EPL Thread 2008/09

[OwlsFan]

Surprise win for Sunderland at Spurs who are now 0 from 6. Liverpool score 2 in the last 5 minutes but no goal still for Robbie. Hull and Stoke doing well but the other new boys WBA have yet to record a pt. Goal for Lawrence as well and Shay saves a peno. Oh for one of those in Korea.

[sligoman]

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Fulham...a day of surprise result's really.

[shakermaker1982]

Sunderland look solid this season. Keane has made some good signings, players seem a lot more keen heading to the north east than they were last season - Chimbonda, Cisse and Malbranque should help Sunderland get a mid table spot.

Spurs? Do they ever learn? I think they buy midfield players for the fun of it. A midfield comprising of Modric, Bentley, Dos Santos, Jenas and Lennon spells trouble. Who exactly is going to track back with the opposition and break up play? You lose your best player who is a centre forward (Keane) and because you cannot play your other world class striker because he isn't right mentally they decide to overload their midfield with fancy dan attacking midfielders leaving Bent home alone up front.

Fulham were excellent against Arsenal. Aggressive in midfield and quick to break. Boys against men.

[Mr Maroon]

Senderos has gone on loan to AC Milan.

[Billsthoughts]

Its early days yet. I think spurs will come good.
Cant decide whether Keane is trying to build a decent football club in record time or just making it all up as he goes along. Shame Arsenal have started slowly as I would like to see them do well this year. Liverpools play sh*te and still get 3 points form bodes well for them.

[OwlsFan]

Spurs? Do they ever learn? .

Amazing stat elsewhere that they've only won the league twice! Must be the biggest under achievers of English football, especially when compared to their north London rivals.

[superfrank]

Liverpools play sh*te and still get 3 points form bodes well for them.
Exactly. Last season they would've lost or drawn that match, at best.

It's a good sign for them. I still don't think they'll break into the top two.

[centre mid]

Liverpool have been shockingly bad at the back so far this year, its but for the grace of god that they got out of belguim with 0-0. Sunderland posed them a few problems and the amount of time the left back gave the ball away against Boro was laughable. Steve Finnan needs to get out of there asap. If Benetiz wont start him in that team he may aswell train with the keepers or something.

[boovidge]

Senderos has gone on loan to AC Milan.

:eek: Are they getting him in to show the other defenders how not to play?

[OwlsFan]

Bad defeat for Everton by Portsmouth. A season of struggle of the Toffeemen or too early to say ? Squad hasn't been strengthened.

[shakermaker1982]

Bad defeat for Everton by Portsmouth. A season of struggle of the Toffeemen or too early to say ? Squad hasn't been strengthened.

They are bringing in Saha :D he's guaranteed to play 5 games a season.

[OwlsFan]

2 managers gone already and the season has only just started. Who next? Moyes?

[cheifo]

With Citehs new owner promising to spend serious money, the next Transfer window looks like being mad crazy stuff.

"Ronaldo sayes he wants to join the biggest club in the World, we will see in the next transfer window if he is serious"

:D
The fella has a cheeky grin when interviewed on telly.He seems to think the whole thing is a great crack.However Robinhio has a rep for being emotionally fragile..he wouldn,t wanna take an evening stroll down Moss side.

Is this the year when the EPL becomes an absolute ridiculous parody of itself?.

[OwlsFan]

Saw the Liverpool vs Man U game. Berbatov did one thing in the whole game - otherwise was almost totally ineffective like his previous teammate at Spurs, our Robbie. Seems to be a waste playing the likes of Rooney out on the wing and Van der Saar's days as keeper must be coming to a close.

Great win for Hull at Newcastle while Chelsea's win at Man City was also most impressive.

[newbie]

Saw the Liverpool vs Man U game. Berbatov did one thing in the whole game - otherwise was almost totally ineffective like his previous teammate at Spurs, our Robbie. Seems to be a waste playing the likes of Rooney out on the wing and Van der Saar's days as keeper must be coming to a close.

Great win for Hull at Newcastle while Chelsea's win at Man City was also most impressive.

Yes Robbie was quiet on the ball but did you notice his running off it? harrassing United players etc etc and he never gave up. Berb went into hiding when Carra gave him 2 crunchers,he even went off holding his knee when it got tough.

Ferguson said that it was our passion and harrassing that forced United into uncharacteristic mistakes.....Robbie was brilliant at this. The goals will come,im not bothered about that.

oh and he also reminded Webb that Vidic was booked twice,watch it on the tele - Webb walks away after the 2nd yellow and you just lip read Keane saying "ref thats his second" then smiles and walk away :) :)

[seanfhear]

Yes Robbie was quiet on the ball but did you notice his running off it? harrassing United players etc etc and he never gave up. Berb went into hiding when Carra gave him 2 crunchers,he even went off holding his knee when it got tough.

Ferguson said that it was our passion and harrassing that forced United into uncharacteristic mistakes.....Robbie was brilliant at this. The goals will come,im not bothered about that.

oh and he also reminded Webb that Vidic was booked twice,watch it on the tele - Webb walks away after the 2nd yellow and you just lip read Keane saying "ref thats his second" then smiles and walk away :) :)
Robbie probably told Carragher that Berba did not like some rough stuff

[shakermaker1982]

Man Utd were very poor yesterday. After a brilliant start they just weren't at the races. Liverpool took their chances but to celebrate at the end as if they won the league made me laugh. Long way to go yet........people will probably write off Man Utd again like last season (Man City beat them early on and Reading held on for a point) but I'm sure Fergie will get them straightened out soon enough. It will be interesting to see how they accomodate Rooney, Berbatov, Ronaldo & Tevez. I'd go for Tevez over Rooney every time if I was forced in picking 3 front men. To play all 4 might be effective against the likes of Bolton but dangerous in the crunch games.

Van Der Sar? Looking dodgy. I shuddered every time Liverpool put in a decent corner. Shay Given would be a nice replacement.

[old git]

Yes Robbie was quiet on the ball but did you notice his running off it? harrassing United players etc etc and he never gave up. Berb went into hiding when Carra gave him 2 crunchers,he even went off holding his knee when it got tough.

Ferguson said that it was our passion and harrassing that forced United into uncharacteristic mistakes.....Robbie was brilliant at this. The goals will come,im not bothered about that.

oh and he also reminded Webb that Vidic was booked twice,watch it on the tele - Webb walks away after the 2nd yellow and you just lip read Keane saying "ref thats his second" then smiles and walk away :) :)

would he have been man enough to say it in front of vidic , easy to smile and smirk behind somebodys back ,, his running of the ball yes he did a lot of work but his first touch was also very poor and he missed another good chance during game not to sure about the goals coming ... berbatov was very poor but still set up utds goal will agree once carragher got into him he did not want to know
liverpool earned win with great second half performance of of passion and harrassing and some terrible defending by united still think they though they need a bit more than passion & harrassing to be up challanging at end of season :ball:

[Roadend]

they need a bit more than passion & harrassing to be up challanging at end of season :ball:

Any moron who thinks this is the reason they beat utd on Saturday hasn't got a clue or is as bitter as Ferguson.

[old git]

Any moron who thinks this is the reason they beat utd on Saturday hasn't got a clue or is as bitter as Ferguson.

i'm delighted they beat utd on saturday .. lets be honest though it was not by playing great football .. they stopped utd playing and caused them to make 2 bad mistakes and punished them .. sorry if i cannot see through your liverpool tinted specs.. it was a good workman like performance from liverpool nothing to really suggest they will be serious title contenders at end of season .. :D

[newbie]

hahaha would ya give it over. when United KICK arsenal off the park each season its a great performace of every kind. When Liverpool PLAY united off the park its just workmanlike?? haha awh nooooooooooow i remember how the United excuse brigade kicks in.

give us a few more for the craic...maybe you couldnt see eachother?? maybe it was coz Ron wasnt playin? too warm or something even? cmon....please?

[old git]

hahaha would ya give it over. when United KICK arsenal off the park each season its a great performace of every kind. When Liverpool PLAY united off the park its just workmanlike?? haha awh nooooooooooow i remember how the United excuse brigade kicks in.

give us a few more for the craic...maybe you couldnt see eachother?? maybe it was coz Ron wasnt playin? too warm or something even? cmon....please?

i am just passing comment as a neuteral fan . if you call saturday playing united of the park i dont hold out much hope for rest of season playing football like that :ball: you can still kick teams of the pitch , hassle them all over the pitch the top 2 unfortunatly utd & chelsea can also play excellent football at the same time :ball: something which liverpool seem to be struggling to do at the moment

[shakermaker1982]

Liverpool played Man Utd off the park? :) I do remember Man Utd playing Arsenal off the park last January in the FA Cup and it was Arsenal who were resorting to the rough stuff i.e. kicking Nani.

[Roadend]

Kicking Nani is a given in any match whenther you are playing rough and tumble or not.

Speaking of rough and tumble I see Guthrie broke Fagan's leg.

[superfrank]

That's a strage one. Fagan got up straight away and I'm pretty sure he finished the match.

Guthrie's tackle was horrible though.

[drinkfeckarse]

That's a strage one. Fagan got up straight away and I'm pretty sure he finished the match.

Guthrie's tackle was horrible though.


Not really, it's very common due to adrenaline etc not to actually feel an injury during a game. It's only when you've warmed down and showered that you really start to fell any injuries you've got during the game.

Guthrie should get 6 games for that at least IMO.

[OwlsFan]

Arsenal's third goal against Bolton was a beauty. Liverpool cannot afford to drop points at home to the likes of Stoke if they seriously want to challenge for the Title. Didn't see the game. Wonder how Lawrence played.

[drinkfeckarse]

Isn't it refreshing to hear a manager refuse to criticise the referee or officials? That's 2 or 3 times now I've heard Scolari refuse to get sucked into it. He basically just says that referee's don't have an easy job and that there is little point in moaning about it. Wonder how long that will last? :D

[old git]

Isn't it refreshing to hear a manager refuse to criticise the referee or officials? That's 2 or 3 times now I've heard Scolari refuse to get sucked into it. He basically just says that referee's don't have an easy job and that there is little point in moaning about it. Wonder how long that will last? :D

did not complain as referee booked 7 utd players to chelsea's one :D
and only 1 big decision on penalty incident which was never a penalty.
he did have a little dig at end of interview saying he could not understand why referee had blown full time whistle when everybody thought it was a free in for chelsea ... give him another couple of weeks
and he will be like the rest of them :D

[OwlsFan]

Saw the Everton vs Liverpool game. Boy do the former look like relegation material at the moment? Brutal. Barely one decent move in the whole game.

Fantastic win for Hull at Arsenal. So much for resting players from Carling Cup games :D

Man U still not firing on all cylinders and but for a dubious peno, might have struggled to beat an ordinary Bolton side.

SPurs without a point still and Wigan beat Man City. Interesting season so far.The only ones performing exactly as anticipated are Chelsea.

[NeilMcD]

Spurs do have a point, they dont have a win yet. Still rubbish though.

[tetsujin1979]

Derby had more points than Spurs do at this stage of the season last year!
How much are Everton missing Carsley?

[OwlsFan]

Spurs do have a point, they dont have a win yet. Still rubbish though.


Sorry, meant without a win. Tipped to be one of the front runners which was strange since they had sold both their strikers.

Re the Man U peno, when are football authorites going to bring in TV replays for penalties and such like? It should be like the tennis where you're allowed challenge a set number of decisions. Can't have it for every decision, otherwise the game would go on all night. Might also cut out some of the diving.

[seanfhear]

Derby had more points than Spurs do at this stage of the season last year!
How much are Everton missing Carsley?
The results that everton used to get with Carsley in the team were fantastic in comparison to what they get without him(this happened in the past when he was injured and missed games)
Typical Everton penny pinching.They need a sugar daddy but Idoubt if there is enough to go around.

Carsley added more to the team than meets the eye on first examination.

[hunt4the]

everton are like a sh*t that just won't flush down to the championship,
their style of football is taken directly from the middle period of the mesozoic era. One up front at home!!! moyes should be hung :D

[shakermaker1982]

If Everton were shi*e how would you describe Spurs? They actually gave up when they went 2 behind. No leaders on the pitch. Hilarious stuff - hope they go down.

[cartman]

everton have been very poor so far, but this myth about carsley is laughable!!
the reason they are struggling so badly is that their back four have been awful... and before ye all say that carsley used to protect that defense, please dont make me laugh.. anyone could do what carsley did - which is not cross the half way line and kick anyone that moves!!
everton will come good once they sort defensive problems out - and will improve as a side in the long run without that bullock carsley..

also, please god let spurs and newcastle be relegated!! horrible groups of players.. and derby even had more backbone than these guys

[Roadend]

Might also cut out some of the diving.
If 1 match bans were subesequently handed out after matches to blatant divers it wouldn't be long dissappearing or holding a game up to refer to a video ref.

[drinkfeckarse]

They need a sugar daddy but Idoubt if there is enough to go around.


They might just get it. Saw rumours the other day of some Indian billionaire apparently ready to buy the club...

[OwlsFan]

I wonder at the start of the season what odds you would get for Hull to be in the Top 3 and Spurs propping us the rest? WBA are also doing well at the moment and it is only Stoke of the 3 promoted teams which is struggling which would seem to indicate that there isn't much strength in depth in the EPL. I suspect West Ham will live to regret their appointment of Zola, although he wasn't helped by some disasterous goal keeping while Liverpool continue to win without really impressing.

[OwlsFan]

Really surprised by the form of the 3 promoted clubs. Not sure though that the Stoke win over Arsenal finishes the latter's title hopes (according to Jeff Stelling). I like the latter's programme but some of the hype is ott and the overuse of the word "unbeleviable", especially by Chris Kamara, gets under my skin.

Pity Hull didn't fight back to 4-4. Was away for the Spurs vs Arsenal game and didn't see the goals. Must have been "unbelievable".

[shakermaker1982]

Delighted to see Liverpool get a taste of their own medicine :) they'll struggle to maintain a decent title challenge because they fail to convert their chances. Taking Robbie Keane off when 1 nil up and bringing on Babel? Man Utd and Chelsea would look for that 2nd goal by making a positive substitution IMO.

Owlsfan - I'd agree with Jeff on Arsenal's title chances after dropping points once again. Yes I know it's early days but they've lost to Fulham, Hull and Stoke and drawn with Spurs and Sunderland already this season with Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool all to come home and away. I cannot see Chelsea and Man Utd dropping enough points for Arsenal to claw their way back. Arsenal clearyy lack steel and some wise heads. It's all well and good playing nice attractive football but teams also need to roll their sleaves up when the going gets tough. Wenger is crying out for a Patrick Viera (in his prime)......

[superfrank]

Another problem for Arsenal will be the injuries to Adebayor and Walcott as well as the three-match ban for Van Persie.

It's actually a fairly competitive season so far. The relegation battle will be pretty interesting with all the promoted teams picking up plenty of points so far.

Chelsea top of the table with +23 goal difference...not a bad start.

[OwlsFan]

Owlsfan - I'd agree with Jeff on Arsenal's title chances after dropping points once again. Yes I know it's early days but they've lost to Fulham, Hull and Stoke and drawn with Spurs and Sunderland already this season with Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool all to come home and away.

Except next up I think is Man U going to Arsenal. 3 pts for Arsenal and there'll be no more talk of them being out of the title race (for a few more weeks anyway).

[gaiscíoch]

Does anyone have a clue who this is shocking story.... My guess Martin Keown?

[OwlsFan]

:confused:

450 games for Shay Given last night and another great performance. The win also sees Newcastle well out of the relegation zone (places wise) and even above Sunderland. Duffer also had a steady game. Villa seem to be one of those anonymous teams that live on the edge of the top 4 without ever doing anything spectacular or being in danger of relegation. Certainly not exciting to watch.

[OwlsFan]

Gutted to see "Roy Keane's Sunderland" in the bottom 3, although nice to see Andy Reid being instrumental in creating their only goal (still subbed though). Mind you it's so close down there a win would move them up to 10th :eek:

Next manager to come under pressure: Martin O'Neill (remember you read it here first).

I bet the West Ham Board are delighted they appointed Zola :D

[shakermaker1982]

I cannot remember the league being so bunced together- even if its only after 12 games. Bolton win two on the bounce and they are up to 11th. Boro now lie 8th. Exciting times ahead at the top and at the bottom.

[OwlsFan]

Next manager to come under pressure: Martin O'Neill (remember you read it here first).


Shows how much I know :D Very impressive (from the highlights i saw) at Arsenal and seemed to create far more chances than the Gunners. Not like the Villa I am used to seeing.

The real interest is at the other end with just a handful of points covering the bottom 10 teams.

[HarpoJoyce]

David Healy might away from his manger at Sunderland. Worthington wont be sorry if he moves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7736481.stm