Football 2015/16

[zahidf]

spurs getting a good win. 13 games to go, and spurs for top 4 and leciester for winning the league more and more certain.. 

[kaosmark2]

[pink_triangle]

2 hours ago, zahidf said:

spurs getting a good win. 13 games to go, and spurs for top 4 and leciester for winning the league more and more certain.. 

First time this year they are favourites, you can still get fairly decent money if your that confident.  I didn't see that result coming today, but when you look at citys defence its not too surprising.  Also they are suffering from being a one striker team.  The likes of Balotelli and Dzeko weren't world beaters but could occasionally offer something, Bony has always looked out of his depth as backup.

You have to admire how Leicester are playing without fear.  A lot of people are comparing them to Liverpool in assuming they may falter when the pressure is on, but I think its a very different situation.  Liverpool always will have some level of expectation and that side had the pressure of returning Liverpool to the glory days.  Leicester don't have the same history or expectation.

I think the next 2 games will be the making or breaking of Arsenal.  Bournemouth away and Leicester at home are tough games, but ones they probably have to win if they want ot be champions. As TGT says if Arsenal don't win the league the way the cards are stacked at present, they never will under Wenger.

As for Spurs they are turning into a side who can eek out these narrow wins.  This league doesn't make any sense!

[LondonTom]

I think Leicester might actually just do this, amazing! Picking the right season to come good admittedly but still!

 

Still amazed at West Ham's ability to flick from shit to brilliant even in a single game. Slow starts are hurting us big time, or it could be us up there right at the top.

[Gucci Piggy]

Leicester's next 11 games after facing Arsenal next week:

West Brom (h)
Norwich (h)
Watford (a)
Newcastle (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Southampton (h)
Sunderland (a)
West Ham (h)
Swansea (h)

[zahidf]

5 hours ago, Will-2609 said:

Leicester's next 11 games after facing Arsenal next week:

West Brom (h)
Norwich (h)
Watford (a)
Newcastle (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Southampton (h)
Sunderland (a)
West Ham (h)
Swansea (h)

very winnable fixtures. plus no cup games and europe. 

[Gucci Piggy]

5 minutes ago, zahidf said:

very winnable fixtures. plus no cup games and europe. 

Looking at all those games individually I could see them getting max points from every one, other that maybe Soton who are now bang in form and conceding nothing. Obviously in reality they're unlikely to go through these 11 consecutive games without any hiccups, but it is pretty exciting. 

Edit: Sorry my initial post was completely wrong. Those are their next 9 games after Arsenal. I copied and pasted it from another forum so apologies for the mistake. Anyway, there are only 3 games remaining after that run of fixtures; they could have the title tied up by then.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Will-2609

[eFestivals]

14 hours ago, lost said:

Nice touch by the Liverpool players joining in with the fans protest 

I watched that match, and I'd say it was the fans protest that had them concede the goals. The whole atmosphere changed, and the game did too.

[pink_triangle]

1 hour ago, zahidf said:

very winnable fixtures. plus no cup games and europe. 

Although quite a few of those clubs are fighting to stay up. From memory haven't Leicester been better against the better teams compared to those in the bottom half.

[Gucci Piggy]

20 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Although quite a few of those clubs are fighting to stay up. From memory haven't Leicester been better against the better teams compared to those in the bottom half.

Don't think so. Their only two losses this season are against Arsenal and Liverpool.

[eFestivals]

Just out of interest, do people think Liverpool played better than City against Leicester, or Leicester played worse against Liverpool than City?

Cos having watched both matches in full, despite the result Liverpool were all over Leicester like City weren't, and really Liverpool's only failing was their non-ability to put the ball in the net (a common problem for them this year). If City had got at Leicester in the same way, the game would have been over before Leicester got the ball in the net.

I'd actually say it was a bit of both. Leicester were more on their game yesterday, but City were having a bit of a day off.

[lost]

1 hour ago, pink_triangle said:

Although quite a few of those clubs are fighting to stay up. From memory haven't Leicester been better against the better teams compared to those in the bottom half.

Watching yesterday their game seemed to be based very much on the counter attack and breaking with pace, Now its clear they are not at the top due to luck I could see alot of the teams lower down defending deep with 10 men behind the ball, playing for a point and Leicester having to break them down.

[TheGayTent]

Has Neville been sacked yet?

[GlastoSimon]

12 hours ago, eFestivals said:

Just out of interest, do people think Liverpool played better than City against Leicester, or Leicester played worse against Liverpool than City?

Cos having watched both matches in full, despite the result Liverpool were all over Leicester like City weren't, and really Liverpool's only failing was their non-ability to put the ball in the net (a common problem for them this year). If City had got at Leicester in the same way, the game would have been over before Leicester got the ball in the net.

I'd actually say it was a bit of both. Leicester were more on their game yesterday, but City were having a bit of a day off.

I think you've summed it up nicely. Leicester were tired during the Liverpool game, and the way Liverpool pressed them meant they could control the game.

City's passing on Saturday was woeful, and it wasn't until the last 20 minutes or so they really started creating lots of chances. Leicester were on fire though, I can't imagine they'll beat it performance-wise this season. Defensively rock solid too, that's something which has changed since the start of the season.

[mrtourette]

On 2/7/2016 at 9:12 AM, pink_triangle said:

Although quite a few of those clubs are fighting to stay up. From memory haven't Leicester been better against the better teams compared to those in the bottom half.

The excellent Sarah Winterburn made a very good point on F365 yesterday to that tune:

Quote

 

the real test of their credentials will come when they face teams who prepare themselves to play title favourites. Nobody has parked the bus against Leicester; nobody has put nine men behind the ball and said ‘let’s what you’ve got’ like they would when facing the Manchester clubs or Arsenal; they have benefited from the rest of the league still – even at this stage – thinking ‘it’s only Leicester’. The only games Leicester have been truly expected to win in recent weeks – against Bournemouth and Aston Villa – have seen them drop points.

Over the next eight games, Leicester will face Norwich, West Brom, Watford, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Sunderland. They will be favourites for all of those matches against the other teams around them at the ‘bottom’ of the tables for pass completion and possession. Those teams will not be taking the game to ‘only Leicester’. Tony Pulis will play six centre-halves, all will opt to ‘go long’ rather than fall into Leicester’s signposted and yet irresistible trap of sitting deep and hitting fast.

There have been plenty saying that Leicester would be ‘found out’ in a run of games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, but the real ‘finding out’ may come against similar-sized clubs with identical but less effective tactics. What happens when you play this Leicester side at their own game? What happens when you leave them no space behind your defence? We may be about to find out.

 

 

[TheGayTent]

Hardly rocket science - that's been said for months. 

[TheGayTent]

I see it's taken the media less than a year to change their opinion of Paul Clement from next big thing to rubbish...

[mrtourette]

'The media'? Some of them are OK. I'll wager those you're referring to could be expected to act like shits anyway.

Edited February 9, 2016 by mrtourette

[ThomThomDrum]

Fair balls to the Hammers taking their goals well. More than can be said about LFC

That Benteke fella is utter dog at the moment! Watching LFC try to score is so infuriating these days. Fingers crossed Sturridge and Origi can stay free of injury now and show what they can do

[eFestivals]

7 hours ago, ThomThomDrum said:

Fair balls to the Hammers taking their goals well. More than can be said about LFC

That Benteke fella is utter dog at the moment! Watching LFC try to score is so infuriating these days. Fingers crossed Sturridge and Origi can stay free of injury now and show what they can do

It was a lot less turgid than the first match, that's for sure.

Benteke seems to have lost his bottle in front of goal. He's often not taking the chance he has to shoot, and instead dithering & looking for a pass.

To be fair to him, some of that passing has been pretty good - such as with his tippy-tappy and then pass to Coutiniho last night, and a few recent assists - but he needs to better recognise the chances he has rather than passing them up.

I thought Stewart was excellent in the middle, tho his influence fell away in the 2nd half (lack of fitness from lack of games?), and Lucas was great at the back. Smith was pretty good too, tho he's like Moreno magnified - better going forwards, but with less of an eye on his defensive duties.

And I like Origi a lot, he's a bit of a monster, tho he needs more games to build up his monstering. If I were Klopp I'd play him in every game for the rest of the season - it would probably cost the team a bit with lesser results in the short term (but what's to lose with that this season, really?) but I think they'd be a big benefit next season from it.

[TheGayTent]

10 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

Benteke seems to have lost his bottle in front of goal. He's often not taking the chance he has to shoot, and instead dithering & looking for a pass.

To be fair to him, some of that passing has been pretty good - such as with his tippy-tappy and then pass to Coutiniho last night, and a few recent assists - but he needs to better recognise the chances he has rather than passing them up.

I reckon you watched a different match to me. In the one I saw, Benteke was shooting from all over. Felt like he had more shots than the rest of his team mates out together. Unfortunately for him and his teammates most of them were high, wide and handsome. His hold up play was very good mind. 

Not sure how many fit players we've got left for Norwich on Saturday, and thought Antonio was immense after our 3rd choice right back had to go off injured. 

Funny game really - Payet was poor, very poor, yet hit the post, created the winner, and set up JOB for his effort that hit the post. 

Where as Lucas was very good, yet stupidly was at fault for the winner. 

Right, got to go...need to get my application in for Blackburn tickets...

[eFestivals]

19 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

I reckon you watched a different match to me. In the one I saw, Benteke was shooting from all over. Felt like he had more shots than the rest of his team mates out together. Unfortunately for him and his teammates most of them were high, wide and handsome. His hold up play was very good mind.

I don't disagree that he had a decent number of shots, but they were the wrong ones. Mostly they were when he couldn't see any other option (tho they were sometimes there), and the shooting option was crap too (and mostly into a defenders legs)..

As the sort of thing I mean, towards the end of the match there was a swarm of Liverpool players going forwards, and fewer WHU defenders goalside. Beneteke should have passed earlier, but instead he kept the ball till around the 25 yard mark, and then he played it to the right to Sturridge (who might have been offside, I forget). The pass to Sturridge wasn't a dreadful idea of course, tho if a pass was what he was going to do, the time to pass it was earlier (and actually, the better pass would have been to the left at that earlier point).

But at the point he passed it it had opened up for him to have a shot - at the sort of distance he used to bang them in from for Villa. He didn't want the responsibility of missing.

For me he spends too much of his time around the edges of the box when his team are up that end of the pitch when he should be in the middle, but when he does get into the middle he's too static so pretty easy to mark out of things. He needs to move around in the middle, rather than moving himself out to the sides.

Edited February 10, 2016 by eFestivals

[ThomThomDrum]

From what I saw (and irrespective of his shit shooting) way too many times was I cursing Benteke for allowing the play to break down around him when in possession. Too often he was not able to find the support player(s) and it was not as if the movement into space of that support was not happening. He needs to get his head checked and Klopp needs to give him a kick in the arse and tell him to keep moving off the ball

[eFestivals]

Just now, ThomThomDrum said:

From what I saw (and irrespective of his shit shooting) way too many times was I cursing Benteke for allowing the play to break down around him when in possession. Too often he was not able to find the support player(s) and it was not as if the movement into space of that support was not happening. He needs to get his head checked and Klopp needs to give him a kick in the arse and tell him to keep moving off the ball

yep, that's pretty much the same sort of thing as I was getting at.

He's far from dreadful - he's making some nice plays - but you can see how he'd be more effective.

[zahidf]

adam johnson has pleaded guilty for the paedo charges.