EPL 2014-15 Season

[Seabhac]

Amazing stat (to me atleast): United under Moyes/Van Gaal are separated by only a +2 goal differential (and 5 places in the table, because mediocrity is all the rage) over 21 games. Same record/points.

United fans, how is the progress of your club then? all things considered 4th place is a nice spot to be in, but i was shocked when i saw that stat last night.

(Liverpool, on the other hand, are a very nice 9 points under last years pace...)

The media and ABU fans were the reason Moyes was not given a fair crack at United. The fans, for the most part, stood behind him. SAF was a larger than life figure and anybody trying to follow him was doomed to failure.
When SAF left, so did the locker room regimentation. As we all know , modern football is full of prima donnas and they were in full bloom as Moyes came in. He tried to get them to play his system, they got stroppy - the rest is history.

The difference with Van Gaal is that he has brought confidence back to the club - which is only possible because of Moyes bad year. We are going down the same route as Chelsea, City and Liverpool , spending huge amounts of money bringing in better players in every position. They still haven't jelled - but Van Gaal gives off the impression that he will make it work.


So that was long winded. Whats the difference? We are getting our confidence back.

so youve got faith in his plan then? fair enough.

The Moyes thing always intrigued me. He never seemed a proper fit. not because he didnt know what he was doing, but because he didnt exude the confidence needed to manage a club of that size. no lack of confidence in Van gaal, deserved or not.

if a slip down the table happens though, do you see backlash?

Yeah - There will be a backlash if we don't make top 4. It’s inevitable when the global fan base expects trophies every year and when such massive amounts of money has been invested.

I started supporting United in the years between Busby and Ferguson. I thought Tommy Docherty was a GOD and he was the manager when we were relegated! Managers like Ferguson Shankly Paisley and Clough are very rare. The modern game is so different (and money driven) that characters like that don't have the same chance to develop at the big English clubs any more - Ferguson may have been the last of his kind with that opportunity. What a tragedy it would have been if United had tossed him after his first season.

SAF held United at the top while the other big clubs were spending unheard of amounts of money trying to compete for top spot. Now that he's gone, United are in that same boat. They will have to spend their way back to the top. Van Gaal seems like as good a guy as any to manage that.

Bottom line - Modern Football sucks.

 

[Seabhac]

Jermaine Defoe is going from Toronto FC to Sunderland in exchange for Jozy Altidore.

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015 ... plus-cash/

That's good news - he terrorized the Sounders last year at C-Link

 

[Smurf]

Jermaine Defoe is going from Toronto FC to Sunderland in exchange for Jozy Altidore.

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015 ... plus-cash/

That's good news - he terrorized the Sounders last year at C-Link

And then did nothing.

 

[Uncle Si]

Amazing stat (to me atleast): United under Moyes/Van Gaal are separated by only a +2 goal differential (and 5 places in the table, because mediocrity is all the rage) over 21 games. Same record/points.

United fans, how is the progress of your club then? all things considered 4th place is a nice spot to be in, but i was shocked when i saw that stat last night.

(Liverpool, on the other hand, are a very nice 9 points under last years pace...)

The media and ABU fans were the reason Moyes was not given a fair crack at United. The fans, for the most part, stood behind him. SAF was a larger than life figure and anybody trying to follow him was doomed to failure.
When SAF left, so did the locker room regimentation. As we all know , modern football is full of prima donnas and they were in full bloom as Moyes came in. He tried to get them to play his system, they got stroppy - the rest is history.

The difference with Van Gaal is that he has brought confidence back to the club - which is only possible because of Moyes bad year. We are going down the same route as Chelsea, City and Liverpool , spending huge amounts of money bringing in better players in every position. They still haven't jelled - but Van Gaal gives off the impression that he will make it work.


So that was long winded. Whats the difference? We are getting our confidence back.

so youve got faith in his plan then? fair enough.

The Moyes thing always intrigued me. He never seemed a proper fit. not because he didnt know what he was doing, but because he didnt exude the confidence needed to manage a club of that size. no lack of confidence in Van gaal, deserved or not.

if a slip down the table happens though, do you see backlash?

Agreed on the points above.

Moyes never seemed like a United manager to me...just didn't fit the bill....Was willing to give him another year, but then again I felt the same way about Mora....

I don't foresee any backlash from Van Gaal this season, or into the next.

Same record and Goal difference, but not same feel. Team feels confident and is achieving the results despite a horrible injury plagued season.

thats the thing though... i imagine there will be a very big backlash if they dont get top 4. theyve extended alot of money into the roster. if it doesnt achieve top 4 and the benefits of Champs League I imagine there will be many questions to answer, including whether some of the players and manager are the right fit. How could it not? and if it does, will LvG really stay on to deal with it? LvG looked none too happy about having to answer the question about his record. its modern football. I agree with Seabhac, but unfortunately there just isnt the patience anymore. Liverpool fans are begging for Rogers to get fired simply because they arent last years team. bit unfair.

i'm sure it has a confident feel, but only because the mid table of the PL is so freaking mediocre. If United slip from the top 4, even for a week or two, I will be very interested to see how the press handles it. theyve got a free pass of late.

might be the most interesting story line to be honest. I think top 3 is fairly locked up. Arsenal's team talent will carry them to 3rd without much pressure, unless they suffer an injury.

So then its a battle of slightly above average clubs for 4th: United, West Ham, Soton, Spurs and Liverpool, with 5 points between them all and matches between them coming up. hard to see how all that falls. United have the better roster, but a poor defense. Soton, Spurs and West Ham are due to start a slip. Liverpool get Sturridge back and that may be enough, but they lack consistency in the back and goal...

should be a fun run in... i dont see any of those teams walking away, with all capable of dropping points each week

 

[Gatehawk]

Looks like Arsenal will be signing Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik.

http://legia.com/en/news/krystian-bieli ... enal-45278
That is direct from Legia's official website^

 

[Uncle Si]

Looks like Arsenal will be signing Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik.

http://legia.com/en/news/krystian-bieli ... enal-45278
That is direct from Legia's official website^

another 17 year old prodigy

its like Arsene's a pedo...

 

[Seabhac]

its like Arsene's a pedo...

[youtube]3LyzeKmTP64[/youtube]

 

[Gatehawk]

Not really BPL related, but wanted to get your guys thoughts on this. After Ranger's had a match called off due to bad weather, angry fans(not angry at the abandoned match) stormed into the Ibrox, chanted "sack the board" and held up banners that called the board "parasites." Things aren't very bright at Rangers right now it would seem.

[youtube]fVHo5hbRDBg[/youtube]

 

[Seabhac]

Not really BPL related, but wanted to get your guys thoughts on this. After Ranger's had a match called off due to bad weather, angry fans(not angry at the abandoned match) stormed into the Ibrox, chanted "sack the board" and held up banners that called the board "parasites." Things aren't very bright at Rangers right now it would seem.

[youtube]fVHo5hbRDBg[/youtube]

Rangers demise is the gift that keep on giving.....

After cheating for years and getting kicked out of football this is no more than the "zombie" club deserves - its own "fans" attacking the boardroom.

Heres a reminder of how great Rangers supporters are - Good Riddance.


[youtube]6pfFoRlzgB0[/youtube]

 

[NJSeahawk]

was about to celebrate Chelsea's 4-nil halftime lead, but then I remembered Danny Dwyer played a Chelsea fan.

:/

It's hard being a plastic sometimes. :stirthepot:

 

[Seabhac]

You know what they didn't do though? Systematically cover up rampant child abuse in their youth program. Big Jock Knew.

Ah - So you're a Hun!

 

[NJSeahawk]

Capital One Cup semifinal tie...

Let's do it!





...I meant the game, not actually "it".

 

[Uncle Si]

Capital One Cup semifinal tie...

Let's do it!





...I meant the game, not actually "it".

tease...

yeah, both teams are playing well (yep, Liverpool is playing "well").

by the way.. GatePacker mustve had one hell of a historic Sunday. His bandwagon jumped love for Arsenal finally pays off with easily their best win in 6 years... but this his bandwagon jumped love for the Packers sticks a knife in his heart.

I blame Wenger for the Packer loss. because i can.

 

[NJSeahawk]

Capital One Cup semifinal tie...

Let's do it!





...I meant the game, not actually "it".

tease...

yeah, both teams are playing well (yep, Liverpool is playing "well").

by the way.. GatePacker mustve had one hell of a historic Sunday. His bandwagon jumped love for Arsenal finally pays off with easily their best win in 6 years... but this his bandwagon jumped love for the Packers sticks a knife in his heart.

I blame Wenger for the Packer loss. because i can.

LOL. That is a great summation!

 

[Gatehawk]

tease...

yeah, both teams are playing well (yep, Liverpool is playing "well").

by the way.. GatePacker mustve had one hell of a historic Sunday. His bandwagon jumped love for Arsenal finally pays off with easily their best win in 6 years... but this his bandwagon jumped love for the Packers sticks a knife in his heart.

I blame Wenger for the Packer loss. because i can.

You wanna know how I felt on Sunday?

I went from this at 1pm ET

To this after Bostick effed up the onside kick


To this

 

[Uncle Si]

i actually didnt care.

thats what the Packer boards are for

 

[Uncle Si]

Capital One Cup semifinal tie...

Let's do it!





...I meant the game, not actually "it".

well? 1-1..

but that mightve been our best performance of this season.

 

[NJSeahawk]

Dissapointing result for the lads. Matic was off, and if wasnt for Azpi we may have lost that one...ah well...

 

[Seabhac]

We deserved to go to the bridge with a lead. Disgusting dive by Hazard, not surprised though, Atkinson is a total wanker.

Atkinson may be a wanker, but what are Terry and Sterling at here?

 

[Uncle Si]

Dissapointing result for the lads. Matic was off, and if wasnt for Azpi we may have lost that one...ah well...

Courtois was your man of the match. Lallana scores that goal 9 times out of 10.

Also, shut up, GatePacker.

fify...

yeah, disappointed Liverpool arent holding a lead going into the 2nd leg, but very very encouraged at the play. such is the season.

and seriously NJ, what one player do you actually like on that Chelsea team? they are so punchable. Hazards a shame, Costa looks like a drunk uncle that shows up to family parties in a windowless van. and terry... well, f--- John terry