2020/2021 English Premier League

[Slava]

Hahaha, Spurs B team with no striker for about 75 minutes beats Chelsea!!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Slava

Hahaha, Spurs B team with no striker for about 75 minutes beats Chelsea!!

Well...before you pop the Champagne....that was largely Chelsea's B Team as well...and now you have to keep playing in the Cariboo Cup, which, for a fairly thin team...is not ideal.

Although, the new trophy is pretty sweet! Who needs medals and trophies when you could have this classy award?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Honestly should just give the players a 24 of this, fourth rate beer for a fourth rate competition.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Locke

https://global.espn.com/football/soc...terest-sources

What am I missing here? A solid German International player who I cant recall having made many mistakes?

Hell, I'd take him as CB cover.

Hes not very good

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Hes not very good

Lamps just loaned out Barkley to Villa too.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Hes not very good

As CB cover he's fine though. Don't want him as your top CB, but if he can be your 3rd CB that's an okay position to be in.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

As CB cover he's fine though. Don't want him as your top CB, but if he can be your 3rd CB that's an okay position to be in.

Frank seems to want to play on the front foot though, and hes too slow for that

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Locke

Well...before you pop the Champagne....that was largely Chelsea's B Team as well...and now you have to keep playing in the Cariboo Cup, which, for a fairly thin team...is not ideal.

Although, the new trophy is pretty sweet! Who needs medals and trophies when you could have this classy award?

Doesn't matter what the trophy looks like, you're responding to a Spurs fan.

[cam_wmh]

If Everton ever replace the most overrated keeper in the prem, I’m thinking they sneak into the top 4.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

If Everton ever replace the most overrated keeper in the prem, I’m thinking they sneak into the top 4.

You mean....England's Goalkeeper?

[devo22]

well, he shouldn't be.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

well, he shouldn't be.

But he is. He can kick the ball, like, really far.

[devo22]

ah, such a good boy, towing the corporate line.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now believes the squad depth at Manchester United is good enough having said it needed improving at the end of last season. United have only made one signing in the 10-week summer transfer window so far in Donny van de Beek and rancour is simmering among supporters frustrated by a lack of additions.

Solskjaer said in April United could 'exploit' the transfer market amid the coronavirus pandemic and on August 20 stressed: "We need to strengthen the squad depth because it's going to be a long season." However, Solskjaer now regrets his use of the word 'exploit' and the recent Carabao Cup victories over Luton Town and Brighton have caused him to reassess the quality of his squad.

"When we're planning, you've got players here we believe in," Solskjaer said. "Of course, the transfer window is still open for a little while and the club has been working and know my view and we're here to strengthen it in the long-term as well.

"I think my wording during lockdown - 'exploit' - was a bad word by me. I didn't mean that in that respect, I meant there might be clubs and players out there that have to move because of the situation and it might be a something interesting for us. At the moment we've not had the, what's the word? There's not been those situations. Of course, we've lost loads of money, as the other clubs have as well. And when I talk about the squad depth, we've got a big squad."

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...kjaer-19035986

pretty much confirms no one else is coming. We're screwed ... not backing this team after the spring they've had is an absolute disgrace.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

ah, such a good boy, towing the corporate line.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...kjaer-19035986

pretty much confirms no one else is coming. We're screwed ... not backing this team after the spring they've had is an absolute disgrace.

It's like a bizarro window. If you had told me that a club would bring in Bale, Reguilon, Doherty, Hojbjerg, Hart, Vinicius and maybe Skriniar I'd have thought it would suck that Bale was going to United.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Slava

It's like a bizarro window. If you had told me that a club would bring in Bale, Reguilon, Doherty, Hojbjerg, Hart, Vinicius and maybe Skriniar I'd have thought it would suck that Bale was going to United.

the leeches simply won't invest when the club makes top 4. That's all they want, that's the ambition right there. Can't blame Covid or anything else when clubs like Aston Villa and Leeds outspend you by a mile and even clubs like Arsenal and Spurs, which don't have a similar financial muscle, do a much better job at strengthening their squads ... the Glazers simply choose not to do it, period. And the club won't win a thing as long as those rats are in charge.

it's a pity too because the team did everything you could have asked from them and more to make it to 3rd place. They did their job, now it was management's turn to deliver ... and they didn't. I'm far from Solskjaers biggest fan (I'd happily replace him with Poch on the spot if there was a chance), but neither he nor the players deserve to be hung out to dry like that. Solskjaer will inevitably take the fall in a couple of months, but really, the problems lie somewhere else completely.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

the leeches simply won't invest when the club makes top 4. That's all they want, that's the ambition right there. Can't blame Covid or anything else when clubs like Aston Villa and Leeds outspend you by a mile and even clubs like Arsenal and Spurs, which don't have a similar financial muscle, do a much better job at strengthening their squads ... the Glazers simply choose not to do it, period. And the club won't win a thing as long as those rats are in charge.

it's a pity too because the team did everything you could have asked from them and more to make it to 3rd place. They did their job, now it was management's turn to deliver ... and they didn't. I'm far from Solskjaers biggest fan (I'd happily replace him with Poch on the spot if there was a chance), but neither he nor the players deserve to be hung out to dry like that. Solskjaer will inevitably take the fall in a couple of months, but really, the problems lie somewhere else completely.

I think that you're going to get your wish though and Poch will replace Ole this year. I just think that with Spurs though, we might not entirely have the financial muscle that United have (it's arguable though because there is a lot of debt financing taking place there), Levy has been very prudent in this market. We accepted the buyback on Reguilon, and complete the loans for Vinicius and Bale. Hojbjerg was basically a net of $3m with the KWP side of things and our net spend isn't insane this window at all. Obviously, nothing like Chelsea and them spending something like 200m.

And as far as top four goes, like it or not, that is how most clubs see things. The fans and players want to win the whole thing. The clubs care about Champions League and the cash. It's easy to say to three clubs a year that "there's no trophy for top four!", but the clubs themselves push for that.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

the leeches simply won't invest when the club makes top 4. That's all they want, that's the ambition right there. Can't blame Covid or anything else when clubs like Aston Villa and Leeds outspend you by a mile and even clubs like Arsenal and Spurs, which don't have a similar financial muscle, do a much better job at strengthening their squads ... the Glazers simply choose not to do it, period. And the club won't win a thing as long as those rats are in charge.

it's a pity too because the team did everything you could have asked from them and more to make it to 3rd place. They did their job, now it was management's turn to deliver ... and they didn't. I'm far from Solskjaers biggest fan (I'd happily replace him with Poch on the spot if there was a chance), but neither he nor the players deserve to be hung out to dry like that. Solskjaer will inevitably take the fall in a couple of months, but really, the problems lie somewhere else completely.

Okay, I'll agree that United took care of their own business in that regard, but they also got extremely lucky.

Other teams faltered down the stretch (Spurs/Leicester) and United got a lot of their injured players back fully fit after a huge break.

That being said, I'm glad United are getting kicked in the face after they came out and swung their dicks around stating that they were going to 'Take Advantage' of the COVID woes of other clubs.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Locke

Okay, I'll agree that United took care of their own business in that regard, but they also got extremely lucky.

no doubt about it. You simply won't erase a 15 point deficit without other teams struggling still, it was a great run by the team and everything you could realistically ask from them.


it doesn't help that United can't sell players either ... other teams apparently can. Like, how the #### did Liverpool make €35m from selling Rhian Brewster and Ki-Jana Hoever?! That's absolute madness right there. They financed Thiago freaking Alcantara by selling two fringe players!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

no doubt about it. You simply won't erase a 15 point deficit without other teams struggling still, it was a great run by the team and everything you could realistically ask from them.


it doesn't help that United can't sell players either ... other teams apparently can. Like, how the #### did Liverpool make €35m from selling Rhian Brewster and Ki-Jana Hoever?! That's absolute madness right there. They financed Thiago freaking Alcantara by selling two fringe players!

Yeah, I think Liverpool are sitting at something like a £10M net spend? Plus we got buy-back clauses on both players.

Dont get me wrong, I'm a still a little choked about Havertz and Werner, but in the context of the team we have right now I guess I have to trust in Klopp and Co.

I would really like another solid CB though and, I hate to say it but, another GK would be nice. I like Adrian and everything but this is a very different team without Alisson in it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Tough to sell players when you have older guys on ####ty contracts like much of United's deadwood. At least Brewster and Hoever are young and cheap.