Football 2015/16

[TheSilence]

You say that as if 4th, 5th and 6th wouldn't be incredibly mediocre as well

For Everton, I'd say 4th and 5th are what we should be aiming for at the moment, any other spot is just too unrealistic. It'd be mediocre for teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, City, Utd but for every other team it's not too bad. 

[thetime]

The club was built on continuity. Fergie always said he took Busbys lead and ran with it. That creates a culture in the club. A culture thats been there since the mid 50s. Attack!

LVG should do similar. Its stable sure, but pretty boring and can easily be change with a little more commitment up front. Who wants to see 2 shots per game and nil alls every week? Fuck that.

Guarantee you he'll change tactics when the attendances start to drop!

You do realise continuity went out the window when they sacked moyes and employed a manager retiring within 3 years?

How's he supposed his style of football that has generally worked for 25 years? It's not going to happen.

Unsure if you're old enough but fergie dished out a lot of negative defensive football in the late 80s. For example in the 1988/89 and 89/90 season scored around 45 goals in a 38 game season.

United have made progress from last season results wise, not enough patience fo some people.

 

Edited November 2, 2015 by thetime

[thetime]

What a pass from luakaku for kone's third goal.

That could be some partnership if kone stops fit and luakaku is switched on most games.

Edited November 2, 2015 by thetime

[eFestivals]

The club was built on continuity. Fergie always said he took Busbys lead and ran with it. That creates a culture in the club. A culture thats been there since the mid 50s. Attack!

hmmmm .... sitting back soaking up pressure was fergie's main tactic, rather than attack.

It's no coincidence that plenty found Utd not an interesting team to watch despite their success under fergie.

[eFestivals]

What a pass from luakaku for kone's third goal.

That could be some partnership if kone stops fit and luakaku is switched on most games.

yep, there was some lovely play in that game from what I saw of the highlights.

I can't say I'd ever thought Kone worth much (tho he's defo a trier) until yesterday, and I can't say I'd thought of Lukaku as much of a team player either. Both of those got turned on their heads.

[pink_triangle]

I think you will find Leicester City have.

I think Leicester have been a little lucky this season, the small things seem to be going their way, you have to give them credit for building some momentum up.  However there run is based on the goals of 2 players which I cant see continuing indefinitely, I suspect they will drop like a stone, but Im sure at the start of the season mid table would have been fine with them.

[pink_triangle]

Me neither. No fucking goals! Was watching the Class of 92 recently and the 99 CL final. "Can Utd score?... they always score".

 

Interestingly I have been doing a little bit of reading about the class of 92s takeover of Salford FC and local opinion is not as 100% positive as the mainstream media may suggest.

[The Nal]

You do realise continuity went out the window when they sacked moyes and employed a manager retiring within 3 years?

How's he supposed his style of football that has generally worked for 25 years? It's not going to happen.

Unsure if you're old enough but fergie dished out a lot of negative defensive football in the late 80s. For example in the 1988/89 and 89/90 season scored around 45 goals in a 38 game season.

United have made progress from last season results wise, not enough patience fo some people.

 

And people were calling for Fergies head then. Regarding progress, with the amount of money LVG has spent I would expect more.

I'm only referring to a small tweak to how he plays football. Just commit a few more men forward. Get players into the box.

Attendances will inevitably drop if this cautious approach continues and Utd are playing for 4th every year. Utd are too big now for that to continue. The Adidas Batphone will be ringing.

"Louis. You know that 750m quid we gave you? Ask your players to flood the fucking box will you?"

hmmmm .... sitting back soaking up pressure was fergie's main tactic, rather than attack.

It's no coincidence that plenty found Utd not an interesting team to watch despite their success under fergie.

Sitting back an then attacking yeah. Counter attack football. Expansive, quick, aggressive and entertaining.

Agree about Everton, some lovely football played yesterday. Against a shocking Sunderland team, it mus be said.

Edited November 2, 2015 by The Nal

[thetime]

I think Leicester have been a little lucky this season, the small things seem to be going their way, you have to give them credit for building some momentum up.  However there run is based on the goals of 2 players which I cant see continuing indefinitely, I suspect they will drop like a stone, but Im sure at the start of the season mid table would have been fine with them.

they still have to play 5 of last season's top 7, will be interesting where they will be after those games.

[The Nal]

Interestingly I have been doing a little bit of reading about the class of 92s takeover of Salford FC and local opinion is not as 100% positive as the mainstream media may suggest.

Did you see the documentary last week? Kind of got that feeling myself from watching it.

[thetime]

Agree about Everton, some lovely football played yesterday. Against a shocking Sunderland team, it mus be said.

even Rooney scored against them. 

[eFestivals]

Sitting back an then attacking yeah. Counter attack football. Expansive, quick, aggressive and entertaining.

thing is, it never rated highly on the entertainment part. Why do you think neutrals prefer to watch Arsenal?

And, from where i'm sat, today's bore is actually far more entertaining.

[eFestivals]

I think Leicester have been a little lucky this season, the small things seem to be going their way, you have to give them credit for building some momentum up.  However there run is based on the goals of 2 players which I cant see continuing indefinitely, I suspect they will drop like a stone, but Im sure at the start of the season mid table would have been fine with them.

I tipped them for relegation, so I'm not going to endorse that even tho I suspect you might be right.

But I see them (and West Ham) as last season's West Ham/Soton, where a good start won't be maintained.

they still have to play 5 of last season's top 7, will be interesting where they will be after those games.

and pretty much in reverse, have you seen Liverpool's fixtures till the end of the year after they've played City?

The interesting tie in that lot is the Liverpool/Leicester game, which I suspect will give a showing on where each are going beyond the new year.

 

 

[The Nal]

thing is, it never rated highly on the entertainment part. Why do you think neutrals prefer to watch Arsenal?

And, from where i'm sat, today's bore is actually far more entertaining.

ha I bet! I know you never rated the footie but they scored in most games for over 20 years, a lot of late goals and comebacks etc aswell.

Football is just entertainment at the end of the day and no one wants to see another Chelsea.

[The Nal]

 

Meanwhile, in this run of "7 touch matches" for Liverpool that some went on about, results so far are unbeaten and eight points collected from 4 games - which is top 4 form. They've got Man City away in two games time, but after that they've got a run of games against mostly bottom-half teams till the end of the year that stands them a pretty decent chance of starting the new year in the top 4 (which, with all things being equal, in-theory means top-4 at the end of the season).

That was mainly me talking about LFCs tough run and would've been true if the standard of the league wasn't so bad! A fairly easy win at Stamford Bridge for example. Just like the Saints. Who would've predicted that in August? Crazy league.

Seems like the team who puts a half decent couple of months together could win it.

[eFestivals]

ha I bet! I know you never rated the footie but they scored in most games for over 20 years, a lot of late goals and comebacks etc aswell.

Football is just entertainment at the end of the day and no one wants to see another Chelsea.

If you take the Jose bollocks away from Chelsea, you end up with not too much different on the pitch apart from with the 'big' games where Chelsea tend to park the bus.

And yep, Utd win games, but so did Stoke under Pulis and Bolton under Sam. The win doesn't mean much towards entertainment by itself.

[kaosmark2]

For Everton, I'd say 4th and 5th are what we should be aiming for at the moment, any other spot is just too unrealistic. It'd be mediocre for teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, City, Utd but for every other team it's not too bad. 

i meant the teams there are mediocre. I'll never Diss a club aiming for top half or higher. I'm just criticising the standard on the league lately 

[pink_triangle]

Did you see the documentary last week? Kind of got that feeling myself from watching it.

No I missed it.  In theory I have nothing against clubs being pushed up above their natural level as Fleetwood, Crawley and Forest Green have in recent years.  However there is the danger when you push a club to the level that the fanbase cant sustain, that the club can be extinct if/when the owners lose interest.

I also think it should be acknowledged that some fans dont necessarily want their clubs to indefintely progress.  If that was the main priority of their fanbase, they would probably support another team.  Some fans are happy to stay a small regional club and I have no problems with that.

I think there are also concerns knowing that some of the class of 92 are in the property business and they are taking over a club whos only asset is the property.  Changing the clubs colours and reports that the class of 92 were considering playing themselves in the FA cup are reasons for fans to worry.

[The Nal]

i meant the teams there are mediocre. I'll never Diss a club aiming for top half or higher. I'm just criticising the standard on the league lately 

Which says a lot about Newcastle. 1 win. You must be worried, like really worried, about this season?

No I missed it.  In theory I have nothing against clubs being pushed up above their natural level as Fleetwood, Crawley and Forest Green have in recent years.  However there is the danger when you push a club to the level that the fanbase cant sustain, that the club can be extinct if/when the owners lose interest.

I also think it should be acknowledged that some fans dont necessarily want their clubs to indefintely progress.  If that was the main priority of their fanbase, they would probably support another team.  Some fans are happy to stay a small regional club and I have no problems with that.

I think there are also concerns knowing that some of the class of 92 are in the property business and they are taking over a club whos only asset is the property.  Changing the clubs colours and reports that the class of 92 were considering playing themselves in the FA cup are reasons for fans to worry.

Here it is. Worth a watch. Part 2 on Thursday.

Most of above is spot on and documented in the show. And yeah, Red Nev wanted him and Scholes to play in the FA Cup. Which is shit for the two players who would've been dropped!

[kaosmark2]

Which says a lot about Newcastle. 1 win. You must be worried, like really worried, about this season?

Hugely. Atrocious defence, no krul all season, no protection from midfield. Problems up front. Attacking mids look good going forward but that's it. Desperately need a new defender on January and a decent goalie on loan. 

[mrtourette]

That could be some partnership if kone stops fit and luakaku is switched on most games.

I can't say I'd ever thought Kone worth much (tho he's defo a trier) until yesterday, and I can't say I'd thought of Lukaku as much of a team player either. Both of those got turned on their heads.

Lukaku has somehow got a very unfair reputation as a sulker, or someone who is selfish or drifts out of games if he isn't involved.

He leads the line brilliantly and either brings others into the game or holds the ball up to relieve pressure very well. Any lone striker during the Moyes or Martinez era has had a bit of a thankless task but to combine what he does with scoring regularly shows real talent.

While he misses more than he hits having Kone fit and being able to play with two up front finally gives us some tactical flexibility.

[TheGayTent]

Everton have also got some tough fixtures out of the way already. Can't see them finishing outside the top 6, and possibly even as high as 4th.

[mrtourette]

That's a tad optimistic. Jagielka's out for a couple of months, we got away with it yesterday against a poor Sunderland team but I'd expect us to get a battering through December and January and then recover to finish 8th.

[TheGayTent]

That's a tad optimistic. Jagielka's out for a couple of months, we got away with it yesterday against a poor Sunderland team but I'd expect us to get a battering through December and January and then recover to finish 8th.

It is optimistic. However, looking at the other clubs between 4th and 10th there's no reason why any of them are better than Everton from what I have seen.

[eFestivals]

It is optimistic. However, looking at the other clubs between 4th and 10th there's no reason why any of them are better than Everton from what I have seen.

Everton are good on a good day, and not so good on other days. A bit like WHU, in fact.

Their inconsistency will be their downfall, and stop them finishing as high as you suggest.