• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2023-24 Premier League Thread

Ed H in Pasadena said:
Jota deserved his red. The first wasn't close to a yellow but the challenge on Udogie right afterwards? Dumb.
Click to expand...

id only argue it was a yellow because his foul moments prior on (I think Bissouma) was pretty egregious itself, bordering on a yellow….but he got off with it just being a free kick.

So isolated, prob not a yellow…..but coming off that other foul, and a warning (I’d assume)…that second one is gonna get called.

In isolation tho, when you’ve already gotten a red, been screwed out of a goal, and we know Jota will also be sent off…..I absolutely get people taking issue with the first yellow too. Again, in isolation, without factoring in the previous foul.
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
Back to the football for a moment ;), Chelsea looked much better tonight in the first half. Mudryk with his first since his huge signing last year, and Borja getting Tim Ream to kick the ball onto his shin for the second. The Chelsea players, apart from Mudryk, who impressed me tonight were Ollie Palmer and Levi Colwill. Palmer just seemed to know how to pick out the right pass, which included several dangerous chances that a more clinical side would've potted at least one more. And Colwill laid in a beauty for Mudryk's maiden goal.
Second half, Fulham improved but they haven't made much of their forays into the final third. In the 84th minute it looks it will end 2-0 Chelsea
Click to expand...

Yeah I’ve been bullish on Chelsea turning it around…..in part because it’s Poch obviously, but also I thought their underlying numbers looked great and it was just a matter of time.
 



great news. This was a step I was worried they wouldn’t make, which would have left it up for debate as to who knew what when, and who is to blame for not getting play stopped to rectify it.
 
Montana said:
Yeah I’ve been bullish on Chelsea turning it around…..in part because it’s Poch obviously, but also I thought their underlying numbers looked great and it was just a matter of time.
Click to expand...
Sure. They were generating all sorts of pressure and chances and couldn't finish. That generally turns itself around over time. I still think they have some structural issues that will hold them back, but there's no way they were going to just float to the bottom of the tank.
 
jeffbear said:
Sure. They were generating all sorts of pressure and chances and couldn't finish. That generally turns itself around over time. I still think they have some structural issues that will hold them back, but there's no way they were going to just float to the bottom of the tank.
Click to expand...

yeah they’re absolutely not on City, Arsenal or Liverpool’s level…..but I think they’ll ultimately be in that Spurs, Brighton, Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, United mix…

I think a couple of those teams have the potential to jump up and be their own tier between the other two…..like a clear separation between 4th and 5th as the season goes on.
 
Montana said:
yeah they’re absolutely not on City, Arsenal or Liverpool’s level…..but I think they’ll ultimately be in that Spurs, Brighton, Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, United mix…

I think a couple of those teams have the potential to jump up and be their own tier between the other two…..like a clear separation between 4th and 5th as the season goes on.
Click to expand...
Personally, I think that B tier is gonna be a mosh pit all season long. There's not a ton to separate that group on any given weekend, and with the golden ticket of 4th place sitting there for the taking, it could get really, really fun come springtime.
 
jeffbear said:
Personally, I think that B tier is gonna be a mosh pit all season long. There's not a ton to separate that group on any given weekend, and with the golden ticket of 4th place sitting there for the taking, it could get really, really fun come springtime.
Click to expand...

totally agree….also #5 is most likely CL this year too, which is nice. Cause two of that group deserve to be there, imo.

Love to see one of Villa, West Ham or Brighton make it….be a nice change. Hell, I’d love to see two of em make it if it was at the expense of Arsenal! 😂
 
Montana said:
totally agree….also #5 is most likely CL this year too, which is nice. Cause two of that group deserve to be there, imo.

Love to see one of Villa, West Ham or Brighton make it….be a nice change. Hell, I’d love to see two of em make it if it was at the expense of Arsenal! 😂
Click to expand...
I’m always leery of teams playing in Europe for the first time and having enough squad depth to cover the midweek matches. It happened to Southampton a few years ago, to a certain extent it happened to West Ham last year, finishing 14th in the table. If they go out early, they might be OK, but if they have to slog through the knockouts, it might depend on what the manager prioritizes.
 


I empathize here because (a) you can hear just how hard these lads work in seconds to get this right, (b) people DID point out the error and call for them to delay, but (c) by the letter of the law, the protocols say you can’t stop it once it’s kicked off but the primary VAR official, (who understandably is shitting his pants in that moment, realizing the fuck up) thinks of the letter of the law & sticks to it.

With the benefit of hindsight I’d hope he’d realize he needs to bite that bullet, call for a whistle & delay, and rectify the issue….as that trumps any protocols that might be in place. Take your lumps for breaking protocol, to get it right……not for getting it wrong and sticking to protocol.

Easier said than done tho, in the moment.
 
andyt said:
I’m always leery of teams playing in Europe for the first time and having enough squad depth to cover the midweek matches. It happened to Southampton a few years ago, to a certain extent it happened to West Ham last year, finishing 14th in the table. If they go out early, they might be OK, but if they have to slog through the knockouts, it might depend on what the manager prioritizes.
Click to expand...

yeah the boys in the Leafs board thread laughed at me for being kinda happy we weren’t in Europe this year, so Ange could have that full week of training to implement his system & not have any extra strain on the lads, fitness wise. Obviously it sucks not making it, and not getting that CL cash…..but if you know you’re not up for contending and have a new gaffer with a completely new system. That’s a year I don’t mind not being involved.

I think it’s likely played some small role in our early success too.

I’ll also go to my grave believing the reason Conte won the league with Chelsea, is in no small part because they weren’t in Europe, and he often had a full week of drilling his system, and fresh legs every weekend.
 
Montana said:


I empathize here because (a) you can hear just how hard these lads work in seconds to get this right, (b) people DID point out the error and call for them to delay, but (c) by the letter of the law, the protocols say you can’t stop it once it’s kicked off but the primary VAR official, (who understandably is shitting his pants in that moment, realizing the fuck up) thinks of the letter of the law & sticks to it.

With the benefit of hindsight I’d hope he’d realize he needs to bite that bullet, call for a whistle & delay, and rectify the issue….as that trumps any protocols that might be in place. Take your lumps for breaking protocol, to get it right……not for getting it wrong and sticking to protocol.

Easier said than done tho, in the moment.
Click to expand...


also, top marks to Michael Oliver for seemingly telling them to break protocol and call for them to delay the game, kicked off or not.
 
England and Cook thrown under the bus. Not sure that's "against protocol" (seem to recall a match involving Man U were the players had to return to the pitch after the match was deemed "over") as much as what they thought.
In any case it doesn't account for the decision to allow those two to go to UAE and return just 48 hours before the match, AND doesn't hold Hooper accountable at all for his general crap officiating. Every team in the EPL deserves better than him.

In any case, we go again. Brighton Saturday. After that thrashing they took, don't relish playing them, especially without Curtis (my friend sent an article describing how he's arguably been our most important player in terms of retaining AND regaining possession). Three game suspension upheld, to no one's surprise.
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
Not sure that's "against protocol" (seem to recall a match involving Man U were the players had to return to the pitch after the match was deemed "over") as much as what they thought.
Click to expand...

I’m just going off what I’ve read, and everyone seems to say that the protocol is once it kicks off, nothing they can do.

….but they needed to go over and above that, and accept the ramifications. Too blatant & egregious an error to let stand.

What happened next came so fast, there was no time to react within protocol. Just two seconds after the VAR has said "check complete," Spurs took the free kick, which creates a cut-off point. Nothing can be reviewed after a restart. (This doesn't apply to penalties awarded for offences before the half-time or final whistle, as play was still active at the time of the offence.)
Click to expand...

Sounds like they’re changing how things are done to ensure multiple fail safes are in place to prevent a repeat of this error tho.

Ed H in Pasadena said:
In any case it doesn't account for the decision to allow those two to go to UAE and return just 48 hours before the match,
Click to expand...

Yeah I’m curious if we see more from this, especially since they’ve been circling around poaching the top officials from England already.
 
Burnley beat Luton at Kenilworth yesterday on a late goal 1:02 after Luton had leveled. If you've not seen the goal by Jacob Bruun Larson to win it, go look for it. Great goal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top