2017-18 English Premier League Discussion Thread

Post #221 » by **Baphomet** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:29 pm

MaliBrah wrote:we're going to get smoked tomorrow. dreading it

Don't know about that, Chelsea are a very good side but haven't really hit the ground running.

You might if Wenger plays Holding and Monreal in a back 3 again though.

Ted Lasso · Post #222 » by **Ted Lasso** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:30 pm

Should've won. Despite Mike Dean.

Post #223 » by **Baphomet** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:34 pm

Ted Lasso wrote:Should've won. Despite Mike Dean.

Sissoko starting is the most baffling thing for me. I also don't really like that shape against clubs nearer the bottom.

MaliBrah · Post #224 » by **MaliBrah** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:39 pm

Baphomet wrote:
MaliBrah wrote:we're going to get smoked tomorrow. dreading it

Don't know about that, Chelsea are a very good side but haven't really hit the ground running.

You might if Wenger plays Holding and Monreal in a back 3 again though.

If there's one thing they do best , it's getting everyone to hit the ground running against them lol ahaha

Hopefully we switch back to a back 4 and Alexis + Lacazette start together

Ted Lasso · Post #225 » by **Ted Lasso** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:09 pm

Baphomet wrote:
Ted Lasso wrote:Should've won. Despite Mike Dean.

Sissoko starting is the most baffling thing for me. I also don't really like that shape against clubs nearer the bottom.

I agree. Especially toward the end of the game having three central defenders was definitely superfluous. We needed another midfielder who could help create openings through the middle instead, which is funny because Dembele was sitting on the bench.

BUCKnation · Post #226 » by **BUCKnation** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:43 pm

Sissoko was fine but moving Trippier to the left sode was so pointless. It takes away his best skill.

Ted Lasso · Post #227 » by **Ted Lasso** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 10:28 am

BUCKnation wrote:Sissoko was fine but moving Trippier to the left sode was so pointless. It takes away his best skill.

That actually reminds me of the thing that annoyed me the most. Son at wing-back. I thought we were done with that nonsense.

Ted Lasso · Post #228 » by **Ted Lasso** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 10:32 am

By the way, Burnley have faced Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool away already. Five points from those games. That's remarkable.

Post #229 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:03 pm

Ted Lasso wrote:By the way, Burnley have faced Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool away already. Five points from those games. That's remarkable.

Burnley have always been a well-disciplined side under Dyche. I've always admired their work ethic and desire, one of the main reasons I wanted them to get promoted again a couple of years back.

Post #230 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:05 pm

Ted Lasso wrote:
BUCKnation wrote:Sissoko was fine but moving Trippier to the left sode was so pointless. It takes away his best skill.

That actually reminds me of the thing that annoyed me the most. Son at wing-back. I thought we were done with that nonsense.

Yeah, I audibly groaned when I saw the team selection. He played fairly well with a poor hand dealt to him, but playing wing back exposes his biggest weaknesses, defensive tracking and tackling.

I'll never forget when he gave away a penalty against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi, which to be honest I didn't really blame him for despite the looseness of the tackle, because he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place.

Post #231 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:13 pm

Arsenal have been the better team in this match. Unlucky not to be leading.

BUCKnation · Post #232 » by **BUCKnation** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:24 pm

Baphomet wrote:
Ted Lasso wrote:
BUCKnation wrote:Sissoko was fine but moving Trippier to the left sode was so pointless. It takes away his best skill.

That actually reminds me of the thing that annoyed me the most. Son at wing-back. I thought we were done with that nonsense.

Yeah, I audibly groaned when I saw the team selection. He played fairly well with a poor hand dealt to him, but playing wing back exposes his biggest weaknesses, defensive tracking and tackling.

I'll never forget when he gave away a penalty against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi, which to be honest I didn't really blame him for despite the looseness of the tackle, because he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place.

I thought he could probably get away with it given it was Swansea, but once he switched to Trippier at LB it didnt work at all. Just go 4 atb with Verts at LB. The backend of the left side just killed the game because Trippier didnt want to take on anyone or cross with his left. Any attacking play was through the right or down the middle.

I'm not blmaing Trippier for being ineffective because he was put in a really bad spot.

MaliBrah · Post #233 » by **MaliBrah** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:24 pm

decent point. I can live with that.

Post #234 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 4:07 pm

BUCKnation wrote:I thought he could probably get away with it given it was Swansea, but once he switched to Trippier at LB it didnt work at all. Just go 4 atb with Verts at LB. The backend of the left side just killed the game because Trippier didnt want to take on anyone or cross with his left. Any attacking play was through the right or down the middle.

I'm not blmaing Trippier for being ineffective because he was put in a really bad spot.

Yeah, spot on. Did you notice how after Llorente was subbed on, Kane kept drifting to the left flank to try and get something going from over there?

Post #235 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 4:53 pm

United exploding at the end again to win 4-0 against Everton. United and City now level at the top with 13 points, +14 GD.

BUCKnation · Post #236 » by **BUCKnation** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 5:34 pm

Baphomet wrote:
BUCKnation wrote:I thought he could probably get away with it given it was Swansea, but once he switched to Trippier at LB it didnt work at all. Just go 4 atb with Verts at LB. The backend of the left side just killed the game because Trippier didnt want to take on anyone or cross with his left. Any attacking play was through the right or down the middle.

I'm not blmaing Trippier for being ineffective because he was put in a really bad spot.

Yeah, spot on. Did you notice how after Llorente was subbed on, Kane kept drifting to the left flank to try and get something going from over there?

Yeah, nothing was going on there. Son for Llorente was a bad sub, should've been for Dele who had a bad game. Also, Llorente comes in and the crosses stop...

sovietchild · Post #237 » by **sovietchild** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:14 am

That was a nice goal from Valencia, though.

HIF · Post #238 » by **HIF** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 6:06 am

What did I tell you about Everton?

Post #239 » by **Baphomet** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:53 pm

Everton last 4 games:

City away
Chelsea away
Spurs home
United away

Not exactly an easy run. If they start flubbing easier league fixtures then I'll be more concerned for them.

Ted Lasso · Post #240 » by **Ted Lasso** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:08 pm

BUCKnation wrote:
Baphomet wrote:Yeah, I audibly groaned when I saw the team selection. He played fairly well with a poor hand dealt to him, but playing wing back exposes his biggest weaknesses, defensive tracking and tackling.

I'll never forget when he gave away a penalty against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi, which to be honest I didn't really blame him for despite the looseness of the tackle, because he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place.

I thought he could probably get away with it given it was Swansea, but once he switched to Trippier at LB it didnt work at all. Just go 4 atb with Verts at LB. The backend of the left side just killed the game because Trippier didnt want to take on anyone or cross with his left. Any attacking play was through the right or down the middle.

I'm not blmaing Trippier for being ineffective because he was put in a really bad spot.

It's far from ideal but when Rose is out injured and Davies is being rested, there is no better option. Vertonghen is an abomination defensively at full-back. I know that's counter-intuitive but it's true.

Interestingly, we actually could have used the kind of off-balance shape that Mourinho used to at Real Madrid when trying to win games late with Son at LW, Vertonghen at LB, and Aurier at RWB once Swansea were offering no threat at all. That would have eliminated the concerns you and Baph had offensively. Frankly, it's a better idea than my earlier additional central creator one if you need to pull a deep defence out of shape. But Poch did the reverse.