The English Football Thread

[Blue Armour 4,336]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

jammy cunts

last kick of game winner for Manure

we will be lucky to finish 7th

which is a nightmare spot, as that is that fucking horrid UEFA Conference League slot

tonnes of games v shit teams. many far far away, most on dodgy pitches and NO chance to qualify for the CL via winning it (unlike the Europa League)

I'll be furious if we make just enough points to participate in that 3rd tier tournament. 

Better to just finish 10th and have less useless fixtures

Edited November 13, 2022 by Blue Armour

[laura90 556]

2 hours ago, Blue Armour said:

I'll be furious if we make just enough points to participate in that 3rd tier tournament. 

Better to just finish 10th and have less useless fixtures

Don't you worry. We are not finishing  in the top ten this season. But with City, Newcastle locking down two CL spots, I sincerely wonder when we will be playing Champions League again....

It will be Arsenal, United, Liverpool, Tottenham and US in good shape for two spots . Blimey.

Edited November 13, 2022 by laura90

[Vesper 29,244]

On 11/11/2022 at 13:50, NikkiCFC said:

Aston Villa new badge looks like ours 🤣

[NikkiCFC 8,089]

Ronaldo interview with Pierce  🤣🤣 

 

[chelsea_4_eva 1,167]

10 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Ronaldo interview with Pierce  🤣🤣 

 

At least Ronaldo is Ronaldo, we had Lukaku doing this thing too 😭😭

[NikkiCFC 8,089]

 

[Blue Armour 4,336]

Would you take Ronaldo for half a season, on say loan? Especially if his situation with United is that bad. Bit unlikely they would loan him to us though.

Considering the shit show we're in atm, it's probably not the worst idea., for us 

Give him a chance to play in the CL knockout. And we also have some goal threat up front.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Blue Armour

[NikkiCFC 8,089]

 

[Laylabelle 9,411]

Ronaldo is gone from Man U 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63720774

[Vesper 29,244]

1 hour ago, Laylabelle said:

Ronaldo is gone from Man U 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63720774

he needs to go cash in with the daft yanks in MLS

Edited November 22, 2022 by Vesper

[NikkiCFC 8,089]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

he needs to go cash in with the daft yanks in MLS

He said to Pierce he rejected 350m for 2 years in Saudi. 

[Laylabelle 9,411]

And club could be sold..

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12753400/manchester-united-owners-to-explore-sale-as-glazers-seek-new-investment

Edited November 22, 2022 by Laylabelle

[milka 3,366]

Manchester City vs Chelsea in the FA CUP third round. #CFC 

 

At least we will avoid the 4th consecutive loss in the final .  

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by milka

[Stats 7,069]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11500025/Gabriel-Jesus-facing-THREE-MONTHS-sidelines-ruled-World-Cup.html

They have been quite fortunate with injuries this season. Will be interesting to see how they cope now.

[Jype 6,398]

28 minutes ago, Stats said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11500025/Gabriel-Jesus-facing-THREE-MONTHS-sidelines-ruled-World-Cup.html

They have been quite fortunate with injuries this season. Will be interesting to see how they cope now.

Been saying it all season that I don't rate their squad depth at all.

Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Saka, Xhaka, Martinelli and Jesus have all started every league game so far. Ödegaard has missed one and Partey has missed three. Basically that means apart from LB, where they've had some rotation, they have so far fielded pretty much an unchanged XI in all games so far.

I don't see their squad coping well with injury problems at all, the drop off in player quality is way too steep. They'll be fine regarding top-4 because of the gap they've built with this early season momentum but I feel any title challenge talk will be totally gone by February.

[Vesper 29,244]

18 hours ago, Jype said:

Been saying it all season that I don't rate their squad depth at all.

Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Saka, Xhaka, Martinelli and Jesus have all started every league game so far. Ödegaard has missed one and Partey has missed three. Basically that means apart from LB, where they've had some rotation, they have so far fielded pretty much an unchanged XI in all games so far.

I don't see their squad coping well with injury problems at all, the drop off in player quality is way too steep. They'll be fine regarding top-4 because of the gap they've built with this early season momentum but I feel any title challenge talk will be totally gone by February.

brutal stretch of EPL games

17    Mo. 26.12.22    20:00    H         West Ham United (desperate team, only one point away from the relation zone)
18    Sa. 31.12.22    17:30      A         Brighton & Hove Albion (Brighton smashed them the last time they played)
19    Di. 03.01.23    19:45      H         Newcastle United (if Arse loses one of the first two and NUFC does them hard here, panic will star to set in)
20    So. 15.01.23    16:30      A        Tottenham Hotspur (biggest NoLo derby in years)
21    So. 22.01.23    16:30     H         Manchester United

IF they take all 15 points from those 5

the only truly tough league games left are

TWO games v Citeh (if they split the 6 points 3 and 3, it really is close to over if they sweep the 5 above, especially if they win 2 of the 3 below)

away to Pool

away to NUFC

and home versus Chels

 

lots of IFs, but I would gladly trade places with them

 

[Vesper 29,244]

Nketiah shines to ease Jesus worries as Arsenal put Lyon to the sword in Dubai

https://theathletic.com/3982995/2022/12/09/nketiah-shines-to-ease-jesus-worries-as-arsenal-put-lyon-to-the-sword-in-dubai/

No matter what people’s views are on the relevance of these mid-season friendlies, it is crucial that Arsenal and, more importantly, Eddie Nketiah, take some momentum into the Premier League’s resumption on Boxing Day.

To that end, Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Lyon in Dubai on Thursday and Nketiah’s goal and all-round performance are hugely encouraging.

Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury means there will be a huge amount of pressure on the 23-year-old when the league returns.

That is why these matches in the UAE against Lyon, AC Milan and Juventus carry importance. Nketiah will have a crucial role to play for table-topping Arsenal in the second half of the season and he needs game time under his belt before the serious stuff gets going again.

He looked sharp against Lyon, even before his goal. Early on he was peeling out to the left and managed to beat the offside trap to create a decent chance for Reiss Nelson, who hit the post.

These movements are what Jesus did during his best form at the start of the season and his rotations with Gabriel Martinelli made Arsenal an even bigger threat as they became harder to track. If Nketiah can continue to replicate the Brazilian in this way, then Arsenal have a great shot at winning their first league title since 2003-04.

Nketiah’s involvement in deeper areas was also encouraging. During the striker’s resurgence last season, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “We know this capacity he has to make runs in behind — the timing of it (and) how he attacks the box. But his link-up play, his understanding of spaces, timing of receptions, where he wants to come and work, which passes and spaces he will find afterwards, have improved a lot.”

His role in the build-up to Fabio Vieira’s goal (receiving a long ball under pressure on halfway before moving it on) sticks out but was not the sole example. Ten minutes before Vieira scored, the Portuguese dragged a shot wide from a similar area, with the chance coming from Nketiah receiving the ball on the turn between the lines before spreading the play.

In the second half, he also displayed the turn he started to develop last pre-season (when he steps towards the ball before bouncing away with it to escape pressure) to win fouls in good areas.

For his goal, he burst into the box before coolly finishing in the bottom-right corner.

As a whole, the defensive organisation of Arsenal’s first-team players was compact in the right areas (high upfield) and caused multiple turnovers of possession during their 65-minute run-out before the academy players were introduced.

Looking at other individuals, Vieira took a little while to get a feel of the game but picked up and it was not a surprise that he provided an assist to go with his goal. On the left, Nelson continued the good form he took into the break.

Further down the pitch, Kieran Tierney, who started to invert again during the second half, was also promising. Not only did he do this in midfield, but he was able to break forward with third-man runs up the inside channel to get into the final third.

While the majority of this group consists of players who would not start with a fully available squad, there are some who will definitely be playing when the Premier League returns. That is why these games are so important.

Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Matt Turner and Thomas Partey have all exited the World Cup (some of whom are travelling directly to Dubai to link up with the squad). Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil) and Bukayo Saka (England) are still involved in Qatar.

Speaking about Jesus’ injury and whether it would have a bearing on Arsenal’s January transfer plans, Arteta said: “It affects who we are as a team because he gives us so much. What we can do after that, when we know the timescale and when we can have him back, we will look at the options and try to make the right decisions.

“We look at the squad and consider every option with the players we have available. There are things that we can try (if) we have the need to do so.”

Whatever the decision, there is no doubt that there will be a lot of pressure on Nketiah’s young shoulders when the Premier League gets going again.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Vesper

[Laylabelle 9,411]

On 04/12/2022 at 11:59, Jype said:

Been saying it all season that I don't rate their squad depth at all.

Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Saka, Xhaka, Martinelli and Jesus have all started every league game so far. Ödegaard has missed one and Partey has missed three. Basically that means apart from LB, where they've had some rotation, they have so far fielded pretty much an unchanged XI in all games so far.

I don't see their squad coping well with injury problems at all, the drop off in player quality is way too steep. They'll be fine regarding top-4 because of the gap they've built with this early season momentum but I feel any title challenge talk will be totally gone by February.

Nahhh. Just a shame unless we come back completely changed and start winning it won't effect us...