College football season is almost here. Which means club football season is here. We had a thread for this last year but I figured a new season warranted a fresh new thread for it. The Premier League starts this weekend with champions Leicester City kicking things off against Hull Saturday at 7:30 EST.
As a Manchester United fan, I welcome our new Portuguese overlord and all the tomfoolery he brings. We've made some great signings, including Paul Pogba (still in shock) and Zlatan. I think we can make a run at the title this season but I'm worried about City, Spurs, and of course Leicester.
City have made some great signings, though Stones was a bit overpriced. Gundogan is a great signing as well. Demichelis leaving was a great addition as well haha. Arsenal need a striker. Liverpool made their yearly Southampton deal in Sadio Mane, and I'm very curious to see how he plays for Liverpool.
Anyone want to throw out some predictions? Looking forward to another crazy season. Cheers everyone!
EDIT: Standings updated through matchweek 2:
Comments
Anyone know what channel in the US will carry any of the Saturday matchs? With the Olympics on NBCsports I can't find them.
Schedule Here!
looks like they're using CNBC and NBCSN along with the NBC Sports App.
Dang. Forgot all about the Olympics and EPL broadcasts. Livesoccertv.com shows the LCFC v. Hull, Everton v. Spurs, and MCFC v. Sunderland triple header on CNBC. Then Sunday's Bournemouth v. MUFC and Arsenal v. Liverpool on NBCSN.
Looking forward to seeing some more LC Foxes games this year on TV.
No they're on CNBC. Do you not get CNBC?
EDIT: Nevermind haha
Arsenal need a central defender signing more than a striker with Mertesacker and now Gabriel out with injury. I guess I shouldn't be surprised we haven't done the business we needed to, but still can't believe it.
Rumors floating about Johnny Evans. Comical summer for Arsenal continues.
Oh my god that'd be awesome.
City is spending Arab money and overpaying big time but can do that due to their achievements from the past year.
Man U is benefiting from Mourihno hiring as i doubt any of the players they have signed come without him at the helm.
Liverpool made some needed signing with a few CB's , starting GK (who broke his hand a week ago) midfielders and mane as said above. No idea whats happening at LB because Moreno is pretty poor defender.
Chelsea had a quiet transfer window with only a couple additions, Conte should do fine with that team as is. I think Mourinho killed the confidence and team as he usually does after a year or two.
Top 4 predictions- City, Manure, Chelsea Liverpool back to the way it should be.
Bournemouth for the title-this year's Leicester. But seriously, Citeh will likely take it and the scum (ManUtd) will probably finish second. But it could be a serious shart-show at UTD too (which I'm gleefully looking forward to). I actually think LFC can pip the arse for 4th, spuds third. Expect a huge drop for Leicester, Hull look destined for the drop.
If you guys think city are winning this season youre mistaken. There's SO many holes in that roster right now. Our midfield looks great and aguero is great until his glass bones break. I have big hopes for kelechi but you can't count on one guy to get you through 4 competitions.
The problem is our holding midfielder position we don't have any busquets or tony kroos or xabi alonso to dish the ball well. Toure is totally washed up and kinda lazy. Our defensive is going to struggle we have no real fullbacks and our goalkeepers are terrified with the ball at their feet which is a bad sign for us.
I hate to admit it but ive got my money on manu followed by city, then tottenham, then probably liverpool. I think conte has an even bigger rebuilding project ahead of him but theyll be back. And I really like jurgen klopp don't sleep on liverpool
Isn't Gundogan going to be the main guy in the holding midfield? What's your predicted formation? Gundogan behind KDB is dreamy IMO. Only thing I'd be worried about was all that crap about players reporting overweight.
Your worry in Aguero is understood.
Gundogan is coming off a big injury and has a history of breaking too. We're putting a ton of stock in 3 guys that CANNOT stay healthy in kompany gundogan and aguero
Lineup is gonna be
Sterling aguero sane
KDB silva
Gundogan
Kolarov kompany stones/otam fernandino
Joe Hart
Kdb is gonna have a huge year though mark my words. And as for the overweight players its really only toure nasri and mangala who nobody expected to contribute anyway
Forgot to throw in keep an eye on angelino he turned down loan moves because he thinks he can play at left back and hes has looked spectacular in development and loan spells as well as preseason. Really excited about him and jason denayer just made the champions league spot. Pep has also taken a liking to delph
The way it should be? If so, City should be nowhere close to the top four.
great point! neither Chelsea
Tbf, they've played every season in Premier League so they have more of a case than City.
No offense but there is no chance that Chelsea and Liverpool make it over Arsenal and Spurs. I'm a Spurs fan so I'm obviously biased, but we don't have a hole in our team right now. Our only hole last year was depth, which we've fixed. Who did Liverpool pick up that any team should fear? Gigi and Mane play well a combined 15 times a year. Liverpool will finish 6th like they do every year.
Agreed. Liverpool's best signings were Mane and Wijnaldum. They got Mane for 34m pounds. Anthony Martial was 36m pounds and Alexi Sanchez was 35m. Terrible buy IMO.
was Mane and Wijnaldum that bad of transfers? If anything Liverpool lacked a true winger/midfielder who could take on a defender and make things happen? Mane can certainly do that and plenty more.
Wijnaldum was bought as cover for Can Milner and Hendo-> who has been extremely overrated the past season or two. Can't stay healthy and when he does play hes somewhat underwhelming.
LFC lacked depth Mane and Wijnaldum add proper depth to the team while also being accustomed to the EPL ways.
IMO Liverpool's best signings were Matip, Mane and Karius.. Mignolet cost LFC soooo many points last season on his mind boggling mistakes. Sadly Mignolet will get his chance since Karius is out injured for 4-6 weeks.
Not a bad addition, just too pricey. Should have clarified. With that being said, the market is bananas. Yannick Bolasie just went for 30m pounds. Like VTCEE said, Mane is really inconsistent.
And why did Liverpool sign Mignolet to an extension in January? That blew my mind.
Top premier league teams are always going to get price gauged because they can afford it so prices will balloon for players
Liverpool signed mignolet to extension because he could have left in the summer. Not that anyone would have wanted him (I keed I keed) but seriously. Yeah it looks weird now considering they brought it Karius but.... Karius ended up getting hurt FML.
Had Karius not got hurt he would have been a good backup keeper.
YES love the bolasie move as it now hopefully will clears the way for Benteke to get going to Palace!!!
I think bolasie is severely overrated and on top of that hes taking a month off to do african cup of nations. I think sane will have a much better career. Hes an ideal klopp winger
I actually agreed with this at the time of the signings, but when they've played together, the results have exceeded my expectations. Yes, the fee was still outrageous (for both), but so far at least, Klopp has got them both playing well in his system. What I'm basically trying to say is that In Klopp I Trust, and believe (or hope, rather) that they'll both work out. But yes, I still think the transfer fee was exorbitant-let's wait to judge if it was a terrible buy until the end of the season.
You can go ahead and say about 90% of our signings under Rodgers and Hodgson were terrible (Downing, Benteke and Carrol spring to mind first), I've no argument against that. However, Martial (whom I think is actually quite a good player) doesn't seem worth the money right now whilst Sanchez has definitely justified the high price tag.
To me, the price for Xhaka seemed too high but I'm a big admirer of his (Liverpool were after him and had they signed him wouldn't have pursued Wijnaldum) and think the Arse did well there. The whole transfer market is batty right now due to the huge new TV contract, english clubs have been taken to the cleaners in nearly every instance (Jordon Ibe for 15m? that's a laugh). I guess it's all relative, like 89m for Pogba even though he could've still been their player if they handled his situation better (I believe this transfer will define Mourinho's time at United)? Or Matic at Chelsea...or the current Lukaku saga (Chelsea, again).
I disagree. Martial has been just as good as Sanchez when you factor in age and the fact that Martial played his first year in the EPL this season. Sanchez scored 13 goals on 107 shots with 4 assists and Martial had 11 goals on 57 shots and four assists.
Agreed on the transfer market though. It's going to get crazier every season. I think Pogba would have left eventually. SAF retired and in came two atrocious managers. No one wanted to play for LVG and I can't blame them. It has worked out, I think. Mourinho seems to be a great fit at United. I know his track record and three years but something feels different with his demeanor. Might just be my Red glasses.
Martial has been nowhere near Sanchez.
Lolok.
I agree with Wytheville. With all due respect, Sanchez would've been the player of the year last year if Arsenal had won the title and though Martial has shown flashes he's not world class by any stretch. I think Sanchez is world class and Liverpool were gutted when he chose AFC over LFC (we tabbed him as the Suarez replacement but he chose London...or rather his wife did).
Fair play to him as that's not a hard decision, but we REALLY wanted him and it's turned out great for Arsenal. I'd never even heard of Martial when he was signed and the transfer was roundly mocked in England (at least the price paid was), though he does look like a good player already.
However, I don't think there's much of a comparison at this point as Sanchez was already an established star when he moved to London whilst Martial was a bit of an unknown quantity outside of France. Wouldn't surprise me if he becomes a fantastic talent when he matures a bit more, but his chances will be limited as long as Ibra is there (frankly, I don't see that United really needed him, but if he wastes their money and costs them points then it's a great signing).
Fair to say Alexi is better but I don't see how they're worlds apart. I know goals and assists dont tell the whole story but all things considering the team surrounding Alexi (Ozil mainly) Martial held his own.
With that being said, Ibra only helps Martial. Martial will play on the left wing. It'll be a first for Martial, a competent veteran striker to receive his passes.
Mourinho is the only man that can screw up the amazing team United has assembled. He also happens to be the one man who can make all those personalities work together. I love this league.
Mourinho has a history of managing big clubs with teams full of big egos-it does work often but it also goes pear-shaped amazingly quickly (see chelsea, erm, TWICE) due to his own mega-ego. Nobody has ever had the keys to the lambo as many times as he has it's really quite remarkable.
So, it could really go either way, I actually forgot about Chelsea under Conte and they should finish top 4 if not win the league-what Conte did with probably the least fancied Italy team in generations was remarkable and served notice to the rest of the EPL (especially with no European commitments to distract them but the lack of games might lead to squad unrest for playing time). If I didn't have any qualms about betting on the Chavs for the title I'd do it as they're getting pretty good odds (around 6-1).
I still think City will win it though, they have a great coach and if recent form from the bundesliga holds, it would be City and Liverpool (Guardiola and Klopp) as the top two. As a Liverpool fan I'd be thrilled with second place this season (obviously I'd want the title but I think that's too much to hope for at this point). Plus, City are the only contender I don't absolutely loathe, though they are Chelsea-lite in that they've bought their success. Them being a huge UTD hating club gives them the edge for me.
Of course I'm a Gooner so I'm saying this fully aware of my bias, but writing off Arsenal isn't a good idea, especially if you're just talking for a top 4 finish. It's been a long, long time since we've missed that and our midfield is stronger than its been in a long time.
We still lack depth at striker so I'm fully aware of that weakness, and if we don't do something quick the center back issue will really make me angry at all the head honchos, but I still think we're gonna be a fun team to watch this year. This feeling is only enhanced by our players' summer performances for club and country. Lots of guys feeling good right now.
But seriously. Sign someone Wenger, jesus.
Still time to get some players, but Arsenal are missing a golden chance. Thought they were the best side last year and needed to shore up the defense and get a quality striker in. Xhaka should be a fine addition, but not enough to challenge for the title.
Honestly, I like Spurs for the title this season. Followed by Liverpool and United. As mentioned above, I think City will struggle and I think Arsenal haven't done enough. Leicester isn't top 10 for me.
You are correct. I think Xhaka is going to not only shore up a perennially weak spot for AFC, but he will unleash the best of Aaron Ramsey that we saw back when Arteta was younger and healthy.
But it won't be enough because Giroud will be gassed at some point and we won't have a striker anymore.
Only thing for certain is that Sunderland will pull it out of their arse again for 17th.
Really just hoping Fulham can build off their win over Newcastle last week to push for promotion. Kills me not being able to watch them anymore.
beIN Sports shows the Championship, if you have that channel....check it out-you might be in luck. Comes with most sports packages on DirecTV, so I'm guessing that probably applies to other providers. FYI.
Yep, they generally only show what Sky is showing. Had the Fulham/Newcastle game the other night, but we've been crap for the past two years we might not get much air time other than the derby against QPR and games against Villa or Norwich. Hopefully we just take off and they have no other option than to put us on come November.
You're a Fulham fan? Much respect
Yep. Started because they had the Americans in England. Loved watching McBride and Dempsey, had Keller, Bocanegra and Johnson for a bit. Now Ream and de la Torre. Wish we coulda held onto Hyndman, but isn't exactly fit for the Championship. But I like our chances if we get a few more signings this season. Looked very good the other night, but just need another center midfielder and a forward and we'll push for the top 6.
I'd be surprised. FA screwed them this offseason, and now they're selling Kone to Everton. They're finally done.
I like the signings that spurs made and think they'll finish top 3, with the two manchester clubs fighting for the top 2 most likely. overall it should (hopefully) be wide open competition for the title and top 4
i'm interested to see american players development this season, notably yedlin and emerson hyndman, and if guzan is able to play regularly for middlesbrough.
on a side note for those interested in more PL news, talk, etc... there's a podcast called the football ramble that i find entertaining and informative, and they do recaps of the previous weekend games on mondays and preview shows on fridays, so a good way to get through the work day
Don't sleep on Spurs. Pochettino may be the best manager in the league and we return everyone now a year older and still the youngest club in the BPL. Good times in North London will only get better once we finish the new stadium and the NFL money starts rolling in.
https://www.skybet.com/football/premier-league/event/18877650
So what long shot do you bet on this year? Who do you think ends up as top 4. Who gets relegated?
For me I think Hull City, West Bromwhich and Burnley get relegated. As for who wins I think it's between Man City or Man Utd.
West Ham is a good bet if you're looking for a cheeky title contender.
Relegation: Hull, Palace and Swansea
I'll be sad if Palace and/or Swansea go down. I always kinda liked them both, particularly the Swans.
Palace and Swansea will stay up llorente was a great buy for swansea and palace have a solid midfield I think hull Burnley and watford are my three
Don't forget Palace has hot cheerleaders!! They have to stay up!
I'll take Hull, West Brom, and Sunderland.
United is either going to win the league remarkably early or be utterly out of contention by February. There is no middle ground. This should be fun. Really wanna get a Zlatan jersey, but I'm not walking around with a stupid big Chevy logo on my chest.
That Chevy logo is just awful, looks so out of place on a soccer jersey.
Oooh along these lines, I just got my new Xhaka away shirt. Those Arsenal away kits are straight fire this year.
Yeah, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool always seem to get some really cool kits, while United is stuck in the Nike rut (with the exception of the gingham shirt in 2012).
To be fair to Nike, they did a couple great Arsenal kits before the switch to Puma, who has received mixed reviews amongst Gooners. I frankly love everything Puma has done so far, but I don't claim to have great taste.
United switched to Adidas last year, I liked their Black kit last year and the white one this year is a good look as well.
I love Zlatan. He is like a living embodiment of a bad soccer guy in a Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell movie.
Hope he comes to MLS one day - Americans will love him or hate him in WWE fashion
I'm a United fan, I admit I was not looking forward to Mourinho, but now I'm stoked and expecting a great season. I admit Liverpool looks good though and honestly they worry me most out of the top teams.
As an add on, the Bundesliga is genuinely exciting to watch (plus a far superior game day atmosphere than EPL) and has many story lines for American audiences.
Pulisic trying to pick up on the time he got at the end of last year.
New Bayern coach seems to like Julian Green and has been playing him at center forward during the preseason. Just made the cut for the first team and looks like he might get occasional minutes after Lewa and Muller. Big season for the 2014 world cup darling.
Bobby Wood had a breakout year last year in 2 Bundesliga and just moved to Hamburg. Will be interesting to see if he can lock down a spot.
Matt Miazga who moved to Chelsea last year looks to have a possible loan at Frankfurt
On top of Brooks and Fabian being our best players.
And if anyone wants to see a cultural clash, watch some RB Leipzig. They essentially bought their way into the bundesliga in a way that Germany detests and has rules to try and prevent. They will be enemy number 1 for every game they play. Should be some heated games.
I loooove the Bundesliga's style of play and atmospheres. And their online fan service is great, as a league.
I just lose interest on a larger scale because Bayern is gonna win the league most of the time. But anytime I turn on a game and it doesn't involve them, I really enjoy it.
I don't see any problem with Bayern winning the title! Mia San Mia!!
Believe Terrance Boyd plays for RB Leipzig. Bad injury luck the past few seasons, but was scoring goals for fun in Austria and the Dortmund reserves.
Saw that but don't know much about him. RB Leipzig wants to be a consistent champions league team. Their ascent is going to be fascinating. They've been promoted 3 times in the last 4 years.
my understanding is that if he can stay healthy boyd has the talent to get usmnt call ups, would be interesting with him, wood, altidore, and morris
Should have been called up in 2014 I think. Needed that physical, hold-up the play striker once Jozy went down. Thought he could have done the job.
I thought about making a general European soccer thread but EPL seems to generate the most discussion since it's the most widely watched. Maybe create another thread for La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1? They would definitely generate some discussion too. I feel like Dortmund might push Bayern more this season than ever before. They had a great summer.
Might as well start one! Beyond La Liga, Bundesliga, Seria A and Ligue 1, there's lots of interesting storylines in lesser-followed European Leagues.
For instance, the Russian Premier League is intriguing to me for lots of reasons (but none really for the on-field product). There's lots of dysfunction in Russian football at the moment and it's fascinating to watch from afar, especially in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
The Turkish Süper Lig is another one - it's been a strong league for some time, has clubs with great history like Beikta, Fenerbahe & Galatasaray, but the political situation in the country has led a fair amount of players to leave for more stable situations.
I could go on, but I think you get the point!
Yeah it's kind of a shame La Liga and Serie A and Ligue 1 don't really get the press EPL and somewhat the Bundesliga get in the USA. It would be nice to see more of those top teams/story lines from those leagues to open up soccer to America other than the handful of powerhouse teams. I like the idea of opening a thread for each league. Would be nice to see what other fans think or some of the story lines that come from them. Good idea!
I think it's more of an issue with competitive balance. The Premier League has the most competitive top tier of the biggest European leagues. There's been a different champion the last 4 seasons, which is amazing considering the other top leagues.
Bundesliga - Bayern has won the last 4 league titles
Ligue 1 - PSG has won the last 4 league titles (and no one's challenged them)
Serie A - Juventus has won the last 5 league titles
La Liga is generally a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but there was Atletico Madrid's league title a few seasons ago.
Right now, the result of most of those leagues is a foregone conclusion and I don't think that makes for great viewing.
Its not a competitive balance thing. The premier league did a massive global push when Man U was winning every year and there was no balance. With english being the worlds language and EPL making the push for international TV deals before any one else, they've secured themselves as worlds the most popular and profitable league and Man U as the worlds most popular team.
Fair enough, and I guess that's just my own tastes. But you do make some great points.
As fun as the Warriors were to watch in the NBA this past year, I tended to get disinterested when they were crushing their competition midway through the 3rd quarter. But hey, their games had some of the highest ratings, and they'll probably be even higher with KD in the fold next year.
Would love to see Serie A get back to glory. Lots of historically strong teams there.
I loved watching Milan when I was first getting into overseas soccer, but back when all of the match fixing issues were getting aired several years ago, it got me wondering how genuine any games I watched were. Italian soccer has always been a pretty game to watch, but I've always got that thought in the back of my mind that it could be fixed.
I expect it will happen sooner rather than later. With Inter and AC Milan both selling this summer to foreign investment groups, we'll see if the tide turns there.
Italian football is mostly a mess right now though, and Juventus is one of the few well-run clubs at the moment.
With all there HUGE signings this summer, how can Arsenal not win/s. It's been a tough off season, but forever hopeful.
To be fair, I still think Xhaka is one of the best EPL signings this summer. And they could have more coming (Mustafi or bust at this point, really). But yeah, I'm pretty disappointed that they couldn't get anything else done after starting the summer so strong with Xhaka.
Well, we got Mustafi. I think that's a good signing. I like Xhaka was a good signing too. I'd love to sign a flashy striker, but I feel more comfortable already
There is really strong talk of Mahrez right now too. I don't buy into much when it comes to the transfer window, but I can get onboard with no striker signing if it means we get a guy like Mahrez on the wings. Especially with Wengers recent attempts to put Alexis at the 9. A front of Alexis, Mahrez, Ox/Iwobi, and Ozil behind them providing service? I could really get behind that team to make a push.
Still no striker. A world-class striker to that group and you run away with the league.
Honestly, I love Giroud and think he'd be hard to upgrade on (we're not getting Aubameyang or Lewa or anyone on that level, I don't care what other Arsenal fans expect). The problem is that we have nobody to spell him and he goes on bad streaks when he's gassed, as most people would.
What I'm saying is that a lineup with Alexis back on the wing and Giroud up top can win the league as well, but we can't maintain that every single game.
I think they should try to swoop Costa. Things with him and Conte aren't perfect, Chelsea could get Lukaku. Seems crazy at first butttttt.
There is a 0% chance of Arsenal and Costa ever aligning in this world.
I'm pretty sure there would be an assault charge if he was ever seen on grounds.
you might be getting wilfried bony
While that wouldn't exactly thrill me, it'd be better than Theo Walcott (as of late anyhow).
I strongly disagree. Please just take him for 30 mil at this point. Id be shocked if we could break even on him let alone turn a profit on him. Everton want him too
30 million for Bony is silly.
Agreed but welcome to the overinflated costs of strikers globally. It's tough to find a good value thats not a young undeveloped guy and even theyre pretty expensive
I mean, Ross McCormack went to Villa for 14 million. Crazy world. But you need goal scorers and they come at a premium.
Ross has never played in the prem and never been succesful in it. So what bony didnt fit into pellegrinis system and defenitely doesnt fit into peps. Hes cut from a similar mold as giroud though and has proven to be an effective #1 striker when called upon in the prem. It's not as outlandish as you might think
I really kinda doubt we're actually in for him, and if we were, Arsene Wenger is not spending 30 mil on that guy.
Who scores more goals this campaign?
Aguero
Sturridge
Kane
Sanchez
Vardy
Hazard
Costa
Eh, if Aguero stayed healthy I would say him. Kane is my next guess.
Origi
Kane, Vardy, or Zlatan, depending how quickly he adjusts to the physicality of the EPL and how soon Jose benches Rooney.
Aguero and I don't even like city
I love how it is always the same story for Arsenal fans every year. I would feel bad, but it's Arsenal so I don't
For an American football site, there sure is a lot of Greek in this thread.
But seriously, how is UVa football like an old bra?
-Little support and no Cups.
I'm a West Ham fan (probably the only one on this site) and I'm excited that the season has started up. Looking forward to seeing if the new stadium with 60K fans can help the Hammers finish towards the top of the league and hopefully making a run in the Europa League.
Oof, that's one way to defend the title Leicester. Let's see if it pays off for them.
That's wasn't pretty, Hull is a team in turmoil and they just didn't look good at all.
Arsenal and Liverpool both looked shambolic. Liverpool need a new left back ASAP. Arsenal need a lot.
United and City looked alright. Spurs okay. No one really stamped their authority on the league this week.
Mane should be arrested for murder after that goal, beautiful, poor defenders.
spurs will be fine if they can get through the dembele suspension without dropping too many points and lloris isn't seriously injured
ibra is going to win united a couple tight games against the better teams with his individual talent
Liverpool confuses me. Also thought Watford were going to sneak away with three points today. Looking like the Manchester title predictions are accurate. They both look strong. Leicester are holding it down against Arsenal but you can tell they're missing Kante.
As an Arsenal fan, Leicester doesn't have to do much. Arsenal is being managed by a dinosaur.
Saw a greet tweet by a Brit I "know",
, I'm sure he got it from someone else in the UK but it sums it up nicely.
Why has soccer not added a second ref? This one one guy can't see the whole pitch and everything going on.
In my playing and refereeing experience, the 2 ref system causes far more problems than it fixes. There are two assistants on the sidelines.
Can the sideline judges call penalties?
They can and do alert the center ref of infractions. He then has the option to veto that if he feels he had a better view, but most of the time he defers to their judgment. This is how basically ever offside call is made, and looking at some of those calls, I feel like the Assistants in the top levels are superhuman to even see that stuff at full speed.
Plus those guys are all super fit, so I don't think a 2 ref system would cover anymore ground than the current one. They can keep up with play just fine and a 2nd ref is going to be blinded by bodies as often as a single central ref.
I am open to some sort of unintrusive replay system if they want to make a change, but only in certain circumstances such as a potential penalty kick or red card offense. I'm not sold enough on it to lobby for it, but I can see some benefits.
I knew they do offside but just seems weird in a sport with a playing surface that is so big where players can be on the other side no where near action that 1 guy has final say on all fouls. For example how did this not get caught at the time?
Watching Leiscter game today seems like foul on Musa got missed because of angle of refs. The sideline ref was on other side also so he didn't have view of it either.
The long and short of it is that you're never going to catch everything that happens at full speed. Clattenberg had just about as good of a position on that call that any ref is gonna have, whether there was one or two on the field. He'd have had to have been 5 yards behind them and in the corner of the pitch to see what happened in full detail, and even with 2 'center' refs, that would never be the case.
Again, an instant replay would possibly have solved the issue, but even watching it slow motion I still found it a controversial decision. I don't think I'd say that was irrefutably wrong the way it was called on the field.
So what about 2 more sideline refs for a total of 5 officials per game?
Champions League, and some leagues I believe, have put an additional two on the touchlines.
Three is plenty in soccer. In footy, a miss call is generally based on matter of opinion, rather than not enough eyes on a call. Played my whole life, watched my whole life, reffed for part of my adult life, and think three is plenty.
West Hams move to Olympic Stadium has absolutely killed the atmosphere. Looks like I'm watching a friendly or something
Haha I literally read this comment then clicked Premier League on ESPNFC and this played
FOTMOB is an awesome app for news btw waaaaay better than espnfc and reddit is a really good source of info, if you're looking for in depth tactical analysis jamie carragher and gary neville usually give REALLY good stuff, you can find most of it on youtube
I usually only go to espnfc for fixture, scores, and tables. Prefer team blogs like on SBNation and subreddits for analysis.
Arsenal will be fine once Ozil and Giroud get match fitness. Fine meaning they'll advance to the CL knockouts and finish top four, but they really need another creative midfielder and a striker.
Ok, so this is the first season I'm watching the EPL, and have no idea how to pick a team to root for. My first memory of football was the redskins, so I cheer for them. I went to VT so I pull for them. How do you pick a team in a league you have no history with other than the love of watching the game?
Pick last year's champ
Start by reading through this: http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2016/january/23/ot-premier-league
Helped me last year.
Here's a great guide. I cheer for United. I suppose it's considered a bandwagon pick but I started rooting for them right in the middle of the Moyes season. I've follow them through their worst run in years. Now we seem to be backish!
depends what kind of fan are you?
Bill Simmons did a pretty good job of picking his EPL team (although this article is now outdated), I've linked his article to this comment.
A few things that jump out. In the 9 he killed off the start, plenty have see League One football since (Bolton, Charlton, Sheffield United and Wigan) with another, Portsmouth, on the brink of leaving the Football League together but have since stabilized looking to make the playoffs in League Two this season.
And then he doesn't want to be tortured when Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle are in his top three.
And last but not least, he called Theo Walcott the LeBron James on the EPL. El oh el.
I think its weird to just pick a team. Just watch a number of games and you'll gravitate to someone. Or you won't and you can just enjoy the league as a neutral party. You have enough stress dealing with VT and the Skins.
Quick Americanized Primer, based in order of current league standings after two games.
Manchester City - Yankees without the history; U.S. great Claudio Reyna played for them before they got rich.
Manchester United - Yankees/Cowboys lovechild; sponsored by Chevy if you're into that sorta thing
Hull City - Brand new owners that supporters hate; just promoted; dream start to the league
Chelsea - Respectable club before, but became Euro superpower with Russian money
Everton - Timmy effing Howard and Landon Donovan are arguably their two best players for the past decade.
Middlesborogh - Enjoyed a nice spell in EPL before a few years in Championship, now back; good manager
Tottenham - Team that is spoofed by Ted Lasso; Redskins fan, don't subject yourself to this torture too
Burnley - a few cup of coffees in the EPL; just promoted, but relegation fodder; solid 20th-30th club in England
West Brom - Nothing offensive; nothing great; overstayed welcome in EPL, but keeps staying up
West Ham - Just moved into the Olympic stadium; famed hooliganism in 90s inspired Green Street Hooligans.
Liverpool - Quick: which type of ship never docks there? The Premiership.
Swansea City - A Welsh club; played some decent football since coming up, sparkle is fading.
Arsenal - Always the bridesmaids, never the bride. Last title they did go unbeaten though...thirteen seasons ago.
Watford - Brilliant film called Rise and Shine: The Jay Demerit Story, on his rise through English football; watch it.
Leicester City - Title holders; 5000-1 to win it last season, could be relegated this season
Southampton - Famed youth academy that has produced tons of world class players
Sunderland - Always pull some late season drama to avoid relegation; not for the faint of heart
Stoke City - Used to be a nasty bunch, but have started played pretty nice football.
Crystal Palace - Awesome kits, awesome crest, awesome cheerleaders; terrible team
AFC Bournemouth - Great story, survived last season in their first EPL season; U.S. youngster Hyndman there.
But in regards to choosing a team, just pick something you'll be attached to. For instance, I picked Fulham because at the time my favortie national team player, Clint Dempsey, had just been transferred there from New England. He joined up with U.S. legend Brian McBride and I just fell in love with the teams as they pulled off the Great Escape. Ended up in a Europa League final against Atletico Madrid which we lose, but it's been a crazy ride since. We're now in the second division, and I can rarely watch a game, but I've never been more attached to a team other than Virginia Tech. I love it. Listen on the radio, so invested in their transfer dealings and such. I even had to quit following them last season cause I couldn't stand getting updates of conceeding three times before half. It's so much worse not watching your tam be crap.
Also I support (well follow with good intentions) Oldham Athletic, as a lad I played with in school, was from Oldham and I remember them beating Liverpool in the FA Cup a few years back and he had his dad on the phone at his house in the final minute, and once the whistle went you could hear the roar from the stadium through his window. Showed me what supporting a club was all about.
And then I always look out for Northampton Town, who were just promoted from League Two. Only reason there is that I was born in Northampton County. So really, anything that makes you feel attached to the club is where it's at. It's much closer to college fandom as anything American professional sports can offer.
I'm in the same situation as Biomech_Hokie, I'm in the market for an EPL team. I love soccer and I'm trying to figure which team would be the best fit for me. I'm looking for:
1) Some of the most passionate fans in the EPL (great chants, loud fans etc.)
2) Tons of scoring
3) Tyrann Mathieu when he was at LSU could conceivably be the team's spirit animal
4) Situated somewhere I would want to vacation
5) A couple of young stud footballers that I could follow for the next 5-10 years
6) Not Man U
Anyone have any suggestion for me?
Problem with young stud footballers is they are usually only still around 5-10 years later if they are at a big club who can afford to keep them. This will narrow your options pretty significantly.
City have a terrific yourh academy thata going to start churning out some good players here very shortly, and invested really heavily in youth this off-season to rebuild the spine of the team
Likewise they hate manchester United and score a shit ton. The fans are very self loathing though and it seems like the team likes to make things as difficult as it possibly can to achieve success
(see nearly blowing the EPL title a few years ago due to a last day game against a struggling qpr team)
Liverpool isnt a bad choice either, arch rival of man u. Although their history is basically university of Miami's. Used to be a superpower in the sport but have struggled and fallen off of late. Very loyal fanbase though
I'd narrow it down to either Tottenham or West Ham. Both have very loyal fan bases, some good talent, and are in greater London. I'm a ManU fan (because I started following in the late 90's with Beckham, Yorke, Giggs, etc.), but have always had a bit of an interest in seeing Tottenham do well.
Tottenham. Very passionate fanbase. Second highest scoring team last season, based in London, Harry Kane/DeAndre Yedlin/Dele Alli, and not Man United haha.
Yeah but then you have to listen to the "it's happened again" chant from the red part of North London every St. Totteringham's day.
That's the general consensus from everyone I've talked to. I could rock a Clint Dempsey jersey which is a definite plus.
I would also throw in Everton to that consideration. Hard not to like them unless you're a Liverpool fan.
And even then, Liverpool fans hate Manu and chelsea more than everton. Other than Funes Mori being a d!ckhead last year, I generally don't mind them, other than hoping they finish under Liverpool in the table.
My overarching suggestion to anybody who wants to start following an EPL team (or any soccer team in Europe/not your locale in general) is to take a season or two and watch as a non-committed fan. Absorb as many games as you can without bias, if that is possible for you. You'll find within a year or so you'll gravitate towards what you want. This is how I became an Arsenal fan, more or less.
If being neutral for a season or two results in you being an Arsenal supporter DON'T DO IT. Haha. I kid.
At this point in time, I'd probably be tempted to agree with you, there's too much heartburn involved with supporting AFC right now. The good news is that it can get better.
However I maintain that Arsenal plays one of the prettiest games in the EPL, and back when I first started watching that wasn't even a question.
I also think picking a team this way leaves you with soft spots for several clubs. I still wouldn't mind seeing Everton do well, as they likely would have been my 2nd choice.
And just like that, Arsenal has a great summer signing period! Better late than never, but Mustafi is a great get and Lucas Perez is exactly the caliber I was hoping we'd find for our striker vacancy. Giroud is still #1, but at least now we have options.
Still not convinced that Wenger hasn't lost the plot tactically, but I feel a lot better right now than I did last week.
Thanks everyone for your input! I've done a lot of reading in the past day. I think I will end up taking a lot of your suggestions to watch for a season before picking. There are four teams I will be following more closely than the others: Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea. Thanks for all of the help!