English Premier League thread

beachryan said:
This is brilliant. If you haven't watched, it take the time to. Neville is the best pundit on tv, btw.
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Once again I will bring the matter of hypocrisy up. He described Suarez as a cheat for his diving but refused to label Young one as such.

Also Rio Ferdinand. On twitter moaning about cheats and simulation. Not one word though on the antics of his teammate.

Reading by the way will return to the EPL next season. McDermott has done a great job in creating a solid unit. Southampton look very likely to emulate Norwich and Watford before them in having two sucessive promotions from the third tier of the English pyramid.
 
I'm glad to see Reading once again. I really liked them in their first year under Copell...they played some very good football...
 
ALBICELESTE2010 said:
Once again I will bring the matter of hypocrisy up. He described Suarez as a cheat for his diving but refused to label Young one as such.

Also Rio Ferdinand. On twitter moaning about cheats and simulation. Not one word though on the antics of his teammate.
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Neville used Suarez alongside Tevez and one more as examples where they should have been given a penalty, but were denied because of reputation. He didn't call him a cheat? Did you watch the video at all - he spends about 2 minutes saying why he doesn't even like the word doesn't he?

Anyway, great to see Reading back in the league. They play some great football, and their form is absolutely ridiculous since November.
 
I'm glad for Reading that they got promoted. After our playoff win against them last season I spoke to a few of their disappointed fans and told them they'll definitely go up the following season. I think they've only dropped something like 5 points in the last 18 games which is scintillating form. I think Southampton will join them this weekend, good for them too with back-to-back promotions after a few years in League 1.

Interesting to see who comes through the Playoffs, though I'm hoping a certain team occupying the final playoff slot doesn't get promoted. We need to keep our bragging rights! :)
 
I'm even more excited for Southampton if they come back. Used to be a regular EPL club with a good following but fell on hard times and even went to 3rd division like Leeds.

It'll be nice to have them or Leeds back. It's been a good few years.

Anyone remember Marian Pahars The Latvian and Kevin Phillips playing for them ? James Beattie too... Pahars was always injured but the other two made a deadly combination. Anders Svensson as the Swedish playmaker.

It's been too long and it'll be nice to have them back.

@beboq, don't forget. Gareth Bale came from there too. Not that you'd care about a Spurs player. :P ;)
 
Hehe, I'd want Southampton back in the Prem too. Even though this guy didn't come out of their youth academy, he really started to appeal at the senior team.
I'm talking about this little short and fat fella. :D

di-16KH.gif
 
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beachryan said:
Neville used Suarez alongside Tevez and one more as examples where they should have been given a penalty, but were denied because of reputation. He didn't call him a cheat? Did you watch the video at all - he spends about 2 minutes saying why he doesn't even like the word doesn't he?

Anyway, great to see Reading back in the league. They play some great football, and their form is absolutely ridiculous since November.
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It's in relation to prior comments he made about Suarez. He however did not level the same accusation against Young.

This partisanship and hypocrisy is part of what is very distasteful about football.
 
PLF said:
I'm even more excited for Southampton if they come back. Used to be a regular EPL club with a good following but fell on hard times and even went to 3rd division like Leeds.

It'll be nice to have them or Leeds back. It's been a good few years.

Anyone remember Marian Pahars The Latvian and Kevin Phillips playing for them ? James Beattie too... Pahars was always injured but the other two made a deadly combination. Anders Svensson as the Swedish playmaker.

It's been too long and it'll be nice to have them back.

@beboq, don't [forget]. Gareth Bale came from there too. Not that you'd care about a Spurs player. :P ;)
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:LOL: Well ...
 
PLF said:
I'm even more excited for Southampton if they come back. Used to be a regular EPL club with a good following but fell on hard times and even went to 3rd division like Leeds.

It'll be nice to have them or Leeds back. It's been a good few years.

Anyone remember Marian Pahars The Latvian and Kevin Phillips playing for them ? James Beattie too... Pahars was always injured but the other two made a deadly combination. Anders Svensson as the Swedish playmaker.

It's been too long and it'll be nice to have them back.

@beboq, don't forget. Gareth Bale came from there too. Not that you'd care about a Spurs player. :P ;)
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There used to be a time before Sky and the EPL were invented in days of yore when hype and hypocrisy were words that were shunned.

Southampton had been in the top flight for a long time. They had canny managers none more so than Lawrie McMenemy who assembled a very useful side that won the FA Cup and were runners up in the League Cup and were regularly in the top half of the old First Division for a while.

One side infact had several former England captains and players in it who had been discarded for various reasons, players like Mick Shannon and Alan Ball.The small compact nature of The Dell also helped.

It'll be galling for some on the south coast with the Saints surely marching up and Pompey going down but after Pardew laid the groundwork Adkins has carried on his work.
 
There's a big voting thing going on celebrating 20 years of the premier league (because of course football started with the premier league), what would your team of the premier league era be? Mine would be:

----------------Schmeichel----------------
--Neville---Campbell--Ferdinand--Cole-----
---------------Keane---Scholes------------
-----------------Cantona------------------
----Ronaldo---------------------Henry-----
-----------------Shearer------------------
 
------------Schmeichel----------
Neville--Ferdinand--Stam--Irwin
-Beckham---Scholes--Keane---Giggs
---------Ronaldo--Cantona------

_65-.png




But Seriously

-------------Schmeichel----------
-Neville--Campbell--Ferdinand--Cole
------Vieira--Scholes--Keane-----
----Ronaldo----------Henry----
------------Cantona------------
 
GK: Schmeichel
LB: Ashley Cole
CB: Vidic
CB: Albert
RB: Irwin (not sure if he wasn't a LB)
LMF: Giggs
DMF: Makelele
AMF: Lampard
AMF - FW: Cantona
SS: Bergkamp
FW: Henry

Subs: Cech - Terry - Ferdinand - Scholes - Viera - Rooney - Drogba
 
Irwin is a legend. One of the most under-rated full-backs in history.

Gary Neville was good but notice how it's all Man U fans who are picking him in their DREAM team. He shouldn't make any dream team. He was just a good solid respectable consistent player but nobody to go crazy over.

Though I have to say, the EPL has had notoriously poor RB's compared to other top leagues. I mean just look at the best right backs in history over the past 10 years and how many played in EPL? Almost all were in Spain or Italy. Zanetti, Cafu, Zambrotta, Dani Alves, etc. Even right now, who are the top right-backs in EPL and how many are actually world class? Not many at all. I have high hopes for Kyle Walker and already like him quite a bit but he's one of the few and he's certainly not world class either. Not yet.

So Gary didn't have great competition at all and I can see why he's made some people's lists. He would never have made any other list outside EPL though.
 
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Well that's the point, who else could you pick at RB? Probably do what gerd did and move Irwin there and put Cole at LB.

It's not club bias, it's the lack of alternatives.
 
Exactly, Gary was never World Class but very good in his prime and being a consistent part of Manchester United means he's easily been the best RB of the past 20 years. in the Premiership.
 
It's strange, but right back is a position that is a problem in many clubs or national teams. I know we aren't the biggest football country, but in Belgium we had one world class RB (Eric Gerets) in the 80's and afterwards: nothing.

About my EPL team: i must have forgotten lots of very good players (Klinsmann, Ginola for example to name only two).

Of course most people are tempted to go for players of their own club, i wonder if there are certainties for everybody. I see two or three: certainly Schmeichel, there isn't a GK who comes even close, Ashley Cole on LB is also a certainty IMO (the only English player of the last 20 years i would punt in a world team, Rooney and Scholes would be fringe players) and for me Cantona...but one might argue about his position...

And then there are the players who aren't among the best but despite are loved. I have a couple of players who meant a lot to me: Giggs (most of all and he is in my team), Freddie Ljungberg, Andrei Kanchelskis; Robert Lee of Newcastle (i'm not even sure about his name), Peter Beardsley, Paul Ince, that fantastic Southampton player who had the best technique in the league and should have played for better teams, Gianfranco Zola, Damien Duff when he was with Chelsea, the Brazilian Boro player (can't remember his name, but everybody will now who i 'm talking about) and lots of others...
 
I wouldn't know who to put in the best Premier League XI, so many great players over the last 20 years. By the way gerd were those two players you couldn't name happen to be Le Tissier and Juninho? Great players they were, despite playing for "struggling" teams.

Talking of Southampton (and Boro funnily enough), they're playing right now and a win for the Saints will put them back in the Premier League. I thought it'd be on TV because of the later kickoff but it isn't.

Good 1-1 draw for Swansea today too against a battling Bolton team. Should have won apparently, Danny Graham smacked the bar. The good thing is that the point means WE ARE SAFE!!!!!! :DANCE:

Well OK the mathematicians can point out that we are not safe officially but QPR and Wigan have got a much inferior goal difference, even if Bolton do win both of their games in hand. Time for a celebratory beer! :WASTED:
 
jackarmy said:
Talking of Southampton (and Boro funnily enough), they're playing right now and a win for the Saints will put them back in the Premier League. I thought it'd be on TV because of the later kickoff but it isn't.
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sky sports 2 mate. cant wait to see how rickie lambert will do in the premier league. hmm but boro just equalised....

my best 11 is probably this.
-------------Schmeichel----------
Dixon-------Stam---Vidic-----Cole
Ronaldo---Vieira--Scholes--Overmars
--------Bergkamp---Henry---------

just realised its all man united and arsenal:P
 
This is what I will choose.

Code: 
GK – Schmeichel
RB – Irwin
CB – T.Adams
CB – Terry
LB  - Evra
RM – Beckham
CM – Lampard
CM – Gerrard
LM – Giggs
CF – Drogba
CF – Henry
 
As much as I love Becks, I can't imagine a team without Ronaldo in it. He and Henry were the two most dominant single players the premier league ever saw. As in, they could single handedly create and win matches. Plus his goal scoring record is absurd.

Anyway, can't believe I got up to watch Arsenal v Chelsea. Poor poor poor match from both teams.
 
hehe, thank God my internet connection got interrupted around the 20th minute and somehow I couldn't manage to find the motivation to return to the game. what a waste of time it would have been.

anyway, Toon's recent progress in the league is simply amazing. they've a pretty decent squad especially in midfield and in upfront. that Papiss Cisse guy is doing quite impressive and getting goals nearly in every match. possibly the best transfer of the winter transfer window. would be odd to see Newcastle in CL but I'd still prefer them for the 4th spot over the others.
 
I hate to say it, but credit to City as well. When they win the title, they'll likely have won their last 5 matches, when it really mattered. We will have dropped 8 points.

They'll have a better goal difference, a vastly superior defense and were unplayable for the first 4 months of the season. Again, I hate to say it, but they've successfully purchased the best squad in the premier league, and probably deserve it.

United of 3 years ago would have walked the league, any of Arsenals good squads would have, Mourinho's Chelsea would be home and dry. The league is weak at the moment, and City are the best of a bad bunch this year.

If I had any faith in FFP whatsoever I'd say that City should enjoy it because it won't last, but let's face it, UEFA will never boot out a team with that kind of money. Even if they'll be losing £>100m per year in operating losses (which is f*cking mental)
 
When they win it? Come on...

They have the momentum now, but we're more than capable of getting a result vs them, whether it's a win or draw. Then given the season we've had, it's more than possible there will be some more twists, United vs Sunderland and City vs Newcastle seem likely candidates for that.

All to play for.
 
Sorry, meant to say if. But to do that they'll have overcome an 8 point deficit with 6 games remaining. That's mental on both our parts.

So disappointed with the team today. Have to close that out - changes everything if you hold on for 10 minutes. It's just not like United of old.
 
Yeah i'm gutted, both results have ruined my day, not that anyone really expected anything from Wolves. Must of been a cracking game for the neutrals though.

Can't really put my finger on what is making us so complacent this season, we have the experience and if anything it's the experienced players who have at times looked most complacent (Looking at a certain left back). Actually it's not surprising we're being linked with so many full backs lately.

Long time to wait before the 30th, then the game itself is going to be agony, I don't drink a lot generally, but I certainly will need it Monday.
 
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United can still win the league. And if they would do, that would be a HUGE achievement with all those injuries and the weakest squad since the beginning of the EPL.

But if they win the title, they should still look out for new players. Recalling Scholes was a touch of genius from Ferguson, but one day it will be over for him...
 
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