Premier League 2020-2021 (Part I)

[Live in the Now]

Thiago Alcantara tests positive for COVID-19

 

[robertmac43]

That is not good, hopefully they caught it sooner than later and the rest of the team avoided contact with him.

 

[bluesfan94]

The thing is is that’s it’s much more unlikely to lose a game from a winning scoreline than it is from an neutral scoreline, so it’s not that’s it’s trying to emphasize that going up on Liverpool was a bad thing, but that losing the points from a situation where it’s less likely to lose points is a bad thing. Particularly if it happens to you more frequently than it does to any other team.

Right, but if you look at it on the balance, it was always likely for Arsenal to drop points against Liverpool. Going up early in a match doesn't change that equation.

It’s from Optus Sport. I highly doubt it’s incorrect. Something that is fact cannot be a hot take.

Bullshit. The way the facts are presented matters

 

[koyvoo]

Right, but if you look at it on the balance, it was always likely for Arsenal to drop points against Liverpool. Going up early in a match doesn't change that equation.

Bullshit. The way the facts are presented matters

Ya, but I don’t think the 3 points lost to Liverpool in that situation are meant to be the focus any more or any less than the other 15 pts being referenced.

As to your second point, I may be missing something very simple, but what exactly about the way it’s presented makes it more of a hot take than it makes it factual?

 

[bluesfan94]

Ya, but I don’t think the 3 points lost to Liverpool in that situation are meant to be the focus any more or any less than the other 15 pts being referenced.

As to your second point, I may be missing something very simple, but what exactly about the way it’s presented makes it more of a hot take than it makes it factual?

Yeah, but that’s 1/6th of the fact and I don’t know what the other ones off the top of my head. It’s a stat lacking context.

because of the narrative it drives that arteta is somehow a bottler.

 

[S E P H]

It’s from Optus Sport. I highly doubt it’s incorrect. Something that is fact cannot be a hot take.

Yeah no to this. I am not targeting you at all, but just because somebody claims "FACTS" doesn't really understand the reason why those facts are facts in the first place. There is a reasonable explanation for everything bruv, the sky is blue and that's a fact, but why is the sky blue? Because air molecules scatter light from the sun and because blue is a shorter wavelength than the others, it gets scattered readily and easier than the other colours - there's your reason. Arteta dropping points is a fact, but you need to realise is that majority of those points dropped were last season when he just came into the team.

 

[Savant]

Yeah, but that’s 1/6th of the fact and I don’t know what the other ones off the top of my head. It’s a stat lacking context.

because of the narrative it drives that arteta is somehow a bottler.

People just love to throw the word bottler around. Lost its meaning to me because it’s so overused within its context

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

"Callum Hudson-Odoi leveraged interest from Bayern to extract a contract worth £180,000 per week from Chelsea, making the chances of any departure remote. The Athletic has been told of other players, incl. Tammy Abraham, using Odoi’s deal as a gauge in their own talks with the club"

 

[bleedblue1223]

I don't know if I fully believe that 180k number, I've seen 120k reported too. We definitely had to overpay to keep him though. All the talk about him leaving now has been BS though.

 

[Chimaera]

van de Beek’s agent already upset at playing time? That might be a record.

 

[Cassano]

"Callum Hudson-Odoi leveraged interest from Bayern to extract a contract worth £180,000 per week from Chelsea, making the chances of any departure remote. The Athletic has been told of other players, incl. Tammy Abraham, using Odoi’s deal as a gauge in their own talks with the club"

Wow he played them like a fiddle. Great agent.

 

[hatterson]

van de Beek’s agent already upset at playing time? That might be a record.

I can’t tell from the interview if it’s actually upset or just typical “my guy should play more” agent talk.

If it’s the former than the agent should have probably checked which team he was going to. He wasn’t going to be a regular starter for United as long as Pogba and Bruno are there. Cup canes and sub appearances are what he should expect.

 

[Adonis Creed]

Chelsea wage structure is just brutal.
but whatever.... we have 300k Ozil not playing..

 

[Chimaera]

I can’t tell from the interview if it’s actually upset or just typical “my guy should play more” agent talk.

If it’s the former than the agent should have probably checked which team he was going to. He wasn’t going to be a regular starter for United as long as Pogba and Bruno are there. Cup canes and sub appearances are what he should expect.

I think it's backing his guy. But I don't know that you spend that much on a guy who's not going to be a regular starter. If that means OGS had to figure a way to integrate and change the system, so be it, but even United aren't rich enough to not get the guy into the majority of matches.

 

[hatterson]

I think it's backing his guy. But I don't know that you spend that much on a guy who's not going to be a regular starter. If that means OGS had to figure a way to integrate and change the system, so be it, but even United aren't rich enough to not get the guy into the majority of matches.

Short of fully switching the system to a 4-4-2, I'm not sure what else OGS is supposed to do to get VdB higher up the pecking order. He's clearly behind Bruno for the #10 role and Pogba as the more free of the other two midfielders and his skill set doesn't really fit playing the more defensive role. I think he was bought as the Pogba replacement a year early.

 

[bluesfan94]

People just love to throw the word bottler around. Lost its meaning to me because it’s so overused within its context

I think it fits here, though, no?

 

[East Coast Bias]

Short of fully switching the system to a 4-4-2, I'm not sure what else OGS is supposed to do to get VdB higher up the pecking order. He's clearly behind Bruno for the #10 role and Pogba as the more free of the other two midfielders and his skill set doesn't really fit playing the more defensive role. I think he was bought as the Pogba replacement a year early.

He should be playing over Pogba right now. Pogba clearly isn't right after Covid. He's been awful.

 

[The Abusement Park]

He should be playing over Pogba right now. Pogba clearly isn't right after Covid. He's been awful.

VDB has been awesome every time he's been on as well. It's wild to see so much off the ball movement outside of Rashford.

 

[hatterson]

He should be playing over Pogba right now. Pogba clearly isn't right after Covid. He's been awful.

It’s two league games in. It’s not like VdB has been riding the bench for 3 months.

Pogba was clearly going to start the first game. VdB came on with 25 mins left or whatever. Then he played the full game midweek so it makes sense for Pogba to start again. VdB will likely get the full game today as well so Pogba will likely start Sunday too.

Sure if it’s November, Pogba still sucks, and VdB is still stapled to the bench, he should be pissed, but we’re not remotely there yet.

 

[East Coast Bias]

It’s two league games in. It’s not like VdB has been riding the bench for 3 months.

Pogba was clearly going to start the first game. VdB came on with 25 mins left or whatever. Then he played the full game midweek so it makes sense for Pogba to start again. VdB will likely get the full game today as well so Pogba will likely start Sunday too.

Sure if it’s November, Pogba still sucks, and VdB is still stapled to the bench, he should be pissed, but we’re not remotely there yet.

I don’t disagree other than the fact that Pogba is clearly not right. He shouldn’t be starting now. There’s no reason to start him at 60% post Covid when Donny is there. It’s not like you’re being forced into playing Lingard in MF

 

[YNWA14]

He should be playing over Pogba right now. Pogba clearly isn't right after Covid. He's been awful.

I mean Pogba has had some awful stretches pre-COVID; I think that it's a bit early to look to lay the blame there when pretty much every other player that had COVID has been completely fine (some even playing better than before ala CHO).

 

[hatterson]

I mean Pogba has had some awful stretches pre-COVID; I think that it's a bit early to look to lay the blame there when pretty much every other player that had COVID has been completely fine (some even playing better than before ala CHO).

Yea Pogba has definitely had stretches where he looks like he doesn't care and is super sloppy. That's part of what you get with him.

 

[East Coast Bias]

I mean Pogba has had some awful stretches pre-COVID; I think that it's a bit early to look to lay the blame there when pretty much every other player that had COVID has been completely fine (some even playing better than before ala CHO).

I don't really think the overall impact of Covid on the modern athlete really matters in the context of what I'm saying here. CHO had Covid in early March. He had 3 months to recover before playing.

Pogba:

Missed all of 2020 games prior to shutdown.

Returned June at restart. Between PL start to last game Europa Semifinal (June 19th to August 16th) he played in 14 matches across all comps. Including 10 starts, 4 subs, including 2 matches that went 120 mins.

His season ended August 16th. He tested positive August 26th. He started the new season Sept 19th, 3 weeks later.

He played a ton of games, had a short offseason which he spent with covid. He doesn't look right at all.

 

[VEGASKING]

Only took 3 rounds before the hand ball rules got rolled back.

Premier League bows to pressure over handball

 

[hatterson]

It's a much more sane way to apply the rule.