2020/2021 English Premier League

[Locke]

Yeah...looks like City are picking up where they left off last season with just atrocious defending.

Further, it looks like they're really going to miss David Silva.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Added goals are good but i think the problem is no one knows what they are meant to call. Sometimes it seems like any trivial contact with the arm at all is a pen, but then you see them let a few obvious ones go like the chelsea handball. How close the arm is to the body seems to be all over the map.

It feels like a rule that is tough to enforce for the refs as well, it reminds me of the nhl trying to call hits where "the principle point of contact" is the head instead of all hits where people get hit in the head. You have people breaking down hits in slo-mo trying to determine which bodies parts touch first and its not an exact science.

For me, call em all, any arm contact in the box at all or let everything but the intentional ones go (still judgment based but a bit better) but an arbitrary grey line like this in a multi billion dollar stake industry is not great business.

The problem is that players will be aiming for arms. It makes no difference whether you’re anywhere near a goal, or intentionally playing the ball with your hand. It’s got to be a serious consideration to go for at this point, because players are good enough to do this and you could score 3-4 a game that way. I thought for sure there was another penalty on Dier a couple sequences earlier that was nearly the exact same. They said the ball went off his back, but it looked like the arm to me. So...maybe it’s already happening. Maybe Andy Carroll is actually going to be useful in this new game!

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

All three penalties were very dumb plays by their defense. Might force them to bust out another £50 million on a fullback before the deadline.

50m?! good one.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1310267381999165446

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Slava

The problem is that players will be aiming for arms. It makes no difference whether you’re anywhere near a goal, or intentionally playing the ball with your hand. It’s got to be a serious consideration to go for at this point, because players are good enough to do this and you could score 3-4 a game that way. I thought for sure there was another penalty on Dier a couple sequences earlier that was nearly the exact same. They said the ball went off his back, but it looked like the arm to me. So...maybe it’s already happening. Maybe Andy Carroll is actually going to be useful in this new game!

Agree. It's easier to hit a defending player's arm with a quick flick than get a clean shot and pick the corner of the net most of the time. I was watching the spurs postgame and the ref analyst they have was basically had it dictated to them by FIFA and have very little room to deviate as well so I think this could go on for a long while.

The other thing that I think is ridiculous is not calling handballs that stop a legit scoring opportunity and look intentional because the arm isn't out from the body. I think the only way to enforce it is all or nothing. Calvert-Manbun on Everton yesterday basically goaltended a Palace shot, he's stood there and blocked the shot, arms are in by his body but he watches ball coming straight at his hand, he doesn't move (if anything he seems to try and stop it with his hand) and the shot, headed towards the net smokes his hand and rolls away harmlessly.
https://twitter.com/CpfcNews_/status...22199693078529

It's in line with his body, but today Dier clearly had no intent to handle at all, and if the purpose is to make the game "fair" seems totally bass-ackwards to me.

[Swift]

I've had an idea for a few years now, even before VAR, that sounds drastic and is, but makes sense to me. Do away with penalties altogether apart from incidents in the 6 yard box. Within that space, a foul or handball is almost certainly preventing a goal scoring opportunity (or at least give the ref the leeway to determine if it is or not) Being awarded a clean shot at goal for a foul on the far corner of the 18 yard box makes no sense. It incentivizes players to look to go down at any contact rather than try to score. Look at Leicester's penalties today. Yes, all could be argued as legitimate fouls, but they could also be argued as players going down very easily to win the peno too. Vardy is a master of this type of ####e unfortunately.

Instead, anything outside the 6 yard box should be a free kick, indirect or not. Faced with a chance against a wall of 10 men at close range you'd imagine a player would prefer to try to score openly instead.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Locke

Yeah...looks like City are picking up where they left off last season with just atrocious defending.

Further, it looks like they're really going to miss David Silva.

Yeah. Wolves should have beat them last week, despite only playing 45 minutes. Just missed easy chances.
Speaking of my Wolves, good golly. All the top teams should have lost this week... except Spurs. They just... did the Spurs thing.

[flamesfan6]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

I've had an idea for a few years now, even before VAR, that sounds drastic and is, but makes sense to me. Do away with penalties altogether apart from incidents in the 6 yard box. Within that space, a foul or handball is almost certainly preventing a goal scoring opportunity (or at least give the ref the leeway to determine if it is or not) Being awarded a clean shot at goal for a foul on the far corner of the 18 yard box makes no sense. It incentivizes players to look to go down at any contact rather than try to score. Look at Leicester's penalties today. Yes, all could be argued as legitimate fouls, but they could also be argued as players going down very easily to win the peno too. Vardy is a master of this type of ####e unfortunately.

Instead, anything outside the 6 yard box should be a free kick, indirect or not. Faced with a chance against a wall of 10 men at close range you'd imagine a player would prefer to try to score openly instead.

Though that would be more of an incentive for defenders to foul the players in the box (or hand balls) in a almost guaranteed goal situation if they know it's going to be a shot against a 10 man wall...

[Slava]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Yeah. Wolves should have beat them last week, despite only playing 45 minutes. Just missed easy chances.
Speaking of my Wolves, good golly. All the top teams should have lost this week... except Spurs. They just... did the Spurs thing.

This wasn’t Spursy though. We just plain got shafted.

A) the free kick shouldn’t have been awarded to them to begin with, and I have no idea how it was.

B) Dier actually jumps up and keeps his arms down, until he’s pushed by Newcastle #6...which should be a foul to us.

C) The ball gets headed into his arm from about a foot and half behind him. The rule clearly says that if the defender doesn’t see this, it’s not a handball.

D) I also think Carroll is offside. I know they reviewed that, but how is he not offside compared to the other offside garbage we’ve seen?

So, no, Spurs didn’t blow this. This was utter incompetence and stupidity from the officials and people tinkering with the rules. We had a penalty against us last week, which was just as absurd, only we were ahead by 4 at that point. And of course that doesn’t get into the couple of other handballs in the Newcastle box that weren’t reviewed.

ETA: sorry for the rant here. I’m pretty bitter about this and what looks like 35 more games of this ridiculousness.

[VladtheImpaler]

No, I agree. This is the exact mirror of my emotions after the MU win yesterday. The thing is the score should have been 5-0, but when you don't put a team away... BS can happen. Much like Brighton yesterday.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

I've had an idea for a few years now, even before VAR, that sounds drastic and is, but makes sense to me. Do away with penalties altogether apart from incidents in the 6 yard box. Within that space, a foul or handball is almost certainly preventing a goal scoring opportunity (or at least give the ref the leeway to determine if it is or not) Being awarded a clean shot at goal for a foul on the far corner of the 18 yard box makes no sense. It incentivizes players to look to go down at any contact rather than try to score. Look at Leicester's penalties today. Yes, all could be argued as legitimate fouls, but they could also be argued as players going down very easily to win the peno too. Vardy is a master of this type of ####e unfortunately.

Instead, anything outside the 6 yard box should be a free kick, indirect or not. Faced with a chance against a wall of 10 men at close range you'd imagine a player would prefer to try to score openly instead.

Just make it an 18 yard semi-circle instead. That way a foul at the corner of the box over 20 yards away from the corner of the goal isn't worth a penalty while a foul 19 yards away from directly in front of the goal isn't. Then get rid of the 6 yard box, because it's basically useless anyway.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

Just make it an 18 yard semi-circle instead. That way a foul at the corner of the box over 20 yards away from the corner of the goal isn't worth a penalty while a foul 19 yards away from directly in front of the goal isn't. Then get rid of the 6 yard box, because it's basically useless anyway.

Haha please don’t get rid of the 6, it helps me know where I am in relation to my goal.

[devo22]

thank god Fulham won that playoff match against Brentford because they have been such a quality addition to the league. Bleh.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Fulham should do the honourable thing and self-relegate.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Fulham should do the honourable thing and self-relegate.

Will they reach 15 points?

[Locke]

Nice to get wins up-front out of Chelsea and Arsenal.

I'll give Arsenal credit, they kept on going for it. Lacazette might even have scored a goal that he earned if we still had Karius in net.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by devo22

thank god Fulham won that playoff match against Brentford because they have been such a quality addition to the league. Bleh.

Good.

Scott Parker manages like he played for England. Overrated, and terrible.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by devo22

50m?! good one.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1310267381999165446

400 million on defenders now for pep

[Locke]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

400 million on defenders now for pep

And this is the result.

Granted, Liverpool have Defence issues as well. Once you get past VVD it gets pretty paper thin. Gomez is often injured, but when he isnt he is excellent, same goes for Matip.

I was thoroughly impressed with Fabinho's performance at CB, but I like him in the midfield engine room, but now that Thiago is around theres coverage there too.

I'm just glad that Lovren is gone. By all accounts he was an excellent teammate but he reminds me of Daniel Agger. Sometimes solid but when they make mistakes they are doozies.

[Locke]

Chelsea are willing to let Antonio Rudiger leave before Monday's transfer deadline but would prefer to sell him to an overseas club amid interest from Tottenham.

The 27-year-old has held talks with head coach Frank Lampard over his future in recent days after not featuring so far this season.

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.

[Locke]

Well....balls.

"Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently self-isolating according to the necessary guidelines," the defending Premier League champions said in a statement.

"The club has, and will continue to follow, all protocols relating to COVID-19 and Thiago will remain in self-isolation for the required period of time."

https://global.espn.com/football/liv...e-for-covid-19