No More Harry - Premier League 2020/21

[Foot of Astaire's]

De Bruyne missed exactly half of the 2018/19 PL season (19 games played) in which Man City last won the title.

Aye. I did wonder if Laporte or Aguero is a bigger miss for them. They've never quite seemed as invincible to me though, since Kompany left.

[delicatemoth]

third highest league finish in 135 years of trying

Fifth highest. Finishing 5th last season meant that Leicester have, surely uniquely, finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th on one occasion apiece.

[caja-dglh]

Aye. I did wonder if Laporte or Aguero is a bigger miss for them. They've never quite seemed as invincible to me though, since Kompany left.

With Dias making John Stones come back from the dead, the missing part is most obviously Aguero.

[Patrick Thistle]

Leicester supporters are quite hard for opposition fans to taunt at the moment.

“You’ll never win it again!”
Well, as if that matters! It never even occurred to anyone that we would win it once (not even the ones who bet on it, which was more performative loyalty than anything else). We are already infinitely up so *shrug*

”It’s impossible for Leicester to win the league!”
You clearly don’t understand the word ‘impossible’. Because, you know, we did. You mean ‘highly improbable’. But...

”Leicester won’t win the league this time around, then!”
What, just like you said we wouldn’t five years ago? Then we did? Forgive me for pointing and laughing at you.

“You’ll f*ck up again, just like you f*cked up Champions League qualification last season“
Yeah, you are right, we blew that one. It was a real pity. We just had to make do with the third highest league finish in 135 years of trying. And runs to the FA Cup quarters and League Cup semis. It was a disaster.

”No one takes you seriously as title contenders”
No, but they can’t just dismiss us as not involved. Because, as the saying goes ‘fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me’


It’s all water off a ducks back at the moment.

Going top in January is quite an achievement, really. It lowers the improbability.

[Jah Womble]

I very much doubt that anyone here is saying those things.

As for elsewhere on the interweb - of course they are. That's what these numpties do.

[Satchmo Distel]

Leicester are playing a well as the other contenders and did so for most of last season (except Liverpool) until the shutdown.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Leicester play some really nice football, but their main achievement recently appears to be convincing Brodge that it's OK to use chapstick.

[Janik]

I very much doubt that anyone here is saying those things.

As for elsewhere on the interweb - of course they are. That's what these numpties do.

Not on here, no. We don't really do taunting opposing fans in these parts.
Those are the more typical Football 'banter' in the general population. And whilst many of them would be found in newspaper under-the-line comments or on twitter, not all - the first example has been repeatedly sung by away fans at the King Power. But then the similarity of thought processes between traveling followings and numpties on the interweb is high. The point was that those sort of trolls can't make a scratch at the moment.

[Jah Womble]

I see. I thought you were suggesting that these things were being said at present, but had no effect.

Leicester play some really nice football, but their main achievement recently appears to be convincing Brodge that it's OK to use chapstick.

Failed Baz Luhrmann follow-up single?

[caja-dglh]

Someone call 999. Aston Villa have been robbed.

[ChrisJ]

Feel for Villa tonight. Been a corker of a game. They might have made something of one of their breaks had they had anyone other than Ross Barkley playing. Haven't seen him play for a bit. I presume when Smith said he'd get him back with the England squad, he's got him studying for physio exams?

[Mr Beast]

Thank god for VAR which means ridiculous decisions like that have been consigned to history.

[Snake Plissken]

It’s amazing how many obscure rules Man City are able to take advantage of.

[EIM]

How the fuck do Manchester United keep winning? I mean, I'm all for it, and I hope it continues, but it never really feels like it will. Yet it does.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

That's not an obscure rule though. It's not even a new rule. The lay person may not be aware of it, but the players and the managers have had it explained it to them, and they are paid a lot to know it. Not impressed by smith doubling down in the post match interview. That would have been an ideal time to apologise to the ref for bollocking him 'in the wrong.'

[Janik]

It’s amazing how many obscure rules Man City are able to take advantage of.

Being in an offside position not in itself being an offence is not an obscure rule. Or even, as Berba says, all that new of one. Neither is the idea that once the defence is in possession of the ball then attackers cannot be offside wherever they may be on the pitch. That has been a rule of Football for, well, centuries now.

[gavc23]

By the time Rodri challenged Mings the other three quarters of Villa’s back four had dropped back to play him onside anyway - he wasn’t in an offside position at that point.

Still, BT pay Steve McManaman to pronounce that “the rules” say it can’t be a penalty if there’s a handball when a shot is going wide.

[Third rate Leszno]

That's not an obscure rule though. It's not even a new rule. The lay person may not be aware of it, but the players and the managers have had it explained it to them, and they are paid a lot to know it. Not impressed by smith doubling down in the post match interview. That would have been an ideal time to apologise to the ref for bollocking him 'in the wrong.'

Well, it seems like Mings and Guardiola weren't paying attention in their briefings as both of them are quoted as saying they weren't aware of it.

[ad hoc]

I haven;t seen this incident, but from the reports and what I've read on here, Mings had the ball, and Rodri coming back from an offside position robbed him of it. Is that correct? If so, how can it be offside if the defender had the ball? Offside needs there to be an attacking pass involved.

[Snake Plissken]

The point under debate is whether he had control of the ball.

[ad hoc]

Had he touched the ball? Was he the last player to touch it before Rodri took it off him?

[Janik]

Yes, he was

[Janik]

This video is up currently, but probably won’t be for long :- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8f39HPr_vlg

[ad hoc]

Offside doesn't get given when the ball deflects off a defender, does it? I've certainly seen that a few times. I don't think the defender has to be in control.

[Ray de Galles]

It wasn't considered a deflection because Mings chested it down and had control before Rodri nicked it off him.

https://twitter.com/gg24554953/status/1351981505166376961?s=21