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Fierce_LiNk

Football Season 2017-18

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On ‎02‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 10:45 AM, dazzybee said:

VAR wouldn't have been used in that instance. 

Tottenham were really impressive, 2-0 was flattering for Man U who were really really poor. Pogba.... how come no one mentions they paid nearly 100m for this player? And lukaku :laughing: All the money Man U have spent and this is the team they have... Lots of great attacking talent, but no balance.

Aso, tactically, it was so surprised how much long ball football you played, seemed to be your only tactic, has that been common? 

Welcome back to the football thread, Dazzy. Glad we could help Spurs stay in contention for the fourth place trophy. :)

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1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Welcome back to the football thread, Dazzy. Glad we could help Spurs stay in contention for the fourth place trophy. :)

Haha, thank you. Thought we were better than Liverpool today too, very promising. Smash Arsenal next week, three games I was scared about and I think we're guaranteed top 4!!

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Just now, dazzybee said:

Haha, thank you. Thought we were better than Liverpool today too, very promising. Smash Arsenal next week, three games I was scared about and I think we're guaranteed top 4!!

Liverpool threw it away in the second half when Klopp decided to take off Henderson for another centre-back. They lost control of the midfield and allowed Spurs to grow into the game.

However, I think Spurs have been extremely lucky with the decisions today. The first penalty is definitely not a penalty and the second one is highly debatable. I don't mind as it worked out pretty well for United today, but still. :D

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Probably did get pretty lucky (though I thought that Van Djik toe punt was a penalty for the second) but in any case.... what a monster of a game!!! Two outrageously good goals (Wanyama's missile and Salah's skills), back and forth all through the second half, the missed penalty, the massive delay on the eventual penalty decision, Kane stepping up to put the equaliser away.. Oscar winning drama! Looking at Liverpool's games this season, half of them seem to be that mad; must be a blast / stressful experience supporting them!

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That second Salah goal has to be the most FIFA thing I've ever seen in a real life game. Ridiculous stuff.

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56 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Liverpool threw it away in the second half when Klopp decided to take off Henderson for another centre-back. They lost control of the midfield and allowed Spurs to grow into the game.

However, I think Spurs have been extremely lucky with the decisions today. The first penalty is definitely not a penalty and the second one is highly debatable. I don't mind as it worked out pretty well for United today, but still. :D

I don’t think they threw it away, we dominated the whole second half way before Henderson went off. And they were both certain penalties. Very weird you think one wasn’t and one debatable... did you see them? 🤣 But yeah, good result for you I guess. Or maybe not if we both finish above you. How do you feel about Man U?

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1 hour ago, dazzybee said:

I don’t think they threw it away, we dominated the whole second half way before Henderson went off. And they were both certain penalties. Very weird you think one wasn’t and one debatable... did you see them? 🤣 But yeah, good result for you I guess. Or maybe not if we both finish above you. How do you feel about Man U?

Spurs had the ball but weren't really creating that many chances. There were a few half chances, but I think Kane (whoever else it might have been) was flagged offside for those. When Henderson went off, it just meant that Liverpool had absolutely no protection in the midfield and this allowed Spurs to now play the ball through the middle. The pressing game from Liverpool was not as good in the second half as it was in the first.

I watched the entire game live. The first one is 100% not a penalty. Kane is standing in an offside position to begin with and, imo, there is minimal contact with Karius. It's a dive. The second one is more debatable. Van Dijk begins to stick out his leg to get the ball and retracts it when he realises that Lamela is coming through. Lamela's reaction is very over the top. There's also the added factor that Lamela wasn't making an attempt to go for the ball, which can be seen clearly in the replays. Spurs certainly tried it on in the second half, as is evident with Alli being booked for simulation.

Watching the Six Nations and then coming back to football is an eye-opener. VAR can't come to the Premier League soon enough. The sooner we stamp out diving and these controversial decisions, the better. 

All the other goals were class, however. Can't decide whether I prefer Wanyama's or Salah's second. A draw is a fair result and works out well for United.

As for United, we're very inconsistent. Terrible performance against Spurs. Struggled in the bigger games. Huddersfield were dirty as hell yesterday and only came to kick lumps out of our players. Not sure if it was covered on Match of the Day (I didn't see it yesterday). Overall, we have the potential to finish anywhere between 2nd and 7th and I can't say for certain where we'll end up and whether it's been a good season or a disappointing one. Just too inconsistent. But then, according to the table, we've let in the least amount of goals (18) and have the second best goal difference, after City (33). So, maybe we're doing better than it's being made out? Most fans I know would agree that this is the best squad since Fergie, but we still haven't got that killer instinct that's needed to put teams away. I feel that we are a top four side and are worthy of finishing second or third, but not good enough or tough enough to win the league.

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On 2/5/2018 at 6:13 AM, Fierce_LiNk said:

 

As for United, we're very inconsistent. Terrible performance against Spurs.

Please come to St James' this Sunday and be consistent, so that we can at least salvage a vague sense of pride out of our inevitable defeat.

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We are shit. Nothing will change at Arsenal until Wenger goes. Players look disinterested and what ever our game plan yesterday (like we had one) was it didn’t work. We looked fucking clueless, Spurs could have beat us 4-0. If Lacazette has nicked something for us it would have been completely unworthy. 

dazzy have you got yourself to Wembley? Strange being there yesterday didn’t feel like a north London Derby at all. There was none of the vitriol or abuse you get on the high road. Arsenal fans wearing colours without fist flying their way. No pub dodging as skinheads roll out looking for a fight. Your new place will turn into a tourist ground like us and Chelsea. Hopefully take the sting out of visiting the shit hole. 

All about the League Cup and Europa League now. Got to attempt the Mourinho treble.

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Is there really such a lack of top quality defenders out there that Jones and Smalling still regularly start and get games for United? They were both abysmal today, Smalling in particular. Made a stupid 'tackle' that should have been a penalty and dived (fucking DIVED in his own half) to give away the free kick that led to the goal.

Newcastle completely outplayed us and deserved the win. They possessed all the qualities in this game that we've not really showed all season. Grit, desire, hunger, aggressiveness. Somebody pass these on a post-it note to Pogba, please. 

I've thought it for a very, very long time and I'll say it again: there is a fundamental coaching problem at our club. There was no composure on the ball today, no particular style or willingness to do something creative with the ball, players coming in-field too often and getting into each other's way. No control from midfield. Matic is having to do the work of 2 or 3 players in midfield because Pogba can't cover the ground or make tackles. We are stupid to play him in a two-man midfield because he can't do it. We need to go 4-3-3 and put a player like Herrera in there.

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19 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Is there really such a lack of top quality defenders out there that Jones and Smalling still regularly start and get games for United? They were both abysmal today, Smalling in particular. Made a stupid 'tackle' that should have been a penalty and dived (fucking DIVED in his own half) to give away the free kick that led to the goal.

Newcastle completely outplayed us and deserved the win. They possessed all the qualities in this game that we've not really showed all season. Grit, desire, hunger, aggressiveness. Somebody pass these on a post-it note to Pogba, please. 

I've thought it for a very, very long time and I'll say it again: there is a fundamental coaching problem at our club. There was no composure on the ball today, no particular style or willingness to do something creative with the ball, players coming in-field too often and getting into each other's way. No control from midfield. Matic is having to do the work of 2 or 3 players in midfield because Pogba can't cover the ground or make tackles. We are stupid to play him in a two-man midfield because he can't do it. We need to go 4-3-3 and put a player like Herrera in there.

I was delighted to see Mourinho sign a new contract, to be honest.. :grin:

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4 hours ago, nekunando said:

I was delighted to see Mourinho sign a new contract, to be honest.. :grin:

How odd. Me too! It's good to have a proven winner managing your team, especially the type of guy who has actually won trophies in this country and has already brought success back to Old Trafford post-Ferguson, although Van Gaal certainly got things rolling. The man has won the Champions League with two different clubs (Porto and Inter Milan, no less) and has won the league in four different countries. What's also fantastic is that he has the balls to relegate players to the bench if they are not performing well, as he has done with Pogba recently. He was also quick to ship out Mkhitaryan for not delivering, and rightfully so.

Not really sure why you'd particularly want someone of that calibre as the manager of one of your rivals, but Liverpool fans are a funny bunch. 

 

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To be honest if Mourinho ever became Liverpool manager it would be enough for me to stop watching until he was gone. I think he is a complete piece of shit and would never do anything to support him.

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Man City wrecked Basel last night. Holy cow. And the Spurs' comeback in the second half was incredible, too. The return match will be interesting.

Looking forward to tonight's matches. Real vs PSG is obviously the game. Really hope it will be cracking.

 

Next week is our turn. At home against Besiktas. We shouldn't underestimate them.

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Absolutely insane result for us last night. Once we settled into the game we tore Porto apart. They were on a 21 unbeaten streak and we put a stop to that, much like we done with Man City. I tell you what, Klopp may not win any trophies but man are we entertaining to watch. :D 

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Well, there goes Man City's hopes of winning the quadruple...

Brilliant result from Wigan, they've done it again.

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6 hours ago, GenericAperson said:

Well, there goes Man City's hopes of winning the quadruple...

Brilliant result from Wigan, they've done it again.

It was a gutsy performance by them and they done well to hang on for the win. I went nuts when the goal went in. It's always great to see the underdogs give the big boys a run for their money.

I see Aguero is in trouble after lashing out at a Wigan fan during the pitch invasion. Also, City fans were throwing things into the crowd of Wigan fans that were celebrating on the pitch. I think both clubs will be in bother over it.

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I'm a fan of neither team, but imagine if Mourinho had behaved like Guardiola last night; he'd probably have been banned for the rest of the season! Or even Conte or Wenger.

As it is, not only has it been treated fairly tamely, his hypocrisy at getting upset over Delph's sending off despite being very vocal about bad challenges needing to get punished is ridiculous too.

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Delph's sending off was as clear as it gets. I understand being emotional in football games but come on, Pep. You're better than that.

Edited by drahkon

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Quite a poor first half from United and were second best everywhere until Chelsea scored. After that, we grew into the game and were much better in the second half. 2-1 is about right. Aside from Willian, I don't think Chelsea offered a lot. Matic bossed it in midfield, but Lukaku was just fantastic today. Did everything we needed, held the ball up really well, stretched their defence in the second half, and finished the game with a goal and a winning-assist. Really good from him. 

Willian is such a good player. Moved really well with the ball and just opened up so much space for his team. The sort of thing Martial should be doing for us.

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I usually only watch Match of the Day and the rare game that appears on freeview TV. I fancied watching the league cup final so tried out a NowTV week sports pass. Got to see Man Utd vs Chelsea and the final today, Arsenal vs City on Thursday evening and a few matches next Saturday.

From a neutral perspective the final was quite good. Nice to see the veteran City players scoring, especially Kompany. Arsenal were really poor, how long until the pressure from the fans and media just gets too much for Arsene?

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1 minute ago, Mandalore said:

I usually only watch Match of the Day and the rare game that appears on freeview TV. I fancied watching the league cup final so tried out a NowTV week sports pass. Got to see Man Utd vs Chelsea and the final today, Arsenal vs City on Thursday evening and a few matches next Saturday.

From a neutral perspective the final was quite good. Nice to see the veteran City players scoring, especially Kompany. Arsenal were really poor, how long until the pressure from the fans and media just gets too much for Arsene?

In fairness to Wenger, he's got them to a cup final and City have pretty much turned over every other team this season, with few exceptions. There have been moments over the last decade where Wenger should have walked, but hasn't. He'll go out on his own terms and I doubt very much now that the club will sack him. How long does his contract go for? Until next summer? Bet he just signs another extension.

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2-1 was in no way about right. We deserved a draw at minimum... especially seeing how our disallowed goal was actually onside... but we had ample opportunities to put the game to bed in that first half.

Conte starting Drinkwater though, urgh, and then only bringing on Fabregas with 10 mins to go... deary me.

He’s even more negative than Mourinho ever was for us!

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1 hour ago, Kav said:

2-1 was in no way about right. We deserved a draw at minimum... especially seeing how our disallowed goal was actually onside... but we had ample opportunities to put the game to bed in that first half.

Conte starting Drinkwater though, urgh, and then only bringing on Fabregas with 10 mins to go... deary me.

He’s even more negative than Mourinho ever was for us!

Chelsea can't buy a decision or a bit of luck this season. Moratta desperately needs a goal but nothing is going his way.

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