Premier League 2017-2018

[maclean]

This is Austin Matthews good!

Except that Liverpool also managed to actually win the game

 

[maclean]

Just out of curiosity, I wasn't paying enough attention - were all the postponed PL games this weekend because of weather or cup games, or both?

 

[Chimaera]

Yeah, I'm wrong.

Cup ties it looks like.

 

[hatterson]

They were all due to cup ties.

Spurs, Chelsea, Leicester, Swansea, Southampton, United, and Brighton were all in FA cup games

 

[maclean]

Well, thanks for clearing that up boys!

 

[YNWA14]

I definitely looked at the whole of how Suarez performed before coming to this conclusion. One way it is easy to look at the whole of Salah's performances is seeing how many goals Firmino is scoring as a #9 now compared to last season. I thought the best performance either of these players had considering competition was a game Suarez played against Zenit, Salah has still not approached that level in any singular game. It is still every week with this stuff. Suarez also scored from a few free kicks, which Salah has not yet done. That is an impact all of its own as well, but there's something else people seem to not realize. Suarez scored zero times against a top four team that year. That's something I did not make up, it's 100% fact. You make of it what you want.

Suarez still had 4 assists against 'top 4' sides (aka the 3 other teams that composed the top 4) that season, while also scoring 6 and assisting 5 between United, Spurs and Everton (and it was a lot easier to gameplan again just shutting Suarez down to try and stifle Liverpool in that time which made it harder on Suarez at times IMO). Firmino scoring more was also a matter of time as he was one of the more unlucky players in the league last season, but it also makes sense that he'd score more with other great players in the team. I'm not trying to say that Salah isn't a great player, he absolutely is. But Suarez had 31 goals and 21 assists in 33 games in the PL that season, and he wasn't just primarily a poacher. He did it all. I think it was the single most productive season in PL history (fact check) and honestly the overall quality of the team wasn't at the same level as this one (which benefits everyone involved). I can't imagine what that Suarez would look like playing with our current set-up, especially Firmino who just does so much work and opens up so much space for the other forwards.

Does anyone think Ronaldo is less important to RM's success than the other players there? That's effectively the argument and in those terms, Ronaldo's impact on RM speaks for itself. I mean, you can't have it both ways here. I believe you're one of the people who talks about how great Ronaldo is. Well, this one speaks for itself. That all being said this is still only a debut season. It could get better or it could get worse. Ultimately time will tell. Personally I believe Suarez got better after leaving Liverpool, but a lot of other players around the world improved at the same time and the recognition he should probably get will never come to him, for both that and other reasons.

I know a lot of people think that Ronaldo is less important, and I wasn't trying to say he's not important or fantastic for Liverpool, but Ronaldo has also been doing it for a long time and Salah hasn't hit those peaks. I just think Suarez had a bigger impact overall on the team. But again, my preference for Suarez's top season over what Salah is currently doing isn't a slight against Salah. I just think there's a very legitimate argument that Suarez's last season with us was the best season an individual has had in the PL maybe ever. Salah could certainly get up to that level.

 

[YNWA14]

The above table is the data with and without BIG van Dijk.

Obviously, it partially coincides with replacing Mignolet with Karius as well (and small sample size) but anyone watching the games can see a marked and noticeable improvement largely due to van Dijk and his presence at the back. Not just his defending but his confidence and organizing.

https://g.redditmedia.com/eSQ1tGnAU...nted=false&s=87c113c778b41022f9bcf5f659a0a416

Find someone who believes in you like van Dijk believes in his team.

What a player, buy and, even though it was all doom and gloom from some when it happened, replacing Coutinho with van Dijk has improved the team. Can't wait for the summer when Keita and a few other big players join.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Didn’t Mourinho do something similar yo what he’s doing now at the end of his last Chelsea stint? Argue with the board, take shots at his club, and call out his players or something of the sort?

 

[Burner Account]

I definitely looked at the whole of how Suarez performed before coming to this conclusion. One way it is easy to look at the whole of Salah's performances is seeing how many goals Firmino is scoring as a #9 now compared to last season. I thought the best performance either of these players had considering competition was a game Suarez played against Zenit, Salah has still not approached that level in any singular game. It is still every week with this stuff. Suarez also scored from a few free kicks, which Salah has not yet done. That is an impact all of its own as well, but there's something else people seem to not realize. Suarez scored zero times against a top four team that year. That's something I did not make up, it's 100% fact. You make of it what you want.

Does anyone think Ronaldo is less important to RM's success than the other players there? That's effectively the argument and in those terms, Ronaldo's impact on RM speaks for itself. I mean, you can't have it both ways here. I believe you're one of the people who talks about how great Ronaldo is. Well, this one speaks for itself. That all being said this is still only a debut season. It could get better or it could get worse. Ultimately time will tell. Personally I believe Suarez got better after leaving Liverpool, but a lot of other players around the world improved at the same time and the recognition he should probably get will never come to him, for both that and other reasons.

Saturday was Salah's equivalent of Suarez in 2013-14 Norwich home. He still hasn't had a second leg vs. Zenit performance.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Seems like Tottenham's new lodge at their training ground is finished. Will be used by Spurs players in preparation for matches, or betweem double training sessions. Will also be hired out together with parts of the ground to clubs/national teams that need a better alternative to a hotel. Brazil will use it in preparation for the WC.

 

[Prntscrn]

Hopefully this is true.

Liverpool set to expand Anfield again as club target 60,000 seats | Daily Mail Online

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Not sure how many recurring ankle injuries Harry Winks has had this season. Makes me extremely worried considering his world class potential.

 

[S E P H]

Hopefully this is true.

Liverpool set to expand Anfield again as club target 60,000 seats | Daily Mail Online

Sounds like Arsenal, soon Klopp is going to say that you lot will be challenging against Bayern only to lose 10-2 on agg.

 

[robertmac43]

Sounds like Arsenal, soon Klopp is going to say that you lot will be challenging against Bayern only to lose 10-2 on agg.

And then to make things worse you will end up in the Europa league barely beating a Swedish pub team, losing to them @ your new, massive stadium.

 

[S E P H]

West Brom CEO says there is no money left in the bank to pay for players wages, expecting heavy financial losses incoming. They're getting relegated...

 

[hatterson]

TBH they were getting relegated regardless of paying their players. They're 10 back of safety with 8 games to go.

 

[robertmac43]

West Brom as good as done at this point. I think West Ham will be joining them, as well as Huddersfield.

I cannot help but think that Stoke and and Southampton will find away out of the bottom 3

 

[hatterson]

Southampton has a tough schedule to close out. Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Everton and City still to go.

 

[Stray Wasp]

West Brom CEO says there is no money left in the bank to pay for players wages, expecting heavy financial losses incoming. They're getting relegated...

A useful reminder that for all but a handful of clubs the Premier League is an economic Venus fly trap.

Albion's 2015/16 financial results threw up startling numbers: their wage bill was £73.7 million, dangerously high for a turnover of £98.3 million. (It's considered good housekeeping to keep salaries under 60% of turnover).

Now weigh the outlay against the 'quality' it bought in:

Myhill (Foster)
Dawson - McAuley - Evans (Chester) - Olsson
Fletcher - Yacob (Sandro)
Gardner (Morrison, McManaman) - Sessegnon (Berahino) - McClean (Brunt)
Rondon (Lambert / Anichebe)

Let's allow that West Brom may have had an oversized, overpaid non-footballing staff. Even so, pretty much everyone in that starting line up must have been earning £50-60,000 a week. They were able to command this as the going rate for keeping West Brom in the league, yet it left them with a squad incapable of playing football, and no financial leeway to carry out even a modest upgrade.

So in 2016/17 the combination of a 10th place finish and the new TV deal added £39 million to their turnover, but one report I read claimed the wage bill commitments increased another £25 million to accommodate footballing giants Matt Phillips, Nacer Chadli, Allan Nyom, Hal Robson-Kanu and Jake Livermore.

And this summer they upped the ante even further. I've seen Kieran Gibbs' salary quoted at £80,000 a week, and Krychowiak's mentioned at £100,000 a week. Even allowing that we should take the media's reports on individual players' stipends with a grain of salt, the amount of cash being splurged just to try and reduce the gap to the top six from three country miles to two is certifiable.

The mind boggles at the staggering amount of money utterly mediocre players are creaming in, and will continue to cream in for many more years to come.

 

[Prntscrn]

One of those days today. Liverpool will lose

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

COYS!!!

 

[Johnnywhite]

COYS!!!

Oh when the Spurs..........

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Joel Matip’s season likely over due to injury

 

[Savant]

Joel Matip’s season likely over due to injury

Yeah it's true.

Klavan and Emre Can are probably out tomorrow too.

The only healthy senior player that has played CB this year that is still healthy is Wijnaldum. They have Conor Masterson at the youth level who is probably closest to the first team but he likely is not ready

Lovren was better than Matip this season, but Liverpool are running out of bodies.

 

[Theokritos]

Personally I wouldn't play Salah against Everton tomorrow, but what are the chances Klopp actually rests him?