5000-1 - The 2016/17 Premier League thread

[Crimey]

First topic message reminder :

Also, considering mine and pretty much everybody's doubts Mane has been a fantastic signing.

[Crimey]

Think you'll find FC Bayern buried Klopp at Wembley stadium...

Klopp aside from the two German league titles and one German cup, he's a serial loser. Iirc he's lost 5/6 finals in a row.

So aside from all the times he has won, he's a loser...

He's never managed a side expected to win anything to be fair. Which of those finals he reached were the team he was with the favourite?

His BVB side was favoured over FC Bayern the two years he won the league. Also they where the favourites going into the Wembley final. But his crap tactics meant they lost. Liverpool where bookies favourites to beat Sevilla

Come on, you can't actually believe that Dortmund were favourites in any of those instances? Bayern had got to the Champions League final in 2010, 2012 and then 2013 before beating Dortmund. Yet Dortmund were favourites? 

Liverpool were bookies favourites, but they shouldn't have been. Sevilla had won the trophy the previous two years and were generally performing much better.

[GSC]

Jermaine is throwing some bait out there but I do agree Klopp is more than a tad overrated at this point.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

He's done and doing a pretty good job, so not sure what the issue is here.

[Hammersmith harrier]

Think you'll find FC Bayern buried Klopp at Wembley stadium...

Klopp aside from the two German league titles and one German cup, he's a serial loser. Iirc he's lost 5/6 finals in a row.

If you can't beat them buy them seems to be the Bayern Munich motto.

[Ent]

That Liverpool squad is pretty poor overall, think Klopp is doing well with them.

He is a top manager just below the tier of elite managers.

[GSC]

Is it really pretty poor overall?

[Ent]

I'd say so.

Goalkeepers - poor
Full back - clyne aside poor
centre back - average at best
centre midfield - average
wingers - do they have any?
forward/wide forward - pretty strong in this department with Coutinho and Mane

Think 3rd would be an overachievement with that squad.

[GSC]

Wingers do they have any
Wide forwards pretty strong.

Might be a clue in there somewhere.

That Klopp neglected his defense last summer supposed to be in his favour now?

[Crimey]

Most people before the season started would have predicted Liverpool to do worse than this, not sure this can be considered a bad job from Klopp.

Poor run throughout the busiest part of the season stopped this season being considered a pretty good season.

[Guest]

Doesn't Klopp's Liverpool have the best record in the top six premiership mini-league so far?  It's against sides that sit in and don't attack he has difficulty with.

[Ent]

Wingers do they have any
Wide forwards pretty strong.

Might be a clue in there somewhere.

That Klopp neglected his defense last summer supposed to be in his favour now?

Not the same position.

He bought some defenders I'm sure, they've haven't been up to much.

Hard getting good defenders, look at the money going for the likes of Stones, Luiz.

[Crimey]

Wingers do they have any
Wide forwards pretty strong.

Might be a clue in there somewhere.

That Klopp neglected his defense last summer supposed to be in his favour now?

Not the same position.

He bought some defenders I'm sure, they've haven't been up to much.

Hard getting good defenders, look at the money going for the likes of Stones, Luiz.

Problem is Matip and Lovren keep getting injured separately to each other so we're never playing with first choice back four.

Games when Clyne/Matip/Lovren/Milner have played Liverpool have been defensively solid.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Wingers do they have any
Wide forwards pretty strong.

Might be a clue in there somewhere.

That Klopp neglected his defense last summer supposed to be in his favour now?

Not the same position.

He bought some defenders I'm sure, they've haven't been up to much.

Hard getting good defenders, look at the money going for the likes of Stones, Luiz.

Problem is Matip and Lovren keep getting injured separately to each other so we're never playing with first choice back four.

Games when Clyne/Matip/Lovren/Milner have played Liverpool have been defensively solid.

Did I dream the game this past weekend?

You can carry on pretending that's a solid defence - but in the real world it's nowhere near good enough.

[Crimey]

Wingers do they have any
Wide forwards pretty strong.

Might be a clue in there somewhere.

That Klopp neglected his defense last summer supposed to be in his favour now?

Not the same position.

He bought some defenders I'm sure, they've haven't been up to much.

Hard getting good defenders, look at the money going for the likes of Stones, Luiz.

Problem is Matip and Lovren keep getting injured separately to each other so we're never playing with first choice back four.

Games when Clyne/Matip/Lovren/Milner have played Liverpool have been defensively solid.

Did I dream the game this past weekend?

You can carry on pretending that's a solid defence - but in the real world it's nowhere near good enough.

Spurs (A) 1-1
Chelsea (A) 1-2
Swansea (A) 1-2
Manchester United (H) 0-0
West Brom (H) 2-1
Crystal Palace (A) 2-4
Southampton (A) 0-0
Sunderland (H) 2-0
West Ham (H) 2-2
Chelsea (H) 1-1
Everton (H) 3-1
Stoke City (A) 1-2
West Brom (A) 0-1


Until weekend's result, look pretty good to me. That was the first time they had lost and 4 clean sheets. 

[Guest]

Chelsea 4-2 Southampton

[Crimey]

Tottenham Hotspur will be disappointed, Southampton are a good side that could have forced Chelsea to drop points. 

Chelsea have five games left and of the team they have to face, realistically you'd only expect Everton to be able to take points off of them now. 

Even if Tottenham win every game and that's a huge if considered their opponents, Chelsea would still have to drop 5 points for them to have a chance.

[Ent]

Southampton played pretty well, Chelsea were incisive at important times. Costa's second goal was wonderful.

Think Spurs needed to win the cup tie to get Chelsea nervous.

[Crimey]

West Ham (and Newcastle) have been raided in a HMRC probe.

[Scott is Back]

West Ham (and Newcastle) have been raided in a HMRC probe.

Be interesting to hear how this one is defended....

[GSC]

The Daves and Mike Ashley involved in a tax scam

Who could have predicted that

[dyrewolfe]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

[Beer]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

[Scott is Back]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

[Crimey]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

Before drinking from his giant mug?

[Beer]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

Before drinking from his giant mug?

Unfortunately, the socks were Slazenger.

[Scott is Back]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

Before drinking from his giant mug?

And doing all his financial business on a giant calculator!

[Scott is Back]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

Before drinking from his giant mug?

Unfortunately, the socks were Slazenger.

Maybe he is bi-sock-sual

[Beer]

I dunno how Hammers fans feel about their owners, but that will certainly add more fuel to bonfire the "Ashley Out" brigade so desperately want to put him on (along with the rest of the "Cockney Mafia").

If Ashley is involved at all, of course.

Probably in the back office spaffing into some 70% off Donnay Socks

Before drinking from his giant mug?

Unfortunately, the socks were Slazenger.

Maybe he is bi-sock-sual

[Scott is Back]

West Ham (and Newcastle) have been raided in a HMRC probe.

Wheres Dolph when you need him to blame Man Utd for turning up late?

[Dolphin Ziggler]

I hate them and hope it's as bad as Sullivan's last tax evasion scheme, but this time he gets caught out.

He'll claim it's how they "saved" us, I'm sure.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Unsurprised to see links to the former board of Marseille. Both clubs have been involved with them.

We've had dodginess all over us with certain agent links, certainly had issues under Allardyce with players being pressured into signing with certain agents.

Further to that, Sullivan has been suspicious with his dealings in France, overly focused on their market.

[GSC]

Joey Barton banned for 18 months.

[Crimey]

Career over. 

At least at the highest level.

This includes any football related activity, so should stop people picking him up as a pundit.

Rumours are it was going to be a lifetime ban, but Barton argued it down.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

How can you ban someone from being a pundit?

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Nice to remember that Sullivan and Brady have both been arrested (no charges brought) over tax issues at Birmingham in the past.

Talk is that clubs have used image rights to forego tax fees.


No income tax, no VAT

[dyrewolfe]

How can you ban someone from being a pundit?

Presumably the same way you ban them from being a manager, agent or anything else. In fact it should be easier with a pundit's job as you have to appear on TV and/or radio, so you're a lot easier to catch red-handed.

Don't feel too bad for him. He can always buy a pub or a racehorse, or start his own fashion label.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

If Andy Gray is still a pundit, I'm sure Joey will still have that open to him

[Dolphin Ziggler]

How can you ban someone from being a pundit?

Presumably the same way you ban them from being a manager, agent or anything else. In fact it should be easier with a pundit's job as you have to appear on TV and/or radio, so you're a lot easier to catch red-handed.

Don't feel too bad for him. He can always buy a pub or a racehorse, or start his own fashion label.

I don't think the FA can control who Sky/BT/BBC hire. Football related must be anything under their 'jurisdiction' - anything at a football club or in a football authority, one would presume.

[dyrewolfe]

Nice to remember that Sullivan and Brady have both been arrested (no charges brought) over tax issues at Birmingham in the past.

Talk is that clubs have used image rights to forego tax fees.


No income tax, no VAT

No money back, no guarantee...

[GSC]

While Barton is obviously a pillock, he does raise some decent points about football's dependence on gambling and the effect of that on someone with addiction issues

[Scott is Back]

Nice to remember that Sullivan and Brady have both been arrested (no charges brought) over tax issues at Birmingham in the past.

Talk is that clubs have used image rights to forego tax fees.


No income tax, no VAT

Im sure they will have to Payet back!

[dyrewolfe]

How can you ban someone from being a pundit?

Presumably the same way you ban them from being a manager, agent or anything else. In fact it should be easier with a pundit's job as you have to appear on TV and/or radio, so you're a lot easier to catch red-handed.

Don't feel too bad for him. He can always buy a pub or a racehorse, or start his own fashion label.

I don't think the FA can control who Sky/BT/BBC hire. Football related must be anything under their 'jurisdiction' - anything at a football club or in a football authority, one would presume.

Well assuming you can be banned from working as an agent (who I wouldn't have thought came under FA jurisdiction), maybe there is some legal arrangement, sort of like a suspended sentence, where you have to agree not to seek employment in certain lines of work, in return for not receiving a harsher punishment?

I could, of course, be talking out of my backside here...

(nothing new there)

[Scott is Back]

Joey Barton banned for 18 months.

What were the odd's on that happening!

[Fernando]

Chelsea now dragged into the HMRC stuff.

[GSC]

I'd be worried about us if we weren't dragged in front of them every 2 months anyway

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Apparently been at Chelsea too.

Bought Batshauyi from...Marseille.

They are where this is coming from

[Beer]

Nice to remember that Sullivan and Brady have both been arrested (no charges brought) over tax issues at Birmingham in the past.

Talk is that clubs have used image rights to forego tax fees.


No income tax, no VAT

If that's the case, then they are just exploiting a loophole used by Players.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Just gonna copy something from a west ham forum that is interesting.

On someone saying £5m (a figure discussed as being related to us fraudulently) isn't a lot of money

As a tax professional I beg to differ. The current HMRC investigation into image rights for example would run into large multiples of that. The argument on image rights is clouded by the fact that there's no such specific thing in UK Tax Law but should there be any settlement due one would normally deal with it by way of a negotiated settlement to include tax interest and penalties rather than wading in with criminal proceedings.

However, sending in the Met gets more headlines than simply turning up with men in suits and the HMRC statement - which sails perilously close to contempt of court IMO - shows that this is all about making a point at the moment.

After all the last time they did similar raids involving the police, plod took a quick look at the documents and then stepped away on the grounds that it was all about tax and not fraud!

[Crimey]

Apparently been at Chelsea too.

Bought Batshauyi from...Marseille.

They are where this is coming from

Would explain why he's basically not been played even when Costa was injured.

Any other players come from Marseille to England recently?

[President Trump]

Georges-Kévin N'Koudou at Spurs

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