Football 2011-2012

[Langdale Wolf]

he looks superb - just as he did last season before he got injured. He's defo better than Johnson.

Congrats to you lot for being top of the league - I bet you never thought that would happen?

That's 15% of the points you need in just 5% of the games. While you won't carry on at that rate it's a great start and is sure to give the team more confidence. After just those two games I retract my guess at you going down, you shouldn't have any problems.

Unless perhaps you lose Doyle, which today's papers suggest you might. But while he's more than decent I can't really see why Liverpool would want him: they need a real goal-scorer rather than another forward player.

[The Nal]

We're a bit pissed off that we're now down to 2nd. Mick out!

No, we've started brilliantly and there have been some notable differences:

Rather than sitting back on a lead, we're still going forward and keeping possession FAR better.

Seeing a fully fit Stephen Hunt is great - the perfect compliment to Jarvis on the other wing

Fletcher and Doyle are both flying, we rarely saw them together last season but now we look to have that stability in midfield with O'Hara and Hunt, we can make a 4-4-2 work far better, allowing 2 front men to work together

Roger Johnson is the player we've needed for 3 years. Colossal.

I know it's early days, and too early to tell if we'll be more consistent and stop leaking stupid goals but the first 2 results - and more importantly the manner of them - has made our fans extremely excited. We're looking like a decent, solid, midtable side which is just where we need to be.

I just hope we keep this up.

[Langdale Wolf]

Yup - very true. As for our Irish contingent, it's looking really good too. Doyle is different class, Hunt is playing out of his skin but I have to day that Stephen Ward has just been inspirational. A cracking winning goal last week, and a world class challenge on Dempsey 5 yards out denying a certain goal yesterday. A great pro who has never had the backing from the crowd that he deserves, but his name was sung loudly yesterday.

He should be Ireland's first choice left back IMHO.

[The Nal]

Yup - very true. As for our Irish contingent, it's looking really good too. Doyle is different class

[Wooderson]

I see Inter are in for Dirk Kuyt again. Dont think hes first choice now for Liverpool so could be a good move for him.

[The Nal]

Ah yeah. Madrid was a super move for Benchwarmer, and Towers looks the part at Chelsea. Scored a hatful down there donchaknow.

[Wooderson]

He'd probably play at Inter though. Hes not first choice at Pool now is he? Especially when the G comes back?

[The Nal]

With Carroll's performance in the opening couple games I don't think Dirk will be going anywhere chief.

Edited August 22, 2011 by The Nal

[strummer77]

Those Dirk rumours are bollocks. Some journalist saw the quotes from last summer and thought they were new. Soto has gone to Germany though which suggests Liverpool must be closing in on a cb.

[strummer77]

Spurs have faded badly here. Wellbeck and Rooney being given all the space in the world!

[The Nal]

Spurs have faded badly here. Wellbeck and Rooney being given all the space in the world!

[eFestivals]

So modric - on strike or 'head in the wrong place'?

[The Nal]

So modric - on strike or 'head in the wrong place'?

[eFestivals]

On strike. Same as Mascherano did last year.

I think that's probably it, but I guess only the club know for sure.

But this is turning into another Levy joke on Spurs, just as the sale of Berba did. Levy needs to realise that Spurs actually need to do something good before they'll ever be in the position to hold onto their best players that are coveted by the 'top' clubs. A quick glance across north London should make that very clear to him.

If Levy wants to be doing a good job for Spurs then he needs a big reality check. He needs to face the music and move on, else Spurs will be short of the players they need. Again.

Today's Metro is (from the beeb's gossip page) saying "Tottenham failed with bids for Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Stewart Downing during the current transfer window." - and if that's true then that should tell Levy all he needs to know.

[Wooderson]

Liverpool must be closing in on a cb.

[TheGayTent]

I think that's probably it, but I guess only the club know for sure.

But this is turning into another Levy joke on Spurs, just as the sale of Berba did. Levy needs to realise that Spurs actually need to do something good before they'll ever be in the position to hold onto their best players that are coveted by the 'top' clubs. A quick glance across north London should make that very clear to him.

If Levy wants to be doing a good job for Spurs then he needs a big reality check. He needs to face the music and move on, else Spurs will be short of the players they need. Again.

Today's Metro is (from the beeb's gossip page) saying "Tottenham failed with bids for Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Stewart Downing during the current transfer window." - and if that's true then that should tell Levy all he needs to know.

[TheGayTent]

Arsenal would have been runners-up in the Premier League last season and Blackpool wouldn’t have been relegated if match officials hadn’t made mistakes. (See table at bottom).

These are the headline findings from extensive new research that re-examined 713 ‘significant’ incidents – penalties, goal line incidents, offside goals – across the Premier League’s 380 games in 2010-11.

Arsenal ended up fourth with 68 points but should in reality have won 72 points and finished second to Manchester United.

Manchester City should have won nine fewer points than they did and finished fourth.

Blackpool and Birmingham should have avoided relegation while Wigan and Wolves should have been relegated along with West Ham. (West Ham should have had seven more points than they actually got but would have gone down anyway).

The research was conducted by broadcaster and journalist Tim Long for his radio documentary, Beyond The Goal Line: Football’s Technology Debate. The programme explores the need for technology, and how officiating errors can make a material difference to clubs, and versions are being aired in Australia and Britain.

The point is not to be critical of referees – because it is accepted they do their best in good faith – but to illustrate how even simple television replays can highlight erroneous decisions. Replays have shown this again this weekend in the Premier League, for example at Arsenal and Sunderland.

[pink_triangle]

I think that's probably it, but I guess only the club know for sure.

But this is turning into another Levy joke on Spurs, just as the sale of Berba did. Levy needs to realise that Spurs actually need to do something good before they'll ever be in the position to hold onto their best players that are coveted by the 'top' clubs. A quick glance across north London should make that very clear to him.

If Levy wants to be doing a good job for Spurs then he needs a big reality check. He needs to face the music and move on, else Spurs will be short of the players they need. Again.

Today's Metro is (from the beeb's gossip page) saying "Tottenham failed with bids for Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Stewart Downing during the current transfer window." - and if that's true then that should tell Levy all he needs to know.

[eFestivals]

Rather depends on your perspective. They failed with bids because they wouldn't break their wage structure. The wage structure in place (as well as other things) that enable Tottenham to run as a sound business.

Levy (and Big Joe) aren't prepared to gamble hugely by spending more than their income in the hope that it'll lead in time to success and increased revenue.

So does Levy need a reality check, or do supporters who want him to get the cheque book out need a reality check?

My comment about a 'reality check' wasn't about those failed bids (my point there was only that 'big' players prefer other clubs with better prospects), it was about their ability as a club to hang onto their best players. I agree with you that those fans (and 'Arry ) who want the club to spend big also need to come back down to earth.

It's all good not wanting a great player to leave, but the reality is that they'll leave anyway - as happened with Berba (and I'm sure will happen with Modric too). And just as with Berba, there's a strong likelihood with the sale of Modric that it'll happen too late to go and spend on a replacement.

Wenger might be a dick in not spending, but at least he recognises the inevitable with a player leaving which gives him the time to spend on a replacement if he can find someone he wants.

========

You got a prediction for tomorrow's game? With the way we've started you should get at least 5.

[strummer77]

Full article here

[eFestivals]

To be fair you cant expect spurs to compete with man utd for players.

I don't. Nor do I expect them to compete with Chelsea for players.

My point was that Levy does. He thinks he can hold onto Modric when Chelsea want him.

If Levy was a smarter man, he'd have recognised the problems his stance caused when thy tried to hang onto Berba, and made sure he didn't make the same mistake this time around.

[eFestivals]

In favour of goaline technology.

However, I hate those kinds of tables though. Who knows how a decision really affects the rest of the game? And it's not just big decision that affects a game. It doesn't take into account the hundreds little incidents which can change a game etc.

They're just rubbish

spot on!!

It's one thing having technology for decisions where there's zero impact on another aspect of the game - which can only work for the ball going out of the field of play (such as with goal line technology) - but for everything else the attempt to correct a wrong decision has an impact elsewhere, and is ultimately no improvement.

For example, it'll never work satisfactorily for offside decisions, as you can't re-create the situation that existed before the flag was wrongly raised for offside. If you say "play on till it's reviewed" then you might have a player injure himself in bit of play that should never of happened, and that might impact the game more than any wrong offside call.

Edited August 23, 2011 by eFestivals

[ralph250]

I don't. Nor do I expect them to compete with Chelsea for players.

My point was that Levy does. He thinks he can hold onto Modric when Chelsea want him.

If Levy was a smarter man, he'd have recognised the problems his stance caused when thy tried to hang onto Berba, and made sure he didn't make the same mistake this time around.

[TheGayTent]

In favour of goaline technology.

However, I hate those kinds of tables though. Who knows how a decision really affects the rest of the game? And it's not just big decision that affects a game. It doesn't take into account the hundreds little incidents which can change a game etc.

They're just rubbish

[TheGayTent]

Oh, and I lean more towards Ralph's way of thinking - IMO Levy knew months ago Modric was off - all he has done since is attempt to get VFM.