2024-25 Premier League Thread
- Thread starter andyt
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On the flip side, Leicester got fined 20,000 pounds for improper player behavior during their match with Villa last weekend. They constantly surrounded referee David Coote but got popped for a massive whinging session in extra time when they were trying to get a PK call. Manager Steve Cooper and his assistant both got yellow cards for dissent at half time as well. Honestly the ref wasn't great, but they acted like a bunch of children right from the off.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
I'm away this weekend and haven't gotten to watch any of the matches, but I have seen Duran's absolute worldie. My goodness, might be time to start thinking about a two striker formation.
Nice win by my shorthanded Gunners in the North London Derby. Rice was out for a red he received match, Odegaard was injured playing for Norway. There were 8 yellow cards in the match but that paled in comparison to Bournemouth v. Chelsea on Saturday, in which a staggering 14 cards were shown by referee Anthony Taylor. None resulted in a red.
View: https://x.com/meninblazers/status/1835370464576962912?s=61&t=ZT8KDHkGMyk7V3JAuh5_ag
View: https://x.com/meninblazers/status/1835370464576962912?s=61&t=ZT8KDHkGMyk7V3JAuh5_ag
Ladies and gentlemen ... Jhon Duran. Good lord what a strike. Villa very much looked like a team distracted by their upcoming Champions League match early. Too many mental vacations, but they eventually got dialed in. Nice to see Ollie get a couple to drop after a pretty snakebit start.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
Okay, I've now watched the full match. I agree that there were a couple mistakes including Onana getting caught in possession which he does have a tendency to do from time to time, but Villa felt pretty in control the whole match despite the goals against the run of play. Nice to see Buendia back out there for a little run out at the end and he looked pretty good. Digne looked alright and had a nice assist on the first goal, but I don't understand why Maatsen isn't starting yet. I'm hoping that maybe it's cause he's going to start on Tuesday, but the change in threat when he comes on is so extreme.
The hearing for Man City and their 115 charges started today. The expectation is that it will take about 10 weeks. There are 5 broad categories:
With any luck, this will be resolved before the end of this millenium.
- 54 charges of failure to provide accurate financial information. These accumulated over 9 seasons.
- 14 charges of failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments. Essentially, these are payments to Roberto Mancini and Yaya Toure directly for Sheikh Mansour-affiliated organizations. In Mancini’s case it was £1.75 million for 4 days work for Al Jazira.
- 7 charges of breaching profit and sustainability rules over 3 seasons beginning in 2015-16. Really, its 21 charges, they allegedly broke 7 different rules in those 3 seasons.
- 5 charges of failure to comply with UEFA FFP regulations.
- 35 charges of failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations.
With any luck, this will be resolved before the end of this millenium.
I thought Everton really took advantage of how well they knew Onana's tendencies. They didn't jump him every time he got a pass in a certain spot or whatever, but they were consistently pushing up into his space after the pass came into him from the back and before he had a chance to turn. They know full well how loose he can be with those long legs on the turn. He tends to get his attention down on his feet and loses awareness.
10 weeks! Those high priced lawyers of theirs will surely push that out until the end of the season ... or at least the end of the year.
Montana
Champion
Found it to be a bit of a dull game for a NLD tbh, and as has been the case lately our finishing was brutal, and set pieces did us in.
I’d hoped Solanke would be the finishing quality we needed to eke out a win, but first game back going against those CB’s is no easy assignment. They played him pretty well, and he just couldn’t quite capitalize on the few chances he got.
A+ on Gabriel for finishing that header, was a beauty…..and especially painful that it was Romero who lost his man. Still tho, I’m glad we at least lost on a legit goal, and not a fluky OG or anything.
(You probably deserved another when Martinelli had Saka to feed it to, but he chose to shoot.)
To limit a juggernaut like this gunners squad is, felt pretty good and we controlled much of the game….but until we learn how to unlock teams that sit deep, and finish when our opportunities arise, we’re not gonna be worth much as a team.
Solid if unspectacular performance from us, but we’re gonna need to really go on a run of dominance against mid & lower table clubs if we want to have much to be playing for later in the year.
Think it’s time we start Odobert full time over Brennan Johnson in our best XI as well….we need some dribbly 1-1 on the outside, more than BJ’s speed which may be better used as a sub vs tired legs.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
Liverpool were decidedly crap vs Forest. At least I'll credit Slot for saying what we're all thinking: we should not be losing to a team like that.
Also part of the conversation: Anfield is losing its famed atmosphere. Used to be an intimidating place to play. Often anymore, that's not the case. The Echo did a great piece on that on Sunday.
Also part of the conversation: Anfield is losing its famed atmosphere. Used to be an intimidating place to play. Often anymore, that's not the case. The Echo did a great piece on that on Sunday.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
Also have to credit a smart gameplan an execution by Forest. They spent the first half making sure that Liverpool couldn't just run all over them in the middle of the field like they did to United and then in the second half when Liverpool was getting frustrated, they brought on their biggest attacking threats and kept trying to catch them on the break. Also, I was really happy to see Moreno look so good in his debut. I hope we find a way to move Digne next summer so that Moreno can return to share LB duties with Maatsen.
That's the biggest thing about a new, tweaked system ... sooner or later somebody figures out how to ask different questions and you're suddenly thinking out there. That usually hits about week 5 or 6, especially if you look good early and teams take notice. But it always happens eventually.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
No, the heat isn't going to Slot but to the players. As it should. New system with essentially the same squad that finished third last season was always going to be a challenge. I thought the subs were fine and he's done his best to adjust our play to play up strengths and minimize weaknesses.
But as the move to bring in Bradley and have Trent move more into midfield showed, we can be exposed in the back. Then it's still on "the gang that can't shoot straight" to bail us out. And of course, that didn't happen this time.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
Moreno was so effective. Really stood out (to me at least) in the way he moved forward and how he generally bullied Salah.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
He was kind of slagged off by Villa fans last year cause he was injured for most of the season and never was able to get back to form, because most of the fans seem to have the memory of a goldfish. He was one of our best players after buying him in January the season before and I was really hoping we would be able to move Digne and have Maatsen and Moreno as our LBs this season since Digne is on stupidly high wages and is slow and doesn't fit our offense.
The funny thing is nothing he did in attack was too surprising, but he was so damn good defensively against Salah, which isn't exactly what he's known for. He's not a bad defender, but he's made his mark as an attacking fullback. Everyone is just commenting on how Salah played poorly, but you have to give a lot of credit to Moreno for just following him everywhere he went and not allowing him any space.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
Okay, I'm now openly questioning Emery's squad rotation or more so his complete lack of squad rotation. I don't understand not making any changes mid week against a poor opponent on an artificial field. It's no surprise team looks like ass today.