The Premier League - 2018/19 - All Match Discussion In Here

Evans is a better than him in every way and Morgan is a better out and out defender. We spent quite a lot on two young defenders last summer who are both very talented and no more raw or naive than Maguire.

I really like the bloke, massive heart and a lovely character to have at the club, I’ll wish him all the best if he moves. I think being English and having a nickname has more than doubled his value, I’d be surprised if Manchester City’s interest was ever genuine but they’ve forced Man U’s hand just like with Sanchez.

 

I’m not sure if it’s madder that United have offered that amount, or that Leicester have rejected it.

 

When you think what we got for Kante, £27million or something..... he was and still is one of the best players in the world in his position. Utter ******* madness, I have no idea what transfer fees even mean now. Just crackers.

All this makes me think of when we spent £5million on Ade Akinbiyi in 2000 and he was HATED by our fans, his name is still a punchline for jokes about crap strikers. He probably scored 1 in 4 for the club or thereabouts. Now we have Slimani and Iheanacho, worth a combined total of around £50million plus millions in wages and the attitude is ‘meh, **** em off on loan or something and we’ll flog then to a Turkish club at some point...’

It’s mental and it’s becoming harder to care about any of it, it’s so far removed from any sense of what supporting a **** provincial club used to be about, even a compared to just a few years ago.

 

Understandable view but it's just your nostalgia speaking. As it does to all fans of clubs that have evolved significantly over a relatively short space of time.

Any Championship supporter would bite both hands off to be in Leicester's position now. So, if it were possible & given the choice, unlikely you would change anything?

It's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

It could be nostalgia, I do think that football has lost a certain roughness around the edges that made it a bit more fun and accessible. I’m not talking about the dark days of the 80’s, I only started going in 2000 when I was 8. Change happens, it depends on individuals to say whether it’s good or bad. I personally find football less fun now and that’s largely down to the business of football and **** like transfer fees, social media and Manchester City. Leicester City is so wealthy now that we can turn our noses up at £70million for an average player but still expect fans to pay £10 for a pint and a cold pie.

 

Arsenal bid 40 mill for Zaha but Palace want 80.

80 million for Wilfried bloody Zaha.

Sheer lunacy.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48839638

 

Thanks for reminding me about Ade Akinbiyi! Hilarious at the time, but I suspect his goal-scoring rate would stand up against many so-called 'strikers' today.

 

I would really like that signing but yeah, £30mil!? We could buy 120 Riyad Mahrezes for that!

 

Now reported that £16million is the fee, his release clause. Tielemans to sign next week too according to John Percy and it seems that neither Manchester club will stump up for Maguire.

They’re putting all of their eggs in the Rodgers basket here.... Brendan probably has some cringeworthy egg-based metaphor.

 

Chequebook Pep is buying a £63 million midfielder from Atletico. Will be 9-0 next time.

 

He's very much a defensive midfielder though - they can't make an opponent score any fewer than 0 goals.

 

Lampard official for Chelsea. What a disastrous appointment that will be. Derby took 47% of their shots from outside the area, scoring 18 more goals than their xG says they should've. This is an absurd overperformance and one that definitely isn't sustainable (worth noting that Derby scored the 2nd most goals from outside the area in the league). They finished 21st in terms of xG yet somehow finished 6th despite having the same underlying numbers as Rotherham.

Yet somehow that's enough for him to get one of the biggest jobs in the PL. *shrug*

 

You seem to be sure it will be a disastrous appointment? It's unlikely he will adopt the same tactics/strategies as he did at Derby, given he will be working with a big step up in class & quality with the players now at his disposal.

Personally I think it's a clever appointment. Given his pedigree he has more than a fighting chance to do well at the top.

 

Logically you're right but I think it might turn out to be inspired.
Comes with loads of goodwill. His inexperience will be understood and he will be given time. Seems a smart, articulate and popular guy who will have the fans behind him. The issue will be dealing with the megastars. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

 

I wish "Fat Frank" all the best in such a big job, however, I think it's much too early for him and I think it'll end in tears.

Having said that, I think the transfer sanction has given him the opportunity. I don't think Chelsea would have looked twice at him had they been able to sign players. They know they need someone who can work with young players and give them a chance. Lampard, with his association at the club, seems to fit the role. But, as with Zola, ex-players don't often work out, although they have had varying degrees of success with ex-players in the past. The likes of Vialli, Hollins, Hoddle, Gullit, Wilkins & Di Mateo have won them trophies.

It'll be interesting to see how Chelsea get on next season. I always felt they were a one-man team and now Hazard is gone, it'll be interesting to see how they get on. I don't think they'll be anywhere near the top six personally. Mid-table or lower will be my prediction for them, and if that happens, Lampard won't be around for too long.

 

They will miss Hazard no question but that statement seems a little harsh. Maybe now they will give Hudson Odoi and other youngsters a chance. I will be amazed if they are not top 6 as the gap between 6th and 7th is sizeable.
As for the appointment, not sure many top coaches would have gone there with the transfer ban but in my view it's a clever appointment. After the doom and gloom of Sarri (finished 3rd and won the Europa League!!!) and the transfer ban this will brighten up the feeling around Stamford Bridge. Only time will tell if he is a success but I've always quite like Lampard and would like to see him do well.

 

Then he's even more of an unknown quantity if he'll be adopting different tactics that he's never tried/tested before! He had one of the best squads in the Championship last season and didn't improve them from the previous season at all (kept the same league position but regressed in terms of xG etc). It could work for Chelsea, but I think the chances of it working (aka top 4) are slim.

 

Some fair points but you can never win with that logic. I would say generally speaking he has it all going for him, most importantly the ability & the network behind him to make it a success at Chelsea. Time is the only factor that will show us.

Personally I like seeing high end ex players injected in at top level management nowadays, more progressive long term than the usual merry-go-round old timer PL managers of yesteryear.

 

Agree about the merry-go-round types but surely it would be even more progressive long term if PL clubs appointed managers who have worked their way up a bit and proved their talent consistently? Rather than big name ex-pros lucking out and being given a big boy job straightaway.

 

I'd always assumed Reids was a shoe-in.

 

Generally it's only the exceptional ex-players that get that treatment at PL level.

If you look at the lower leagues younger managers are increasingly getting their chances nowadays which is good to see, surely? In 5-10 years they should work their way through the system at various levels.

 

Shoo-in.

 

Ayoze Perez has gone from Newcastle to Leicester. He's one of Newcastle's best players. No Benitez and now Perez has gone. I think Newcastle could well go down this season.

 

It's a real education, spending time on this website
"This expression purportedly comes from the practice of corrupt jockeys holding their horses back and shooing a preselected winner across the finish line to guarantee that it will win. A “shoo-in” is now an easy winner, with no connotation of dishonesty. “Shoe-in” is a common misspelling."

 

Exchange "elsewhere" about Lampard's appointment:

 

Seems like he's saying we'll do VAR our own way and choose our own interpretation of the handball law too. Can't see FIFA being too happy with either stance.

 

I'd hate to see VAR being used to give penalties just because the ball brushes a player's elbow. Let the game flow as much as possible without any real change. If a ref is about to produce a red card, then fine let him recheck before doing so; if a striker is possibly marginally offside then don't flag; if it ends up as a goal kick, the game has still flowed. If the player scores then check it.

 

Ander Herrera gets a 5 year contract at PSG for 300k per week. Almost makes the Sanchez and Ozil contracts look good business.

 

That's a contract that's going to bite them on the behind.

 

A bit of Friday whimsy from Paddy Power on the losses Premier League clubs make on illegal streams - if you're on Twitter, I highly recommend following them - their tweets are very funny.

https://news.paddypower.com/football/2019/07/11/united-transfer-window/

 

Villa fans creaming themselves over signing Douglas Luiz from Man City....despite the fact he barely started for relegated Girona last season. Madness.

 

Tbf he definitely will now as the transfer fee + wages will be higher which will qualify him