2017/2018 THE Premier League Thread

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by devo22

I'd actually prefer City trashing other teams over those late winners. Those smug bastards always find a way late in games, it honestly pisses me off.

It's rather entertaining- if it isn't your club they're playing against!

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

I'd actually prefer City trashing other teams over those late winners. Those smug bastards always find a way late in games, it honestly pisses me off.

I feel the same way about Arsene Wenger and his squad.

[devo22]

unbelievable stuff coming from Clattenburg again. We all know he has always been a terrible ref and an attenting-seeking #######, but that really is disgusting stuff from a so-called "neutral" participant of the game.

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg says he "allowed Tottenham to self-destruct" when he refereed the 2-2 draw with Chelsea in May 2016 as Spurs conceded the title to Leicester. Spurs needed to beat Chelsea to retain any hope of winning the league. Clattenburg says he "went in with a gameplan" so he could not be blamed by Tottenham for losing the title.

[...]

Speaking to NBC's Men in Blazers podcast, he said: "I allowed them [Spurs] to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: 'Tottenham lost the title.' If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? 'Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.' It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title."

Asked if he helped to "script" the game, he replied: "I helped the game. I certainly benefited the game by my style of refereeing. Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would've been looking for an excuse. But I didn't give them an excuse, because my gameplan was: Let them lose the title."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42219327

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

unbelievable stuff coming from Clattenburg again. We all know he has always been a terrible ref and an attenting-seeking #######, but that really is disgusting stuff from a so-called "neutral" participant of the game.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42219327

That's unreal. I don't even know what the worst part of this is? I mean the pre-conceived game-plan to "let Spurs lose the title" is pretty damning. But then if he really felt that Tottenham should have 2-3 players sent off and just lets them play, that's ridiculous! (It's not how I remember that game, but that's a whole other discussion)

I do think it's funny that he basically didn't want to be the story of the game and here he is a year and a half later seeking publicity. Super classy.

I read elsewhere that no PL refs are going to the World Cup. Is that accurate? Surely that is an issue for the FA if none are considered suitable though?

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Slava

That's unreal. I don't even know what the worst part of this is?

the worst part is that a PL ref admits that he used to go into a game with a "matchplan". That's mental.

Originally Posted by Slava

I do think it's funny that he basically didn't want to be the story of the game and here he is a year and a half later seeking publicity. Super classy.

Clattenburg has never understood that people don't watch football for the refs. He's always been an attention-seeking idiot.

Originally Posted by Slava

I read elsewhere that no PL refs are going to the World Cup. Is that accurate? Surely that is an issue for the FA if none are considered suitable though?

correct. The 10 UEFA refs are Brych (Germany), Cakir (Turkey), Karasev (Russia), Kuipers (Netherlands), Lahoz (Spain), Marciniak (Poland), Mazic (Serbia), Rocchi (Italy), Skomina (Slovakia) and Turpin (France).

I can't think of any England ref that would have deserved it anyway.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

the worst part is that a PL ref admits that he used to go into a game with a "matchplan". That's mental.


Clattenburg has never understood that people don't watch football for the refs. He's always been an attention-seeking idiot.


correct. The 10 UEFA refs are Brych (Germany), Cakir (Turkey), Karasev (Russia), Kuipers (Netherlands), Lahoz (Spain), Marciniak (Poland), Mazic (Serbia), Rocchi (Italy), Skomina (Slovakia) and Turpin (France).

I can't think of any England ref that would have deserved it anyway.

Well the pre-planning is obviously atrocious and biased. But in all honesty, what happens if his "match planning" sees things get more out of hand and say Eden Hazard goes down with a broken leg? Some people might be upset by that, and pretty clearly that would've been on Clattenburg.

Even as it played out, Spurs should sue him. We lost Dembele for 6 games and he obviously cost us the title! Pretty sure that would have been a repeat title then and might as well throw the CL in there for good measure!
(j/k in case it needs to be stated...)

I can't think of an English ref who should be there either, but for a league that prides itself on being the best that is fairly damning that you can't have any refs who make the cut.

[Bagor]

Meh .... he's just saying that's he knew Spurs were going to Spurs regardless of whether he sent any of them off or not.

Spurs and Chelsea should appeal their fines from that game in light of him admitting that he consciously allowed the players to get out of control

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Meh .... he's just saying that's he knew Spurs were going to Spurs regardless of whether he sent any of them off or not.

Spurs and Chelsea should appeal their fines from that game in light of him admitting that he consciously allowed the players to get out of control

It's completely asinine that a ref at the top level comes in biased and admits it. He basically said he didn't want to do his job properly because he was afraid of what the media might say. Surely you can recognize the ridiculousness of that taking place, even with teams you don't support.

[Bagor]

Biased against who? Chelsea?

His 'gameplan' was to let them get at it with minimal interference from him. What was he supposed to do? Coach Dembele et al that they were having a meltdown and offer them counsel?

I get the uproar but at the same time his 'gameplan' was as simple as he was going to let them both get at er. Dembele and Dier both should have been well gone that game.

Sure he had a gameplan. But how is it any different to a ref going into a highly volatile game with a gameplan to decide to book anything that moves in order to stamp his authority on the game? Or target divers etc? Refs always have a gameplan of sorts.

What is the bias you speak of? Bias against who? And how?

[Slava]

I don't know, you tell me. When a ref goes in with a gameplan for Tottenham to lose the title, you think that's OK? Is it alright for him to just "let the players play" when there should be players sent off? How can this be acceptable in either case?

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Slava

I don't know, you tell me. When a ref goes in with a gameplan for Tottenham to lose the title, you think that's OK? Is it alright for him to just "let the players play" when there should be players sent off? How can this be acceptable in either case?

He worded it poorly but his game plan was "Don't do anything to cost Tottenham the title", which is really the opposite of "cost Tottenham the title".

In the end Tottenham self destructed, and he stayed out of the way even though he is admitting he may have favoured Tottenham by not sending 2 or 3 of their players off.

Most Spurs fans are taking this to mean that he was biased against the Spurs, when actually it may have been the opposite. He was ignoring blatant violations by the Spurs in order to not give the media/fans the ability to say "Clattenberg giving x player a red card is what determined the season and cost Spurs the game"

[Slava]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

He worded it poorly but his game plan was "Don't do anything to cost Tottenham the title", which is really the opposite of "cost Tottenham the title".

In the end Tottenham self destructed, and he stayed out of the way even though he is admitting he may have favoured Tottenham by not sending 2 or 3 of their players off.

Most Spurs fans are taking this to mean that he was biased against the Spurs, when actually it may have been the opposite. He was ignoring blatant violations by the Spurs in order to not give the media/fans the ability to say "Clattenberg giving x player a red card is what determined the season and cost Spurs the game"

Right and I get that, but I think that there were a fair number of Spurs fans who already felt that he allowed Chelsea players to do all kinds of niggly things, which wound up the Spurs players. I don't think that you can blame anyone other than the players for losing their cool and running around dangerously tackling players or trying to gouge their eyes.

The optics of his comments like "some refs would've gone by the letter of the law..." are pretty terrible though. That's your job as a ref...that's why you're on the pitch!

It is what it is though. That game was really just the nail in the coffin of a poor stretch run and abysmal finish to the season for Spurs. I don't actually think he cost them the title or anything of the sort, but at the same time I hope he never refs another PL game or game of consequence.

[cam_wmh]

While on the topicapparently Danny Rose is coming to United for £45m, maybe as soon as January

[devo22]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

While on the topicapparently Danny Rose is coming to United for £45m, maybe as soon as January

lol. Watch Spurs replace him with Kieran Tierney for a fraction of the cost ... and in a few months we'll all be amazed when Tierney outperforms Rose.

Always the same bull####.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Slava

Right and I get that, but I think that there were a fair number of Spurs fans who already felt that he allowed Chelsea players to do all kinds of niggly things, which wound up the Spurs players.

If anyone should be aggrieved about that night it is Chelsea. Clattenburg done everything possible to help Spurs when the easy option would have been to red Dembele and Dier for starters. Their behaviour was a disgrace and it is only by luck that someone didn't get a seriously hurt that night.

For Spurs fans to even suggest that he showed a hint of favouritism towards Chelsea is plain lunacy.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

While on the topicapparently Danny Rose is coming to United for £45m, maybe as soon as January

Yeah apparently, but then there was some suggestion that Barca was interested for 50m. I think it's clear that he's gone though, and hopefully not to a rival.

[d_phaneuf]

Id take 45 or 50m for Rose in an instant

Davies has been great this year, arguably as good as Rose was last season, and like said above, Tierney or Sessegnon will come in the Summer

seems like an easy decision

[Bagor]

No brainer for sure especially with the cost of that new stadium spiralling out of control.

400M to 1bn pounds. Yikes. And who's to say the price won't go up again?

[Kipper is King]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...-business.html

West Ham chief David Sullivan opens up on recent transfer business: 'My kids begged me not to sign Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass'

My god.

Two things are horrifying about this.

1. His kids are evidently better at making transfer decisions than he is.

2. Who with any sense of professionalism at all would say something like that to the media? Yikes.

[Senator Clay Davis]

We're gonna have nicer weather here than the UK this weekend. Gonna be cold and snowy. Wonder if we see any postponements.