EPL and European Football season 2017-18

PeteEU said:

Lit as on fire.. its yankie slang!... thought you were younger than me and yet you dont know lit? Get with the times old man!

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I don't really do Yankie slang. We've enough of our own!

You're right though, this is going to be an epic weekend. Sure, everyone wants to see the first Clásico, but I think it'll promise more than it delivers because it's only the Super Cup, which no one's that bothered about, and it's only the first leg, so barring catastrophe for one or the other team, it will settle nothing.

I'm English, so of course the Prem is top priority to me. My team's game against newly-promoted Brighton will be top of my list, but there are three other games I think will be fascinating:

1) Arsenal vs. Leicester. Everyone will assume Arsenal will win tonight, but Leicester have strengthened their side, probably more than Arsenal have and last season there was very little between them: a draw at Leicester and a 1-0 win for Arsenal at home that they only secured because of a Huth own goal. I'm probably going to play it safe and guess on another 1-0 home win.

2) United vs. West Ham. On paper you'd say it was a shoo-in for United, but West Ham have also strengthened and they ended a poor season on a good run, losing only once in their last 7 games. I'll admit to a bit of a soft spot for West Ham, one of my best mates is a huge Hammers fan. I'd love to see them hold United. I think that the football between these two sides is usually of high quality. I'm going to stick my neck out and say this will be a 1-1 draw.

3) Newcastle vs. Tottenham. I think most people believe Newcastle will be the strongest of the sides coming up this season. Tottenham don't appear to have done any strengthening at all. Now they finished 2nd last season, so they didn't need to do that much, but nothing stays the same. In their pre-season friendlies they were up and down: beaten by Roma and City, but they beat PSG and Juve. That inconsistency will give Newcastle some hope. It's also at St. James's Park, so another slight advantage to the Toon. I might be waaay wrong on this, but I'm going to predict 2-1 to Newcastle.

Oh, and City to beat Brighton, natch. I'll say 7-1! If they beat us, that will sting and I'll be calling for Guardiola's sacking, pronto. :lol:

Anyone else want to put their money where their mouth is?

Andalublue said:

1) Arsenal vs. Leicester. Everyone will assume Arsenal will win tonight, but Leicester have strengthened their side, probably more than Arsenal have and last season there was very little between them: a draw at Leicester and a 1-0 win for Arsenal at home that they only secured because of a Huth own goal. I'm probably going to play it safe and guess on another 1-0 home win.

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Hihihi, watching at the moment.. damn it is a good game and Arsenal need better defenders.

Huge game

As a neutral, that was an immense game. It had a bit of everything: some dodgy defending, individual mistakes and moments of brilliance. Leicester deserve a lot of credit and I thought the referee was a bit of a homer, but they've got problems in defence... and so have Arsenal. They looked terrific for the first 5 minutes and terrific for the last 10, but in between they looked as if they were lacking organisation, as if they didn't have a plan to work to. Özil was poor, Oxlade-Chamberlin mediocre and Ramsey and Giroud fantastic. Arsenal were just the better side, but not by much and that kind of performance isn't likely to strike fear into the hearts of the title contenders IMHO.

Oh, and I called it. Right result, right winning margin, I just underestimated the attacking threat of both sides and overestimate their defensive strengths. I'm very pleased to be wrong on that, since that was a cracking start to the season.

2 games in and we have more than 10 goals!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to see Everton lineup. It's been a very productive transfer window for us and I'm excited to see how we look.

That was beyond awful. Not sure what Klopp was thinking with those subs. Well, clearly he wasn't thinking. Our defensive issues are still there. What a shambles.

Serenity said:

That was beyond awful. Not sure what Klopp was thinking with those subs. Well, clearly he wasn't thinking. Our defensive issues are still there. What a shambles.

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I agree, but lets be fair here.. so far lots of teams have massive defensive problems ... Arsenal, Chealski... so It seems that English teams have forgotten how to defend.

Woah. When I voted in the poll I was thinking either Chelsea or Man U, good thing I've went with Man U.

Apocalypse said:

Woah. When I voted in the poll I was thinking either Chelsea or Man U, good thing I've went with Man U.

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You do know you just jinxed Man U? They dont exactly have great defenders either

Ohhh Chelsea down to 9 but bring it to 2-3... can they get a point?

PeteEU said:

You do know you just jinxed Man U? They dont exactly have great defenders either

Ohhh Chelsea down to 9 but bring it to 2-3... can they get a point?

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Their defenders are certainly their weakness but Mourinho is on his 2nd year.

Rooney, Rooney, Rooney

PeteEU said:

You do know you just jinxed Man U? They dont exactly have great defenders either

Ohhh Chelsea down to 9 but bring it to 2-3... can they get a point?

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Bailey is a force to be reckoned with

Apocalypse said:

Their defenders are certainly their weakness but Mourinho is on his 2nd year.

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Irrelevant.. Mourinho has lost his mojo since he was fired by Real Madrid. He failed there, and has failed since. Add to that, a weak midfield and defence, and you have a Man U team that wont go anywhere.

PeteEU said:

Irrelevant.. Mourinho has lost his mojo since he was fired by Real Madrid. He failed there, and has failed since. Add to that, a weak midfield and defence, and you have a Man U team that wont go anywhere.

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Didn't he win the title at Chelsea?

Higgins86 said:

Didn't he win the title at Chelsea?

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Yes and he was fired early in the next season. If you look at his stats since leaving Inter and the amount of money and teams he has managed... it aint impressive when compared to the early part of his career. He is getting into more bust ups with his players than winning trophies.

PeteEU said:

Yes and he was fired early in the next season. If you look at his stats since leaving Inter and the amount of money and teams he has managed... it aint impressive when compared to the early part of his career. He is getting into more bust ups with his players than winning trophies.

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I mean he did win trophies last year lol.

Higgins86 said:

I mean he did win trophies last year lol.

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Ahh yes, minor trophies in cup competitions.... My point is, the Mourinho Mojo of Porto and Chelsea 1.0 and Inter is gone. He does not have the same respect as he once had, and no one really fears playing his teams anymore. His stint at Real Madrid damaged his image massively and it has not been the same since.

Not impressed with Man City in the first half. Not exactly mind boggling opposition they are up against. Hope they get their act together in the second half.

And someone tell David Silva to grow his hair... ffs he looks stupid!

PeteEU said:

Ahh yes, minor trophies in cup competitions.... My point is, the Mourinho Mojo of Porto and Chelsea 1.0 and Inter is gone. He does not have the same respect as he once had, and no one really fears playing his teams anymore. His stint at Real Madrid damaged his image massively and it has not been the same since.

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I seem to remember you telling us not long ago that English clubs need to take the Europa League seriously as a major trophy; more important than the FA Cup.

PeteEU said:

Not impressed with Man City in the first half. Not exactly mind boggling opposition they are up against. Hope they get their act together in the second half.

And someone tell David Silva to grow his hair... ffs he looks stupid!

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I wasn't impressed by the first half, but the second half showed that organisation and patience pay off. City's first goal was a thing of beauty. Fantastic pass from De Bruyne to Silva and an even better slotted pass through to Agüero who finished like the superstar he is.

It's hard playing against a team that keeps 11 players behind the ball, but the result was great and a slow start was at least a lot better than the other contenders managed.

Top results for Huddersfield and Burnley. Very impressive indeed!

Andalublue said:

I seem to remember you telling us not long ago that English clubs need to take the Europa League seriously as a major trophy; more important than the FA Cup.

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The Europa League is a minor trophy but far more important than the FA cup due to what it gives access too.

Brilliant attack by Man U, great first goal for Lukaku

PeteEU said:

The Europa League is a minor trophy but far more important than the FA cup due to what it gives access too.

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So, in the hierarchy of club trophies, are you saying that there are only two 'major' trophies? Domestic league title and the CL? Everything else is 'minor'?

Watching El Clásico and Barca are being given a bit of a football lesson by Real. They can't get the ball, can't keep the ball and can't do anything with it when they do have it. On the other hand, Real look like they could score at any moment. How they are only one own goal ahead is baffling. Hang on... Cristiano nearly scored. Nope, still just 0-1.

Madrid are several levels above Barca, their age is o-ver.

Cristiano is a God, Asensio is something else and we'll enjoy that one for a long time.
Worst ref ever.