No More Sarri - Premier League 2019/20

[Janik]

Oh, and any encyclopaedia whose entry on "That type of player" doesn't consist solely of a picture of Ashley Barnes is clearly a useless publication.

It's kind of an indictment of Football supporters that we can warm to someone like Barnes because he happens to currently play for our team (see also Leicester/Savage a number of years ago). It's almost the epitome of the inability to handle criticism of one's club attitude. Even when that criticism is entirely justified (Savage, Barnes, others). If Football supporting was riven with toxicity, Burnley fans would be greeting Barnes goals with pin-drop silence, embarrassed that such a piece of work taints them by his association.

[delicatemoth]

I didn't think Savage was that bad tbh, though his antics in the League Cup Final were appalling (and imo cost us the game). Ben Thatcher is probably the player I felt most embarrassed about having in our team.

Reposting my summary of our squad weaknesses that I posted on Mundane Thread III -

We're placing a lot of faith in Vardy not getting injured, but then again he has a very good track record in that department. Yesterday's [Sunday's] game showed what we can look like without Maddison, our most eye-catching player. Praet came in and looked excellent. We don't have the depth out wide though - Perez isn't really a wide player though we're trying to make him one, which leaves just Barnes and Albrighton really. I'd have liked us to try and sign Victor Moses at some point in the last two seasons, he's a good player and I think he'd fit into our team well. Centre back depth is also questionable - an injury to Evans or Soyuncu means the ageing Morgan or untried Benkovic has to step up.

[Nocturnal Submission]

For me it's the pairing of Ndidi and Ricardo that really impresses: a hell of an engine and a substantial goal threat.

[Snake Plissken]

I warmed to Barnes when he stopped concentrating on his only winning his own battle and learned to help the team win the war. Metaphorically speaking. And he's in David Luiz's head to an utterly remarkable degree.

[delicatemoth]

I love Ricardo, his balance is just gorgeous.

[Third rate Leszno]

I'm flying to Dubrovnik, hiring a car, and driving from Croatia to Belgrade via Montenegro. It'll take a week. It'll be brilliant. And I won't be arsed if we lose, because it's not about winning, is it'? It never has been.

Belgrade is fucking brilliant - shabby enough to feel edgy, but friendly and welcoming in a slightly aggressive way. Looking forward to the travelogue.

The next quest is selling Astana away to the missus. What could be bleaker than Kazakhstan in late November? Nothing. That's what.

Well, there's Rhyl...

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

[i]

On the other hand not just the defeat but the manner of it at Old Trafford was a real bubble popper. I'm totally expecting a similarly deflating experience at Anfield on Saturday. Leicester are good, really good, but the top two are still streets further ahead.

Lindelof made Vardy completely disappear. He had five touches in the first half. That's not really a reflection on Jamie Vardy. It's that leicester went behind in the first ten minutes and didn't really have a single opportunity to counter attack man utd. and they weren't able to pull an insanely amazing goal out of nowhere, like their first against Newcastle to even it up. Leicester have plenty of players who have that in them, but it's an unreliable way of going about things, and this is the bit where leicester seem to fall down. It doesn't help that your manager is an utter spoofer, with no overall plan, other than having good attackers, and allowing them get on with it, and banking the credit on the good days.

[delicatemoth]

Interview with Hamza Choudhury, one of just two players of south Asian descent playing in the Premier League - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49928754

It's not the most important thing, but I was impressed that his family "enjoy spending time together in the Peak District or just riding bicycles around London." They must be utterly fearless (and possibly addicted to carbon monoxide).

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

He seems like a nice lad, who loves his mum. But he's not afraid to kick the shit out of opponents if the occasion warrants it, which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad trait if you want to make it as a footballer. but that hair is just heroic.

[ale]

I didn't think Savage was that bad tbh, though his antics in the League Cup Final were appalling (and imo cost us the game). Ben Thatcher is probably the player I felt most embarrassed about having in our team.

Reposting my summary of our squad weaknesses that I posted on Mundane Thread III -

We're placing a lot of faith in Vardy not getting injured, but then again he has a very good track record in that department. Yesterday's [Sunday's] game showed what we can look like without Maddison, our most eye-catching player. Praet came in and looked excellent. We don't have the depth out wide though - Perez isn't really a wide player though we're trying to make him one, which leaves just Barnes and Albrighton really. I'd have liked us to try and sign Victor Moses at some point in the last two seasons, he's a good player and I think he'd fit into our team well. Centre back depth is also questionable - an injury to Evans or Soyuncu means the ageing Morgan or untried Benkovic has to step up.

I mean why are you? £30 million is a lot of money to experiment on a player who hasnt shown any evidence of being a wide player. And I speak as a big Ayoze fan.

[Patrick Thistle]

Well, there's Rhyl...

I once went to Senghenydd because my Dad wanted to see where "the fire fell" during the Welsh revival. I reckon God was trying to obliterate the place and cocked it up. Astana is the fucking French Riviera compared to Senghenydd.

[Snake Plissken]

Lloris out for a while with a nasty arm injury conceding the opening goal at Brighton.

[Arturo]

Spurs looking an absolute mess this half.

[Guy Profumo]

Christ.

That looks almost career-ending for Lloris.

Nightmare.

[hobbes]

BT weren't showing replays. That doesn't bode well. Poor guy.
Loris' injury aside,why the fuck has happened to Spurs? They've totally imploded. Even I don't feel like taking the piss. (I mean, they're not Man Utd.)

[Toby Gymshorts]

Yeah, that gave me the shivers. Hope he's OK (as much as he can be, anyway).

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm glad I'm not watching the game because just reading the description of that injury is making me nauseous. No way would I watch a replay so the broadcasters have made the right editorial decision.

[Satchmo Distel]

3-0 now. The win would take Brighton above Spurs.

[hobbes]

It was a good goal and had been coming.
BHA are 16-2 ahead on attempts which shows how toothless Tottenham have been.

[hobbes]

On an unrelated subject, I have a sneaky suspicion that this afternoon is when Liverpool's unbeaten run comes to an end. Got a feeling in my water/bones/fear gland.

[Satchmo Distel]

I was going to hex them by saying I fancied them to break Man City's record this season

[hobbes]

Lovren instead of Gomez up against Vardy.
We're doomed.

[Sporting]

Liverpool will win something like 3 or 4-1. Quote me on it.

[Guy Profumo]

Dear BBC.

This is not a "freak arm injury"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49861471

Tell your correspondents and subbies to do better.

[MarkF]

For those of a certain age, you might remember Mick Jones in the FA Cup for Leeds v Arsenal... Almost exact.