General Premier League Thread 2020-21 - Mod Notes in 1st post. [Updated 17/12/20]

ShamoBuc wrote: »

City are 10/11, pool 11/4 and Utd 6/1

But if some biased person on an internet forum is saying that the league title is there to be thrown away by the team priced at 6/1, clearly they know better than all the highly skilled data analysts employed by those bookmakers.

jayo26 wrote: »

Teams go through dips and this is liverpools dip.

United will have another dip im sure of it we haven't been consistent for 8 years i dont see that changing now we just might get closer.

City have had a dip too and seem to be coming out the other side of it but pep is by all means rebuilding his side.

Liverpool wont be far off.

I know what your saying but if you look at the dips United and City dips in form they came while playing the better sides, So came into form when they where playing sides lower than the table, which helped gain momentum and confidence back

Liverpool dip has come playing sides at the bottom of the table ,They will now be going into games against the better sides looking to pick up form

Does that make sense ?

jayo26 wrote: »

Of a normal season it would make sense but this season? Anything can happen everyone is suffering from dips.

Everton looked good, spurs looked good, villa, pool and city everyone looked good at one stage then started suffering dips in form.

Yes that very true,
I believe Untied still have to play the other 5 of the usual top 6 all away form home ? Liverpool,City,Chelsea, Arsenal & Spurs

So there is a lot long way to go,

I still reckon City will win it

3 weeks ago Today
Man City 10/3 4/5
Liverpool 1/1 3/1
Man Utd 20/1 7/1
Tottenham 10/1 15/1 were as low as 9/2 once
Leicester 20/1 40/1
Chelsea 20/1 66/1 were as low as 5/1 once

Bookies are like the rest of us, haven't a clue this season.
Southampton are 250/1 now and they have as many points as Man City !!

apologies for the messy look, I tried the indents and everything

MD1990 wrote: »

Man Utds record against the big sides this season is very poor. Beaten nobody in the top 6 last season yet.

Last season it was the opposite.

Man City are now firm favourites, Dias been a great signing they look good at the back. An injury to De Bruyne is what would stop them.
Liverpool need a CB badly.

Have to agree City are starting to tick and Sergio will come back into the team now ,
I think they will it comfortably,

Quazzie wrote: »

If Liverpool don't win the league this year (and despite some claims it's still only an if) it will be down to Klopps insistence to start the season with inadequate centre backs.

Inadequate centrebacks? How were Gomez and VVD inadequate?

GLaDOS wrote: »

Going into the season with 3 senior cbs, 2 of which have a patchy injury record, was always a risk.

Plenty of Liverpool fans said the same on here during the summer.

In the past, Gomez was prone to picking up those niggly injuries alright, and were often associated with the ACL & achilles injuries he suffered in 2015 & 2016, which is common enough. But he had largely overcome his persistent niggly injuries over the last few seasons though

18/19: He missed 1 game through injury before he broke his ankle in a contact injury against Burnley in December. Missed 4 months and missed 23 games all comps. You can't put a contact injury like that down to fitness methods, injury history or a weak player. It happens in sport

19/20: He missed 1 game all season through injury, in all comps.

20/21: Gomez missed 1 game, before suffering the freak injury while on International duty with England


The biggest problem in terms of CB availability is VVD was a fitness freak, Always fit and always available. Never missed a game through injury for Liverpool from January 2018 until Pickford poleaxed him over 2 years later. Available every game. Played over 140 games for club and country without injury in less than 3 years.

Because history showed that VVD was able to play every game, Liverpool were (in theory) able to absorb any 1 long term injury to a CB. It would always be VVD + Matip, or VVD + Gomez. Matip & Gomez could rotate if they wanted, like they have done for the last few seasons if breaks are needed. But there was always one consistent high level player playing in VVD. Minutes could be managed if needed. And if Liverpool were unlucky enough to suffer 2 CB injuries at the same time in Gomez & Matip, then Fabinho could step in and play as a fill-in option alongside VVD and play to a high standard and because of the player beside him, in was a great base for Liverpool to work from. No alternations needed in team set up or tactics. VVD was always available so had to work from that.

Absorbing one long term CB injury would be fine, 2 was doable but having all 3 CBs injured at the same time is a totally different prospect. The 4th lad also missed games through injury. Nobody can plan for that. in a COVID world where transfer budgets are hugely affected, and because of VVDs injury record, a 4th choice CB to play only if there were multiple concurrent injuries was always going to be well down the table in terms of needs. Anyways, players know that VVD always plays for Liverpool as he was always fit. Trying to sign another CB who knows he will only be 4th choice unless there are mass injuries is tricky enough.

40 positive Covid cases today in the Premier League.

The season will be suspended soon I think.

Quazzie wrote: »

Where are they now. A good manager prepares a squad not just a starting XI

Yeah klopp took a chance,I'm sure no one would of predicted season ending injuries to two centre halves, I presume Pep is not a good manager either because he didn't have adequate cover for Laporte last season and ended up having to play Ferdandinho there.

rob316 wrote: »

Liverpool don't win it, it will be City. Don't see United lasting the race, Bruno will hit a loss of form at some stage and can't cover all the cracks in that team.

Utd have a very interesting way of playing that is working a treat for them at the minute....get into the box, fall over, Bruno scores the penalty.

doc_17 wrote: »

How did they get their winning goal again?

You consider that a counter attack?

Bruno picked the ball up in midfield with 9 wolves players behind the ball.

El Gato De Negocios wrote: »

So salty.

Its weird how that hasn't really worked for liverpool over the years given they have been given the most penalties in PL history. But oh well.