2011/2012 English Premier League thread

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by Locke

You could practically see Webb contemplating the thought of giving United a third penalty and trying to figure out if that would be too obvious.

I don't think Webb cares if it is obvious. He has been doing this for years and is somehow still a ref at the premier league level.

Chelsea really choked this game away though. Awful defending combined with the decision to sit back and defend with 30 minutes remaining cost them this one. I also don't understand how Torres gets a full 90 while Sturridge gets subbed out. Sturridge has been the far superior player on the year and was again today.

I'm not complaining though, this keeps Liverpool's hopes for 4th alive. I don't like our chances in tomorrow's game however.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

I don't think Webb cares if it is obvious. He has been doing this for years and is somehow still a ref at the premier league level.

Chelsea really choked this game away though. Awful defending combined with the decision to sit back and defend with 30 minutes remaining cost them this one. I also don't understand how Torres gets a full 90 while Sturridge gets subbed out. Sturridge has been the far superior player on the year and was again today.

I'm not complaining though, this keeps Liverpool's hopes for 4th alive. I don't like our chances in tomorrow's game however.

I'm not at all confident about tomorrow's match.

[d_phaneuf]

David Luiz' marking on the 3rd goal was abysmal

he's not a CB, great ball skills mask his complete lack of awareness defensively

[NBC]

This really isn't a surprise now is it? Dreadful decision making Howard Webb.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by NBC

This really isn't a surprise now is it? Dreadful decision making Howard Webb.

Its his trademark, it wasnt Chelsea vs. United, it was Chelsea vs. Webb. He wants to be the centre of attention.

[Locke]

United are priceless, is Fergie related to Mike Gillis in any way?

Sir Alex Ferguson was furious at one of the officials after Manchester United's incredible comeback at Stamford Bridge, claiming Chelsea defender Gary Cahill should have been sent off during the 3-3 draw.

Ferguson refused to celebrate his side's dramatic recovery in London, preferring to point out that Cahill should have seen red for a challenge on Danny Welbeck with the scores at 0-0.

The United boss did not aim his anger at Webb, preferring to single out the nearby linesman.

"It's two points dropped because we played so well, other than the ten minutes after half-time."

"It was a sending off. The linesman has given two penalty kicks against us at Old Trafford in the last two years, one against Arsenal and one against Liverpool - from 45 yards away, but he can't see that? I don't blame Howard Webb, I blame the assistant.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...a-draw?cc=5901

[Jagger]

'I don't blame Webb'

I bet he doesn't. How can he? Ridiculous penalty awards today but not surprising in the least. I'm not even going to bother trotting out the Webb photoshop anymore. It's a joke.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

David Luiz' marking on the 3rd goal was abysmal

he's not a CB, great ball skills mask his complete lack of awareness defensively

I really don't understand why they continue to think he is a CB. He should be either a fullback or a defensive mid. He wanders far too much to be a CB, plus his defending and marking are atrocious. His skills on the ball are fantastic though and he still has potential to be a real quality player once AVB starts playing him right.

[d_phaneuf]

Capello embarrassed himself tonight, the FA should fire him

worse than McClaren

[NBC]

^ They are far too cheap to do that. He'd get his salary plus severance I think. He's made some significant player personnel mistakes for sure. And while he may be worse than Wally with the Brolly, he's still not as bad as Glenn Hoddle was!

[NBC]

This could be big news:

Fabio Capello may have breached his contract with the FA

England coach Fabio Capello may have breached his contract by publicly criticising the Football Association's decision to oust John Terry as captain.
Former FA executive director David Davies told the BBC the FA was taking "the matter very seriously".
Terry, 31, was stripped of the armband pending his trial in July over alleged racial abuse of QPR's Anton Ferdinand.
On Sunday Capello said to Italy's state broadcaster RAI he "absolutely" did not agree with the decision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16905818

[Locke]

Fabio Capello will not be sacked for having the courage to publicly reprimand the Football Association for stripping John Terry of the captaincy"

Capello will also be back from his break in Italy and will have an opportunity to explain the circumstances of the interview. But it is hardly a sacking offence, and as one FA insider joked: "Everybody else disagrees with the FA, so why shouldn't the England manager?"

Capello made it clear to the FA that he believes "everybody is innocent until proven guilty", and therefore Terry should not be stripped of the captaincy.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...mments?cc=5901

I dont understand, bring Gary Cahill and let Terry sit at home. Why does everyone still think he and Ferdinand are the best CB's in the world?

The only reason I'd side with Capello about complaining about removing the Captaincy from Terry is because that should be the manager's decision, not the FA's, and even then he should never have re-instated Terry the last time he stripped him.

[moon]

I am not sure that Terry is the guy to go to bat for or cause a big fight over but it seems odd/stupid that the coach isn't allowed to give his opinion on the captain of the team that he is coaching.

Locke:

I could be wrong but every report I have read and the limited Chelsea games that I have seen Terry seems to be playing very well if not better. He may be a dick in many people's minds but he seems to still be a very good player, especially for England who seems to be stuck with over the hill guys as the base of their team right now.

[d_phaneuf]

so Fabio Capello thinks it's wrong to remove the captaincy over racism chargers, but it's ok to remove it because of rumors that he slept with a teammates girlfriend

consistency!

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by moon

I am not sure that Terry is the guy to go to bat for or cause a big fight over but it seems odd/stupid that the coach isn't allowed to give his opinion on the captain of the team that he is coaching.

Locke:

I could be wrong but every report I have read and the limited Chelsea games that I have seen Terry seems to be playing very well if not better. He may be a dick in many people's minds but he seems to still be a very good player, especially for England who seems to be stuck with over the hill guys as the base of their team right now.

he's a decent player who should still be on the team, but not a starter

he's very slow now, has been for a few years

Wayne Rooney is at times an embarrassment to the country, his family, his club etc.

but he's legitimately a top 5 player in the world when he is on his game, you put up with crap from him because you have too

Terry is arguably a top 5 English CB, but the drop off from him to Shawcross, or Jagielka or Dawson etc. is not big and hasn't been for the past 3-4 years

[d_phaneuf]

it's a shame that woodgate and King are made of glass, because they could have been one of the best CB pairings in the world the last 8 years

[Locke]

Originally Posted by moon

I am not sure that Terry is the guy to go to bat for or cause a big fight over but it seems odd/stupid that the coach isn't allowed to give his opinion on the captain of the team that he is coaching.

Locke:

I could be wrong but every report I have read and the limited Chelsea games that I have seen Terry seems to be playing very well if not better. He may be a dick in many people's minds but he seems to still be a very good player, especially for England who seems to be stuck with over the hill guys as the base of their team right now.

As a coach, if the club, or in this case the FA stepped in and started either making my team selections for me or telling me who could and coudnt be the Captain then thats a serious problem because you're undercutting the manager/coach and then you have problems. Its a serious sign of a lack of confidence in your managing staff and then there comes a difficulty with maintaining discipline later on. I.e. "Why should we listen to you, obviously no one trusts you."

As for Terry, hes wildly inconsistent, hes had games where hes been terrible and theres some games where hes been better, but the fact of the matter is that theres better options.

As Diane alluded to, you take crap from Rooney because no one else in England can score goals, but there are lots of very stable replacements for Terry.

The very fact that Fabio is hoping to go to the Euros with Rio and JT as his starting CB pair is a concerning and telling fact that England fans should be worried about. Much like at the World Cup when Capello went with Green to try and appease people but wound up riding David James despite having Joe Hart available is a similar comparison.

Neither Rio nor JT should be starting for England, the fact that he wants them to is bad. This is 'Old Guard' nonsense. Were I Capello, I'd have been happy with this current JT incident because it gives him a solid, 'no fault' reason to leave Terry out of the squad altogether and wash his hands of the whole affair.

[moon]

Fair enough, as I said my Terry knowledge this season is limited and I thought he was the best player on the field in the Tottenham-Chelsea match a few weeks ago which may have me overrate him.

I agree that a Terry-Ferdinand pairing seems like a bad idea but with the mid-field looking to be riddled with over the hill/meh guys like Lampard, Gerrard and Barry (and heaven forbid if they bring Scholes back!) I think having Terry on the squad is the least of their worries right now.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by moon

Fair enough, as I said my Terry knowledge this season is limited and I thought he was the best player on the field in the Tottenham-Chelsea match a few weeks ago which may have me overrate him.

I agree that a Terry-Ferdinand pairing seems like a bad idea but with the mid-field looking to be riddled with over the hill/meh guys like Lampard, Gerrard and Barry (and heaven forbid if they bring Scholes back!) I think having Terry on the squad is the least of their worries right now.

Capello is worrisome, dont forget at the last World Cup he asked both Scholes and Carragher to come out of retirement to play. At the time Scholes declined, but Carra went.

Carragher in England's back 4 right now? You've got to be kidding me!

Thankfully I cheer for Germany!

[Barnet Flame]

A few years ago I never thought I'd say this, but Germany are an enjoyable team to watch.