GWT: PL Matchweek 31

[koyvoo]

I want LFC to win it as anticlimatic as possible and they did just that.

And then..holy smokes I saw it was their first EPL title in nearly thirty years, yet the LFC arrogance on this board knows no bounds.

Congrats on the championship.

In reality, the only thing anticlimactic about anything this season is the fact that for all intents and purposes, the outcome was clear back when Santa was still putting his sleigh into storage for next year.

That sweet, sweet feeling of euphoria? Not anticlimactic. At all.

You lot do know that this season is pretty much the worst thing can happen right? This has nothing to do with Reds winning the title or Arsenal finishing whateva, but Man City losing a lot of games. They're going to spend loads - all within the FFP of course - on revamping their defensive line and they're probably going to go up another level on everybody else.

Well, looking at the standings, they do have to take drastic measures to keep up. I’m sure they will, and the challenge is welcome. It’s still going to a two horse race next season.

 

[Blender]

Yes, because it was spectacular before he arrived. Not to mention it's not him buying the players.

They also have Laporte and Garcia both weren't on the pitch with this loss. 2/4 titles losing to a historic LFC team. Some still have the audacity to say he failed lol.

It's definitely not him, I'm sure he's involved in some way but City under their current structure has never let their coach/manager dictate their transfers. That being said, they have of course spent a fortune on defenders. "Failed" entirely depends on the criteria you use. He has so far failed to deliver what they hired him for, a Champions League title. His domestic record has obviously been very good and by every definition a success. If he doesn't win the CL with City, there is no doubt it will be looked at as a disappointment.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

It's definitely not him, I'm sure he's involved in some way but City under their current structure has never let their coach/manager dictate their transfers. That being said, they have of course spent a fortune on defenders. "Failed" entirely depends on the criteria you use. He has so far failed to deliver what they hired him for, a Champions League title. His domestic record has obviously been very good and by every definition a success. If he doesn't win the CL with City, there is no doubt it will be looked at as a disappointment.

We'll see how long he lasts there.

 

[S E P H]

Pep's spent like 500mil on defenders. I don't think that defense is getting fixed with him there.

It wasn't that much, but the biggest problem from Pep was overpaying for fullbacks to fit his tactics. Spending like 100 million pounds on players like Mendy (awesome, but injured) and Walker (not really good) is bad eye for talent IMHO.

Yes, because it was spectacular before he arrived. Not to mention it's not him buying the players.

They also have Laporte and Garcia both weren't on the pitch with this loss. 2/4 titles losing to a historic LFC team. Some still have the audacity to say he failed lol.

Laporte is good, but he's no Kompany. They desperately need to buy somebody who can play next to him and perhaps get rid of their fullbacks by upgrading that position. They have the funds to find a better Laporte out there in the world and Europe.

 

[Cassano]

It's definitely not him, I'm sure he's involved in some way but City under their current structure has never let their coach/manager dictate their transfers. That being said, they have of course spent a fortune on defenders. "Failed" entirely depends on the criteria you use. He has so far failed to deliver what they hired him for, a Champions League title. His domestic record has obviously been very good and by every definition a success. If he doesn't win the CL with City, there is no doubt it will be looked at as a disappointment.

1 billion dollar squad and won 2/4 league titles and underperforming in CL. Meh.

And they've been legitimately terrible this year relative to talent level. Regardless of how well LFC have been.

 

[ecemleafs]

John Barnes looks like he’s going to explose with joy.

View attachment 351407

lets count the number of scousers in this photo

 

[S E P H]

Arsenal is going to be at 20 years since their last title here pretty soon, already been 17. So you know, stones in glass houses and all that.

Ten of which happened with one manager, meh, you lot have had like forty in that time. That's why I wanted to move on from Wenger in 2012, too much staleness in the club, but one of the worst aspects was Ivan staying here for so long. That was a blessing in disguise when he left for Milan.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

1 billion dollar squad and won 2/4 league titles and underperforming in CL. Meh.

And they've been legitimately terrible this year relative to talent level. Regardless of how well LFC have been.

Their best Cb was hurt for a large portion as did their 2nd. Otamendi had to play a big role when he's not even good enough for a mid table side right now. Their LB was also injured for a good stretch. 2 league titles, one a historic run is meh...I wonder what Arsenal would give for that sort of meh right about now.

 

[koyvoo]

Yes, because it was spectacular before he arrived. Not to mention it's not him buying the players.

They also have Laporte and Garcia both weren't on the pitch with this loss. 2/4 titles losing to a historic LFC team. Some still have the audacity to say he failed lol.

I’m mostly being playfully banter-y in posts for the past few hours. Of course City have the personnel that if they win the CL or PL next season, no one should be remotely surprised. But Pep staying that the club didn’t need reinforcements in the back line after suffering the injuries proved to be a blunder on his part.

 

[Live in the Now]

Pep's spent like 500mil on defenders. I don't think that defense is getting fixed with him there.

The defense isn't their problem. It's lack of focus. Most of the games they lose are games they completely dominate. They lose most of them from errors in midfield or from just plain not shooting the ball enough. A team that plays as high as top teams currently play in this era can't have their midfielders messing up.

Kepa is not a good goalkeeper. They did not test him very much. Even shooting it straight at him would have been better than what they were doing. Why not shoot in a game like today? The title was long lost but I struggle to understand their tactics at times.

 

[Cassano]

Their best Cb was hurt for a large portion as did their 2nd. Otamendi had to play a big role when he's not even good enough for a mid table side right now. Their LB was also injured for a good stretch. 2 league titles, one a historic run is meh...I wonder what Arsenal would give for that sort of meh right about now.

That speaks volumes to the lack of depth they have, despite being a 1bil squad their season is basically finished with one defender out?

They purchased Cancelo for some reason and don't even play him. They easily could've ponied up for a top tier CB like Upamecano. But Pep insists on playing Kyle Walker for some bizarre reason.

I'm sure if Arsenal had a 1 billion dollar valued squad, they could attain some of those things.

 

[Blender]

The defense isn't their problem. It's lack of focus. Most of the games they lose are games they completely dominate. They lose most of them from errors in midfield or from just plain not shooting the ball enough.

Kepa is not a good goalkeeper. They did not test him very much. Even shooting it straight at him would have been better than what they were doing. Why not shoot in a game like today?

The way City played today reminded me of the Sarri-ball that Chelsea played last season. Tons of possession, tons of passes, but mostly around the perimeter of the box with players mostly being static for long periods of time and little assertiveness, while being horribly vulnerable to a quick counter attack.

 

[Cassano]

The defense isn't their problem. It's lack of focus. Most of the games they lose are games they completely dominate. They lose most of them from errors in midfield or from just plain not shooting the ball enough. A team that plays as high as top teams currently play in this era can't have their midfielders messing up.

Kepa is not a good goalkeeper. They did not test him very much. Even shooting it straight at him would have been better than what they were doing. Why not shoot in a game like today? The title was long lost but I struggle to understand their tactics at times.

He's had puzzling tactics all season long, along with personnel choice in their starting XI, but the criticism he usually gets away with because the squad wins on sheer talent many games.

 

[Live in the Now]

The way City played today reminded me of the Sarri-ball that Chelsea played last season. Tons of possession, tons of passes, but mostly around the perimeter of the box with players mostly being static for long periods of time and little assertiveness, while being horribly vulnerable to a quick counter attack.

I distinctly remember a game earlier this season where they played against United, who barely had the ball at all. I don't remember them even having touches for ages. They had more shots on target than City did and they won. I think the main problem with their team is that they may not be clinical enough. They lead the league in goals, but their team is horribly vulnerable to any decent counter attack because there are so many players up the pitch. They also frequently have games against worse teams than United where they only have two or three more shots on target than those teams do.

There are a lot of dodgy goalkeepers in this league as well, so it would seem to be beneficial to shoot even if it's straight at the keeper.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

I’m mostly being playfully banter-y in posts for the past few hours. Of course City have the personnel that if they win the CL or PL next season, no one should be remotely surprised. But Pep staying that the club didn’t need reinforcements in the back line after suffering the injuries proved to be a blunder on his part.

That's fair and I did say at the time when it looked like they weren't bringing in someone to replace Otamendi, that it would be suicidal. TBF though he couldn't have expected both CBs to go down for long periods.

That speaks volumes to the lack of depth they have, despite being a 1bil squad their season is basically finished with one defender out?

They purchased Cancelo for some reason and don't even play him. They easily could've ponied up for a top tier CB like Upamecano. But Pep insists on playing Kyle Walker for some bizarre reason.

I'm sure if Arsenal had a 1 billion dollar valued squad, they could attain some of those things.

See above and yeah true I mean look at United's spending and their multiple trophies. This is getting tiresome of course since we've been over this countless times. Today's liverpool's day... that's it.

 

[Burner Account]

I distinctly remember a game earlier this season where they played against United, who barely had the ball at all. I don't remember them even having touches for ages. They had more shots on target than City did and they won. I think the main problem with their team is that they may not be clinical enough. They lead the league in goals, but their team is horribly vulnerable to any decent counter attack because there are so many players up the pitch. They also frequently have games against worse teams than United where they only have two or three more shots on target than those teams do.

There are a lot of dodgy goalkeepers in this league as well, so it would seem to be beneficial to shoot even if it's straight at the keeper.

Also:

 

[Live in the Now]

FWIW their owner saw no value in paying a lot of money for van Dijk and said so on TV. He said it was insane, he refused to do it, and told Pep that he wouldn't let him do it. They saw no value in keeping him away from another team or anything. Hahahhahahahahahaa

 

[YNWA14]

I want LFC to win it as anticlimatic as possible and they did just that.

And then..holy smokes I saw it was their first EPL title in nearly thirty years, yet the LFC arrogance on this board knows no bounds.

Congrats on the championship.

Where is this 'LFC arrogance' that knows no bounds?

You lot do know that this season is pretty much the worst thing can happen right? This has nothing to do with Reds winning the title or Arsenal finishing whateva, but Man City losing a lot of games. They're going to spend loads - all within the FFP of course - on revamping their defensive line and they're probably going to go up another level on everybody else.

We'll see. Depends on how this CL ban goes and all that. I wonder if most of their best players now will even want to stay. Hasn't there been a ton of rumours that KdB will leave if the ban is upheld? That would hurt a lot.

 

[Cassano]

That's fair and I did say at the time when it looked like they weren't bringing in someone to replace Otamendi, that it would be suicidal. TBF though he couldn't have expected both CBs to go down for long periods.



See above and yeah true I mean look at United's spending and their multiple trophies. This is getting tiresome of course since we've been over this countless times. Today's liverpool's day... that's it.

I have a conspiracy theory.

Man Utd is not really comparable. SAF purposely left Utd in such a bad state, just to add to his legacy and hired his buddy Moyes to make himself look better. He won his last title mainly due to Carrick and RvP having insane seasons and neither hit those heights ever again. Their CB pairing were like 34 avg age.

Imagine if Pep said to Barca that I want Unai Emery as my successor and they actually went through with it.

Sir Alex loved Sir Alex more than he loved Utd.

 

[Live in the Now]

Also:

I haven't seen that before, but I feel really vindicated for blaming their midfield right about now. Every goal in there is blamed on midfield errors.

 

[Live in the Now]

Where is this 'LFC arrogance' that knows no bounds?

That's what people say when they don't remember what it is like to win. The team isn't perfect. We just had pages worth of arguments over that.

However:

Look at those records. They speak volumes. They have broken every points record except so far the one at the end of the season.

 

[Machinehead]

Very fun fact: Willian also scored the second goal in the slip game.

 

[Blender]

Also:

Bang on about the Fernandinho situation. They still rely on him so heavily as a defensive midfielder, but he's been stuck at centerback a lot this year due to depth issues. Rodri's passing has been fantastic for them, but he leaves a lot to be desired in providing cover for the defenders.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Davies, at LB or a winger, is better than Pulisic.

If you say so, it must be true. No point of even debating it.

Regardless, I know you Canadians care a lot about comparing Davies to American players, which is why you guys do any chance you can get.

Personally, this comparison or other ones do little for the US National Team. Our measuring stick cannot be Canada at this point, with all due respect.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Pulisic is doing well; I'm not convinced he'll be getting consistent starting time with Ziyech and Werner coming in but if he keeps having these performances it'll be hard not to give him more time.

He has some of the best per minute stats for any Premier League club and he's 21 years old. Are you sure you don't want to revise what you just said? Do you think his play is a fluke?

It's amazing how some of you bet big on Pulisic flopping at Chelsea, and now you guys can't admit that he's doing well. Take the L, and admit the kid is good. Myself personally, I thought he needed a lot of improvement going into this season from what he had shown in prior seasons. I've also never been a fan of his style of play, but credit where it's due. He's been brilliant this season. Looks miles better in the final third.