Premier League Thread 2019/20

[Nalis]

2 hours ago, UniFox21 said:

Listening to 606 from the weekend; there's a Man City fan who is absolutely furious that they haven't started blooding young talent. With the money they spend, where will an inexperienced academy player step up? He seemed furious that they were loaning players out; then again he sounded like he was your classic few pence short of a pound kinda fan

The league campaign over next 2 months is the time to do it for Man City really. They are pretty much nailed on for top 4, not that it will matter to them.

[Stadt]

If I was a Man City fan I think I’d be on my way (if not already) to being disillusioned with it all. Is a routine 4-0 home win to Burnley really that fun anymore? It’s only the Champions League left for them to win so that’d keep you going but if you were a fan that stood in the Kippax and went through the third division to now as petrostate’s plaything would you really love it? 

 

Their home atmosphere is toss, they don’t play their young players (enough), they have a network that takes over other clubs just to gain another advantage. I guess what I’m trying to say is that they’ve lost their soul a bit? If I was one of their fans I’d get the right arse with other fans crawling up Mansour’s arse and the paranoia about breaking FFP rules

 

They all shag that “City’s going down with a billion in the bank” like it’s something incredibly pithy too but it’s shite 

[Finnegan]

5 minutes ago, Stadt said:

If I was a Man City fan I think I’d be on my way (if not already) to being disillusioned with it all. Is a routine 4-0 home win to Burnley really that fun anymore? It’s only the Champions League left for them to win so that’d keep you going but if you were a fan that stood in the Kippax and went through the third division to now as petrostate’s plaything would you really love it? 

 

Their home atmosphere is toss, they don’t play their young players (enough), they have a network that takes over other clubs just to gain another advantage. I guess what I’m trying to say is that they’ve lost their soul a bit? If I was one of their fans I’d get the right arse with other fans crawling up Mansour’s arse and the paranoia about breaking FFP rules

 

They all shag that “City’s going down with a billion in the bank” like it’s something incredibly pithy too but it’s shite 

 

I think sometimes people forget that there's a simple ball game at the heart of all of this. Just the simple fun of watching the sport being played and being played well. 

 

It'll always be fairly good being a Man City fan for as long as they've got great players because they get to go and watch them every week. 

 

Speaking as someone that had a Tigers season ticket when they went unbeaten at home for about half a decade, I do have to say it gets boring knowing the outcome almost every week so it's probably gonna have lost a bit of its sheen but then at the same time, people enjoy watching a win. 

 

I think we're getting ourselves if we think we'd get bored or feel soulless if Top injected a shit load more cash, we bought some fabulous players and started playing Hollywood football every week. 

[Blanchflower78]

Really looking forward to restart. It's not the same but nothing is, so why stress over it?

 

Fully expect surprises and mental strength and motivation may play as bigger factor and renewed energy levels.

 

Trust Brendan and the staff to have them as prepared as they can be. Opening game huge for everyone and helps alleviate nerves and set tone for remainder of season. 

 

Fancy a 2-1 win sat 👍⚽️

[Stadt]

12 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I think sometimes people forget that there's a simple ball game at the heart of all of this. Just the simple fun of watching the sport being played and being played well. 

 

It'll always be fairly good being a Man City fan for as long as they've got great players because they get to go and watch them every week. 

 

Speaking as someone that had a Tigers season ticket when they went unbeaten at home for about half a decade, I do have to say it gets boring knowing the outcome almost every week so it's probably gonna have lost a bit of its sheen but then at the same time, people enjoy watching a win. 

 

I think we're getting ourselves if we think we'd get bored or feel soulless if Top injected a shit load more cash, we bought some fabulous players and started playing Hollywood football every week. 

Football is different for everyone though, 5 years ago I would have watched every game I could but now I’m not so fussed about watching Villarreal vs Leganes or whatever. I’m a little bit less of a fan of the sport in general now.

 

I’d love it if we won the league a few more times and were a serious CL contender but I’d want to feel a bit more organic than how Man City have done it - which in fairness we have done so far.
 

I like where we are at the minute, we have a young, talented squad, some local lads, it’s not horribly expensively assembles, club legends around the team; however it feels like it could go tits up still and I think that’s exciting in itself. What’s a bad season for Man City now, finishing 2nd and winning the league cup? I don’t really want that for us which sounds daft but the consequences of sport are a large part of it, Man City don’t really face any danger like that, there’s no living on the edge. We’re still only a couple of degrees of separation from relegation which means everything we do has to be measured even now.

 

Obviously I want us to be as successful as possible but I don’t to sell our soul for it. Moreover, if that success became a tiny bit sterile like it has for Man City I don’t think I could be that arsed about going. 
 

 

[Stadt]

2 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Until Man City feel the lows again (probably never to be honest with the money they have) their fans will never be able to appreciate how good the last decade has been for them. They’re an organisation, there’s no heart from their owners - it’s strictly success by any means. 
 

I grew up with a load of plastic Chelsea fans at school, it’s only the last couple years I’ve started to see a bit of passion from a few of them now it’s not so easy to buy the league. In fact, I’d go as far as saying they’re more interested now they aren’t winning everything.
 

I’m just glad to be honest my family were from Leicester, without a doubt all of us fans have the best experience of supporting any football team in England with all the mixture of emotions over the years. To be honest, I’m not even 20 years old and I feel I’ve experienced more than what a lot of 80, 90 year old football fans have by supporting us over Liverpool, Chelsea, Man U etc. and more than most Man City fans my age will experience by the time we’re old. 

Agree apart from the bit about 80/90 year olds. United fans of that age had half their team die 

[Corky]

You need to go through the rough times early to appreciate it, I think. Even though my early years were Premier League top half, cup winning, Europe qualifying seasons, I was still fairly young when we headed to League One after years of mediocrity. To then bounce back and be even better than before is incredible, really, but if you'd sat through 2008 to then see 2016, it just shows the remarkable highs and lows the game can bring.

 

The Man City fans who saw the relegations and the struggles will no doubt be loving it, the ones who joined the bandwagon probably feel differently. Most glory hunters struggle to cope with a period of decline because it isn't what they signed up for.

[CosbehFox]

I was school friends with a Man City fan - was great in that period having a mate like that who had a team who’d been through crap. We went up to our first visit at the CoMS when we won 3-0. He went to the famous Wembley play off and also went Lokeren to watch them play in UEFA Cup Qualifier. 
 

I saw him last Christmas and he admitted that from their first title win, that’s not really felt the same. Equally he believes any Man City fan what defends their actions related to their European ban are kidding themselves and are perfectly aware that they have broken the rules. 
 

Also claims the constant digs about the empty seats is far more complex than you think. Due to memberships levels, it’s quite hard to get tickets for weekend games and they simply don’t have the Manchester based support to fill it for the midweek. The club also hold back thousands of tickets for package deals aimed at tourists. 
 

 

Edited 15 June 2020 by Cardiff_Fox

[lestajigs]

5 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

The way I feel right now, I actually couldn't give a monkeys chuff if it resumes or not. I feel like I've got used to it being suspended and although weekends are dull without football they also aren't potentially ruined by bad results, even at 36 my weekends rely on a favourable result when the season is underway however hard I try not to let it.

 

I suppose it's better to have loved than to never have loved and come the weekend i'll be bang in the mixer again.

I couldn’t of said it better myself 

[willie-bell-in-rothley]

7 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

It's underwhelming for me, can't get excited for it (bar the cup quarter final at a push). I'm sure once it kicks off with the World Cup style scheduling it'll be fun and I'll get into it but as it stands I couldn't be less bothered about football, it's odd.

Plastic

[Gerard]

 

[The Bear]

This article is worth reading, as it outlines the changes involved when everything gets going again on Wed night.

 

A couple of noticeable changes like spare balls dotted around the pitch so they don't have to fetch them back out of the stands. 

 

Extended technical areas to maintain staff social distancing. 

 

There's now a drinks break in the middle of each half.

https://www.premierleague.com/news/1681068

[KingsX]

So anyway.

 

The Athletic just published a (pretty good and amusing) piece about the return of the PL, aimed at American newbies, with a full-page splash picture featuring stars of the Big Six.  Except notice who the Big Six are.  A certain north London club was bumped by usurpers from the east Midlands.

 

 

I wouldn’t trouble you with this, except to also note that NBC Sports’ main “Watch the PL This Weekend” 30-secdond spot (which ran over and over from January until things shut down) featured highlights of three box-office Prem superstars:  Jamie Vardy, followed by Rashford and Salah.  That ad was created for the sole purpose of attracting weekend viewers, and if the suits thought Aubameyang or KdB or Firmino would draw more eyeballs than JV, they’d have been on there instead.

 

95% of coverage is still same old, same old.  But “little Leicester” are starting to register as one of the main draws. 

[snoopy87]

14 hours ago, Stadt said:

Football is different for everyone though, 5 years ago I would have watched every game I could but now I’m not so fussed about watching Villarreal vs Leganes or whatever. I’m a little bit less of a fan of the sport in general now.

 

I’d love it if we won the league a few more times and were a serious CL contender but I’d want to feel a bit more organic than how Man City have done it - which in fairness we have done so far.
 

I like where we are at the minute, we have a young, talented squad, some local lads, it’s not horribly expensively assembles, club legends around the team; however it feels like it could go tits up still and I think that’s exciting in itself. What’s a bad season for Man City now, finishing 2nd and winning the league cup? I don’t really want that for us which sounds daft but the consequences of sport are a large part of it, Man City don’t really face any danger like that, there’s no living on the edge. We’re still only a couple of degrees of separation from relegation which means everything we do has to be measured even now.

 

Obviously I want us to be as successful as possible but I don’t to sell our soul for it. Moreover, if that success became a tiny bit sterile like it has for Man City I don’t think I could be that arsed about going. 
 

 

No matter how well we are doing, have done, will do, I think I will always have this feeling of dread in the back of my mind. I can't explain why whenever anybody asks. I can only put it down to the years of torment that has preceded this current purple patch, its scarred me for life! 

[davieG]

1 minute ago, snoopy87 said:

No matter how well we are doing, have done, will do, I think I will always have this feeling of dread in the back of my mind. I can't explain why whenever anybody asks. I can only put it down to the years of torment that has preceded this current purple patch, its scarred me for life! 

I'm like this on a game by game basis I'm never ever confident we will win a game. Maybe, despite the patches of success and single game surprises it's because I've been let down so many times that I can't find it in me to ever be optimistic. It's a rare and good day fro me when I think we might snatch a draw.

 

Yet I continue to go in the hope that we will win.

 

I'm struggling to see us get a win at a Pearson led Watford.

[The Bear]

I was definitely in the "I haven't missed football" camp up until today.

 

But you know, now I've sorted my fantasy teams out ready to go again last night, and have read a bit more about the teams and their run-ins, I'm starting to get more excited for football's return. Especially to see what's we look like after a break. Some of our players like Jimenez in particular haven't had a proper break in years due to summer competitions.

 

Plus it'll be interesting to see how teams cope with BCD games. I think we are the only team to have played in one this season already (away at Olympiakos) in the Europa. And we play exactly the same way home and away regardless. In fact our away form is better than our home form. So maybe it won't affect us so badly at home. And hopefully the likes of Villa and Newcastle who rely on their home form will struggle badly! 

 

I also think your lot will probably benefit from the break as you always play at a pretty high intensity. I'd forgotten that Pereira was out for the rest of the season too. Justin sounds like a good young player though so hopefully won't affect you too badly (and he's cheap in fantasy leagues!). 

Edited 16 June 2020 by The Bear

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, The Bear said:

I was definitely in the "I haven't missed football" camp up until today.

 

But you know, now I've sorted my fantasy teams out ready to go again last night, and have read a bit more about the teams and their run-ins, I'm starting to get more excited for football's return.

 

Especially to see what's we look like after a break. Some of our players like Jimenez haven't had a proper break in years due to summer competitions.

 

Plus it'll be interesting to see how teams cope with BCD games. I think we are the only team to have played in one this season already (away at Olympiakos) in the Europa). And we play exactly the same way home and away regardless. In fact our away form is better than our home form. So maybe it won't affect us so badly at home. And hopefully the likes of Villa and Newcastle who rely on their home form will struggle badly! 

 

I also think your lot will probably benefit from the break as you always play at a pretty high intensity. I'd forgotten that Pereira was out for the rest of the season too. Justin sounds like a good young player though so hopefully won't affect you too badly (and he's cheap in fantasy leagues!). 

Interesting point, we are also a touch better away than at home as teams used to sit back and we'd often find it harder to unlock. What's your run-in like, you're still got a good shot at CL. The 3-5th places are a fascinating prospect, I just hope we can win at least 3 of our first 4-5 games which appear to be the easier part of our run-in.

[CosbehFox]

Wolves got the best run-in of the lot. 

[Super_horns]

BBC report on how the broadcasters will have crowd noise and special cameras.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53058264

[Fox92]

20 minutes ago, The Bear said:

I was definitely in the "I haven't missed football" camp up until today.

 

But you know, now I've sorted my fantasy teams out ready to go again last night, and have read a bit more about the teams and their run-ins, I'm starting to get more excited for football's return. Especially to see what's we look like after a break. Some of our players like Jimenez in particular haven't had a proper break in years due to summer competitions.

 

Plus it'll be interesting to see how teams cope with BCD games. I think we are the only team to have played in one this season already (away at Olympiakos) in the Europa. And we play exactly the same way home and away regardless. In fact our away form is better than our home form. So maybe it won't affect us so badly at home. And hopefully the likes of Villa and Newcastle who rely on their home form will struggle badly! 

 

I also think your lot will probably benefit from the break as you always play at a pretty high intensity. I'd forgotten that Pereira was out for the rest of the season too. Justin sounds like a good young player though so hopefully won't affect you too badly (and he's cheap in fantasy leagues!). 

I feel like this now. A couple weeks back I didn't think I'd be up for it like usual but now can't wait to see what happens. 

[Ric Flair]

19 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Wolves got the best run-in of the lot. 

They still had a penchant for failing to beat the dross but who knows how this restart will effect teams, I must admit i'm not overly confident we will be very good. We have to hit the ground running as our final few games make for uncomfortable viewing.

[foxile5]

19 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

They still had a penchant for failing to beat the dross but who knows how this restart will effect teams, I must admit i'm not overly confident we will be very good. We have to hit the ground running as our final few games make for uncomfortable viewing.

Aye. The game against Chelsea is really really important. 

[filbertway]

Can't wait for Saturday now. 4 games of footie, BBQ, beers. It's gonna be like a world cup day! Don't ruin it for us Nige

[nnickn]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

Interesting point, we are also a touch better away than at home

Completely untrue.

30 points from home this season, 23 away

[Ric Flair]

3 minutes ago, nnickn said:

Completely untrue.

30 points from home this season, 23 away

I knew as soon as I said that that statistically it wasn't likely to be true, I forget that we haven't won an away game since New Years Day. I just had a sense that we were better away from home as there was a real struggle start at home from late November when teams came and sat back and we started scraping wins vs Everton and then an unconvincing win vs Watford followed by a frustrating draw with Norwich and then our form both home and away has been very patchy.