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Aeneas Hunter
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 Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 10:38 am Post subject: |
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Great game from a neutral perspective. ManU's half billion dollar midfield earned its pay, but Liverpool's defense in the last third was rock solid in open play. Liverpool's attack was dangerous in the box, but they couldn't get the ball. Then we got the great set play to Blind, followed by an unnecessary penalty conceded by Liverpool. Just when it looks over, we get a bit of magic from Benteke, followed by Martial showing why ManU paid so much money.
Best of all, this happens after the refs, the media, and the training staff conspire to put Chelsea just above the relegation line. If Newcastle and Sunderland somehow win, Chelsea will actually be below the line. That would be a special one, so to speak. |
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Moses
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| Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:08 am Post subject: |
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Always a good day when Liverpool & Chelsea lose.
No doubt that Jose will have an excuse as to why it's not their fault, and no doubt Liverpool fans will still believe it's their year. 
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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| The dream is still alive. If Newcastle beats West Ham on Monday, Chelsea is in the relegation zone after five games. Let's go Magpies! |
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Gatekeeper
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:13 am Post subject: |
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The only game I watched start to finish was Man City vs. West Ham. It was a classic rope-a-dope game, with Man City dominating everything except the score. I don't know what it is about Man City. As good as they are, they have a way of losing inexplicably.
I guess the ref/media/training staff conspiracy decided to toss Jose a bone this week. This is shaping up to be a crazy season. |
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Heartburn
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:53 am Post subject: |
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of course he is, but if you are dumb enough to take the bait, you're an idiot. Not surprisingly, Arsene Wenger's guys are idiots.
Diego's just like Bill Laimbeer. Everyone hates him and he feeds off of it. Kozcielny didn't bite. Gabriel did. Wenger did too. |
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Gatekeeper
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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Not disagreeing with anything you said, but Bill Laimbeer? Seriously?!
Laimbeer was out there to deliberately injure your best player (Bird, Magic, Jordan) Costa is chicken s**t compared to Bill Laimbeer...
No, I think he's somewhere between Matt Barnes and Rodman in cnutishness (though closer to Barnes) than Bill.
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2015 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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And just like that, order is restored in the EPL. The only surprises are West Ham and Leicester hanging in there this long and Chelsea continuing to sputter.
What's up with Man City? A week ago, they hadn't conceded a goal all season. |
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Gatekeeper
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 7:21 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, Martial and the De Gea signing seem to have transformed ManU. In less than a month, ManU has gone from a mess to a machine. Now they just need to win in the UCL. |
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No. 17
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Gatekeeper wrote: | | Aeneas Hunter wrote: | | Yeah, Martial and the De Gea signing seem to have transformed ManU. In less than a month, ManU has gone from a mess to a machine. Now they just need to win in the UCL. |
Yep, same goes for all English teams in the CL, or the PL is in danger of losing a UCL spot to an Italian team.
UEFA Member Association Coefficients |
Unfortunately the EPL has so many games during the holidays (Boxing day etc) while most rest of Europe get a break and that contributes to their failure in the CL
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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I don't buy that. The EPL could use a holiday break after the New Year, but I don't see the link to UCL failure when few UCL games are close to the holidays. This year, the group stage ends on 12/9 and the round of 16 starts in mid-February.
I don't think there is a "reason" why the EPL has fared poorly for the last few years. The EPL did great in the UCL before the current stretch, and nothing has changed. It's just a cyclical thing.
The Europa League is the real problem for the EPL. Teams treat it like the Capital One Cup, but it affects the coefficient a lot. Southampton and West Ham have already crashed out. Liverpool and Tottenham are a lot more focused on the league, so who knows how far they will get. |
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Wow. The talk about losing an UCL slot just got serious. |
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No. 17
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| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Well, Roberto Martinez agrees with me.
| Quote: | Roberto Martinez blames EPL’s struggles in Europe on fixture congestion
Posted on March 20, 2015 by PA Sport
Everton manager Roberto Martinez insists it is no major surprise that English clubs have struggled in Europe this season because of the domestic demands of the Barclays Premier League.
The Toffees were the country's last hope on the continent before a 5-2 loss to Dynamo Kiev in Europe on Thursday night meant they followed Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City in crashing out at the last 16 stage.
It meant that there were no English teams in Friday's draw for either the Champions League or Europa League quarter-finals for the first time since 1995, sparking a countrywide debate about the state of the domestic game.
However, Martinez believes it is the competitive nature of the Premier League, coupled with a lack of a winter break, which is hampering clubs when they face fresher, less-tested teams in European competitions.
"I think there are aspects there that make it very, very difficult for an English club to have success in Europe," the Spaniard said.
"If you look at the top leagues in Europe most of those have got a little break in the winter. I'm not saying that's the difference but it can make a big difference in a squad that is playing domestically two cup competitions, when others are playing one cup competition.
"We need to understand that our league is the best in world football. And when I say the best it's because if you are at 70 per cent in a game, you're going to lose it. That's how competitive it is. It doesn't matter about position in the table and I don't think the other leagues have that.
"The top teams that are normally involved in Europe can cruise through games and that makes it a lot easier to plan a group of fixtures in a two-to-three-week period. That is a big difference and that affects English clubs.
"It's not by coincidence. Some of the clubs in the Champions League have been unfortunate, there have been small margins but those small margins could easily be the demands that you face domestically. It's something that clearly hasn't been working in our favour."
Martinez's men were ruthlessly eliminated in Kiev by a display of clinical attacking finishing as the hosts exposed their visitors' defensive frailties.
But while the manner of their exit was disappointing to Martinez, he took plenty of heart from a campaign which saw them beat Wolfsburg home and away and take four points off Lille in the group stage.
"It's started a real thirst to be in that environment again," Martinez added.
"For our younger players, it is the first time they've been in Europe and the way we succeeded in many of those games, going away into different countries and being able to perform has been very important.
"I do feel that the players in the squad, myself, my staff and the football club as a whole will want more of it. It gives you a real desire to push ourselves to become a winning team and have that more often.
"We're all disappointed from the result last night but to reach the quarter-finals of this competition is something we last did 30 years ago, that shows you the size of the achievement." |
http://worldsoccertalk.com/2015/03/20/roberto-martinez-blames-epls-struggles-in-europe-on-fixture-congestion/
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, the lack of a winter break explains why the EPL teams lost 5 of 8 in September.
I heard a better argument today. Someone pointed out that other leagues do a better job of accommodating UCL scheduling. They said that Porto's last game got moved to Friday. I'm not sure how many leagues do things like that. |
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Gatekeeper
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:45 am Post subject: |
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| I thin Jose needs to more clear with his players. They want to win the championship, not the Championship. |
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Moses
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| Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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(bleep) Jose, I take a lot of pleasure everytime he loses, like a little slice of karma
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Gatekeeper
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 9:25 am Post subject: |
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Shambolic performance from Manchester United; players fell flat on their faces the first 20 minutes. Never want to see Carrick and Schweinsteiger together in central midfield at the same time ever again. Rooney's f'in past it; he'll have to be replaced this upcoming summer. Props to Arsenal for showing up for this match; looked like they were the only side with something to prove.
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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I thought the referee was spot on with his yellow card on Falcao. It looked like a flop to me, but I'm biased. Apparently, the replays from other angles support the referee. I guess the camera crews are part of the conspiracy.
Why would Klopp want the Liverpool job? LFC is a mess right now. I'd wait for something better. |
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