We Go Again! The 2014/15 Premier League Thread

[Guest]

First topic message reminder :

Dirty, scheming, diving sh!thouse.

[mystiroakey]

This could be a hammering.

[kingraf]

What I like about Arsenal is that they sometimes solve their scoring woes... and sometimes solve their defensive woes, but never both at the same time

[NickisBHAFC]

Have SKY mentioned Henry is becoming a pundit?

[mystiroakey]

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Begovic - over rated

[Dolphin Ziggler]

What I like about Arsenal is that they sometimes solve their scoring woes... and sometimes solve their defensive woes, but never both at the same time

It kind of used to be entertaining, its now just a bit boring

[compelling and rich]

now there was the kiss of death!!

[Fernando]

Man Utd: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Carrick, Di Maria, Blind, Mata, Rooney, van Persie.
Subs: Evans, Ander Herrera, Fellaini, Valdes, McNair, Blackett, Wilson.

Southampton: Forster, Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Steven Davis, Ward-Prowse, Elia, Pelle.
Subs: Kelvin Davis, Gardos, Long, Tadic, Isgrove, Reed, Targett.

[Guest]

Falcao missing again

[compelling and rich]

Falcao missing again

been missing on the pitch for quite a while

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Daley Blind sucks

[kingraf]

I bet you've been waiting to copy paste that bad boy since November Olly

[Fernando]

He needed someone to move onto now Gerrard is off to the MLS

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Di Maria little wasted so far forward.

I do like how Jones and Blind get forward a bit

[Fernando]

Alderweireld injured so Gardos will come on most likely...

[Guest]

He needed someone to move onto now Gerrard is off to the MLS

Moving stateside aint getting Gerrard off the hook.

Olly is willing to travel.

[Fernando]

Nothing like some Dowd incompetence. Valencia puts out for throw in due to injury Dowd gives a drop ball...

Smalling goes through Elia & no Free Kick but randomly up the pitch tells Smalling no more?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

He needed someone to move onto now Gerrard is off to the MLS

Moving stateside aint getting Gerrard off the hook.

Olly is willing to travel.

A little bit of water ain't gonna stop my trolling

[Fernando]

HT United 0-0 Southampton.

[kingraf]

Cue Olly setting up a MLS thread just to slag Gerrard

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Fully fully deserved lead for Southampton. Completely nullified United

[Hammersmith harrier]

That's the definition of deserving a lead isn't it Olly, setting up defensively and doing nothing going forward.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Well they had some decent opportunities first half, and have taken there one second half.

Classic away performance so far

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Tbf not like Utd have done anything, of well anything. Complete nothingness so far

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Don't think they deserve to be winning. They would deserve a draw.

United, for all me laughing at squad depth or options of Liverpool, have basically made 3 very funny subs.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Tadic is quality

[kingraf]

Well... this is awks... Southampton haven't gone away yet

[lfc91]

Well done to Southampton, played very well in defence and grabbed a goal. Think the time has come to concede they have as good a chance of getting top 4 as united, arsenal etc. Mata could have easily rescued the game for United, 2 big misses!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

LVG just got schooled by Koeman. Why he persists with this 5 at the back lark is beyond me

[Dolphin Ziggler]

LVG got it all wrong today. All wrong. Di Maria wasted up there. No need for Blackett on, should have utilised the midfield better or brought on Wilson.

[Duty281]

That yellow card for taking your shirt off rule is ridiculous. The most idiotic rule in the game.

Anyway...um...Southampton's hopes of top four back on? After starting to fade away, seemingly, they have now beaten Manchester United and Arsenal whilst keeping a clean sheet, gained a more than credible draw versus Chelsea, and stuck three past Everton and Palace.

Up to third now, three points clear. Two very tough games (trips to Chelsea and Citeh) remain, but there are fifteen winnable games that exist for them between now and the end.

[Guest]

First class, disciplined & tactically spot on away performance from Koeman's men.

United were abysmal & once again I have to question LVG, this system is horrible & your substitutions are mind boggling. Villa away, Stoke away & now Southampton, he's made changes to the benefit of the away team & made United worse off. As for the players, Mata is awful, Di Maria is nowhere near his Madrid level & the back line of Smalling & Jones is just horrible, they are brainless idiots. I'm not even a United fan but they annoy me.

As for Arsenal or Sanchez F.C, just brilliant today.

[Gerry SA]

I don't really comment on here anymore but my frustration with LvG has boiled over. 

It's all good and well having a theory about how you want your side to play, but if you don't have the correct personnel- then it's foolhardy to still be stubborn enough to still play the 3/5/2 formation. 

Secondly when you've got a player like RvP who's clearly on a terminal decline, it's more stupid up keep playing him and hoping he'll come good. Just because he's close mates with the boss doesn't mean playing jim for the sake of it. Falcao being 'rested' today was yet more LvG BS...

Thirdly Di Maria is a winger not s bloody striker. Rooney is a striker not a bloody midfielder. Play the players in the correct positions.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Except Rooney has looked fantastic in midfield lately and Di Maria probably has found his best form of his career centrally able to drift out wide rather than as a winger

[Gerry SA]

Except Rooney has looked fantastic in midfield lately and Di Maria probably has found his best form of his career centrally able to drift out wide rather than as a winger

Not exactly hard to look great in the MUFC midfield though is it? Rooney actually tries to pass forward. Instantly he's better than the sideways passing Carrick. 

And Angel Di Maria played in Real Madrid's Central three. Therefore when he was rampaging forward/into the wife areas he was covered by Xabi Alonso/Sami Khedira etc. MUFC don't have any CMs of that class. Secondly Di Maria playing as deep running midfielder is totally different to Di Maria as a striker.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

I don't think he should have played up top, but I don't think he's a winger. I'd have played Mata further forward (who has a far better instinct for goals and when he started getting in the box he was the one finding chances)

You don't move Rooney from midfield with how he's been playing from there. The mistake was not trusting James Wilson when Fellaini was thrown on.

Valencia is also a waste of space

[Hammersmith harrier]

Showing yourself up with those comments about Carrick and Mata instantly Gerry, a classic case of a fair weather fan who doesn't have a clue and isn't interested if the team isn't winning.

We do need to ditch the back five, it limits our line of attack far too much and congests the midfield in particular centrally. It's surprising he's persisting when the best form we showed was using the diamond formation, something that was getting the best out of Rooney and Di Maria.

Carrick/Blind

Herrera-Di Maria

Mata/Rooney

Rooney/Falcao-Van Persie

It appears again to be a very congested midfield but gives more licence to the midfield two to drift wide and get support from the fullbacks, too much is being expect of our wingbacks currently. Shaw is a good young defender but he's not an attacking full back so utilising him as a wing back doesn't work and Valencia needs an overlapping fullback to fully utilise his pace.

[kingraf]

To be fair, I agree that Dí Maria is better down the middle, than out on the flanks. Where in the middle is I guess the million dollar question. He's still world class out wide though, and with the right team can wreak havoc out there (his form in Mourinho's 2011-12 Madrid was nothing short of sensational)

[Fernando]

So Louis Van Gaal has an identical record as David Moyes....Yet Dave was 7th & LVG is 4th

#Awkward

Only difference is everyone else has got worse so they look better seemingly

[Gerry SA]

Showing yourself up with those comments about Carrick and Mata instantly Gerry, a classic case of a fair weather fan who doesn't have a clue and isn't interested if the team isn't winning.

We do need to ditch the back five, it limits our line of attack far too much and congests the midfield in particular centrally. It's surprising he's persisting when the best form we showed was using the diamond formation, something that was getting the best out of Rooney and Di Maria.

Carrick/Blind

Herrera-Di Maria

Mata/Rooney

Rooney/Falcao-Van Persie

It appears again to be a very congested midfield but gives more licence to the midfield two to drift wide and get support from the fullbacks, too much is being expect of our wingbacks currently. Shaw is a good young defender but he's not an attacking full back so utilising him as a wing back doesn't work and Valencia needs an overlapping fullback to fully utilise his pace.

Whether did I mention Mata?

And if you really think Michael Carrick is top draw you've obviously never watched a lot of football. It's all well being a deep laying passing midfielder, but that's if you have the quality and class of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, Andrea Pirlo or Bastien Schweinsteiger. Carrick doesn't gave that class. Why'd you think LvG is obsessed with signing Strootman and any other CM?

MUFC have gotta play with a flat back four. And axe RvP. He's not the player he was under Wenger or Ferguson.

[Hammersmith harrier]

I've watched Carrick for the past 10 years Gerry, you don't appear over 360 times for a team that wins the title 5 times and gets to four European finals without being pretty good. You're a typical fan who assumes he's rubbish because he's not Alonso or Schweinsteiger and using Busquets as an example of a top draw midfielder spot on there.

If LVG was obsessed with buying just any midfielder he would have done, he wanted Blind and Di Maria so bought them.

[Gerry SA]

I've watched Carrick for the past 10 years Gerry, you don't appear over 360 times for a team that wins the title 5 times and gets to four European finals without being pretty good. You're a typical fan who assumes he's rubbish because he's not Alonso or Schweinsteiger and using Busquets as an example of a top draw midfielder spot on there.

If LVG was obsessed with buying just any midfielder he would have done, he wanted Blind and Di Maria so bought them.

Clearly your footballing knowledge is limited if you think Sergio Busquets is rubbish. Busquets is technically as good as Iniesta, but he sacrifices himself for the team. 

And Carrick having 5 PL medals means what? Anderson has 4 as well doesn't he?

And for the record I don't think Carrick 'is rubbish' just limited.

[Hammersmith harrier]

I didn't Busquets is rubbish but if he played for anyone other team you wouldn't be putting him up there with the best midfielders which he isn't.

It means a lot when you're a mainstay of the midfield and win 5 PL medals but you knew that already Gerry.

[Gerry SA]

I didn't Busquets is rubbish but if he played for anyone other team you wouldn't be putting him up there with the best midfielders which he isn't.

It means a lot when you're a mainstay of the midfield and win 5 PL medals but you knew that already Gerry.

Obviously you've gotta be half decent to stay at a winning club for a sustained period of domination. Carrick's a good player, but he's not that really top draw player that can change a game. Obviously that's my opinion. Someone MUFC would never get, but I'd love it if they did, Javi Martinez. Powerful and a great passer. Better player than Strootman.

[Hammersmith harrier]

Martinez isn't a top drawer player either and I would prefer Strootman who fits the profile of what we lack in midfield, we don't need a top drawer passer we need a dominant player.

[Gerry SA]

Martinez isn't a top drawer player either and I would prefer Strootman who fits the profile of what we lack in midfield, we don't need a top drawer passer we need a dominant player.

Jupp Heynckes identified Javi Martinez ax the powerful midfielder he was lacking after finishing second in the german league, german cup and the champion league in 2011/12. 

Martinez's arrival and Bayern's treble was no coincidence. Martinez would enhance any side. Take my word for it he's the best holding midfielders around.

[Liam]

LVG got it all wrong today. Saw a stat saying when we've played a back 3 (11 games) our win % is 36%, when playing a back 4 with the diamond (5 games) our win percentage is 80%, not rocket science. The diamond, like Hammers has said, got the best out of our players. It allowed us to play Blind/Carrick as the holding mid to get on the ball and play the simple passes. It meant Di Maria was central and allowed Herrera in there as well, hell even Fellaini did alright there. The back 3 is too defensive, and doesn't allow us to get our best players involved, please please Louis, scrap it before its too late.

On Blind, he was fantastic on his return today. He's looked a very good player so far for us and his injury was a big blow. Great to have him back.

Rooney, as I've always maintained despite a couple of good games, will never be a centre mid. He's not good enough passing wise to be successful there, or good enough tackling wise. He needs to be up top where he has always played well and had his best seasons for utd, like in 2009/10 and 2010/11. Mata also needs to be further up the pitch, where he's most dangerous. Its no good him collecting the ball on the halfway line, it means no ones in the cam position and as a result we're having to pass it back all the time.

[Hammersmith harrier]

Martinez isn't a top drawer player either and I would prefer Strootman who fits the profile of what we lack in midfield, we don't need a top drawer passer we need a dominant player.

Jupp Heynckes identified Javi Martinez ax the powerful midfielder he was lacking after finishing second in the german league, german cup and the champion league in 2011/12. 

Martinez's arrival and Bayern's treble was no coincidence. Martinez would enhance any side. Take my word for it he's the best holding midfielders around.

Is that why he's mainly played in defence with Lahm transitioning to defensive midfield then Gerry?

[kingraf]

You could give Busquets a month of Sundays and he wouldn't touch Iniesta. Given the panic that set in every time Barcelona didn't have the ball (until this season, the tactic was generally, we'll all jump in and by law of averages one of us will get the ball) I'm not convinced he was all that proficient at sacrificing himself then. And I'm being kind in saying "not convinced". certainly seemed to be a turnstile during the last two Clásicos. And pretty much every big match I've watched where Barca have to defend a little.

As for Javi, he's a top quality midfielder, and if you look at his success transitioning to defence, he's clearly a top quality footballer. But he's probably about fourth in the pecking order of holding midfielders for Bayern. No shame in that because because you've got two of the best midfielders of the generation and Lahm, who's proven to be outlandishly good at any position he's tried, but he's still fourth.

[socal1976]

Sanchez is a monster. The team is starting to find the groove. I think we will overhaul Southampton and possibly United. LVG is having a tough first season the key is for them to get back to CL football because with the money they have spent the last few windows losing out on CL for a second time would be disastrous.

Can't believe the ref didn't even whistle the Stoke player for shoving Debuchy that violently where the guy dislocates his shoulder. Please keep Scz on the bench between him and mertesacker I don't know who has been more shambolic this season for Arsenal. And god help us if Kos gets injured again then we are through. Get some defensive help in January.

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