Official Football Discussion Thread 2012/13

[Dale]

Hey Cork, still think RVP is regretting that move now? iper:

With Arsenal having Mannone in goal, i'm surprised at how totally comfortable they were throughout the whole game defensively which is a surprise given their defensive vulnerability especially at the Brittania for example. Thought Arsene got his tactics right defensively with playing Diaby and Gervinho who are much more physical players than their alternatives would have been. Still looking terribly blunt infront of goal though which is definitely a worry. A point would have been a good result usually, but given they dropped 2 at home to Sunderland and now have to go to Anfield next week then I can't say it is.

Liverpool played very well from what I saw but when you give away two calamitous goals like they did, you don't deserve to win the game. Sure Pool would have definitely taken a point going into the game, but will be devestated at not picking up all 3. Suarez goal was a lovely strike but taking nothing away from him, Joe Hart needs to take a large portion of blame for not setting up his wall up right as it wasn't as if he lifted it up and over the wall, nor did he put any insane amount of bend on it either.

Man Utd recovered well after a horrible start but certainly made a game of it with an awful goalkeeper messup too. We've already seen so many GK errors in the first two weeks, it's crazy. I'm sure Utd will take wins however they come this early given the amount of injuries they have to their defence. Lovely goal from RVP to open his Utd account too.

Chelsea are definitely looking like the team to beat at the minute with Torres starting the season well and Hazard absolutely bossing it. Still pretty suspect defensively though.

I think Everton could be the surprise package this season and go onto challenge the top 4 like Newcastle & Spurs did last season. Got some real quality players as shown at Villa when they took them apart with ease really. Gonna be a long season for Villa I suspect, really expect them to be neat the drop zone come the end of the season given the total lack of quality they have. The only positive I can see for them though is that they have a true goalscorer in Darren Bent who will score goals given the chances, it's just whether or not the quality is going to be there to make them chances.

I'm enjoying Spurs struggling this early on and hope AVB manages to keep it up. Only positive thing I can say about them is that Adebayor is a top signing, will score of plenty goals.

 

[Dod Draper]

Referee getting things right would have helped. Stonewall penalty turned down at 2-1... could have been a lot different.

Doesn't surprise me that we played well against City. We always do in the big games. I'll be more encouraged if we wipe the floor with a crap team for a change.

 

[Aniking]

Hey Cork, still think RVP is regretting that move now? iper:

With Arsenal having Mannone in goal, i'm surprised at how totally comfortable they were throughout the whole game defensively which is a surprise given their defensive vulnerability especially at the Brittania for example. Thought Arsene got his tactics right defensively with playing Diaby and Gervinho who are much more physical players than their alternatives would have been. Still looking terribly blunt infront of goal though which is definitely a worry. A point would have been a good result usually, but given they dropped 2 at home to Sunderland and now have to go to Anfield next week then I can't say it is.

Interested to see his answer for that question.

I was very worried about how Mannone would go in goals, but he looked pretty comfortable. The loan move to Hull at the end of last season must've done his confidence wonders because he took on the Stoke attack with high balls into the box with ease.

Our defence was really solid once again, which is great seeing how we have no Sagna or Koscielny. Jenkinson has looked good deputising for Sagna, Mertesacker has one or twice been caught on his heels due to quicker strikers but overall has been comfortable, and Vermaelen and Gibbs are still solid.

In the midfield we've had Arteta and Diaby do their thing, and Cazorla has been awesome, especially in the Sunderland game. He was a little quiet against Stoke but still had an impact. It's just up front where we can't piece it together.

 

[Keith]

Interested to see his answer for that question.

I was very worried about how Mannone would go in goals, but he looked pretty comfortable. The loan move to Hull at the end of last season must've done his confidence wonders because he took on the Stoke attack with high balls into the box with ease.

Our defence was really solid once again, which is great seeing how we have no Sagna or Koscielny. Jenkinson has looked good deputising for Sagna, Mertesacker has one or twice been caught on his heels due to quicker strikers but overall has been comfortable, and Vermaelen and Gibbs are still solid.

In the midfield we've had Arteta and Diaby do their thing, and Cazorla has been awesome, especially in the Sunderland game. He was a little quiet against Stoke but still had an impact. It's just up front where we can't piece it together.

Have to say that was one of the better 0-0 you are likely to see. I too was impressed with Arsenal, not just their first half football but also their defence and it seems like unlike years gone by they will not be pushed around by sides like Stoke. The only thing Wenger got wrong on the day was not starting with Walcott and Chamblin at times they looked too narrow in midfeld and I think if those two had been on from the start they may well have won the game.

You are right Dod it is typical Liverpool to raise their game against the big boys even dating back to the Rafa days, but then drop silly points, still it is a performance and result to build on.

Dale theres a long way to go the league doesn't even take shape until after the first ten games I still think Villa will finish in the top ten.

 

[AZUCAR!]

I was pleased to see we beat Fulham 3-2 on Saturday. When I got back from Wembley (went to watch the Challenge Cup Final) I didn't realize pretty much how lucky we were to hang on until watching Match of the Day, Saturday night. De Gea made some good saves again, like he did against Everton which kept us in that game. Hopefully the defensive mishap won't happen again. And the RVP goal was really good.

We've now got no Rooney for 4 weeks due to the gash he got on his leg, so he'll miss next Sunday's game at Southampton and the World Cup Qualifiers.

Liverpool were unlucky yesterday too. God knows what Srktel was thinking trying to pass the ball back to Reina.

Spurs have also agreed to sell Luka Modric to Real Madrid for £30 million. God knows Real need him at the moment, especially since they've only got 1 point from 2 La Liga games. And Barcelona have won both their opening 2 games.

 

[AZUCAR!]

​

 

[Dale]

Dale theres a long way to go the league doesn't even take shape until after the first ten games I still think Villa will finish in the top ten.

I know that, but I just look at the Villa squad and it looks devoid of any quality that will make them top half finishers. Norwich were riding high last season off of the promotions and were full of confidence and an unknown commodity in the league, whereas I just think Villa will still have the hangover from the the previous dire season.

 

[Pete]

^Madrid can crash and burn for all I care. They're probably the only team I hate more than Chelsea.

 

[Dod Draper]

Regarding the Arsenal clean sheet at Stoke, it's not particularly surprising. Stoke are a sad little team who set up shop for the big point even at the Britannia. Chelsea/Barca aside, I've never seen a team play so negative at home as when we lost 1-0 there last season.

Arsenal have been ok but they're going to miss RVP a lot this season. Games like Sunderland last week, and Stoke yesterday, he'd pop up and make the difference. Relied on him too much last season. Giroud doesn't look great and Gervinho isn't a world beater. Wenger will do very well to get top 4 this season. It's a shame to see a club like Arsenal ran purely as a business and not to win trophies. All the investors in the club must be delighted.

 

[Aniking]

Regarding the Arsenal clean sheet at Stoke, it's not particularly surprising. Stoke are a sad little team who set up shop for the big point even at the Britannia. Chelsea/Barca aside, I've never seen a team play so negative at home as when we lost 1-0 there last season.

Arsenal have been ok but they're going to miss RVP a lot this season. Games like Sunderland last week, and Stoke yesterday, he'd pop up and make the difference. Relied on him too much last season. Giroud doesn't look great and Gervinho isn't a world beater. Wenger will do very well to get top 4 this season. It's a shame to see a club like Arsenal ran purely as a business and not to win trophies. All the investors in the club must be delighted.

It's true Stoke aren't the best side, one that doesn't score very many goals (scored the least last season with 36; Villa had 37) but we haven't had a very good record against them at the Britannia. We've now won only one of our past five games there, but our draws haven't been that flash either. This one was as we were clearly the better team and actually had a solid defence. It's encouraging.

I agree that we'll miss Van Persie due to him being a player that will pop up with important goals, but I still think we can make the Top 4. Podolski and Giroud will go some way to filling the hole but there's no doubting they won't be enough. At times I wish Arsenal wasn't run like a business but instead a football club truly with the ambition of competing with the best for the best players, trophies etc, but that won't change while Wenger's still manager or while Usmanov doesn't have the majority of the club's shares. The guy is loaded and wants to throw his money at the club, but they won't take it while he lacks power yet won't give him power for that reason.

 

[Prodigy]

Dale, I've always wondered who you support?

 

[Keith]

Regarding the Arsenal clean sheet at Stoke, it's not particularly surprising. Stoke are a sad little team who set up shop for the big point even at the Britannia. Chelsea/Barca aside, I've never seen a team play so negative at home as when we lost 1-0 there last season.

Arsenal have been ok but they're going to miss RVP a lot this season. Games like Sunderland last week, and Stoke yesterday, he'd pop up and make the difference. Relied on him too much last season. Giroud doesn't look great and Gervinho isn't a world beater. Wenger will do very well to get top 4 this season. It's a shame to see a club like Arsenal ran purely as a business and not to win trophies. All the investors in the club must be delighted.

Ran sensibly you mean? You are missing the bigger picture, the clubs in debt are the ones thinking short term because their attitude is we will just pay silly money for big players to be sucessful today but won't worry about the long term effects. Whereas Arsenal's idea is to build slowly, live within their means, make a profit and be in stronger shape in years to come. Besides it is not as if they haven't spent this summer.

Actually I always took Stoke as a team who went after people, just that its not always pretty, thought they underperformed at the weekend.

 

[Dod Draper]

I could go with sensible if they invested a little more in the team. They're now facing the possibility of missing out on the top four now that they've lost RVP. They take big money for their players and don't reinvest it. They're in the Champions League, probably have a relatively small wade budget and have an extremely profitable stadium. What excuse do they have for not investing that much back into the team?

I'm not arguing against clubs who are sensible, but Arsenal take it to a whole new level. That's why I'm thinking it's not sensible, as much as it is profitable for the owners.

 

[AZUCAR!]

Fulham have accepted a bid from Tottenham for Moussa Dembele.

 

[Keith]

I could go with sensible if they invested a little more in the team. They're now facing the possibility of missing out on the top four now that they've lost RVP. They take big money for their players and don't reinvest it. They're in the Champions League, probably have a relatively small wade budget and have an extremely profitable stadium. What excuse do they have for not investing that much back into the team?

I'm not arguing against clubs who are sensible, but Arsenal take it to a whole new level. That's why I'm thinking it's not sensible, as much as it is profitable for the owners.

Yeah but people predicted that they wouldn't get in the top four last season and they did, we will wait and see what happens.

Well Villa have signed another defender this time Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough £2.5M. I do find it odd that Lambert has mostly focused on buying defenders when on paper that seemed the strongest area of the team. With a bit of luck we will get a striker in before the end of the week.