2017/2018 THE Premier League Thread

[Senator Clay Davis]

Didn't help that Dubravka had the game of his life. Relegation battle really is where all the excitement is going to be coming in, 10 points separate 18th from 7th.

[The Big Chill]

How did Valencia escape a red after that kick to the head?

[Locke]

Starting with Wijnaldum and Can in the midfield.

I cant watch this one, but that is a recipe for disaster. They might get away with it against Southampton, but its still a gamble.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

How did Valencia escape a red after that kick to the head?

Had 'Kane' on the back of his jersey?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Didn't help that Dubravka had the game of his life. Relegation battle really is where all the excitement is going to be coming in, 10 points separate 18th from 7th.

Crazier still is that the gap is only 5 points from 18th to 10th. There are a lot of teams to pass in order to move up that far of course, but at the same time not a huge margin for error for those teams. A couple ill-timed losses or a slump and it could cost what....$100m?

[Bagor]

Horrible thing is now there is a real chance that when United go to city they might already be champions or it could be the game to clinch it.

[Slava]

I can’t believe that you guys aren’t up in arms about Mourinho who wouldn’t criticize Smalling for his dive. Last week it was all about how terrible Kane and Spurs were, and then you took a run at Pochettino. Now the shoes on the other foot and the silence is deafening.

[Bagor]

It was trickery.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Slava

I can’t believe that you guys aren’t up in arms about Mourinho who wouldn’t criticize Smalling for his dive. Last week it was all about how terrible Kane and Spurs were, and then you took a run at Pochettino. Now the shoes on the other foot and the silence is deafening.

You don't see the difference between actively promoting it, and silence on it to the media?

You should be in politics.

[devo22]

an early frontrunner for the most bizarre PL story of the year.

West Brom players Gareth Barry, Jonny Evans, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill have apologised after a taxi was stolen from outside a fast-food restaurant in Barcelona on Thursday. The quartet were interviewed but not arrested by police after the incident, which happened in the early hours of the morning and is being investigated by the Premier League club.

"We felt it important we identify ourselves out of respect for team-mates who otherwise could be implicated by association," they said in a statement. West Brom and Northern Ireland defender Evans 30, former England midfielder Barry 36, England international Livermore, 28, and reserve goalkeeper Myhill, 35, said they wanted to apologise for "the events which have been the subject of widespread and negative publicity".

Mossos d'Esquadra - the Catalan regional police force - had told BBC Sport the four players involved wanted to go out in Barcelona, but found everything closed so took a taxi to a fast-food restaurant. When they left, at approximately 05:30, it is alleged they took the taxi and drove back to their hotel - without the driver. Police were alerted by the hotel and taxi driver, who was reunited with his vehicle at about 08:00.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43092534

[devo22]

if they want VAR to be a success and accepted among fans, they'll need to draw better lines. MS Paint is probably not going to cut it.

[Slava]

On the image I saw with lines, the lines looked pretty good. I also don’t think Mata was offside though, and if VAR is going to be that bad, I think I prefer human error in real time.

The draw for the next round was completed also, and all the big teams avoided each other. The odds of this must be minuscule. I don’t know how random the draw really is.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Slava

On the image I saw with lines, the lines looked pretty good. I also don’t think Mata was offside though, and if VAR is going to be that bad, I think I prefer human error in real time.

the screenshot is from what they showed live on BT Sports, but yeah, there's better ones floating around. I thought he was onside too. Was very close though, and I wasn't too upset with the VAR decision ... there's obviously going to be growing pains. Better to test this in the cup games this season and learn from mistakes before they implement the system in the league.

yeah, the draw has been ... ahem ... super convenient for the FA. Lucky them.

[Slava]

Maybe I shouldn't admit this...but I agree with Mourinho. He says the game is too beautiful to be ruined by VAR. I think that his actual quote was something like the game is too beautiful to be spoiled by something that's not perfect.

That Mata offside call just goes against everything VAR is supposed to do though. Those lines are obviously ridiculous, and meaningless. But the point is to correct mistakes that are obvious and really...if he was offside by his knee that isn't at all obvious, and the last thing they need to be going back and reviewing.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Slava

Maybe I shouldn't admit this...but I agree with Mourinho.

I don't. I'm 100 percent in favor of VAR ... the problem so far in Germany and during those FA Cup games is that they too often deviate from its original purpose, which is, like you said, to correct obvious mistakes. I think they have interfered too often so far, and at least in Germany I think they panicked a bit after the public outlash (the media certainly didn't help) and scrambled too much.

I think people have to understand that this is going to be a process. It's not going to be perfect from day 1, there's going to be growing pains along the way and yes, there's also going to be mistakes, discussions and anger. But at the end of the day, it's still a tool that's going to help make the game a bit fairer. Again, the start in Germany has been rocky, but still the results were there: in 153 games in the fall VAR turned over 48 decisions, and in 37 of those instances it was the right call to do so. Yeah, those 11 mistakes suck and that number will have to come down for sure, but in year 1 I'll take a 37-to-11 ratio.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by devo22

I don't. I'm 100 percent in favor of VAR ... the problem so far in Germany and during those FA Cup games is that they too often deviate from its original purpose, which is, like you said, to correct obvious mistakes. I think they have interfered too often so far, and at least in Germany I think they panicked a bit after the public outlash (the media certainly didn't help) and scrambled too much.

I think people have to understand that this is going to be a process. It's not going to be perfect from day 1, there's going to be growing pains along the way and yes, there's also going to be mistakes, discussions and anger. But at the end of the day, it's still a tool that's going to help make the game a bit fairer. Again, the start in Germany has been rocky, but still the results were there: in 153 games in the fall VAR turned over 48 decisions, and in 37 of those instances it was the right call to do so. Yeah, those 11 mistakes suck and that number will have to come down for sure, but in year 1 I'll take a 37-to-11 ratio.

But how do you make it fair without disturbing the game? Is it as simple as the goal line technology where the refs watch buzzes and he knows its a goal? I agree there are going to be growing pains and all that. But if you're calling back a goal like we saw yesterday, you're reviewing basically everything and calling back a lot. Even if that is technically correct, no one wants to watch that. It's that type of thing that sees every NHL goal challenged because someone was a millimeter offside, or grown men debate whether a player caught a ball.

It's hard though. I understand that you should have a remedy for a player who is 3 feet offside and the ref misses it. It's egregious, but it does happen because you're dealing with people and we make mistakes. But how small does that margin get? How small an error can we live with?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Another pathetic dive by Alli. If he keeps this up the FA is gonna respond by making him the frontrunner for the 2020 Olympic 3M springboard.

[Senator Clay Davis]

LOL justice!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Another pathetic dive by Alli. If he keeps this up the FA is gonna respond by making him the frontrunner for the 2020 Olympic 3M springboard.

Spurs diving for Penalties? No way....I dont believe you.

[Locke]

Hahaha! Diving for penalties and they still couldnt win!

How many times are they going to trot out their first team to try and beat a League One side?

Harry Kane must love playing in front of about 8500 people in the suburbs of Manchester.