2011/2012 English Premier League thread

[d_phaneuf]

going to miss Mike Phelan stating the obvious on MOTD now that Fergie ended his hiatus

[Dagger]

Originally Posted by valo403

Well the landscape has changed quite a bit in the last few years with the way money is thrown around, it doesn't seem like many of the top clubs develop a lot of homegrown talent that goes on to the international stage anymore. The previous generation had a lot more homegrown talent at the top clubs, and during that era United produced what? Half of the England side? There's certainly some bluster in the statement, I mean it is Fergie, but it's not completely out of touch either.

It's not United producing the talent. It's them buying nearly finished products. If he had said that many play for him, it's true but he doesn't produce them. I mean Wenger at least lures them at 15 or 16 and puts his stamp on them, whiskynose just cherry picks talent when their ready.

I agree with him about the FA though. I'm not quite sure why he isn't lauded more often by them, and made honourary chairman for life. I also believe the queen has been particularly rude in not stepping down so he can become king. The BBC should have been taken off air whilst Ferguson refused to speak to them because what's possibly informative or factual if it's not coming from him?

God, the indignities that England along with the FA have done up Ferguson with. Where is the humanity?

[d_phaneuf]

if any current manager should take over the FA it should be Wenger to be honest

I wish the FA would give him free reign over the entire set up, I think he is going to move to international football soon anyway as he clearly disillusioned with the money now in the game

[cheevers]

Bad sequence for Chelsea, Norwich just tied it up on a goalkeeping error, and now Drogba is completely knocked out.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by cheevers

Bad sequence for Chelsea, Norwich just tied it up on a goalkeeping error, and now Drogba is completely knocked out.

The weird thing to me is how the keeper completely missed the ball and belted hm in the head and if it's any outfield player missing ball and injuring a guy that clumsily it's straight red and a suspension. I guess keepers take their fair share of abuse challenging for balls too.

Would like to see Simeon Jackson in this one but won't happen now unless Chelsea scores.

[GirlySports]

Tim Howard saved two penalties and then Everton converted a penalty of their own in the 90th minute.

[Locke]

Suarez/Kuyt strike partnership. Sweet.

I saw N'Gog wearing a suit coming down the Anfield tunnel. This upsets me.

[Locke]

Scoring for Chelsea must be an incredibly difficult thing, Torres has only scored once in what, over 20 games?

Oh wait, it took Juan Mata all of 30 minutes.

Torres played 80+ minutes against Norwich and got nothing.

[SeoulFire]

Looks like Suarez has learned well from Gerrard...

[Locke]

Henderson! Beautiful pass from Suarez after a little pinball, 1-0 Liverpool.

[Locke]

Crap. Martin Kelly has to get subbed off due ot injury. Looks like a re-occurrence of his hamstring problem.

Good thing Skrtel was on the bench an is fit again.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Dagger

It's not United producing the talent. It's them buying nearly finished products. If he had said that many play for him, it's true but he doesn't produce them. I mean Wenger at least lures them at 15 or 16 and puts his stamp on them, whiskynose just cherry picks talent when their ready.

How does this differ from any other top club in the world? They all cherry pick top talent, that's the reality of the game now.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by valo403

How does this differ from any other top club in the world? They all cherry pick top talent, that's the reality of the game now.

The difference is that the other top clubs in the world dont cherry pick top talent and then try and take credit for developing them. You cant have it both ways.

The end result is Man U have produced almost no one, and yet Fergie wants credit for it anyways because he bought them.

And actually, if you want an example of a top end club that develops and then keeps its top end talent, look no further than Bayern Munich, they're doing it right now.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Locke

The difference is that the other top clubs in the world dont cherry pick top talent and then try and take credit for developing them. You cant have it both ways.

The end result is Man U have produced almost no one, and yet Fergie wants credit for it anyways because he bought them.

And actually, if you want an example of a top end club that develops and then keeps its top end talent, look no further than Bayern Munich, they're doing it right now.

Except Jennings! We know who developed him

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Locke

The difference is that the other top clubs in the world dont cherry pick top talent and then try and take credit for developing them. You cant have it both ways.

The end result is Man U have produced almost no one, and yet Fergie wants credit for it anyways because he bought them.

And actually, if you want an example of a top end club that develops and then keeps its top end talent, look no further than Bayern Munich, they're doing it right now.

Their players who took part today

Neuer - Not Bayern
Van Byuten - Not Bayern
Badstuber - Not Bayern
Boatend - Not Bayern
Ribery - Not Bayern
Muller - Bayern
Boateng - Not Bayern
Lahm - Not Bayern
Tymoschuk - Not Bayern
Peterson - Not Bayern
Alaba - Not Bayern
Gomez - Not Bayern
Schweignsteiger - Bayern

Thats 2 of 13

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Their players who took part today

Neuer - Not Bayern
Van Byuten - Not Bayern
Badstuber - Not Bayern
Boatend - Not Bayern
Ribery - Not Bayern
Muller - Bayern
Boateng - Not Bayern
Lahm - Not Bayern
Tymoschuk - Not Bayern
Peterson - Not Bayern
Alaba - Not Bayern
Gomez - Not Bayern
Schweignsteiger - Bayern

Thats 2 of 13

Badstuber is a Bayern product.

Okay, thats today, here are some players that didnt feature today but usually do:

Phillip Lahm (Captain) - Bayern
Toni Kroos - Bayern

So there are typically 5 homegrown players suiting up for them, more than the typical amount.

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by Locke

The difference is that the other top clubs in the world dont cherry pick top talent and then try and take credit for developing them. You cant have it both ways.

The end result is Man U have produced almost no one, and yet Fergie wants credit for it anyways because he bought them.

And actually, if you want an example of a top end club that develops and then keeps its top end talent, look no further than Bayern Munich, they're doing it right now.

Once again I don't think SAF really cares about the credit and there is a reason for it...I just don't know what it is.

It is all just semantics but he could simply be referring to development at the top level (not youth). For the most part, the smaller clubs could never duplicate the pressure that goes along with being a part of a big club. This goes for all young players who transfer very young regardless of where they had their beginning.

Facing the pressure while competing for the CL,FA, League etc etc will be much more beneficial than being on a mid-table team or fighting to avoid relegation (although the latter may better reflect playing for England )

[Locke]

At the moment, with the ass-kicking Liverpool are delivering, Wanderers may be lucky to get Wenger's 6M for Cahill.

For some reason Bolton are not as defensively organized as they usually are.

[Jimmy Stang]

I was pleased with Norwich today. They were shaky at the beginning, but once they settled down, they looked pretty decent. Especially considering, of course, that Chelsea are a good opponent and Stamford Bridge is a tough place to get any points.

Hopefully Drogba is OK. Quite honestly, however, I think that the ref got it right by not calling anything. It was a 50-50 ball, a hard collision, no ill intent, very fast, and unfortunately he got hurt. The collision wasn't any different than two outfield players knocking heads going for the same ball, and that's almost always chalked up to 50-50 and unfortunate. Still a very scary moment as you could see Drogba's body was limp as he fell to the ground, right on his face.

Although Norwich supporters may feel hard done by regarding the officiating, the red card and penalty was the right call. I think that he went down easily (the replay showed him starting his fall before contact), but the referee can't be blamed. There was contact, albeit soft, and he was the last man back. The rules state that's a penalty and red, and it was. It may seem harsh, but there was little else that the red could have done. It was far more clear cut than the penalty and red last game, which may have been a red and definitely wasn't a penalty as it was 3 or 4 yards outside.

Edit: But I do think that Torres should have received a second yellow...

Considering that even the most devoted Norwich fan would have been happy with anything less than a blowout, I think that this will be a good confidence boost for them.

[Resolute 14]

Soccer players amuse me sometimes. Liverpool is up 3-0, and when Bolton gets away with an apparent back pass to the goalie, three losers in red go straight at the referee, waiving their hands like morons. Soccer really needs to implement a rule where only the captain may approach the referee or something. That behaviour is just embarrassing, especially in a game that was over in less than an hour.

Also, Drogba got knocked the eff out. That was ugly.