Barclays Premier League 13/14 Thread Part 'x'

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

Superb by Mourinho. When are Liverpool at their most dangerous? The first thirty minutes of games; that is, generally, when they tear teams apart.

Not allowed to do that today, though, even against a very weakened Chelsea side. Liverpool didn't get a clear chance all game, and one costly, costly error gave Chelsea what they needed.

That and frustration, as Liverpool rapidly ran out of ideas and invention.

Back in City's hands now - another title won on goal difference?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Yeah it'll be a fine

[AberdeenSteve]

Right, how much bottle do UEFA have then?

None whatsoever, they'll give them a slap on the wrists and ask they don't do it again.

How Monaco aren't under scrutiny, I'd imagine they are haemorrhaging money.

[Hero]

Right, how much bottle do UEFA have then?

None whatsoever, they'll give them a slap on the wrists and ask they don't do it again.

How Monaco aren't under scrutiny, I'd imagine they are haemorrhaging money.

Because they haven't yet got into Europe, they're bleeding it at the mo but don't come under watch until they're in the competitions.

[Duty281]

Bloody spineless continentals; the Common Market was never a good idea.

[The Special Juan]

Remember the teams' respective rivals can appeal if they deem the punishment to be not harsh enough.

[AberdeenSteve]

Right, how much bottle do UEFA have then?

None whatsoever, they'll give them a slap on the wrists and ask they don't do it again.

How Monaco aren't under scrutiny, I'd imagine they are haemorrhaging money.

Because they haven't yet got into Europe, they're bleeding it at the mo but don't come under watch until they're in the competitions.

Ah, I stand corrected.. I thought they had been involved in the Europa League this year.

If City get hammered, whose the first to be sold? Silva to Barcelona?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

NEYUL

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

And there's game over

[CFCNick]

Doesn't Platini's son have a high level job at PSG?

[Soldier_Of_Fortune]

Anyone seen the Gerrard slip pics floating round today. Some proper funny ones

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Ozil offside therr

[Dolphin Ziggler]

I think that bit of play from Giroud will have made John climax

[Liam]

God what a rubbish game. Going exactly the way I thought it would. Newcastle have been such an appalling side since xmas. Big summer for them if you ask me.

[Fernando]

Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle - John's favorite friend with his 21st goal of the season Olivier Giroud

[Fernando]

FT Le Arse 3-0 Toon

Newcastle making the bottom 3 look competent should be glad not in a relegation battle.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

They'd be trying if they were in a relegation battle.

Who goes first: Allardyce, Lambert or Pardew?

[LastDamnation]

That was a pretty awful game, not every week can play average and coast to a 3-0 win :P

And thanks to John, another giroud goal

[NickisBHAFC]

David Moyes IMO would be perfect for Newcastle, superb football club and a chance for him to get some confidence in himself and to get some respect again.

Arsenal easy win as expected. Surly thats 4th for them and an fa cup, not been a bad season.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Newcastle are the 9th best team in the league.

Mediocrity

[GSC]

Moyes should go Spurs. They badly need stability.

[NickisBHAFC]

Yeah Spurs would also be a good move for him.

[skyeman]

Ancelotti could do so much better than Manchester United, they require an intensive rebuilding job. Ancelotti would be at the top of the list of possible managers for pretty much any club in Europe, no need to go to United. 

I can seriously see United end up appointing Giggs, if he wins the next three games and the team looks really good, which seems inevitable considering the team isn't contention for anything so no pressure, there is a feel good factor in the team and a lot of speculation about who will be their next season, and with the amount of noise coming from the players about how good Giggs is, I think they might give him it.

That would be the wrong decision in my opinion, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Never.

They have already said that. Five years maybe.

[skyeman]

Bloody spineless continentals; the Common Market was never a good idea.

And nor the EU. Vote UKIP  

Just a joke from the golf thread. Don't worry.  

[Crimey]

I understand that financially and marketability-wise Manchester United are a huge club and will likely offer a big transfer kitty to the manager who signs for them this season but I am not sure why Ancelotti, who could walk into a club without the same level of pressure and rebuilding as he would have at Manchester United. For me the big attraction at Manchester United last year for a manager was that there appeared to be a solid foundation of success to work from and owners who were different to the rest of football in that they weren't interested in sacking managers as frequently as other clubs. Both of these have been shown as being untrue.

As a club Manchester United are in great shape, as a team they are in a very poor shape and although there is the core of a decent side, a huge rebuilding job is necessary to create a title-challenging squad and a lot of successful investment to turn the club into a European challenger. Now a manager may see an attraction in that job if he was assured he would be given the time to do something about it, the fact that Moyes was sacked after 10 months, however justifiably for me suggests that may not be the case. 

Ancelotti is currently at one of the best football clubs in Europe, in terms of how much money he has to spend as well as the side he currently gets to coach. He moved from one of the fastest rising teams in Europe, who also had a huge amount of money to spend and a very good team behind them. The Barcelona and Bayern jobs are unlikely to be open to Ancelotti in the near future, but if he does get tired of Real Madrid, I am sure the likes of Manchester City, PSG, most top Italian teams and others would be very interested in him. At the moment they are probably more attractive prospects to Ancelotti than the Manchester United job.

Also, Liverpool haven't been able to attract top level managers since their decline, they continued with the Boot Room for some years and then the most high profile manager they have been able to appoint was Rafael Benitez, 10 years ago, since then their managers have come from lower clubs in the Premier League or Kenny Dalglish.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Do Utd really need that much work to be turned into a title contender again?

I mean Liverpool have hardly got a vintage squad and they're up there competing, a couple of additions and I could see Utd doing what Liverpool have done this season next year under a good manager (especially if they avoid the Europa League)

[Crimey]

Do Utd really need that much work to be turned into a title contender again?

I mean Liverpool have hardly got a vintage squad and they're up there competing, a couple of additions and I could see Utd doing what Liverpool have done this season next year under a good manager (especially if they avoid the Europa League)

I think this season will be an anomaly, I think Chelsea and Manchester City will strengthen considerably considering I think they are both only one or two players away from being really, really good sides. Manchester United are probably about twelve out, ten in from being a top side. I think they will be competing for the top four for sure, but the title will be out of their reach for at least a few seasons. 

I do think it's capable that they can push on and do really well next year, under a good manager, but if I was Ancelotti I am not sure I would take the risk when there would likely be safer options on the table.

[skyeman]

I understand that financially and marketability-wise Manchester United are a huge club and will likely offer a big transfer kitty to the manager who signs for them this season but I am not sure why Ancelotti, who could walk into a club without the same level of pressure and rebuilding as he would have at Manchester United. For me the big attraction at Manchester United last year for a manager was that there appeared to be a solid foundation of success to work from and owners who were different to the rest of football in that they weren't interested in sacking managers as frequently as other clubs. Both of these have been shown as being untrue.

As a club Manchester United are in great shape, as a team they are in a very poor shape and although there is the core of a decent side, a huge rebuilding job is necessary to create a title-challenging squad and a lot of successful investment to turn the club into a European challenger. Now a manager may see an attraction in that job if he was assured he would be given the time to do something about it, the fact that Moyes was sacked after 10 months, however justifiably for me suggests that may not be the case. 

Ancelotti is currently at one of the best football clubs in Europe, in terms of how much money he has to spend as well as the side he currently gets to coach. He moved from one of the fastest rising teams in Europe, who also had a huge amount of money to spend and a very good team behind them. The Barcelona and Bayern jobs are unlikely to be open to Ancelotti in the near future, but if he does get tired of Real Madrid, I am sure the likes of Manchester City, PSG, most top Italian teams and others would be very interested in him. At the moment they are probably more attractive prospects to Ancelotti than the Manchester United job.

Also, Liverpool haven't been able to attract top level managers since their decline, they continued with the Boot Room for some years and then the most high profile manager they have been able to appoint was Rafael Benitez, 10 years ago, since then their managers have come from lower clubs in the Premier League or Kenny Dalglish.

I think that is the Liverpool/beer goggles on. Utd are bigger than Liverpool

Man Utd even without CL next season would be, How can i best put this   seismic, ecstacy, earth shattering, stunning etc etc for 99% of availabe top managers.

What a challenge for them to even get close to 50% ofSir Alex. The best will still want to try that.

[Crimey]

I know Manchester United are bigger than Liverpool, I didn't make the comparison, I was responding to somebody who did. 

I agree that the job will be attractive to some big name managers, I am just not sure what the attraction would be for Ancelotti who I imagine would have a lot more safe options on the table. If I was him I wouldn't want to to Manchester United in the position they are in now, I think the pressure to change things quickly there isn't worth it, when there are clubs in more solid positions, more money to invest and a better initial team to work with.

It is inevitable that Manchester United will eventually return to the top of English football, however I do think it will take longer than some people think. The club has extremely good foundations, but I am not sure that this is reflected in the actual squad, which will need a lot of work done, but as Tottenham showed this year, it's hard to do large overhauls all at once without seriously disrupting a squad and taking a long time to adapt.

How many of Manchester United's current first eleven would be in Real Madrid's first eleven? Robin Van Persie? Possibly, probably not on this season's form and injury record. Wayne Rooney? Possibly, his form has tailed off a lot. Juan Mata has the strongest case, but that may be basing it on past reputation, he hasn't been in the same player for Manchester United that he was for Chelsea. 

I just find it strange that Ancelotti is being linked with the job, even if he is unhappy with Real Madrid, I would have thought teams with a better squad and better investment potential would attract him.

[skyeman]

I know Manchester United are bigger than Liverpool, I didn't make the comparison, I was responding to somebody who did. 

I agree that the job will be attractive to some big name managers, I am just not sure what the attraction would be for Ancelotti who I imagine would have a lot more safe options on the table. If I was him I wouldn't want to to Manchester United in the position they are in now, I think the pressure to change things quickly there isn't worth it, when there are clubs in more solid positions, more money to invest and a better initial team to work with.

It is inevitable that Manchester United will eventually return to the top of English football, however I do think it will take longer than some people think. The club has extremely good foundations, but I am not sure that this is reflected in the actual squad, which will need a lot of work done, but as Tottenham showed this year, it's hard to do large overhauls all at once without seriously disrupting a squad and taking a long time to adapt.

How many of Manchester United's current first eleven would be in Real Madrid's first eleven? Robin Van Persie? Possibly, probably not on this season's form and injury record. Wayne Rooney? Possibly, his form has tailed off a lot. Juan Mata has the strongest case, but that may be basing it on past reputation, he hasn't been in the same player for Manchester United that he was for Chelsea. 

I just find it strange that Ancelotti is being linked with the job, even if he is unhappy with Real Madrid, I would have thought teams with a better squad and better investment potential would attract him.

Sorry, got ya now. You are always very fair with your reasonings and responses to others. Maybe yesterday an exception for obvious reasons  

de Gea, Mata, Rooney, RVP are all world class though and would all grace RM. So i still see no reason why Ancelotti (depends how it finishes for RM) would not want to go to OT with a chance to improve them.  The three biggest clubs in the world.  Barca, RM and Utd

But even with the biggest of club names, if a manager is happy where he is, that is that.

[Born Slippy]

I'm lost on the better clubs Ancelotti could walk into if he decided to leave Real. There just aren't any who are looking to change managers. It would be the ideal job for him.

Ask yourself this, would Moyes have been sacked if he was just 4th in the league - not top or even 2nd but merely 4th. Heck, I suspect he'd have been ok in 5th with some signs of a plan. In contrast, how would Ancelotti be getting on if he was 20 points off the pace with Real? Would he have lasted until 4 games from the end of the season?

[Ent]

Newcastle are the 9th best team in the league.

Mediocrity

I stand by my thought that this is the worst standard ever in the premier league.

There are just so many teams that can't carry out basic functions, it's been a terrible watch from a purist point of view.

[mystiroakey]

Newcastle are the 9th best team in the league.

Mediocrity

I stand by my thought that this is the worst standard ever in the premier league.

There are just so many teams that can't carry out basic functions, it's been a terrible watch from a purist point of view.

nonsense- newcastle were a top side with cabaye- then they lost the plot. lucky to have that great start- if they didnt play the way they did first half they would have been down- you couldn't be more wrong with your assessment- its been one of the best PL's quality wise ever- that is one of the reason man u are 7th

[compelling and rich]

crimey most people are putting ancelotti's name in the mix as if he doesnt win the champions league and loses the league as well we all know real will give him the boot, therefore him becoming available. dont think many are saying he's going to swap real for united

and if he's mad enough to take the real job with the pressure the managers get there im sure he wouldnt mind united one bit, we only sacked moyes because he was completely useless. if we were in top 4 which should have been a minimum with the squad and funds given then moyes would still be in a job

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Newcastle are the 9th best team in the league.

Mediocrity

I stand by my thought that this is the worst standard ever in the premier league.

There are just so many teams that can't carry out basic functions, it's been a terrible watch from a purist point of view.

nonsense- newcastle were a top side with cabaye- then they lost the plot. lucky to have that great start- if they didnt play the way they did first half they would have been down- you couldn't be more wrong with your assessment- its been one of the best PL's quality wise ever- that is one of the reason man u are 7th

Mysti its absolutely awful this year

[Duty281]

Newcastle are the 9th best team in the league.

Mediocrity

I stand by my thought that this is the worst standard ever in the premier league.

There are just so many teams that can't carry out basic functions, it's been a terrible watch from a purist point of view.

Agreed.

[westisbest]

If you think the rest is sh1te, you should watch Villa every week.
 
I find it exciting that with a couple of games to go, 3 teams can still win the league.
 
And down the bottom any of 7 could go down.
 
Makes it a lot more interesting than things already being sorted.

[mystiroakey]

liverpool, arsernal, citeh , everton have all stepped up a level from last year

I cant understand why no one can see that. The standard has rocketed up from the previous year, where united just cruised it

[westisbest]

No offence to Utd, but am glad they wont win the league.
Maybe they will come back next year.
Simply because they normally win it(and fair play to them).

Would'nt mind seeing Liverpool winning it. A different team would make a nice change.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

liverpool, arsernal, citeh , everton have all stepped up a level from last year

I cant understand why no one can see that. The standard has rocketed up from the previous year, where united just cruised it

There's more teams in the league than the top 6

[mystiroakey]

the standards still gone up.

[Guest]

Morning after the night before. Christ, that was terrible.....but nothing surprising & the result was totally expected from this dire side. I see the old Giroud wind-up comments, let's face it, he was always going to score at some point & had to laugh that he had to waste about 10 chances before he eventually scored his typical goal from inside the six yard box. Terrible player, no discussion.

As for Pardew, not sure what will happen. In a way, I feel sorry for him because he's been treated so badly by Ashley with no funds & the players have been appalling. On the other hand though, six defeats is shocking & his interviews are bizarre. Looks like we will be making the relegation battle even more interesting when we give Cardiff 3 points next weekend.

[socal1976]

Morning after the night before. Christ, that was terrible.....but nothing surprising & the result was totally expected from this dire side. I see the old Giroud wind-up comments, let's face it, he was always going to score at some point & had to laugh that he had to waste about 10 chances before he eventually scored his typical goal from inside the six yard box. Terrible player, no discussion.

As for Pardew, not sure what will happen. In a way, I feel sorry for him because he's been treated so badly by Ashley with no funds & the players have been appalling. On the other hand though, six defeats is shocking & his interviews are bizarre. Looks like we will be making the relegation battle even more interesting when we give Cardiff 3 points next weekend.

Come on John, he is not a terrible player. That is overstating the case by quite a bit. The guy since coming to the gunners is hitting 2 goals for 5 matches and has a very good assist total as well. Is he the type of striker that will lead Arsenal to the league title or Champions League? No, but he is a good premier league striker, not in the top 5 but probably in the top 10. I was hoping for a Giroud hat trick in this match just so we could all enjoy a little bit fun with your commentary, Not really a wind up more in good humor and I hope you take it as such.

[Guest]

Morning after the night before. Christ, that was terrible.....but nothing surprising & the result was totally expected from this dire side. I see the old Giroud wind-up comments, let's face it, he was always going to score at some point & had to laugh that he had to waste about 10 chances before he eventually scored his typical goal from inside the six yard box. Terrible player, no discussion.

As for Pardew, not sure what will happen. In a way, I feel sorry for him because he's been treated so badly by Ashley with no funds & the players have been appalling. On the other hand though, six defeats is shocking & his interviews are bizarre. Looks like we will be making the relegation battle even more interesting when we give Cardiff 3 points next weekend.

Come on John, he is not a terrible player. That is overstating the case by quite a bit. The guy since coming to the gunners is hitting 2 goals for 5 matches and has a very good assist total as well. Is he the type of striker that will lead Arsenal to the league title or Champions League? No, but he is a good premier league striker, not in the top 5 but probably in the top 10. I was hoping for a Giroud hat trick in this match just so we could all enjoy a little bit fun with your commentary, Not really a wind up more in good humor and I hope you take it as  such.

If that had happened, I wouldn't be talking on here this morning because I would already had committed suicide last night. I just couldn't imagine living the rest of my life, with the fact, that someone of Olivier Giroud's ability, had been allowed to score an EPL hat-trick against my beloved team.

[GSC]

I wouldn't have noticed. I was lost in his eyes

[socal1976]

Morning after the night before. Christ, that was terrible.....but nothing surprising & the result was totally expected from this dire side. I see the old Giroud wind-up comments, let's face it, he was always going to score at some point & had to laugh that he had to waste about 10 chances before he eventually scored his typical goal from inside the six yard box. Terrible player, no discussion.

As for Pardew, not sure what will happen. In a way, I feel sorry for him because he's been treated so badly by Ashley with no funds & the players have been appalling. On the other hand though, six defeats is shocking & his interviews are bizarre. Looks like we will be making the relegation battle even more interesting when we give Cardiff 3 points next weekend.

Come on John, he is not a terrible player. That is overstating the case by quite a bit. The guy since coming to the gunners is hitting 2 goals for 5 matches and has a very good assist total as well. Is he the type of striker that will lead Arsenal to the league title or Champions League? No, but he is a good premier league striker, not in the top 5 but probably in the top 10. I was hoping for a Giroud hat trick in this match just so we could all enjoy a little bit fun with your commentary, Not really a wind up more in good humor and I hope you take it as  such.

If that had happened, I wouldn't be talking on here this morning because I would already had committed suicide last night. I just couldn't imagine living the rest of my life, with the fact, that someone of Olivier Giroud's ability, had been allowed to score an EPL hat-trick against my beloved team.

LOL! no need need for the suicide attempt. Although Giroud does have two goals in two matches against Newcastle this year so suicide might be much but you might want to pay the neighbor kid to kick you in the jimmy in hopes of erasing that memory. He isn't that bad, I can see him playing and contributing in a lot of top sides in Europe. His hold up play I think is pretty damn good, he presses the ball up high and like I said he is a good premier league striker. Not a great one, but certainly a good one. As an Arsenal fan I would like to see an upgrade at striker next season but I think he has done well considering that he was bought for 12 million pounds that is hardly breaking the bank nowadays for a striker.

[Liam]

I was surprised to see Giroud had scored 21 goals this season for Arsenal which is a more than a decent return. I think the benchmark of a good striker is if they're hitting around the 20 goal mark in a season and although I'm not a massive fan of Giroud, you can't argue with those stats although the problem is he's never going to win you the league or score goals against the big sides really.

I think a good buy for Arsenal would be Hernandez. They keep getting linked with Ballotelli and people like that but in Hernandez you have a proven PL, out and out poacher who should be getting more game time and has one of the best goal per minute ratio's in PL history. He gives them that striker that will make runs in behind the defence, which people like Ozil/Carzola/Ramsey thrive on and I think will fit into Arsenals play beautifully. Plus, you have a bit of variety in Giroud as the big man and Hernandez as the little man.

[mystiroakey]

But then henendez would be benched when Walcott is back. - Arsernal need a front man striker.

Henendez is a poor mans walcott.

[Liam]

Walcott is nowhere near the striker Hernandez is. Walcott needs to stay on the wing, him AND Hernandez making runs in behind the defence would be a nightmare.

[GSC]

Hernandez doesn't fit. An important part of what Arsenal do is getting it into Girouds feet so he can lay it off, primarily to an onrunning Walcott. Hernandez doesnt do that

[mystiroakey]

henendez could never ever lead the line as a main striker. Thats why arsernal are looking for an out an out striker to give them options, not hernedez.

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