General Premier League Thread 2022-23 - mod note in OP 12/03/23

They have also come very close to taking points off of both Man City & Liverpool.

They have bought a few players that were previously linked to other top 6 clubs, making some good signings. I think they will be close to the European spots this season, even with Howe in charge.

Isak for his second.

Rashford was barely on against Liverpool and Isak was barely off. That's the breaks.

Yeah, those offsides need to generally be sorted out.

Nobody knows where the lines are going from one check to the next.

I was delighted, but the whole thing is tedious.

I thought last night was beautiful. It’s so rare you get justice in those scenarios. Newcastle deserved nothing from the game, absolutely nothing.

And the thing of it is that if they had tried to play some football they may well have gotten a second / third, such is the fragile nature of Liverpool’s back line at present.

But there really is nothing sweeter than breaking the hearts of cheaters in that fashion. That the ref actually added on time like he’s supposed to made it truly jubilant. They’ll have been utterly sickened. Normally that nonsense works a treat.

Hopefully it knocks morale a bit and Newcastle struggle next few games as a result.

I think the massive purchases are showing how much richer the PL is compared to any of the other leagues in Europe. The two big teams in La liga and PSG dont seem to have spent much in this window either.

Miguel Delaney put out a tweet earlier, the net spend for the Premier League at that time was €1.3bn for the summer, the next highest league is La Liga with €55m! The PL is in a different league financially to all the others and over the years the others will become weaker and weaker in comparison.

Erling Haaland.

Lots of think pieces doing the rounds on how to stop him. Rumours are that managers might be in cahoots to try and come up with strategies that might work.

The truth is that he's unlikely to be stopped himself. He is a genuine freak. He's enormously strong and freakishly quick. He chased down a player last night, and it genuinely looked like Usain Bolt chasing after my 6 year old such was the gulf in athleticism. He's constantly on the move. He cares about nothing else but being in the box and scoring.

The only way to stop him is to be brave and stop the rest of the team. City will be prone to having less control than they're accustomed to as pure mathematics dictates that they have less numbers in that midfield now without the false 9 system. you have to try and press them and win those second balls and duels. Liverpool did in the Community Shield (yes, it was a friendly, but still). Newcastle did a great job of it in the 3-3.

what City have done with Haaland is they've destroyed any notion that you can sit and spring, and that be your only tactic. he gives them too many options in terms of scoring. and he's among the most clinical strikers I've seen, so they won't miss as many chances.

the only way to stop him is bravery in order to cut the supply.

Yeah, this City paid £50m for him but I’d say the signing on fee, the agent’s fee and Alfie’s stud fee (rumoured £25m) were insane. Plus his wages. He might have been “available” for a transfer fee of £50m but the reality is that very few clubs could attract him. State clubs like City and Newcastle would have been the only ones in England able to afford him.

The Newcastle fans were involved too. They hid 2 footballs in the crowd because the only two blue stands that didn't have balls on them were at their end. Then when Liverpool went to take a corner, they threw one onto the pitch to stop the set piece being taken.

They should ask players with cramp to leave the pitch and be told if it repeats they go off for a few minutes to recover. Joelinton reminded me of a whore's drawers last night.

Utterly delighted when they conceded. Everton were the same the night before, and they also almost nicked a goal when they attacked.

It could be a long watch on Saturday morning/afternoon!

All players need to do is go down holding the head and no ref would dare tell them get up to go to the sideline.

Stop clock for injury is the only solution.

Well you say no one could afford him but essentially he is just the price of 2 Anthonys 🤣