Football 16-17

[sdvruxk]

Will Spurs make top 4 if Kane is out for 2 months? 

Poch has said its a similar injury to the one he got against Sunderland early in the season. He was out for 2 months then I believe.

[eFestivals]

4 minutes ago, sdvruxk said:

Will Spurs make top 4 if Kane is out for 2 months? 

Poch has said its a similar injury to the one he got against Sunderland early in the season. He was out for 2 months then I believe.

it's definitely going to hurt them. They were struggling for goals compared to the other 'top' teams until Kane found his shooting boots.

How hard it hurts them is another thing. With all of the other teams around the top all being a bit iffy, they might ride it out fairly well in a similar way to how Liverpool haven't fallen far despite some poor results.

[TheGayTent]

If they choose to amend their tactics they may be ok as I rate Son. If they try to go like for like, they're fucked cos Jannsen is abysmal. 

[Gucci Piggy]

19 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

If they choose to amend their tactics they may be ok as I rate Son. If they try to go like for like, they're fucked cos Jannsen is abysmal. 

With Janssen not even being brought on for him yesterday I don't think he's got much hope of starting in the PL. I imagine they'll set up how they did yesterday after Kane went off.

[mjsell]

1 hour ago, eFestivals said:

it's definitely going to hurt them. They were struggling for goals compared to the other 'top' teams until Kane found his shooting boots.

How hard it hurts them is another thing. With all of the other teams around the top all being a bit iffy, they might ride it out fairly well in a similar way to how Liverpool haven't fallen far despite some poor results.

Their fixtures are very kind to them, plus with the international break their next game against a big side isnt until the FA cup semi final on 22nd april weekend - 6 weeks away. Following that however they face Arsenal, West Ham and United.

Thats not to say that some of those games in that 6 week period are going to be easy, several against relegation threatened team who have found a bit of form - Swansea and Bournemouth, plus Burnley away is obviously a ridiculously difficult game given their record. And I guess its those sorts of games where someone like Kane is often the deciding factor.

Edited March 13, 2017 by mjsell

[lost]

We really need Kane back. Mainly for his ability to keep the spotlight off Lukaku at the top of the scoring charts.

[The Nal]

Thought for later? Can't see anything but a Chelsea win really. Zlatan banned, Rooney injured, Martial injured, Rashford injured. So no strikers for Utd.  Lingard I suppose. Mata and Mkhi in behind.

[mjsell]

9 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Thought for later? Can't see anything but a Chelsea win really. Zlatan banned, Rooney injured, Martial injured, Rashford injured. So no strikers for Utd.  Lingard I suppose. Mata and Mkhi in behind.

Fellaini will start up top.

United will play long ball football.

[eFestivals]

27 minutes ago, mjsell said:

United will play long ball football.

same as normal then.

[mjsell]

3 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

same as normal then.

Yep. To be honest it makes the most sense playing Fellaini up top in my head. It'll be the nearest thing to how they have been playing with Zlatan and its also a slight chink in Chelsea's defensive set up. If they can get down the right (I'd play Mkhitaryan and Valencia in tandem) and hang up enough crosses to the back post where Fellaini can pull onto Azpilicueta or Luiz they may have some joy.

[eFestivals]

2 minutes ago, mjsell said:

Yep. To be honest it makes the most sense playing Fellaini up top in my head. It'll be the nearest thing to how they have been playing with Zlatan and its also a slight chink in Chelsea's defensive set up. If they can get down the right (I'd play Mkhitaryan and Valencia in tandem) and hang up enough crosses to the back post where Fellaini can pull onto Azpilicueta or Luiz they may have some joy.

a good plan, tho I'm not entirely sure Utd will have the players tonight to get down the sides of Chelsea.

[mjsell]

16 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

a good plan, tho I'm not entirely sure Utd will have the players tonight to get down the sides of Chelsea.

Oh yeah don't get me wrong I'm backing Chelsea to win pretty easily tonight but I was just suggesting a plausible and realistic reason to play Fellaini up top over smaller more technical/quicker players. I know there will be a rather large amount of people moaning that United are playing long ball football as if that's a stupid and/or backwards thing to do, when really I see it as being United's best hope and therefore the best tactical decision they can make.

They should just be looking at that Fellaini/Azpilicueta matchup as much as possible. Even if they cant get to the byline, they need to pump those diagonals from right to left as much as pos and work off the crumbs from there.

Nothing wrong with long ball football if done to a plan imo. wouldnt go amiss at times with England for me.

 

Edit: Literally just went on BBC sport page and noticed Nevin talking about pretty much the same thing. I'm not sure whether I'm please or disappointed in myself at the above now.

Edited March 13, 2017 by mjsell

[JSmurphy]

Rashford starting up top.

[zahidf]

Ha, that was very funny. Utd lose, ander gets a deserved red card

[mjsell]

17 minutes ago, zahidf said:

Ha, that was very funny. Utd lose, ander gets a deserved red card

I can't stand Herrera, probably my least favourite United player... But that is never a second yellow. 

I stopped watching after the red and went swimming instead. Sounds like it was a good decision. 

[zahidf]

1 hour ago, mjsell said:

I can't stand Herrera, probably my least favourite United player... But that is never a second yellow. 

I stopped watching after the red and went swimming instead. Sounds like it was a good decision. 

I think the fact he got a warning for a dodgy tackle 3 seconds previously on Hazard and then went on to ignore the ref and foul Hazard again makes it very much deserved.

 

Jose's plan was basically to kick Hazard out the game  That red card was well deserved. Only got himself to blame.

[mjsell]

31 minutes ago, zahidf said:

I think the fact he got a warning for a dodgy tackle 3 seconds previously on Hazard and then went on to ignore the ref and foul Hazard again makes it very much deserved.

 

Jose's plan was basically to kick Hazard out the game  That red card was well deserved. Only got himself to blame.

Do you even watch the matches you comment on? It was Jones that had fouled him 3 seconds prior. It was Jones that the ref had given a last warning to (following 3 tackles that were clumsy due to trying to be as tight as possible - none were malicious in any way)

Herrara committed two fouls in total. Both he was given bookings for. The second was not a foul deserving of anything more than a free kick. 

I was not a fan of the reactions by players and Conte. But then that's 'part of football' as well I guess. 

Edited March 14, 2017 by mjsell

[zahidf]

5 hours ago, mjsell said:

Do you even watch the matches you comment on? It was Jones that had fouled him 3 seconds prior. It was Jones that the ref had given a last warning to (following 3 tackles that were clumsy due to trying to be as tight as possible - none were malicious in any way)

Herrara committed two fouls in total. Both he was given bookings for. The second was not a foul deserving of anything more than a free kick. 

I was not a fan of the reactions by players and Conte. But then that's 'part of football' as well I guess. 

I meant the team as a whole were targetting hazard, the ref warned smalling that the next foul on hazard would get booked, ander comitted a foul a few seconds after that warning, got his second yellow. Regardless of it being 'soft', the team as a whole was warned 

 

After ander's sending off, the constant attempts to kick hazard off the pitch sgopped funnily enough

[mjsell]

2 hours ago, zahidf said:

I meant the team as a whole were targetting hazard, the ref warned smalling that the next foul on hazard would get booked, ander comitted a foul a few seconds after that warning, got his second yellow. Regardless of it being 'soft', the team as a whole was warned 

 

After ander's sending off, the constant attempts to kick hazard off the pitch sgopped funnily enough

I didn't realise you were on the pitch and was part of that conversation... 

the issue with your above explanation is that if that is what the conversation was about then how was Herrera to know? He was not a part of it and the ref did not give Smalling any opportunity to speak to the rest of his team after. 

[zahidf]

4 minutes ago, mjsell said:

I didn't realise you were on the pitch and was part of that conversation... 

the issue with your above explanation is that if that is what the conversation was about then how was Herrera to know? He was not a part of it and the ref did not give Smalling any opportunity to speak to the rest of his team after. 

It was immediately after the foul on hazard he had the conversation with smalling.

Its what the commentators said was said. It may have been about something else, but...

 

Ander is a snidey player who was already on a yellow and hazard was being kicked around for the first part of the match. Im not massively sympathetic.

[zahidf]

Just now, Scruffylovemonster said:

Yeah it's not rugby where the ref may say "the next person slowing down the breakdown will be sin-binned as it's happening all the time." In football, the "totting up" method of receiving a yellow is for a specific player who's committed a number of lesser fouls, not the team as a whole. 

He had fouled hazard a couple of time before the yellow, just not immediately before. He was trying to protect hazard to an extent, which i agree with.

 

[eFestivals]

14 minutes ago, mjsell said:

I didn't realise you were on the pitch and was part of that conversation... 

the issue with your above explanation is that if that is what the conversation was about then how was Herrera to know? He was not a part of it and the ref did not give Smalling any opportunity to speak to the rest of his team after. 

but Herrera's hack-down of Hazard is always a yellow. He played the man; it was never an attempt to get the ball.

It was a yellow whether or not the ref had that chat beforehand.

The only get-out is that on most occasions most refs probably would have let that one go for someone already on a yellow - but because the ref would be giving a freebie from the rules, and not applying them strictly.

 

[zahidf]

8 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

but Herrera's hack-down of Hazard is always a yellow. He played the man; it was never an attempt to get the ball.

It was a yellow whether or not the ref had that chat beforehand.

The only get-out is that on most occasions most refs probably would have let that one go for someone already on a yellow - but because the ref would be giving a freebie from the rules, and not applying them strictly.

 

And if the commentators were right, he already told the team through smalling that he wasnt going to let it go if it happened again.

[ThomThomDrum]

It was obvious Jose asked them to go out there and be aggressive toward Hazard. That tactic got what it deserved IMO. Someone sent off, which of course resulted in a change in the attitude of Utd players toward the cynical tactic being employed.

Shame the ref couldnt/didnt punish Costa for his play acting.  

[zahidf]

this headline made me laugh

http://www.football365.com/news/mourinhos-gone-mad-pogba-best-player-on-pitch-by-far