General Premier League Thread 2023-24 Mod Note in op 27/6/23 And 21/05/24

giveitholly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509377#Comment_121509377

Exactly,Sky are using Keane perfectly,get him to say something that is supposed to be controversial and its all over social media. That clip was all over twitter last night so sky got what they wanted.

When is the last time Keane actually did analysis of a game? He is just there as a puppet for sky and the irony of that is lost on him because he is taking the soup

AidoEirE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509377#Comment_121509377

Keane was being reactive to VVD being pro active in his comments.

Anyway not a big deal and sky is usually full of sound bites the last few years, Keane and Souness the main offenders.

jacool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121508912#Comment_121508912

I think it might need more than Karma. (and they'll be Kamara-less for 3 games now)

I don't see any depth in the Villa bench. They are a Watkins injury away from dropping off would be my guess.

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509043#Comment_121509043

You are probably right but this is their worst start under Guardiola, and it looks like they have 2 serious rivals this season so can't just rely on Arsenal sh!tting the bed (Arsenal look a lot more resilient this year anyway).

pjohnson

Among all the wânky ref decisions yet again VAR's bizarre hatred of Wolves continues.

such a strange little subplot this year.

Bounty Hunter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121508803#Comment_121508803

I get the impression he is a mix between marmite and a Suarez/Bellamy type (but a goalie and sure goalies are a bit eccentric to begin with). By that I mean some love him (and really rate him), some hate him (and think he is overrated) and that in many ways he is a player you would love if he is on your team but he'd annoy the hell out of you as an opponent. A character, master of sh!thousery, the dark arts etc is often how players like him are described.

One thing is for sure, he is a player for big moments and as a Villa fan I love seeing him lining out for us even if we know he maybe is not the brightest and can be riled up (as seen in the situation yesterday).

jacool

I have just seen the Keane thing played back - what an embarrassment.

Doesn't look as if Virgil was too wrong in anything he said, but Roy's quote about 1 title in 30 years sounds pitiful, at best.

Keane is playing a character, he's fully aware of it and getting paid very well. Not sure how people still get wound up by it

505_

In fairness Keane admitted liverpool were the better team and should have won. He had an unbelievable mentality as a player, 7 league titles. The whole thing is blown way out of proportion though. Obviously Sky are loving it. I don't know any Utd fans that were "buzzing" with a point yesterday. So maybe i'd have preferred if VVD focused on our performance and why we couldn't finish off a team unable to score and shipping goals for fun lately.

Suvarnabhumi

I'm sure someone has already said it, but the only stat that matters is the score.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121510452#Comment_121510452

It's just creating drama for the content as there was little to build on from the actual game.

One team came to play and Liverpool were unfortunate with their finishing. Same thing in essence as the recent Arsenal vs Villa game where one team dominated with the other just hanging on. Nothing wrong with playing like that but have to be prepared to face the criticism.

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121510629#Comment_121510629

If Utd came with the game plan of frustrating Liverpool and getting a point from the game then they succeeded. Does that not deserve praise for for a successful tactic rather than criticism.

A point was a good result for Utd. Its were we are atm. Simple as.

The Big Easy

Thought the United performance was a poor reflection on the players once more.

They put everything into defending like their lives depended upon, lots of blocks and last ditch tackles. They were unified and determined not to concede, but that isn't the norm.

Next week they'll be back to strolling around and sticking out a leg here and there conceding ridiculous goals.

We still await the great reset.

jacool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121510720#Comment_121510720

Agreed. One happier team coming out of Anfield last evening.

Then why the need for Roy Keane to come out with criticism of Van Dijk "dissing" as he put it Man Utd?

He could have praised "his" team, but instead he had to go off on one, as if it was a personal insult.

VVD was more mature in his post-Keane reply "I felt what I said and there is absolutely no arrogance in that. Everyone who watched the game probably felt the same. We move on. We had the opportunity and we couldn’t score and that’s the frustrating part.”

Dave0301

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121510804#Comment_121510804

You are reading into it way too much. Keane knows exactly what he is doing in generating social media soundbites for Sky.

It is nothing more or less than that.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121508803#Comment_121508803

God like character. What do you think he should have been sent off for? Some offence that doesn’t exist in the rule book?

SlickRic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509043#Comment_121509043

I just came in to say similar.

I still put City as favourites. They are the only team in the current guise, when they have enough players fit, who I feel can go on a 12 games stretch of wins. Now, there is a possibility that they might not be capable of it for whatever reason this season, but because they can, until they're double digits out of reach having played the same amount of games as Arsenal, I'll still have them as the most likely to win it.

People can't sleep on KDB coming back either. if he comes back at even 80% that midfield is all of a sudden levels above.

In that context, Arsenal need to win on Saturday in my opinion. Make another statement. Their first statement was actually beating City earlier in the season. The next one needs to be beating an elite team to really put the pressure on - it'd extend the lead while City can't respond, while also also confirming to the rest of the league that they really can be the best team in the country.

L'prof

5 points is nothing to City. They’re still the bookies favourite because of what we all know they’re capable of

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511274#Comment_121511274

I also expect them to sell Phillips and buy two first team starters for MF now that Nunes and Kovacic haven't worked yet and they'll be the back ups.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509454#Comment_121509454

Agree. Can't see them winning it. They will drop points around the run in period of March and April. A CL spot would be a huge achievement. As a United fan I would love to see them win it but for me with DeBruyne eventually back it's City's to lose.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511402#Comment_121511402

You have to know you are reinventing refereeing here. Villa took the lead in the 85th minute. How many shots at timewasting do you actually think he even had if he wanted to?

If picking a player up off the ground is a red, then we’d have seen a lot of reds over the years, because this is happened quite a few times, and I don’t remember one red for it ever. Often not even a yellow card offence.

But yeah, other than that, defo should have been sent off.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511367#Comment_121511367

What's the craic with Paquetá's gambling investigation thing? Is that all done now, or is it still hanging over him? He was City's first choice ahead of Nunes, so if his situation is less complicated now, could see them going back in for him. Could even see them going in for André also if he equips himself well against them in the WCC final, just to have him developing in the background, filling Phillips spot.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511771#Comment_121511771

I was thinking Paqueta and maybe Paulina.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511803#Comment_121511803

Don’t think Pep would have any interest at all in Palhinha. Pep wouldn’t have much time for pure destroyers, no matter how good they are at it. Paqueta is also filling a very different hole than the Phillips one, but if Pep is cutting his losses on Nunes and Kovacic, he may go there.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121512503#Comment_121512503

You don’t get yellow/red cards for having timewasted in the past.

That free kick for the Maupay barge/Martinez theatrics was actually the only set piece Martinez even took after we went in front, but don’t let yesterdays facts get in the way of the overall picture you’ve built around the 2023 Yashin winner/all round nice guy.

pjohnson

Ah it takes a complete disconnect from reality to not realise Martinez is a professional time waster.

artanevilla

Martinez is a master of game management. Possibly the best in the world and he has fúcked the trophies to prove it. He's a bloody good goalkeeper as well, he's a player you want on your team but you hate him if he's not.

It's a sign Villa are starting to be respected as contenders that people are getting annoyed.

The Moist Buddha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121511771#Comment_121511771

who'd City beat in semi?

citytillidie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121513089#Comment_121513089

They are playing Urawa Red Diamonds this evening

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121513006#Comment_121513006

Being an Arsenal fan, I've never been a fan of him even when he was playing well due to his hot headedness and general carry on. Many keepers do what he does with time wasting and riling people up but he often over does it at and just ends up looking like a bit of a gobshite.

I think Villa are doing a phenomenal job but questions remain about the squads ability to keep it up as the back ups aren't there. Would be great to have a smaller team break into the top4/6 to mix things up for the neutrals too.