession and chances.

In the second game of the night,Liverpool are just hanging on against Villa 5-0 Citeh v the Spuds later...but the main message of the night for footie fans is to go to Share restaurant to increase your tactical awareness....OK Bob,wazza,Drunk Monkey,trubrit,mat80 etc.

[Zidane]

Full time....Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 6....may I be the first to offer the opinion that Aston Villa will be relegated. :-"