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

JPA · 21-09-2020 9:02pm

City sensational this half.

DVDM93 · 21-09-2020 9:04pm

Wolves noticeably shook by the departure of one Diogo Jota.

eh i dunno · 21-09-2020 9:04pm

ERG89 wrote: »

I know they sold Doherty but why Adama Traore is being used as a makeshift right wing back is a mystery. He is not even remotely arsed defending.

Semedo on the way

POKERKING · 21-09-2020 9:04pm

ERG89 wrote: »

I know they sold Doherty but why Adama Traore is being used as a makeshift right wing back is a mystery. He is not even remotely arsed defending.

Played there a few times for wolves. I think both city games last year. Havent they agreed to sign Semeda from Barcelona?

Great half from city.

Fitz* · 21-09-2020 9:17pm

Man City flying out of the blocks, even with a lot of injuries. Just showing the sheer size and depth of the squad at hand.

That 2nd goal was very good. Kind of reminded me of the first Mane goal yesterday. Nice work between 2 players on the edge of the box before pulling it back to another to finish.

martyos121 · 21-09-2020 9:51pm

Podence is a serious player, nutmegging the best player in the league and then sending in a peach of a cross to assist Jimenez. Quality.

razorblunt · 21-09-2020 9:58pm

Sky with the first “if they’d taken one of their earlier chances it would be 2-2” of the season.

This is it · 21-09-2020 10:02pm

I know Wolves are decent and it's very VERY early, but City dropping points already would be very disappointing for them.

luketitz · 21-09-2020 10:04pm

martyos121 wrote: »

Podence is a serious player, nutmegging the best player in the league and then sending in a peach of a cross to assist Jimenez. Quality.

That was the best piece of play I've seen so far this season alright!

ERG89 · 21-09-2020 10:07pm

Wolves missed a few chances in the second half but City fully deserved the win. How you have Traore on the pitch and play him 40 yards away from Benjamin Mendy is a mystery.

citytillidie · 21-09-2020 10:36pm

Game Week 2 Highlights

Everton V WBA

Leeds V Fulham

Man Utd V Palace

Arsenal V West Ham

Southampton V Spurs

Newcastle V Brighton

Chelsea V Liverpool

Leicester V Burnley

Villa V Sheff Utd

Wolves V Man City

8-10 · 22-09-2020 8:13am

With 44 goals, that is now the highest scoring gameweek in PL era

It beat this week from 2011, when Liverpool also beat Chelsea away, United also lost to a team they should be beating, and Cheick Tiote (RIP) rounded off one of the best comebacks the league has seen:

Aston Villa 2-2 Fulham
Everton 5-3 Blackpool
Man City 3-0 West Brom
Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal
Stoke 3-2 Sunderland
Tottenham 2-1 Bolton
Wigan 4-3 Blackburn
Wolves 2-1 Man United
West Ham 0-1 Birmingham
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool

Morzadec · 22-09-2020 3:53pm

Interesting thread here about handball. I wasn't aware but apparently the FA have been forced to adopt FIFA's rules regarding handball, which would explain the Doherty and Lindelof decisions this weekend:

https://twitter.com/DaleJohnsonESPN/status/1308371651986366465

Personally I think these rules are an absolute joke. For Lindelof and Doherty to be punished with a goal against them when their hands were very much in normal positions that you expect to adopt when you're playing football is ridiculous and adds an element of freakish luck to the game.

The 2018 World Cup was awful for this, the amount of games decided literally by the way a ball bounced (because it happened to hit an arm) really spoiled many matches of the tournament for me.

I'm all for trying to apply some objective rules to this, but it can be done in such a way that it doesn't lead to decisions like those two we saw this weekend. If these are going to be our objective rules then I would far prefer to go back to the subjective interpretation of "deliberate and/or reckless".

y0ssar1an22 · 22-09-2020 4:06pm

do those new rules mean that if an attacker deliberately hits a defenders arm with a shot, its a penalty?

you're at the end line, very slim chance of a goal, blast it at the defender and hope for the best?

Fromvert · 22-09-2020 4:09pm

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

do those new rules mean that if an attacker deliberately hits a defenders arm with a shot, its a penalty?

you're at the end line, very slim chance of a goal, blast it at the defender and hope for the best?

Pretty sure that counts and the best attacking players are good enough to pull it off.

Training sessions set up with defenders trying to defend with the hands/arms hidden while attackers are firing the ball at their arms/hands when they stick out. It would be foolish not to try and use this rule to your advantage.

Muahahaha · 22-09-2020 4:37pm

Fromvert wrote: »

Pretty sure that counts and the best attacking players are good enough to pull it off.

Training sessions set up with defenders trying to defend with the hands/arms hidden while attackers are firing the ball at their arms/hands when they stick out. It would be foolish not to try and use this rule to your advantage.

I think Sadio Mane did it to Spurs in the CL final, certainly looked that way to me anyway. At the time posters on here and commentators on tv were saying it wasnt a penalty but that was going by PL rules, it happened in the CL which has a different interpretation of defensive handballs.

FIFA seem to want to just remove any grey areas from handball altogether and that is what these rules are designed to do. I can see the logic because if you remove the grey area then it stops being subjective and refs decisions should then be consistent right across the game. It will mean that situations like Lindelofs arise but over the course of a season that will balance out as teams will benefit from it just as much as they get punished for it.

Harry Palmr · 22-09-2020 4:45pm

We're going to see managers insist that arms are removed from all new signings...

amber69 · 22-09-2020 5:24pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

We're going to see managers insist that arms are removed from all new signings...

In the land of the no arms the man with arms will throw the ball best.

DM_7 · 22-09-2020 5:34pm

Assume this the same application of handball we saw in Europe and the world cup?

United benefited at PSG from it.

There was the handball in the World Cup on Soares in Portugal v Iran - the Final on Perisic wash pretty harsh also.

Agent Coulson · 22-09-2020 5:40pm

https://twitter.com/undertaker/status/1308168220269072384?s=20

DVDM93 · 22-09-2020 5:46pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

https://twitter.com/undertaker/status/1308168220269072384?s=20

He's here to show Alan Gate how a real chokeslam is done.

https://twitter.com/secondtierpod/status/1307332642908577793?s=20

martyos121 · 22-09-2020 5:50pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

We're going to see managers insist that arms are removed from all new signings...

Does that mean Stuart Armstrong has to change his name to Stuart Strong if he ever leaves Southampton? Seems a tad harsh.

HalloweenJack · 22-09-2020 6:59pm

Morzadec wrote: »

I'm all for trying to apply some objective rules to this, but it can be done in such a way that it doesn't lead to decisions like those two we saw this weekend. If these are going to be our objective rules then I would far prefer to go back to the subjective interpretation of "deliberate and/or reckless".

Subjdctive is too difficult. Only the offending player is really going to know if they meant it or not and in a world where players dive and playact, I don't trust the majority of them to admit that they deliberately stuck their hand out.

I play 7-a-side in Spain and they call every single handball. It was infuriating at first but after a while its got to the point where the ball hits my hand and I'll automatically stop playing as do most of the lads I play with, though non-Spaniards are the ones who get their knickers in a knot about it. Spaniards just know that it is what it is.

If you apply the rule all the time, people will stop whingeing about it because they know its the rule, just as sure as the ball crossong the line automatically means the ball's out of play.

Loafing Oaf · 22-09-2020 7:18pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

We're going to see managers insist that arms are removed from all new signings...

Young Delap at Man City will plead for an exemption on the grounds of inheriting his dad's special talent...

yourdeadwright · 22-09-2020 7:54pm

Moyes and 2 players just tested positive and had to leave the stadium, not sure if it was just before or during the game that the results came in

Things are going to get very messy

Loafing Oaf · 22-09-2020 8:22pm

I see Wolves to beat West Ham at the weekend is one of the most popular bets on oddschecker

noodler · 22-09-2020 9:15pm

If arms are kept by your side then still no peno, even under new rules right?

Harry Palmr · 22-09-2020 9:19pm

Looks like all Prem games will be shown on the telly in October.

gimli2112 · 22-09-2020 9:20pm

noodler wrote: »

If arms are kept by your side then still no peno, even under new rules right?

it's a little more complicated than that something about your hands (which is up to your elbow) not increasing your silhouette. Also if you kick/head it on yourself it's not a pen, I thought this also applied to an opposing player kicking it at you but maybe not and you still have the closeness defence which seems very subjective.

RugbyLover123 · 23-09-2020 10:59am

I keep on hearing the excuse about players being unfit and needing a few games to get up and running, particularly about United. But they played Seville on the 18th of August? Just over a month ago. The players had 2 weeks off - how much fitness do world classes athletes lose in 2 weeks? Same goes for pretty much every team in Europe - they’re season only ended a few weeks ago how can they be using that as an excuse?

Liam O · 23-09-2020 11:21am

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Subjdctive is too difficult. Only the offending player is really going to know if they meant it or not and in a world where players dive and playact, I don't trust the majority of them to admit that they deliberately stuck their hand out.

I play 7-a-side in Spain and they call every single handball. It was infuriating at first but after a while its got to the point where the ball hits my hand and I'll automatically stop playing as do most of the lads I play with, though non-Spaniards are the ones who get their knickers in a knot about it. Spaniards just know that it is what it is.

If you apply the rule all the time, people will stop whingeing about it because they know its the rule, just as sure as the ball crossong the line automatically means the ball's out of play.

Well then make it an indirect free kick for handball anywhere on the pitch because a penalty for firing the ball against someone's hand from 3 yards away is too much.

This is from someone who has been very critical in the past of players jumping and turning away from the ball with their arms out to make themselves bigger. It's different now, it's basically like a kicked ball violation in basketball only instead of an inbound ball you get 30 free throws. What we have seen so far in the PL has been outrageous.

Bridge93 · 23-09-2020 11:25am

It’s like hockey where someone a yard away can hit the ball as hard as they want at your fort and if it connects then it’s a short corner. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Obviously far easier to pull it off in hockey but the punishment of a penalty in football is higher than a short corner is

Agent Coulson · 23-09-2020 11:44am

Asian TV companies are considering looking for TV money rebates for the rescheduling of kick off times that is effecting them.

Premier League clubs are facing rebate demands from Asian rights holders that could cost them tens of millions of pounds as they wrestle with whether to televise every game in the absence of crowds.

Broadcasters in the biggest Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, are unhappy with the rescheduling of many matches to evening kick-offs to benefit domestic fans during September, and will demand refunds if the policy continues for the rest of the season.

The Asian TV market is the most lucrative in the world for the Premier League, even after their £188m-a-year contract in China with Suning Holdings was cancelled earlier this month, with the continent contributing around £400m to the top flight’s £1.2bn overseas rights package.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8761543/Premier-League-clubs-facing-rebate-demands-Asian-rights-holders-cost-MILLIONS.html

DM_7 · 23-09-2020 12:01pm

RugbyLover123 wrote: »

I keep on hearing the excuse about players being unfit and needing a few games to get up and running, particularly about United. But they played Seville on the 18th of August? Just over a month ago. The players had 2 weeks off - how much fitness do world classes athletes lose in 2 weeks? Same goes for pretty much every team in Europe - they’re season only ended a few weeks ago how can they be using that as an excuse?

As a United fan I think it is a weak excuse and it is the management's job to account for it and prepare a team for the first week of the league.

In terms of preparation - United's core group of players were wrecked when the season ended due to the number of games in a short space of time that they had to win and how often the core group was selected. They needed recovery time as a result. Basically having such a poor time pre-covid, the intensity they had to put in with the games so close together post restart has left them under-prepared for a new season starting so soon and with internationals beforehand.

It is a bit like a player returning later and taking longer to get up to speed after a long run in the world cup or Euro's.

It is the lack of recovery time that is the issue. Compare it to Leicester who last played on 26/7 - those 3 weeks of preparation time would make a difference, especially when players had internationals also.

Agent Coulson · 23-09-2020 2:57pm

Hadn’t heard this before that Premier League have brought in that games can be played at neutral venues if needs be due to regional lockdowns etc.

DVDM93 · 23-09-2020 3:04pm

Wolves are now one defender away from a full Portugal XI.

Harry Palmr · 23-09-2020 6:35pm

https://twitter.com/sgevans/status/1308782599993806854

pjohnson · 23-09-2020 7:58pm

DVDM93 wrote: »

Wolves are now one defender away from a full Portugal XI.

Coady must have Portugese blood somewhere in his family to be lasting so long.

noodler · 23-09-2020 11:23pm

pjohnson wrote: »

Coady must have Portugese blood somewhere in his family to be lasting so long.

Shocked at the price of Doherty's replacement, three times as much.

I'd have thought Doherty was the more.valuable.asset from a transfer pov too.

Not that I know much about the new RB

JPA · 23-09-2020 11:25pm

noodler wrote: »

Shocked at the price of Doherty's replacement, three times as much.

I'd have thought Doherty was the more.valuable.asset from a transfer pov too.

Not that I know much about the new RB

It makes sense on the agent's books.

yourdeadwright · 24-09-2020 8:08pm

I just seen a stat that United pay there 3 keepers 600k a week combined

That is currently more than Liverpool's top 3 earners combined

That's madness if it's actually true,

Surely they can't be on 600 k between them

gimli2112 · 24-09-2020 8:19pm

Arsenal are playing €300K+ to Ozil who may not even be in their squad, according to SSN today. I still think certain players will demand these kind of wages but that clubs will be a lot more circumspect for the foreseeable future.

25-09-2020 5:13am

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I just seen a stat that United pay there 3 keepers 600k a week combined

That is currently more than Liverpool's top 3 earners combined

That's madness if it's actually true,

Surely they can't be on 600 k between them

Hows it a stat?

And did you look into it anymore?

Where is the link to where you saw it?

from what ive read it would mean romero is on 175k a week which is hard to believe

Wuff Wuff · 25-09-2020 6:57am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Hows it a stat?

And did you look into it anymore?

Where is the link to where you saw it?

from what ive read it would mean romero is on 175k a week which is hard to believe

https://manchesterunitedlatestnews.com/manchester-united-players-wages/

Obviously an elite source here

Says romeo is on 70k a week (believable, as he's a fantastic no. 2)

And Henderson on 120k (shocked at this, good keeper but 120k for someone not even established in the first team yet)

pjohnson · 25-09-2020 7:03am

Borthwick Jackson and O'Hara were released.

Tuanzebe and James dont play for free.

If McTominay earns 10k my wife is Megan Fox (clue - she isn't)

Wuff Wuff · 25-09-2020 7:28am

pjohnson wrote: »

Borthwick Jackson and O'Hara were released.

Tuanzebe and James dont play for free.

If McTominay earns 10k my wife is Megan Fox (clue - she isn't)

as i said - an elite source! :pac::pac:

gimli2112 · 25-09-2020 8:05am

The wages Utd pay some of their players is astonishing and yet every table I see shows Liverpool just behind them. I think it's the outliers that raise the eyebrows De Gea, Pogba and the billion dollar Sanchez, particularly given how they are performing.

Iused2likebusts · 25-09-2020 8:10am

gimli2112 wrote: »

The wages Utd pay some of their players is astonishing and yet every table I see shows Liverpool just behind them. I think it's the outliers that raise the eyebrows De Gea, Pogba and the billion dollar Sanchez, particularly given how they are performing.

Would Liverpool's overall wage bill that they show end up including the bonuses paid out to the players for winning what they have won the last couple of seasons.

gimli2112 · 25-09-2020 8:26am

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Would Liverpool's overall wage bill that they show end up including the bonuses paid out to the players for winning what they have won the last couple of seasons.

I genuinely don't know but they have had a huge wage bill which I hadn't noticed up to recently. I can't believe some clubs are not paying some of their players off the books in some way.

El Gato De Negocios · 25-09-2020 9:12am

gimli2112 wrote: »

I genuinely don't know but they have had a huge wage bill which I hadn't noticed up to recently. I can't believe some clubs are not paying some of their players off the books in some way.

I read somewhere recently that alot of LFC players had contract clauses that gave them substantial increases for winning the CL / League.

VVD for example was stated as being on around £180pw but winning the league gave him a 40% increase. The likes of Robertson and TAA who are arguably the best two players in the world in their positions currently are reported to be paid £50 and £40k pw respectively. When they are negotiating their next deals they have a CL and PL winners medal to wave infront of the LFC board so expect at a minimum a bump of £100k a piece per week.

The problem (sic) with winning the biggest trophies is that players expect to be remunerated for it. If you dont do that then they will look to move somewhere that will. Uniteds problem has been that we havnt been competing for the major trophies for 7 years now and are unlikely to for a minimum of 2 seasons. We simply arent as attractive anymore so either overpaid to make signings eg Sanchez or overpaid to keep existing players eg DDG or Rashford.

One could make peace with the kind of money they are being paid if we were winning leagues or CL's but earning that kind of loot for staggering over the line to a top 4 finish last season is simply ridiculous.

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

Comments